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Jonathan Stanley had been sitting at a Barnes & Noble store for about an hour, behind a stack of his own books, when he saw a 4-year-old girl marching toward him.

“I want to be an author when I grow up,” Ella Dinelli told Stanley, who was at the Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, store on March 22 to promote his book about leadership strategy. The girl and her mother, Taylor Dinelli, 29, agreed to use the money they had saved that afternoon for a Starbucks drink to instead buy a copy, which Stanley signed.

“Ella,” he wrote, “the greatest gift you have to offer is you!”

The interaction was brief – no more than a few minutes – but it would change Stanley’s life.

A week after Dinelli posted a TikTok of the exchange, the video has been viewed more than 77 million times, and tens of thousands of people have commented that they had just followed Stanley’s account or bought his book, “Purposeful Performance: The Secret Mix of Connecting, Leading, and Succeeding.” The book shot onto Amazon’s top 20 most-sold list for nonfiction, and publishers from around the world approached Stanley about acquiring the rights to the text. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

“All of a sudden, I’m getting messages from every corner of the globe just streaming through my phone,” Stanley said in an interview. “I was overwhelmed, and deeply moved.”

Stanley’s story is an example of how TikTok’s community of writers and readers – colloquially known as “BookTok” – can catapult relatively unknown authors to newfound fame. Posts about authors sitting alone at their signings have done particularly well on social media: In 2022, authors including Margaret Atwood and Stephen King rallied around a fantasy author who shared that only two people had come to her signing.

After Stanley settled in at the Barnes & Noble store, the first person to come up to him advised him to keep his expectations low. A fellow author, she said she had sat in a chair just like his for four hours and sold just one book.

But Stanley said he wasn’t discouraged: He believed in the importance of his book’s message, which is about bringing humanity back into the workplace.

“I’ve talked to so many people who are disengaged at work,” he said. “They feel unseen, unheard and undervalued, and I believe the American workplace is broken in many ways. Our responsibility as leaders is to empower others, to uplift them and help them reach their full potential.”

Ella may have been too young to understand all of that, but she thought it was “so brave” that Stanley wrote his own book and was trying to share his message with others, her mother said.

“She has always said that she wants to write books, because she loves to make up stories,” Dinelli said as Ella sat nearby, listening to an audiobook recording of “The Wizard of Oz.”

Dinelli posted her video of Stanley to TikTok hours after their interaction. By the next morning, the video had already hit 1 million views.

Stanley, meanwhile, posted about his encounter with Ella on LinkedIn on Sunday. Then a stranger emailed him to say he was going viral. When he opened his phone, he saw he had gained thousands of new TikTok followers – a number that compounded every time he refreshed his page. (Days before, Stanley had just one follower on TikTok: his wife, who is his biggest fan.)

Both Stanley and Dinelli have since received messages of support and encouragement from around the world. Dinelli has even taken out a globe to show Ella how far their video has spread: Uganda, Kazakhstan, France, Kenya, Australia and Turkey, among other countries. She pointed out to Ella all of the oceans and continents between them and the people who had reached out.

The significance of Ella’s interaction with Stanley hasn’t exactly sunk in for her – she’s about to start kindergarten, and she’s only just starting to read on her own – but Dinelli said she hopes Ella will forever remember how such a small act can change someone’s life.

“I hope it inspires people to support one another and be kind to one another,” Dinelli said. “I always tell my kids that that is our goal, and our purpose here is to do what we can to bring joy to everybody.”

Lately, Ella has been talking more about becoming an author one day. She wants to write a book about a mermaid going on an adventure. And she wants to learn how to draw better, too, so she can illustrate it.

Whether or not Ella pursues writing as a career, Dinelli hopes Stanley’s story will remind her of the importance of having faith in herself.

“You could be anything you want to be,” Stanley had told her during their first interaction.

“And when you publish your first book,” he added, “I’m going to be the first in line to buy it.”

(c) 2025, The Washington Post · Gaya Gupta 

{Matzav.com}

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The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has advanced Mike Huckabee’s nomination to serve as the United States ambassador to Israel, bringing him one step closer to confirmation pending a vote by the full Senate.

During Wednesday’s session, all Republican members of the committee cast their votes in favor of Huckabee’s nomination, while every Democrat on the panel voted against it.

Senator John Boozman of Arkansas, who introduced Huckabee at his March 25 confirmation hearing, voiced his full endorsement of the former governor’s appointment.
“I’m pleased Gov. Mike Huckabee’s nomination to be U.S. ambassador to Israel was approved by the Foreign Relations Committee and is headed to the Senate floor,” Boozman stated. “His deep understanding and love for Israel and its people will undoubtedly make him an exceptional ambassador.”

Now that the committee has greenlit the nomination, the matter proceeds to the full Senate for a final vote. However, no date has yet been announced for that vote to take place.

Huckabee was tapped by President Donald Trump for the ambassador role on November 12, just days after Trump’s election victory. The formal nomination was submitted to the Senate on February 11.

{Matzav.com}

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Late Wednesday, the Senate voted to oppose President Donald Trump’s authority to levy tariffs on Canada, marking what some might see as a rare public disagreement with the president, just as he revealed bold new trade restrictions.

In a 51-48 vote, the Senate approved a measure to repeal Trump’s emergency declaration on fentanyl, the legal basis for his tariffs against Canada.

Earlier in the day, Trump had declared a new “Liberation Day” initiative, unveiling tariffs aimed at several foreign nations, though Canadian goods were temporarily excluded from the new restrictions.

Although the Senate resolution is unlikely to pass in the Republican-majority House or receive the president’s signature, it highlighted divisions within the GOP over Trump’s approach to reshaping the American economy through protectionist trade measures.

Business leaders and economists have expressed concern that Trump’s tariff-heavy strategy might trigger a downturn, and Republican lawmakers are increasingly wary as the former president redefines the country’s global alliances and trade partnerships.

Trump also took to singling out four GOP senators — Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and Rand Paul of Kentucky — who voted in favor of curbing his ability to impose tariffs on Canadian imports.

Posting on social media around 1 a.m., Trump wrote that the four senators “will hopefully get on the Republican bandwagon, for a change, and fight the Democrats wild and flagrant push to not penalize Canada for the sale, into our Country, of large amounts of Fentanyl.”

The former president has defended the tariffs by accusing Canada of failing to prevent illegal drugs from flowing across the northern border. While border officials confiscated 43 pounds of fentanyl from that area in 2024, recent data shows only 1.5 pounds seized since January. Still, Trump continues to highlight the issue as a justification for his actions.

In contrast, fentanyl seizures along the U.S.-Mexico border reached over 21,000 pounds last year.

“This is not about fentanyl. It’s about tariffs. It’s about a national sales tax on American families,” said Senator Tim Kaine, the Virginia Democrat who authored the resolution, during a press conference.

Democrats claimed Trump’s tariff plan was a way to fund tax breaks for the wealthy at the expense of ordinary Americans, potentially driving up the cost of housing materials and consumer goods. Kaine specifically cited aluminum from Canada, which is essential to a wide range of industries, from food production to shipbuilding.

“Today, Donald Trump takes a sledgehammer to the American economy and even to the American dream,” declared Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in a speech on the Senate floor.

Following mixed election results in key battleground states like Wisconsin and Florida, Schumer warned that the economic implications of Trump’s policies could further erode support among voters.

“Once the American people say, ‘I don’t want to embrace somebody, I don’t want to vote for somebody, I don’t want to support somebody who embraces Trump’s policies,’ things are going to change,” Schumer told the press. “Public sentiment is everything.”

Speaking at the White House, Trump labeled Canada as taking advantage of what he described as unbalanced trade practices with the U.S., though his new order did not add fresh tariffs to those already levied on Canada and Mexico.

“Why are we doing this? I mean, at what point do we say, ‘You’ve got to work for yourselves and you’ve got to’? This is why we have the big deficits,” Trump said.

Shortly after Trump’s remarks, Representative Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, pledged to force a similar vote in the House.

“Republicans can’t keep ducking this — it’s time they show whether they support the economic pain Trump is inflicting on their constituents,” he posted on social media.

Meanwhile, GOP leadership sought to rally Republicans against the Senate resolution by emphasizing Trump’s intent to fight fentanyl trafficking and address border vulnerabilities, along with correcting trade imbalances.

Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso spoke on the floor, asserting that President Biden had “also thrown open the northern border. The criminal cartels noticed and they took advantage.”

“There are unique threats to the United States at our northern border,” said the Wyoming senator. “President Trump is taking the bold, decisive, swift action that is necessary to secure that border as well.”

Republican senators echoed the urgency of stemming fentanyl trafficking during floor speeches Wednesday, although several key GOP members opposed using tariffs on Canada as a tactic.

Senator Collins explained her vote for the resolution by highlighting that “The fact is the vast majority of fentanyl in America comes from the southern border.”

She argued that Canada is already stepping up its border enforcement, and voiced concern that tariffs could damage Maine’s economy — especially a local paper mill that imports pulp from Canada.

“A tariff placed on this pulp would jeopardize the financial wellbeing of this vital paper mill, which employs more than 500 people in rural, northern Maine. There is not another big employer in that area that can possibly compensate for the loss of those 510 direct jobs,” Collins said.

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who often champions limited government and free-market principles, also backed the resolution, criticizing the executive’s authority to impose tariffs unilaterally.

“Every dollar collected in tariff revenue comes straight out of the pockets of American consumers,” Paul said. “Conservatives used to understand that tariffs are taxes on the American people. Conservatives used to be uniformly opposed to raising taxes because we wanted the private marketplace, the private individuals to keep more of their income.”

Though a faction of younger Republicans strongly supports Trump’s efforts to reshape the economy with aggressive trade policies, a notable portion of the GOP expressed reservations about how these tariffs could affect American agriculture and other key industries.

Still, many Republicans refrained from outright opposition, hoping instead that Trump could use the threat of tariffs to secure more favorable trade terms.

Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota said he had ongoing discussions with both Canadian officials and local companies like Bobcat, which depends heavily on Canadian sales. While he did not back the Senate resolution, he expressed hope that Trump’s announcement would open the door to negotiations aimed at mutually removing tariffs.

“I’m not overly concerned about it, but obviously it occupies a lot of attention and time and a lot of political anxiety,” Cramer said.

{Matzav.com}

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Hamas has declined to answer Israel’s updated proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza and is instead standing by the conditions outlined by international negotiators, according to a statement a Hamas representative gave to Reuters on Wednesday.

On March 29, Israeli officials confirmed they had submitted a modified offer to mediators. This new version was developed in close coordination with the United States and came after Hamas indicated acceptance of a ceasefire framework crafted by Egypt and Qatar.

Reuters examined a document that shows the mediators’ plan is consistent with the terms originally laid out on January 17. If accepted, it would result in a 50-day extension of the ceasefire period.

The deal requires that talks regarding the next stage of the agreement be finalized before the extended truce concludes. Among the key conditions is the release of Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old Israeli soldier with American citizenship, on the first day the truce takes effect.

Hamas also committed to freeing four additional Israeli captives, releasing one every ten days. In exchange, Israel would need to release 250 convicted terrorists as well as 2,000 individuals detained after Hamas’s October 7 assault on Israel.

The proposal also includes a pause in Israeli military operations, the reopening of border crossings to expedite humanitarian assistance, and the reactivation of the Netzarim Corridor to permit vehicle travel between the northern and southern parts of Gaza.

Israel called off the prior truce and launched surprise strikes against terrorist infrastructure in Gaza in mid-March, following Hamas’s refusal to free additional hostages and its dismissal of a ceasefire plan put forward by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later informed the press that President Donald Trump “fully supports” Israel’s attack on the Gaza Strip.

Trump’s National Security Adviser, Mike Waltz, likewise voiced backing for Israel’s renewed offensive against the Hamas terror group.

“Israel has every right to defend its people from Hamas terrorists. The ceasefire would have been extended if Hamas released all remaining hostages. Instead, they chose war,” Waltz wrote on X.

{Matzav.com}

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At a special event that took place in Kiryas Yoel, the Satmar Rebbe, Rav Aharon Teitelbaum, distributed a total of one million dollars in cash to kollel yungeleit who had successfully completed rigorous exams on the entirety of Shulchan Aruch.

The initiative was generously funded by philanthropist Reb Yossi Brach, who personally took part in the distribution alongside the Rebbe.

The event, held in the main beis medrash of the kollelim in Kiryas Yoel, was attended by hundreds of yungeleit who had participated in the learning program and undergone the comprehensive tests. Each one was handed $6,000 in cash as a token of recognition and chizuk.

Among the recipients were forty yungeleit from Eretz Yisroel — from Yerushalayim and Bnei Brak — who had traveled to the United States to take part in the event and receive their stipends directly.

Stacks of dollar bills were seen piled high on the Rebbe’s table, visual testimony to the value the Rebbe and his chassidus place on limud haTorah and the support of lomdei Torah.

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In a fiery speech delivered Wednesday, MK Moshe Gafni of Yahadut HaTorah sharply criticized the Religious Zionist Party and Minister of Aliyah and Integration Ofir Sofer for taking part in a demonstration calling for the drafting of bnei yeshiva into the IDF.

Speaking at the annual gathering of the Yeshiva Student Union in Ashkelon, Gafni painted a grim picture of the current government’s makeup: “We face a nearly impossible reality.

“Our partners are secular, Torah study isn’t at the forefront of their minds, and that’s at best. At worst, they oppose it.”

He turned his attention to the Religious Zionist Party: “There are the Mizrachists (religious Zionists) who are our partners, and they have this minister, Ofir Sofer, who is participating today in a march against Torah learners.”

Taking his criticism further, Gafni condemned Sofer’s involvement in the protest: “He’s a minister thanks to us. Ungrateful. We raised this government, we raised them up to the position of minister, and they work against us; it’s terrible.”

Gafni went on to underscore the centrality of Torah to the Jewish nation’s survival: “I said on the floor of the Knesset: ‘The people of Israel have no right to exist with Torah study. In all the exiles for thousands of years, there were Torah learners, and they are the ones who kept the people of Israel unified. Thanks to those who studied the Torah, we came to the land of Israel.’”

He also addressed the decision by Yahadut HaTorah and other chareidi parties to support the state budget, explaining why they didn’t use it as leverage: “We could have toppled the government, the state didn’t have a budget, not only would the war have been harmed, the haredi public would have been harmed. But from now on, us voting with the coalition won’t be a given. The behavior toward us is terrible.”

In response to Gafni’s comments, Deputy Knesset Speaker Moshe Solomon of the Religious Zionist Party defended his colleague and the protest: “Minister Sofer is ungrateful? Is the public that fights and sacrifices its life for the State of Israel ungrateful? The ingratitude is that of the sector that doesn’t report for Israel’s war against its enemy and complains about those who protest it. I also marched in this important march with great pride. We will die if we don’t enlist.”

{Matzav.com Israel}

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Due to the overwhelming interest from the public in joining the annual Birkas Kohanim at the Kosel on Chol hamoed, the Western Wall Foundation has announced that this year, the event will take place twice—on Tuesday and Thursday of Chol Hamoed Pesach.

These gatherings at the Kosel will be attended by a distinguished group of participants, including former hostages who have been freed, their families, relatives of those still in captivity, injured chayalim, heroes of the IDF, the chief rabbis, the mayor of Yerushalayim, and throngs of mispallelim.

The entire event will be streamed live through the official site of the Keren L’moreshet Hakosel.

{Matzav.com Israel}

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As part of the annual tradition before Pesach, the Western Wall Heritage Foundation conducted its routine clearing of the kvitlach placed between the stones of the Kosel on Wednesday morning.

Tens of thousands of notes, which had been tucked into the crevices over the past six months, were carefully removed and taken for proper genizah.

Rav Shmuel Rabinowitz, rov of the Kosel and mekomos hakedoshim, personally oversaw the operation, as he does each year.

The removal was performed with the utmost adherence to halachic guidelines. Workers used disposable wooden tools and wore gloves to preserve the sanctity of the notes and the personal nature of their contents. The notes were collected in designated sacks and will be buried respectfully alongside worn-out sifrei kodesh.

According to the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, hundreds of notes arrive daily through its website, in addition to the hundreds of thousands of handwritten notes placed personally by visitors throughout the year.

What stood out this year was the remarkable number of notes submitted online from citizens in countries that are considered hostile to Israel. These included messages from Iran, Yemen, Iraq, Qatar, Lebanon, Pakistan, Sudan, Jordan, Egypt, Kazakhstan, and others. Many of the notes contained emotional pleas for peace, reconciliation, and the forging of bonds between nations and peoples.

{Matzav.com Israel}

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Israeli defense officials said Wednesday that the IDF is nearing control of roughly 30% of Gaza, as its forces press ahead with operations in both the southern and northern parts of the Strip, the Jerusalem Post reports.

The 36th Division has now taken on a significant role in the fighting, shifting its efforts to the northern section of Rafah in southern Gaza. This development comes on top of ongoing operations by Division 252 in northern and central Gaza, as well as Division 143 working in the southern areas of Rafah since mid-March.

Military strategists believe these maneuvers could soon sever Rafah from Khan Yunis, isolating Hamas strongholds and complicating their movements.

Even with the broadened scope of the campaign, military sources emphasized that they continue to steer clear of zones where hostages are believed to be held, to avoid endangering them.

They also noted that while the deployment of three full divisions has prompted some additional reservist mobilizations, the government is not expected to launch a massive wave of call-ups unless a substantially larger offensive is initiated.

Military officials issued a warning that if Hamas refuses to finalize a new hostage agreement in the near future, the IDF is prepared to launch a more extensive assault within days or weeks.

However, Defense Minister Israel Katz dismissed any suggestions, including one posed by The Jerusalem Post, that Israel was gradually shifting toward a long-term military presence in Gaza.

He reaffirmed that the primary mission remains securing the release of hostages and declined to speculate on whether Hamas might attempt to wait out the current military pressure.

Reports circulating about potential mass reservist refusal were denied by defense officials. They rejected claims that up to half the forces would decline to serve due to recent government decisions—such as not prolonging a ceasefire to rescue more captives, eroding the authority of the judiciary, or seeking to replace Shin Bet head Ronen Bar.

Additionally, military sources pushed back on the theory that holding larger swaths of territory in Gaza with static forces would inevitably lead to an increase in battlefield casualties.

{Matzav.com Israel}

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Hamas has quietly revised its previously published casualty figures from the ongoing conflict with Israel, removing thousands of names it had originally listed as fatalities, according to Salo Aizenberg of the U.S.-based watchdog group Honest Reporting. Speaking to The Telegraph, Aizenberg said his conclusions were based on a detailed examination of Hamas’s updated fatality list from March 2025.

Previously, Hamas asserted that 70% of those killed in the war were women and children. However, their latest casualty records no longer reflect that claim, Aizenberg’s analysis shows. The new data suggests that roughly 72% of those killed between the ages of 13 and 55 are males—a group that aligns with the typical profile of Hamas fighters.

“Hamas’s new March 2025 fatality list quietly drops 3,400 fully ‘identified’ deaths listed in its August and October 2024 reports – including 1,080 children. These ‘deaths’ never happened. The numbers were falsified – again,” Aizenberg asserted.

Back in December, the Henry Jackson Society, a British think tank, published similar findings, accusing Hamas of significantly exaggerating the number of people killed.

“We knew there were rafts of errors in their reporting,” report author Andrew Fox said. “There’s a reasonable explanation in that their computer systems went down in November 2023, so it’s been challenging for them to report accurately, but the lists are so unreliable that the world’s media shouldn’t be quoting them as reliable.”

“The UN also just takes Hamas’s figures and publishes them with a note stating the figures are unconfirmed.”

Fox said the recent revisions suggest that Hamas is now trying to make its casualty reports seem more credible. “They’ve been accepting names onto that list with no evidence whatsoever,” Fox explained. “So what I’m guessing they’re trying to do is thin out the names they cannot substantiate at all.”

He added that Aizenberg’s method likely involves tracking which names appeared in past versions of Hamas’s lists and are no longer present. “Salo’s research would be looking for names that were on previous lists but have now disappeared,” Fox explained. “Hamas releases lists as PDFs, so it’s harder to do comparisons but we transfer names to an Excel sheet to do a mass comparison this way.”

{Matzav.com}

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Hamas is open to freeing all the hostages still in its custody in exchange for a permanent end to the war, according to a senior Palestinian source involved in the ceasefire negotiations who spoke with The Times of Israel.

Despite Israel’s ongoing opposition to a full cessation of hostilities under these conditions, the official says Hamas is willing to release a smaller number of captives in return for a temporary pause in the fighting.

That offer, however, comes with a key demand: Hamas wants written guarantees from mediators that Israel will agree to enter negotiations for a lasting truce after the short-term ceasefire — something Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far flatly declined, the Palestinian official explains.

Hamas continues to insist on the original terms of a ceasefire framework agreed upon in January. That deal called for the second phase to begin on March 2, at which point all remaining hostages would be freed in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a permanent ceasefire. Although Netanyahu initially signed onto that framework, he has since rejected the critical second-phase clauses, arguing that they would leave Hamas intact and in power. As a result, Israel has refused to move forward with phase two, which was supposed to begin on February 2. On March 18, Israel resumed full-scale combat operations in Gaza.

For months, Hamas refused to consider extending the initial ceasefire. But according to the senior official, it has recently submitted a new offer to that effect.

He says the latest proposal closely mirrors an earlier one floated by U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and includes the release of five Israeli captives.

However, it also conditions the deal on guarantees from international mediators that Israel would then move on to negotiations over a permanent truce as laid out in phase two.

Israel rejected that plan and countered with a different proposal: it seeks the release of 11 hostages but provides no promise of future ceasefire discussions. The Palestinian official says this revised Israeli offer is not acceptable to Hamas. “The talks are now at a standstill.”

“The number of hostages is not the issue. If Israel demonstrates its intention to reach a permanent ceasefire, [Hamas is] prepared to release all of the hostages,” the Palestinian official says. “Israel only wants a partial agreement so that it can continue fighting. It wants [Hamas] to give up all the hostages without entering the second phase.”

While Hamas remains unwilling to lay down arms or exit Gaza entirely, the group is reportedly open to relinquishing day-to-day governance of the Strip to an independent group of Palestinian technocrats, provided a long-term ceasefire with Israel includes agreed-upon security measures.

Hamas “will never disarm” before a Palestinian state has been created “because [it is] a resistance movement,” the official says.

He also criticized what he described as inconsistent behavior from the Trump administration throughout the hostage negotiation process. He pointed to the brief involvement of U.S. hostage envoy Adam Boehler, who had begun direct talks with Hamas earlier this year — only for those efforts to be abruptly cut off following objections from Israel.

“How can you reach an agreement without speaking directly to [Hamas]? They were willing to do this with the Taliban,” the senior Palestinian official notes.

The senior Palestinian official concluded by stating that only U.S. President Donald Trump has the power to stop the war — but accused him of enabling continued destruction instead. He claims Trump has chosen to “give Netanyahu a green light to open the gates of hell on Gaza.”

{Matzav.com Israel}

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Just one day after posting a video in which he accused law enforcement of effectively keeping two of his aides “hostage” in the ongoing Qatargate investigation, Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu returned to social media with another message—this time clarifying that Qatar should not be viewed as a hostile nation.

“Qatar is a complex country, not a simple country,” he says. “It’s not an enemy country, and many praise it.”

Netanyahu also spoke out in defense of Jonatan Urich, a close adviser who was recently detained as part of the investigation.

“Jonatan is a dedicated employee,” says Netanyahu. “He’s my political adviser in the Likud. He doesn’t have access to any classified intelligence material, but they say he praised Qatar.”

He then turned the spotlight onto his political opponents. “Do you know who really praised Qatar?” Netanyahu asks.

He references Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, who commended Qatar for its involvement in the hostage negotiations after reportedly meeting with a “senior Qatari official” in Paris earlier this year.

Netanyahu went on to note that Benny Gantz, head of the National Unity party, has also expressed appreciation for Qatar multiple times. He claims Gantz even traveled there in the past to promote surveillance software developed by his former tech firm, Fifth Dimension, prior to entering politics.

He didn’t stop there. The prime minister also highlighted Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar—whom he is currently seeking to remove from his post—saying Bar visited Qatar on multiple occasions during negotiations over hostages and spoke positively about the country. Netanyahu further alleged that Bar attended the 2022 FIFA World Cup as a guest of the Qatari government.

According to Netanyahu, the arrest of Urich is part of an attempt to pressure him into turning against his boss.

“You know why they are doing this,” Netanyahu says. “First of all, in order to prevent the firing of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, whom the government unanimously decided to oust.”

“And, as always, to bring down a right-wing government,” he claims.
“We see you. You’re not fooling anyone.”

The investigation, led jointly by police and the Shin Bet, began after it came to light that Eli Feldstein, Netanyahu’s former spokesman, had been charged in a separate case with leaking sensitive IDF documents. While working in the Prime Minister’s Office, Feldstein was also allegedly employed by a global company contracted by Qatar to plant favorable stories in the Israeli media.

Urich, for his part, is suspected of being involved in a complex network of individuals—spanning business and political circles—who allegedly facilitated financial transactions from Doha while disguising their origin.

{Matzav.com}

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President Trump declared a national emergency on Wednesday in order to unveil a comprehensive set of tariffs he’s dubbed “Liberation Day” duties, affecting all imports. The plan features a new standard 10% tariff and significantly steeper rates targeting specific nations—including traditional allies like the European Union, Japan, and Israel.

Calling it a “Declaration of Economic Independence,” Trump waited until the closing bell on Wall Street before revealing the initiative in full.

“This is one of the most important days, in my opinion, in American history. It’s our Declaration of Economic Independence,” the president, 78, proclaimed in the White House Rose Garden.

“Factories will come roaring back into our country — and you see it happening already. We will supercharge our domestic industrial base. We will pry open foreign markets and break down foreign trade barriers.”

“Ultimately more production at home will mean stronger competition and lower prices for consumers. This will be indeed be the golden age of America.”

The blanket 10% import tax is about three times the average rate prior to Trump returning to the presidency and is scheduled to go into effect on Saturday.

Tariffs that vary by country will kick in on April 9, with European Union goods facing a 20% rate, Japan 24%, and Israel 17%.

In his address, Trump sharply criticized foreign trade practices, pointing to Australia’s barriers to American beef, European Union prohibitions on U.S. poultry, Japan’s rice import levies, and what he called unfair vehicle sales policies in South Korea.

“From 1789 to 1913, we were a tariff-backed nation and the United States was proportionately the wealthiest it has ever been,” the president said.

“In 1913, for reasons unknown to mankind, they established the income tax so that citizens, rather than foreign countries, would start paying the money necessary to run our government. Then in 1929, it all came to a very abrupt end with a Great Depression, and it would have never happened if they had stayed with the tariff policy,”

The president continued, “If imposing tariffs and protective barriers made nations poor, then every country on Earth would be racing to eliminate these policies.”

“To all of the foreign presidents, prime ministers, kings, queens, ambassadors and everyone else who will soon be calling to ask for exemptions from these tariffs, I say, ‘Terminate your own tariffs, drop your barriers’,” Trump declared.

“April 2, 2025 will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America’s destiny was reclaimed, and the day that we began to make America wealthy again.”

“For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike. American steel workers, auto workers, farmers and skilled craftsmen, we have a lot of them here with us today. They really suffered gravely.”

The president was joined at the event by a range of tradespeople, including union members from the United Auto Workers, as well as members of his cabinet. Trump emphasized that this move should not have come as a shock, saying, “I’ve been talking about it for 40 years.”

“If you look at my old speeches, where I was young and very handsome … I’d be on a television show, I’d be talking about how we were being ripped off by these countries. I mean, nothing changes very much,” Trump added.

“It’s such an honor to be finally able to do this.”

The announcement rattled the markets after hours, with S&P 500 futures falling by 1.7%, Nasdaq 100 futures dropping 2.5%, and Dow Jones futures slipping 0.7% as Trump wrapped up his remarks.

Opponents of the plan warn that these tariffs will lead to increased costs for American families, potentially pushing inflation even higher after the 22% price surge seen during President Biden’s tenure.

Trump, however, pointed to his earlier term in office, where he implemented more targeted trade levies without triggering runaway inflation, as proof that his new policies won’t necessarily lead to soaring prices.

During his speech, Trump also repeated his appeal for congressional Republicans to back his tax overhaul plan—which would eliminate federal taxes on tips, overtime pay, and Social Security benefits, while allowing deductions for interest on car loans used to purchase American vehicles.

According to White House officials, the 10% across-the-board tariff was designed to serve as a safeguard against countries trying to skirt harsher country-specific penalties.

They cited China as a case in point, noting the country’s 42.1% average tariff rate and accusing it of rerouting goods through nations like Cambodia and Vietnam to bypass U.S. restrictions.

Despite Israel being a close ally and a top recipient of U.S. military aid, the country was not spared from the list of steep tariffs due to trade imbalances.

“Israel steals a lot of intellectual property from, for example, the pharmaceutical manufacturers in this country,” an administration official stated ahead of the official announcement.

A report published by the Tax Foundation last year estimated that a uniform 10% tariff would boost federal income by around $200 billion over 10 years—equal to about 10% of the current budget shortfall.

But that same report included a warning: “[i]f foreign countries retaliate, even partially, to the US-imposed tariffs, revenue will fall further as the economy shrinks even more.”

Administration officials explained that the country-specific tariffs were determined by halving each nation’s trade imbalance with the United States—an act of generosity, they said, on the president’s part.

“The numbers [for tariffs by country] have been calculated by the Council of Economic Advisers. … based on the concept that the trade deficit that we have with any given country is the sum of all trade practices, the sum of all cheating,” a White House official told reporters. “We’re not charging them the full amount —each of the reciprocal tariffs will be half of the actual calculation.”

In conjunction with the sweeping plan, the White House also introduced new 25% tariffs on a wide range of products from Canada and Mexico, as well as a 25% duty on all imported vehicles and auto parts set to begin at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.

Officials noted this policy will affect three out of every four vehicles sold in the U.S., creating significant pressure on car manufacturers to shift operations back to American soil.

Just last month, Trump approved an extra 25% tariff on Chinese imports in response to fentanyl trafficking. In February, he slapped the same rate on foreign steel and aluminum—this time eliminating previous carve-outs for key trading partners like Brazil and South Korea.

Trump has hinted that more duties are coming, potentially targeting items like microchips, timber, copper, pharmaceutical goods, and other major imports.

{Matzav.com}

The post Trump Slaps At Least 10% Tariffs On All Imports In ‘Declaration Of Economic Independence’: ‘Half of What They Could Be’ first appeared on Matzav.com.

[COMMUNICATED]

Three kedoshei elyon had one common concept when it came to learning Torah – they were the Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh (Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar 1696-1743) when he came to Eretz Yisroel; the Ramchal (Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto 1707-1746) when he lived in Padua, Italy;  and Hagaon, Harav Chaim Volozhiner, (1749-1821) the famous talmid of the Gaon of Vilna.

They each had a yeshiva with ‘around-the-clock’ Torah learning, 24-hours a day, so that there would be no minute when the sound of Torah learning would not be heard in this world. The 24-hour period would be divided into shifts, and as one ended the next would begin.

Torah-24

A “Torah-24” Center has been opened in Yerushalayim and the Nasi is Maran Sar Hatorah, Harav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l.

Under ONE ROOF, from 6:00 am – 6:00 am, 10 kollelim fill successive learning shifts. Each kollel focuses on a specific area of in-depth Torah study. The “Torah-24” Kollelim include: Boker (Gemora), Yerushalmi, Bavli, Zeraim-Taharot, Dalet Chelkei Shulchan Aruch, Erev (Gemora), Chatzos- Zohar/Kabbolah, Erev Shabbos (Chumash / Medrash b’iyun). 

Already there are 52 avreichim metzuyonim, and a large number of candidates are vying for the remaining slots in the kollelim. All the avreichim are required to take rigorous monthly tests.

Endorsements & Letters

Endorsements include Maranan Hagaonim shlit”a: Harav Gershon Edelstein, Harav Berel Povarsky, Harav Shimon Badani, Harav Dovid Cohen, Harav Boruch Mordechai Ezrachi, Harav Chaim Feinstein, Harav Shimon Galai, Harav Shraga Shteinman.

Letters of support-encouragement have been received from Maranan Hagaonim, shlit”a: Hamekubal Harav David Bazri, Hamashpia Hagadol Reb Elimelech Biderman, Hamekubal Harav Yaakov Meir Schechter, Harav Moishe Sternbuch, Harav Yitzchak Tuvia Weiss.

For more “Torah-24” information click on: www.torah-24.com or call 718-766-5022

The post 24 Hours a Day Non-Stop Learning in Yerushalayim? first appeared on Matzav.com.

Authorities are looking to prolong the custody of Jonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein, two key associates of Prime Minister Netanyahu, who are at the center of the unfolding Qatargate investigation, according to a spokesperson for law enforcement.

The two men are scheduled to appear at the Rishon LeZion Magistrate’s Court at 9 a.m. tomorrow, where a judge will review the police’s petition to extend their time in detention.

Urich and Feldstein were apprehended on Monday and brought in for interrogation. Investigators believe they received payments in exchange for encouraging journalists to publish content that presented Qatar in a favorable light, particularly portraying the country as a constructive player in facilitating negotiations between Israel and Hamas—all while they were working for the prime minister.

{Matzav.com Israel}

The post Netanyahu Aides Urich, Feldstein to Remain Behind Bars Overnight, as Police Will Ask Judge to Extend Remand Tomorrow first appeared on Matzav.com.

As Pesach approaches, the National Security Council (NSC) has issued a warning that Israelis and Jews traveling internationally could be potential targets for attacks by Hamas, Iran, and extremist organizations like Islamic State.

Many Israelis traditionally travel overseas during the Pesach period.

In light of ongoing global threats, the NSC is advising travelers to remain vigilant, follow security protocols, and consult the NSC’s updated travel alerts before making any international plans.

The NSC indicated that Hamas might intensify efforts to strike Israeli and Jewish individuals or institutions abroad, citing its “deteriorating situation in Gaza and the resumption of fighting” as factors likely to fuel such attacks.

The alert referenced several recent incidents that underscore the threat, including the arrests of Hamas operatives in December 2023 in Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands. Authorities suspect they were planning attacks on Jewish targets across Europe. In a related case this April, Bulgarian officials uncovered a hidden stash of weapons tied to four Hamas suspects previously detained in Germany and the Netherlands.

Iran remains, according to the NSC, the primary sponsor of international terror networks focused on harming Jews and Israelis. The statement warned: “Iranian terror operatives have continued attempts to lure Israeli citizens — both domestically and abroad — through deceptive business offers or impersonation, aiming to harm or abduct them.”

In October, Sweden’s security service, Sapo, pointed to Iran’s possible involvement in violent incidents near Israeli diplomatic buildings in Sweden and Denmark. By May, Swedish officials claimed Iran had begun enlisting local gang members to carry out “acts of violence” targeting Israeli and allied interests in the country — a charge that Iranian authorities denied.

On Tuesday, the NSC also raised concerns about the rising threat of attacks from unaffiliated terrorists, spurred on by the growing activities of jihadist groups like Islamic State, al-Qaeda, and al-Shabab, particularly across Europe.

The travel alert cited numerous recent attacks, including arson and a failed car bombing attempt in Australia, a series of Molotov cocktail and firearm assaults on Jewish sites in Canada, a deadly vehicle attack in New Orleans that left fourteen dead, and violence directed at Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters in Amsterdam last November.

The NSC also highlighted the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt as a particularly dangerous zone and urged Israelis to stay away from the area, despite its popularity with tourists.

“The climate of hate against Israelis and Jews due to the ongoing war continues to fuel terrorist efforts, both from organized cells and individual attackers,” according to the NSC.

The NSC further warned that “the potential expansion of war zones” — an apparent reference to ongoing IDF operations in Gaza — could heighten the likelihood of attacks on Israelis and Jewish individuals abroad.

{Matzav.com}

The post Ahead of Pesach, Israelis Are Warned: Hamas, Iran May Target Travelers and Jews Abroad first appeared on Matzav.com.