Matzav

As reported earlier, Israeli authorities revealed on Tuesday morning that the remains handed over overnight by Hamas were not those of a new hostage, but rather the already-buried body of Ofir Tzarfati, an Israeli abducted and murdered during the October 7 attacks.

“After the completion of the identification process this morning, it was determined that last night remains belonging to the fallen hostage Ofir Tzarfati were returned — remains that had already been brought back from Gaza in a military operation about two years ago. The family has been notified,” the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed.

Officials said the handover violated the agreement with Hamas, and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu quickly called an emergency consultation with Israel’s defense leadership to determine the next course of action. “This constitutes a clear violation of the agreement by the terrorist organization Hamas. Prime Minister Netanyahu will hold a security consultation with the heads of the defense establishment to discuss Israel’s response to these violations,” the statement continued.

The casket had crossed into Israel under IDF supervision around midnight and was taken to the National Institute for Forensic Medicine in Abu Kabir. Hours later, the grim realization emerged that Hamas had handed over remains already buried in Israel.

Ofir Tzarfati had been kidnapped from the Nova Festival and murdered on October 7, 2023. His body was recovered by Israeli forces in November 2023, and additional remains were later returned in March 2024.

An Israeli official described the handover as a deliberate act of psychological warfare. “This cannot go without a response,” the source told The Jerusalem Post.

Netanyahu, who was en route to give court testimony when the discovery became public, immediately cut his appearance short to convene the security cabinet. Military officials are expected to present three potential responses — restricting humanitarian aid into Gaza, expanding ground operations, and carrying out additional targeted eliminations of Hamas leaders.

However, one senior security source warned, “Much depends on receiving a green light from the United States for imposing sanctions on Hamas. It is not certain that the U.S. will approve.”

According to Army Radio, IDF reservists claimed Hamas may have staged the discovery of the remains. The soldiers reported seeing a Hamas tractor digging near the “Yellow Line” ceasefire area in Shejaiya. They described how operatives appeared to bury remains taken from a nearby building, then summoned Red Cross personnel to “discover” them — an act caught by an IDF drone. “According to the fighters who spoke with us, the entire incident is documented by an IDF drone,” said Army Radio’s military correspondent Doron Kadosh.

Whether those remains were the same ones later returned to Israel has not yet been confirmed.

The shocking incident has left hostage families reeling. Bar, the daughter of Manny Godard, whose body remains in Gaza, said on Army Radio, “I’m thinking about the family – a family has to reopen the grave, and reopen the wound. It’s unimaginable. This abuse must stop. The mediators must use every leverage they can.”

The revelation triggered widespread outrage among Israeli politicians. “Hamas’s violations cannot remain without a harsh response – otherwise, we have done nothing and returned to October 6, [2023],” wrote Benny Gantz on . National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir declared, “The fact that Hamas continues to play games and not immediately hand over all the bodies of our fallen is in itself evidence that the terrorist organization is still standing on its feet. The time has come to break those legs once and for all.”

He continued, “Now we do not need to ‘exact a price from Hamas’ for the violations. We need to take its very existence and destroy it completely – in accordance with the central goal defined for the War of Redemption. Mr. Prime Minister, enough hesitation – give the order!”

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for an immediate cabinet meeting “to formulate a firm and decisive package of responses and to ensure we stand by the main objective of the war: the destruction of Hamas and the removal of the threat posed by Gaza to the citizens of Israel.” He added, “We cannot allow Hamas to mock Israeli citizens and cynically play with the emotions of the families of the fallen hostages.”

The overnight handover was the first in nearly a week, coming just before a 48-hour deadline set by President Trump expired. “Hamas is going to have to start returning the bodies of the deceased hostages, including two Americans, quickly,” he said. “Let’s see what they do over the next 48 hours. I am watching this very closely.”

Meanwhile, Israeli officials are considering several possible retaliatory measures, including retaking ground in Gaza, resuming targeted assassinations, retrieving hostage remains by force, increasing diplomatic pressure, or fully ending the ceasefire agreement.

For the Tzarfati family — and for all of Israel — Hamas’s cruel deception has reopened wounds that never healed, turning what was meant to be a moment of closure into another chapter of torment.

WATCH:

Muslim socialist New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is facing a storm of criticism over a story he shared about a relative who stopped wearing her hijab and taking the subway after the September 11 attacks. After widespread scrutiny, Mamdani revealed Monday that the “aunt” in his story was actually his father’s cousin, the NY Post reports.

“I was speaking about Zehra fuhi, my father’s cousin, who passed away a few years ago,” Mamdani explained at a press conference, noting that he referred to her as his aunt because of cultural custom. In Urdu and Hindi, “fuhi” means paternal aunt.

His campaign declined to provide the cousin’s full name when pressed by reporters. The clarification came after social media users posted photos of a woman they identified as Mamdani’s biological aunt, who appeared without a hijab, questioning the accuracy of his account.

The controversy began after Mamdani’s emotional remarks on Friday outside the Islamic Cultural Center in The Bronx, where he recalled how his “aunt” made the painful decision to stop riding the subway due to fear of anti-Muslim hostility. “I want to speak to the memory of my aunt, who stopped taking the subway after September 11th because she did not feel safe in her hijab,” he said during the speech.

During the same address, Mamdani also accused opponents Andrew Cuomo, Curtis Sliwa, and Mayor Eric Adams of stoking Islamophobia. “In an era of ever-diminishing bipartisanship, it seems that Islamophobia has emerged as one of the few areas of agreement,” he said.

The comments drew widespread backlash, including from Vice President JD Vance, who mocked Mamdani on X: “According to Zohran the real victim of 9/11 was his auntie who got some (allegedly) bad looks.”

Online speculation intensified after users identified public health consultant Masuma Mamdani—who lives in Tanzania and was photographed without a hijab—as his only known aunt. That prompted Mamdani’s clarification that he had been referring to a cousin, not an aunt by blood.

“For the takeaway from my more than 10-minute address about Islamophobia in this race and in this city, to be the question of my aunt, tells you everything you need to know about Cuomo and his inability to reckon with a crisis of his own making,” Mamdani said on Monday, blaming his rival for fueling the controversy.

As early voting continues ahead of the November 4 election, Cuomo—now running as an independent—has escalated his attacks on the socialist candidate. While he avoided direct reference to the “aunt” story, Cuomo condemned Mamdani for hosting left-wing Twitch personality Hasan Piker at his “New York is Not For Sale” rally in Forest Hills. “I think that is insulting to all New Yorkers,” Cuomo said. “Hasan Piker is the person who said, ‘America deserved 9/11.’”

Piker was seen at Sunday’s rally live-streaming interviews and was granted a “new media” press pass for the event, which also featured appearances by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Mamdani had previously faced criticism for appearing on Piker’s show in April, months before the Democratic primary, with opponents calling out Piker’s remarks that “America deserved 9/11.” Two weeks ago, during the first mayoral debate, Mamdani publicly distanced himself from those statements, saying, “I find the comments that Hasan made on 9/11 to be objectionable and reprehensible.”

{Matzav.com}

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sharply criticized remarks from out-of-state Democrats that he said trivialize the devastating terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Speaking at New College of Florida’s Sainer Auditorium, DeSantis took direct aim at both New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.

Mamdani had recently recounted that his aunt no longer felt “safe in her hijab” following the 9/11 attacks and that she stopped taking the subway as a result. DeSantis blasted the comment as insincere, saying Mamdani showed “phony emotion” and mocked him for implying that “the real hurt of 9/11 was that his aunt got a dirty look on a subway, not that thousands of people were murdered by jihadists.”

Turning to Omar, DeSantis recalled her controversial 2019 statement describing 9/11 as an event where “somebody did something,” referencing her comment that the Council on American-Islamic Relations was “founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties.”

Though Omar later clarified that the organization had expanded after 9/11 rather than being founded in response to it, DeSantis dismissed the explanation entirely. To him, such remarks reflect “a real sickness out there in American society.”

The governor closed his remarks with a jab at Mamdani’s New York mayoral campaign, joking about how far he might go to keep Florida insulated from policies like Mamdani’s. “Look, if I have to build a wall on I-95 … maybe we’ll have to do it,” he said with a grin.

A shocking new report from the House Oversight Committee claims that a number of Joe Biden’s official actions “cannot all be deemed his own,” asserting that his closest advisers “went to great lengths to prop up” the president amid growing signs of mental and physical decline, the NY Post reports.

Based on over a dozen interviews with White House staff, the 91-page document describes how Biden’s “inner circle” supposedly “meticulously stage-managed” his presidency—curating his schedule, limiting his contact with lawmakers, and scripting even minor events. “These steps ranged from addressing President Biden’s makeup, clothing, schedule, the number of steps President Biden could walk or climb, the amount of time President Biden needed to read and to spend with his family,” the report says, “keeping cabinet meetings to a minimum, eliciting ‘direction’ from Hollywood on the State of the Union and other events, and using teleprompters even at small, intimate events.”

One of the most alarming details involves Biden’s use of the autopen. Investigators allege that numerous executive orders and pardons signed with the device lack “approval traceable to the president’s own consent,” rendering them invalid. Biden himself acknowledged to the New York Times in July that an autopen was used for 25 pardons and commutations between December 2024 and January 2025. The only exception during that time, the report notes, was the handwritten pardon for his son Hunter.

Jeff Zients, Biden’s chief of staff at the end of his term, admitted during a transcribed interview that he didn’t even know who operated the autopen. “I do not,” he said when asked directly. Zients maintained, however, that “there were good processes in place,” though he conceded he wasn’t present for pardon deliberations and was briefed only afterward. He further revealed that “Hunter Biden weighed in on some of those ‘family discussions’ of pardons ‘towards the end, the very end of the administration.’”

The committee emphasized that “the authority to grant pardons is not provided to the president’s inner circle. Nor can it be delegated to particular staff when a president’s competency is in question.” Even if delegation were permissible, the report says, “it would have to be expressly delegated by President Biden himself.”

Biden fired back in June: “Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.”

The Oversight Committee, chaired by Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, has called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to open a criminal probe into Biden’s actions and those of aides accused of participating in a “cover-up.” Among those named were deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini, White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor, and Jill Biden’s chief of staff, Anthony Bernal — all of whom invoked the Fifth Amendment when subpoenaed.

When asked whether he had ever been told to misrepresent Biden’s medical condition, Dr. O’Connor refused to answer. The report portrays him as “a key figure in the coverup,” claiming he issued “grossly misleading medical assessments” to conceal the president’s deterioration. “His refusal to answer questions about the execution of his duties as physician to the president — combined with testimony indicating that Dr. O’Connor may have succumbed to political pressure from the inner circle, influencing his medical decisions and aiding in the cover-up — legitimizes the public’s concerns that Dr. O’Connor was not forthright in carrying out his ultimate duties to the country.”

O’Connor’s lawyers, David Schertler and Mark MacDougall, responded that “physician patient privilege and the physician’s ethical duty of confidentiality require that Dr. O’Connor refuse to testify about any aspect of his care and treatment of President Biden.” Former Obama physician Jeffrey Kuhlman has disagreed, stating that such questions wouldn’t have violated medical privacy.

Comer declared that “the Biden Autopen Presidency will go down as one of the biggest political scandals in U.S. history.” Yet Justice Department memos have long maintained that the president’s clemency powers remain valid even when executed via autopen.

According to the report, Biden’s annual medical exams included neurological evaluations, though none of the results were ever released and he was never given a cognitive test. Each year, O’Connor simply sent a short summary to Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declaring Biden healthy and free of Parkinson’s. Jean-Pierre — who once claimed the president “passes a cognitive test every day” — declined to explain a January 2024 meeting between Biden and a Parkinson’s specialist.

After Biden’s halting June 27, 2024 debate against Donald Trump, senior aides — including Zients and Anita Dunn — discussed whether the president should finally undergo cognitive testing. “I do recall the communications team brought forward, led by [Biden senior adviser] Anita [Dunn], the question of whether the President should have a cognitive test when he did his physical,” Zients told investigators. Dunn explained that “we did not have any concern about his ability to pass those tests. We did not think it would help politically.” Bruce Reed recalled O’Connor dismissing such exams as “meaningless.”

Hollywood figures like Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg were enlisted to coach Biden for the March 2024 State of the Union address in a bid to dispel public doubts. Around the same time, Special Counsel Robert Hur decided not to charge Biden for willfully mishandling classified documents, writing that a jury would view him as “a sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.”

Following that report, Biden skipped the customary Super Bowl interview. Dunn, O’Connor, and top adviser Mike Donilon allegedly had financial incentives to keep Biden in the race, with Donilon projected to earn up to $8 million if Biden secured a second term.

Despite claims of decline, some aides described occasional bursts of vigor — such as after a NATO summit in Brussels when Biden entertained staff all night aboard Air Force One. But none could back up Hunter Biden’s assertion that his father’s poor debate showing was caused by Ambien. Only Ron Klain, the first White House chief of staff, conceded that the event was disastrous. “We’re f–ked,” Klain recalled thinking. “I certainly knew that we had a big political problem as a result of [the debate].”

The report noted that “not one of the Committee’s 14 witnesses was willing to admit that they ever had a concern about President Biden being in cognitive decline,” suggesting that aides either ignored or rationalized his issues. “It is unclear whether these Biden aides were attempting to be deceptively euphemistic about President Biden’s cognitive decline, or whether they had so deceived themselves that they actually believed there to be a meaningful distinction that the American people were simply worried that President Biden was old, not that he was in cognitive decline.”

The White House dismissed the entire probe. “This investigation into baseless claims has confirmed what has been clear from the start: President Biden made the decisions of his presidency,” a spokesperson said. “There was no conspiracy, no cover-up, and no wrongdoing. Congressional Republicans should stop focusing on political retribution and instead work to end the government shutdown.”

Attorneys for O’Connor, Bernal, and Tomasini did not return requests for comment. Their lawyer, Jonathan Su, insisted that invoking the Fifth Amendment “is not evidence of wrongdoing” and that “there is no actual evidence of wrongdoing by Ms. Tomasini, and President Biden has already confirmed that he made all decisions concerning the grants of clemency at the end of his term.” Su also pointed out that “there is an ongoing federal criminal investigation into this matter by the Department of Justice,” noting that “any reasonable person would seriously consider an invocation of their Fifth Amendment rights.”

Schertler and MacDougall, representing O’Connor, echoed that sentiment: “The totality of the circumstances surrounding this Committee’s investigation leave Dr. O’Connor no choice but to decline to answer questions.”

{Matzav.com}

Republican contender Jack Ciattarelli is closing in fast on the governor’s mansion, with a new poll showing him neck and neck with Democratic opponent Rep. Mikie Sherrill. The Co/efficient survey, released Monday, shows Ciattarelli trailing Sherrill by just one point — 48% to 47% — a gap well within the margin of error.

The numbers mark a dramatic shift in New Jersey politics, a state that has consistently voted Democrat in statewide races for decades. Ciattarelli’s strong showing signals a real opportunity for Republicans to flip the governorship for the first time in years. Just 5% of likely voters remain undecided heading into the November 4 election.

Breaking down the poll, Sherrill holds 48% support, Ciattarelli stands at 47%, Libertarian Vic Kaplan claims 1%, and Socialist Workers Party candidate Joanne Kuniansky polls at under 1%.

The data reveal key demographic strengths for Ciattarelli. He leads decisively among male voters (54%-38%) and maintains a solid advantage with New Jerseyans aged 55 and older. Among independents, a critical swing bloc, he holds a 48%-39% edge. Ciattarelli also commands 53% of support among both white and Asian voters.

Sherrill’s base remains strongest among liberal voters, who back her by 92%. Conservatives, meanwhile, are overwhelmingly unified behind Ciattarelli, with 87% expressing support.

Ciattarelli’s momentum recalls his 2021 campaign against then–Governor Phil Murphy, where he fell short by just three points despite running in one of the nation’s bluest states. That race helped establish his reputation as a Republican capable of competing statewide in New Jersey, which hasn’t gone red in a presidential election since 1988.

The Co/efficient poll surveyed 995 likely voters between October 23 and 27, with a margin of error of ±3.27 percentage points — setting the stage for one of New Jersey’s closest gubernatorial contests in decades.

{Matzav.com}

In a powerful display, the Bobover kehillah announced that the Bobover Rebbe himself personally voted in the ongoing New York City mayoral elections, an act that kehillah leaders described as “an extraordinary moment for Klal Yisroel in New York.”

The news, delivered through a community-wide phone message from askan Reb Yoel Rosenfeld, was intended to galvanize every eligible member to head to the polls.

“Mi Ro’eh Eilu Yotzem Velo Yotzeh? Who can see the Rebbe voting and not follow?” Reb Yoel proclaimed passionately, calling on all members of the kehillah to emulate the Rebbe’s example and fulfill their civic responsibility.

This moment comes on the heels of the Rebbe’s significant directive issued two months earlier, when he declared that registering to vote is not merely a recommendation but a full-fledged takana of the kehillah. He stressed that this obligation carries the same weight as any communal standard maintained within the mosdos. At that time, the Rebbe stressed that every individual over the age of 17 must be registered, pointing to the serious challenges confronting Torah life and the broader stability of Yidden in New York.

Building on the Rebbe’s guidance, the Bobover askanim officially announced their endorsements for the upcoming election: Andrew Cuomo for mayor and Simcha Felder for City Council in District 44.

{Matzav.com}

Police have officially approved Thursday’s massive demonstration against the draft decree, granting final permission for what organizers are calling “The Cry of Torah.”

The protest is expected to draw hundreds of thousands to the entrance of Yerushalayim, where major roadways will be shut down as the Olam HaTorah rallies in defense of yeshiva bochurim who remain under arrest.

The large-scale gathering, described by organizers as “Maamad Harivevos — The Cry of Torah Against the Persecution of Lomdei Torah in Eretz HaKodesh,” is set to take place Thursday afternoon at the city’s main entrance.

The rally follows the continued detention of several yeshiva students, including Ariel Shamai of Yeshivas Ateres Shlomo, whose arrest has sparked widespread outrage throughout the chareidi community.

Approval for the rally came after another meeting between members of the organizing committee and the Yerushalayim District Police, where logistical plans and safety arrangements were finalized.

The police are preparing for road closures across key arteries leading into and through Yerushalayim — including the city’s entrance, Sarei Yisrael Street, Bar-Ilan Street, and the Maran Junction area. Traffic disruptions are expected throughout the day as hundreds of thousands of participants are anticipated to flood the area in peaceful protest.

As previously reported here, according to details obtained by Matzav.com, the event will not feature a central stage or sound trucks. Instead, leading rabbonim and gedolei Yisroel will station themselves at various locations throughout the area. One central balcony will serve as the focal point of the gathering, where Selichos will be recited by rabbonim representing the Litvishe, chassidic, and Sephardic communities, symbolizing unity across the Torah world in opposition to the draft decree.

{Matzav.com}

The body that Hamas handed over to Israel on Monday night has been conclusively identified as belonging to Ofir Tzarfati, Hy”d—a victim who was already recovered and buried nearly two years ago. The National Center of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv confirmed the finding Tuesday morning, determining that the remains were not those of any of the 13 deceased hostages Hamas had been obligated to return under the agreement. The Tzarfati family has been informed.

Tzarfati was abducted from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, during Hamas’s brutal onslaught and was murdered soon after. His body was retrieved at the end of November 2023 and buried in Israel. In March 2024, additional remains were recovered and reinterred, and several months later, Hamas published a photograph of his body. The latest so-called “return” marks the third time the family has been forced to confront their son’s grave.

“We went to sleep last night with anticipation and hope that another family would close an agonizing two-year circle and bring their loved one home for burial. But once again, deception has been inflicted upon our family as we try to heal. This morning we were shown video footage of our beloved son’s remains being removed, buried, and handed over to the Red Cross – an abhorrent manipulation designed to sabotage the deal and abandon the effort to bring all the hostages home,” the family said in a painful statement.

They added, “This is the third time we have been forced to open Ofir’s grave and rebury our son. The circle supposedly ‘closed’ back in December 2023, but it never truly closes. Since then, we have lived with a wound that constantly reopens, between memory and longing, between bereavement and mission.” The statement concluded with a plea: “Our Ofir went to Nova to celebrate his birthday and never returned. We ask all the people of Israel not to forget the fallen, not to forget the hostages, and to continue supporting the families until their return and beyond – only then will we have a future. Only then can we continue to live in our country.”

The Prime Minister’s Office condemned Hamas’s actions as a “clear violation of the agreement.” It added, “Prime Minister Netanyahu will hold a security discussion with the heads of the security establishment to discuss Israel’s steps in response to the violations.”

Outraged hostage families demanded an emergency meeting with Netanyahu, saying Hamas’s deceit must not go unanswered. “Hamas’s repeated violations and the IDF’s documentation prove what we have known and stated clearly and unequivocally: Hamas knows the location of the hostages and continues to act with contempt, deceiving the United States and mediators while dishonoring our loved ones. The Israeli government cannot and must not ignore this, and must act decisively against these violations,” declared the Hostages Families Forum.

“We are demanding an urgent and immediate meeting with the Prime Minister today, in which he will present a comprehensive plan to bring our loved ones home – every last one of them. Returning all hostages is the state’s obligation and a moral imperative – Hamas cannot be given a pass for violating the agreement. Success in implementing this agreement will be measured solely by the return of every last hostage – the people of Israel will not leave anyone behind and will accept nothing less,” the group emphasized.

Late Monday night, the casket containing the remains was handed over to IDF and ISA forces inside Gaza and brought across the border into Israel. After a brief military ceremony attended by the IDF Chief Rabbi, the remains were transferred to the National Center of Forensic Medicine. According to the Health Ministry, “the casket arrived for identification and for investigation of the cause and circumstances of death,” with forensic experts and laboratory staff “prepared to provide the fastest possible response, with the utmost sensitivity regarding information shared with the families.”

A Hamas official told Al Jazeera that the body had been found earlier that day in Gaza City’s Tuffah neighborhood and turned over to Israel around 9 p.m., just two hours before the deadline set by President Donald Trump. But IDF soldiers operating nearby told Arutz Sheva that they personally witnessed terrorists staging the handover—burying the body themselves and pretending to “discover” it moments before calling the Red Cross.

The deception followed reports earlier Monday from Asharq Al-Awsat that Hamas told mediators it could locate between seven and nine deceased hostages buried beneath rubble in Gaza. Israeli intelligence has confirmed that Hamas knows the locations of at least eight such bodies and could retrieve them at any time.

To facilitate recovery, Israel had recently approved Hamas and Red Cross search operations inside IDF-controlled zones of Gaza, beyond the so-called “yellow line.” Red Cross and Hamas teams began working in Rafah and were expected to expand operations to Gaza City, joined by Egyptian units authorized to enter the enclave.

As the drama unfolded, Trump warned Hamas that the world’s patience was running out. On Saturday, he issued a 48-hour ultimatum: “Hamas is going to have to start returning the bodies of the deceased hostages, including two Americans, quickly, or the other Countries involved in this GREAT PEACE will take action.” He added, “Some of the bodies are hard to reach, but others they can return now, and, for some reason, they are not.”

“Perhaps it has to do with their disarming, but when I said, ‘Both sides would be treated fairly,’ that only applies if they comply with their obligations. Let’s see what they do over the next 48 hours. I am watching this very closely.”

{Matzav.com}

Efforts to finalize Israel’s draft law have hit another snag. Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth announced Monday evening that the scheduled debate, originally set for this Thursday, will be postponed to next Monday — following what he described as a “special request” from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

In a statement released by Bismuth’s office, it was confirmed that “in accordance with the request of the Prime Minister, the discussion on the draft law scheduled for this Thursday has been postponed. The discussion will take place next Monday, in order to allow the Prime Minister to review the draft bill that was submitted for his examination.”

Sources in the Knesset noted that the Prime Minister’s Office pressed Bismuth to delay the meeting, as the new date would avoid clashing with the massive Atzeres Tefillah planned for Thursday afternoon, an event expected to draw hundreds of thousands of participants at the entrance to Yerushalayim under the banner “The Cry of Torah – Against the Persecution of Lomdei Torah in Eretz HaKodesh.”

{Matzav.com}

As tensions rise over Hamas’s sluggish response to international pressure, Israeli officials believe the terror group is deliberately withholding the remains of key fallen soldiers, including Hadar Goldin and Colonel Asaf Hamami.

According to a Channel 13 News report released Monday night, intelligence assessments indicate that Hamas is aware of the burial sites of at least ten hostages who were killed, among them Goldin and Hamami. Despite this, the terror group is reportedly refusing to return their bodies because they have become “symbols.”

Hamami, the commander of the IDF’s Southern Brigade in the Gaza Division, was one of the first senior officers to fall on the morning of October 7. He was taken along with two other soldiers during the surprise Hamas invasion. Goldin, a Givati Brigade officer, was captured and killed during Operation Protective Edge in 2014 and has been held by Hamas ever since.

The new revelations come as Israel grows increasingly impatient with Hamas’s continued stalling. Earlier in the evening, Hamas returned the body of another fallen hostage.

Israeli officials say that while Hamas has the capability to retrieve and release the bodies, it is deliberately holding onto figures like Goldin and Hamami due to their symbolic significance, a move seen as part of the group’s ongoing psychological warfare against Israel.

{Matzav.com}

Two weeks after his release from Gaza, Yosef Chaim Ochana broke his silence, recounting the horror he endured and the desperate tactics he used to survive during his captivity. Speaking with Channel 12 on Monday, he described the moments when his life hung by a thread and how he managed to persuade his captors not to execute him.

“In the first place where I was kept, suddenly someone came into the room, angry, cocked his pistol, and put it to my head. ‘Tell me how many people you have killed, now I will kill you.’ I reply: ‘Zero, zero.’ Then he says, ‘Eh, you’re also lying to me,’ and was about to shoot me. At that point, some shiekh walks in, pulls him by the hand, and tells him, ‘Not now,'” Ochana recounted.

He recalled that the terrorists would intentionally torment them psychologically. “There were times that it was planned; they wanted to make us anxious. They sat us down and told us: ‘Your country did so and so, now we are taking revenge.’ They made us choose between each other, who to kill, who to just wound, they drew lots on us.”

Ochana described how simple greetings often turned into brutal assaults. “Once, they came, we said hello, and they suddenly began beating us. They were ordered to begin hitting us. They faced us against a wall, took off our shirts, and beat us. Since then, we would call it ‘the flashlights are coming.’ Every time we saw flashlights, we would have a panic attack. No one knew what to do; ‘Should I stand?’ ‘Should I sit?’ ‘Who will be the first to get it?’ We wanted to run as far in as possible, but then we understood that it won’t look good and that we need to spread out across the room. We preferred that they wouldn’t come for a week, two weeks, a month; that they would leave us alone.”

When faced with the threat of execution, Ochana said he appealed to their logic, hoping to convince them of his value alive. “At that point, I knew them, and I knew what was important to them, why they abducted me, and that the very fact that I was a hostage made me an ‘important bargaining chip.’ I told them, ‘What, now you’ll take revenge on me so that your citizens will be happy, but what about the prisoners waiting to be released in return for me from prison, to leave and see their families? If I die, they’ll release fewer prisoners.'”

{Matzav.com}

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By Rabbi Berach Steinfeld

In Parshas Lech Lecha, we find that after Avrohom Avinu’s victorious battle against the kings, he encountered Shem ben Noach, who served as the Kohen of that generation. The posuk tells us that Avrohom gave Shem maaser from all that he had taken.

In Parshas Toldos, we read that after Yitzchok left Avimelech, he planted a field, and it yielded “Meah She’arim” — one hundredfold. Rashi explains that Yitzchok measured the field’s extraordinary output in order to determine how much maaser he owed.

Later, in Parshas Vayeitzei, Yaakov Avinu pledges to Hashem, “Aser aasrenu lach”—I will surely tithe everything You give me. The Baalei Tosfos, citing the Medrash, note that Yaakov established the practice of giving maaser from monetary earnings. From this, Chazal derive the concept of giving a fifth of one’s income to tzedakah. This is learned from the double expression aser aasrenu—two tenths, equaling one fifth.

The Rambam (Hilchos Melachim 9:1) writes that Yitzchok instituted maaser, while the Raavad disagrees, arguing that Avrohom had already given maaser earlier. The Kesef Mishneh reconciles this by explaining that Avrohom’s gift to Shem was not maaser in the halachic sense, but rather tzedakah. His proof is that Avrohom gave only from the spoils of war, not from all his possessions. Yitzchok, by contrast, tithed all the produce of his fields.

Among the Rishonim, there is a discussion regarding maaser kesafim—whether separating a tenth from one’s income carries the same halachic weight as maaser from grain, or whether it is considered tzedakah with a minimum of one-tenth and a maximum of one-fifth.

One can harmonize the opinions by suggesting that each of the Avos introduced a different dimension of maaser: Avrohom gave maaser as tzedakah; Yitzchok tithed his agricultural produce; and Yaakov established the giving of maaser from monetary earnings.

The Shita Mekubetzes in Kesubos (50a) writes that one who earns money should first set aside a tenth for his own spiritual and religious needs, and then another tenth to give to the poor. He compares this to the two maasros given from grain—maaser sheni, eaten in Yerushalayim, and maaser ani, given to the poor. This, he explains, is likely what Yaakov meant by the double expression aser aasrenu lach. Yaakov did not say achamshenu (“I will give a fifth”) but rather “two tenths.”

Just as one may not use maaser from an already tithed crop to exempt another that has not yet been tithed, one cannot simply separate one fifth at once; the process must be done in two steps—first one tenth, then another tenth.

The Gemara teaches, Aser bishvil shetisasher—give maaser so that you may become wealthy. Indeed, maaser is not just an obligation; it is the wisest and most reliable investment a person can make.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump’s visit to Tokyo on Tuesday marked one of the most eventful days of his Asia tour, as he met with newly elected Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi — Japan’s first female leader — before addressing U.S. troops and business leaders later in the day.

While Japan remains one of America’s closest allies, Trump’s trip comes at a pivotal moment for both nations. Takaichi, who assumed office only days ago, faces the dual challenge of strengthening ties with Trump and protecting Japan’s economic footing. Trump lauded her historic role, calling her appointment as Japan’s first woman prime minister “a big deal,” and reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to Tokyo. “Anything I can do to help Japan, we will be there,” he said. “We are an ally at the strongest level.”

The pair began their meeting at Tokyo’s Akasaka Palace with a warm handshake, prompting Trump to joke, “That’s a very strong handshake.” Takaichi responded by offering symbolic gestures of goodwill, announcing Japan’s plan to send Washington 250 cherry trees in honor of America’s 250th anniversary, along with fireworks from Akita Prefecture for Independence Day festivities.

She also invoked the memory of her mentor, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who had forged a close friendship with Trump during his time in office. “As a matter of fact, Prime Minister Abe often told me about your dynamic diplomacy,” she said.

Trump is working to secure a $550 billion investment package from Japan as part of an expanded trade framework. Both leaders signed an agreement they described as ushering in the “golden age” of the U.S.–Japan alliance. The concise document reaffirmed a 15% tariff structure on Japanese imports and established the massive investment fund for projects in the United States.

They then finalized a second deal — this one focused on strengthening the supply chain for critical minerals and rare earth elements vital to advanced technologies. The agreement indicated that a portion of Japan’s investment would go toward the development of these strategic resources.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Takaichi would be nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, highlighting the growing rapport between the two leaders. The pair also met with families of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea.

The event featured a distinctly American touch — reporters arriving at the palace were ushered past a gleaming gold Ford F-150 pickup truck and a row of white U.S.-made Toyota vehicles. The move appeared to nod to Trump’s long-standing complaints that Japan buys too few American-made cars, which he has often described as ill-suited to the country’s narrow streets.

Takaichi is expected to launch her own charm campaign, with discussions reportedly underway about purchasing Ford F-150 trucks for government use. Trump, who has often linked trade and security, seemed pleased by the symbolic gesture.

Trump’s Asia agenda extends well beyond Tokyo. He had arrived in Japan the previous day following a stop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he participated in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. There, he celebrated a ceasefire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia, praising both governments for ending months of skirmishes after he threatened to suspend trade deals if they continued fighting.

Looking ahead, Trump’s diplomatic focus will turn toward China. Signs of easing tensions have emerged ahead of his planned meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea later this week. Negotiators from both sides suggested that progress was being made on a trade agreement, potentially avoiding another economic standoff between the two global powers.

Still, uncertainties remain. China recently altered its export policies on rare earth minerals vital for technology production — a move that prompted Trump to threaten tariffs he admitted “would be unsustainable” if prolonged. Whether the new accord will restore balance to U.S.-China relations remains to be seen.

Trump will conclude his Tokyo visit with a speech aboard the USS George Washington, an American aircraft carrier stationed near Tokyo Bay, before heading Wednesday to Seoul for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit — the next stop in his high-stakes Asian tour.

As the chareidi community braces for Thursday’s massive atzeres tefillah in Yerushalayim following the recent arrests of yeshiva bochurim who refused to report to army draft offices, Rav Moshe Maya, senior member of the Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah of Shas, issued a passionate call for every member of the tzibbur to attend.

Speaking on Kol Chai Radio’s Mahadura HaMerkazit with Avi Mimran, Rav Maya condemned the recent arrests and warned against complacency. “The Gemara says that because Rabi Eliezer did not protest when his neighbor’s cow went out on Shabbos with a strap between its horns, the transgression was attributed to him. If a person has the ability to protest and does not, he is held accountable for that sin,” Rav Maya said.

The Rav’s voice rose with emotion as he declared, “To arrest talmidei chachamim, there is no greater disgrace to talmidei chachamim than this. And if we remain silent, we become partners in that disgrace. One who can protest but does not is held responsible for the sin of degrading talmidei chachamim. And whoever disgraces talmidei chachamim has no share in the World to Come. We are talking about our very Olam Haba! Therefore, it is an absolute obligation to attend the atzeres.”

Addressing recent criticism of Shas chairman Aryeh Deri, Rav Maya forcefully rejected the attacks. “Even without bringing racism into the discussion, Aryeh Deri is a great talmid chacham,” he said. “He has always sought the guidance of the gedolei hador. He does not act on his own—he does what the rabbonim tell him to do.”

{Matzav.com}

Long before his presidency, Donald Trump pitched the idea of constructing a grand ballroom at the White House — even personally offering to design and build it for President Barack Obama back in 2010. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the Obama administration ultimately ignored the offer.

For over fifteen years, Trump had envisioned an elegant ballroom on White House grounds that could host major state dinners, official receptions, and high-profile gatherings of world leaders and celebrities. The Journal revealed that in early 2010, Trump placed a call to David Axelrod, then one of Obama’s closest advisers, after being introduced by MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski.

“He said, ‘You have these state dinners in [profanity] little tents,’” Axelrod recalled in an interview. “He said, ‘I build ballrooms. I build the most beautiful ballrooms in the world. You can come to Florida and see for yourself.’”

At the time, Trump proposed constructing a modular ballroom on White House property — one that could be assembled or taken apart as needed. “I was thinking, we’re in the middle of a recession, I’m not sure about this,” Axelrod admitted. He suggested Trump contact the administration’s social secretary about the idea, but the conversation went nowhere.

As the Journal noted, Trump approached the proposal the same way he tackled most of his projects — by navigating regulations and identifying creative ways to push construction through bureaucratic channels. His vision was for a permanent, opulent space worthy of major state functions.

That vision has now come full circle. The White House ballroom is finally being built, funded entirely by private donors at an estimated cost of $350 million.

Even The Washington Post editorial board defended the project, pointing out that both Obama and Biden administration alumni had long acknowledged the need for such an indoor facility. They noted that the current setup — where visiting dignitaries must cross the lawn to temporary tents and rely on outdoor portable restrooms — has been a long-standing embarrassment at major White House events.

{Matzav.com}

As preparations intensify for Thursday’s large atzeres tefillah in Yerushalayim, Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev announced that her ministry is coordinating enhanced public transportation to accommodate the anticipated crowds. “Wherever we identify heavy traffic, we will increase transportation service,” Regev told Kol Chai radio.

Regev emphasized her respect for lomdei Torah, saying, “We respect those for whom Toraso umanuso. There’s no doubt that we must strengthen those who learn Torah, but those who don’t learn must serve. The law we will bring will be very balanced — it has been coordinated with the chareidi representatives, including Ariel Atias of Shas, and with the IDF. It’s a good law for everyone.”

Responding to claims that Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu is hesitant to pass the draft law, Regev pushed back: “That’s completely untrue. Netanyahu believes the law must be passed, and that’s why he replaced former Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein. Boaz Bismuth is determined to pass the law, and it will happen.”

Addressing the situation in Gaza, Regev said, “According to the Trump plan, we now control over 50% of the Strip, while Hamas still holds the rest. But we will not leave until the area is demilitarized and a new government arises there. The administration in Kiryat Gat is handling all the logistical issues, and we will not agree to any Turkish or Qatari presence.”

Regev added that Hamas knows where the bodies of the deceased hostages are located. “They can return them all. If they don’t, we’ll have to enter the areas where they’re holding them,” she warned.

Regarding Thursday’s rally, Regev assured that her ministry is fully prepared: “We’ll act just as we do for any major event. Once we identify congestion at specific locations, we’ll increase public transport on the spot. Israel Railways will add trains to Yerushalayim, and bus operators will also increase service.”

{Matzav.com}

Elon Musk has officially launched Grokipedia, an online encyclopedia that he says will serve as an alternative to Wikipedia — one shaped more by artificial intelligence and less by what he calls “woke” bias. Musk described the project as a major milestone in building tools that reflect his worldview and push back against the dominance of traditional media outlets.

The billionaire entrepreneur said he was inspired to pursue the idea after a conversation with his friend and fellow investor David Sacks, who currently serves as the Trump administration’s AI and crypto czar. Musk accused Wikipedia of leaning left politically and frequently relying on outlets such as The New York Times and NPR, which he has criticized for promoting partisan narratives.

“An AI-generated encyclopedia would be super important for civilization,” Musk wrote on X, calling the effort an essential step toward “understanding the Universe.”

Unlike Wikipedia, where thousands of human volunteers write and edit pages, Grokipedia will rely on Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok, from his company xAI, to verify and compile content. Readers can suggest corrections using a pop-up form, but they cannot directly edit entries themselves.

Many of Grokipedia’s pages acknowledge that they are derived from Wikipedia under a Creative Commons license. A notice on several entries, including the one for the Nobel Prize in physics, reads: “The content is adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.” Some pages, particularly those on general topics, appear nearly identical to their Wikipedia counterparts.

Musk, however, has made it clear that his long-term goal is to eliminate Wikipedia as a data source entirely. He said Grok will stop drawing from Wikipedia’s database by the end of the year.

The differences between the two platforms are already visible. On Grokipedia, the page for President Donald Trump omits details about his alleged acceptance of a luxury aircraft from Qatar and his involvement with a Trump-themed cryptocurrency token — both of which appear in Wikipedia’s section on conflicts of interest. Similarly, Musk’s own entry on Grokipedia leaves out mention of a rally gesture that many observers labeled a Nazi salute, a topic discussed extensively on his Wikipedia page.

Responding to the new site’s debut, the Wikimedia Foundation emphasized that human input remains central to its mission. “Wikipedia’s knowledge is — and always will be — human,” the organization said in a statement. “Through open collaboration and consensus, people from all backgrounds build a neutral, living record of human understanding — one that reflects our diversity and collective curiosity. This human-created knowledge is what AI companies rely on to generate content; even Grokipedia needs Wikipedia to exist.”

The Foundation added, “Many experiments to create alternative versions of Wikipedia have happened before; it doesn’t interfere with our work or mission.”

The launch of Grokipedia pits the world’s richest man against one of the most visited sites on the internet. According to Similarweb, Wikipedia ranks ninth globally in traffic, far surpassing older encyclopedic resources such as Encyclopedia Britannica.

Wikipedia has long symbolized an earlier era of the internet — one driven by open collaboration rather than the influence of corporate tech giants. Founded in 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger, the site has remained ad-free and nonprofit, supported largely by volunteer editors.

Sanger, who co-founded Wikipedia, has in recent years become one of its harshest critics, charging that its anonymous editing model has led to ideological bias. He repeated those accusations in a recent interview with Tucker Carlson, which Sacks later shared on X.

While Wikipedia currently boasts about 7.1 million English-language entries, Grokipedia launches with roughly 885,000. The new platform’s homepage labels it “version 0.1,” signaling that Musk sees this as just the beginning of what he hopes will become a major AI-driven knowledge network.

{Matzav.com}