Matzav

President Donald Trump expressed doubt Saturday that Russia’s Vladimir Putin truly wanted to end the war in Ukraine, casting fresh skepticism over the possibility of a peace agreement. Just one day earlier, Trump had said Ukraine and Russia were “very close to a deal.”

“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” Trump wrote in a social media post as he traveled back to the United States following his attendance at Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican, where he briefly met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Trump also suggested the possibility of new sanctions targeting Russia.

“It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!” Trump posted.

Trump’s shifting tone came as he and his senior aides intensified efforts to forge an agreement to end the war that began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

These new remarks stood in stark contrast to Trump’s optimistic assessment from a day earlier, when he had declared that both sides were “very close to a deal” after his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Putin in Moscow.

The encounter between Trump and Zelenskyy at the Vatican marked their first face-to-face meeting since their heated argument during an Oval Office meeting at the White House in late February, which had resulted in a temporary suspension of U.S. military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

A few days after imposing the pause, Trump announced that he was “strongly considering” additional sanctions and tariffs against Russia to push Putin toward serious negotiations. Although Trump later unveiled new global tariffs, he notably left Russia off the list — a move that even some of his closest Republican allies had urged him to reconsider.

On Friday, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, called on Trump to “put the toughest of sanctions on Putin,” arguing that there was “clear evidence that he is playing America as a patsy.”

This marked the second time in a matter of days that Trump publicly rebuked Putin, something he rarely did.

On Thursday, Trump had directly urged the Russian leader to “STOP!” following a deadly barrage of attacks on Kyiv.

After their brief meeting Saturday, Zelenskyy’s office indicated that plans were being made for another conversation later that day. However, Trump proceeded straight to Rome’s airport after the funeral and boarded Air Force One for the flight back to the United States.

Zelenskyy’s spokesman, Serhii Nykyforov, explained that the two leaders did not meet again due to scheduling constraints.

After the funeral, Zelenskyy posted on social media, calling it a “good meeting.”

“We discussed a lot one on one. Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out,” Zelenskyy wrote. He also met Saturday with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results. Thank you,” Zelenskyy added.

The White House characterized the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting as “very productive.” The discussion, lasting about 15 minutes, took place inside St. Peter’s Basilica, where Pope Francis had frequently called for peace in Ukraine.

The Vatican had long offered to serve as a mediator in peace talks, and Francis had regularly advocated for dialogue and an end to the violence. That Trump and Zelenskyy met privately on the marbled floors of the Basilica, on the day of the pope’s funeral, seemed a fitting tribute to those calls.

After arriving in Italy late Friday, Trump had posted on social media that Russia and Ukraine should engage in “very high level talks” to end the war.

Neither Putin nor Zelenskyy immediately responded to Trump’s proposal for direct negotiations.

Trump had continued to pressure both sides to reach a peace deal quickly. While Zelenskyy had agreed to a U.S.-brokered plan proposing an initial 30-day ceasefire, Russia had refused to commit and continued launching attacks inside Ukraine.

Putin had not attended Pope Francis’ funeral, as he faced an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes committed during the invasion.

On Friday night, Zelenskyy stated that “very significant meetings may take place” in the coming days and repeated his call for an unconditional ceasefire.

“Real pressure on Russia is needed so that they accept either the American proposal to cease fire and move towards peace, or our proposal — whichever one can truly work and ensure a reliable, immediate, and unconditional ceasefire, and then — a dignified peace and security guarantees,” Zelenskyy said.

“Diplomacy must succeed. And we are doing everything to make diplomacy truly meaningful and finally effective.”

The meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy came shortly after Trump had issued his most explicit comments yet about the need for Ukraine to cede territory to Russia in order to end the conflict. In a Time magazine interview published Friday, Trump said, “Crimea will stay with Russia.”

Russia had seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, years before the full-scale invasion in 2022. Although Zelenskyy had remained determined to reclaim Crimea and other occupied regions, Trump described that goal as unrealistic.

Since launching its 2022 invasion, Russia had also occupied territory in Ukraine’s Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions.

Speaking about Crimea during the interview, which had been conducted at the White House on Tuesday, Trump said, “everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time,” referring to Russia.

{Matzav.com}

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Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu condemned a protest in Tel Aviv where demonstrators displayed masks of his face surrounding a protester wrapped in faux-bloody bandages during an anti-government rally.

“This needs to be said in a clear voice. The severed heads, as well as the protests today, have nothing to do with the hostages. On the contrary, these are people who decided to sacrifice the hostages in an attempt to overthrow the government,” the conservative Tikva Forum wrote in a post that Netanyahu’s official Twitter account shared.

“In a civilized country, there would already be dozens of people arrested for inciting murder. It is unclear where the Shin Bet is when it comes to these clear and dangerous representations of murder,” the group added, expressing hope that the tensions between Netanyahu and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar “do not affect the Shin Bet’s positions on everything related to the prime minister’s security.”

In a separate statement, a spokesperson for Netanyahu’s Likud party called the demonstration “madness” and insisted that it “represents incitement to murder the prime minister and behead him.”

“Where is the enforcement of the attorney general and Ronen Bar?” the spokesperson asked, sharing a photograph showing a shirtless protester covered in bloodied bandages lying motionless on the street, clutching an Israeli flag.

Around the protester’s head, multiple Netanyahu masks were placed on the ground, each bearing a sticker with slogans like “guilty” and “danger.”

Netanyahu and his supporters had long voiced concerns about what they described as ongoing incitement against him and his family, repeatedly blaming the justice system, law enforcement agencies, and the attorney general for allowing violent rhetoric from the public to go unchecked.

The prime minister’s March 21 decision to fire Ronen Bar, which took place during an active Shin Bet investigation into the conduct of Netanyahu’s close aides in the Qatargate affair, led opposition parties and watchdog groups to file petitions with the High Court of Justice in an effort to block the dismissal.

Petitioners accused Netanyahu of acting to obstruct the investigation and firing Bar for political reasons, urging the court to cancel the decision on the grounds that it was motivated by a conflict of interest and improper intentions.

During a press conference last Sunday, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid demanded that Netanyahu end his attacks against Ronen Bar, warning that such rhetoric could soon result in “political murder.”

{Matzav.com Israel}

By preventing the enlistment of chareidim, Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s government had been holding Israel back from achieving a decisive victory over Hamas in Gaza, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett charged.

In a detailed tweet, Bennett argued that Israel’s persistent military “stumbling in Gaza stemmed directly from government policy that deprived the IDF of the main tool required for victory: fighters.”

Bennett harshly criticized the “bombastic declarations from ministers [most of whom have never held a gun]” who had called for the complete conquest of Gaza, while “these same ministers were literally depriving the IDF of the soldiers needed to carry out the same mission,” stressing that “the IDF has been stretched beyond the limit” since October 7.

Stating that the IDF “is short 20,000 soldiers,” Bennett contended that continuous emergency mobilizations of reservists could not compensate for the lack of a broader enlistment base.

The military itself acknowledged facing a shortage of personnel and stated it required about 12,000 additional soldiers, with around 7,000 needed for combat units.

According to Bennett, the “solution” would have been to draft one-fifth of eligible chareidim, which “would free up our reservists to breathe so that when we really need them for a large-scale operation, they would be fit.”

However, Bennett lamented that no meaningful action had been taken, asserting that “the orders being sent are a bluff,” and accusing Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich of “putting politics above the good of the country.”

At the time, around 70,000 chareidi men between the ages of 18 and 24 were eligible for military service but had not enlisted. Since July 2024, the IDF had issued 18,915 initial draft notices to members of the chareidi community, but according to the IDF, only 232 of those served had actually enlisted — just 57 of them in combat roles.

Last Wednesday, speaking before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Lt. Col. Avigdor Dickstein, who headed the chareidi branch of the IDF’s Personnel Directorate, acknowledged that although the army had set a goal of recruiting 4,800 chareidi soldiers during the 2024–2025 draft cycle, only 1,721 had joined so far.

“We set ourselves a target of 4,800 and we will not reach that. There is an upward trend here, but it is not sufficient and does not correspond to the very large operational need,” Dickstein admitted.

Israel has employed artificial intelligence on a scale never seen before in its military campaign in Gaza, with many of the systems created through partnerships between active-duty intelligence soldiers and reservists employed at major tech companies, The New York Times reported Friday, citing sources from European, American, and Israeli defense circles.

Although Israel’s integration of AI into military operations was already known, the latest revelations outline a broader range of tools, including a chatbot trained across multiple Arabic dialects to assess public opinion, an AI-enhanced audio detection system that identifies targets based on sounds like bombings and airstrikes, and a facial recognition technology capable of matching obscured or injured individuals to known identities.

Israeli officers who spoke to the Times said that AI has been useful in locating hostages and streamlining operations but admitted that the systems can sometimes fail. According to the Times, “some officials have struggled with the ethical implications of the AI tools” because of concerns over surveillance expansion, the risk of civilian casualties, and mistaken arrests.

Responding to a Times inquiry, the IDF said it could not comment on the specifics of the technology in use, but stressed that Israel “is committed to the lawful and responsible use of data technology tools.”

According to four Israeli officials cited by the Times, the military rapidly approved the use of these AI systems following the Hamas-led assault on October 7, 2023, when thousands of terrorists attacked southern Israel, murdering roughly 1,200 people and abducting 251 others.

Some AI applications previously reported include a virtual reality platform designed to assist soldiers navigating urban combat zones. The Arabic-language chatbot was first brought to light by the Israeli-Palestinian outlet +972, which also reported on a system called Lavender that allegedly helped the IDF compile a list of 37,000 human targets based on connections to Hamas. The military has denied relying on AI to create any such kill list.

The majority of these AI capabilities were reportedly developed in an innovation center under the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 8200, known as “The Studio,” which, according to the Times, linked serving soldiers with reservists employed by firms like Meta, Google, and Microsoft.

Avi Hasson, CEO of Startup Nation Central, which fosters ties between investors and Israeli startups, told the Times that the reservists “brought know-how and access to key technologies that weren’t available in the military.”

Meta and Microsoft chose not to comment on the matter, while Google confirmed that it employs reservists in many countries but said their military service activities were unrelated to the company’s work, according to the Times.

Citing three Israeli and American sources familiar with the matter, the Times reported that the IDF incorporated AI into older surveillance systems in October 2023 to track Ibrahim Biari, the commander of Hamas’s Central Jabalia Battalion.

The enhanced system reportedly enabled Israeli forces to monitor Biari’s communications at a Hamas tunnel network beneath the densely populated Jabalia refugee camp. A strike was approved despite internal warnings that several residential buildings would need to be hit to ensure Biari’s elimination. The resulting attack, which allegedly caused dozens of civilian deaths, is under military investigation. The IDF told the Times it “was unable to provide any further information until the investigation is complete.”

The audio surveillance tool used to locate Biari has since been refined to more accurately pinpoint individuals, and it has reportedly helped the IDF in efforts to locate hostages, Israeli officers told the Times.

Following the October 7 attacks, Israel set up temporary checkpoints between northern and southern Gaza, equipped with cameras capable of sending high-definition images to an AI facial recognition system, the Times reported.

However, two Israeli intelligence officers told the Times that the technology occasionally struggled to recognize obscured faces, resulting in the mistaken detention and questioning of innocent Palestinians.

According to three Israeli officers, “The Studio” also produced a large language model trained to handle spoken Arabic across various dialects — a challenge since most training materials are in classical Arabic, while the IDF had access to decades’ worth of intercepted texts, phone transcripts, and social media content written in spoken dialects.

The Times reported that the AI language model was developed during the early months of the war and became part of the military’s multimedia analysis platforms, enabling complex searches across image and video databases.

Despite its capabilities, the chatbot had issues with modern slang and English transliterations, at times producing incorrect results, such as “returning photos of pipes instead of guns,” according to the Times. Intelligence officers fluent in the dialects had to review the output manually.

Even so, two Israeli intelligence officials cited by the Times said the chatbot dramatically improved the speed of intelligence gathering and analysis.

Three Israeli officers said the technology was instrumental in assessing whether public sentiment in the Arab world would demand retaliation after Israel’s September assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

{Matzav.com Israel}

Tonight, Israel Police and the Border Police announced the death of Sergeant Neta Yitzchok Kahana, an undercover officer with the Border Police’s Southern District, who was killed during a confrontation with terrorists in southern Gaza on Friday.

Authorities confirmed that Kahana’s family had been notified and pledged that both the Israel Police and Border Police would offer their full support to the grieving relatives throughout this difficult time.

“Israel Police bows its head and mourns the fall of the brave fighter who fell while defending the security of the State of Israel and its citizens,” the police said in an official statement.

Separately, the IDF reported the death of another soldier: “Captain Ido Voloch, 21 years old, from Yerushalayim, an armored corps officer and platoon commander in the 46th Battalion of the 401st Brigade (“Iron Trails”), fell during combat in the northern Gaza Strip.”

As fierce battles continued throughout Gaza, Defense Minister Israel Katz on Friday acknowledged that the Israel Defense Forces were making progress but also suffering heavy losses, noting the death of a reservist on Thursday and another soldier who was critically injured by RPG fire on Friday afternoon.

“The achievements are great, but still, the dangers are great and the prices are heavy,” Katz posted on X.

His remarks were made as reports surfaced of intensified Israeli strikes targeting both northern and southern areas of Gaza.

“Thousands of IDF soldiers in the standing army and reserves are now heroically fighting in Gaza for the release of hostages and to destroy Hamas terrorists,” Katz emphasized, noting that the military was operating “intensely” to safeguard its ground forces.

“All Israeli citizens must embrace and strengthen IDF commanders and soldiers and pray for their safety and success,” he urged.

About an hour after Katz’s message, the IDF issued a warning instructing Palestinians to evacuate the Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza City ahead of planned Israeli military operations in the area.

In a message posted on X, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, Col. Avichay Adraee, shared a map highlighting the evacuation zone and explained that the warning was prompted by recent terrorist attacks targeting Israeli troops. He advised civilians to move westward within Gaza City.

Meanwhile, Mohammed al-Mughayyir, a senior official in Gaza’s Hamas-controlled civil defense agency, told AFP that the number of casualties from Israeli strikes on Friday had climbed to at least 40.

WAFA, the Palestinian Authority’s official news outlet, reported that an elderly couple was killed by Israeli artillery fire near Zeitoun. In addition, one Palestinian reportedly died in an airstrike on Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, and three others were killed when an airstrike hit a school sheltering displaced civilians in central Gaza City.

WAFA also claimed that two Palestinians lost their lives in drone attacks in Jabalia and Beit Hanoun, both located in northern Gaza.

Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defense agency further reported that a family of five — a husband, wife, and three children — were killed when their tent was struck in the Al-Mawasi area near Khan Younis. Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal stated that the pregnant mother was among the deceased.

The IDF did not issue an immediate response regarding these specific incidents. The army has repeatedly said it strives to avoid civilian casualties and blames Hamas for operating within civilian areas, such as schools, to launch attacks against Israeli forces.

The military stated that on Friday afternoon, its fighter jets conducted airstrikes in Rafah’s Tel Sultan neighborhood, aiming to eliminate gunmen who had fired a rocket-propelled grenade at an Israeli Humvee and potentially opened fire with light weapons as well.

According to the IDF, the RPG attack left a soldier from the 205th Reserve Armored Brigade’s 5250th Battalion critically wounded and caused minor injuries to two additional soldiers.

{Matzav.com Israel}

In his first televised interview aired Friday, former hostage Ron Krivoi opened up about his time in Hamas captivity and shared chilling details about the abuse suffered by another hostage, Matan Angrest, who remains imprisoned in Gaza, Times of Israel reports.

Krivoi, who holds dual Israeli-Russian citizenship, was kidnapped from the Nova music festival and later freed during the November 2023 ceasefire, reportedly as a gesture by Hamas toward Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“As a person, I’m a quiet man, I live my life. That’s why I didn’t give interviews, I just continued my life as it was before – that’s what I asked for, to return to my life,” Krivoi told Channel 12 news during the interview.

At the time of the attack, Krivoi was working as a sound technician at the Nova festival, where terrorists unleashed a brutal massacre, killing hundreds, committing atrocities, and dragging dozens into captivity in Gaza.

Initially, Krivoi was confined to an apartment in Gaza. When the building was struck by Israeli forces, he managed to slip away and wandered through the war-torn area for several days before he was recaptured.

“When I was alone, no one saw me. Once someone did – it ended badly. The people who caught me beat me up. It wasn’t simple. I went through something there… When they caught me and brought me back, the people who beat me were ordinary Gazans who took out all their frustration on me,” Krivoi recalled.

Krivoi’s aunt was the first to disclose that he had made a daring escape attempt — without being killed — making him the only known hostage to do so before he was recaptured.

Describing the conditions in the tunnels where he was later held, Krivoi said, “These aren’t the tunnels you see in pictures. We were in something really small, deep underground. There wasn’t even a floor – we were on sand, and the mattresses were all moldy. We were inside a very, very small cage. Honestly, about a meter and a half by a meter and a half, and we had to lie down and rest in it – you couldn’t stand. No height, no toilets, no food. We were five people, we ate one small dish with some canned food.”

Krivoi explained that Matan Angrest arrived the day after him and was visibly traumatized. Angrest had been part of a tank crew attacked by terrorists on October 7, with all his fellow soldiers killed in the assault.

“The interrogations he went through happened while still in Israeli territory – that’s where it started. They already connected him to a car battery on the way and tried to revive him. Using car batteries, they electrocuted him,” Krivoi revealed. “They weren’t able to interrogate him. He probably wasn’t even in a condition to speak because he was badly injured. His injuries were very severe.”

Krivoi added that Angrest faced severe abuse throughout his captivity, enduring brutal mistreatment because of his status as a soldier. Earlier this month, Angrest’s mother said her son had been left permanently disabled from his injuries. She quoted testimonies from other released hostages saying that “he is starving and being held in a little cage in the dark. He doesn’t see the daylight. He is exposed to torture and violence and never sees the Red Cross.”

Speaking about his own experience, Krivoi said, “This is something that even if a person tries to imagine – they’ll never be able to truly understand what it’s like down there.”

Krivoi also reflected on the circumstances of his release, saying, “I know that if I didn’t have Russian citizenship, I could still be in that tunnel with Matan to this day. I’m here because of a miracle – it was Putin who brought me home. If not for him, I wouldn’t be here today.”

Hamas has freed several other hostages holding Russian citizenship as goodwill gestures toward Putin, including Elena Trufanova, who, along with her son Sasha Troufanov and his girlfriend Sapir Cohen, recently visited Putin at the Kremlin.

Just days before Troufanov’s release in February, a deputy Russian foreign minister met with a top Hamas leader in Moscow, pressing the terror group to fulfill its “promises” to free both Troufanov and Maxim Herkin, another Israeli hostage from Ukraine’s Donbas region with Russian family ties.

Earlier this month, Hamas issued a propaganda video showing Herkin and fellow hostage Bar Kupershtein — the first public confirmation that they were still alive since being seized from the Nova festival near Re’im.

Herkin, who was 35 years old when abducted, has a three-year-old daughter and was the main provider for his mother and young brother. He had only gone to the Nova festival after receiving a last-minute invitation from friends, and it was his first experience at a rave.

In February, a senior Hamas leader indicated that Herkin would be among the top priorities for release during the second phase of the hostage deal, intended as a favor to the Russian government. However, after the initial stage of the agreement, negotiations fell apart and Israel resumed its military operations in Gaza.

Today, of the 59 hostages still believed to be alive in Gaza, 24 have confirmed signs of life, including both Herkin and Kupershtein.

{Matzav.com Israel}

Sixteen years after suffering life-threatening wounds during Operation Cast Lead, Aharon Karov has officially returned to the IDF, this time as part of a new effort to establish the Disabled Soldiers Department.

Karov, who became an enduring symbol of perseverance and recovery, spent recent years working with at-risk youth, aiming to inspire them to believe in themselves and their potential.

In the aftermath of the October 7 massacre, Karov helped launch the “Continuing Life” initiative, a military program pairing wounded veterans with soldiers recently injured in combat.

“I understood that rehabilitation does not end in the hospital, but continues throughout life,” Karov shared, reflecting on the lessons he learned from his own recovery journey.

In his latest assignment, Karov will oversee the area of placement and employment for injured IDF soldiers within the new placement division of the Disabled Soldiers Department.

“Our goal is clear: To allow anyone injured who is interested in doing so to put his uniform back on, contribute, and turn his injury into a mission,” Karov emphasized.

With deep emotion, Karov added, “I am proud to once again don a uniform, to be part of a system which chooses to turn pain into action and rehabilitation into hope.”

The IDF warmly welcomed Karov’s decision to join this groundbreaking department, explaining that the new Disabled Soldiers Department and its placement program are designed to create new opportunities for wounded soldiers who want to return to active service.

Karov first gained national attention when he was critically injured as a company commander in the Paratrooper Brigade during the early stages of Operation Cast Lead. His call-up came just a day after he celebrated his wedding.

Less than 72 hours after being called to duty, Karov was gravely wounded when terrorists detonated explosives in a house in Gaza. He was urgently evacuated to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikvah, where he underwent six life-saving operations on his head and chest in a span of 12 hours, along with an orthopedic surgery.

Against all odds, Karov made an astonishing recovery, waking up within days and moving out of the Intensive Care Unit shortly thereafter, defying grim expectations.

{Matzav.com Israel}

Tonight, the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) appointed Hussein al-Sheikh, the Secretary-General of Fatah, to serve as deputy to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

Al-Sheikh, regarded as a close confidant of Abbas, is set to celebrate his 65th birthday this coming December.

Between 1978 and 1988, al-Sheikh spent a decade imprisoned in Israel.

In December 2022, a Hamas-affiliated news outlet published recordings of al-Sheikh, which captured him expressing frustration toward Abbas and criticizing other figures seen as potential successors to the Palestinian Authority leadership. The full circumstances of the recordings were not fully clarified.

According to the Associated Press, throughout the leaked audio, al-Sheikh repeatedly uses vulgar language when referring to Abbas.

At one point during the over three-minute recording, al-Sheikh accuses Abbas of being complicit in perpetuating instability, stating that Abbas “is a partner in the chaos and has an interest for it to remain.”

In June 2023, al-Sheikh urged Karim Khan, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), to speed up the review of cases submitted to the court concerning alleged Israeli offenses against Palestinian Arabs.

{Matzav.com Israel}

Sergeant Neta Yitzchok Kahana, a member of the undercover Border Police Southern District unit, was tragically killed during an intense clash with terrorists in southern Gaza on Erev Shabbos, Israeli police announced late tonight.

Authorities confirmed that Kahana’s family has been personally notified of his death. The Israel Police and Border Police emphasized their commitment to offering full support to the grieving family during this difficult time.

“Israel Police bows its head and mourns the fall of the brave fighter who fell while defending the security of the State of Israel and its citizens,” the official police statement declared.

In addition, the IDF reported another devastating loss: “Captain Ido Voloch, 21 years old, from Yerushalayim, an armored corps officer and platoon commander in the 46th Battalion of the 401st Brigade (“Iron Trails”), fell during combat in the northern Gaza Strip.”

Democrat Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) boasted about his party’s success in blocking initiatives aimed at ensuring that only American citizens are allowed to vote in federal elections.

Speaking about President Donald Trump’s March 25 executive order, titled “PRESERVING AND PROTECTING THE INTEGRITY OF AMERICAN ELECTIONS,” Jeffries commented, “So-and-so signed the so-called executive order. It was a voter suppression Executive Order, trying to do all of the things that the so-called SAVE Act is trying to do, but trying to do it through executive action.”

The executive order affirms, “Under the Constitution, State governments must safeguard American elections in compliance with Federal laws that protect Americans’ voting rights and guard against dilution by illegal voting, discrimination, fraud, and other forms of malfeasance and error,” and further argues that America has “not adequately enforced Federal election requirements that, for example, prohibit States from counting ballots received after Election Day or prohibit non-citizens from registering to vote.”

The directive also outlines that within 30 days, the Election Assistance Commission must adjust its national mail voter registration form to require proof of U.S. citizenship and additional documentation details, while taking care to maintain information security standards.

Despite these efforts, Jeffries made clear that he is opposed to such measures. “He does not have the power to do that. And so all the Democrats, the House Democrats, partnered with the Senate Democrats partnered with the Democratic National Committee, partnered with the Democratic Governors Association, and I even joined the lawsuit. Is it up on screen? I even joined the lawsuit as an individual on your behalf,” Jeffries said, proudly.

He went on to say, “And I like this name Jeffries versus Trump, and so we sued him in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and we believe we will win.”

This week, a federal judge temporarily halted part of Trump’s executive order.

In a 120-page ruling, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly wrote, according to NPR, “Our Constitution entrusts Congress and the States — not the President — with the authority to regulate federal elections,” while noting that Congress is presently deliberating the SAVE Act, legislation that would require proof of citizenship for voter registration.

Judge Kollar-Kotelly, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, further emphasized, “[N]o statutory delegation of authority to the Executive Branch permits the President to short-circuit Congress’s deliberative process by executive order.”

The court ruling has stirred concern among conservatives, who see it as another example of judges using their positions to obstruct President Trump’s Make America Great Again agenda, which voters supported last November.

Jeffries’ stance, however, comes as little shock, given his previous skepticism regarding any broad public support for the MAGA movement.

“Despite the claims of some of my Republican colleagues who have spent a lot of time over the last two weeks talking about some big, massive mandate, I’m looking for it,” Jeffries said in November following former Vice President Kamala Harris’s significant election loss.

He added, “That doesn’t mean that we don’t have to make adjustments to make sure that we can get beyond fighting House Republicans with a national wave on top of us to withdraw,” before dismissing the idea of a sweeping conservative mandate: “But the question about this notion of some mandate to make massive far-right extreme policy changes — it doesn’t exist.”

“It doesn’t exist,” Jeffries stressed once again.

{Matzav.com}

The U.S. Department of Education opened an investigation Friday into allegations of “race-based discrimination” by New York state officials after President Trump spoke out in support of the Massapequa School District’s use of its “Massapequa Chiefs” nickname, The Post has learned.

Federal officials will examine whether the New York State Board of Regents is violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits racial and national origin discrimination by any institution receiving federal funding, by enforcing its ban on Native American-related school mascots and symbols.

“The US Department of Education will not stand by as the state of New York attempts to rewrite history and deny the town of Massapequa the right to celebrate its heritage in its schools,” said Education Secretary Linda McMahon.

McMahon continued, “While New York chooses to prioritize erasing Native Americans, their rich history, and their deep connection the state, it is requiring schools to divert time and resources away from what really matters: educating our students.”

She added, “It is not lost on the Department that there are several mascots that refer to indigenous or ethnic groups – the Vikings, Fighting Irish, the Cowboys – and yet New York has specifically singled out Native American heritage. We will investigate this matter fully.”

This probe follows a formal complaint filed by the Native American Guardians Association, an advocacy organization based in North Dakota, with the Department’s Office of Civil Rights. The group claims New York’s policy is illegal under federal law.

The association, which has advocated for professional sports teams and schools retaining Native American names and imagery, argued that New York “is solely targeting Native American groups and images by attempting to eliminate them from athletic contests” and further stated that “[t]he decision to single out Native Americans as a class of people that cannot be represented in public school imagery is per se discriminatory.”

Frank Blackcloud, vice president of the association, said the policy leads to “dwindling expressions or our presence and contributions” to the history of the United States.

New York officials maintain that the rule, enacted in 2023, aims to dismantle harmful stereotypes, and have warned that districts such as Massapequa could lose state funding if they do not comply. The Massapequa school board is currently challenging the mandate in court.

Although a judge ruled against the Massapequa district last month, the federal investigation could ultimately put the state’s own funding at risk if it refuses to reverse course.

President Trump weighed in earlier this week on social media, stating: “I agree with the people in Massapequa, Long Island, who are fighting furiously to keep the Massapequa Chiefs logo on their Teams and School. Forcing them to change the name, after all of these years, is ridiculous and, in actuality, an affront to our great Indian population.”

He added: “It has become the School’s identity and, what could be wrong with using the name, ‘Chief’? I don’t see the Kansas City Chiefs changing their name anytime soon! By copy of this TRUTH, I am asking my highly capable Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, to fight for the people of Massapequa on this very important issue. LONG LIVE THE MASSAPEQUA CHIEFS!”

Kerry Watcher, president of the Massapequa Board of Education, applauded the federal government for stepping in to defend the district.

“We thank the Department of Education and the Trump administration for standing with Massapequa in our effort to preserve the Chiefs name and honor our community’s proud history,” Watcher said.

“We’re especially grateful to the Native American Guardians Association for their support and advocacy. Attempts to erase Native American imagery do not advance learning — they distract from our core mission of providing a high-quality education grounded in respect, history, and community values.”

{Matzav.com}

Israel bid farewell on Thursday to Nechama Grossman, the nation’s oldest Holocaust survivor, who passed away at the remarkable age of 109. Her passing coincided with Holocaust Remembrance Day, a day devoted to memorializing the six million Jews who perished. Grossman’s funeral was held the next day in Arad, the southern city where she had made her home for most of her life.

Born in 1915, Grossman survived the horrors of Europe during the Holocaust and eventually made her way to Israel, settling in Arad and raising a family there. Her resilience became a living testament to the strength of the Jewish people in the aftermath of unimaginable suffering.

Kan reported that Grossman leaves behind a large and growing family: two children, four grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren. Earlier this week, just days before her passing, her son Vladimir Schwatz spoke publicly about her enduring legacy.

“My mother is one of the oldest Holocaust survivors in the world,” he shared. “She experienced the worst and she survived. We must all remember her Holocaust story, remember her survival, so that her past never becomes our future.”

On the same day, another survivor’s life came to a close. Eve Kugler, a longtime advocate for Holocaust education, died at the age of 94 in London. Kugler had been planning to join this year’s March of the Living at Auschwitz but was ultimately unable to make the trip.

Kugler had been a familiar presence at March of the Living events over the years, including participating in last year’s gathering. Her lifelong commitment to Holocaust remembrance had touched countless lives.

Born in Germany in 1931, Kugler lived through the traumatic events of Kristallnacht at the age of seven. In 1939, her family fled to France in search of safety. Two years later, she managed to reach the United States aboard a ship, where she and her siblings lived in foster care in New York until they were reunited with their parents after the war’s conclusion in 1946.

After completing her studies at the University of Pennsylvania, Kugler pursued a career in photojournalism. Later, she relocated to London, where she became a well-known figure in Holocaust education, tirelessly speaking to audiences and participating in programs that honored the victims of the Nazi atrocities.

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The U.S. Department of Justice officially notified the Southern District Court of New York that it no longer recognizes the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) as enjoying legal immunity, a dramatic shift from Washington’s earlier stance, according to a JNS report.

This announcement marks a pivotal moment in a lawsuit filed last year by families of victims who were murdered or kidnapped during the horrific Hamas onslaught in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The plaintiffs accuse UNRWA of playing a role in the massacre, while Israel has disclosed that at least 18 UNRWA employees allegedly took part in the atrocities.

The suit also asserts that billions of dollars in humanitarian aid directed to Gaza through UNRWA were diverted to Hamas and associated terror groups, funding their attacks instead of helping civilians.

“The complaint in this case alleges atrocious crimes committed by Hamas on Oct. 7, and its factual allegations, taken as true, detail how UNRWA played a significant role in those heinous offenses,” wrote the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York in a court filing submitted to Judge Analisa Torres.

The Justice Department openly acknowledged that its interpretation of UNRWA’s legal status had evolved. “Previously, the government expressed the view that certain immunities shielded UNRWA from having to answer those allegations in American courts,” the DOJ wrote. “The government has since re-evaluated that position and now concludes that UNRWA is not immune from this litigation. Nor are the bulk of other defendants.”

In the filing, the government emphasized that although UNRWA was created via a resolution by the UN General Assembly, it does not satisfy the criteria necessary to be considered an actual organ of the United Nations. The Justice Department also cast doubt on whether the General Assembly had legitimate authority under international law to establish such a body.

This revised legal position sharply diverges from the earlier approach taken by the Biden administration, which had shielded UNRWA and the broader United Nations from lawsuits by arguing that they were covered under diplomatic immunity protections.

If the court sides against UNRWA’s claim to immunity, the agency — along with its leadership and possibly even the United Nations itself — could be forced to pay out significant financial compensation to the families of victims.

Responding to the Justice Department’s filing, a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres told JNS, “We have seen the letter filed by the U.S. Department of Justice with the court. We will review it carefully.”

“The position of the United Nations is longstanding and clear. UNRWA is a subsidiary body of the General Assembly and, as such, is entitled to immunity from legal process under the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations,” the statement continued. UNRWA itself issued an identical response.

For years, critics have accused UNRWA of cooperating with Hamas. Those criticisms reached a fever pitch after Israel disclosed last year that UNRWA staff were involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks.

Israel also produced a dossier showing that UNRWA personnel participated directly in violent acts, including abducting a woman, distributing ammunition, and taking part in the slaughter at Kibbutz Be’eri, where 97 innocent civilians were killed.

In the wake of these disclosures, Guterres appointed a panel led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna to investigate the Israeli accusations.

That review group released its findings this past April, reporting the existence of “neutrality-related issues” within UNRWA, but also claiming that Israel had yet to furnish proof that a large portion of UNRWA’s workforce belonged to terrorist networks.

More recently, disturbing allegations surfaced when Emily Damari, a former hostage held by Hamas for 470 days, said she had been imprisoned inside an UNRWA facility.

Damari, who holds citizenship in both Britain and Israel, told British Prime Minister Keir Starmer that she was denied proper medical care during her captivity at an UNRWA school.

Tom Fletcher, the UN’s top humanitarian aid official, later pushed back against Damari’s account, insisting he has “not seen a shred of evidence” linking the UN or its employees to the detention of hostages inside Gaza.

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During a conversation with reporters today, President Donald Trump shared that he had recently discussed the situation in Gaza with Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu.
“I told him to be good to Gaza,” Trump stated, mentioning that he had encouraged Netanyahu to ensure the provision of medicine and food to the residents of the area.

Addressing Iran, Trump was clear and to the point, saying, “The Iran deal is simple. They can’t have a nuclear weapon.” He also noted that ongoing discussions between the United States and Iran were “going very well.”

Earlier this week, Trump revealed that he and Netanyahu had spoken and touched upon several important topics. He emphasized that the United States and Israel were fully aligned on each matter they discussed.

“I’ve just spoken to Prime Minister of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu, relative to numerous subjects including Trade, Iran, etc. The call went very well—We are on the same side of every issue,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

Additionally, Trump stressed that Hamas would not be permitted to assume any role in the leadership of Gaza once the fighting concluded.

“We’re not going to let Hamas do that, and we’re going to see what happens with Gaza,” he said when questioned by a reporter about the Strip’s future governance.

Reflecting on the broader picture in the region, Trump pointed to the advances achieved under his leadership.

“We’ve made a lot of progress in the Middle East. Tremendous. That date, that very special date, October 7th, should have never happened. It would have never happened if I were president,” he remarked.

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In an interview released Friday, President Donald Trump stated that “Crimea will stay with Russia,” marking another moment where he urged Ukraine to concede territory in hopes of ending the ongoing war.

“Zelenskyy understands that,” Trump said, referencing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “And everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time.”

Trump’s remarks came during a conversation with Time magazine earlier in the week. He has consistently accused Zelenskyy of prolonging the war by refusing to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Crimea, a vital region situated on the Black Sea, was annexed by Russia back in 2014 during President Barack Obama’s administration, long before the broader conflict erupted in 2022.

“They’ve had their submarines there for long before any period that we’re talking about, for many years. The people speak largely Russian in Crimea,” Trump said. “But this was given by Obama. This wasn’t given by Trump.”

As Trump discussed Crimea, Russian attacks continued across Ukraine. A drone strike on an apartment building in southeastern Ukraine killed three civilians and injured ten others, just one day after Trump criticized Russia’s leadership over a deadly assault on Kyiv.

Among those killed in Pavlohrad, located in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, were a child and a 76-year-old woman, according to Serhii Lysak, the regional governor, who posted about the tragedy on Telegram.

Ukraine’s air force reported that Russian forces launched 103 Shahed and other drones overnight targeting five Ukrainian regions. Officials in the Sumy and Kharkiv areas confirmed civilian infrastructure was hit, but there were no immediate reports of additional casualties.

The conflict could be reaching a critical stage, with the Trump administration reportedly weighing the possibility of stepping back if progress toward a peace deal is not achieved soon, which could also result in U.S. military aid being scaled down.

While diplomatic efforts stumble, Russia unleashed a massive assault on Kyiv Thursday, killing at least 12 civilians and injuring 87 more—the deadliest attack on the Ukrainian capital since last summer.

Trump, who rarely criticizes Putin directly, expressed disapproval of the assault. “I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!”

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In a newly published interview with Time magazine, President Donald Trump revealed that he has already secured “200 deals” related to tariffs and predicted that all of the arrangements will be finalized within the coming month.

The interview, part of a feature marking his first 100 days in office, followed a question referencing trade adviser Peter Navarro’s earlier assertion that “90 deals in 90 days” would be achieved. The interviewer challenged that claim, pointing out, “We’re now 13 days into the point from when you lifted the reciprocal, the discounted reciprocal tariffs. There’s zero deals so far. Why is that?”

Trump responded firmly, “No, there’s many deals.” Pressed on when those agreements would be formally disclosed, he emphasized that discussions were underway with various companies and allied nations, saying, “We’re meeting with China,” and adding, “We’re doing fine with everybody. But, ultimately, I’ve made all the deals.”

When asked to clarify the timeline for announcing these agreements, Trump offered an extended metaphor to describe his approach to trade: “Because the deal is a deal that I choose,” he said. “View it differently: We are a department store, and we set the price. I meet with the companies, and then I set a fair price — what I consider to be a fair price — and they can pay it, or they don’t have to pay it. They don’t have to do business with the United States, but I set a tariff on countries. Some have been horrible to us. Some have been OK. Nobody’s been great.”

Trump explained that these tariffs would be determined using objective measures. “Fairly according to the statistics,” he said, elaborating that he considers various economic factors. “Do they have the VAT [value-added tax] system in play? Do they charge us tariffs? How much are they charging us? How much have they been charging us? Many, many different factors.”

He also brought up broader concerns beyond just trade policy, including military expenditures that the United States shoulders abroad. “As an example, we have Korea. We pay billions of dollars for the military. Japan, billions for those and others,” Trump said. “But that, I’m going to keep us a separate item, the paying of the military. [In] Germany, we have 50,000 soldiers.”

Pressed again for a timeframe on when the deals would be made public, Trump offered a definitive forecast. “Over the next three to four weeks, and we’re finished, by the way … we’ll be finished,” he said, noting that “some countries” might come back seeking “an adjustment,” which he’d be open to reviewing.

He also claimed the impact of the tariffs has been transformative for domestic investment. “We have $7 trillion of new plants, factories, and other things, investment coming into the United States,” Trump said. “If you look back at past presidents, nobody was anywhere near that. And this is in three months.”

Regarding China, Trump said he does not plan to initiate further calls with President Xi Jinping, although he noted that the Chinese leader has already contacted him. “He’s called,” said Trump. “I don’t think that’s a sign of weakness on his behalf.”

When asked what Xi said during their exchange, Trump responded with another store analogy. “We all want to make deals. But I am this giant store. It’s a giant, beautiful store, and everybody wants to go shopping there. And on behalf of the American people, I own the store, and I set prices, and I’ll say, if you want to shop here, this is what you have to pay.”

And when challenged on whether confusion exists around the administration’s tariff policy, Trump flatly denied it. “The only thing — they have an option,” he said. “They don’t have to shop here. They can go someplace else, but there aren’t too many places they can go.”

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Rabbi A.D. Motzen, Agudath Israel’s national director of government affairs with executive director of the Indiana Nonpublic Education Association John Elcesser and associate director Chris Bunson, outside House chambers just prior to the vote.

A high res version of the image above is available for download here or by clicking on the image.

In the early hours of Friday morning, the Indiana General Assembly voted in favor a budget that provides school vouchers to all students in the state regardless of their income. This victory for families comes sixteen years after Indiana passed its first school choice program in 2009.

The happy ending came after the Senate ultimately went along with the expansion supported by the House and Governor, albeit delaying the start date by a year.

Starting in the 2026-2027 school year, every student in the state will be eligible for a scholarship worth approximately $7,000 to attend the private school of their choice.

Indiana became the 17th state to offer universal school choice just a few hours after Texas passed its universal Education Savings Account.

This expansion will relieve schools and the state from the burden of collecting financial information from parents and will finally treat voucher students equal to those attending public and charter schools. Agudath Israel has consistently argued that just as the government doesn’t ask for financial information from parents before allowing a child to attend a public or charter school at taxpayer expense why should it require such information for a child to receive a voucher for half that amount?

Indiana also has a separate scholarship tax credit and education savings account programs which provide funding to eligible students and remain unchanged.

“Agudath Israel thanks Governor Mike Braun, Speaker Todd Huston and Chairman Bob Behning for their leadership,” said Rabbi A.D. Motzen, Agudath Israel’s national director of government affairs. “Indiana’s incremental approach has already helped more than 70,000 students access a tuition scholarship and will now send a clear message that all students deserve the same freedom and opportunity.”

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George Santos, once a rising figure in New York politics who rapidly fell from grace, was sentenced on Friday in his wide-ranging federal corruption case—and broke down in tears as the judgment was delivered.

U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert sentenced Santos, the ex-congressman from Long Island, to seven years and three months in prison. He was also ordered to pay $373,000 in restitution. Santos had built his campaign on a foundation of fabrications and deception, and his lies eventually caught up with him in court.

Santos, 36, admitted guilt back in August to charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. In doing so, he confessed to duping donors and using the identities of multiple individuals—including relatives and acquaintances—to artificially boost his donor list.

Although he held his congressional seat for less than a full term, having flipped a district covering parts of Queens and Nassau County, Santos was expelled in December 2023, becoming only the sixth member of the U.S. House of Representatives ever to be removed from office.

Since his ouster from Congress, Santos has turned to selling custom video messages through the platform Cameo, charging $100 per clip. On the day of his sentencing, he declined to take questions from reporters as he arrived in court, but earlier in the day he posted the word “Soon” with prayer-hand emojis on X.

Federal prosecutors had requested the maximum sentence under guidelines—seven years—pointing to Santos’ behavior both online and offline as evidence that he hadn’t shown genuine contrition.

In their filings, the prosecution cited recent posts from Santos, including one where he described himself as a “scapegoat,” and argued these showed he lacked remorse and was still lashing out at the justice system.

Defense attorneys countered the accusations, explaining that Santos’ online criticism was a response to what he saw as an overly severe punishment—not an indication that he didn’t regret his actions. They maintained he remained “profoundly sorry” for his conduct.

Santos won election in 2022, but it wasn’t long before the truth about his background began to unravel. He had falsely stated that he earned degrees from Baruch College and New York University and that he had been employed at financial powerhouses like Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. In fact, he had no college diploma and had never held direct positions at those companies.

By May 2023, a 23-count federal indictment was brought against him, alleging a variety of financial crimes tied to his campaign activities between October 2021 and October 2022.

Prosecutors laid out how Santos misled Congress about his finances, accepted unemployment benefits despite being employed, and misused campaign donations to support an extravagant lifestyle that included designer clothes, Botox treatments, and luxury getaways.

The scandal also ensnared his former campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, who was charged and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She is expected to be sentenced next month, with prosecutors recommending a term of between three and a half to four years.

In a recent interview with NY1, Santos said he hoped to be held in protective custody once incarcerated, expressing concern for his personal safety.

He also admitted in that same conversation that he currently does not have the financial means to repay the restitution sum included in his plea agreement.

Santos is expected to report to prison on July 25 to begin serving his sentence.

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A long-serving judge in Wisconsin has been taken into custody for allegedly assisting a Mexican national in the U.S. illegally to elude federal immigration officers inside her courtroom, the FBI chief said on Friday.

Judge Hannah Dugan, who has presided in Milwaukee County courts for close to ten years, faces an obstruction charge for allegedly preventing the arrest of Eduardo Flores Ruiz during an incident last week.

“We believe Judge Dugan intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject to be arrested in her courthouse, Eduardo Flores Ruiz, allowing the subject — an illegal alien — to evade arrest,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in an X post.

According to Patel, the agents were ultimately able to apprehend Flores Ruiz after a foot pursuit, but he added, “Thankfully our agents chased down the perp on foot and he’s been in custody since, but the Judge’s obstruction created increased danger to the public.”

The social media post in which Patel announced Dugan’s arrest was later taken down without explanation.

Dugan made a brief appearance in federal court in Milwaukee Friday morning and was released on her own recognizance.

“Judge Dugan wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest. It was not made in the interest of public safety,” her attorney, Craig Mastantuono, said during the hearing.

Flores Ruiz, 30, was in Dugan’s courtroom on April 18 for a pre-trial session regarding three misdemeanor battery charges when the incident occurred.

ICE officers had arrived outside the courtroom armed with a federal warrant for his arrest but, per law enforcement sources cited by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, were asked to wait until the court session ended before attempting to detain him.

Allegedly, before the agents could proceed with the arrest, Dugan directed Flores Ruiz and his legal counsel to exit through a restricted side door and a private corridor, effectively helping him avoid ICE custody.

Dugan, an alumna of the University of Wisconsin Law School’s Class of 1986, offered no public response when news broke that she was under federal investigation for obstruction.

Case files related to the matter were not immediately accessible following Friday’s court proceedings, and the Justice Department has not yet issued a statement.

Dugan was elected in 2016 to Milwaukee County’s Branch 31 court and has held roles in both the probate and civil divisions, as noted in her official judicial profile.

Prior to holding public office, Dugan worked with Legal Action of Wisconsin and the Legal Aid Society, focusing on providing legal services to underserved communities.

She is expected back in court on May 15.

As for Flores Ruiz, he is currently being held at the Dodge Detention Facility in Juneau, about an hour northwest of Milwaukee, according to public records.

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