Matzav

An unsettling incident occurred yesterday at the entrance to the Kosel in Yerushalayim, where a security guard was filmed physically assaulting an elderly chareidi man. The disturbing footage shows the guard engaging in a confrontation with several mispallelim before spraying pepper spray directly at them.

Following the incident, police officers arrived at the scene and immediately arrested the security guard. In a statement, Israel Police said: “A security guard assaulted an elderly man at the entrance to the Kosel. Upon receiving the report, officers responded to the scene and took the suspect into custody. The circumstances are currently under investigation.”

The Western Wall Heritage Foundation responded to the attack, expressing deep concern over the behavior of the security guard. “The Western Wall Heritage Foundation expresses deep regret and views with utmost seriousness the outburst of the security guard toward mispallelim last night at the entrance to the Kosel plaza,” the statement read.

The Foundation added that it would be turning to the Israel Police—who are responsible for security at the site’s entrance gates—to thoroughly investigate the incident. “The Foundation will continue to serve the public with dedication and calls upon all visitors to respect the sanctity of this holy site and conduct themselves with mutual respect, unity, and reverence.”

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{Matzav.com Israel}

The Wall Street Journal reported overnight that the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Karim Khan, had been preparing to request international arrest warrants for two Israeli ministers, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, shortly before he was placed on involuntary leave due to allegations of serious misconduct.

According to the report, Khan had planned to pursue the warrants over the ministers’ alleged roles in the expansion of Israeli settlements in Yehuda and Shomron.

With Khan now suspended amid claims of abusive behavior towards subordinates, the decision regarding the proposed arrest warrants has been transferred to his deputies. It remains unclear whether they will move forward with the initiative.

The development comes as Israel formally petitioned the ICC to cancel recently announced arrest warrants against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Israel’s request argued that the court lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate matters related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, citing Israel’s non-membership in the Rome Statute.

Adding further controversy, the request to halt the warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant included a detailed rebuttal of the ICC’s authority and raised serious concerns about Khan’s conduct. According to recent media reports, the prosecutor is accused of violently assaulting staff members under his command and attempting to suppress publication of these allegations, allegedly to avoid undermining the court’s case concerning Gaza.

{Matzav.com}

More than 800 legal experts in the United Kingdom, including judges, barristers, and academics, have issued a public demand for the British government to enact punitive measures against Israel in response to the ongoing war in Gaza. The group asserts that either genocide is actively occurring or there is a “serious risk” it may take place.

Among the signatories are two former justices from the UK Supreme Court and three ex-presidents of the Court of Appeal. They referenced inflammatory comments made by top Israeli officials who spoke openly about razing Gaza and removing its civilian population.

The legal community urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer to take decisive action, proposing financial restrictions targeting Israeli leaders and IDF officers allegedly tied to violations of international law, alongside broader trade sanctions against the Israeli government.

In contrast, Conservative opposition leader Kemi Badenoch expressed a starkly different view on Sunday, describing Israel’s fight against Hamas as part of a broader defense of Western interests.

“Who funds Hamas?” Badenoch asked during a Sky News interview. “Iran… an enemy of this country. Israel is fighting a proxy war on behalf of the UK, just like Ukraine is on behalf of Western Europe against Russia. We have to get serious.”

“Israel is fighting a war,” she continued. “It is not for me to police exactly how they are doing that,” she said. “It is not a genocide, as people are saying.”

Pressed on whether she ever criticized Israeli conduct, Badenoch responded: “That’s not true. I have criticized things before, but right now, there are 58 hostages who have not been returned home.”

According to the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza, more than 53,000 individuals have either died or are presumed dead since the outbreak of violence. However, these numbers remain unverified and do not distinguish between civilians and militants. Israel has claimed that it has eliminated approximately 20,000 fighters in combat and neutralized another 1,600 terrorists during the October 7 incursion.

On March 2, Israel temporarily halted all aid deliveries to Gaza, triggering widespread condemnation and raising fears of worsening food insecurity. Last week, humanitarian shipments resumed. In the same week, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy halted ongoing free trade talks with Israel, initiated a review of the bilateral 2030 cooperation framework, and sanctioned several settler groups and individuals.

Israel has rejected all genocide accusations, saying that civilian casualties stem from Hamas embedding its fighters and infrastructure among non-combatants. Officials argue they have monitored the humanitarian situation to avoid triggering widespread starvation.

Nevertheless, the letter sent to Starmer insists that “genocide is being perpetrated in Gaza or, at a minimum, there is a serious risk of genocide occurring.” It further argues that the flow of humanitarian assistance is “gravely insufficient to address the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe.”

The authors cited figures from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs claiming that women and children make up 70% of fatalities. However, critics have challenged the reliability of these statistics, noting that they may misrepresent the ratio of civilian to militant casualties in the IDF’s operations.

The letter also referenced statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who called for the “total” destruction of Gaza and the displacement of the enclave’s entire population.

According to the legal professionals, Israel’s current military campaign aims to “forcibly and permanently displace the population of Gaza to small areas of the Gaza Strip, and coerce their emigration to other countries,” which they labeled as a serious breach of international humanitarian law.

They went on to accuse Israel of a range of international offenses, including “war crimes, crimes against humanity, and serious violations of international humanitarian law” in both Gaza and the West Bank. They also pointed to a 2023 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice deeming Israel’s control of the West Bank illegal.

Given the seriousness of the accusations, the group called on Starmer to push for “an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza” and facilitate a major increase in aid deliveries.

They also pressed the UK to implement “financial and immigration sanctions” against members of the Israeli cabinet and others “reasonably suspected of involvement in unlawful conduct,” and to reassess trade arrangements with Israel, including imposing trade penalties.

Jonathan Turner, head of UK Lawyers for Israel, responded critically to the letter. He claimed that the same group had previously misrepresented both facts and legal interpretations in similar allegations. Turner further argued that “there has been no famine or mass starvation in the Gaza Strip,” stating that during the truce period between January and March, “sufficient quantities of food supplies were transferred into the Gaza Strip to last for several months.”

An all-around tragedy on many levels that requires serious soul-searching by all Jews
By Rabbi Yitschak Rudomin

The recent shocking murder of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, who worked for the Israeli embassy in Washington DC, by a radical left-wing pro-Palestinian assassin has shocked all decent minded people. The public execution of such a good looking, handsome and idealistic couple in the prime of their lives is a terrible tragedy. That this could happen in the capital of America is frightening. This is but the latest in a string of attacks and murders by rabid anti-semites, both from the left and the right against Jewish and Israeli targets.

Soon after the shootings, reports came out that one of the victims with the very Jewish and Israel sounding name, Yaron Lischinsky was a Christian born to a non-Jewish Christian Evangelical mother and a Jewish father. It was reported that he was born in Israel and then his parents moved to Germany and when he was sixteen years old his parents made Aliyah when they moved back to Israel.

Sarah Milgrim’s family belongs to a Jewish Reform congregation in Kansas City. After their murders it was reported that Yaron and Sarah had been seriously dating and that Yaron had already bought Sarah an engagement ring and that they were going to travel to Israel soon for Sarah to meet Yaron’s family and then become officially engaged to each other.

Condolences for Sarah’s death came from a number of religious sources in Kansas City where she grew up: from the lady Reform rabbi of the temple her family belonged to, from the local Chabad rabbi, from a local Orthodox NCSY youth outreach rabbi, from the Hillel director of the college she attended, all paying tribute to her exceptional qualities, incredible Jewish and Zionist idealism and good graces. None of them touched on the point that she was engaged to Yaron who was openly described as being a devout Christian from a similarly good Christian family.

A little time later news reports stated that Yaron and his parents belonged to a Messianic Jewish congregation and that they were active Messianic Jews who believed in Yeshua, the Hebrew name for Jesus that Messianic Jews use. The American Forward newspaper even published a sympathetic piece about the positive aspects of Messianic Judaism and that Yaron and his family should not have been called Christians but should have been called actual “Jews” and not described as Christians.

More news reports told of Sarah agreeing to be baptized into Messianic Judaism with her engagement to Yaron as it became clear that Yaron stood firm in his devotion to Yeshua-Jesus so that no matter where Sarah was coming from spiritually, she was headed to become a new member of Yaron’s Messianic Jewish community that was based in Jerusalem, Israel.

The one overarching glowing bond and description of both Yaron and Sarah was that they were sincere Zionists devoted to the state of Israel as can be seen by the fact that they both had official jobs at the Israeli embassy in Washington DC. Yaron had served three years in the IDF and had dedicated his college life to studying politics and diplomacy with the aim of eventually becoming an Israeli diplomat. Sarah had devoted her life to working for the goal of bridging the divide between Israelis and Palestinians.

The genuine humanistic, Jewish, Zionist and Israeli distinguished badges of honor that both Yaron’s and Sarah’s life exemplified, as well as the love they had for each other, beautiful people in all aspects of modern life barring true Judaism, and their intention to get engaged to be married were the sole and main talking points of all the glowing articles and obituaries about them in the media and flowing from official government and Jewish organizational sources.

In the midst of this real life Romeo and Juliet meets HaTikvah tragedy of immense proportions, no one dared to point out the one great Messianic Judaism elephant in the room.

What soul-searching message is being broadcast here from the point of view of Torah true Judaism? One commentator noted that in all the years, many of the recent religious Jewish victims of Palestinian and Arab terror did not get the emotional accolades and over the top glorification in the media or by official government sources that the newly martyred couple, Yaron the Messianic Jew from Israel and Sarah from the Reform temple in Kansas City got.

With not even an official whisper or whimper of disapproval, does this now mean that Messianic Judaism is now accepted as going “mainstream” in Israel? You can now get an official job representing Israel or in the Israeli government and its diplomatic corps even if you are a Messianic Jew? Don’t they vet for these kinds of glaring “conflicts of interest” that one can’t be a good Jew and a true Christian at the same time?

While back in America, the Jewish Reform movement has long accepted patrilineal descent as acceptable proof of entry into the Jewish People by accepting children of non-Jewish women married to Jewish men as “Jews”! The Jews for Jesus movement and the Messianic Jewish movement in America reaching out to assimilated secular Jews are by now long established and funded mainly by the huge non-Jewish Christian Protestant Evangelical movements and congregations based mainly in the United States who pour tens of millions of dollars into the effort to convert America’s vastly assimilated and Jewishly ignorant Jews to a “Judaized” and “kosher” form of Evangelical Christianity.

Their reach extends to Israel where they fund the establishment of Messianic congregations, and recruit and train the clergy to go with it, to the point of keeping most of Judaism’s synagogue rituals and many of Judaism’s traditional beliefs, rituals, practices, Shabbat and Holy Days. The Evangelical Christians, while fanatically devoted to converting Jews to come to believe in Yeshua-Jesus, turning Jews born to Jewish mothers into Christians and convincing gentiles born to non-Jewish mothers, can now be as Israeli as Yaron who are convinced that they are as Jewish as Israel’s chief rabbis now with the help and the imprimatur of the Israeli foreign ministry.

Confusing and confounding matters is that the Evangelical Christians and their Jews for Jesus and Messianic Jewish movement outgrowths are oftentimes genuinely Zionist and the greatest supporters of the modern state of Israel, that they view as a step in the so-called “second coming” of Jesus, that goes against the beliefs of Torah true Judaism.

Is this what Jews waited for and wanted for two thousand years as they prayed and survived all the attempts to destroy them by either force or by persuasion, to give up the faith of their forefathers and glorify Messianic Judaism aka Christianity?

It is not enough that some Orthodox rabbis worry about this and maybe speak up about the problem, no matter how quixotic the effort may seem. It is time for the Jewish politicians in Israel, Israeli government employees and American Jewish communal leaders to wake up to the reality of this self-destructive assimilationist tragedy infecting the Jewish People.

{Matzav.com}

German leaders intensified their public criticism of Israel on Tuesday, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz sharply questioning the rationale behind the IDF’s continued bombardment of Gaza. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul signaled that Germany is preparing to evaluate its options in response to what he described as an intolerable situation.

“The massive military strikes by the Israelis in the Gaza Strip no longer reveal any logic to me. How they serve the goal of confronting terror… In this respect, I view this very, very critically,” Merz stated during a leadership conference in Turku, Finland.

“I am also not among those who said it first… But it seemed and seems to me that the time has come when I must say publicly — what is currently happening is no longer comprehensible.”

Merz said he intends to speak with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu in the coming days about developments in Gaza. He sidestepped a reporter’s inquiry regarding Germany’s arms shipments to Israel. A spokesperson later clarified that such decisions fall under the jurisdiction of a national security council chaired by Merz.

This wave of remarks represented a notable shift in tone for Berlin, which has long been one of Israel’s staunchest allies within the European Union.

The ongoing conflict in Gaza has strained the historically close relationship, as Germany seeks to navigate a complex diplomatic path — supporting Israel’s right to defend itself while emphasizing humanitarian protections for Palestinians.

Foreign Minister Wadephul said he would soon speak with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and expressed alarm over the dire humanitarian conditions facing Gaza’s residents.

“Our committed fight against antisemitism and our full support for the right to exist and the security of the State of Israel must not be instrumentalized for the conflict and the warfare currently being waged in the Gaza Strip,” Wadephul said in a WDR interview.

“We are now at a point where we have to think very carefully about what further steps to take,” he added, without outlining any specific actions.

Responding to the German leaders’ statements, Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, acknowledged their concerns but stopped short of offering any policy changes.

“When Friedrich Merz raises this criticism of Israel, we listen very carefully because he is a friend,” Prosor told ZDF.

Also on Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen criticized Israel’s bombing of civilian locations in Gaza, calling one recent attack “abhorrent” during a phone conversation with Jordan’s King Abdullah II. That airstrike reportedly hit a school that had been converted into a shelter for displaced families.

The Israeli military defended the strike, stating that Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives were using the building as a command post.

“The expansion of Israel’s military operations in Gaza targeting civilian infrastructure, among them a school that served as a shelter for displaced Palestinian families, killing civilians, including children, is abhorrent,” von der Leyen said, as quoted in an official European Commission summary of the call.

{Matzav.com}

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Mercaz USA, a branch of Mercaz Olami in the World Zionist Congress, must issue an apology for what the U.S. Area Election Committee, which oversees the American parts of the World Zionist Congress elections, called “uncontested” charges that it improperly sought to influence voters and smeared the reputation of rival slate Eretz Hakodesh, the committee’s chairs Abraham Gafni and David Butler stated on May 16.

Rabbi Pesach Lerner, founder and chairman of Eretz Hakodesh, wrote in an appeal to the American Zionist Movement Tribunal three days later that the committee’s decision is “grossly inadequate punishment.”

“Their people made a campaign of what we call ‘election interference,’ telling people it’s idol worship to vote in this election, besides the point that the person who is doing it is a vice chair of the World Zionist Organization,” Rabbi Lerner told JNS.

Yizhar Hess, who leads Mercaz Olami, which represents the Conservative Judaism movement, is also vice chair of the World Zionist Organization.

“It’s immoral,” Rabbi Lerner told JNS of the committee’s decision. “For them to say, ‘Give an apology, and have the case closed?’ That’s unacceptable.”

Hess “worked for them,” Rabbi Lerner added. “He showed up all over the place for them. He was their keynote speaker.”

The chairs of the U.S. Area Election Committee ruled that Mercaz USA must issue a written apology for Hess’s actions that details his improprieties but it only decided to “suggest” that Mercaz Olami and Hess do the same.

The committee chairs also noted that Hess acted in a way that “intentionally, knowingly and with malice improperly sought to influence voters in the election and harm the reputation, malign the intentions and tarnish the name of the Eretz Hakodesh slate and its leaders.”

‘Historic struggle’

There has been a significant amount of drama and scandal in the elections of the World Zionist Congress this year.

Kikar HaShabbat stated that its investigation found that Mercaz USA either paid journalists and those associated with influential rabbonim, or sought to do so, to promote a campaign in chareidi communities to denigrate the Eretz HaKodesh slate.

Hess and Eyal Ostrinsky went to great lengths to mask their involvement in the campaign, per the website.

Eretz Hakodesh has been growing in popularity and received 25,000 votes in the 2020 elections.

“All the information appearing in the poster campaign is nothing but the truth,” Hess told Kikar HaShabbat. “We are in a historic struggle over the character of the Zionist movement.”

“Exposing the hypocrisy of those who belong to the leadership of the Lithuanian public in Israeli politics,” he told the site, “is the right thing to do. On one hand, they despise Zionism and its values, and on the other, they themselves, or their closest family members, enjoy the benefits of the Zionist movement through their unofficial proxy party in the national institutions.”

He called Eretz HaKodesh a “fraud” that ignores the rulings of chareidi leaders.

Brother’s keeper

Mercaz USA has said that it “does not control Hess or Mercaz Olami and should not be accountable for things Hess or Mercaz Olami did that affected the U.S. election, even if Mercaz USA benefitted from those activities,” per a copy of the ruling from the committee chairs that JNS viewed.

“Mercaz USA further suggests that Eretz HaKodesh’s remedy against Hess and Mercaz Olami is not before the U.S. Area Election Committee or its chairs but should be pursued elsewhere in a proceeding before the World Zionist Organization,” the document states.

Eretz HaKodesh asked the committee to order Mercaz USA and Mercaz Olami to publish separate apologies, to each condemn Hess’s specific offenses and for the committee to bar Mercaz USA from cooperating with Mercaz Olami until Hess is removed from his position.

The committee also should ban Hess from any future involvement in U.S. Area Election Committee activity, Eretz HaKodesh said. It also said there should be a fine, of unspecified amount, paid to Eretz HaKodesh.

Though Eretz Hakodesh estimates that Hess’s campaign cost the slate up to 20,000 votes, it did not ask the committee to strip Mercaz USA of any of its mandates. (It said that was beyond the committee’s authority, which the committee disputes.)

The committee chairs decided that they have jurisdiction only over Mercaz USA and the U.S. election process and not over Hess or Mercaz Olami.

“Mercaz USA is answerable for Hess’s offenses relating to the election,” since Hess acted as an agent and supporter of Mercaz USA during the election, and the smear campaign targeted chareidi communities both in Israel and in the United States, per the committee chairs.

“Our decision needs to be tailored to those limitations,” they wrote. “There is no question that Hess’s admitted election-related conduct through which he sought to vilify Eretz HaKodesh and stop Haredi voters from supporting the Eretz HaKodesh slate violated our election rules and was improper.”

In Rabbi Lerner’s appeal to the American Zionist Movement Tribunal—a kind of court of appeals in the election system—he wrote that it is “hard to understand the leniency with which Mercaz was treated in terms of consequences” given the “egregious” nature of the committee’s findings about Hess’s actions and that the committee chair “ruled Mercaz is absolutely responsible for them.”

Rabbi Lerner noted that the committee chairs didn’t find the estimate of some 20,000 lost Eretz HaKodesh votes to be unreasonable.

He asked the tribunal to order Mercaz to compensate Eretz HaKodesh for its expenses to contest Hess’s advertising campaign and further compensation for the estimated loss of votes and a fine to “disincentivize such activity in future elections.” (He offered to open Eretz HaKodesh’s books to an accountant to calculate the damages it incurred.)

The appeal to the tribunal also detailed an advertisement hung in shuls across the United States prior to Pesach that directed chareidi Jews not to vote in the election or support Eretz HaKodesh. That detail hadn’t been reported in the original complaint.

JNS asked Rabbi Lerner if he feared retribution from Hess, given that the latter is a high-ranking official in the World Zionist Organization.

Hess “has made it his job to make things difficult for me for the last five years,” Rabbi Lerner told JNS. He hopes that the Conservative movement throws Hess out, he said.

“He doesn’t belong there. Anybody who can do this doesn’t belong there,” Lerner said.

Rabbi Lerner also told JNS that he filed a complaint against the slate of the Reform Jewish movement, which advertised that to vote in the elections one must self identify as Jewish.

“The rules say you have to be Jewish, not self identify,” Lerner told JNS. (The World Zionist Organization determines Jewish identity, for election purposes, based on the Israeli Law of Return, which requires that one have at least one Jewish grandparent.)

“You know as well as I do what ‘self identify’ means in America today,” Lerner told JNS. JNS

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump issued a stern warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, cautioning him against provoking the United States as discussions intensify around potential additional sanctions on Russia.

“What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “He’s playing with fire!”

Trump’s remarks coincided with growing media speculation, including a report by CNN, that his administration may be weighing a fresh round of penalties targeting Moscow.

In recent weeks, various proposals for new sanctions have been circulated, and lawmakers from both parties have urged the president to give them the green light.

During remarks on Sunday, Trump stated that he would “absolutely” take the new sanctions under serious consideration, particularly in light of Russia’s aggressive escalation in its attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure.

Nevertheless, sources close to the administration revealed to CNN that Trump has not made a final decision and has expressed apprehension privately, suggesting that more sanctions could derail efforts to bring Moscow to the negotiating table.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, said Monday that momentum is building behind the push. “All of us are pressing very, very hard” for the new sanctions, he told CNN. He has co-sponsored a bipartisan bill with Senator Lindsey Graham that includes severe penalties, such as a 500% tariff on nations continuing to buy Russian energy. The bill has received backing from over 80 senators.

Responding to the growing speculation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that the rumors of new U.S. sanctions were part of a coordinated attempt to sabotage diplomatic progress on Ukraine.

Trump didn’t mince words over the weekend, slamming Putin as “crazy” for continuing missile strikes that have claimed civilian lives in Ukraine despite ongoing efforts to reach a ceasefire.

In the same post, Trump also criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, asserting that his rhetoric was unhelpful and declaring that the conflict would never have erupted had he been in office in 2022 instead of Joe Biden.

“This is Zelenskyy’s, Putin’s, and Biden’s War, not ‘Trump’s,’ I am only helping to put out the big and ugly fires that have been started through Gross Incompetence and Hatred,” said Trump.

{Matzav.com}

Amid mounting pressure over the contentious draft law, Rav Nechemia Alter, son of the Gerrer Rebbe, met today with the Slabodka rosh yeshiva, Rav Dov Landau, at his home on Rechov Harav Sher in Bnei Brak. The meeting comes just days before the government’s self-imposed deadline of Shavuos to finalize legislation on the draft deferment for yeshiva students.

The visit follows a previous meeting held months ago between the Gerrer Rebbe himself and Rav Landau, accompanied by Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, during which the gedolim agreed to push for the law’s passage before Shavuos.

Acting on behalf of his father, Rav Nechemia Alter arrived with a mission: to coordinate with Degel HaTorah and form a united front in demanding that Prime Minister Netanyahu present a finalized version of the bill ahead of the Yom Tov.

During today’s meeting, Rav Landau expressed deep concern over the political and logistical roadblocks the law is facing. “There are many obstacles regarding the draft law,” he said pointedly. “If we see that these obstacles are not being overcome, there’s no reason to remain in this government.”

Sources within Agudas Yisrael noted that the Gerrer Rebbe is seriously considering withdrawing from the coalition due to the stagnation on the draft law, but recognizes that such a step would be difficult to execute without the backing of Rav Landau. As a result, efforts are now being made to coordinate a joint position between Agudas Yisrael and Degel HaTorah.

The outcome of these negotiations could have far-reaching consequences for the stability of the coalition government.

Two months ago, the Gerrer Rebbe and Rav Landau convened at Rav Landau’s home, joined by Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, for a critical strategy session. Also present at that time were Rabbi Dovid Shapira and Motty Babchik. Before the broader meeting began, the Gerrer Rebbe and Rav Landau held a private discussion lasting over 15 minutes.

During that meeting, Rav Hirsch relayed details of his recent conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu, emphasizing how difficult it would be for the government to commit to a Shavuos deadline for the law’s passage. Both sides acknowledged that any timeline would likely be met with excuses from Netanyahu as to why the law could not be passed on time.

In light of this, Rav Landau reportedly made it clear that if there is no significant progress by Shavuos, it would serve as valid grounds for exiting the government coalition.

{Matzav.com Israel}

Welcome to the party, Fake Jake.

During a recent interview with Piers Morgan, CNN anchor Jake Tapper admitted, when pressed, that the Biden Admin’s cover-up of Joe’s decline may be worse than Watergate.

“‘Joe Biden is not Richard Nixon, and the hiding and cover-up of his deterioration is not Watergate.’ I am not entirely sure I agree, Jake with that conclusion,” Morgan said, quoting the book, during his show, “Piers Morgan Uncensored.

“The next line is, ‘It is an entirely separate scandal’. It is a scandal. It is without question, and maybe even worse than Watergate in some ways. Because Richard Nixon was in control of his faculties when he wasn’t drinking, so the idea that, we don’t mean to exonerate,” Tapper said.

“The only reason that we have the Watergate thing in there is because we quote Archibald Cox, who was a Watergate investigator, talking about how powerful the presidency is and how presidents get surrounded by people who have a vested interest in keeping that president propped up,” the CNN host added. “So that’s the only reason we invoke Watergate is just to make clear like, it’s not Watergate this is an entirely separate scandal, maybe even worse.”

From Fox News:

Morgan agreed that the cover-up of Biden’s decline was worse than the Watergate scandal, before pressing Tapper on his coverage of the former president.

Morgan asked Tapper if he felt he owed the American people an apology “for slightly dropping the ball with this.” Morgan also played a clip of Tapper’s 2020 interview with Lara Trump, who worked for President Donald Trump‘s campaign at the time, spotlighting some of his past coverage of the former president’s decline.

“I feel like I owe the American people an acknowledgment that I wish I had covered the story better,” Tapper responded. “Knowing what we know now, and looking back on that interview, which I feel tremendous humility about, she [Lara Trump] was right, and I was wrong. I did not see, in the moments he was having, I did not see that as cognitive decline.”

Tapper said he would try to do better with regard to his coverage during the discussion.

The CNN host acknowledged feeling “humility” when confronted about his past coverage, but has still been criticized for the book about Biden.

Watch the clip below:

More over at Fox News:

{Matzav.com}

Israel’s top-level security cabinet reportedly held a confidential vote last week, approving the creation of 22 new communities in the West Bank, as first revealed by various Hebrew-language outlets.

According to the reports, the proposal was jointly introduced by Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, both of whom have been vocal supporters of expanding Israeli infrastructure and presence in the region.

Yisroel Hayom reported that the primary objective behind the move is to reinforce Israeli control along Route 443—a critical thoroughfare linking Yerushalayim with Tel Aviv via Modiin. Parts of the highway cut through territory within the West Bank.

Reacting to the development, Yesha Council head Israel Ganz praised the quiet cabinet approval, calling it “the most important decision since 1967,” referring to the year Israel took over significant portions of the West Bank during the Six Day War.

{Matzav.com Israel}

Kingsley Wilson, a Defense Department official who has come under scrutiny for sharing antisemitic content on social media, has been appointed as the Pentagon’s new press secretary, according to a formal announcement.

“Kingsley’s leadership has been integral to the DoD’s success & we look forward to her continued service to President Trump!” wrote Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson and a senior aide to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a post on X Friday.

Wilson shared the news on her own X account, stating that she was “Honored to serve President Trump and our warfighters.”

{Matzav.com}

President Trump made waves Tuesday with a bold claim that Canada might soon join the United States as its 51st state in return for inclusion in the American “Golden Dome” missile defense initiative.

The announcement came not long after King Charles III made subtle remarks during a speech to Canada’s parliament that appeared to push back against Trump’s ambitions to absorb the country into the U.S.

“I told Canada, which very much wants to be part of our fabulous Golden Dome System, that it will cost $61 Billion Dollars if they remain a separate, but unequal, Nation, but will cost ZERO DOLLARS if they become our cherished 51st State,” Trump, 78, wrote on Truth Social.

“They are considering the offer!”

Earlier that day, King Charles, who serves as sovereign over Canada along with more than a dozen other nations, alluded to the political tension, warning that “Canada is facing challenges that, in our lifetimes, are unprecedented” and noted that “many Canadians are feeling anxious and worried about the drastically changing world around them.”

Trump began jokingly labeling Canada the 51st state last year and mockingly called Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a “governor.” He also introduced a 25% duty on Canadian steel, aluminum, vehicles, and other goods that fall outside of USMCA trade guidelines.

While his relationship with Trudeau was often tense, Trump has found more common ground with Trudeau’s successor, Mark Carney. Yet, even during their May 3 meeting at the White House, Trump made clear that the idea of Canada joining the Union was still alive in his mind.

“I say, ‘Never say never,’” Trump told Carney. “I’ve had many, many things that were not doable and ended up being doable.”

{Matzav.com}

The Trump administration has decided to temporarily freeze the issuance of student visas to foreign nationals and is weighing new guidelines that would include evaluating applicants’ social media history.

An internal cable obtained by Politico revealed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio instructed all American embassies and consulates around the world to halt scheduling any further interviews for student or exchange visitor visas, pending new directives.

“Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consular sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor … visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued [separate telegram], which we anticipate in the coming days,” the cable read.

In the past several weeks, both the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security have attempted to cancel thousands of visas issued to international students. These efforts have seen varying levels of success.

When questioned, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce declined to comment on specific visa decisions, maintaining the agency’s stance of privacy on individual cases.

“We don’t speak about individual visa cases,” she said to reporters.

Bruce stressed the administration’s commitment to thoroughly screening all entrants into the country, whether they are tourists or students.

“We take very seriously the process of vetting who it is that comes into the country. And we’re going to continue to do that … and again, whether they be student[s] or if you’re a tourist who needs a visa, or whoever you are, we’re going to be looking at you,” she added.

She went on to explain, “It seems to be such a controversial thing that’s going on, but it shouldn’t be, and every nation should take seriously, and does, who’s coming in. So if you’re going to be applying for a visa, follow the normal process, the normal steps, expect to be looked at and and we go on from there.”

Just last week, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made an aggressive move to expel nearly 7,000 international students enrolled at Harvard University. However, her efforts were blocked in court.

Judge Jeffrey S. White of the U.S. District Court in Oakland, California, issued a national injunction that prohibits federal authorities from stripping legal status from those students or detaining them for deportation.

Despite the ruling, a senior official at the State Department recently told The Post that approximately 4,000 student visas have already been rescinded. The students in question had criminal records, with offenses ranging from arson and trafficking to drunk driving, abuse, and theft.

To bolster enforcement, the department previously launched a test program utilizing artificial intelligence. This system scanned social media for signs of support for terrorist organizations, including Hamas, and was used to revoke visas accordingly, Axios reported.

“Those who support designated terrorist organizations, including Hamas, threaten our national security,” Rubio said. “The United States has zero tolerance for foreign visitors who support terrorists.”

In addition to the State Department’s initiatives, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services confirmed in early April that it would now consider whether an applicant has endorsed what it labeled “antisemitic terrorism” when evaluating eligibility for student visas or permanent residency.

One of the most prominent individuals affected was Mahmoud Khalil, who had been active in anti-Israel protests at Columbia University. His student visa and green card were rescinded in March due to his involvement.

Legal challenges against the administration followed, as advocates for Khalil argued that his expulsion was unjustified. He had previously served as a spokesperson for Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a group known for its anti-Israel stance.

Attorney Devin Connolly, whose firm is representing some of the foreign students impacted by these policy shifts, said this type of surveillance is not entirely new. He explained that immigration authorities have often used social media to assess the legitimacy of spousal relationships in the past.

“The administration, and especially Secretary Rubio, has been very clear that nobody is entitled to a visa and that they will not be issuing visas to foreign nationals whose beliefs and activities are contrary to the United States’ national interests,” Connolly said.

But Connolly raised concerns about how broadly the government might interpret such policies.

“However, to what extent will social media postings that are critical of the Trump administration and its policies be considered to be in conflict with our national interests?” he asked.

He continued, “It is easy to foresee denials for certain postings about Israel and Hamas, but what about postings about Afrikaners being granted refugee status? We will have to see if a subject like that is controversial enough to warrant a denial.”

{Matzav.com}

It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the passing of Rav Yitzchok Meir Brim z”l, one of the elder and most respected members of the Boyan-Ruzhin chassidus in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood of Yerushalayim. He was 84 years old.

Born in Eretz Yisroel, Rav Yitzchok Meir was the son of Rav Yehoshua Heschel Brim, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Tiferes Yisroel—Ruzhin-Boyan, and Rebbetzin Rivkah.

Rav Yitzchok Meir was a staunch chossid of Boyan, deeply connected with the Rebbe as well as his brothers-in-law, the Rebbes of Bohush and Vasloi, with whom he shared a close kesher.

After marrying a daughter of Rav Chaim Uri Rosenberg, he built a home firmly rooted in Torah and chassidus.

A true osek baTorah, Rav Yitzchok Meir would leave his home in Ramat Shlomo daily to learn at the Drohobitch beis medrash on Rechov Malchei Yisroel, where he immersed himself in limud haTorah.

He leaves behind a beautiful legacy of Torah and chesed, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren continuing on his path.

Rav Yitzchok Meir’s brothers predeceased him: Rav Elazar Aharon Brim, who composed the well-known niggun “Yeiraeh El Avadecha,” sung annually on Lag Ba’omer at the Boyan hadlakah, and Rav Yisroel Brim, a distinguished member of the Boyan kehillah in Beitar Illit.

Just six months ago, Rav Yitzchok Meir performed the rare mitzvah of chalitzah on his sister-in-law, the widow of his brother Rav Elazar Aharon, who passed away without children.

The levayah is being held tonight at the Shamgar Funeral Home in Yerushalayim, followed by kevurah of Har Hamenuchos.

The family will be sitting shivah at his home, located at 75 Rechov Rav Druk in Ramat Shlomo, Yerushalayim.

Yehi zichro boruch.

{Matzav.com Israel}

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu took the stage at the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Conference, hosted at Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to deliver a sobering address about the persistence and intensification of antisemitism. His remarks emphasized that this age-old hatred endangers not only Jews but all of humanity.

Opening his remarks, Netanyahu expressed gratitude to Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar for convening the event. “The key issue that I want to address is the consequence of antisemitism, not only for the Jewish people but for human society,” Netanyahu stated. He likened antisemitism to a longstanding, malignant illness that has plagued history, noting that although Jews have borne the brunt of it, many other societies have suffered due to its consequences.

Drawing from a painful chapter of history, Netanyahu compared the consequences of antisemitism to the global devastation of World War II. “Six million Jews died… but 60 million died during the war that it inspired,” he said. Recalling the foresight of his father, a historian, Netanyahu cited a warning from 1933: “What starts with the Jews will not end with the Jews.” He lamented that had such warnings been taken seriously, history might have unfolded differently.

Turning to current events, Netanyahu addressed the global backlash that followed the October 7 attacks. “We have now a surge of antisemitism as we speak,” he said, describing the shock among those who assumed the brutality of the assault would result in global empathy for Jews. Instead, he noted with alarm the widespread support for those responsible for the violence: “demonstrations, protests, in the capitals of the West and other countries that celebrate, celebrate these murderers, these rapists, these baby burners, these hostage takers. Celebrate.”

He warned that these protests go beyond anti-Israel sentiment. They symbolize something deeper, he argued: a fundamental rejection of democratic and Western ideals. He pointed to the imagery seen at these rallies: not only Israeli flags, but “the burning of American flags, British flags, Canadian flags, French flags. That’s not an accident. Because the people who are leading this charge are basically challenging Western civilization or free societies as we understand them.”

Netanyahu spoke of Israel’s ongoing conflict, characterizing it as a fight across multiple fronts. He framed it as not just Israel’s struggle, but a global clash of values: “the war, ultimately, of civilization against barbarism.”

He delved into the methods used to dehumanize Jews throughout history, pointing out the consistent use of grotesque lies to justify violence. From medieval accusations of well-poisoning and blood libels to Nazi propaganda, he traced a line of rhetoric meant to condition societies for persecution. “We poisoned the wells in medieval times, we take Christian children, the blood of Christian children and bake matzahs for Passover with them, we spread vermin,” he recited. Nazi Germany, he said, relied on “exactly the same thing” to “prepare them for the kill, for the butcher.”

Referring to the atrocities of October 7, Netanyahu compared them to the Holocaust in their brutality. He quoted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who visited the aftermath and commented, “They’re just like the Nazis.” But there was a chilling twist. “The Nazis tried to hide their crimes. These people went with GoPro cameras and they publicized it for the whole world to see. They were very proud of what they were doing.” He underscored that Hamas had made its genocidal goals clear, and that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had likewise made no secret of his intent to destroy Israel.

Addressing misinformation surrounding Israel’s conduct in the war, Netanyahu firmly pushed back on the narrative that the IDF intentionally targets civilians. “The first thing they say is you’re slaughtering people deliberately. That’s a complete destruction, a complete annihilation of the laws of war.” He argued that Hamas’s tactics of embedding itself within civilian areas amount to a “double war crime.”

He illustrated the difference between deliberate targeting and unavoidable collateral damage by referencing a WWII incident: the RAF’s accidental bombing of a children’s hospital while targeting Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen. The implication was clear — even the most disciplined armies in the most justified wars face tragic consequences when fighting in populated areas.

Netanyahu described the unique battlefield of Gaza, where Hamas, he said, deliberately traps civilians to increase casualties and international outrage. “That’s what they do. How do they lock them in? They shoot them if they want to leave.” The confined nature of the territory, he explained, presents exceptional operational difficulties for Israeli forces.

He specifically addressed the operation in Rafah, where global voices warned against entering. “By the time we got to Rafah, 1.4 million of Gaza’s 2.2 million people were in Rafah,” he explained. Despite warnings that an invasion would result in massive civilian deaths — “20,000 civilian casualties” — Netanyahu said there was a clear evacuation route: “That place is on the beach. It’s two kilometers away. On the beach.” He continued, “within six days… the number of civilian casualties we had in Rafah was practically zero. Practically zero. Because they all left.”

The Prime Minister highlighted the unprecedented lengths to which the IDF goes to protect civilians. “We are texting civilians by the millions. Millions of text messages, millions of phone calls, cellphone calls, millions of pamphlets, ‘Please get out.’ Because we are going to come in.” He said these measures, coupled with precision tactics, have produced a remarkably low non-combatant casualty rate given the intense urban warfare. He credited experts such as John Spencer from West Point for validating this assessment.

He also confronted the widely circulated claim that Israel is starving the population of Gaza. “That’s the current fad, the current lie. Well, that’s false too.” From the outset of hostilities, he explained, Israel facilitated the delivery of “essential requirements: food, water, medicine,” amounting to “1.8 million tons of food and aid.” As proof, he pointed to the condition of Palestinian prisoners. “Thousands and thousands of prisoners taking their shirt off and you don’t see one, not one emaciated from the beginning of the war to the present.”

In closing, Netanyahu urged Jewish leaders across the globe to remain resolute. “The last thing I want to do is to address the leaders of Jewish communities who came to us from around the world. The most important thing you have to do in fighting antisemitism is to stand up and not be cowered. People value and respect people who stand up for their own rights. Do not be afraid to speak up. Speak up, stand up for the truth, stand up for the Jewish people, stand up for civilization. And I ask that all of you do the same. Thank you,” he concluded.

{Matzav.com}

Fifteen members of Israel’s Knesset have formally appealed to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, urging her to pursue capital punishment for the man accused of carrying out last week’s antisemitic double homicide at the Jewish Museum located near Washington, D.C., where two Israeli Embassy staffers were killed, according to a report from the Jewish News Syndicate.

The appeal was made in a letter sent to Bondi on May 22, just one day after the attack took place. In the message, the lawmakers wrote, “In light of the gravity of the crime—its premeditated nature, the likely ideological motivation, and the victims’ diplomatic status—we believe it would be appropriate for you to seek the death penalty for its perpetrator.”

The alleged shooter, Elias Rodriguez, was apprehended and charged in the case. Before being taken into custody, he reportedly stated that the attack had been carried out “on behalf of Palestine.”

Fox News cited court documents detailing the charges against Rodriguez, which include two counts of first-degree murder, murder of foreign officials, the use of a firearm resulting in death, and firing a weapon in the course of a violent crime. Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro noted that if found guilty, Rodriguez may be eligible for the death penalty.

The victims who lost their lives in the shooting have been identified as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, both of whom were working for the Israeli Embassy at the time of the attack.

Sky News reported on Thursday that Rodriguez had ties to a far-left extremist group and was known for routinely spreading anti-Israel rhetoric.

{Matzav.com}