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Project Inspire is proud to announce the release of “The Unlikely Village,” an original film by Mint Media premiering on Tisha B’av 5786, exclusively on ProjectInspire.com in the USA and Canada.

The film tells the story of how Boro Park, a neighborhood built on generations of tradition, became something far bigger than its own streets: a source of inspiration for Jews of every background, from every walk of life, looking for connection, meaning, and a way back in.

At its core, “The Unlikely Village” is a story of friendship and mentorship. It follows the relationships that form when people from vastly different worlds find themselves walking the same sidewalk, literally and spiritually, and discover that transformation often begins in the most unexpected places.

“This film captures something we’ve felt for a long time but never quite put into words,” said a Project Inspire representative. “Boro Park isn’t just a neighborhood. For so many people searching for their place in Yiddishkeit, it has become a village in the truest sense, a place where someone always has a hand out to help.”

The premiere comes at a poignant time. Tisha B’av, a day associated with mourning and loss, has long been reframed by Project Inspire as a day of meaning and connection. “The Unlikely Village” continues that mission, using the day to tell a story of unity built from the ground up.

The project was made possible with the support of corporate sponsors Haas & Zaltz LLP, Kosher Palace, Fasten Halberstam, Daily Giving, Relation, and Saul N. Friedman & Co.

“The Unlikely Village” streams Tisha B’av 5786 at ProjectInspire.com.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi issued a pointed response after President Donald Trump declared that the United States would take control of the Strait of Hormuz, arguing that Iran has repeatedly failed to honor its international agreements.

Trump announced that “Iran systematically violates every agreement it reaches, and therefore the US is taking control of the Strait of Hormuz.”

Responding in a post on X, Araghchi wrote, “POTUS is absolutely right. Whoever provides secure and safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz should be compensated for this service.”

He added, “Iran has always been the GUARDIAN of the Strait and will remain so FOREVER.”

Araghchi ended his remarks with an apparent reference to compensation for securing the vital shipping route, writing, “20% is of course too much. We will be fair.”

{Matzav.com}

Meta announced Monday that it is massively expanding its artificial intelligence data center campus in rural Louisiana, a project the company says will become one of the largest AI facilities ever constructed anywhere in the world.

The expanded campus, located in Richland Parish in northeastern Louisiana’s Delta region, represents a major step in Meta’s effort to build the computing infrastructure needed to power the next generation of artificial intelligence technologies.

Once completed, the site will deliver 5 gigawatts of computing capacity and bring Meta’s total investment in Louisiana to more than $50 billion.

The expansion was unveiled Monday in Baton Rouge alongside Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry. Company officials said the project is expected to generate more than 1,000 permanent jobs while dramatically reshaping the economy of Richland Parish, a rural area with about 20,000 residents.

The announcement highlights Meta’s aggressive push to build out AI infrastructure as competition intensifies across the technology industry.

Led by Meta President Dina Powell, who has directed the company’s AI expansion efforts, Meta has pledged tens of billions of dollars to rapidly increase the computing power required for advanced AI models, generative AI applications, and future artificial intelligence services across its platforms.

The Richland Parish campus has emerged as one of the company’s flagship AI developments, reflecting a broader trend of major technology investments moving beyond traditional innovation centers and into rural communities across America.

Meta said the project has already produced substantial economic gains since construction began in December 2024.

Businesses throughout Louisiana have already secured more than $1.6 billion in contracts related to the development. In addition, Meta plans to spend another $1 billion on roads, water infrastructure, wastewater systems, and other improvements that will benefit the surrounding community.

The project’s financial impact has been especially evident in the local school system. Increased tax revenue generated by the development allowed teachers in Richland Parish to receive annual bonuses of more than $50,000 this year—roughly four times the amount distributed the previous year.

“Last year, our teachers received a $10,000 bonus; this year, that check was over $50,000,” said Richland Parish Superintendent Sheldon Jones.

“It’s life-altering for our teachers and their families, and it’s transforming our schools,” he added.

Beyond tax revenue, Meta has contributed funding to every public school in the parish through direct donations as well as its Data Center Community Action Grants program.

To help build a skilled local workforce, the company is donating $5 million to Louisiana Delta Community College to create scholarships supporting data center workforce training programs.

Starting with the Class of 2026, every Richland Parish high school graduate will qualify for a full scholarship covering any technical course or trade certificate related to data center careers.

The project’s influence is also being felt among local business owners. Tim and Lindsey Allen said they opened their restaurant, Holy Tacos, after Meta revealed plans for the development. Meanwhile, coffee shop owners TJ and Kaycie Weed said their business has grown from a single location serving about 40 customers each day into a three-location operation, with a fourth store scheduled to open this fall.

Meta also announced a new energy agreement tied to the expansion that it says will save Entergy Louisiana customers more than $2 billion over the next 20 years. Those savings come in addition to approximately $650 million already expected under a previous agreement.

The company emphasized that it covers all costs associated with the facility’s electricity, water usage, and related infrastructure, ensuring those expenses are not passed on to utility customers.

As demand for AI computing power continues to soar, Meta’s enormous Louisiana investment illustrates the escalating race among major technology companies to build massive AI infrastructure while showing how projects of this scale can dramatically reshape local economies far from Silicon Valley.

{Matzav.com}

In a landmark decision, the Knesset on Monday night gave final approval to the Basic Law: Torah Study, formally establishing that “Torah study is a foundational value in the heritage of the Jewish people and in the State of Israel.” The legislation, introduced by Degel HaTorah chairman MK Moshe Gafni, passed its second and third readings, making it one of Israel’s Basic Laws.

Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu did not participate in the final vote.

Celebrating the bill’s passage, Gafni described it as “a historic step in the State of Israel.”

“For thousands of years, Torah study has been the force that preserved the Jewish people throughout the Diaspora and across every generation,” Gafni said. “From this day forward, the State of Israel has also established, through a Basic Law, that Torah study is a foundational value in the heritage of the Jewish people and in the State of Israel.”

He continued: “The matter has now come to pass. The Jewish state is reconnecting with the eternal values upon which the Jewish people were built throughout the generations. This Basic Law will serve as the nation’s moral compass, expressing the recognition that Torah study is not merely a legacy of the past, but the very foundation upon which the present and future of the Jewish people in their land rests.”

Shas chairman Aryeh Deri also welcomed the legislation, declaring: “Moshe is truth and his Torah is truth! Today we have written a historic chapter in the State of Israel. For the first time, the Jewish state recognizes the supreme value of the holy Torah and the status of those who dedicate themselves to its study.”

Deri added that “the Torah is the foundation of the Jewish people’s identity. It sustained us throughout thousands of years of exile, inspired our longing to return to the Land of Israel and establish an independent Jewish state, and continues to give meaning to our existence here today.”

He went on to say: “This is a victory for the Torah world and a clear answer to the ousted attorney general and to everyone who sought to persecute and humiliate the bnei yeshivos. You will not break the Jewish spirit. The holy Torah will prevail.”

MK Yaakov Asher likewise praised the law’s passage, quoting Rav Saadia Gaon: “As Rav Saadia Gaon said, ‘Our nation is a nation only through its Torah.’ This is the path on which we were raised and which has accompanied the Jewish people for thousands of years—the Torah is the source of our existence, our identity, and our strength.”

Asher emphasized that for the chareidi community, Torah study is “a way of life,” adding that “the world of the yeshivos and batei medrash is the pure flask of oil of the Jewish people and the place where the chain of generations that sustained our nation through even its most difficult periods has been preserved.”

He concluded by citing the verse: “Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, says the Lord of Hosts.”

{Matzav.com}

Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Boaz Bismuth sharply criticized IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on Monday, questioning the timing of the chief’s letter opposing the temporary order that would freeze criminal proceedings against bnei Torah engaged in Torah study.

Bismuth argued that the chief of staff’s letter was sent to Defense Minister Yisrael Katz and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu only Sunday night—after the committee had already completed its deliberations and approved the proposed legislation. He noted that the IDF had possessed the draft of the temporary order for approximately three weeks and that military representatives had participated throughout the committee’s discussions on the measure.

Bismuth stressed that the final version of the legislation was formulated in full coordination with officials from the Defense Ministry and even incorporated revisions made at their request. He said the committee took the unusual step of allowing the Defense Ministry to submit two objections after the official deadline had passed, and both were accepted and incorporated into the final draft.

According to Bismuth, the timing of the chief of staff’s letter raises serious questions.

“It is fair to ask why the letter was sent only after the committee had completed its discussions and vote, and why it was published specifically on the very day the bill is expected to come before the Knesset plenum,” he said. “If the goal was to improve the wording of the legislation, the IDF had ample opportunity to do so over the past several weeks.”

Bismuth also maintained that throughout the committee’s hearings, IDF representatives were unable to present a single case in which the arrest of a Torah student ultimately resulted in that individual being drafted into military service. He argued that this reality only strengthens the case for the temporary order approved by the committee.