Matzav

The Anti-Defamation League said that a senior hire announced by New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani had published antisemitic remarks on social media more than ten years ago.

On Tuesday, Mamdani selected Catherine Almonte Da Costa to serve as director of appointments in his incoming administration. Da Costa previously held a similar role during Mayor Bill de Blasio’s tenure.

According to the ADL, it uncovered posts from Da Costa’s X account written in 2011 and 2012 that contained antisemitic language.

Among the posts cited by the organization was the statement, “Money hungry Jews smh.” The abbreviation “smh” refers to “shaking my head.”

The ADL said Da Costa also wrote, “Promoted to upstairs office today! Working alongside these rich Jewish peeps,” as well as, “Far Rockaway train is the Jew train.”

Shortly after the ADL made the posts public, the X account was removed.

In response, the ADL said, “We appreciate Da Costa has relationships with members of the Jewish community, but her posts require immediate explanation — not just from Ms. Da Costa, but also from the Mayor-Elect.”

The controversy followed another incident involving Mamdani’s team, after a separate staff member issued an apology last month for past social media posts that portrayed Israel in a demonizing manner.

Mamdani’s transition operation has also drawn scrutiny for including Women’s March leader Tamika Mallory, who has been accused of engaging in antisemitic conduct.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump said the White House had not officially arranged a meeting with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, even as he indicated that the Israeli leader was eager to meet and that a visit was likely to take place in Florida.

Asked in the Oval Office whether Netanyahu would be coming to Mar-a-Lago later in the month, Trump replied, “We haven’t set it up formally, but he would like to see me,” adding, “He’ll probably come to see me in Florida.”

Despite repeated briefings from Netanyahu’s office over more than a week asserting that a meeting was scheduled for December 29, the White House had not issued any formal confirmation.

During the same exchange with reporters, Trump was also questioned about the possibility of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi joining the gathering in Florida. Trump responded warmly, saying, “I’d love to have him. El-Sissi is a friend of mine.”

According to a US official quoted by The Times of Israel, Washington had been exploring the idea of hosting a three-way meeting involving Trump, Sissi, and Netanyahu. The official said US officials believed progress toward that goal was made after American mediation helped persuade Israel to move forward with a major gas agreement with Egypt, following months of hesitation by Netanyahu.

However, the same official said Egypt showed significantly less interest in such a summit, citing ongoing objections to Israel’s actions in Gaza and reluctance to offer Netanyahu a political advantage during an election year.

{Matzav.com}

Authorities are investigating two separate acts of vandalism aimed at the Chabad Jewish Center at Michigan State University, incidents that unfolded just days apart and are being treated as hate crimes.

According to police, a swastika was spray-painted on the building, an act first reported by the Lansing State Journal. Law enforcement officials said the vandalism is under investigation as a hate-motivated incident.

Earlier in the week, the Chabad center disclosed on social media that a stone was hurled at one of its windows in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The center said no one was inside the building at the time, and the reinforced glass prevented damage.

The attacks in Michigan come amid a broader wave of antisemitic violence. This week alone, a mass shooting in Sydney, Australia targeted a Chabad event, and members of the Jewish community were assaulted in two separate incidents in New York City.

{Matzav.com}

Senior police officials and political leaders sharply condemned violent disturbances in Yerushalayim on Thursday after clashes between police and hundreds of chareidi youths left 13 officers wounded and led to multiple arrests.

Police Commissioner Danny Levy described the events as a “very grave incident,” pledging that authorities would “hold everyone involved to account.” His remarks came after officers were pelted with stones and other objects, a police vehicle was overturned, and riot-control measures, including tear gas and stun grenades, were deployed to regain control.

According to police, the unrest erupted following an incident involving a municipal parking inspector who was attacked while carrying out his duties. Two young men allegedly assaulted the inspector, kicking him and threatening to kill him, telling him they would “slaughter” him if he returned to the area. Officers responding to the scene detained one of the suspects, a move that quickly inflamed tensions in the neighborhood.

As word spread of the arrest, hundreds of young men surrounded the police in an attempt to free the detainee, and the situation rapidly escalated into full-scale rioting. Five of the injured officers were taken to hospital for treatment, while police confirmed that four suspects had been arrested by early evening.

Hebrew media reported that officers on the scene identified the initial assailants as draft evaders and attempted to transfer them to Military Police custody. Police statements, however, attributed the outbreak of violence solely to the parking enforcement incident and did not confirm whether draft evasion played a role.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who oversees the police, issued a strong condemnation, saying he “unequivocally condemns the extremist rioting in Yerushalayim,” and warning that attacks on police officers crossed a “red line.”

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid leveled harsh criticism at the government, calling the events an “inconceivable failure of the government” and a sign of the “disintegration of government institutions.” In a statement, he said, “It’s unfathomable that chareidi draft evaders can avoid arrest just because they are engaging in violence. The defense minister and prime minister continue to encourage an enterprise of [draft] evasion and refusal on historic scales.”

Lapid’s comments also referred to separate overnight confrontations in Ramat Hasharon and Herzliya, where dozens of chareidi protesters blocked Military Police from detaining draft evaders.

Channel 12 reported that Wednesday night’s protests marked the third time this month that demonstrators had successfully prevented arrests of yeshiva students.

Additional condemnation came from across the political spectrum. Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman labeled the Yerushalayim riot “an act of terrorism in every sense,” writing on X, “This is what happens when the country’s leadership is in the pocket of chareidi wheeler-dealers,” and adding that “patience has run out and the excuses are over, the nation demands enlistment for everyone!”

Democrats party chairman Yair Golan also blamed the government, saying the violence showed that “the draft dodgers understand that the law in Israel does not apply to them, that everything is permitted to them — and this is how it looks.” He added, “The backing for [draft] evasion, and for violence against security forces, comes from above. The prime minister and defense minister are responsible for these shocking scenes. It is time to draft everyone and restore law and order in Israel, for the sake of Israel’s security.”

{Matzav.com}

A social media post by Yesh Atid MK Naor Shiri ignited sharp criticism on Thursday after he issued a harsh call directed at protesters confronting Israeli security forces.

The remarks came in the wake of demonstrations in which chareidi protesters hurled stones at IDF soldiers and police officers, an image that sparked outrage across parts of the political spectrum.

In the post, Shiri wrote: “Every protester who throws a rock at an IDF soldier has to end the day with a bullet in his knee. No less,”

Within roughly an hour, the MK removed the statement and sought to clarify his position. In a follow-up message, he wrote: “I deleted the post. The image of soldiers and police officers in Israel being stoned is unfathomable and is like a terrorist incident to me.”

Shiri went on to stress that the consequences of such actions could be far more severe, adding, “If a rock had hit a soldier and he had been injured, G-d forbid, the discussion about the limits of protest would certainly be completely different.”

Addressing the decision to take the post down, Shiri explained that his intent was not to inflame tensions with the chareidi public. “I deleted it because our country is on the precipice, and the purpose of the post was not to be hateful of the chareidim.”

{Matzav.com}

Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas praised the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, calling it “the greatest day in Palestinian history,” Palestinian researcher Hani al-Masri said in a recent interview.

Al-Masri, the director general of Masarat—The Palestinian Center for Policy Research and Strategic Studies—spoke when asked by Palestinian content creator Ahmad Biqawi in a YouTube interview posted on Dec. 11 how Ramallah reacted on the morning of the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel.

“This is the ‘authority’ people want the ‘Palestinian Authority’ to be? A terror-worshiping authority,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in an X post on Wednesday, accompanying the relevant clip from the interview. The ministry noted that al-Masri is also a member of the Board of Trustees at the Yasser Arafat Foundation, saying he “knows a thing or two about the P.A.”

Al-Masri also said that the P.A. is continuing terror payments to the families of prisoners and “martyrs,” despite commitments to the European Union and the United States to end its “pay-for-slay” policy.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar highlighted the continuation of the P.A.’s payments policy in an X post on Wednesday, accusing Abbas of once again lying about ending the practice. He added that the P.A. is disguising payments to released murderers as pensions for members of the Palestinian Security Services.

“This is distorted. End ‘pay-for-slay’ now!” Sa’ar wrote.

{Matzav.com}

[Video below.] Just as countries must have borders to exist, the conservative movement needs to delineate what is beyond the pale, and the latter includes Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host who has both denounced core conservative tenets of late and given voice to and failed to denounce antisemites and Holocaust deniers.

That was one of the messages Ben Shapiro, a Jewish conservative commentator and Daily Wire cofounder, shared in a Dec. 17 book talk with Kevin Roberts, president of Heritage Foundation.

Roberts has drawn criticism after failing to denounce Carlson, and a panel on Jew-hatred that used to be at the think tank has, at least temporarily, suspended its connection to Heritage, and several board and staff members at the think tank have resigned or left their positions.

Shapiro advised the think tank to part ways with Carlson, whom he called the “elephant in the room.” The Jewish commentator was there ostensibly to discuss his new book, Lions and Scavengers: The True Story of America (and Her Critics).

“If Heritage Foundation wishes to retain its status as a leading thought institution in the conservative movement, it must act as ideological border control,” Shapiro told attendees. “It must continue to draw the contours of legitimate, real conservatism. This is what the institution exists to do.”

Shapiro said conservatism’s top priority is “truth, not friendship,” calling Carlson “an opponent of conservatism, an outsider masquerading as an insider and destroying the character of the conservative movement in the process.”

That call for daylight between Heritage and Carlson came as two of the think tank’s board members, Shane McCullar and Abby Spencer Moffat, stepped down as trustees after Roberts defended Carlson and his softball interview with Holocaust denier and racist podcaster Nick Fuentes.

McCullar said, “No institution that hesitates to condemn antisemitism and hatred, or that gives a platform to those who spread them, can credibly claim to uphold the vision that once made the Heritage Foundation the world’s most respected conservative think tank,” Mediate reported.

And Moffat said the think tank had forfeited “the moral authority on which its influence depends,” the outlet said.

Shapiro said Carlson “sounds so much” like a socialist, has foreign policy views that are “idiocy” and has “glazed” the Iranian president “repeatedly” in interviews.

Carlson treated Qatar “as America’s foremost ally in the Middle East” and has a “peculiar obsession” with Israel, according to Shapiro, who noted that the podcaster has called Christian Zionism a “heresy.”

“He is mostly lying when he says that he is doing all of this in the name of a conservatism that does not resemble conservatism,” Shapiro said.

After the speech, Shapiro sat down with Roberts to talk about his book. “We love robust debate,” Roberts said, without addressing the institution’s support of Carlson directly.

“And surprises,” Shapiro quipped. JNS

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}

The U.S. State Department announced on Thursday that it imposed sanctions on two judges on the International Criminal Court over their role in affirming an investigation into what it alleges are Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

Gocha Lordkipanidze, a Georgian national, and Erdenebalsuren Damdin, a Mongolian national, voted in the ICC’s appeals chamber on Monday to uphold the investigation, ruling that the examination of Israel’s conduct in Gaza since Oct. 7 fell within the scope of the ICC’s wider probe from 2021 looking at all Israeli treatment of Palestinians in Gaza, eastern Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria since 2014.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the sanctions are part of an American policy to reject the ICC’s claims of jurisdiction over countries like the United States and Israel that are not party to the Rome Statute, which created the ICC.

“These individuals have directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel’s consent, including voting with the majority in favor of the ICC’s ruling against Israel’s appeal on Dec. 15,” Rubio said.

“The ICC has continued to engage in politicized actions targeting Israel, which set a dangerous precedent for all nations,” he added. “We will not tolerate ICC abuses of power that violate the sovereignty of the United States and Israel and wrongly subject U.S. and Israeli persons to the ICC’s jurisdiction.”

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu welcomed the decision on Thursday.

“As long as the ICC refuses to abide by its own rules of complementarity or to accept that it has no jurisdiction over non-member states, it cannot be treated as an institution of law,” Netanyahu stated.

“Rather it must be viewed and treated for what it is: a hostile political body dedicated to destroying the nation-state system, first and foremost by unlawfully pursuing false prosecutions against the State of Israel and the United States of America,” he said.

U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order in February directing the secretaries of state and treasury to impose sanctions on anyone involved in the ICC’s efforts to “investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute” U.S. citizens or the citizens of U.S. allies not party to the Rome Statute, including Israel.

The ICC, which is based in The Hague, is an independent body which is not part of the United Nations.

With the additions of Damdin and Lordkipanidze, the Trump administration has now sanctioned eight ICC judges, its chief prosecutor Karim Khan, two deputy prosecutors, three Palestinian NGOs and Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur on Palestinian rights.

U.S. sanctions typically have the effect of locking targets out of any financial institutions or businesses that have U.S. operations or that transact in U.S. dollars, including most of the global banking system.

Khan has reportedly lost access to his Microsoft email work account at the ICC and his bank accounts have been closed. Khan temporarily stepped aside from his role in May over allegations of sexual harassment. He denies the claims.

Canadian ICC judge Kimberly Prost told the Associated Press earlier this month that after she was designated for U.S. sanctions she also lost access to her credit cards and Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistant.

“Your whole world is restricted,” she said. JNS

{Matzav.com}

Hours after banning use of the phrase “Globalize the intifada” at protests, police in London arrested four people for using it at an anti-Israel rally on Wednesday night.

The arrests in front of the Ministry of Justice headquarters in London at a Palestine Coalition protest were for “racially aggravated public order offences, all involving the alleged shouting or chanting of slogans involving calls for intifada,” the Metropolitan Police said in a statement. A fifth arrest was made “for obstruction of a constable.”

The Metropolitan Police and police in Manchester announced on Wednesday that the slogan “Globalize the intifada” will be considered hate speech and that people using it will face arrest.

The arrests follow a tightening of the enforcement of hate speech laws following the murder of 15 people at a Jewish community Chanukah candle lighting event on Sydney’s Bondi Beach. The slogan “Globalize the intifada” was a staple chant at countless anti-Israel events in Sydney since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas invaded Israel and triggered a regional war.

Jonathan Sacerdoti, a British-Jewish journalist and pundit, on Thursday welcomed the arrests but said they came belatedly and as part of a response that was too weak to confront the threat facing British Jews.

“The announcement [about banning the ‘Globalize the intifada’ slogan] has been framed as a response to a ‘changed context.’ But what it actually represents is an admission, belated and heavy, that the authorities spent years refusing to see what was directly in front of them,” Sacerdoti wrote on Substack.

He noted that many Jews and others understand the phrase as a call to repeat terrorist attacks carried out in Israel against Jews and others worldwide. The meaning of the words has not changed, he added, and the shift in the police’s enforcement “occurred in the difficulty to deny the truth brought about by the death of 15 more innocents slaughtered by Muslim terrorists.”

Police on Wednesday also prevented the Palestine Coalition protesters from gathering near Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, Parliament Square and surrounding areas, as well as in the area north of Oxford Circus, citing planned Chanukah candle lighting events. The protesters were allowed to gather only near the Justice Ministry’s headquarters.

Many Australian Jews and others have blamed the Canberra government for inaction in the lead-up to the Bondi Beach massacre, which a Pakistani man and his Australia-born son were filmed perpetrating. Australian authorities said the alleged perpetrators had ties to jihadists from the Islamic State terrorist group.

Palestine Coalition is an umbrella group uniting several anti-Israel organizations, including the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), Stop the War Coalition and the Friends of Al-Aqsa.

British authorities have faced allegations of inaction, though they have taken steps that Australian counterparts had not. In July, the government banned the activities of a different group, Palestine Action, over its involvement in repeated break-ins of facilities tied to Israel, sometimes through use of violence against police and security officers.

Hundreds of Palestine Action activists have been arrested for expressing public support for the proscribed group. Several Palestine Action activists who are in prison for violence and breaking and entering have gone on a hunger strike, and some rally organizers have been holding protests not only against Israel, but also for the release of the imprisoned activists. JNS

{Matzav.com}

Law enforcement officials are looking into whether two fatal shootings at prominent New England academic institutions may be connected, sources told The NY Post.

The incidents occurred within a short span of time and geographic proximity, prompting investigators to consider a possible relationship between the cases.

On Monday night, MIT nuclear science professor Nuno Lourerio, 47, was found shot to death inside his Brookline, Massachusetts townhouse, a property valued at about $1.4 million.

Just two days earlier, an unidentified gunman opened fire during a final exam review session at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. The Shabbos afternoon attack left two students dead and nine others injured.

The two crime scenes are located less than 50 miles apart.

At this stage of the investigations, authorities have not identified any suspects in either shooting.

{Matzav.com}

The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts in Washington is set to receive a new name after its governing board voted to rename the landmark the “Trump-Kennedy Center,” according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Leavitt announced the decision Thursday, writing on X that the trustees, all appointed by President Donald Trump earlier this year, “have just voted unanimously” in favor of the change. She said the move was driven by what she described as Trump’s role in rescuing the institution.

“They did so because of the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building,” Leavitt wrote.

In a separate message, she added, “Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump, and likewise, congratulations to President Kennedy, because this will be a truly great team long into the future! The building will no doubt attain new levels of success and grandeur.”

Despite the board’s action, the renaming could encounter legal obstacles. Federal law governing the center specifies that no new “memorials or plaques in the nature of memorials shall be designated or installed in the public areas of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.” Changing that provision would require congressional approval. NBC News reported in July that such a step would need legislation, and House Republicans have already put forward at least one bill proposing to rename the center in Trump’s honor.

Leavitt’s portrayal of a revitalized institution stands in contrast to reports from several major news organizations suggesting the center has struggled in recent months. The New York Times reported that internal data showed ticket sales during a typical October week fell by roughly half compared with the same period last year. An analysis by The Washington Post of sales between early September and October 19 found an “across-the-board drop-off” in ticket purchases across the center’s three largest venues. Reports have also pointed to staffing declines.

Trump’s involvement with the center intensified shortly after he returned to office. Weeks into his second term, he named himself chairman of the board and removed numerous sitting trustees, explaining at the time that they “do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture.”

In October, Trump hinted publicly that a name change was on the way. In a Truth Social post, he shared images of newly painted exterior columns, jokingly praising “the new TRUMP KENNEDY, whoops, I mean, KENNEDY CENTER, columns.”

Even so, Trump said later Thursday that the board’s formal decision caught him off guard. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, he said, “I was surprised by it. I was honored by it. You know, we’re saving the building.”

The Kennedy Center’s name itself has a layered history. The institution was established in 1958, when President Dwight Eisenhower signed legislation to “provide for a National Cultural Center” in the nation’s capital. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy spearheaded a $30 million fundraising campaign to construct the facility. After Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, President Lyndon Johnson signed a law two months later renaming the center in his honor.

{Matzav.com}

Many people have been enraged by Candace Owen’s theorising on the assassination of her friend Charlie Kirk, but even more have been captivated by her real-time investigation into a colossal cover-up of his murder by his own organization Turning Point.

Is Candace searching for truth… or is it all a cynical ploy to exploit the most emotive and consequential story of the year for money and clout?

Charlie’s widow Erika Kirk issued a firm message to Candace: “Stop.” And the pair have since had a private four-hour meeting, which is now the catalyst for frenzied speculation that Candace may be having second thoughts.

Piers Morgan finds out more about what happened; and asks Candace – who’s releasing a new book called Make Him A Sandwich – if she ever will stop with the conspiracy theories.

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}

Former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel Rav Yitzchak Yosef used his weekly shiur to call for a change in how Sephardic yeshivos conduct Chanukah candle lighting, questioning the practice of interrupting seder learning for the mitzvah.

Addressing the issue of candle-lighting times, Rav Yosef discussed the customs followed by various Chassidic leaders and contrasted them with strict adherence to halachah. He noted that certain Chassidic rebbes would light Chanukah candles 18 minutes after sunset, explaining that this practice was followed by the Gerrer Rebbe, the Beis Yisrael, and later by Rav Pinchas Menachem Alter, who served as Rosh Yeshivah of Gur before becoming Rebbe.

“There are rebbes who light later,” Rav Yosef said, “but we follow halachah. Someone who is at home should not delay lighting without reason. Why delay? Light exactly on time. Someone who is late can still light afterward — at six or seven. If a person is working and cannot stop, or if stopping would cause a significant loss, or if he has a chavrusa at that time, why stop learning at five o’clock, bang on the bimah, and light Chanukah candles?”

Rav Yosef went on to propose a clear change for yeshivos: continuing the regular learning schedule and lighting the Chanukah neiros only at the conclusion of seder. He said that this has already been the practice for years at Yeshiva Chazon Ovadia, where candle lighting is held at 7:00 p.m., and added that he was told the same is done at Yeshivat Porat Yosef under Rav Moshe Tzadkah.

“In our yeshivah, Chazon Ovadia, for years already we light at seven,” Rav Yosef said. “I heard that in Porat Yosef as well they do the same. Meaning, they light at the end of seder. At seven, they close the Gemaras and then light. That is the best way to do it.”

Expressing hope that his guidance would be adopted more broadly, Rav Yosef said, “If only all yeshivos would do this. The Ashkenazim won’t listen to me — at least the Sephardim should listen. Light the Chanukah candles at the end of seder. It’s a shame — this is Toras harabbim. You stop the learning, then go to the room to light, sing songs — what kind of bitul Torah is this? Do all of that at seven. You have an hour break, do it then. But a person who is at home, not a yeshivah student, should light on time — exactly at five.”

{Matzav.com}

Hagaon Rav Dov Landau, Slabodka rosh yeshiva, delivered a powerful address of chizuk at the Rabbeinu Chaim Ozer Yeshiva following the arrest and imprisonment of one of its talmidim by the Israeli Military Police, sharply condemning the move and calling it a “horrific crime.”

The Rosh Yeshiva spoke Wednesday night in the beis medrash of Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Ozer after talmid Yitzchak Rebibo was taken into custody and incarcerated in a military prison on charges of being a so-called “deserter.”

“All observant Jews are shocked to the depths of their souls by the horrific crime of throwing a yeshiva student into prison,” Rav Landau declared. “A student of your yeshiva — Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Ozer, led by my esteemed colleague the great gaon Rav Menachem Tzvi Berlin — is imprisoned solely because of his ‘crime’: that he learns in yeshiva and does not enlist in the army of their regime. This is something utterly terrifying.”

Rav Landau went on to say that the Torah world must respond with strength and clarity. “We must proclaim that ‘no weapon formed against you shall succeed,’ that their decrees will be nullified like dust of the earth, and that all will be able to continue learning Torah without interference.”

Addressing the imprisoned talmid directly, Rav Landau offered words of chizuk. “To the bochur Yitzchak Chaim ben Shlomit, we strengthen him that he stand firm against the plots of wickedness, that he pay no attention to empty temptations and false persuasion, and that he merit to emerge soon from the prison in which he is being held.”

Turning to the yeshiva and its leadership, Rav Landau urged them not to be demoralized. “Do not allow your spirits to fall. Be strong and courageous. In these days of Chanukah, grasp the attribute of the Chashmonaim, who stood with bravery against those who sought to make them forget Your Torah. Just as then, so now, may Hashem show us miracles and wonders in our time, and we will prevail.”

{Matzav.com}

As Jewish communities confront a wave of violent antisemitic attacks, a little-known telegram sent nearly seven decades ago by the Lubavitcher Rebbe has reemerged, drawing fresh attention for its urgent tone and striking relevance.

The document, written by Rav Menachem Mendel Schneerson to US President Dwight D. Eisenhower, dates to April 16, 1956, just days after Arab terrorists attacked a Chabad school in Kfar Chabad during Maariv, murdering five students and their teacher. Though preserved in archives, the message had not previously circulated widely.

In the telegram, the Rebbe sharply condemned the attack, describing it as a “cold-blooded massacre of Jewish children at prayer,” and pressed Eisenhower to act. Rather than offering condolences alone, the Rebbe appealed for American influence to be used to prevent further bloodshed and to safeguard Jewish religious and educational institutions in Israel. Writing in the name of the worldwide Chabad movement, he framed the massacre as a moral test that “must arouse every decent human being,” urging immediate and effective steps.

The resurfacing of the telegram comes at a moment of acute concern for Jewish security after 15 people were killed in an Islamist terror attack targeting a Chanukah gathering at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.

{Matzav.com}

Dear Matzav Inbox, 

There is a quiet, creeping issue that has taken root in our simchos and it needs to be called out plainly.

People show up. They take time off work. They battle traffic. They arrange carpools, babysitters, flights, and so on. They get dressed, (put on makeup, for the women), and come—often exhausted, often stretched thin—simply to share in another Yid’s joy and offer a heartfelt mazel tov. And far too often, what do they receive in return? A nod without eye contact. A rushed half-smile. Or worse, nothing at all.

When did basic hakaras hatov become optional?

A baal simcha who barely looks up as someone approaches, who offers a limp handshake while scanning the room for someone “more important,” sends a clear message: Your presence doesn’t really matter. And that message stings. It stings deeply.

And then there’s the kabbolas ponim circus.

How many times does one walk into a wedding hall, make their way to the designated table, and find… empty chairs? The baalei simcha are nowhere to be found. Instead of sitting and receiving people, they’re sprinting across the room looking for eidim, whispering frantically with photographers, managing crises that shouldn’t be their problem.

Sit down. Stay put. Let people wish you mazel tov. That is the entire point of a kabbolas ponim.

Is it really so unbearable to pause the logistics for a moment and be present?

This isn’t about entitlement. No one is asking for fanfare or flowery speeches. We’re talking about eye contact. A sincere smile. Two seconds of acknowledgment that says, “Thank you for coming. It means something to me.” That small human moment can carry someone for days. Its absence can sour an entire evening.

We speak endlessly about mentchlichkeit. Mentchlichkeit is how you treat the person standing in front of you.

A baal simcha who cannot be bothered to properly acknowledge the people who came to share their joy should stop and ask: What exactly is this simcha for?

Sit down. Look people in the eye. Say thank you. Mean it.

It shouldn’t be radical. It should be obvious.

B. T.

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As smart televisions have become a fixture in American living rooms, concerns about how much information they gather have grown sharper. While consumer advocates have offered tips on limiting data collection, Texas officials are now taking the issue to court, arguing that the problem goes far beyond complicated settings menus.

This week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton initiated legal action against five major television manufacturers—Sony, Samsung, LG, Hisense, and TCL—accusing them of unlawfully monitoring what residents watch inside their homes. The lawsuits claim the companies are “spying on Texans by secretly recording what consumers watch in their own homes.”

At the center of the complaints is Automated Content Recognition, or ACR, a technology embedded in many smart TVs. According to the filings, ACR allows televisions to capture images of what appears on the screen and transmit that information back to the manufacturer, enabling what the state describes as “real time” tracking of viewing habits without clear user awareness or permission.

Texas argues that this data collection feeds directly into the modern TV business model, where operating systems and advertising platforms generate significant revenue. Targeted ads rely on detailed viewer profiles, and ACR is sometimes activated by default. Consumer advocates have noted that disabling it can be difficult, with options hidden deep within complicated menu systems that vary by manufacturer.

The attorney general’s office has also highlighted the global implications of the practice. In a press release announcing the lawsuits, Paxton pointed out that Hisense and TCL are headquartered in China, asserting that “these Chinese ties pose serious concerns about consumer data.” The release adds that China’s National Security Law “gives its government the capability to get its hands on U.S. consumer data.”

Those warnings echo earlier debates in Washington. Similar fears about American user data being accessible to Beijing underpinned legislation passed in 2024 aimed at forcing ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, to divest or face a nationwide ban.

In their court filings, Texas officials draw comparisons to earlier eras of audience measurement. Decades ago, Nielsen compensated participants who allowed their listening or viewing habits to be tracked. The lawsuits argue that today’s consumers receive no such compensation, even as their data is harvested quietly and continuously—aside from the benefit of increasingly inexpensive large-screen televisions.

The complaints also trace the evolution of media monitoring back to the 1930s and 1940s, when Nielsen researchers physically collected tapes from devices attached to radios that recorded dial changes. Texas argues that modern ACR systems are far more invasive than those early tools.

Although opting out of ACR is technically possible, the state says it is unrealistic for most users. In its case against Hisense, Texas alleges that “opt-out rights are scattered across four or more separate menus which requires over 200 clicks to read through in full on the TV,” and that key license terms are presented only during the initial setup process.

The lawsuits include diagrams illustrating how ACR systems gather and transmit data. Texas maintains that the stakes extend beyond consumer privacy into national security. In the Hisense filing, the state notes that company terms allow data transfers to the People’s Republic of China, then advances a broader argument about potential misuse.

From the lawsuit:

The CCP may use the ACR data it collects from its Smart TVs to influence or compromise public figures in Texas, including judges, elected officials, and law enforcement, and for corporate espionage by surveilling those employed in critical infrastructure, as part of the CCP’s long-term plan to destabilize and undermine American democracy.

The focus on possible blackmail of public officials has raised eyebrows, particularly given Paxton’s own political history. While the attorney general faced impeachment proceedings in 2023 and allegations of an extramarital affair surfaced during that period, he was ultimately acquitted. Coverage by Austin’s KUT News reported that those personal allegations featured prominently during the trial.

Despite that backdrop, Paxton framed the lawsuits as a clear-cut defense of privacy. “Companies, especially those connected to the Chinese Communist Party, have no business illegally recording Americans’ devices inside their own homes,” Paxton said in a statement posted online announcing the new lawsuits.

“This conduct is invasive, deceptive, and unlawful. The fundamental right to privacy will be protected in Texas because owning a television does not mean surrendering your personal information to Big Tech or foreign adversaries.”

{Matzav.com}

Speculation about President Donald Trump and a potential third term has resurfaced following a recent meeting in the Oval Office with constitutional scholar Alan Dershowitz, who revealed that he presented Trump with a draft of an upcoming book addressing the issue.

According to Dershowitz, the manuscript—titled “Could President Trump Constitutionally Serve a Third Term?” and scheduled for release next year—lays out a range of constitutional theories that could be tested despite the 22nd Amendment’s two-term limit on presidents. Trump, Dershowitz said, expressed interest in reviewing the book and asked about its conclusions.

“I said ‘it’s not clear if a president can become a third term president and it’s not clear if it’s permissible,’” said Dershowitz, who represented Trump during his first impeachment trial.

Dershowitz recounted that after hearing the explanation, Trump reacted calmly and moved the conversation along. “He found it interesting as an intellectual issue,” Dershowitz said. “Do I think he’s going to run for a third term? No, I don’t think he will run for a third term.”

The Wall Street Journal reported that Dershowitz told the paper he had informed Trump that “the Constitution wasn’t clear on the issue.” He added that the book explores unusual but theoretically possible pathways, including a scenario in which a future election is thrown to Congress. In that case, Dershowitz suggested, the Electoral College could decline to vote, compelling lawmakers to decide the outcome. “They then select, and not elect, the president,” he explained.

Asked about the meeting and Trump’s posture, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson offered a supportive response, saying, “The country would be lucky if he served a longer period of time.”

Trump himself has publicly addressed the issue. In October, he acknowledged that constitutional limits bar him from seeking another term, saying he is “not allowed” to do so. Those remarks came as some supporters openly speculated about a 2028 run.

Fueling that speculation were red hats emblazoned with “Trump 2028” that appeared on the president’s Oval Office desk. Some backers floated the idea of a future ticket featuring Vice President JD Vance, but Trump brushed that aside, saying it was “pretty clear” he couldn’t run again. “But we have a lot of great people,” he added.

More recently, Trump said it is too early to formally designate a successor for the 2028 race, though he noted that Vance is currently viewed as the leading figure to carry the Republican banner.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli aviation authorities have announced immediate changes to passenger screening procedures at Ben Gurion Airport following two serious security breaches in recent months in which individuals managed to board international flights without valid travel documents or tickets.

The decision comes after an internal review revealed weaknesses at different points along the passenger screening chain, which involves the Airports Authority, the Population and Immigration Authority, and the airlines themselves.

In the first incident, which occurred roughly two months ago, a 13-year-old boy succeeded in boarding an El Al flight to the United States without a passport or a boarding pass. In a second case earlier this week, an 18-year-old Israeli infiltrated an Austrian Airlines flight to Vienna without a valid ticket. Both incidents raised significant concerns regarding oversight and coordination among the various bodies responsible for airport security and passenger control.

Following a high-level meeting held with the participation of the director general of the Israel Airports Authority and senior officials, a series of steps were approved to strengthen the outbound passenger process at Ben Gurion Airport. Due to aviation security considerations, officials said not all of the decisions can be made public.

However, the Airports Authority confirmed that the central change involves stricter verification of boarding passes. Whereas until now there were several stages between terminal entry and aircraft boarding at which passengers were not required to present a ticket, the new policy will require travelers to show a boarding pass at additional checkpoints. The revised procedures will be introduced gradually.

Officials cautioned that during the initial implementation phase, passengers may experience longer waiting times and increased congestion at certain points within the terminal.

The Airports Authority emphasized that the move is part of a broader, multi-year program aimed at improving efficiency, supervision, and uniformity in the outbound passenger process. The rollout and adjustment period for the new procedures is expected to continue over the coming year and will be carried out in a controlled, step-by-step manner.

As part of the wider plan, additional measures will be introduced, including reinforcement of staffing at key locations, adjustments to work configurations, and the integration of advanced technological systems. These steps are intended to strengthen service continuity, enhance the passenger experience, and ensure consistent compliance with established procedures.

{Matzav.com}

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Wednesday accused the Palestinian Authority of continuing to fund terrorists and their families, despite public claims that the practice has ended, saying the payments are now being routed through a disguised pension system tied to Palestinian security services.

In a post on X, Sa’ar said the PA, led by Mahmoud Abbas, is masking payments to terrorists by categorizing them as benefits for retirees from Palestinian security forces. “Do not believe the lies of Mahmoud Abbas,” Sa’ar wrote. “The Palestinian Authority continues to pay salaries to terrorists and their families.”

Sa’ar said the PA has decided to maintain its long-standing policy of compensating terrorists based on the severity of their attacks. According to him, the system includes payments to the families of those killed while carrying out attacks, wounded terrorists, imprisoned terrorists, and those who have been released from prison.

He added that, in some cases, payments to freed terrorists are being concealed as pension disbursements to former members of Palestinian security agencies. “This is distorted,” Sa’ar wrote, calling on the international community to act immediately to end what he described as the “Pay-for-Slay” policy.

The remarks come amid repeated claims by the Palestinian Authority that it has halted direct payments to terrorists, assertions Israeli officials have rejected, arguing that the underlying system remains intact under different administrative labels.

{Matzav.com}