Matzav

Dear Matzav Inbox,

There is something deeply disturbing with the way we, as a frum community, enforce “rules.” Everyone knows it. Some are just too afraid to say it out loud. I’m sorry if this letter hurts because it says the straight truth.

We live in a world where every move is scrutinized. Every family, every individual, every institution is judged by the unwritten codes of what’s acceptable. Heaven forbid you should step out of line in hashkafah, chinuch, or social standards. Break one of those “sacred” boundaries and the kannaim and askanim descend like vultures. The whispers start. The meetings are convened. Suddenly, you are an outcast.

And yet, when the topic changes to money—fundraising, tzedakah, business, some new “initiative”—suddenly all those sacred rules that we’re told cannot ever be bent, all the laws of propriety and “communal standards” that are supposedly ironclad, melt away like butter in the sun. What was “assur” yesterday is now “permitted.” What was unthinkable suddenly becomes a “kiddush Hashem.”

We are told constantly that there are red lines we cannot cross. That there are rules meant to “protect us.” Rules that, if broken, bring communal death sentences. But watch what happens when a wealthy man writes a check, or when an organization wants to launch a fundraising drive, or when a tzedakah fund needs to fill its coffers. Magically, the red lines shift. Magically, the rules vanish.

The hypocrisy is breathtaking. A boy can be rejected from a yeshiva because of the color of his father’s shirt, because his parents are divorced, or because his parents don’t fit the exact mold. Families are crushed by decisions that come down from on high in the name of “standards.” But when that same institution needs to raise a million dollars in forty-eight hours, suddenly they’ll parade singers, dancers, gimmicks, shtick—anything goes, so long as the money comes in.

We are lectured endlessly about modesty, about humility, about avoiding gaavah and excess. Yet when it’s time for a fundraising event — locally or across the ocean — nothing is too flashy, no display is too extravagant, no indulgence too out-of-place—as long as it “brings in money.” And the people who a week earlier were policing everyone else’s behavior now beam with pride, slap on the title of “kavod haTorah,” and call it holy.

Ask yourself: When did money become the ultimate heter? When did checks become the key that unlocks every locked door? How did we arrive at a place where breaking rules is unforgivable—unless you can pay for the privilege?

It is quite bothersome to watch how easily we excuse what should never be excused. If an individual dared to cross certain communal red lines in any other context, he’d be destroyed. But if he does it for a fundraising campaign, he’s praised as creative, innovative, even heroic. If a person defies accepted norms in daily life, he’s shunned. If an organization does it to raise dollars, it’s applauded.

The message is clear, and it is poisonous: money sanctifies everything. Hakesef yaaneh es hakol. Money cleanses every stain. Money excuses every breach. Rules are for the little people, for those who don’t have the means to buy themselves out of them.

And so, the very “guardians” of our community—the ones who claim to be safeguarding our hashkafah, protecting our standards, defending our values—become the enablers of the worst hypocrisy. They terrorize the weak while winking at the powerful. They police regular families with an iron fist while giving endless leeway to whoever can sign a check.

We like to pretend we are ruled by principle. But the truth is uglier. We are ruled by money. And the fact that so many people know this and still keep silent only deepens the rot.

It should make every thinking person’s stomach turn. Because once the standard becomes “rules don’t matter if the dollars add up,” then what’s left of the rules? What’s left of the integrity? What’s left of the emes?

A Fundraiser

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{Matzav.com}

A 23-year-old chareidi bochur learning in Chut Shel Chesed, the yeshiva headed by Rav Shalom Arush, was taken into custody at Ben Gurion Airport early Wednesday morning.

The young man, who had not reported to the draft office as required, was preparing to fly to Uman for Rosh Hashanah when he was stopped. After the arrest, he was transferred directly to a military prison facility.

MK Meir Porush condemned the move in sharp terms, declaring: “The State of Israel’s ‘Iron Curtain’ against chassidim who wish to travel to visit their rebbe has begun to operate. Under the guidance of the Attorney General, an unprecedented operation has begun today, under which Jews are prevented from celebrating Rosh Hashanah as their custom is every year. It is unimaginable that such a thing happens in a country governed by Jews. This is an international disgrace.”

Just a day earlier, during a Knesset session about airport enforcement, Brigadier General Shai Taib, head of the IDF’s Planning and Manpower Division, explained that enforcement is an ongoing, year-round process.

He remarked, “The volume of flights during the holidays for all sectors has increased, so we are increasing our ability to respond, to allow the fabric of Israeli life, as well as to provide enforcement, and enforcement continues as usual.”

Within the chareidi public, frustration over these arrests is rapidly intensifying, with calls for a major protest. A large rally had been planned for Thursday, though there is talk it could be delayed. The Councils of Torah Sages of Degel HaTorah, Agudas Yisrael, and Shas had prepared a letter of support, but it was pulled from circulation at the last moment.

According to insiders, Yaakov Welcer, secretary of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudas Yisrael, stopped the release after the Gerrer Rebbe and several other rebbes voiced objections. They reportedly felt the statement’s language was too “lukewarm,” failed to represent the entire tzibbur, and inappropriately referred to “courts” rather than “the government.”

Even with these delays, organizers say they are determined to hold the demonstration, which is still expected to take place on Thursday night.

{Matzav.com Israel}

Kamala Harris has delivered a stinging critique of President Joe Biden’s bid for a second term, calling it an act of “recklessness” in her upcoming memoir. She argued that such a decision should never have been “left to an individual’s ego.”

The sharp remarks appear in an excerpt of her book, 107 Days, published by The Atlantic on Wednesday, and represent one of her harshest public assessments of her former running mate.

“Was it grace, or was it recklessness? In retrospect, I think it was recklessness,” Harris writes, reflecting on her choice not to urge Biden to bow out of the 2024 campaign earlier.

“The stakes were simply too high. This wasn’t a choice that should have been left to an individual’s ego, an individual’s ambition. It should have been more than a personal decision.”

Harris said her refusal to weigh in “during all those months of growing panic” about Biden’s fitness for office came from her desire to prove she was a “loyal person.”

But she did not hold back from expressing further grievances. Harris attributed her silence partly to what she described as her “delicate status” within the administration and even accused the White House of stoking negative portrayals of her.

When she was “attacked … on everything from my laugh, to my tone of voice, to whom I’d dated in my 20s, or claimed I was a ‘DEI hire,’ the White House rarely pushed back with my actual résumé,” Harris complained.

“They had a huge comms team; they had Karine Jean-Pierre briefing in the pressroom every day. But getting anything positive said about my work or any defense against untrue attacks was almost impossible.

“Worse, I often learned that the president’s staff was adding fuel to negative narratives that sprang up around me,” she added.

Harris suggested jealousy was a factor, pointing to polling that showed her approval numbers creeping closer to Biden’s.

“Their thinking was zero-sum: If she’s shining, he’s dimmed. None of them grasped that if I did well, he did well. That given the concerns about his age, my visible success as his vice president was vital,” she wrote.

“It would serve as a testament to his judgment in choosing me and reassurance that if something happened, the country was in good hands. My success was important for him.

“His team didn’t get it.”

Even with her criticisms, Harris insisted she did not push Biden to quit, saying, “the American people had chosen him before in the same matchup,” and she left open the possibility that “It was just possible he was right about this, too.”

“And of all the people in the White House, I was in the worst position to make the case that he should drop out. I knew it would come off to him as incredibly self-serving if I advised him not to run. He would see it as naked ambition, perhaps as poisonous disloyalty, even if my only message was: Don’t let the other guy win.”

“’It’s Joe and Jill’s decision.’ We all said that, like a mantra, as if we’d all been hypnotized.”

Harris maintained that she would have intervened had she truly believed Biden was unable to perform his duties.

“Many people want to spin up a narrative of some big conspiracy at the White House to hide Joe Biden’s infirmity. Here is the truth as I lived it. Joe Biden was a smart guy with long experience and deep conviction, able to discharge the duties of president. On his worst day, he was more deeply knowledgeable, more capable of exercising judgment, and far more compassionate than Donald Trump on his best,” she wrote.

“But at 81, Joe got tired. That’s when his age showed in physical and verbal stumbles. I don’t think it’s any surprise that the debate debacle happened right after two back-to-back trips to Europe and a flight to the West Coast for a Hollywood fundraiser.”

“I don’t believe it was incapacity. If I believed that, I would have said so. As loyal as I am to President Biden, I am more loyal to my country,” Harris concluded.

{Matzav.com}

The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Tuesday that job creation in the United States was overstated by nearly one million positions in the year ending March 2025, according to early benchmark revisions. This adjustment, the largest ever recorded, indicates that hiring during that period was happening at about half the pace originally reported.

Officials at the BLS said payroll totals are expected to be revised downward by 911,000 jobs, or 0.6 percent. That means total employment growth over those 12 months will be closer to 850,000, rather than the 1.8 million previously published. On a seasonally adjusted basis, monthly job gains drop from roughly 147,000 to just over 70,000.

The shortfall spans nearly every sector and most states. Wholesale and retail trade saw the largest downward adjustment, followed by leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and manufacturing. In percentage terms, the most dramatic cut was in information services, where employment was revised down by more than 2 percent.

This recalculation changes the view of the economic landscape as President Donald Trump began his second term. Instead of taking charge of a red-hot labor market, Trump entered office with an economy that was already much weaker than thought. What had been hailed as one of the strongest job markets in history now looks far less impressive.

In mid-2024, White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein told the New York Times that “it’s beyond question that this is one of the strongest labor markets that we’ve ever seen.” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell echoed that sentiment in December, saying “the U.S. economy has just been remarkable… performing very, very well.” Both assessments were based on payroll data that has now been substantially revised lower.

At the time, many analysts suggested voters were overlooking strong employment numbers because of high inflation. The new figures imply instead that voters were accurately sensing economic weakness that was hidden by overly optimistic reports.

The revisions also raise questions about the Federal Reserve’s policy decisions in late 2024. The Fed cut interest rates three times between September and December, then paused once Trump took office. With the labor market already weaker than believed, the central bank may have underestimated the slowdown. Now, with unemployment climbing to 4.3 percent in August — the highest in nearly four years — pressure for further rate cuts is building.

This is the second year in a row that the BLS has issued a strikingly large revision. Back in February, the agency reduced its estimate of job growth through March 2024 by almost 600,000. The latest update, which will be finalized in February 2026, suggests that last year’s overstatement was not a one-off mistake but part of a broader trend. Economists caution, however, that the final revisions may not be as steep as the initial estimate, similar to the pattern from last year when the preliminary cut was later softened.

The repeated miscalculations have also put the Bureau of Labor Statistics under sharper scrutiny. President Trump last month removed the agency’s commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, who had been confirmed by the Senate, citing the string of massive revisions. He has nominated economist E.J. Antoni, a vocal critic of the bureau’s methodology, to succeed her.

Although the revision only applies through March 2025, when combined with recent weak reports — such as the 22,000 jobs added in August — it points to a labor market deteriorating more quickly, and from a lower baseline, than most experts previously believed.

{Matzav.com}

President Trump on Wednesday demanded the death penalty for Decarlos Brown Jr., who is accused of brutally stabbing Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska to death on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina last month.

“The ANIMAL who so violently killed the beautiful young lady from Ukraine, who came to America searching for peace and safety, should be given a ‘Quick’ (there is no doubt!) Trial, and only awarded THE DEATH PENALTY,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “There can be no other option!!!”

Disturbing video from the incident shows 23-year-old Zarutska being attacked with repeated knife thrusts, apparently from a pocket knife, while traveling on the Lynx Blue Line train on August 22.

On Tuesday, federal prosecutors charged Brown, 34, with causing a death on a mass transit system, a serious federal offense.

In addition to the federal charge, Brown is also facing state prosecution on a count of first-degree murder.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said authorities intend to pursue the harshest punishment possible, promising to “seek the maximum penalty for this unforgivable crime” and vowing that the accused “will never again see the light of day as a free man.”

{Matzav.com}

[COMMUNICATED]

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A terrorist’s bullet ended his life in an instant. And with that his family’s world fell apart.

Four orphans. The oldest is just ten. The baby is barely one.

They don’t understand how Abba, the man who woke up every morning with the sunrise to learn, isn’t coming home again.

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Never again feel his arms around them… or see that smile that lit up their days.

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A young widow, broken, trying to be both father and mother, when all she wants is her husband back.

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Arab media outlets released a photo of senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya appearing to lie in a hospital bed with his brother at his side in what was presented as proof that Israel’s alleged attempt to assassinate him in Qatar had failed.

The authenticity of the image, however, remains uncertain. Reports suggest that the photograph may have been taken years ago during a previous hospital visit for medical care, casting doubt on whether it reflects current events.

Hamas had declared earlier that Israel’s operation to target its leadership in Doha was unsuccessful. The terror group said, “the treacherous attempt by the Zionist occupation to assassinate the Hamas negotiating delegation in Doha, the capital of Qatar, today is a heinous crime, a blatant aggression and a flagrant violation of all norms and international law.”

In an additional statement, Hamas insisted, “We confirm the enemy’s failure to assassinate our brothers in the negotiation delegation. The attack on the negotiation team, while discussing the latest proposal of U.S. President Donald Trump, confirms beyond any doubt that Netanyahu and his government do not want any agreement and are deliberately seeking to thwart every opportunity and undermine international efforts, while ignoring the lives of their prisoners held by the resistance, the sovereignty of states, and the security and stability of the region.”

The organization further stressed, “This cowardly assassination attempt will not change our positions or our clear demands, which include: the immediate cessation of aggression against our people, the complete withdrawal of the occupation army from the Gaza Strip, a genuine prisoner exchange, and aid and reconstruction for our people.”

{Matzav.com}

The Dutch government declared on Tuesday that Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich are now prohibited from entering any of the 29 countries within the Schengen zone.

“The cabinet decided to declare the ministers persona non grata,” the government in The Hague announced, adding that the order has been formally added to the Schengen Information System, according to Haaretz.

This measure requires border officials throughout the Schengen countries to refuse entry to the two ministers.

Still, a source cited by Haaretz noted that individual nations could choose to instruct their border agents to overlook the restriction, creating uncertainty about whether the ban will be uniformly applied.

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that the move was made under “exceptional circumstances” and stressed that the Netherlands intends to keep pressing for broader coordinated action across the European Union.

The decision comes in the wake of Spain taking similar steps, barring Smotrich and Ben Gvir from its territory. Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares described his country’s action as retaliation after Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar had blocked two Spanish ministers from visiting Israel the day before.

The Netherlands had already signaled its intention to impose restrictions, accusing the two Israeli officials of having “encouraged settler violence against Palestinians.”

Back in June, the governments of the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Norway jointly imposed sanctions on Ben Gvir and Smotrich.

Slovenia has also announced that it will not allow the two ministers to enter, becoming the first EU member state to introduce such a ban.

{Matzav.com}

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a longtime ally of Israel, issued strong remarks in response to the Israeli strike in Doha, Qatar, that targeted Hamas leadership.

“To those who planned and cheered on the October 7 attack against Israel, the United States’ greatest ally in the region: This is your fate,” Graham wrote in a message posted on X.

He then addressed the Palestinian people directly: “Your future depends on the political and military demise of Hamas. If Hamas lays down their weapons tomorrow, one of the most promising chapters in the history of the Palestinian people can begin.”

In his comments, Graham stressed that those seeking an end to the conflict should demand that Hamas disarm. “To those who want this war to end: Insist that Hamas surrender now,” he stated.

Turning to Israel, Graham expressed unwavering support for its right to defend itself. “To my Israeli friends: I understand your determination to ensure there are no more ‘October 7’ attacks and that those who want to destroy the Jewish state are denied that capability. I will always be your partner in this endeavor,” he emphasized.

Concluding his statement, Graham issued a pointed warning to Israel’s northern neighbors. “To Lebanon: Hezbollah is on my mind. To Syria: Choose wisely,” he wrote.

{Matzav.com}

France and Germany both issued harsh criticism of Israel’s strike in Doha, Qatar, even though the target was Hamas leadership.

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the attack in a statement posted to X, writing, “Today’s Israeli strikes on Qatar are unacceptable, whatever the reason. I express my solidarity with Qatar and its Emir, Sheikh Tamim Al Thani. Under no circumstances should the war spread throughout the region.”

Macron made sure his message reached a wide audience, publishing his comments in French, English, Arabic, and Hebrew.

In Berlin, Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul also voiced disapproval, calling the operation “unacceptable.”

“Israel’s strike in Doha not only violates Qatar’s territorial sovereignty, but also jeopardizes all our efforts to secure the hostages’ release,” Wadephul declared, pointing out that Qatar remains an essential mediator in ceasefire talks and negotiations for freeing the captives.

According to Reuters, a government spokesperson confirmed that Merz held a phone conversation with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. During that exchange, Merz emphasized that Israel’s breach of Qatar’s sovereignty and territorial integrity could not be tolerated.

Merz further told the Emir, “The war must not spread to the entire region.”

Speaking in Washington, President Donald Trump admitted on Tuesday that he was “not thrilled” by Israel’s decision to strike Hamas officials in Doha.

“I’m not thrilled about it. I’m not thrilled about the whole situation. It’s not… not a good situation,” Trump told reporters when pressed about the matter.

He continued by saying, “But I will say this: We want the hostages back. But we are not thrilled about the way that went down today.”

When asked whether the Israeli operation had caught him off guard, Trump responded, “I’m never surprised by anything. Especially when it comes to the Middle East. I’ll be giving a full statement tomorrow, but… I would tell you this: I was very unhappy about it. Very unhappy about every aspect. We gotta get the hostages back. But I was very unhappy about the way that went down.”

In a separate message earlier in the day, Trump had addressed the incident on Truth Social, attributing the decision to order the strike in Qatar directly to Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later told reporters that the United States had informed Qatar in advance of the Israeli operation. However, Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed Al Thani countered that account, insisting his country was notified only ten minutes after the strike had already taken place.

{Matzav.com}

A second ship involved in the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), an international campaign aimed at breaking through Israel’s maritime blockade on Gaza, was reportedly targeted in what organizers say was a drone strike early Wednesday morning. No casualties were reported.

“Another boat has been hit,” read a post from the GSF on social media, which claimed a second incident in as many nights. “Second night, second drone attack,” flotilla coordinator Melanie Schweizer told AFP.

This latest episode follows a similar allegation the previous night, with flotilla leaders asserting that one of their vessels had also been struck by a drone.

Footage released by GSF on Tuesday showed a buzzing sound just before a burst of light, while a second video depicted crew members responding in alarm to an apparent blast.

Tunisian officials dismissed the accusations, insisting no drone activity was detected in the area. They suggested instead that the blaze originated from life jackets on board, possibly triggered by a cigarette.

GSF representative Saif Abukeshek squarely accused Israel, saying in a video uploaded to Instagram: “There is no other authority that would do such an attack, such a crime, except the Israeli authorities.”

The flotilla, consisting of 20 vessels, departed Barcelona last Monday and docked in Tunisia on Sunday. There, they were met by local supporters and stocked up with more aid supplies before setting out toward Gaza.

While they had originally planned to leave Tunis on Sunday, the organizers announced a delay the day before, explaining the pushback to Wednesday was due to “technical and logistical reasons beyond management’s control.”

Passengers on board include well-known activists such as Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and former Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau, who during her tenure severed her city’s relations with Israel. The effort has also received endorsements from Hollywood actors including Susan Sarandon and Liam Cunningham, best known for his role in “Game of Thrones.”

Thunberg had previously been deported by Israel in June after she joined another flotilla, the Madleen, which was stopped by the IDF before it could reach Gaza.

Following that interception, participants were provided food and water, even though several of them had prerecorded statements alleging they had been “kidnapped” by the IDF.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry later noted that the cargo aboard the Madleen amounted to less than one truck of supplies, and confirmed that the goods would be delivered to Gaza through established humanitarian routes.

{Matzav.com}

Barron Trump, the youngest son of President Trump, is now living at the White House while taking courses at New York University’s Washington, D.C. campus.

The 19-year-old, who spent his first year as a well-noticed figure at NYU’s main campus in Greenwich Village, has decided to continue his academic path much nearer to his parents, President Trump and first lady Melania Trump.

The NYU program in the capital accommodates up to 120 undergraduates per semester, offering classes geared toward students preparing for careers in government, policy, economics, history, and journalism.

During his freshman year, Barron resided at Trump Tower in Manhattan and commuted daily to classes at Washington Square, occasionally also flying to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach to spend time with his father.

Trump had hinted at his son’s plans for higher education in an August 2024 interview with The NY Post, after which Barron was spotted enrolled in courses at NYU.

“He’s a little on the tall side. I will tell you, he’s a tall one, but he is a good-looking guy. And he’s really been a great student. And he does like politics. It’s sort of funny,” Trump said in remarks to “Kayal and Company” on Philadelphia’s Talk Radio 1210 WPHT at the time.

{Matzav.com}

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Poland moved quickly before dawn on Wednesday to strengthen its air and land defenses after Russian drones crossed into its skies while Moscow was carrying out strikes on Ukraine’s border areas.

Poland’s Armed Forces operational command reported that “airspace was repeatedly violated by drone-type objects” during the overnight assault on Ukrainian territory.

“An operation is underway aimed at identifying and neutralizing the objects,” the command wrote on X. “On the orders of the Operational Commander of the Polish Armed Forces, weapons have been deployed, and services are actively working to locate the downed objects.”

Officials confirmed that “Polish and allied aircraft are operating in our airspace, while ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems have been brought to the highest state of readiness.”

Authorities explained that the heightened posture is intended to shield Polish civilians living near the Ukrainian frontier after Russia struck targets in western Ukraine, close to NATO’s borders.

Residents in Podlaskie, Mazowieckie, and Lubelskie provinces were instructed to stay indoors while the military response remains in progress.

Earlier in the night, Ukraine’s armed forces cautioned on Telegram that drones were flying west and might endanger the Polish city of Zamosc. That alert has since been removed.

Reports in Ukrainian outlets suggested one drone was headed toward Rzeszow in Poland, but neither Kyiv nor Warsaw has officially confirmed that any strikes landed there.

Meanwhile, American lawmakers reacted online, directly accusing Russia of an attack on Poland.

“Russia is attacking NATO ally Poland with Iranian shahid drones less than a week after President Trump hosted President Nawrocki at the White House,” posted South Carolina Republican Rep. Joe Wilson on X.

“This is an act of war, and we are grateful to NATO allies for their swift response to war criminal Putin’s continued unprovoked aggression against free and productive nations. I urge President Trump to respond with mandatory sanctions that will bankrupt the Russian war machine and arm Ukraine with weapons capable of striking Russia.”

Senator Dick Durban also faulted Vladimir Putin for persistently testing NATO airspace and “testing our resolve to protect Poland and the Baltic nations.”

“After the carnage Putin continues to visit on Ukraine, these incursions cannot be ignored,” the senator wrote on X.

The Pentagon, NATO, and the White House did not issue an immediate statement when contacted by The Post.

Russia only days earlier mounted its most extensive aerial barrage of the war so far, launching over 800 drones and decoys along with 13 missiles across Ukraine.

Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko of Ukraine said four civilians, including a mother and her infant, were killed in that assault.

Another major strike followed on Monday, which President Volodymyr Zelensky reported left at least 24 people dead as they waited in line to collect pensions in the country’s east.

Ukraine now faces the possibility of running dangerously low on defense systems, since American military support slowed during the summer even as Russia’s daily attacks intensified.

Kyiv has been struggling to intercept the relentless waves of missiles and drones. Western experts caution that if Moscow sustains the scale of these operations, Ukraine’s air defenses could eventually collapse.

“It’s a question of time for when munitions run out,” one individual familiar with U.S. weapons shipments told the Financial Times.

{Matzav.com}

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On Tuesday’s “The Record with Greta Van Susteren,” Sen. John Fetterman spoke about Israel’s strike against Hamas officials in Doha, Qatar.

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A talmid of Yeshivas Shalheves HaTorah was arrested today by police after it was discovered that he had not reported to the draft office.

The arrest comes just one day after he completed the week of sheva brachos following his wedding last week.

According to available information, the bochur, Yisrael Meir Taharani, was taken into custody by Cholon police for desertion after failing to appear at the enlistment office. He was transferred to Tel Hashomer, where he is expected to face a disciplinary hearing before a military officer.

Organizations that assist yeshiva students in such cases, including Ezram U’Maginam and Nosnim Gav, denounced the arrest. They said, “This represents a serious escalation in the persecution of the Torah world, especially since the yeshiva student appeared at a police station to provide testimony at the request of the police.”

Their statement added: “If Israel Police is setting traps for yeshiva bochurim, then it is in fact encouraging criminality within the chareidi community, and the consequences for the police could be disastrous.”

This arrest comes on the heels of another similar case reported earlier this week. In that incident, military police arrived at 2:30 a.m. at the home of Nesanel Maor Yitzchak, a talmid at Yeshivas Hamayshar in Bat Yam, led by Rav Benayahu Shmueli, and took him into custody.

Yitzchak had submitted deferment requests properly until the expiration of the draft law. After the law was canceled, he was summoned for January but did not report.

Following his arrest, he was taken to the Tel Hashomer detention facility, where a disciplinary officer sentenced him to 20 days in military prison. He was then transferred to Prison 10 in Kfar Yona.

It later emerged—over a day after his arrest—that he had already been tried without any legal representation. Attempts were made to establish contact with him to clarify details, but under current regulations, detainees may only consult with attorneys after their arrest and before trial. Once transferred to Prison 10, communication is only possible if initiated by the prisoner himself.

{Matzav.com Israel}

In response to government sanctions and harassment directed at those dedicated to Torah study, plans for a massive national demonstration have shifted. What was originally intended as one large protest under the leadership of Gedolei Yisroel will now take place as multiple local rallies across the country.

For months, yeshiva leaders and activists had been preparing for a large-scale demonstration against government actions—both the sanctions targeting Torah learners and the push to impose military enlistment. The event was originally set for bein hazmanim and scheduled to be held this Thursday. However, Matzav.com has obtained, ahead of publication, the letter from the Gedolei Yisroel directing that instead of a central gathering, rallies should be held in every city and community.

The logistics for these events are being coordinated by the organization Ezram U’Maginam, whose chairman, Rav Menachem Shapira, has been working closely with chassidishe and Sephardic representatives to finalize arrangements.

The letter, expected to be officially released Wednesday, was obtained in advance and is being made public here for the first time.

In the letter, Gedolei Yisroel write: “Am Yisroel is facing a difficult time, both from within and from without. Jewish blood is being spilled like water by our enemies who seek to wipe us out, and we must awaken ourselves, strengthening our connection with even greater intensity to our holy Torah, which alone has sustained our people throughout the long years of exile.

“Instead, the authorities have risen against us, with rulings from their courts striking at the heart of the Torah world, with decrees to remove bnei Torah from the sacred yeshivos into the army—threatening, chalilah, the very future of the yeshiva world and all who dwell in Eretz Hakodesh.

“As we now stand in the days of mercy and selichos, we therefore designate Thursday, the 18th of Elul, as a day for all who carry Yiras Shamayim in their hearts to gather in the public squares, in every city and town wherever possible, to stand in tefillah and plead with the Master of the Universe to save us from our troubles, to send a complete recovery to all the wounded, and to nullify the designs of our enemies and accusers.

“May we, the bnei Torah, be able to continue sustaining the Torah world without disturbance, and may we all merit to be inscribed and sealed for a good and peaceful year, together with all of Klal Yisroel, and speedily be redeemed with everlasting salvation.”

{Matzav.com Israel}