In a move that surprised many in the chareidi world, the Peleg Yerushalmi group announced on Tuesday that it will not participate in the massive unity rally scheduled for Thursday in Yerushalayim.
The decision, which came under the directive of Rav Azriel Auerbach, was explained as a principled refusal to join an event that could create the impression that the group supports pending draft legislation. Rav Auerbach reportedly instructed his people that their place on Thursday will be in the batei medrash and kollelim, not in the streets.
According to statements released in his name, “Since the demand of authentic Torah Judaism is to restore the original arrangement of Toraso umnaso, and the organizers of the rally are not standing firmly on this point, I cannot instruct participation in such a gathering.”
The upcoming rally is meant to be a broad display of unity among all Torah-observant groups, drawing tens of thousands under the banner of defending the dignity of Torah learners.
Meanwhile, rally organizers revealed the official logo for the event, themed “Za’akas HaTorah” — “The Cry of the Torah.” The logo features bold yellow lettering on a dark blue background, with the phrase “Za’akas HaTorah” framed by two Etz Chaim scrolls representing a Sefer Torah. Below it appears the inscription: “The assembly of the multitudes of Klal Yisroel against the persecution of the Torah world in Eretz HaKodesh — 8 Cheshvan 5786, Yerushalayim.”
In a statement, the organizing committee said: “Forty-eight hours before the Za’akas HaTorah rally against the persecution of Torah scholars in Eretz HaKodesh, the public relations team is releasing the official logo that will accompany all event materials. The design reflects the united outcry of faithful Jewry against the campaign of harassment targeting Torah learners.”
Preparations are continuing in full force for the massive prayer gathering, which is scheduled for Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at the entrance to Yerushalayim.
{Matzav.com}
As previously reported, the box delivered to Israel on Monday night contained only part of the remains of Ofir Tzarfati, the same hostage whose body the Israeli military says it recovered in early December 2023.
The military now says that the episode in eastern Gaza City was a contrived spectacle, Times of Israel reports. Here are the details:
Operatives moved remains into a prepared pit, buried them, and then pretended to unearth the body in front of Red Cross staff. The IDF released drone footage on Tuesday showing the sequence of events and saying the clip proves the display was staged.
The video, the military added, shows Hamas fighters carrying a body bag out of a building, depositing it into a large hole and tamping earth over it before later digging the bag up with an excavator and dumping it nearby. Red Cross representatives then arrived as dirt was thrown onto the bag, and the operatives exposed the corpse while one of them took photos on his phone.
WATCH:
“Contrary to Hamas’ claims of difficulties locating the bodies of the deceased hostages, yesterday Hamas operatives were documented removing body remains from a structure that had been prepared in advance and burying them nearby,” the IDF said in a statement.
“Shortly thereafter, the Hamas terror organization summoned representatives of the Red Cross and staged a false display of discovering a deceased hostage’s body,” the military added, saying the footage “clearly shows that the Hamas terror organization is attempting to create a false impression of efforts to locate the bodies, while in fact holding deceased hostages whose remains it refuses to release as required by the agreement.”
The IDF continued: “This is accompanied by false claims of shortages in engineering equipment, equipment that is clearly unnecessary for the transfer of remains, and therefore these claims do not constitute an obstacle to the return of the remaining deceased hostages.”
Tzarfati — who was snatched from the Nova music festival during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, while celebrating his 27th birthday — was declared dead a month later. The military says his body had been recovered in the Gaza Strip on December 1 and returned to Israel for burial at that time; relatives say seeing the new footage “is a wound that constantly reopens.”
“Once again, deception has been inflicted upon our family as we try to heal,” Tzarfati’s family said in a statement. “This morning we were shown video footage of our beloved son’s remains being removed, buried, and handed over to the Red Cross — an abhorrent manipulation designed to sabotage the deal and abandon the effort to bring all the hostages home.”
News of the staged handover prompted voices from across the political map to demand immediate action. The Prime Minister’s Office called the episode “a clear violation of the agreement,” and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu scheduled an emergency security meeting to weigh Israel’s response.
Israeli media reported one option under consideration is extending the IDF’s control by moving the so-called Yellow Line that divides Gaza, giving the military authority over more territory as leverage to pressure Hamas to release additional remains; Channel 12 said the United States is open to the idea.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum — which has urged pausing the US-backed truce until the bodies are returned — demanded an urgent meeting with Netanyahu and called for decisive measures. “Hamas’s repeated violations and the IDF’s documentation prove what we have known and stated clearly and unequivocally: Hamas knows the location of the hostages and continues to act with contempt, deceiving the United States and mediators while dishonoring our loved ones,” the forum said in a statement. “The Israeli government cannot and must not ignore this, and must act decisively against these violations.”
Families of other slain captives echoed the outrage. Ruby Chen, father of American-Israeli soldier Itay Chen whose body remains in Gaza, told Ynet on Tuesday, “This agreement isn’t good, that’s the lesson. Hamas has no incentive to transfer all the slain hostages to Israel.” He added, “What is the government of Israel doing right now? They should dedicate their energy and their thought to what we’ll do to change the equation. We shouldn’t lose this window of opportunity.”
Far-right ministers called for an all-out return to the campaign to eliminate Hamas. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir posted on X: “The fact that Hamas continues to play games and does not immediately transfer all the bodies of our fallen is in itself evidence that the terror organization is still standing,” and continued, “Now we don’t need to ‘exact a price from Hamas’ for the violations. We need to exact from it its very existence, and destroy it completely, once and for all — in accordance with the central goal defined for the War of Revival.”
Writing to the prime minister, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich demanded an urgent security-cabinet session to map “forceful and determined responses” to what he described as repeated ceasefire breaches. “Against the backdrop of Hamas’s repeated violations of the ceasefire terms and the first stage of President Trump’s plan, and against the backdrop of the lack of progress in its dismantling and the demilitarization of Gaza, I request that you urgently convene the security cabinet today for a discussion in order to formulate a package of forceful and determined responses, and to ensure our adherence to the central objective of the war: the destruction of Hamas and the removal of the threat emanating from Gaza toward the citizens of Israel,” Smotrich wrote.
On X, Smotrich proposed a concrete punitive step: rearrest “all of the terrorists released to [the West Bank] as part of the hostage deal.” Under the agreement Israel freed 250 prisoners serving life sentences along with roughly 1,700 Gazans held after the October 7 attack — some sent to the West Bank, some to Gaza and others abroad.
Former prime minister Naftali Bennett — seen by many as Netanyahu’s most credible electoral challenger — added his voice to calls for decisive action: “Hamas is a cancer. Hamas must be destroyed,” he said in a statement.
{Matzav.com}
Degel HaTorah chairman MK Moshe Gafni paid a visit today to the yeshiva bochurim who have been jailed in a military prison for refusing to enlist, strengthening and encouraging them during their ordeal. This marks the first time a chareidi Knesset member has personally visited the imprisoned bochurim.
Following the visit, Gafni delivered a sharp statement: “It is a great stain on the State of Israel that someone who studies Torah is arrested and thrown into prison. This is an unbearable and unconscionable reality, and we will do everything possible to free them from here and bring them back to their yeshivos so they can continue learning Torah.”
Over the past week, Gafni has been actively working for the release of the detained yeshiva students. He has also sent a strong message to the Prime Minister’s Office warning that the continued arrests and imprisonment of Torah learners could lead to the complete collapse of the coalition by the chareidi parties.
{Matzav.com}
Yerushalayim police are preparing for extensive road closures and heavy congestion ahead of Thursday’s massive Atzeres Ha’achdus, expected to draw tens of thousands of participants from across Israel.
According to a police statement, hundreds of officers and Border Police units will be stationed throughout the city’s entrances and key intersections to maintain order, ensure the safety of attendees and residents, and manage traffic flow.
As part of the coordinated security plan with event organizers, Highway 1—the main route connecting Yerushalayim and Tel Aviv—will be completely closed to private vehicles in both directions from 12:00 p.m. until the rally concludes. The closure will extend from Latrun to the Givat Shaul and Givat Sha’ar HaGai areas, including Route 16 and the main Yerushalayim entrance.
Entry to the city will only be permitted for organized buses, which will be directed to designated drop-off points near Givat Shaul and Givat Sha’ar HaGai.
Drivers exiting Yerushalayim will be able to use the Har Ha’arazim tunnel, Route 16, or Route 443, which will remain open to private vehicles. Public transportation leaving the city will operate until 3:00 p.m. through the Har Ha’arazim terminal only. Within Yerushalayim, access roads around the city’s entrances and central areas will be blocked, with additional closures possible as needed. Police have warned that severe traffic delays are expected throughout the day.
Authorities have instructed drivers and participants not to attempt reaching the rally by private car but instead to use only the organized transportation provided. Any attempt to block key routes or disrupt traffic will be treated as a criminal offense. Police have further prohibited the lighting of fires, use of flammable objects, or operation of drones without prior authorization.
Motorists are advised to avoid traveling toward Yerushalayim from early morning, use navigation apps for real-time updates, and follow police directions at all times.
{Matzav.com}
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sent an urgent letter to Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu on Tuesday, pressing him to immediately assemble the cabinet to decide how Israel should respond to Hamas’s latest ceasefire breaches.
“Against the backdrop of Hamas’s repeated violations of the ceasefire conditions and the first phase of President Trump’s plan,” Smotrich wrote, “and against the backdrop of the lack of progress in dismantling and demilitarizing Gaza, I request that you urgently convene the cabinet today.”
Smotrich stressed that the meeting’s goal must be to design a decisive strategy that reaffirms Israel’s commitment to victory. He said the government must “formulate a firm and determined package of responses and to ensure our adherence to the central objective of the war – the destruction of Hamas and the removal of the threat emanating from Gaza toward the citizens of Israel.”
The finance minister emphasized that Hamas’s latest conduct leaves no room for silence. “We will not allow Hamas to mock the citizens of Israel and to cynically and cruelly play with the feelings of the families of the hostages,” he declared.
His appeal came shortly after officials confirmed that the body Hamas returned on Monday night was not among the 13 murdered hostages the terror group was obligated to hand over—further deepening anger across Israel and prompting Smotrich’s urgent call for immediate action.
{Matzav.com}
