Matzav

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pledged yesterday that a future Trump administration would seek to remove fluoride from drinking water as a Day 1 goal, reversing a decades-old intervention widely credited for boosting public health.

“On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S​. water systems to remove fluoride from public water,” Kennedy wrote Saturday on social media, adding a list of medical conditions that he said were associated with fluoride consumption, such as bone fractures and neurodevelopmental disorders. Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, has pledged that Kennedy will be empowered to play a major role overseeing health policy if he is elected.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has long recommended putting fluoride in Americans’ drinking water, hailing it as one of the 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century and citing data that the practice reduces cavities by about 25 percent in children and adults.

“Decades of research and practical experience indicate that fluoride is safe and beneficial to oral health,” Linda Edgar, president of the American Dental Association, said in a statement in August.

The Trump campaign declined to comment on Kennedy’s pledge on fluoride.

“While President Trump has received a variety of policy ideas, he is focused on Tuesday’s election,” spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez said in a statement.

Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The practice of putting fluoride in Americans’ water began in 1945 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. More than 200 million Americans are on fluoridated water systems, according to a 2022 CDC summary.

In 1962, the U.S. Public Health Service recommended adding small amounts of fluoride, a naturally occurring mineral, to drinking water to strengthen teeth and replace minerals lost to routine wear and tear – a decision that helped fuel wild, often baseless allegations about public health officials’ motivations. That resistance was lampooned in the 1964 satirical film, “Dr. Strangelove,” in which the film’s antagonist – a paranoid general – justifies his decision to spark nuclear war by blaming fluoridation, saying it is “the most monstrously conceived and dangerous Communist plot we have ever had to face.”

But it has long been a bipartisan priority on Capitol Hill and around the country.

Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) and Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) introduced legislation in January to further fund the CDC’s oral health agenda, including state fluoridation efforts.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) endorsed fluoride in April as part of her declaration of a statewide “drinking water week.”

“When communities invest in community water fluoridation, there is an average estimated return on investment of $20 in dental treatment costs for every one dollar in most cities,” Ivey wrote in a proclamation.

Some researchers have raised concerns about fluoride’s effects, such as whether the mineral has a harmful effect on developing brains. A study led by researchers at the University of Southern California and published in JAMA Network Open in May suggested that fluoride exposure during pregnancy was linked to an increased risk of childhood neurobehavioral problems.

“[M]ore studies are urgently needed to understand and mitigate the impacts in the entire U.S. population,” Tracy Bastain, a USC associate professor and author of the study, said in a statement in May. Bastain did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Kennedy’s comments.

Other researchers have dismissed the USC study, and public health officials have frequently played down worries about fluoridation of water, saying that some Americans wrongly believe in myths and conspiracy theories about its risks.

Some local lawmakers and communities around the country continue to push back against the practice of putting fluoride in water, and anti-fluoride activists have turned to the courts. In September, a federal judge ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to further regulate fluoride in drinking water, saying there was potential risk to children’s developing brains. The judge noted that his finding “does not conclude with certainty that fluoridated water is injurious to public health.”

Kennedy, who is skeptical of vaccines, pledged to remove fluoride from drinking water as part of his long-shot independent campaign for president. Kennedy suspended his campaign in August and endorsed Trump, becoming one of his top surrogates on the campaign trail.

The Washington Post reported on Thursday that Kennedy is poised to take a major role overseeing food and health agencies in a possible Trump administration, potentially as a White House czar.

Trump has said he is committed to including Kennedy in his administration and will empower him on public health.

“I said focus on health, you can do whatever you want,” Trump told podcaster Joe Rogan last month, reiterating his pledge when speaking to supporters in New York City two days later.

“I’m gonna let him go wild on health. I’m gonna let him go wild on the food. I’m gonna let him go wild on medicines,” Trump said.

(c) Washington Post

On Sunday, former hostage Agam Goldstein released photos from her time in Hamas captivity, along with a message calling to free the remaining hostages.

Goldstein, who was abuducted along with her brother, said:

“Sitting there in the tunnel in Gaza, we were photographed asking to go home. With weary, frightened eyes that had seen the worst the day before and were afraid of what they would see next. Today is 3.11.24, and on this date last year I did not know that in three weeks I would be released, I did not know if I would survive, if I would meet more hostages. I was afraid of what my eyes would see. I did not want to see any more disasters.

Those eyes, which I will never be able to speak all that they have seen. Those eyes which looked every day at the clock, waited, not knowing for what. Those eyes which looked closely at the hostages there. I looked into your eyes and did not know that it would take so long. How can we ever look into your eyes again? What can we say to you? What do you see there? What are they doing to you from the day we parted? Today in my eyes I see you, and then I see people who you are not first in their priorities.

I see you, and then I see your mother fighting for you everywhere she can. I see two worlds and know what you see there. Look me in the eye, the lost and weary ones in the picture, and tell me I’ll have to survive like this for another 51 days. I wouldn’t believe it. And I am angry, for if they had released me a week before, I would have been spared so much. Even a day before.

So what do I say to them? Another 400 days and how much we could have spared them from what their eyes will see. And how much more are we adding to them with every moment of delay and postponement? Look them in the eye, and for how much longer will you ask them to survive like this?” Goldstein concluded.

The photo released was found by the IDF.

{Matzav.com} 

Timothy Lenderking, President Joe Biden’s special envoy to Yemen, has made several appeals to the Egyptians in recent months. He has done the same with the Saudis and other Arab partners, and each time his message is more or less the same.

“I’ve told all of them that they need to do more,” Lenderking said in a recent interview about the Houthis, the Iranian-backed militant group that, for the past year, has waged an aggressive campaign against the United States, Israel and commercial ships traversing the Red Sea – all in the name of defending the Palestinians amid Israel’s devastating war in Gaza.

What Lenderking means is that Washington’s Arab partners need to do more to counter the Houthi hero narrative in the Middle East. The group’s leaders have been undeterred by a U.S.-led coalition’s effort to blunt their attacks and secure vital shipping routes, and they have been emboldened by their surging popularity among other Muslims whose outrage over the Gaza crisis runs deep. There is strong appeal, officials and experts say, in the idea that this scrappy quasi-government is sticking it to the Jewish state.

Lenderking contends that the Houthis aren’t helping the Palestinians and that they’re horrible for Yemen, an impoverished country whose population has suffered greatly amid years of war. Regional powers, he says, “can help delink this notion that what the Houthis are doing is legitimized by the fact that there’s a conflict in Gaza. It’s much more difficult for us to break that linkage.”

The group’s steady attacks in one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes have taken a toll on many countries’ economies and contributed to inflation worldwide. Commercial traffic through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea – a key source of foreign currency for the Egyptian government – has fallen so dramatically in the past year that it has cost Cairo at least $2 billion in lost revenue, exacerbating price pressures on Egypt’s poor.

The Houthi campaign also has slowed the flow of humanitarian aid into Yemen, where the World Bank and other international organizations estimate that millions of people are facing severe malnutrition.

All of this, in the view of the Biden administration, should provide ample reason for America’s Arab allies and partners in the Middle East to join the United States – if not militarily, then at least vocally – in countering the Houthis. But the Egyptians, the Saudis and other Arab states, for the most part, are resisting Washington’s entreaties.

“They don’t see that raising rhetorical stakes with the Houthis will help them,” said Hussein Ibish, a scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute. “The Egyptians, in particular, are scared of what the Houthis might do next.” He raised the prospect that the group could try to mine the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. That would have even greater consequences on the Egyptian pound, Ibish added, saying of the government in Cairo, “They are pretty spooked.”

The Saudis and Emiratis fought a years-long war against the Houthis and have no interest in becoming entangled in a new conflict with the group, experts said. And in an environment where Iran is geographically close, and the United States has left some Arab states feeling that it is an unreliable partner, the leaders of those countries have increasingly expanded their outreach to Tehran and see little upside to provoking its proxies.

American credibility in the region has fallen further with Washington’s unflinching support for Israel over the past year, as tens of thousands of Palestinians have died in Gaza and footage of bloodied children circulates daily on news and social media.

“You turn on the TV, and it’s the war,” said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California), who recently returned from a trip to Saudi Arabia. “Constant. It’s all the channels. The bombings and the war and suffering.”

Though no major country recognizes the Houthi government in Sanaa, and the Biden administration placed the militants back on a global terrorism list, the group has leveraged a sophisticated media operation to magnify its Red Sea campaign and missile launches at Israel to portray itself as a defender of the Palestinian cause.

The Houthis’ top leader and spokesman each command more than a million followers on the social media platform X, and in the span of a year, the group has released hundreds of well-produced videos, songs and religious chants that have reached millions across the world, according to analysts at the Middle East Research Institute.

“They have convinced a lot of people that what they’re doing is helpful,” Ibish said. “I ask people, ‘How on earth do you think this is benefiting the Palestinians? Or even Hamas?’”

The answer he gets is: “Well, anything that pushes back against the genocide.”

Israel strongly denies that it is committing genocide in Gaza and blames Hamas for the war’s high rate of civilian casualties, saying the militant group uses civilians as human shields.

In a televised speech Thursday, the Houthis’ leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, described the Middle East conflict as “an American-Israeli-Western war on our ummah” – the global Muslim community – that the West is clearly losing, he added, according to a translation provided by the SITE Intelligence group.

“You have to understand the level of complexity that this situation has created for [Arab] governments in dealing with their people, with communities within their countries,” said one senior Arab diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid about the thinking within his and other governments.

“People in the region today believe more than ever that a Palestinian state is necessary for lasting peace in the entire Middle East,” the diplomat said. Before the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel set off the wars in Gaza and Lebanon, “if you were to ask people, ‘What’s the number one regional geopolitical issue that’s on your mind,’ you’d have varied responses,” the diplomat said.

“Today, if you want to talk about any political issue in the region, in any household, [the Palestinians] are going to be the number one issue.”

Of the more than 20 countries that participate in the U.S.-led Operation Prosperity Guardian, a naval coalition launched in December to defend the shipping lane off Yemen’s coast, only one Arab state, Bahrain, does so publicly. Regional experts believe other Arab countries also rank among the 10 coalition members who have kept their support quiet.

Despite conducting repeated strikes on Houthi weapons sites, U.S. officials have acknowledged the campaign has done little to deter the Houthis, who have said they will continue their attacks until Israel ends its war in Gaza.

“They see themselves as riding on a crest of popularity,” said Lenderking. And that’s why Washington thinks a demonstrable repudiation from the Arab states could be effective.

Over the past 13 months, the Houthis have launched around 200 attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, killing at least four commercial mariners and sinking two ships. In January, two U.S. Navy SEALs died while attempting to board a vessel carrying Iranian-made weapons that officials said were bound for Yemen.

In recent days, after the group used missiles and drones to target four ships, Houthi, the militants’ leader, boasted that the United States was failing in its efforts to get “other countries involved, mainly the Saudi-United Arab Emirates alliance, to serve Israeli interests.” But, he declared, the Saudis know that any involvement in Yemen will be “disastrous for them.”

“Is attacking ships, causing a drop in shipping of 90 percent, bringing us closer to a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? The answer is no,” said Thomas Juneau, a professor at the University of Ottawa and an expert on Iran’s support for the Houthis. But in the battle of narratives, he added, the United States has been “completely outplayed.”

(c) Washington Post

Saudi Arabia reiterated its position that the kingdom will not formalize relations with Israel without a pathway to a Palestinian state, asserting that some deals it is negotiating with the United States are “not that connected” to Washington’s normalization drive.

Riyadh is “quite happy” to wait until the situation in the Gaza Strip is “amenable” before normalizing ties with the Jewish state, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said at an investment summit.

“We look at just what’s happening now in north [Gaza] where we have a complete blockade of any access for humanitarian goods coupled with a continued military assault without any real pathway for civilians to find shelter, to find safe zones, that can only be described as a form of genocide,” Prince Faisal said, according to Reuters.

He added that U.S.-Saudi deals regarding trade and technology are “not tied to any third parties” and can potentially progress “quite quickly.

“Some of the more significant defense cooperation agreements are much more complicated. We would certainly welcome an opportunity to finish them before the [end of the] administration’s term, but that’s reliant on other factors outside of our control,” the top diplomat added.

Faisal informed investors on Thursday that Riyadh’s relations with Iran “are moving in the right direction, but of course, they are complicated by the issues of regional dynamics.”

Saudi Arabia and the U.S. are looking into a set of agreements on nuclear energy, security and defense cooperation, all of which were initially part of a proposed normalization pact involving Riyadh and Jerusalem. The three-way talks faltered following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

In August, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israeli government officials that they would have to make considerable concessions to the Palestinians if a U.S.-brokered deal with Saudi Arabia is to succeed.

Saudi Arabia will need to show Muslims that it is extracting promises from Israel regarding the Palestinians, Blinken explained following talks with Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer. Riyadh is also requesting American support for a Saudi civilian nuclear program.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said in an interview with Bloomberg that the concessions to the Palestinians the U.S. and Saudi Arabia expect are not as big a stumbling block as people think.

“If there is a political will, there will be a political way to achieve normalization and formal peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia. That has enormous economic consequences for the investors and if they have to bet on it right now, I’d bet on it,” the prime minister said.

(JNS)

The final round of swing-state polling conducted by The New York Times in partnership with Siena College indicates former President Donald Trump making substantial gains in Pennsylvania, while Vice President Kamala Harris is showing strengthened support in both North Carolina and Georgia.

However, the polling results in all seven states remain close enough that the outcome is still unpredictable, with the margins of error suggesting a toss-up, as reported by The New York Times on Sunday.

In Pennsylvania, where Harris previously held a steady 4-point lead in all prior New York Times/Siena College polls, the race is now locked in a tie.

Advisors from both political campaigns agree that winning Pennsylvania will be critical in securing victory on Tuesday.

The poll reveals that Harris currently leads in Nevada, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, while Trump holds an edge in Arizona. The two candidates are closely matched in Michigan, Georgia, and Pennsylvania, the other three battleground states.

With the results so tight, both candidates retain several potential paths to reach the 270 Electoral College votes required to win the presidency — barring any major polling miscalculations, The Times noted.

Josh Kraushaar, editor-in-chief at The Jewish Insider, remarked on X (formerly Twitter) about the report, noting that: “Across these final polls, white Democrats were 16 percent likelier to respond than white Republicans. That’s a larger disparity than our earlier polls this year, and it’s not much better than our final polls in 2020 — even with the pandemic over. It raises the possibility that the polls could underestimate Mr. Trump yet again.”

Approximately 11% of respondents remain undecided or open to switching their preference, though among the 8% who recently committed to a choice, 55% chose Harris, with 44% selecting Trump.

Data from the University of Florida Election Lab shows that 70 million Americans have already cast their votes. In the Times poll, 40% of respondents in the swing states reported having voted early, with Harris leading among these early voters by an 8-point margin.

The survey involved 7,879 likely voters across the seven contested states, with specific samples of 1,025 in Arizona, 1,004 in Georgia, 998 in Michigan, 1,010 in Nevada, 1,010 in North Carolina, 1,527 in Pennsylvania, and 1,305 in Wisconsin, and was conducted from October 24 through November 2.

The margin of error for the overall poll is 1.3 percentage points across all seven states, and 3.5 percentage points for each individual state’s poll.

Early voting rates are especially high in North Carolina, where Harris holds an 8-point advantage among early voters.

Most North Carolina voters—90%—reported that Hurricane Helene did not impact their voting ability, with over half indicating they had already voted.

Arizona stands out as the only state where early voting favors Trump. Among the 46% of voters who reported casting ballots early, Trump leads Harris by a margin of 56% to 46%.

The polls further underscore that economic issues remain the top priority for voters, though in states like Wisconsin, where Harris has a lead, abortion is also a central concern.

Meanwhile, immigration has become an increasingly prominent issue for Arizona voters, potentially contributing to Trump’s higher support in the state, where he continues to emphasize the need for strict border policies.

The survey also shows that Trump retains strong support among white voters without college degrees and men, while Harris is the preferred candidate for Black voters, particularly women, as well as Latino voters.

A gender divide remains evident, with Harris favored by women and Trump by men.

{Matzav.com}

Israel estimates that approximately 50% of the hostages in the Gaza Strip are alive, according to a report from Yisroel Hayom published on Sunday. Currently, there are 101 hostages believed to be held in Gaza, and of these, it is estimated that 51 are still alive, the report indicates.

The report further notes that 37 hostages have been officially confirmed deceased.

While definitive proof of the deaths of other hostages is still pending, the Israeli security apparatus possesses enough intelligence to conclude that additional hostages are likely deceased.

An official informed Yisroel Hayom that families of hostages presumed dead have been informed of these assessments. Some families accepted this information, while others opted to wait for more definitive proof. The report states that in September, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu addressed the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, asserting that it was believed that only half of the hostages were still alive.

In June, the Wall Street Journal reported statements from U.S. officials claiming that out of 120 hostages held at that time, only 50 were still alive. This information surfaces as negotiations for a potential hostage agreement are being revitalized. In late October, it was reported that negotiators in Qatar’s capital, Doha, were discussing a possible arrangement that would lead to the release of a limited number of hostages in exchange for a brief ceasefire.

{Matzav.com Israel}

Israel Defense Forces special forces captured a pro-Iranian terrorist operative during a raid in Syria, the military confirmed on Sunday, publishing footage from his interrogation by intelligence officers.

The raid across the Jewish state’s northern border was carried out in “recent months” by members of the Egoz commando unit, along with field interrogators of the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504.

Ali Soleiman al-Assi, a Syrian national from Saida in the southern part of the country, was tasked by Tehran with “gathering intelligence on IDF troops in the border area for future terror activity of the network,” the Israeli military announced in a post on social media on Sunday night.

“The operation prevented a future attack and led to the exposure of the operational methods of Iranian terror networks located near the Golan Heights. Al-Assi was transferred for further investigation,” it added.

“The IDF will not allow Iranian proxies in southern Syria to operate and threaten Israeli civilians,” the army statement concluded.

Earlier on Sunday, the Saudi state-owned Al-Hadath television news channel reported that Israeli commandos entered Syria and detained a Syrian citizen working with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The IDF military raid was said to have taken place in July of this year.

In the video footage shared by the IDF, Al-Assi describes to interrogators how he was approached by Iran, saying a man came to his home and told him, “Your area is good, strategically, we could make use of it.

“And then he told me, you need to work with us. What does working with you mean? Just to observe on the borders,” the Syrian continued. “He told me he’s from military intelligence … but in reality, Iran is behind them. From what I understood, he belongs to Iran.”

On Friday, Jerusalem’s elite Shayetet 13 naval commando unit captured a senior Hezbollah terrorist in northern Lebanon. The terror operative, identified as Imad Amhaz, is considered to be a “significant source of knowledge” in the terror group’s naval force, according to the IDF.

Amhaz is likewise being interrogated by the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504, which specializes in human intelligence.

Israeli forces have accelerated work on enhancing defensive measures near the Syrian border in the Golan Heights in recent weeks, Reuters reported last week, citing local security sources and analysts.

Troops have cleared land mines and established new barriers on the frontier between the area in the far northeast of Israel and the demilitarized strip bordering Syria, according to the report.

The move suggests Jerusalem could be looking to hit Hezbollah for the first time along Lebanon’s eastern border; while establishing a secure zone from which IDF soldiers can monitor the terrorist army and prevent infiltrations into Israel, sources told the news agency.

(JNS)

The Galil Medical Center announced on Sunday that a man died of wounds sustained during a Hezbollah rocket barrage fired from Lebanon at Nahariya in northwestern Israel last month.

The 57-year-old victim, who was not immediately named, was hit in the head by shrapnel from interceptions of a 25-rocket salvo targeting the area on Oct. 23.

He was hospitalized in intensive care and underwent several surgeries.

Terrorists have killed more than 900 civilians in Israel since the start of the war on Oct. 7, 2023, the country’s National Insurance Institute said on Sunday, before the man’s death was made public, which would make the total number 903.

The figure includes all war fronts since the Hamas-led cross-border massacre almost 400 days ago, according to the National Insurance Institute, which supports victims and their families.

The NII did not state how many civilians had been wounded since the start of the war, though an Oct. 29 notice said that the agency provided assistance to more than 70,000 victims of hostilities.

On Thursday, seven civilians were killed and one was seriously wounded in two separate Hezbollah rocket assaults on Israel’s north, marking one of the deadliest days since the Iranian-backed terrorist organization joined the war in support of Hamas on Oct. 8, 2023.

Also on Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces announced that a soldier was killed the previous day by a grenade in the northern Gaza Strip, bringing the number of troops killed in action on all fronts to 780.

The IDF death toll in Gaza since the start of the ground invasion there on Oct. 27, 2023, stands at 368. Additionally, Ch. Insp. Arnon Zamora, from the Border Police’s Yamam National Counter-Terrorism Unit, was fatally wounded during a hostage rescue mission, and defense contractor Liron Yitzhak was mortally wounded in the Strip in May.

Some 12,000 wounded IDF soldiers and security personnel have entered physical rehabilitation programs since the start of the war, including 900 wounded over the past month in Lebanon, according to data published last week by the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department.

The IDF has been fighting to defeat Hamas and Hezbollah since the former led the invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, murdering some 1,200 people, mainly Jewish civilians, wounding thousands more and kidnapping 251 people to Gaza, where 101 remain.

(JNS)

In their first ever in-person interview, Piers Morgan and entrepreneur Patrick Bet-David take the time to savor a conversation on the world as they see it today. Donald Trump versus Kamala Harris in the election is the hottest topic they cover, and it raises questions like: should Kamala go on Joe Rogan’s podcast? What exactly will Trump do if elected? And what will people do to try and stop him? But they also speak on JD Vance, Elon Musk, podcasts and new media, Iran, Venezuela, China, Russia, Ukraine and more.

WATCH:

An American rosh yeshiva shared with Matzav.com that reports concerning Rav Asher Deutsch’s guidance on the yeshiva schedule for bein hazemanim were misinterpreted.

Contrary to initial news reports, Rav Deutsch clarified that he did not instruct yeshivos to maintain the current bein hazemanim schedule without any changes.

According to the initial report, Rav Deutsch was quoted as having emphasized that “the arrangements and regulations of the yeshivos are founded on the heights of holiness and were established by our revered rabbeim.” The report further claimed that he had stated: “We have no authority to change them in any way.” The original reports claimed that Rav Deutsch urged talmidim to adhere strictly to the regular bein hazemanim schedule, even amidst the ongoing crises affecting Klal Yisroel.

However, after a personal conversation with Rav Deutsch, the American rosh yeshiva said that this representation was inaccurate. Rav Deutsch did not, in fact, discourage yeshivos from considering adjustments to their bein hazemanim schedules in light of current events. The rosh yeshiva told Matzav.com this morning, “Rav Deutsch told me that he never said not to cancel or shorten bein hazemanim.”

{Matzav.com Israel}

A total of 902 civilians have been killed by terrorism in Israel since the start of the war on Oct. 7, 2023, the country’s National Insurance Institute announced Sunday.

The figure includes all war fronts since the Hamas-led cross-border massacre almost 400 days ago, according to the NII, which supports victims and their families.

The NII did not state how many civilians had been wounded since the start of the war, though an Oct. 29 notice said that the agency provided assistance to over 70,000 victims of hostilities.

On Thursday, seven civilians were killed and one was seriously wounded in two separate Hezbollah rocket assaults on Israel’s north, marking one of the deadliest days since the Iranian-backed terror organization joined the war in support of Hamas on Oct. 8, 2023.

Also on Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces announced that a soldier was killed the previous day by a grenade in the northern Gaza Strip, bringing the total number of troops killed in action on all fronts to 780.

The IDF death toll in Gaza since the start of the ground invasion there on Oct. 27, 2023, stands at 368. Additionally, Chief Inspector Arnon Zamora, of the Border Police’s Yamam National Counter-Terrorism Unit, was fatally wounded during a hostage rescue mission, and defense contractor Liron Yitzhak was mortally wounded in the Strip in May.

Some 12,000 wounded IDF soldiers and security personnel have entered physical rehabilitation programs since the start of the war, including 900 wounded over the past month in Lebanon, according to data published last week by the Israeli Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department.

The IDF has been fighting to defeat Hamas and Hezbollah since the former terror group led the invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, murdering 1,200 people, mainly Jewish civilians, wounding thousands more and kidnapping 251 people to Gaza, where 101 remain.

(JNS)

The ongoing Israeli military operation to clear Hamas terrorists from northern Gaza could take at least another six months, IDF officials told Ynet on Sunday.

Jabaliya has been cut off from Gaza City, located some 2.5 miles to the south, during the weeks-long assault, with Israeli forces taking control of the area and allowing civilians to evacuate.

Facial recognition technology was used to ensure that terrorists were not among those exiting the combat zone, and so far security forces have captured and detained some 600 suspected Hamas terrorists.

Tens of thousands of civilians heeded the IDF’s call and evacuated, but thousands remain. The IDF increased its use of artillery fire after the risk to civilians was reduced. Several hundred terrorists also remain in the city, forcing the military to operate there for a few more days.

“The forces in effect implemented part of a plan devised by former high-ranking members of the military, to prevent humanitarian aid from reaching areas under Hamas control and thereby undermine its rule,” Ynet military correspondent Yoav Zitun wrote.

“In the first week of the assault, Jabaliya was surrounded while the military urged civilians to leave, but after American pressure, aid was once again allowed in, straight to the hands of Hamas,” he continued.

Jabaliya was considered a Hamas stronghold, and many terrorists returned there after troops withdrew earlier this year, forcing the return of the IDF to prevent the terrorist group from regrouping.

“We found an exhausted population, hungry and weak, arriving at our gates of passage, and without civilians, Hamas cannot exist,” IDF officials said.

“Interrogations of terrorists have been useful and provide intelligence on where Hamas planted explosives and where they keep their weapons,” they continued.

The IDF provided an update on the progress in Jabaliya on Sunday morning, saying that dozens of terrorists were killed over the past day and noting that the Kfir Infantry Brigade has begun operating in the area, calling in an airstrike that eliminated a terrorist cell that posed a threat to troops.

Furthermore, IDF soldiers continue to operate in the central and southern Gaza Strip, locating weapons and eliminating terrorist cells. Over the past day, troops dismantled weapons storage facilities and killed terrorists.

On the northern front, Israel’s war with Hezbollah in Lebanon could continue for months yet, Reuters reported on Friday.

Nir Oz perpetrator slain

An Israeli airstrike in Gaza last week killed a Hamas Nukhba terrorist who participated in the massacre at Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of the northwestern Negev.

Raafat Ibrahim Mahmoud Akdeih served as an aide to the commander of the Nukhba commandos in Hamas’s Khan Yunis Brigade, according to the IDF.

Around 25% of the 400 residents of Nir Oz were murdered, wounded or kidnapped during the Hamas-led assault.

(JNS)

Dear Matzav Inbox,

I feel obligated to voice my dismay regarding the troubling obsession with politics that has unfortunately grown into our frum communities. It is nothing short of pathetic.

From every corner, I hear endless discussions about the latest political skirmishes, alliances, candidates, and strategies, as if these matters hold the ultimate significance in our lives. Trump, Harris, Walz, etc. nationally. Wieder, Menashe Miller, Lichtenstein, Schnall. etc. locally.

Whatever happened to our understanding of what it means to be a frum Jew, to truly believe that lev melachim v’sarim b’yad Hashem? If we truly internalized this yesod, would we immerse ourselves so deeply in the superficial affairs of this world, which is but a fleeting illusion?

Where is our bitachon? The fervor and passion for candidates and political loyalties convey an unsettling message—that our fate rests in the hands of mere mortals rather than in the hands of the One who governs the universe. It is one thing to be aware of policies and their potential impact on our communities; it is another to plunge into the depths of political machinations, treating them at shul Kiddush and after davening each morning as if they are the ultimate arbiters of our success or failure.

This deep immersion in olam hazeh nonsense reflects a serious misalignment in our priorities.

The frum community in all kreizen is alarmingly preoccupied with the clamor of political cycles and power plays. We are blending into a culture that prizes political victories over our sacred mission of nitzchiyus. When did political fervor and partisan disputes become part of our identity? Have we truly forgotten our ultimate purpose?

Political figures are but pawns in a Divine chess game, and history has shown us time and again that rulers rise and fall according to Hashem’s will. To be so invested in these personalities—men and women whose agendas often diverge from our own values—is to demonstrate a shocking ignorance of this fundamental truth.

Moreover, let’s consider the corrosive effects of this obsession on our communities. Political debates seem to bring out the worst in us, leading to division, hostility, and rampant lashon hara. It’s one thing for the rest of the world to succumb to this trap, but for the Torah community to adopt the same divisive attitudes? Where are our principles?

Instead of clinging to the latest political drama and the antics of fleeting personalities, let us return to our core values. Let us place our trust in Hashem, redirect our focus to the study of Torah, and remember that our strength and security come from Above—not from the outcome of elections or the favor of any political party. It is high time to step back, reevaluate, and reaffirm our commitment to genuine bitachon and our higher calling.

Sincerely,
A Disappointed Yid

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{Matzav.com}

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has called for an immediate end to the fighting in Gaza and urged moving forward on initial steps toward a two-state solution.

During a CNN interview, Olmert responded to a question about ending the conflict, saying, “I thought, eight months ago, not a week ago, not two weeks ago, eight months ago I thought that it should have stopped. We have reached the point where we achieved most of what we had to achieve, which is to destroy the military capacity of Hamas.”

Olmert expressed support for Israel’s swift military response to the October 7 attack but noted that ongoing combat has led to further loss of life among both Israeli soldiers and Palestinian civilians.

“Hamas is a terrorist, murderous organization. There is no question about it. They did something absolutely terrible. And there was — it was an inevitable reaction that Israel had to make. But we achieved most of what we can achieve in the military operation. We destroyed the Hamas, we destroyed the tunnels, not 100 percent of them, but enough. We destroyed their weapons, their rockets, their bunkers, their command positions, everything.”

“Now, what happens is that we lose Israeli soldiers, we lose innocent Palestinians living in Gaza embedded with Hamas and, of course, it is a main reason for the growing number of innocent civilians being killed, but we are not going to get back the hostages if we do not stop the war.”

Olmert asserts that halting the conflict is the only way to secure the return of Israeli hostages and could lead to a full withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from Gaza.

He stated, “And the time is to stop it today, right now, and to make an agreement that will bring back the hostages There will be Palestinian prisoners released, no doubt. And then, we will have to pull out from Gaza altogether. And there will be a military force and an administration force. Two different things. They will take over Gaza and they will provide for the security that there will not be any further military terrorist attacks from Gaza to the State of Israel.”

Olmert views this Gaza arrangement as a preliminary step toward addressing the broader Palestinian issue. “What are we going to do with 6 million Palestinians? We have to find a solution. Now, there is not any solution other than a two-state solution. And that’s what we, based on what I have proposed to Abu Mazen in 2008 when I was prime minister, that’s what we have to do now. We have to try and bring it back to the center stage, to the international discourse, to the ministries, prime ministers, governments everywhere to bring it back and deal with it.”

{Matzav.com}

Former President Trump expressed that a Republican victory in the popular vote is challenging due to Democratic dominance in key states as Election Day nears.

At a rally in Virginia, Trump urged strong voter turnout on Tuesday, stating his desire to win “everything,” including the popular vote. However, he acknowledged that states like California present an obstacle to securing the popular vote.

“When you have New York, Illinois and California, you have automatically, it’s like ridiculous, automatically goes to a Democrat, it’s tough to win the popular vote because they’re three big states,” he said.

Though Trump won the presidency in 2016, he failed to capture the popular vote that year against Hillary Clinton, as well as in 2020 against President Biden. Over the past six presidential elections since 2000, Democrats have won the popular vote five times, although Republicans claimed victory in the Electoral College in three of those races.

Trump suggested that current polls show him leading “everything,” adding that he anticipates winning the popular vote. He also referenced his unproven claims of voter fraud benefiting Democrats, which he argues impacted his 2020 reelection bid.

“I’d love to win the popular vote with them cheating. Let them cheat because that’s what they do. They do it very well. They’re very professional, but I think we have a really good chance to win the popular vote, and I think things are going to be very interesting,” he said.

Because the Electoral College system requires a candidate to win enough states to achieve 270 electoral votes, securing the popular vote alone doesn’t guarantee a win. Recently, Democrats have frequently won the popular vote while falling short in the Electoral College.

In 2016, Clinton won the popular vote by a 2-point margin but narrowly lost the Electoral College. In 2020, Biden won the popular vote by 4.5 points yet only managed a tight victory in the Electoral College.

Experts have suggested that Vice President Harris may not achieve the same popular vote margin as past Democrats, with shifts in the electorate potentially boosting Republican popular vote margins without necessarily impacting the Electoral College results.

Trump’s rally in Virginia was one of several stops this weekend in states that have typically leaned Democratic and are expected to support Harris comfortably.

{Matzav.com}

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris surprised viewers by making an appearance on Saturday Night Live last night. In a comedic segment, she portrayed a version of herself, playfully mocking her own laugh in a final media push ahead of Tuesday’s election.

The skit featured Harris coming face-to-face with her SNL impersonator, Maya Rudolph, in the show’s cold open.

WATCH:

It began with a parody CNN broadcast that switched over to a rally scene featuring James Austin Johnson as former President Donald Trump, complete with the bright orange vest he wore at a recent campaign event.

The scene then shifted to portray Maya Rudolph, Andy Samberg, and Jim Gaffigan as Harris, her husband Doug Emhoff, and her running mate, Governor Tim Walz, respectively.

Also joining the skit was Dana Carvey, reprising his role as President Joe Biden.

In the sketch, Rudolph’s Harris asked the others to leave, saying she needed a moment alone.

“I wish I could talk to someone in my shoes,” she mused to herself in an empty room.

At that point, the real Kamala Harris appeared in the dressing room mirror.

“You and me both, sista!” Harris said, flashing a broad grin and receiving prolonged applause from the audience.

Harris continued, “I’m here to remind you, you’ve got this, because you can do something your opponent can’t do—you can open doors.”

When Rudolph responded with Harris’s distinctive laugh, the real Harris asked, “I don’t really laugh like that, do I?”

The two went on to make light of Harris’s name, with Harris claiming she’d end the “dramala” in politics if she won, and they chanted together, “Keep Kamala and Carry Onala.”

“I’m gonna vote for us,” Rudolph declared.

“Any chance you’re registered in Pennsylvania?” Harris joked.

The sketch ended with Harris joining in for the iconic line, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”

However, Harris faced a different atmosphere as she exited the Rockefeller Center studios, as anti-Israel protestors shouted “Murderer, murderer, murderer!” at her motorcade.

Meanwhile, the Trump campaign criticized Harris’s appearance on the show.

“Kamala Harris has nothing substantive to offer the American people, so that’s why she’s living out her warped fantasy cosplaying with her elitist friends on Saturday Night Leftists as her campaign spirals down the drain into obscurity. For the last four years, Kamala’s destructive policies have led to untold misery and hurt for all Americans. She broke it, and President Trump will fix it,” said campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung to Fox News.

The night’s political satire continued with a separate skit, where host John Mulaney played an uninformed liberal in a game show segment. A 2016 tweet warning of disaster if Hillary Clinton lost was shown to Mulaney’s character, who was then challenged to identify Clinton’s running mate. When the real Sen. Tim Kaine appeared on set, Mulaney’s character couldn’t recognize him.

“You voted for me four years ago,” Kaine said, shocked.

Harris’s weekend was packed with campaign events. On Shabbos, Harris made appearances in Atlanta, Georgia, and Charlotte, North Carolina, as she squeezed in a few more campaign stops with only 60 hours left before Election Day.

Saturday Night Live has a long-standing tradition of featuring presidential candidates and sitting presidents.

Among the prominent figures who have hosted the show are former Vice President Al Gore, the late Senator John McCain, and Trump, who took the stage in both 2004 and 2015 in the lead-up to his presidential campaigns.

Former presidents Gerald Ford and Barack Obama each appeared during their terms—Obama in 2018 and Ford during the show’s second season in 1976.

The late President George H.W. Bush also made a guest appearance in 1994, following his presidency.

In addition, Hillary Clinton appeared on the show in 2015 in the month leading up to the election.

{Matzav.com}

Only hours after releasing a video in which he warned Israel and the United States, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, renewed his threats against Israel, posting directly on the platform X.

Using his Hebrew-language account, which had been suspended last week but was subsequently restored, Khamenei stated, “The US and the Zionist regime will receive a crushing response to what they are doing against Iran and the resistance front.”

Khamenei’s latest threats came after he appeared in a video message earlier in the day, promising a “crushing response” to actions by Israel and the United States, echoing his previous statements.

These warnings come amid indications that Khamenei has instructed the Supreme National Security Council to get ready for potential military action against Israel.

A report in The New York Times from Thursday indicated that Khamenei moved forward with this plan after reviewing a comprehensive report from senior military officials. The report outlined damage to Iran’s missile production capabilities, air defense systems around Tehran, vital energy infrastructure, and a key southern port.

A senior source told CNN on Wednesday that Iran is planning another attack on Israel, likely before the U.S. presidential election next Tuesday.

According to this source, Iran’s anticipated response to Israel’s air strikes on its military assets last week is expected to be significant.

An Israeli military official told CNN on Thursday that Israel is on a “high level of readiness” for any potential retaliatory moves by Iran.

The Israeli source mentioned, however, that they are “still assessing the decision-making process in Iran” to determine if and when any response will be launched.

{Matzav.com}

Gen Jack Keane (Ret.) explains how Israel’s recent strike on Iran caused more damage than what is being reported.

The IDF has removed Minister of Knesset Yitzchak Kroizer of Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party, over a photo of him inside a home in a southern Lebanon, with the words “MK Kroizer’s office” in graffiti behind him.

Commenting on Kroizer’s dismissal, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said in response, “The case was investigated and it has been decided to end the reserve service of the person in question.”

Blasting the IDF’s decision, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir responded, saying: “The IDF’s decision to remove from reserve service MK Kroizer from Otzma Yehudit, who fought valiantly since the outbreak of the war and is now in Lebanon, only because of pressure from the Haaretz newspaper, is a shame and disgrace.

The fact that the IDF panics following queries from the newspaper whose owner considers Hamas terrorists to be ‘freedom fighters’ is outrageous and worrying. I expect the Chief of Staff and the head of the Personnel Directorate to come to their senses, and strengthen MK Kroizer who fights against the terrorists both from the Knesset and on the lines.”

Kroizer confrimed the decision, saying: “Yes. I was dismissed from reserve service. And you know why? Because of an inquiry by the Haaretz newspaper (whose publisher last week called the Hamas terrorists ‘freedom fighters’) asking why a photo of me from Lebanon was published.

I have had the privilege of fighting for you with more than 100 days in reserve in the past year. I will continue to fight for you in the Knesset together with my friends from the Otzma Yehudit faction. Thanks to everyone for the support I receive.”

Benny Gantz called on the IDF to reconsider Kroiser’s dismissal, saying: “Discipline in the IDF is important, and the photograph of MK Kroizer in Lebanon is a mistake that needs clarification and possibly disciplinary punishment. At the same time, in these days when we do not have enough soldiers, and the fighting spirit is so important, the removal of an elected official, who serves as an example and chooses to go out and fight, sends the wrong message. MK Kroizer, with whom I fundamentally disagree, deserves praise for his enlistment, and I call on the IDF to reconsider his removal.”

{Matzav.com} 

Washington state will put National Guard members on standby in the week of the Nov. 5 general election, Gov. Jay Inslee (D) announced Friday, days after a ballot drop box in the state was burned by an incendiary device.

Inslee has given the state’s adjutant general, Maj. Gen. Gent Welsh, discretion on how many troops to activate. The figure is fluid, and officials will not be disclosing specific numbers, a spokeswoman for the state’s military department said. The troops will be activated from Nov. 4 through Nov. 7 and will support law enforcement, protect key infrastructure and respond to any unrest.

Inslee’s office described the move as precautionary. But it noted that the Homeland Security Department has warned that the threat to election infrastructure during the 2024 election cycle is high, and mentioned this week’s burning of two ballot drop boxes – one in Vancouver, Washington, and a second in neighboring Portland, Oregon – as a reason for his caution.

In Portland, police are increasing staffing on Election Day in the following days “as a precaution.”

Washington state’s decision follows precautionary steps taken by state and local officials across the United States and reflects broader concerns across the country that violence may erupt around the election.

A Washington Post-Schar School poll of more than 5,000 registered voters conducted in the first half of October in six battleground states found that 57 percent of respondents are very or somewhat worried that supporters of former president Donald Trump would turn violent if he loses, compared with 31 percent who think Vice President Kamala Harris voters would resort to violence. Two-thirds of voters are not confident Trump would accept a loss, while a little more than two-thirds are confident Harris would accept defeat.

The apparent assassination attempts on Trump, as well as Trump’s continued embrace of violent rhetoric, misinformation spreading on social media and conservatives’ efforts to cast doubt on election integrity, have fueled those concerns.

At an early-voting site in San Antonio, a voter punched a poll worker who asked him to remove his MAGA hat, The Post reported. (Texas prohibits election slogans inside voting places. Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, called another voter a “patriot” for objecting to a similar rule in New Jersey.)

The office of Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) said this week it will put 60 National Guard members on standby on Election Day. The guard members will “be available to support existing law enforcement preparations for Election Day on things like traffic enforcement and building security” or help deal with an unexpected weather event that coincides with the elections, the office said, adding that the decision mirrors the state’s preparations for past elections.

In the District of Columbia, Police Chief Pamela A. Smith has said that the entire D.C. police department will deploy through at least the Nov. 5 election. This means all eligible 3,300 officers will work 12-hour shifts, with most leave time and vacations canceled, The Post reported. Smith said that her agency knows of no credible threat and that there is “no need for any alarm.”

Three associations representing law enforcement departments across the country signed a joint statement this week vowing to “stand ready and united to ensure that Election Day 2024 is secure, safe, and fair.”

“Law enforcement must be deliberate and vigilant with the posture taken on Election Day,” the Major County Sheriffs of America, National Sheriffs’ Association and Major Cities Chiefs Association said. The organizations said that their officers have prepared for this year’s elections “for over a year and a half” by conducting tabletop exercises, sharing intelligence with other agencies and receiving briefings from federal and local partners.

Participation in the election process is a fundamental principle of democracy, they said in the statement, “and law enforcement will utilize every resource to ensure for a safe election process for all voters.”

(c) Washington Post