Matzav

The deputy commander of the Southern Command Search Unit in the Military Rabbinate’s Combat Unit, Major A., has described the operation that led to the recovery of the remains of Ran Gvili, the last deceased hostage held in the Gaza Strip. In an interview with Arutz Sheva–Israel National News, Maj. A. detailed Operation Courageous Heart and the complex effort required to complete the mission.

According to Maj. A., preparations for the operation had been underway for some time, but a range of operational limitations delayed its execution. Despite the postponements, the unit maintained a high level of readiness until an opportunity finally emerged. “Last week they were notified of a window of opportunity to execute the mission, and we began to get ready. We called the soldiers from their homes three days before the operation, we were issued the dedicated gear, and we practiced on dummies,” he said.

Maj. A. explained that several additional units operated under his command during the mission. These included a forensic dental team responsible for identification, an explosives ordnance unit tasked with protecting the forces, terrain specialists, an IDF anthropologist, personnel from the Captives and Missing Persons Unit, and the combat soldiers who carried out the recovery itself.

Describing the work in the field, Maj. A. said the unit advanced alongside engineering forces that carefully excavated the area. “We joined an engineering unit that dug in the dirt with the excavators and pulled out the remains. This is very precise work; it demands great concentration by the troops,” he said. He noted that before entering the cemetery area, a navigation and marking team analyzed aerial imagery and flagged locations where there was a likelihood of finding Gvili’s remains.

Maj. A. emphasized that although heavy machinery was used, the approach was deliberately restrained. He described it as the most delicate work possible with the largest tools available. Prior to the operation, he addressed his soldiers about the sensitivity involved, and throughout the mission there was close coordination between a supervisor on the ground and the excavator operator to ensure precision.

Once remains were removed from the ground, they were carefully arranged to allow an initial assessment by forensic dentists. Maj. A. said the process involved exact documentation and clear marking, to confirm that every element intended to be recovered from the grave was indeed accounted for.

Reflecting on the moment the remains were located, Maj. A. said the discovery came sooner than expected. “We began on Sunday afternoon, and we were prepared for a few more days. For this, we called up a few more soldiers to allow for the constant execution of the operation, but we found Ran even before the next group of soldiers. There was a great sense of pride, the feeling of coming full circle on a biblical level,” he said. He recalled speaking to his soldiers beforehand about the biblical account of Samson, noting how scripture describes Samson’s family returning to recover his body after the collapse of the pillars. “We have the same spirit and the same heritage.”

When asked about the dangers involved, Maj. (Res.) A. acknowledged that the mission was carried out under significant risk, though he said the details could not be shared because the area remains an active combat zone. He pointed to the security perimeter provided by the Alexandroni Brigade and stressed that the threat level persisted throughout the operation.

Maj. A. also spoke about the makeup of the Military Rabbinate’s combat unit, explaining that it draws fighters from across the IDF. “These are infantry fighters from all IDF units, religious and secular alike, who are willing to carry out the mission that the people of Israel need,” he said.

He described a profound sense of completion felt by the soldiers after Gvili was recovered, connecting the moment to the unit’s earlier experiences. “Before the war, we were required to assist along the Judea and Samaria sector. We were stationed at the Lamed-Heh outpost, where we carried out operational activity for nearly a month. During that period, we conducted a drill to maintain our operational readiness, and at its conclusion, we held a formation in which we recounted the Lamed-Heh convoy incident, in which our soldiers were killed and their bodies abused until a British officer understood the importance of the matter and brought the fallen to Kfar Etzion, where the Vilna Gaon’s lottery was conducted. We pledged that we would not leave a fallen soldier behind. As a unit, we swore to bring everyone back. We held that formation on the anniversary of the fall of the Lamed-Heh platoon, and now, on the Hebrew date of the 8th of Shevat, we found Ran Gvili. For us, this is a very special closing of a circle.”

Toward the conclusion of the interview, Maj. A. addressed questions about the findings inside Gvili’s grave. He said the discoveries were consistent with the intelligence the unit had received ahead of time, including dental evidence used for identification. He added that “based on the information we received, we understood that he might be found with some of his uniform, and indeed we found those items in that same grave together with his remains.” According to Maj. A., the information guiding the operation was obtained through a combination of human intelligence and additional technological capabilities.

{Matzav.com}

A suspect who repeatedly drove a car into the entrance of Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway on Wednesday night had spent time inside the shul earlier that day and spoke with Yeshiva students, according to witnesses. Sources also said the individual had appeared at other Chabad locations in recent months.

The man, who has not been publicly identified, was arrested after he drove a gray Honda sedan bearing New Jersey license plates into an entrance of the building multiple times during the evening.

Yaacov Behrman, a spokesperson for Chabad, said a group of bochurim encountered the suspect about an hour before the crash. According to Behrman, the man approached the students near 770 and asked when the farbrengen for Yud Shevat would be held.

“The students told him that there were events both that night and the following day,” Behrman said.

Video from the scene shows the car entering the driveway at 770 Eastern Parkway and repeatedly slamming into a side doorway of the shul. Clips shared online appear to show the driver reversing and striking the entrance at least four times.

New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said officers quickly detained the driver. The NYPD has launched a hate crime investigation, Tisch said. Police reported that the suspect later claimed a mechanical malfunction caused the crash and that he made no terroristic statements after his arrest. No injuries were reported.

Several witnesses said the man had been standing outside the building before the incident. A 20-year-old student, Shlomo, said the suspect remained outside the building for 15 to 20 minutes in below-freezing temperatures, dressed only in shorts, a T-shirt, and an unzipped hoodie.

“He seemed a little not with it,” the student said, adding that the clothing was strikingly inappropriate for the weather.

Witnesses and other sources told investigators that the same individual had been spotted at other Chabad centers, including sites in New Jersey, in recent months. An undated video circulating on social media appears to show the suspect inside the shul at 770, dancing with bochurim after Shacharis.

One witness said the man frequently asked people for assistance and that police had previously been contacted about his behavior. Another source recalled seeing him at a New Jersey Chabad center in November, where he was “looking for spiritual guidance.”

“He was very learned—he knew a lot about the Bible and Judaism. He was having a hard time with life,” the source said. Others noted that the man gave inconsistent accounts of his background, at times saying his mother was Jewish and at other times claiming to be Jewish himself.

Behrman said he believes the attack was deliberate and driven by bias.

“This is a very serious incident—it’s very frightening,” Behrman said. We’re concerned about what this person intended to do. The real question is, how do we make sure this does not ever happen again?”

As a precaution, the building was evacuated after the crash. Police said the vehicle was secured and the area was cleared.

WATCH:

President Trump said he successfully persuaded Russian leader Vladimir Putin to pause attacks on Ukraine for a short period because of dangerously cold weather, describing the agreement as an unexpected but welcome outcome of their recent phone call.

According to Trump, the request focused on sparing Kyiv and other populated areas during a stretch of extreme temperatures that have created hazardous conditions for civilians.

“I personally asked President Putin not to fire on Kyiv and the cities and towns … for a week,” Trump said.

Trump emphasized that the cold gripping the region was unusually severe and a key factor behind his appeal.

“It’s extraordinary. It’s … record-setting over there.”

He added that many had doubted the request would succeed, but said Putin ultimately agreed, calling the result a positive development.

“He agreed to do that, and I have to tell you, people said, ‘Don’t waste the call, you’re not going to get that’ and he did it, and we’re very happy that he did.”

{Matzav.com}

Amir Zini, whose son Nirel was murdered on October 7, says public claims that there are no remaining hostages in Gaza ignore a painful reality: his son’s body was not returned in full. Speaking with Arutz Sheva, Zini described learning that after the burial of Ran Gvili, officials declared the matter closed, even though Nirel’s head has never been recovered or brought to burial.

Zini portrayed Nirel as someone who lived with deep responsibility for others, never abandoning anyone and always looking out for those around him. That character, he said, was evident both in civilian life and during his military service, including after a serious injury in 2015 that left lasting damage.

For nearly two years, Zini chose not to speak publicly. He felt that other families were enduring even greater anguish, with no burial place at all to visit. While Nirel had a funeral and a grave, Zini said, the knowledge that part of his son was missing weighed heavily but kept him silent.

That silence ended after encouragement from a neighbor and friend, Brigadier General (Res.) Oren Solomon, who urged him to come to the Knesset. Zini did so and later expanded on the experience in an Arutz Sheva interview. “From the very first moment, we felt something was incomplete, but we didn’t know what exactly,” he said. He added, “The media didn’t want to deal with it. They told us it was too difficult and painful to say his head was missing. I told them that I didn’t write this script…” Zini also recounted that Nirel was killed alongside Niv Raviv and had planned to propose to her two days later. The engagement was set for the anniversary of the 2015 injury that ultimately forced him to leave the IDF after six more years of service, when doctors discovered his heart was functioning at only a quarter of its capacity.

According to Zini, police investigators from Lahav 433 were aware that Nirel’s head was missing but did not pass that information along to the family or other authorities. “They were the only ones who knew that perhaps terrorists had taken the head, and this information was never passed to anyone, especially not to us as a family. Someone decided for us that they knew what was best for us to know and what not to know.”

Even when the family was summoned to Lahav 433, Zini said the issue was not raised. “Only after a few questions did I realize there was no investigation. I demanded to see pictures. They told me the pictures were too difficult and questioned why I should see them. I felt there was something they didn’t want me to see,” he recalled. After insisting and signing documents, he was shown images that confirmed his son had been buried without his head.

When Zini pressed to find out who else had been informed, he was initially told the Shin Bet had not asked for the information and therefore did not receive it. He was also told the military had not been notified, a statement later walked back with the claim that the information had been transferred. When he asked for documentation, he was told the update had been delivered verbally.

Zini went on to describe the work of the forensic identification unit led by Lt. Col. Yossi Cohen, involving roughly a thousand soldiers who collected and identified body parts after the attack. Yet, he said, once it became clear to him that Nirel was buried incomplete, he learned the unit had already been disbanded. The search for the missing remains was never defined as a formal “mission,” he said, meaning no order was issued to retrieve his son’s head, unlike in other cases. Without such a designation, he said, nothing moved forward.

He described repeated attempts to get answers, often met with silence or partial explanations. When he asked why Nirel was not considered a hostage, he was told there was no intelligence pointing in that direction. Zini challenged that logic, asking how intelligence could be found if no one was looking. He said the Shin Bet told him it does not act on civilian cases unless formally requested by police or another authority, and no such request had ever been made.

Frustrated, Zini said the family began searching on its own. Each morning at five, he would go to the area of Be’eri where Nirel’s body had been found. Alongside relatives and occasional volunteers, they combed the ground. At times, they used a tractor to lift small amounts of earth, carefully returning the soil at day’s end so as not to disrupt the lives of local residents.

Asked whether he regretted waiting so long to speak out, Zini said he did not. He noted that once his story began circulating, Lahav 433 investigators called to request a meeting. “I told them I wouldn’t come if they didn’t have anything new for me,” he said. “Only if they admit to their mistake and say they intend to begin corrective actions will I come. Now, I don’t believe I will get such a call.”

Zini said his account did reach members of the Knesset. During one search in the Gaza-border community, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana arrived at the site. The two were introduced, and Zini shared his story. Ohana contacted the police, who acknowledged it was unacceptable for a father to be searching the ground for his son’s bones and promised to address the issue. Zini said he was then referred from one officer to another until reaching one who said he had been asked to help but given no timetable. Acting on his own initiative, the officer later brought cadets on a free Friday to assist in sifting sand, though nothing was found.

“I was referred to Gal Hirsch. I went to meet him after phone calls and conversations. The meeting felt like they were doing me a favor,” Zini said. He added, “I sent a letter to the Prime Minister through his assistants. I don’t know if he received it or read it.” At this stage, Zini said he expects at least a meeting with the Prime Minister, whom he sees as the authority capable of ordering a serious, renewed search.

As for what he believes happened, Zini was blunt. “Terrorists took the head to trade it.” He said another victim, Aviad Edri, was found in a similar state just meters away, and that family also was not informed. “The Chevra Kadisha returned the bodies to honor the family. I had a feeling that Nirel’s body was being returned,” he said, as he described learning the disturbing details of Aviad Edri’s case, in which he was personally involved. Zini said the choice not to tell the families was made by a senior committee that “decided we don’t need to know.”

“No soldier should risk their lives to bring the head, but it should be a mission,” Zini stressed. He said that during the operation to locate Ran Gvili, soldiers encountered many unexamined findings, including heads. Some of those soldiers sent him photographs so he could review them independently, though nothing has yet been confirmed. “What is not ordered will not be done,” he said. Zini added that beyond his personal struggle, his goal is broader: “for us to know who we are dealing with and that Amalek exists in our generation. If terrorists can get away with it, we should name the child after him.”

{Matzav.com}

Hundreds of mispallelim davened Shacharis at Kever Yosef in Shechem early this morning, marking the first daylight davening at the site in 25 years, since the IDF withdrew from the compound and transferred responsibility to the Palestinian Authority.

The historic tefillah followed an overnight entry by hundreds of mispallelim into the Kever Yosef complex, part of the regular, coordinated visits organized by the Shomron Regional Council with IDF escort and full military authorization.

The move to allow davening in daylight is part of a broader, structured plan being advanced by Shomron Regional Council head Yossi Dagan and MK Tzvi Sukkot, together with Rav Dudu Ben Natan, the father of IDF soldier Shoval Ben Natan hy”d, who was killed in combat in southern Lebanon and had been active in efforts to restore Jewish access to the site.

The Shomron Regional Council emphasized that the initiative’s goal is to enable a permanent Jewish return to Kever Yosef and to restore the Od Yosef Chai yeshiva to the compound. According to the council, the plan was formulated in coordination with additional partners and is based on a gradual series of steps designed to reestablish a continuous Jewish presence at the makom kadosh.

Yossi Dagan described the event as a milestone moment. “This morning is a morning of historic correction. After years of entering under cover of darkness like thieves in the night, we are returning home with our heads held high and in full daylight. Kever Yosef is an important symbol, and the move to enter in daylight is a significant step within our work plan to establish a permanent and full foothold at the site.

“We will not stop until the Israeli flag is flown here on a permanent basis and the ‘Od Yosef Chai’ yeshiva returns to its place. Am Yisrael is returning to the Shomron, Am Yisrael is returning to its land.”

MK Tzvi Sukkot also hailed the development, saying: “We merited an important step forward with the fulfillment of Shacharis davening and entry to Kever Yosef in daylight. This is the beginning of a significant and historic correction, and we will continue to act until full Jewish presence is restored at Kever Yosef.”

{Matzav.com}

A Norwegian parliamentarian has nominated Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Center for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Jerusalem memorial center is “one of the world’s most significant institutions in the fight against antisemitism, hate ideologies and historical distortion,” Joel Ystebø of Norway’s Christian Democratic Party wrote in a letter addressed to the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Tuesday.

“I believe that the Nobel committee should take a stand on antisemitism by issuing this award to Yad Vashem even though I understand it might be difficult because of all the politics involved,” Ystebø told JNS on Thursday.

The 24-year-old lawmaker, who was elected last year to the unicameral parliament for the conservative opposition party, noted that every Norwegian lawmaker had the right to nominate a candidate for the prize.

“There are many people in Norway who, like myself, are embarrassed by our own government after October 7 for being too soft on Hamas, and this nomination is also to show the people of Israel and the Jewish community that they have many friends in Norway,” he said in the interview.

He wrote in his letter that antisemitism has proven throughout history to be “one of the most persistent and destructive forms of hatred,” citing the rise in anti-Jewish violence around the globe following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, which triggered the two-year war in Gaza.

“Today, Yad Vashem serves as a global anchor in the fight against antisemitism and other forms of hatred,” the letter states. “In a time when antisemitism is once again gaining a foothold in public discourse, Yad Vashem reminds us of what is at stake if hatred and lies are allowed to pervade.

“The Nobel Peace Prize has historically honored those who stand against hatred, oppression and injustice,” it continues. “Yad Vashem does precisely this by being at the forefront of the fight against antisemitism, one of the most serious threats to peaceful coexistence in our time. Awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Yad Vashem would be a clear recognition that the struggle against antisemitism is a struggle for peace, democracy and human dignity.”

Tel Aviv University Professor Dina Porat, a Yad Vashem senior academic adviser, told JNS, “We are witness today to how hatred caused by antisemitism is again ever so relevant to our very time. By its documentation and commemoration, Yad Vashem offers a clear historical picture and warning about the past and the present.”

Founded in 1953 on Jerusalem’s Mount of Remembrance, on the western slope of Mount Herzl, to commemorate the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, Yad Vashem has emerged as a top global tourist site for visitors and educators. JNS

{Matzav.com}

Sanctuary policies protect criminals and put communities at risk, President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said Thursday during his first press conference since arriving in Minneapolis, arguing that public safety must come before politics.

Homan explained that he was sent to Minnesota earlier in the week to help restore order and to target dangerous criminal illegal aliens living in local communities, stressing that his mission is focused on safety rather than publicity.

“I didn’t come to Minnesota for photo ops or headlines,” Homan told reporters. “I came here to seek solutions.”

He pointed to what he described as the consequences of border failures under the Biden administration, saying that more than 10 million illegal aliens entered the United States during that period, including millions of “gotaways” who avoided apprehension.

According to Homan, many of those individuals present serious risks to both national security and public safety. He said President Trump pledged to voters that he would undo those policies and make protecting American communities the top priority.

Over the past several days, Homan said, he has held meetings with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, along with law enforcement officials and other stakeholders, despite their political differences.

“We didn’t agree on everything. I didn’t expect to agree on everything,” Homan said. “But you can’t fix problems if you don’t have discussions.”

One point of consensus, he said, was recognition that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a legitimate federal law enforcement agency charged with enforcing immigration laws.

Homan also said the administration is developing a plan to reduce ICE’s footprint in Minnesota if cooperation continues and violence declines.

“As we drill down on these great agreements [with Minnesota officials] we’ve got, this great understanding we have means less so we can draw down those resources,” he said.

“When the violence decreases, we can draw down those resources. But based on the discussions I’ve had with the governor and the AG, we can start drawing down those resources.”

He added that the reduction could happen even faster if inflammatory language targeting ICE ends.

Homan emphasized that federal officials are not asking local leaders to act as immigration agents, but rather to work with ICE when criminal illegal aliens are already in custody.

“Jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities are sanctuaries for criminals,” Homan said. “Sanctuary cities are sanctuaries for criminals and endanger the residents of the community.”

He praised the Minnesota Department of Corrections for honoring ICE detainers, saying that such cooperation has improved safety for residents and law enforcement officers alike.

Homan also said progress has been made in discussions with Ellison, who clarified that county jails may inform ICE of scheduled release dates for criminal illegal aliens so agents can take custody in a lawful and controlled manner.

“That’s common sense,” Homan said, arguing that making arrests inside jails is safer than tracking suspects after they return to the community.

He rejected claims that cooperation with ICE deters victims or witnesses from reporting crimes.

“Victims and witnesses don’t want the bad guy back in their neighborhood either,” Homan said.

Homan concluded by saying that continued cooperation will lower crime, conserve resources, and carry out President Trump’s promise to put American safety first, particularly in cities he said have suffered the consequences of years of failed border policies.

{Matzav.com}

A long-simmering and deeply contentious issue in the chareidi world burst into the open during a live Israeli radio broadcast, as noted maggid meisharim Rav Menachem Stein delivered sharp and emotional remarks about what he described as the unbearable state of wedding music today.

Rav Stein addressed the topic during his program Sichat HaYom on Kol Chai Radio. To add a professional and musical perspective, the renowned composer and musician Rav Chaim Banet joined the broadcast, leading to an extended, wide-ranging, and highly charged discussion. Listeners also called in, offering firsthand accounts from the “ground level” of wedding halls.

Opening the program the week of Shabbos Shirah, Rav Stein framed the conversation in stark terms. “This is the time when Klal Yisroel celebrates the power of niggun,” he said. “And yet this year, it has become a time for a painful reckoning in the world of weddings.” He asked pointedly when Jewish weddings had transformed from elevated celebrations of the heart into “deafening discotheques,” and whether authentic Jewish simcha had been lost along the way.

One of the most striking moments of the broadcast came from a deeply personal story shared by a caller identified as Daniel, an accomplished yeshiva bochur who described undergoing a severe spiritual crisis during his years in yeshiva gedolah. “I felt like a sealed wall, an iron barrier between me and the Gemara,” he said. At the time, Daniel was heavily immersed in modern, contemporary music for many hours a day, without realizing the connection between that habit and his spiritual decline.

The turning point came at a friend’s wedding, where the band played in an older, traditional style, using sacred niggunim with restrained, measured rhythms. “The next day,” Daniel recalled, “I felt as if a new soul had been planted within me. I dove into the Gemara like someone dying of thirst in the desert.” Rav Stein noted that the story echoed the well-known words of Rav Yissachar Meir zt”l, who would avoid loud weddings and famously said, “How can one attend such a wedding? The neshamos that come down from Gan Eden flee because of the foreign melodies.”

Rav Chaim Banet, the veteran composer who has been involved in chassidic music for more than fifty years, spoke with visible pain about the changes he has witnessed. “I played at weddings for decades,” he said. “Once, the heart was happy. Today, a friend told me: ‘It seems only the feet are happy — the heart is no longer there.’” Rav Chaim recounted a conversation with a secular musician who plays both in Tel Aviv clubs and at weddings in Bnei Brak. “He told me in shock: ‘Rav Chaim, there’s no difference. It’s the same discotheque.’”

Rav Chaim also recalled a gathering convened decades ago by Rav Yigal Rosen, who warned musicians about the spiritual erosion that lay ahead. “The tragedy,” Rav Chaim said, “is that a generation has grown up that no longer knows what good music is. This music has destroyed the inner world of feeling.”

Another caller, Avraham, shared a powerful contrast he had experienced just days earlier. He attended a wedding of a prominent rabbinic family but found the volume and trance-style music unbearable. “I had to step outside; I couldn’t tolerate the decibels,” he said. Wandering into an adjacent hall, he discovered a different wedding altogether — a live orchestra with a choir, gentle melodies, and songs of earlier generations. “The entire hall was dancing. You could talk. There was real simcha,” he said. “I went home carrying the joy of a wedding I wasn’t even invited to.”

Throughout the broadcast, participants offered practical suggestions for restoring dignity and spiritual depth to wedding music. Some emphasized the responsibility of the families making the simcha, arguing that those paying for the music must clearly define expectations in advance rather than surrendering to pressure from outside “event coordinators.” Others urged musicians themselves to take a stand and refuse to play foreign or destructive rhythms, even when requested by the crowd. Several speakers stressed that music is only a symptom, and that deeper chinuch is needed to rebuild a sense of kedusha and refined emotion within the yeshiva world.

In concluding the discussion, Rav Stein returned to a broader perspective. Citing the teachings of the Vilna Gaon and his talmidim, he noted that Moshe Rabbeinu brought down ten distinct forms of song from Har Sinai, later used in the Beis Hamikdash to awaken teshuvah and dveikus. “If a person would hear those precise niggunim,” he said, “his soul would depart from sheer attachment to Hashem.”

As Shabbos Shirah approached, the message of the program was clear and urgent. The choice, Rav Stein said, lies with the community itself: the “boom-boom of the jungle,” or song that pierces the heavens. Rav Chaim summed it up simply and starkly: “This touches our very souls — literally our souls.”

{Matzav.com}

Dear Matzav Inbox,

I don’t know when this happened, but somehow fundraising in the frum world went from something difficult but dignified to something that looks like a bad Purim shpiel that never ends.

Open WhatsApp today and what do you see? Grown Yidden — not kids, not bachurim fooling around — but married people, fathers, mothers, people who are supposed to have some seichel — turning themselves into jokes on their statuses. Begging. Singing. Dancing. Making faces. Doing shtick. All for what? To squeeze out a few dollars.

It’s embarrassing.

Mamish embarrassing.

People are making absolute fools of themselves in public, and we’re supposed to clap and say, “Ah, gevaldig, what mesirus nefesh for tzedakah.” Since when is throwing away kavod habriyos considered a mitzvah?

This whole thing has turned into a clown show. One guy ups the other. If last week someone danced, this week someone has to dance harder. If someone cried, the next one has to cry louder. If someone embarrassed himself a little, the next one has to embarrass himself completely. A race to the bottom, live-streamed for everyone to see.

Hours of nonsense. Paid for with maximum bizayon. What a joke.

Once upon a time, fundraising meant knocking on doors, making phone calls, sitting with people, explaining a need, having some basic derech eretz. It wasn’t easy, but it was normal. It had a certain menschlichkeit to it. Today? Today it’s who can make the biggest spectacle of himself on a status.

And don’t tell me “this is the matzav” or “this is the new way.” That’s nonsense. This isn’t a new way. It’s a lazy way. A cheap way. A way that trades dignity for attention and calls it hishtadlus.

If goyim were doing this, we’d be laughing at them. If some other community was acting this way, we’d shake our heads and say they’ve lost all self-respect. But when it’s us, suddenly it’s holy?

No. It’s mi’us. Yidden should have some self respect. And no, the ends don’t justify the means.

It makes the entire frum world look like bafoons. Like we have no גבול, no shame, no sense of what’s normal anymore. Everything is fair game as long as it’s “for a good cause.”

There are good causes. There are real needs. But turning ourselves into walking jokes is not the solution. Tzedakah doesn’t require turning into an imbecile on WhatsApp.

We can help people without humiliating ourselves. We can raise money without degrading ourselves. And we can stop pretending that this circus is healthy, normal, or something to be proud of.

Because it isn’t.

A very fed-up observer

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[COMMUNICATED]

by Rabbi Eliezer Sandler

The concept of the Yissachar-Zevulun Torah Learning Pact goes back well over 3,500 years, to the time of Yaakov Avinu and his sons. It is named for the Torah pact between two of his sons – Yissachar the scholar and Zevulun the merchant. Not only was it an equal pact but, Chazal explained, the deed of Zevulun/the Sponsor is considered even greater than that of Yissachar, because without the support of Zevulun, Yissachar would not have had the wherewithal to study Torah undisturbed.”

It is well-known that when it comes to learning Torah, people who sponsor the learning, often do so, not just as a donation. By financially supporting specific Torah scholars, they enter into a binding, written, signed and sealed learning partnership pact whereby the Sponsor (the Zevulun) is deemed by Halacha as if he personally studied the Torah completed by the Scholar (the Yissachar). (See below.) 

Thus, those who support the Talmidei Chachomim at Shas Yiden via a Yissachar-Zevulun Pact merit a portion in every daf of the entire Talmud Bavli and associated texts that they study, and complete the entire cycle in the space of ONE year. Some of the Sponsors opt to continue sponsoring repeat cycles of Shas which accrue to them.

Sar Hatorah, Maran Hagaon Harav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l, Nasi Shas Yiden, emphasized: The most mehudar Yissachar-Zevulun pact to support in our times is that offered by Shas Yiden – it comprises the entire Shas, Rashi and Tosfos – all in just one year!

Rav Chaim explained why this pact with Shas Yiden is the most mehudar. Chazal say that the highest level of learning is when one understands what he is learning b’iyun u’ve’amkus. However, even higher than that is when one remembers b’al peh all what he has learned. I have farhered the Shas Yiden avreichim geonim many times and can attest ZEI KENNEN SHAS (they know Shas)!

YES! YOU CAN MAKE

The Yissachar-Zevulun Pact in Halacha

The Shulchan Aruch in Yoreh De’ah Chapter 246 regarding the efficacy of the Yissachar-Zevulun Sponsorship Pact for the Zevulun (the Sponsor) states clearly:  It is deemed as if he (the one sponsoring the learning) himself learned all the Torah studied under the pact. 

All the learning under the Shas Yiden Yissachar-Zevulun Pact is yours בעוה”ז ובעוה”ב (in both This World and the World to Come)! Concerning this, the Netziv of Volozhin comments that in Olam Habah, the Zevulun sponsor will sit together with the Gedolei Torah of the past and merit to participate in their discussions and pilpulim on all the Torah learned.

Achieve Almost 7 million Mitzvos in One Year

The Vilna Gaon in Shnos Eliyahu Pe’ah 41 states that one should hold precious every word of Torah that he learns because each word is considered a mitzvah of its own. 

Thus, since in Talmud Bavli, Rashi and Tosfos there are 6,608,891 words, that translates into almost 7 million mitzvos accruing through Yissachar-Zevulun at Shas Yiden. 

Official Shtar from Shas Yiden

Each Yissachar-Zevulun pact is confirmed by an official contract (shtar) from Shas Yiden specifying the learning of the entire Shas, and is witnessed by talmidei chachomim.

All who wish to enter into a Yissachar-Zevulun Pact for the entire Shas during ONE year should contact Shas Yiden to make arrangements: 718-702-1528.

The opportunity to complete the entire Shas has been a cherished way to honor family members and others as a prized achievement. It has also proven to be a source of comfort for mourners to obtain such a zechus for their dear ones during the year of mourning – a siyum of the entire Shas can be completed on the yahrzeit!

Yissachar-Zevulun Pact –

The legendary visionary and “Father of Yeshivos”, Reb Chaim of Volozhin, was the founder of the famous yeshiva in the town of Volozhin and the beloved talmid of the Vilna Gaon. 

Reb Chaim had an ongoing Yissachar-Zevulun pact with a local shoemaker – a man who was not learned but who dearly valued Torah learning. They had a ‘deal’ whereby the shoemaker would pay the monthly financial support needed for Reb Chaim and his family. For this financial support, the shoemaker would have an equal share in all Reb Chaim’s daily Torah study – both in the mitzvah of Torah study בעוה”ז and that the knowledge of the Torah learned would continue to be his בעוה”ב (in the World to Come).

One day the shoemaker passed away suddenly. During the shiva period, Reb Chaim was facing a perplexing halachic question and researched high and low for a solution. That night the shoemaker appeared to him in a dream and gave him the full solution that he sought. Reb Chaim was amazed and commented, “Azoi gich, Azoi Gich – So quickly, so quickly has he acquired the zchus and knowledge of the Torah that I have studied!”

In the words of Gedolei Torah:

Maran Hagaon Harav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l, Nasi Shas Yiden:

“In just ONE year, through Yissachar-Zevulun at Shas Yiden, you can be zoche to the entire Shas forever – בעוה”ז ובעוה”ב (in olam hazeh and olam habah).

“Moreover, whoever supports Shas Yiden is zocheh to fulfill both Yissachar-Zevulun and support of aniyei (the poor of) Eretz Yisroel in the fullest sense of the word.

“Those who support Shas Yiden will be saved from chevlei (the travails of) Moshiach – spiritually and materially, and will be zoche to have ehrlicher bonim u’vanos yir’eishomayim ”

Maran Hagaon Harav Dov Lando, shlit”a, Rosh Yeshiva, Slabodka:

“Who compares to the Shas Yiden? Incredible talmidei chachomim geonim who raised the bar in limud Hashas b’iyun u’v’amkus. Blessed are those who enter a Yissachar-Zevulun pact with them.”

Hamashpia Hagadol Reb Meilech Biederman, shlit”a:

 “Yissachar-Zevulun at Shas Yiden – best possible deal, and in just 1 year! 100% partnership! 100% Shas x 5 times! 100% Shisha Sidrei Mishna – בעוה”ז ובעוה”ב”

Sanzer Rebbe, shlit”a:

“A first in 2000 years of Jewish history! Until Shas Yiden, never a Torah institution where ALL the avreichim metzuyonim v’geonim know the entire Shas by heart”

Harav Yaakov Hillel, shlit”a:

“Therefore, the great mitzvah to support the efforts [of the Talmidei Chachomim] with generous donations in order that they should continue diligently with their studies to enhance the greatness of the Torah and its glory. 

ShasYiden.com

Rav Reuven Ravitz zt”l, a distinguished talmid chochom who devoted more than five decades to teaching Torah in Kfar Saba and Nechalim and was among the most respected elder figures of Petach Tikva, passed away on Wednesday evening at the age of 93.

Rav Ravitz was born in Tel Aviv’s Montefiore neighborhood as the eldest son of Rav Aryeh Leib Ravitz zt”l, who served for many years as av beis din of Tel Aviv. From a young age, he was known for his yiras Shomayim and deep commitment to limud haTorah.

In his youth, he studied at Yeshivas Chevron, where he became closely attached to the roshei yeshiva and mashgichim of the era, including Rav Yechezkel Sarna, Rav Moshe Chevroni, Rav Aharon Cohen, and the famed mashgiach Rav Meir Chodosh. He later continued his studies at Yeshivas Ponevezh, where he further developed his Torah scholarship under the guidance of the yeshiva’s roshei yeshiva.

Upon reaching marriageable age, Rav Ravitz married the daughter of Rav Yitzchok Pasternak, one of the founders of the Kfar Ganim neighborhood in Petach Tikva. The couple established their home in the city, where they lived for approximately seventy years.

For many years, Rav Ravitz taught at Yeshivas Nechalim during a period when many talmidim were continuing on to the major yeshivos. With great dedication, he worked tirelessly to draw numerous young men into a life of Torah and yiras Shomayim within the walls of the yeshivos.

He was also a longtime presence in the Beis Medrash Toras Eretz Yisroel in Petach Tikva, where he immersed himself in uninterrupted Torah study. In his later years, he learned at the Chevron Beis Medrash in the city, where he served as a living example of perseverance in learning and exemplary character traits. Known as a faithful transmitter of tradition, he shared countless accounts, teachings, and personal observations about Torah giants of previous generations with whom he had close קשר, including the Chazon Ish and the roshei yeshiva of Chevron and Ponevezh.

For roughly fifty years, Rav Ravitz delivered shiurim to members of the third generation in the Kfar Ganim neighborhood. Even during the coronavirus pandemic, he continued these shiurim by telephone and through individual study sessions, maintaining his commitment with remarkable devotion.

In the 1990s, he was active as a member of the association supporting the Montefiore nursing home in Petach Tikva. In that role, he advised on matters affecting the welfare of residents and assisted the institution’s leadership with financial issues. His warm demeanor and personal qualities made him a beloved figure and an integral part of the city’s communal landscape.

Two years ago, Rav Ravitz was awarded the title of Yakir Ha’ir, Honorary Citizen of Petach Tikva, by Mayor Rami Greenberg in recognition of his lifelong contributions to Torah and community life.

Rav Ravitz merited to raise generations of students, educating them in Torah and yiras Shomayim, and to build a family rooted in the traditions of Torah and reverence, seeing generations of ישרים מבורכים.

He is survived by his family. His brother was Rav Avraham Ravitz zt”l, the former Knesset member and the longtime chairman of Degel HaTorah.

The levayah took place Wednesday night at his home at 64 Trumpeldor Street in Petach Tikva. The procession passed the Chevron–Heichal Yechezkel Beis Medrash, with kevurah at the Segulah Cemetery in Petach Tikva.

Yehi zichro boruch.

{Matzav.com}

Yeshiva University announced that Douglas Murray, a well-known British journalist, an outspoken supporter of Israel and one of the chassidei umos ha’olam, is joining its faculty in a newly created academic role.

Murray, who is not Jewish, is a familiar voice in international media, where he frequently comments on Israel and global affairs. University officials described his appointment as a significant addition that brings a prominent public intellectual into the school’s academic life.

According to the university, Murray has been named its first-ever President’s Professor of Practice, a role that, it explained, “recognizes leaders who have shaped public discourse and invites them to contribute that perspective to university life.”

As part of his appointment, Murray will teach within the honors program, offering lectures for a poetry course titled “The Values of Verse: Sacred and Secular Perspectives.”

“Great poetry is not an ornament of civilization,” Murray said in a statement. “It is one of the ways civilizations think, remember and endure.”

“I’m honored to join Yeshiva University in a setting where those questions are taken seriously and explored with intellectual rigor,” added Murray.

{Matzav.com}

The Knesset plenum approved the 2026 state budget in its first reading late Wednesday night, with 62 lawmakers voting in favor and 55 opposing.

The dramatic development of the vote, however, unfolded within the coalition itself, as United Torah Judaism split in an unprecedented manner, exposing sharp internal tensions tied to the draft law. In a rare move, all three Knesset members of Agudas Yisrael — Housing Minister Yitzchak Goldknopf, MK Meir Porush, and MK Yaakov Tessler — entered the plenum and voted against the budget.

By contrast, the members of Degel HaTorah, following the directive of Hagaon Rav Dov Landau and Hagaon Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, supported the budget after an intensive day of consultations with gedolim and discussions with Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth. Shas chairman Aryeh Deri was notably absent from the vote.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sought to downplay the rift, saying the government would not have brought the budget to a vote without a chareidi commitment to support it through all three readings. According to Smotrich, “the chareidim are not linking the budget to the draft law.”

Degel HaTorah responded swiftly with an unusually sharp public rebuttal, rejecting the finance minister’s assertion. “The statement by the finance minister claiming that we supposedly committed to vote for the budget in the second and third readings — did not happen and was never agreed to, and everyone knows this,” the faction said in a statement.

{Matzav.com}

A senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader issued a stark warning on Wednesday, saying any US military action against Iran would trigger an immediate and sweeping response, including strikes on Tel Aviv.

Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, delivered the warning in a social media post published in Farsi, Hebrew, and English. In the post, Shamkhani wrote, “A ‘limited strike’ is an illusion. Any military action by the US – from any origin and at any level – will be considered the start of war⁩, and its response will be immediate, all out⁩, and unprecedented, targeting heart of Tel Aviv⁩ and all those supporting the aggressor.”

The message came shortly after US President Donald Trump issued renewed warnings to Iran in response to the regime’s crackdown on anti-government protesters.

On Tuesday night, Trump said he hoped Tehran would agree to negotiations with Washington, while again emphasizing that the United States has bolstered its military presence in the Middle East.

Addressing a rally in Iowa, Trump said, “There is another beautiful armada floating beautifully towards Iran right now. So we will see.”

“I hope they make a deal. I hope they make a deal,” he added.

Trump reinforced his remarks on Wednesday with a post on Truth Social, writing, “A massive Armada is heading to Iran. It is moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose. It is a larger fleet, headed by the great Aircraft Carrier Abraham Lincoln, than that sent to Venezuela.”

He continued, “Like with Venezuela, it is, ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary. Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal – NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS – one that is good for all parties. Time is running out, it is truly of the essence!”

“As I told Iran once before, MAKE A DEAL! They didn’t, and there was ‘Operation Midnight Hammer,’ a major destruction of Iran. The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Trump has repeatedly cautioned that the United States would respond forcefully if Iranian authorities proceed with executions of anti-regime demonstrators.

According to a report aired Wednesday evening by Kan 11 News, Israeli sources believe Trump’s rhetoric signals he may be weighing a far-reaching move on Iran that could include regime change.

Earlier this week, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei also warned that the Islamic Republic would issue a “comprehensive and regret inducing” response to any act of aggression.

Hi everyone.

My name is Ahuva Rotkin. (That’s me in the picture above.)

I would like to thank everyone for helping me with my first surgery, which gave me my ear. It feels so much more comfortable to walk around with two ears, just like everyone else.

Although we used the top doctor in the field in Los Angeles, Hashem decided that we should face some complications. I already had to go back a second time to fix my ear, and unfortunately, the surgery was not successful because I got an infection. The second surgery was covered by insurance, but now my ear has developed a hole, so we need to do another skin graft to close it up. Insurance will not cover the third surgery, which needs to be done as soon as possible to avoid infection.

We are flying to Los Angeles this week, and the surgery is planned for Friday. We are $12,000 short of covering the expenses.

Whoever is able to help my Totty and Mommy do this for me would make me very happy! I bentch you to never know any pain, and may Hashem give you only good. Thank you so much!

You can help out by donating HERE.

Love, 

Ahuva

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz

Finally, after generations of enslavement in Mitzrayim and a dramatic redemption, Klal Yisroel reaches the apex of creation, standing at Har Sinai and receiving the Torah from Hakadosh Boruch Hu. They hear the Aseres Hadibros and are awed and inspired to live lives of holiness, following the will of the Creator.

One of the mitzvos included in the Aseres Hadibros is Shabbos. We study the posuk of “Zachor es yom haShabbos lekadsho” (20:8), which literally translates as “Remember the Shabbos day to make it holy.”

The pesukim then state that we are to work six days of the week and rest on the seventh, not doing any work on that day, because Hashem created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. Therefore, He blessed the Shabbos day and sanctified it.

The Ramban explains the posuk of “Zachor es yom haShabbos lekadsho” to mean that it is a mitzvah to remember to sanctify Shabbos and keep it holy. He cites the posuk which states, “Vekarasa laShabbos oneg likdosh Hashem” (Yeshayahu 58:13), and writes that when we rest on Shabbos, we do so because it is a holy day. We therefore take a break from even thinking about mundane matters. Instead, we seek to satiate our souls in the way of Hashem and study Torah.

In Parshas Beshalach (16:28–29), the Torah discusses Shabbos in reference to the monn. A double portion fell on Friday because none fell on Shabbos. The posuk states, “Reu ki Hashem nosan lochem es haShabbos — See that Hashem has given you the Shabbos.”

The Seforno explains that the posuk is teaching us to reflect on the fact that Hashem has given us Shabbos, which has two components that set it apart from the rest of the week: firstly, through its mitzvos, and secondly, because it is a gift that Hashem gave to the Bnei Yisroel.

This is probably based on the Gemara in Shabbos (10b), which states that Hashem told Moshe that He has a good gift among His treasures by the name of Shabbos, and He wishes to present it to Klal Yisroel.

What is the gift? Is it the entirety of Shabbos, or is it a component of Shabbos?

In the sefer from Rav Meir Soloveitchik al haTorah, in Parshas Beshalach, it is brought from the Brisker Rov that he deduced from a Rashi in Bereishis (2:2) that the rest component of Shabbos, menucha, is not just a lack of work, but a special creation that Hashem presented to us. He says that Shabbos has two components. The first is its mitzvos, and the second is the menucha.

The Brisker Rov concluded that the menucha of Shabbos was especially created for the Jewish people and is the gift that Hashem gave us.

What is the gift of menucha?

Rav Shimshon Pincus (Shabbos Malkesa 3:4, 2) explains that when a person engages in intense physical labor, he naturally becomes tired and requires rest. This is rooted in the laws of nature, as it reflects a deep spiritual truth: that the source of all life is spiritual. The physical realm, by contrast, is not only distinct from the spiritual, but also serves as a barrier, distancing a person from his spiritual essence and, in turn, from his true source of vitality.

When someone immerses himself entirely in physical labor, he becomes disconnected from this spiritual energy, leading to exhaustion. However, when he ceases his physical exertion and rests, his physical side no longer obstructs his spiritual side. This allows him to reconnect with his true source of life, replenishing his energy and restoring his vitality.

This is compounded when we sleep and our neshamos ascend on high to their Creator, becoming reconnected to their life source. They return to us fully charged, and we wake up energized to take on the day.

The gift that Hashem gave us with Shabbos is that on this day we totally separate from gashmiyus — physical labor, activities, and thoughts — and return to ruchniyus, that which is spiritual. The holiness of Shabbos envelops us. Once we are unburdened from the physical aspects of life that have enveloped us for the past six days, we enter the realm of the kedusha and menucha of Shabbos, as we proclaim, “Yom menucha ukedusha l’amcha nosata.”

Shabbos disconnects us from gashmiyus, enveloping us in the source of energy and life. This is the ultimate gift of menucha that Hashem presented to us.

In order to merit this gift, however, we have to do our part and not only refrain from doing the physical labor of the 39 melachos, but, on Shabbos, elevate ourselves from the mundane through our actions and also through our thoughts. We refrain from discussing, reading about, or thinking about work and the everyday concerns that occupy our minds during the week. Shabbos is a time to step away from the ordinary and reconnect with a higher, spiritual realm. The more we do so, the better off we are and the more energetic we will be.

Menuchas Shabbos is not about lounging around, engaging in shallow conversations, or indulging in gossip without regard for the truth or the harm it may cause. It is not about speaking ill of others, mocking them, or simply passing the time with vacuous chatter.

Those who seek to experience the gift of menuchas Shabbos do so by elevating their ruchniyus through learning, refining their behavior, thoughts, speech, and what they read and focus on.

Shabbos is not solely about refraining from the 39 melachos. It is about rising above our physical, material side as much as possible. It is an opportunity to connect more deeply to our spiritual essence.

Shabbos is a precious gift from Hashem. The more we recognize and appreciate this gift, the closer we draw to Him and the better off we are. Viewing Shabbos as a burden only robs us of the deep opportunities it offers. It keeps us stuck in the triviality of the physical world, sapping our energy and preventing us from experiencing the true depth and perception that this holy day can provide.

The holiness of Shabbos is so profound that, according to the Vilna Gaon, when we eat and drink on Shabbos to fulfill the commandment of oneg, experiencing the joy of eating and drinking on Shabbos, it is as sacred as if we were partaking in a korban. The reason for this, he explains, is that by engaging in these physical acts, we bridge the gap between the physical and spiritual realms, connecting the material (gashmi) and the spiritual (ruchni).

Rav Dovid Cohen elaborates on this by explaining that the essence of kedushas Shabbos lies in elevating the physical world and connecting it to the neshomah. Eating and enjoying food, though a physical act, becomes a spiritual one when done with the intention of fulfilling the mitzvah. As a result, this act is considered so holy that it is as if the person were consuming the meat of a korban.

Imagine that, although we are in golus, without the Bais Hamikdosh and without korbanos, every Shabbos we have the opportunity to eat in a way that is equal to eating korbanos. We don’t have to travel anywhere or do anything special. All we need to do is sit at our Shabbos table, immersed in the sanctity of the day, enjoying the delicacies our mothers and wives prepared for us and the family. Most likely, the recipes they used were handed down to them from their mothers, who received them from their mothers for hundreds of years, each one of whom cooked for a family of mekadshei Shabbos who had the pleasure equivalent to eating korbanos that were shechted in the Bais Hamikdosh.

No matter where they lived or how hard they worked all week, they all enjoyed the transformative powers of Shabbos, the yom menucha ukedusha.

Davening in the Zichron Moshe Shul in the heart of Yerushalayim’s Geulah neighborhood is a special pleasure. The shul and its shtieblach welcome Jews of all stripes, who combine to form the beautiful mosaic that is Geulah in particular and Yerushalayim in general.

I have written previously about the Friday morning when I was there and saw a man sleeping on a bench. His clothing was dirty. His sleep was repeatedly interrupted as he scratched himself in pain from not having showered in many days. It was a pitiful sight, though not unusual in that hallowed shul.

On Friday evening, I passed the shul and stopped by the window of the large bais medrash. I looked toward the mizrach, and there, next to the rov, was the man who, that morning, had been sleeping in squalor on a bench in that very room. From the window, I saw him as he sat at the mizrach wall, facing the mispallelim. He was bedecked in a Yerushalayimer gold bekeshe and shtreimel. He was shining as he sat there with a broad smile on his face. He looked like a malach.

Shabbos transformed him. He was a new person.

It was Shabbos, and he was a new being, almost unrecognizable from what he had been just a few hours before.

I stood there, soaking in the image and thinking that this is how the geulah will be. We are overcome with shmutz, dirt, pain, and sadness. We are in golus, exiled among the nations and among those who have strayed. We are far from home but we do not despair because we know that the day of our redemption is quickly arriving. We will be cleansed, freshened, and made anew. Joy will return. And in the very place where we experienced pain, humiliation, and suffering, we will find comfort.

Meforshim wonder about the connection between the geulah and the heightened moments when Shabbos enters every week, moments that are combined in the universally recited Lecha Dodi.

We raise our voices and sing, welcoming the kallah, yet the words we chant aren’t as much about Shabbos as they are about Yerushalayim.

We shift from Likras Shabbos to Mikdash Melech, focusing on the Palace of the King. We hope for Hisna’ari and call out for Hisoreri, breaking into dance as we envision the time of Yosis Olayich Elokoyich.

Commentators ask why we chant these poetic expressions about the redemption and Yerushalayim as Shabbos begins. What is the connection?

In Zichron Moshe, as I stood at that window, I saw the transformational power of Shabbos and understood the answer to this question.

Every Shabbos, we are each able to rise from the dust of the workweek, from the darkness of golus — mei’afar kumi.

When Moshiach comes, we will do so as a people, together, just as we sing in Lecha Dodi: “Hisna’ari mei’afar kumi livshi bigdei sifarteich ami al yad ben Yishai bais halachmi korvah el nafshi ge’olah.”

May we all merit, each week, the transformation that Shabbos offers, and the ultimate transformation that Moshiach will bring when he redeems us from the struggles of the six days and ushers us into the world of eternal Shabbos.

{Matzav.com}

The BBC has issued an apology after its International Holocaust Memorial Day coverage failed to explicitly state that the six million people murdered by the Nazis were Jews, an omission that drew sharp criticism and was described as “hurtful, disrespectful and wrong,” according to a report in The Times.

The issue arose during Tuesday morning’s BBC Breakfast, when presenter Jon Kay opened a segment by saying Holocaust Memorial Day was “for remembering the six million people murdered by the Nazi regime over 80 years ago,” without identifying the victims as Jews.

The Campaign for Media Standards highlighted that multiple high-profile BBC presenters used nearly identical language, alleging that the broadcaster had “used the same script all day.”

Lord Pickles, who served as the UK’s special envoy for post-Holocaust issues from 2015 until last year, said the omission amounted to “an unambiguous example of Holocaust distortion, which is a form of denial.”

“This kind of obfuscation was common during the Soviet control of parts of Europe,” said Pickles, now co-chairman of the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation. “For the BBC to use it today is shocking. They should be fighting antisemitism, not aiding it.”

Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, also condemned the wording. “The Holocaust was the murder of six million Jewish men, women and children. Any attempt to dilute the Holocaust, strip it of its Jewish specificity or compare it to contemporary events is unacceptable on any day. On Holocaust Memorial Day it is especially hurtful, disrespectful and wrong,” she said.

Danny Cohen, a former BBC director of television, said the failure to name Jewish victims marked “a new low point for the national broadcaster.”

“It is surely the bare minimum to expect the BBC to correctly identify that it was six million Jews killed during the Holocaust,” Cohen said, according to The Times. “To say anything else is an insult to their memory and plays into the hands of extremists who have desperately sought to rewrite the historical truth of history’s greatest crime.”

In response, the BBC said in a statement: “This morning’s BBC programming commemorated Holocaust Memorial Day. The Today program featured interviews with relatives of Holocaust survivors and a report from our religion editor. In both of these items we referenced the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust.”

“The chief rabbi recorded the Thought for the Day. BBC Breakfast featured a project organized by the Holocaust Educational Trust in which a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust recorded her memories. In the news bulletins on Today and in the introduction to the story on BBC Breakfast there were references to Holocaust Memorial Day which were incorrectly worded, and for which we apologize. Both should have referred to ‘six million Jewish people’ and we will be issuing a correction on our website.”

The controversy adds to a growing list of disputes involving the BBC and accusations of bias against Israel and the Jewish community.

In November 2023, the broadcaster apologized after wrongly claiming that IDF forces were deliberately targeting medical teams during fighting near Gaza’s Shifa Hospital.

Earlier, the BBC had also reported that Israel was responsible for an explosion at a Gaza hospital, a claim later disproven when the IDF demonstrated the blast was caused by a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket. The network subsequently admitted that “it was false to speculate” about the cause.

Last year, the BBC faced intense criticism over its documentary “Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone,” which used the son of a senior Hamas official as a narrator.

After the backlash, the broadcaster conceded there were “serious flaws” in the program.

More recently, the BBC apologized following complaints about a December 26 episode of The Repair Shop, which discussed the Kindertransport without mentioning Jews, despite the operation’s primary purpose of rescuing Jewish children from Nazi persecution during the Holocaust.

{Matzav.com}

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