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An Israeli traffic police officer is facing scrutiny after being filmed attempting to calm a group of chareidi protesters by repeatedly insisting that he does not deal with arresting draft dodgers and was only issuing a traffic citation.

The incident, which took place Wednesday in Modi’in during a spontaneous chareidi protest, sparked controversy because the officer’s remarks appeared to contradict standing directives issued by Israel Police Commissioner Danny Levy regarding the handling of draft dodgers.

According to current police policy, officers who encounter individuals classified as draft dodgers are instructed to detain them for up to 30 minutes while waiting for military police to arrive. If military police do not arrive within that timeframe, officers are supposed to issue an official summons directing the individual to report to military authorities.

The footage, first published by Israel Hayom, shows the officer repeatedly trying to reassure angry demonstrators that he had no intention of arresting the chareidi man involved.

According to journalist Yaakov Hershkowitz, the confrontation began after the traffic officer stopped a chareidi driver over a traffic violation.

Once word spread through chareidi news hotlines and extremist WhatsApp groups that a chareidi man had been detained, protesters rushed to the scene fearing he would be transferred to military authorities.

Dozens of demonstrators reportedly gathered at the location, launching an impromptu protest. Although the detained individual was eventually released, protesters remained at the scene and confronted the officer over recent arrests of yeshiva bochurim.

In the video, the officer can be heard repeatedly attempting to explain that he was not involved in draft enforcement.

“I didn’t deal with the draft dodging issue. I said to release him. Listen carefully to what I’m explaining to you — I did not deal with draft dodgers,” the officer told the crowd.

One protester responded skeptically: “Other police officers in other places do. How are we supposed to know the difference?”

The officer answered: “I know, no problem, I don’t care about anyone else. I know what I’m saying. Right now I’m not dealing with draft dodgers. He only received a traffic ticket, that’s the story. Is it allowed to give a traffic ticket? A traffic ticket — that’s the story.”

At another point in the exchange, when a protester shouted, “You don’t detain chareidim?” the officer raised his voice and replied: “There was nothing.”

Following publication of the footage, criticism mounted against what some described as the officer’s “capitulation” to protesters and failure to follow official police directives.

In response, the Israel Police issued a sharp statement distancing itself from the officer’s conduct.

“The commissioner views the officer’s conduct seriously, as it contradicts organizational directives. The matter will be examined accordingly,” the police statement said.

Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air on Thursday resumed flights to Israel, becoming the latest airline and first European budget carrier to restore service after the outbreak of war with Iran in February.

The Budapest-based no-frills airline is renewing service to Tel Aviv across major European cities, including London, Rome, Budapest, Athens, Larnaca, Warsaw and Milan, and plans to run a full schedule to and from Israel during the busy summer season.

The popular European budget airline, which was the largest foreign carrier operating in Israel by passenger volume before the war, had planned on opening a hub at Ben-Gurion International Airport this spring, but the Feb. 28 U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran led all international carriers to suspend service to the region anew.

Their much-anticipated return to Tel Aviv follows an updated safety recommendation from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which softened its previous advisory against operating in Israeli airspace.

The airline’s resumption of service also comes against the backdrop of months-long negotiations to set up a hub in Israel, talks that were frozen by transportation officials angered over the airline’s repeated prior flight suspensions.

More than a dozen international airlines have resumed service to Tel Aviv, including two Emirati carriers, since the war against Iran began.

Major European carriers are currently planning to renew flights to Israel this summer. U.S. airlines, however, are scheduled to return to Israel starting in the fall.

Wizz Air, the third-largest low-cost carrier in Europe after the Dublin-based Ryanair and the London-based EasyJet, has kept European fares relatively low despite surging oil prices caused by the war.

Its long-planned hub would enable the Hungarian company to operate as many as 30 daily flights from Tel Aviv to destinations across Europe. JNS

{Matzav.com}

The U.S. dollar continued to weaken against the shekel on Thursday, falling to an exchange rate not seen since the early ’90s of 2.83 per greenback. The euro and pound also weakened against the shekel, dropping to NIS 3.28 and NIS 3.79, respectively.

According to broadcaster Channel 12, the Bank of Israel is weighing the possibility of acting to prevent the dollar from falling further.

The BoI intervened in the past in similar situations by purchasing large amounts of dollars to protect Israel’s exporters.

Although importers and consumers can purchase products from abroad at less expense in light of the shekel’s strengthening, Israel’s exporters and the high-tech industry are feeling pressure.

High-tech firms whose income is mostly in dollars are experiencing squeezes in profits due to the currency’s weakening, having to pay their employees in shekels.

Meanwhile, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sent a letter to local business leaders, asking them to lower prices “immediately so that the strengthening of the shekel is felt by consumers,” Channel 12 reported.

“It is unacceptable for you to turn to the government demanding assistance packages during times of crisis, yet when there is economic prosperity in the markets, withhold its benefits from citizens,” the letter read.

Smotrich urged them “to convene importers and businesses today in order to bring about immediate price reductions,” appealing directly to food importers, according to the report. JNS

{Matzav.com}

American and Iranian officials have reportedly drafted a provisional 60-day agreement that would preserve the current ceasefire and open formal negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program, according to a report by Axios.

The report, citing two American officials and a regional figure involved in the mediation process, said President Donald Trump has not yet signed off on the proposed arrangement.

If finalized, the understanding would represent one of the most significant diplomatic breakthroughs since the war erupted, although major disputes tied to Iran’s nuclear ambitions would still need to be resolved in follow-up negotiations.

According to US officials quoted in the report, negotiators had largely completed the framework of the agreement by Tuesday, with final authorization still required from top decision-makers in Washington and Tehran.

Those officials said Iranian envoys later notified mediators that Tehran’s leadership had approved the proposal and was prepared to move forward with signing it. Iranian authorities have not publicly commented on the report.

American negotiators subsequently presented the details of the deal to President Trump, though he stopped short of immediately approving it. One US official said the President informed mediators that he wanted a few days to weigh the proposal before making a final decision.

Axios reported that Trump and senior aides had believed several times earlier in the conflict that a breakthrough was close, but each attempt ultimately collapsed before an agreement could be finalized.

Under the draft terms, maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz would continue uninterrupted. One US official said the deal would bar Iran from imposing shipping tolls or interfering with vessels and would obligate Tehran to clear all naval mines from the strategic waterway within 30 days.

The report said the American naval blockade would then be phased out gradually as commercial shipping operations resumed.

US officials also said the agreement would contain a pledge by Iran not to seek nuclear weapons. During the 60-day period, talks would initially center on the fate of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, as well as Tehran’s enrichment activities.

According to Axios, Washington would also agree to discuss easing sanctions and unlocking frozen Iranian assets during the negotiations. The proposed memorandum would further include talks aimed at establishing channels for humanitarian aid and the transfer of goods into Iran.

The political battle surrounding Israel’s daycare subsidy legislation intensified Wednesday after the preliminary passage of the so-called “daycare law,” with the Aryeh Deri-led Shas party launching a fierce attack against both the attorney general and the Religious Zionism party over its absence from the vote.

In a sharply worded statement issued hours after the bill passed its preliminary reading in the Knesset, Shas declared that the vote represented a direct rebuke to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.

“The Knesset today delivered a clear and decisive message against the attorney general: enough cruelty toward toddlers in order to harm their Torah-learning parents,” the party stated.

Shas described the daycare legislation as a “moral and ethical statement” against the decision to revoke daycare subsidies from kollel families, arguing that the policy amounts to an attempt to pressure yeshiva and kollel families by targeting small children.

According to the party, the move to deny subsidies is “an attempt to pressure Torah learners through harming toddlers.”

Shas also praised coalition chairman Ofir Katz for successfully assembling the votes needed to pass the bill, while commending both the Likud party and Otzma Yehudit for what it called their “full partnership with Torah values.”

At the same time, the party launched an unusually harsh attack against the Religious Zionism faction for boycotting the vote.

“[They] chose to absent themselves from this moral vote and thereby joined hands with those persecuting the Torah world and the haters of Judaism. Those who constantly speak about the importance of the right-wing bloc are the very ones dismantling it through their actions,” the statement said.

{Matzav.com}

Dear Matzav Inbox,

I am writing this because I honestly cannot take the hypocrisy anymore.

We scream about tznius all day long. Every speech, every assembly, every school handbook, every parent meeting, every article. Sleeve lengths. Sock lengths. Necklines. Colors. Fabrics. Shoes. Tights. Pictures. Catalogs. The conversation never ends.

Tznius, tznius, tznius, tznius.

And yes, of course tznius matters. Nobody is questioning that.

But can we finally have the courage to talk about the giant elephant sitting in the middle of the frum world that everyone sees and nobody wants to acknowledge?

What is going on in frum offices between men and women is becoming a massive crisis.

Not every office. Not every person. But enough that people know exactly what I am talking about.

Men and women spending entire days together. Constant texting. Inside jokes. Emotional dependence. Friendly conversations that stopped being innocent a long time ago. Private meetings. Late-night communication that somehow gets justified because it’s “for work.” Married people sharing more emotional energy with coworkers than with their own spouses.

And everybody pretends not to notice because everyone needs parnassah.

So we keep screaming about a teenager’s sweater while ignoring environments that are literally destroying marriages, destroying shalom bayis, destroying emotional boundaries, and slowly eating away at people spiritually.

Where are the speeches about that?

Where are the emergency gatherings and kol korehs about that?

Where are the articles warning people that emotional closeness is not less dangerous because it happens in an office with fluorescent lighting and spreadsheets?

We have somehow created a world where a girl can be treated like a walking michshol because her socks slipped down half an inch, while a married man spending eight hours a day emotionally attached to another woman is called “professional.”

Since when?

And the saddest part is that many frum workplaces almost force this environment. Team bonding. Casual culture. Endless interaction. After-hours communication. People laughing and talking together all day in ways that previous generations would never have considered normal.

Then everyone acts shocked when marriages suffer, when people become emotionally confused, when lines get crossed, or when things spiral into places they should never have gone.

We are terrified of talking honestly because we are afraid people will accuse us of being extreme or unrealistic.

But pretending there is no problem is not righteousness. It is denial.

If we truly care about kedushah, then let us care about all of it, not only the parts that are easy to measure with a ruler.

Because right now, it feels like we are obsessing over the packaging while ignoring the fire burning inside the building.

Sincerely,

See It Every Day

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Israeli politicians Meir Porush and Yisrael Eichler launched blistering attacks Wednesday night against the Israeli government, police, and judiciary over the growing wave of arrests targeting chareidi yeshiva bochurim classified as draft dodgers.

Speaking in an interview on Radio Kol Berama, Porush broke his silence and sharply criticized everyone from Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu to coalition partners and Israel Police Commissioner Danny Levy over the recent enforcement operations.

At the start of the interview, Porush described the political calculations that guided the chareidi parties during negotiations over the draft law and related legislation.

“We were careful not to bring other laws because they told us it would create a huge uproar and we would not be able to pass the draft law,” Porush said. “When we realized there would be no draft law, we decided on a ‘give-and-take’ approach — you want help transferring powers from the Interior Ministry to the Prime Minister? Fine, give us the daycare law.”

Porush then escalated his rhetoric dramatically, comparing the arrest campaign against chareidi draft dodgers to Communist-era persecution and openly calling on police officers to refuse orders.

“We live in Israel but feel like we are living in Bolshevik Russia, which arrested Torah learners. The police commissioner found something to build his reputation on — harming yeshiva students? A police officer who has even a little faith and tradition should say: ‘I do not want to carry out this order.’”

Porush also blamed Israel’s Supreme Court for the ongoing crisis and argued that weakening the judiciary must become a central political objective.

“When you arrive at that mountain called the court system — that is where the power is, and that is where it must be struck and diminished. The power of the court must be eroded. That is what must be done in order to emerge from this crisis.”

The veteran chareidi lawmaker also directed criticism toward Netanyahu personally, accusing the prime minister of prioritizing his own political interests early in the coalition’s term while sidelining the needs of the chareidi public.

“Netanyahu speaks very nicely, he has that ability, but he should have done more. When he was busy at the beginning of the term arranging several personal laws for himself, we cried out that our laws needed to be passed. He told us, ‘Wait, I don’t have a majority.’ We waited and gave him time until we understood we weren’t getting anywhere.”

Porush additionally criticized the Religious Zionism party, warning that the policies now being directed at the chareidi world could one day be turned against their own yeshiva frameworks.

“This is a major disappointment. Religious Zionism does not understand that the day will come when they will lower the boom on them as well. One day they will ask why hesder yeshivos serve fewer months, and it will come back on them too. There is some kind of pettiness there — I don’t know from whom.”

Toward the end of the interview, Porush outlined what he described as a new strategy for future coalition negotiations, declaring that chareidi parties should refuse government positions until core issues affecting the chareidi community are resolved.

“After the elections we must not take positions — no ministers, nothing — until they settle our fundamental and critical needs. First the essential matters, and only afterward positions.”

At the same time, Deputy Minister Eichler delivered his own harsh criticism during an interview with Radio Kol Chai, accusing Israel’s High Court of Justice of conducting a campaign against chareidi Judaism and Torah study.

“What the High Court has done is dictatorship — stripping away the most basic human rights as an inseparable part of their war against the existence of chareidi Judaism and against Torah learning.”

Eichler also discussed delays surrounding legislation tied to daycare subsidies and said some officials warned him that advancing the bill would damage efforts to pass a draft law compromise.

“They argued to me that if I advance the daycare law, it would harm the draft law,” Eichler said. “Those imposing sanctions on Torah learners will not stop there, because the goal is not to save a few hundred shekels from that woman. The goal is to prevent Torah learning.”

The deputy minister also blasted Commissioner Levy over coordination between the Israel Police and military police in the arrest operations.

“When the police commissioner announces that he is subordinate to the High Court and not to the supervising minister and the law passed by the elected Knesset, that statement sends the most severe message since the establishment of the state,” Eichler said.

According to Eichler, “the police, which is responsible for public order, is becoming part of the revolutionaries who created this dictatorship.”

In a separate interview on Radio Kol Berama, Eichler intensified his criticism of the judiciary.

“The High Court committed an outrageous act that is completely illegitimate. The message that passed today in the preliminary reading is clear: you cannot turn the State of Israel into Sodom and Gomorrah.”

Eichler also accused anti-religious factions within the Knesset of driving the confrontation while influencing both the media and the courts.

“There is currently a dangerous atmosphere in the Knesset coming from anti-religious extremists, who are not many in number but are very loud, and all the media and judges are in their hands. They are leading the country toward chaos and are already speaking about war.”

Later in the interview, Eichler directly attacked the participation of the Israel Police in operations targeting draft dodgers, arguing that such enforcement falls entirely outside civilian police authority.

“According to the law, the civilian Israel Police has absolutely nothing to do with draft-related arrests. The very fact that the police are involved in this is part of the war against chareidi Judaism,” he said.

The Israeli military is preparing to launch proactive arrest operations targeting bnei yeshiva who avoid the army in chareidi population centers as early as next week, according to a report aired Wednesday evening on Kan News.

As part of the planned operations, the IDF has requested extensive assistance from the Israel Police, both for security and for handling possible disturbances and protests expected in chareidi neighborhoods during the arrests.

In the coming days, police and military officials are expected to hold a series of joint assessments regarding the operation. Current estimates reportedly call for hundreds of police officers to be assigned to assist the effort.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Office said in a statement that “joint planning efforts are currently taking place with the Israel Police in order to coordinate enforcement actions by the military police in the public sphere.”

The statement added: “We emphasize that this coordination is critical and directly impacts the areas in which the IDF can operate in carrying out arrests.”

In the past, Israel Police Commissioner Danny Levy had refused to allocate police forces for operations of this nature. However, a recent ruling by Israel’s High Court sharply criticized the police over what it described as insufficient enforcement.

Meanwhile, Moshe Gafni, chairman of the Degel HaTorah party, instructed party representatives throughout Israel on Wednesday to immediately halt cooperation with the Israel Police.

“Following the policy change by the Israel Police, and so that we should not, Heaven forbid, become partners in harming the holy Torah and its learners, I request that all cooperation with the Israel Police, including municipal policing, cease immediately until further notice,” Gafni wrote.

Following Gafni’s directive — and amid growing anger in the chareidi street over the intensified policy toward yeshiva bochurim classified as draft dodgers — Commissioner Levy held a special high-level assessment regarding relations between the police and the chareidi community.

During the meeting, Levy reportedly stressed that responsibility for handling draft dodgers rests primarily with the IDF and the military police, while the Israel Police merely provides assistance, just as it does for other law enforcement agencies.

Senior police officials also claimed that despite current tensions, cooperation with the chareidi public remains ongoing and that regular channels of communication continue between police commanders, rabbonim, and public figures within the chareidi sector.

During the discussion, Levy also announced plans to hold meetings in the near future with heads of chareidi municipalities.

In addition, the commissioner instructed police officials to examine complaints that chareidim arriving at police stations to file reports are being detained, emphasizing that members of the public should be able to enter police stations, report crimes, and receive police services without fear.

Earlier this week, reports surfaced that the IDF had formally requested police assistance for proactive operations aimed at arresting chareidi draft dodgers beginning already in early June.

The request is currently under review by the police operations division, with ongoing discussions regarding the manpower needed for such operations.

{Matzav.com}

Following mounting backlash from the chareidi public over police conduct toward chareidi draft dodgers in recent weeks, Israel Police Commissioner Danny Levy appears to be signaling a significant shift in policy.

According to reports, Levy is considering issuing new instructions to police officers not to arrest chareidim obligated to enlist if they come to police stations in order to file complaints or receive police services.

The apparent reversal comes after sharp criticism from chareidi leaders and politicians, including recent decisions by chareidi Knesset members to suspend cooperation with the Israel Police over the handling of arrests involving yeshiva bochurim.

In what many viewed as a conciliatory statement released Wednesday evening, the Israel Police emphasized its longstanding relationship with the chareidi community and outlined a series of directives issued by the commissioner following a special assessment meeting regarding police cooperation with the sector.

According to the official statement, responsibility for handling draft dodgers belongs primarily to the IDF and the military police.

“The mission of handling draft dodgers rests with the IDF, through the military police, which determines arrest targets and is responsible for detention and adjudication, while the police merely provides assistance, just as it assists other enforcement agencies,” the statement said.

The practical implication, according to observers, is that the Israel Police may avoid independently initiating enforcement actions against chareidi draft dodgers, leaving such operations primarily in military hands.

The police statement further stressed that cooperation between law enforcement and the chareidi sector has existed for many years.

“The police has worked together with the chareidi sector in cooperative efforts for many years,” the statement said.

Officials also highlighted what they described as ongoing dialogue between police commanders and rabbonim throughout the country.

“There is continuous dialogue and communication through commanders at all levels, both routinely and during exceptional situations. In addition, ongoing communication exists between the police rabbinate and rabbis in the districts, Border Police, and various divisions, together with rabbonim from the chareidi sector.”

The statement added that the police has invested significant efforts in adapting police services to the chareidi public and plans to continue those efforts.

“The police acted to make police services more accessible to the chareidi sector and continues to adapt police stations to the sector.”

Levy also reportedly instructed the police rabbinate to hold more frequent meetings with rabbonim from across the chareidi spectrum.

“The commissioner instructed the police rabbi to hold frequent meetings with rabbonim from the chareidi sector, from all factions.”

In addition, Levy is expected to meet soon with heads of chareidi municipalities.

“The commissioner will soon hold a meeting with heads of chareidi local authorities.”

The statement further announced that the deputy commissioner will lead a special team together with the police rabbinate to strengthen ties and cooperation with the chareidi public.

“The commissioner instructed the deputy commissioner to lead a team together with the police rabbinate to strengthen relations and cooperation with the chareidi sector.”

The most closely watched portion of the announcement, however, involved complaints from yeshiva bochurim and other chareidim obligated to enlist who reportedly avoided entering police stations out of fear they would immediately be detained.

According to the police statement, Levy specifically ordered officials to examine the issue.

“The commissioner instructed that the issue of detaining complainants who arrive at police stations for the purpose of filing complaints be examined, in order to allow the chareidi public to come to police stations, expose crimes, and receive proper police services.”

The move comes after growing reports that crime victims classified as draft dodgers have avoided filing police complaints out of concern they could be arrested and transferred to military authorities upon entering police stations.

{Matzav.com}