Matzav

A serious breach of protocol occurred at the Kosel Plaza this morning, Rosh Chodesh Kislev, when members of the Women of the Wall group smuggled a Sefer Torah into the plaza through the public restroom stalls, in what authorities are calling a blatant act of disrespect toward the kedushah of both the Sefer Torah and the site.

Thousands of mispallelim gathered at the Kosel from vasikin onward, as is customary on Rosh Chodesh. Throughout the morning, a small group affiliated with Women of the Wall attempted to carry out a provocation by circumventing security procedures that govern the handling of Sifrei Torah at the site.

According to the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, the group brought the Sefer Torah into the public bathrooms and transferred it from there into the main plaza, an act the Foundation described as degrading and deeply offensive.

In a statement, the Western Wall Heritage Foundation said: “We view with extreme severity any attempt to undermine the traditions and kedushah of this holy site, and we will continue to act to preserve proper conduct and respect at the Kosel Plaza.”

This is not the first such incident. In July, the same group brought a Sefer Torah into the plaza against established regulations. At that time, the Foundation reported that the group hid the Sefer Torah inside a baby carrier, denouncing the act as “a violation of the sanctity of the site and the honor due to a Sefer Torah.”

The Foundation stressed that it remains committed to upholding the standards and minhagim of the Kosel, ensuring the area remains a place of tefillah, respect, and reverence for all who visit.

{Matzav.com}

A major storm has erupted in the public-health world after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention quietly rewrote key language on its website, suggesting that a connection between vaccines and autism cannot definitively be ruled out. This represents a complete reversal of the agency’s decades-long—and unequivocal—position that no such link exists.

The move stunned experts because the scientific consensus on this issue has been settled for years. Research across multiple continents, involving millions of children, has thoroughly debunked the claim of any correlation. Nonetheless, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been pushing this discredited theory for years, now appears to be steering federal health messaging in a dramatically different direction.

Public-health leaders warned that this sudden about-face lands at precisely the wrong moment. Childhood vaccination rates have already slipped nationwide, leading to the revival of illnesses once nearly eradicated, including measles and pertussis. They fear the new CDC language will pour gasoline on the fire.

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website has been changed to promote false information suggesting vaccines cause autism,” said Dr. Susan J. Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She emphasized the overwhelming scientific record, stating, “Since 1998, independent researchers across seven countries have conducted more than 40 high-quality studies involving over 5.6 million people. The conclusion is clear and unambiguous: There’s no link between vaccines and autism.”

Dr. Kressly also criticized the agency’s direction in stark terms. “Anyone repeating this harmful myth is misinformed or intentionally trying to mislead parents. We call on the CDC to stop wasting government resources to amplify false claims that sow doubt in one of the best tools we have to keep children healthy and thriving: routine immunizations.”

Federal officials, however, doubled down. In a statement to NPR, Health and Human Services spokesperson Andrew Nixon echoed one of the new website assertions: “The claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.” He said the department “has launched a comprehensive assessment of the causes of autism, including investigations on plausible biologic mechanisms and potential causal links.”

The Autism Science Foundation sharply rebuked that explanation, saying the revised wording “shows a lack of understanding of the term ‘evidence,’” adding, “No environmental factor has been better studied as a potential cause of autism than vaccines.”

Dr. Paul Offitt of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia said the new wording is intentionally confusing. He called it a repackaging of familiar misinformation tactics: “These are the usual anti-vaccine tropes, misrepresentation of studies, false equivalence,” adding pointedly, “They might as well say chicken nuggets might cause autism because you can’t prove that either.”

Inside the CDC, the shift triggered alarm and internal turmoil. Dr. Demetre Daskalakis—who left the agency over the summer—said the changes “blindsided” longtime scientists. “The scientists did not participate in its creation,” he explained. “And the data are unvetted.”

Two current CDC employees, who contacted NPR anonymously, echoed that the new language signals that the agency’s vaccine information is being distorted. They described the updated website as “anti-science” and said they feared retaliation for speaking out.

These developments are only the latest in a series of moves by Kennedy that run counter to the positions of leading medical institutions, including the Infectious Disease Society of America and the American College of Physicians. Vaccine advocates warn that the administration’s new posture threatens to undermine trust built over generations.

This year alone, Kennedy dismissed every member of the CDC’s powerful Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and installed his own appointees. The newly reshaped committee quickly recommended eliminating thimerosal from the small subset of flu vaccines in which it still appears—despite years of evidence demonstrating its safety.

Federal agencies have also tightened access to COVID-19 vaccines and halted grants supporting new mRNA-based vaccines, cutting off development pipelines for future immunizations.

Alongside these moves, Trump administration officials have claimed a connection between acetaminophen and autism and touted leucovorin—a prescription form of vitamin B9—as a treatment for autism despite extremely limited evidence.

The current ACIP working group is evaluating additional sweeping changes, including removing aluminum-based adjuvants that have been safely used for nearly a century to boost vaccine effectiveness. They are also considering breaking up the single MMR shot into separate vaccines for measles, mumps, and rubella—decisions experts warn would dismantle a vaccination system that has shielded American children for generations.

The committee is even debating delaying the hepatitis B vaccine, which has long been administered at birth to prevent severe liver disease and cancer.

In an unusual twist, the CDC acknowledged in a footnote that its site still features the longstanding header “Vaccines do not cause autism*.” The asterisk notes that the phrase remains only because of “an agreement with the chair of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee that it would remain on the CDC website.”

NPR contacted the office of Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who leads the HELP Committee and supported Kennedy’s confirmation, but received no immediate reply. Later in the day, Cassidy posted on X: “I’m a doctor who has seen people die from vaccine-preventable diseases. What parents need to hear right now is vaccines for measles, polio, hepatitis B and other childhood diseases are safe and effective and will not cause autism. Any statement to the contrary is wrong, irresponsible, and actively makes Americans sicker.”

Public-health officials fear that unless the CDC reverses course, vaccination rates could continue to fall—jeopardizing herd immunity, reviving diseases long under control, and placing millions of children at risk.

{Matzav.com}

[Video below.] At a time when the frum world is grappling with extraordinary communal challenges, Rav Kalman Epstein, Rosh Yeshiva of Shaar Hatorah in Queens, delivered a forceful and deeply reflective message about the escalating culture of extravagance in our community—lavish weddings, multi-course smorgasbords, and even the rise of private jets becoming a normalized symbol of status.

Speaking last night, he urged Klal Yisroel to confront the spiritual cost of this lifestyle honestly and courageously.

Rav Epstein began by reflecting on COVID, a period that disrupted every facet of Jewish communal life. With weddings limited, bar mitzvahs scaled down, and parlor meetings halted, he had hoped this would spark a long-needed cultural reset away from excess.

“One of the things that happened during COVID [is] that there weren’t any, at least most of the time, there weren’t any large gatherings. People stopped making big chasunas and big bar mitzvahs and parlor meetings. And we thought, I don’t know, we thought, at least I thought, that maybe this will be an impetus for the community. Here we’re not talking about yechidim. Yechidim really can’t change that…”

But instead of shifting permanently to simpler simchos, the Rosh Yeshiva lamented that the opposite has happened—extravagance has grown even more entrenched.

“And that affluence brought with it tremendous extravagance. And we thought that, again I say, at least I thought, that maybe that tekufah when that extravagance can’t be practiced will make it permanent, that we’ll learn that this is not the way we’re supposed to live.”

Rav Epstein explained that the Torah’s model of life is the very opposite of showiness. He invoked the pasuk of “hatzneia leches,” which he described as a mandate to live quietly, modestly, and without self-display.

“When we say, higid lecha adam ma tov u’ma Hashem doresh mimcha, asos mishpat v’ahavas chesed, and v’hatzneia leches im Hashem Elokecha, hatzneia leches means that you’re not supposed to have 20-man bands at weddings. You’re not supposed to have shmorgasbords, meals, and then something afterwards, whatever they call it. It means that Yidden are not supposed to show and not supposed to show themselves.”

In one of the most pointed comments of the evening, he highlighted the proliferation of private planes owned by members of the community.

“It means that we live in a situation where the airport in Lakewood is full of private planes. That’s not who we are supposed to be. Maybe it’s not even, most of us are, but it’s not who we’re supposed to be. We’re supposed to be… hatzneia leches means we’re supposed to be b’sheket, we’re supposed to be quiet, we’re not supposed to be showy. That’s what hatzneia leches means. And that’s the tzurah of Klal Yisrael.”

Rav Epstein drew a direct link between unchecked materialism and a weakening of spiritual sensitivity. Historically, he explained, our lack of material abundance actually elevated us.

“Because to the extent that we engage in gashmiyus, we lose ruchniyus. Yidden once upon a time when they were in the shtetlach and they were poor and they didn’t have much, but because they didn’t have much, because the gashmiyus wasn’t, the gashmiyus is a stirah to ruchniyus. Because the gashmiyus wasn’t there, then they felt closer to the Ribbono Shel Olam.”

He quoted Chazal’s instruction to daven not for luxuries, but for the ability to have Torah penetrate the heart.

“K’fi erech that is, Chazal say, k’fi erech ad she’atem mispallel that you should get parnasah, that you should get ma’adanim, you should be mispallel that you should get, that the Torah should go into libcha. You should be mispallel not to have ma’adanim. Ma’adanim and gashmiyus is a stirah to the feeling of kirvas Elokim, to the feeling of the Ribbono Shel Olam.”

The Rosh Yeshiva then shifted to a more recent chapter of suffering—Jewish hostages held in horrific underground captivity. Their plight, he said, should have stirred the community to more introspection and restraint.

“In the past few years when there were hostages who were in a horrible matzav, and if we were misbonein their matzav, it also should have been difficult for us to engage in extravagant gashmiyus.”

He told over the remarkable reaction of Rav Yitzchok Kolodetsky—son-in-law of Rav Chaim Kanievsky—who stopped sleeping in a bed during the hostage crisis.

“Rav Yitzchok Kolodetsky, the son-in-law of Rav Chaim Kanievsky, who comes to America sometimes, I’m told that when the hostages were taken a few years ago, he stopped sleeping in a bed. How could I sleep in a bed when there are hostages who are underground in a horrible matzav?”

And he shared a moving story about his own family—a young bar mitzvah boy who chose to sleep without a pillow.

“I have a niece who made a bar mitzvah recently. And her bar mitzvah boy, who at the time that the hostages were taken was 11 years old – this is on his own, they live in Lakewood, this is on his own – he decided that he can’t sleep, he stopped sleeping with a pillow. An 11-year-old boy, he had that hergesh that if there are hostages, if there are hostages who are in such a horrible matzav, how could I sleep on a pillow? How could I use things that are more gashmiyus than I need? I can manage to sleep without a pillow.”

Rav Epstein stressed that no one is asking people to sleep on the floor or deprive themselves of basic comforts. But he urged Klal Yisroel to take the message to heart: Hashem expects us to live as a mamleches kohanim v’goy kadosh, a nation that does not drown itself in luxury.

“And even though at this point in time maybe, at this point in time there are no hostages, at this point in time we don’t expect anybody to sleep without a pillow, we don’t expect anybody to sleep on the floor. But we still should be misbonen to what we’re supposed to learn from this. That even though we don’t have to, we don’t have to do things that are metza’er ourselves, but we should learn that the Ribbono Shel Olam wants us to live as a mamleches kohanim v’goy kadosh.”

Because spiritual depth, he emphasized, cannot coexist with unrestrained indulgence.

“And a mamleches kohanim v’goy kadosh doesn’t engage in this extravagant gashmius, because that’s the only way to engage and connect and feel the kirvas Elokim…and feel ruchnius is if we’re mema’et in the gashmius that we can afford and that we’re capable of.”

The Rosh Yeshiva closed with a heartfelt personal plea, one he said applies to himself as much as anyone.

“I just hope, one hopes, that this is not, I am saying this for myself too, I’m not just saying this for all of you. We just hope that we we all learn from these terrible years that passed, and hopefully the terrible years are over. The terrible years that passed, how we’re supposed to view things, what’s supposed to be important in life, what we’re supposed to be machshiv and what we’re not supposed to be machshiv.”

And finally, he reminded listeners of the promise embedded in living according to Hashem’s expectations.

“And if b’ezras Hashem if we’re mekayem what Hashem is doresh from us, which is ahavas chesed, asos mishpat, ahavas chesed, and hatznei’a leches, we’ll be zoicheh to see that b’karov, be zoicheh to see that the bracha and the tefillos that we’re mispallel on Rosh Chodesh that it should be a new beginning, a new start, and we should be zoicheh to geulos and yeshuos, the klal and the prat.”

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}

Observers wonder how a highly-anticipated meeting between President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani on Friday will go following their history of taking swipes at each other.

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}

[Video below.] Candace Owens has been advancing a string of unproven theories about the killing of Charlie Kirk, and one of those theories appears to have led her straight into an embarrassing on-air prank. While hosting her show, she began reading what she described as a serious tip—only for viewers to quickly note that the address at the center of the supposed revelation belonged to her own legal team.

Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed on September 10 while attending an event at Utah Valley University. Since then, Owens has floated a variety of conspiratorial claims, including suggestions of Israeli involvement and even speculation about the Egyptian military. None of these assertions have been backed by evidence.

One of her favorite narratives has involved an Egyptian military plane. Owens claimed the aircraft departed Utah immediately after Kirk’s killing, but her timeline relied on confusing UTC with a Utah-based time zone—a mistake that placed the takeoff hours after the shooting when, in reality, the plane had left long before. Despite being corrected, Owens has continued promoting the idea.

Her latest twist came when she told viewers she received an email from a tipster alleging that “government entities” orchestrated Kirk’s assassination. The message insisted that the movements of the plane and certain government vehicles all traced back to a single Delaware address: 920 North King Street, also known as One Rodney Square.

Owens read the email aloud, describing the location as a hub for federal agencies such as the Department of Justice. But the clip quickly went viral for a very different reason. Online commentators pointed out that 920 North King Street is actually the office address of Richards, Layton & Finger—the law firm representing Owens in multiple legal matters, including the defamation suit connected to French President Emmanuel Macron and remarks Owens made about Brigitte Macron.

“Candace Owens appears to have been PRANKED on air by a tip,” wrote the account that shared the clip. “The tip said all directions pointed to the address: One Rodney Square, 920 North King Street, Wilmington, DE 19801. Which just so happens to be the address of Candace Owens’ lawyer.”

Even with that revelation circulating widely, Owens doubled down. On X, she dismissed criticism as coordinated government meddling, posting, “Looks like another round of a desperate and fake debunking regarding the Egyptian planes! These federally-sponsored trends are as fun as they are predictable now :-).”

She went on to write, “And I can tell you guys with absolute certainty that today I learned the Federal government is in a panic about the mention of their joint DHS, FBI, and DEA office at 920 N King. The tip proved absolutely solid and I was informed so. It is now a fact that a foreign dignitary was picked up after arriving from Provo the morning of Charlie’s assassination on the Egyptian plane, and then transferred to 920 King for some joint operation.”

Owens did concede, at least partially, that a law firm exists in the building, saying, “And yes, despite the massive office space, there is NOTHING else in that building except a law firm (and a place to eat). The law firm piece is an interesting side fact related to portions of the e-mail that I chose not to read on air.”

Yet she offered no explanation for why she didn’t mention that the law firm is her own counsel. Instead, she signed off with a promise of more revelations, writing, “Yet. Stay tuned!”

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}

The Coast Guard issued an emphatic rejection of a Washington Post story that claimed the service was preparing to stop classifying swastikas, nooses, and similar imagery as prohibited hate symbols. Acting Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday stated plainly, “The claims that the U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses or other extremist imagery as prohibited symbols are categorically false. These symbols have been and remain prohibited in the Coast Guard per policy.”

According to the Post’s reporting, internal documents suggested the Coast Guard — which operates under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) — would soon categorize swastikas and nooses as “potentially divisive” rather than explicitly hateful. The paper said this policy shift would place such imagery in the same category as Confederate flags and would require supervisors to review complaints and consult with legal advisors before directing their removal once the change takes effect on December 15.

DHS blasted the article immediately. One message on X dismissed the piece as an “absolute ludicrous lie and unequivocally false,” while DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin posted, “The @washingtonpost should be embarrassed it published this fake crap.” The department followed with a second post saying, “Y’all are just making things up now.”

The Post reported that under the new guidance, Coast Guard members would have 45 days to report displays of swastikas or nooses. The newspaper also cited the service’s 2019 directives, which already empowered commanders to order the removal of such symbols even if they were not ruled a “potential hate incident.”

That 2019 guidance spelled out examples: “The following is a non-exhaustive list of symbols whose display, presentation, creation, or depiction would constitute a potential hate incident: a noose, a swastika, supremacist symbols, Confederate symbols or flags, and antiSemitic symbols, among many others.” The document added that these symbols are inherently connected to “supremacy, racial intolerance, religious intolerance, or other bias,” and that such imagery can appear in many forms, including images, wording, numbers, clothing, or materials.

The Coast Guard’s newly released policy, published this month, indicates that the term “hate incident” has been retired from official usage. It explains that “conduct previously handled as a potential hate incident, including those involving symbols widely identified with oppression or hatred, is processed as a report of harassment in cases with an identified aggrieved individual, or in accordance with Chapter 11 of this Instruction.” The service emphasized that the new terminology does not alter the prohibition itself.

Adm. Lunday reiterated that principle in his formal response: “The Coast Guard remains unwavering in its commitment to fostering a safe, respectful and professional workplace. Symbols such as swastikas, nooses and other extremist or racist imagery violate our core values and are treated with the seriousness they warrant under current policy.”

Later in the day, however, the Coast Guard told the Post that it was reevaluating the updated language. “We will be reviewing the language,” Coast Guard spokesperson Jennifer Plozai said.

The issue caught congressional attention as well. Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which oversees the Coast Guard, weighed in pointedly: “Lynching is a federal hate crime. The world defeated the Nazis in 1945. The debate on these symbols is over. They symbolize hate. Coast Guard: be better.”

At a levaya, everyone feels the sadness, but the real, raw crying is usually held by a small circle, the immediate family sitting up front. At your levaya, it was different. The crying wasn’t coming from one section; it was coming from every corner of the room, from the front, the back, and everywhere in between. And these weren’t quiet tears. They were loud, heartbreaking screams and cries of pure pain. You could feel that everyone there had lost something personal. It wasn’t just a family mourning; it was an entire community broken.

And the reason for all that crying wasn’t only because the situation was so heartbreaking, though it truly was. You were so young, taken so suddenly, and the pain of that alone could break anyone. But the tears that filled the room were something deeper. People were crying because they missed you. Because you weren’t just another friend, you were a part of everyone’s life. You had a piece in every circle, every group, every person there. The cries were the sound of people realizing that a piece of their own world had just been ripped away.

Your smile, your warmth, your genuine care for every person, it was hitting all of us that we would never get that again. Never again that quick grin you’d flash when you saw someone, never again the way you made people feel noticed and valued without even trying. That realization is what crushed everyone. It wasn’t just losing someone we loved; it was losing a light that brightened every room you walked into.

Your chesed was something rare, the kind that didn’t just help people, it lifted them. You had this way of making someone feel like they were doing you a favor by letting you help. Whether it was a ride, a small favor, a listening ear, or just showing up when someone needed you, you did everything with such sincerity and warmth. There was never a sense of burden, never hesitation. You gave with a full heart, and somehow you made people walk away feeling better about themselves, as if you were the lucky one in the exchange. That was your greatness, quiet, constant, and so real.

You were genuine in every way, and your greatness came from the simplest of things. You didn’t need grand gestures or recognition; your kindness, your care, your thoughtfulness, all came naturally, effortlessly. It was in the small smiles, the quiet acts of help, the sincere words you offered without expecting anything in return. That simplicity, that unassuming nature, is what made your greatness so real and so unforgettable.

Your acts of kindness were so natural that they flowed with simplicity and ease. One moment, you could make someone feel completely seen, lifting their spirits and making them feel better about their life; the next moment, you were right back to learning or moving through your day as if nothing had changed. It was effortless for you to give so much warmth without ever slowing down the energy you carried in everything you did.

In a way, your life ended just as suddenly as it was lived, one moment you were here, full of warmth and kindness, and the next you were gone. Yet even in that suddenness, your light continues to shine in everyone you touched. Every act of kindness you showed, every smile you shared, every moment you made someone feel valued, those things didn’t end with you. They live on in the way we carry ourselves, in the way we treat others, in the way we remember you. Your presence may be gone from this world, but the love and goodness you planted in the hearts of those around you will continue to grow, reminding us to live with the same care, simplicity, and joy that you did.

One friend shared this memory of you: even on rough days, you were someone they looked forward to waking up for, just to see your good morning smile. That smile was always paired with a kind word or a reassuring pat on the back, and in those moments, people could truly feel your genuine care and understanding for a friend going through a hard time. You weren’t someone who got married a few years before others and stirred up hard feelings; instead, you radiated warmth, positivity, and healthy, caring energy. You weren’t a thorn in anyone’s side; you were a comforting friend, someone to lean on, whose presence made even the hardest days feel a little lighter.

Another reason you made such an impact was simply because you were always there. You showed up consistently, quietly, without fanfare. You were around at the moments that mattered, the small in-between times when people crossed paths. And because you were always present, you greeted everyone. No one slipped past you unnoticed. Whether it was a quick hello, a warm smile, or a heartfelt “how are you really doing,” you made every person feel seen. Your presence wasn’t loud, but it was constant, and that consistency left a mark on every single person who knew you.

Your consistency in your sedarim and your learning was something incredible to witness. Day after day, no matter what was going on around you, you showed up to learn with a quiet strength and a steady dedication that inspired everyone who knew you. The same was true with your davening; it wasn’t loud or showy, but it was real, focused, and sincere. You approached tefillah and Torah with a calm, dependable rhythm, the way someone does when it’s not an obligation but a part of who they are. Your steadiness in these areas grounded you, and in many ways, it grounded the people around you too.

Even when you felt it was time to get back to learning and stop schmoozing, you said it in a way that never made anyone feel bad about themselves, the opposite, actually. You had this gentle way of redirecting the moment, reminding people of what mattered, but doing it with such warmth that they walked away feeling uplifted, not corrected. Your sincerity and respect for others were so real that even your boundaries came across as kindness.

How you managed to have so much time, for all the people you helped, for all the chesed you did, and at the same time for all your shteiging, is truly unreal. It’s hard to understand how someone with such a full schedule, such a full heart, and such a full life could fit so much into every day. But that was you. You used every minute you had, every ounce of energy, every opportunity to grow and to give. In your short life, you lived more fully, more purposefully, and more beautifully than many do in twice the years. You didn’t waste time; you elevated it. You lived life to its fullest, not through big moments, but through constant, steady goodness.

And in the way that truly counts, in years measured by doing for Hashem, you lived a long life. When you look at the mitzvos you did, the chesed you gave, the people you lifted, the Torah you learned, and the sincerity you carried in everything, your life wasn’t short at all. It was rich, full, and overflowing with purpose. If a person’s “years” are counted by how much they accomplish for Hashem, then you lived many lifetimes’ worth.

We will miss you. We can’t replace you, no one ever will, but we have to move forward carrying what you taught us. We have to take the warmth you gave, the sincerity you lived with, the kindness you showed, and let it shape the way we live. Moving on doesn’t mean forgetting; it means letting your light continue through us, allowing your goodness to guide the steps we take from here.

In a powerful way, you’re the one comforting us in this tragedy. Even now, in the deepest pain, the memories of your warmth, your smile, and your goodness are what hold us together and give us strength.

WATCH:

LISTEN:

​​For more info, email bitachon4life@gmail.com.

LISTEN:

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu made it unmistakably clear in a new interview that Israel will not consent to the creation of a Palestinian state under any circumstances. Speaking to the Abu Ali Express Telegram channel, he stated flatly, “There will not be a Palestinian state. It’s very simple: it will not be established.” He stressed that the position is not negotiable and is not tied to any diplomatic incentives.

Pressed on whether this stance applies even if it costs Israel a long-sought normalization deal with Saudi Arabia, Netanyahu did not hesitate. “The answer is: a Palestinian state will not be established. It is an existential threat to Israel,” he said, underscoring that no geopolitical benefit would justify what he views as a mortal danger to the country’s future.

Netanyahu acknowledged that the ongoing war in Gaza had frozen movement toward a Saudi-Israeli agreement, but he insisted that momentum could still return as fighting tapers off. “But the conditions must be acceptable to both sides – terms that are good for both sides,” he said. He explained that he has no intention of yielding on Israel’s “essential conditions” and that any future progress must safeguard national security. “And if this process ripens later on, excellent. And if not, we will safeguard our vital interests.”

The Prime Minister also discussed the Rafah crossing, linking its reopening directly to Hamas returning the remains of three Israelis who were killed and abducted: Dror Or, Ran Gvili, and Sudthisak Rinthalak. “We agreed that we will open the crossing after we receive all our hostages. We are very close to completing this process – it’s set to happen – and once that is completed, we will open the crossing,” he said.

Netanyahu went on to say he would support Egypt allowing Gazans who wish to emigrate to do so. “Any Gazan who wants to leave should be able to, and that right has been denied to them. Washington’s 20-point plan for Gaza included that right… If Egypt accepts that – I think that’s very positive.”

Turning to Ankara, Netanyahu described Israel’s relationship with Turkey as complicated but manageable. While hoping for stability between the countries, he did not minimize the concerns posed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s alignment with Hamas and his accusations of Israeli genocide. “I hope that threat doesn’t materialize, but we can’t rule it out,” he said.

Netanyahu explained that Israel has already acted to halt Turkish expansion into areas of Syria. “We prefer a modus vivendi with Turkey,” he said. “They’re very stubborn and speak in an extreme way, and we push back on it. But in practice, we prevented their entry into southern Syria… We also didn’t want them entering central Syria at the T-4 base – and we even struck that airfield.”

Despite the charged rhetoric, the Prime Minister said Israel continues maintaining quiet channels with Turkey in an effort to prevent unnecessary escalation. Yet he stressed that Israeli defense planning is already calibrated to Turkey’s military potential. “We do not intend to relinquish our military superiority,” he said. “We’re not seeking enemies, but we won’t let any country in the region threaten us.”

{Matzav.com}

New York City’s mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani, spent Thursday attempting to strike a careful balance as questions mounted over his reaction to a raucous anti-Israel protest outside Manhattan’s Park East Synagogue the previous night — a demonstration where participants chanted “Death to the IDF” and “Globalize the intifada” as an immigration-to-Israel event was taking place inside.

In comments released through his spokesperson, Dora Pekec, Mamdani created distance between himself and the protesters’ rhetoric while simultaneously criticizing the synagogue event itself. “The mayor-elect has discouraged the language used at last night’s protest and will continue to do so,” Pekec said in a statement to Jewish Insider. “He believes every New Yorker should be free to enter a house of worship without intimidation, and that these sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law.”

The protest had been organized by an anti-Zionist organization targeting a gathering hosted by Nefesh B’Nefesh, the group known for helping Jews relocate to Israel. The synagogue, a landmark Modern Orthodox institution on the Upper East Side, became the backdrop for shouting, drumming, and inflammatory chants that swiftly drew condemnation across the political spectrum.

When pressed about the statement’s claim that the synagogue program violated international law, Mamdani’s office clarified that the criticism referred specifically to “the organization’s promotion of settlement activity beyond the Green Line,” which they argued “violates international law.”

Mamdani’s election has left many Jewish New Yorkers uneasy, particularly amid a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents citywide. Though he has publicly pushed for more city funding to counter hate crimes and pledged stronger police presence at Jewish sites, skeptics questioned his willingness to confront anti-Israel radicals during moments of escalation.

The mayor-elect has said he does not support the phrase “globalize the intifada,” a slogan viewed by many Jews as an incitement to violence. Yet he has typically avoided condemning it outright, a hesitation that has fueled concerns about how he will approach such rhetoric once in office.

Thursday’s statement marked the first time Mamdani’s team responded to unrest connected to an anti-Israel demonstration. Before launching his campaign last year, Mamdani attended numerous protests of that nature, which further contributed to nervousness within the Jewish community. The day after winning the election, he did, however, denounce swastika graffiti found at a Jewish day school.

Outgoing Mayor Eric Adams, currently overseas on a multi-nation trip that included a visit to Israel, reacted harshly to Wednesday’s protest. In a social media post, he blasted what occurred outside Park East, calling the chants “vile” and the participants “sick and warped.” He promised, “stopping at Park East to show” his “support” once back in the city.

“Pray for our city,” Adams added. “Today it’s a synagogue. Tomorrow it’s a church or a mosque. They come for me today and you tomorrow. We cannot hand this city over to radicals.”

Governor Kathy Hochul, who endorsed Mamdani during the mayoral race, also weighed in. She wrote, “No New Yorker should be intimidated or harassed at their house of worship. What happened last night at Park East Synagogue was shameful and a blatant attack on the Jewish community. Hate has no place in New York.”

{Matzav.com}

A wide-ranging American framework outlining how the war between Russia and Ukraine could be halted was quietly circulated in Washington, describing everything from new borders to economic incentives, and even a future Peace Council overseen by President Donald Trump, senior U.S. officials told The Post.

The document represented the most elaborate version yet of what the U.S. envisioned as a potential off-ramp, crafted after weeks of conversations held by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff with senior Russian and Ukrainian figures.

Officials said they had recently spoken with Rustem Umerov, Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, during meetings in Miami. According to them, he responded encouragingly to significant portions of the proposal, though no one claimed it was a formal Ukrainian endorsement.

“The plan was drawn up immediately following discussions with one of the most senior members of Zelensky’s administration, Umerov,” one official explained. “So Umerov agreed to the majority of this plan, and he made several modifications to it, which we included and presented it to President Zelensky.”

They emphasized that these conversations did not amount to full alignment from Kyiv. “I don’t want to say that [Kyiv] full-heartedly … agreed to it and they’re ready to sign off. They agreed to the majority of the plan,” the official said.

President Zelensky acknowledged the broad American outline when he commented publicly on Thursday. “We agreed that our teams will work on the points to ensure it’s all genuine,” Zelensky said. “We’re geared up for clear and honest work—Ukraine, the U.S., our European and global partners.”

The proposal made clear that Ukraine would remain an independent state, but it also embedded extensive concessions that would permanently reshape the battlefield map.

Under the blueprint, Washington would recognize the entire Donbas region as belonging to Russia, including sectors that Moscow had failed to conquer even after more than a decade of fighting. Areas of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia would remain locked in place along current front lines, effectively turning active trenches into acknowledged borders.

Ukrainian forces would withdraw from the remaining pockets they held in Donetsk, leaving behind a neutral demilitarized zone barred to Russian entry.

In return, the U.S. would assemble a detailed system of security assurances intended to discourage any renewed Russian invasion. Those protections, however, depended on Ukraine refraining from attacks deep inside Russia; they would dissolve if Ukraine launched missiles at Moscow or St. Petersburg “without cause” or struck Russian territory.

Ukraine would also be required to restrict its military to 600,000 troops and formally commit to permanent neutrality by pledging never to join NATO, embedding that promise into its national charter. NATO countries, for their part, would agree not to station forces inside Ukraine, though allied aircraft would operate from Poland.

Beyond military matters, the plan called for the U.S. to open a structured Russia-NATO dialogue, fund major rebuilding operations across Ukraine, and gradually welcome Moscow back into global economic life. Provisions even envisioned Russia’s return to the G8 and long-term cooperation with the U.S. in sectors like energy, rare-earth extraction, data centers, and artificial intelligence.

Frozen Russian assets also featured heavily. The proposal directed that $100 billion in seized Russian funds be invested into U.S.-led reconstruction projects in Ukraine, with the U.S. receiving half of all profits. Europe would contribute an additional $100 billion of its own, while the rest of Russia’s frozen assets would be released for joint American-Russian ventures focused on “strengthening relations.”

Ukraine, meanwhile, would gain accelerated access to European markets as Brussels evaluated its membership aspirations.

Humanitarian issues were incorporated as well. The plan required a sweeping “all-for-all” exchange of captives and detainees — a category that included the transfer of kidnapped Ukrainian children — paired with family reunifications and long-term support for victims.

One of the most contentious elements involved wiping away all wartime legal claims through a universal amnesty. According to one U.S. official, Kyiv had requested that plank. The official noted that an earlier version had said, “Ukraine will conduct a full audit of all aid received and create a legal mechanism to recover any errors found and punish those who illegally profiteered from the war,” but Kyiv later pushed for broader immunity.

Ukraine would also have to hold national elections within 100 days of the agreement’s activation, restoring a process that had been suspended under wartime martial-law rules.

Oversight of the entire arrangement would fall to a new peace council chaired by Trump, who would be tasked with ensuring compliance, enforcing sanctions for violations, and verifying that both militaries withdrew to the agreed positions before a ceasefire formally began.

As part of the settlement, Russia would adopt legally binding promises of non-aggression toward Ukraine and Europe and reaffirm its nuclear non-proliferation commitments. Ukraine would restate its non-nuclear status. Europe’s largest nuclear facility — the Zaporizhzhia plant — would restart under IAEA supervision, with Russia and Ukraine sharing its output equally.

The blueprint also called for government-sponsored programs promoting cultural tolerance, minority protections, media freedoms, and bans on Nazi ideology in an attempt to lessen ethnic conflict. According to the authors, once all parties endorsed the agreement, the ceasefire would take hold immediately.

Neither Kyiv nor Moscow publicly embraced the proposal, but within the U.S. government it was seen as the most expansive attempt yet to chart a political end to a conflict that had redrawn borders and created Europe’s largest land war since World War II.

On Wednesday evening, Secretary of State Marco Rubio seemed to tamp down speculation that the U.S. had formally decided to advance such a plan. He wrote that “Ending a complex and deadly war such as the one in Ukraine requires an extensive exchange of serious and realistic ideas. And achieving a durable peace will require both sides to agree to difficult but necessary concessions,” adding, “That is why we are and will continue to develop a list of potential ideas for ending this war based on input from both sides of this conflict.”

His comments followed an Axios report claiming that an agreement had already been reached. That story relied on Kirill Dmitriev, a close Putin associate, who asserted he had helped develop the framework alongside Witkoff.

U.S. officials said they believed Dmitriev deliberately leaked details to position Russia as the driving force behind the plan. “Their POV out there first [because] it seemed like they were winning,” one of them said. “This is just a tit for tat. Always has been.”

Witkoff appeared to draw the same conclusion when he responded to the Axios article on X in a post he quickly deleted. “He must have got this from K,” he wrote about the reporter, Barak Ravid — seemingly intending to send the message privately, identifying Dmitriev only by his initial.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump welcomed a group of Israelis who had endured captivity, bringing them to the White House on Thursday for a private gathering that was both emotional and deeply symbolic.

Throughout the meeting, Trump emphasized their transformation from victims to national role models. “You’re not a hostage anymore, today you’re heroes,” he told them, praising the strength they displayed under unimaginable conditions. He added that their resolve “united all Israelis” and inspired countless supporters internationally.

The president highlighted the ordeal of Matan Angrest, whose story was raised as an example of grit and unbroken morale. Trump described what Angrest had suffered: “Because of service in the IDF, Matan was subjected to severe beatings, even at times losing consciousness. And alone and under a special guard, he went through hell. I guess you really were. I’ve heard stories that were not good. Look at you, how good you look. It just made you tougher, right? It did, made you tougher. But Matan never broke, and today he’s a living testimony to the toughness, heart, and faith of the Jewish people. Great knowing you, you’re great inspiration to everybody, whether you’re Jewish or not.”

With that message of resilience, Trump concluded the gathering by personally presenting each freed hostage with a presidential challenge coin — a gesture often reserved for those who have displayed exceptional courage or service.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu intensified his messaging Thursday night regarding the emerging draft-law proposal, using a new interview to sharpen his appeal to the chareidi public and to launch a fierce critique at the opposition.

Speaking to the Telegram channel “Abu Ali Express,” Netanyahu described the legislation as a historic breakthrough that would fundamentally reshape the integration of chareidim into military service.

“I hope to be the first prime minister in the history of Israel who actually passes a draft law,” Netanyahu said. “This law will bring 17,000 chareidim into the Israel Defense Forces within three years.”

He accused the opposition of working to sabotage the effort. “They defame the law, they’re trying to stop it. What have they done? They haven’t done anything. Seventeen thousand people — that’s a division and more.”

Netanyahu also directed part of his message inward, toward the chareidi community and its rabbinic leadership. “I expect the chareidi public to join this. I want the rabbanim to allow supporting it. This will be a major test.”

He dismissed claims circulating in some circles that the proposal is intended to preserve exemptions or prevent chareidim from serving.

“This is not a law to block service. This is a law that will bring thousands into the army in a very short time. How can anyone oppose that?”

{Matzav.com}

The Movement for Quality Government has called on Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to open disciplinary proceedings against Chaya Mashan, the senior official overseeing post-primary chareidi girls’ education in the Yerushalayim municipality, following the exposure of documents containing racist and degrading classifications of students.

In a letter sent today to the attorney general, the organization demanded an immediate investigation into Mashan’s reinstatement as coordinator of upper-secondary education for Yerushalayim’s Education Department, a role that includes responsibility for placement in the city’s chareidi seminaries.

“The subject of this request is the recent publication announcing the return of Ms. Chaya Mashan to her position as coordinator of upper-secondary education in the Yerushalayim municipality,” the group wrote.

The watchdog noted that in July 2024, Haaretz revealed Excel documents from the municipality that included detailed—and unauthorized—notations about students: parents’ marital status, the girl’s physical appearance, disabilities, health conditions of both the student and her family, and even the family’s connections to influential figures within the chareidi community.

Last Thursday, journalist Yoeli Brim exposed additional documents stored on municipal servers that used racial and humiliating labels such as: “kushim,” “large and fat,” “short mother and father,” “heavy Sephardi,” and “complex home, baalei teshuva, unmarried sisters.”

The municipality issued a response at the time, saying: “A clarifying conversation was held with the employee by the head of the department. During the meeting, procedures were reviewed in depth, and the employee was made aware of her mistake. Significant changes were also made in the department’s workflow. The spreadsheet in question, which was prepared in the past, was created privately and without the knowledge of her supervisors.”

In its letter, the Movement for Quality Government stressed that “given the severity of the findings and the sensitive position held by Ms. Chaya Mashan—who is responsible for the placement of thousands of girls into post-primary institutions—there is a heightened obligation to immediately open disciplinary proceedings under the Civil Service Disciplinary Law and fully investigate all circumstances of the affair, including the extent of her personal responsibility for the failures uncovered.”

The group also noted that “although the affair was exposed already in July 2024, the municipality’s stance—according to which Ms. Mashan should be returned to her position—raises questions about the authority’s willingness to conduct a thorough review of the failures, learn lessons, and act accordingly.”

The organization requested that the attorney general act under Section 11 of the Civil Service Disciplinary Law and file a formal complaint with the disciplinary court.

{Matzav.com}

In a major operation in southern Rafah, IDF forces uncovered the vast underground tunnel network where kidnapped soldier Hadar Goldin Hy”d had been held in recent years. Goldin fell in battle during Operation Protective Edge in 2014, and until now, the full scope of the location where his body was concealed had remained unknown.

The discovery was made during a Southern Command mission involving the elite Yahalom engineering unit together with Shayetet 13 naval commandos. According to the army, the tunnel system was one of the most significant and complex underground routes exposed in Gaza to date.

Military footage showed the extensive subterranean passage, stretching more than seven kilometers at a depth of approximately 25 meters below ground. The tunnel ran beneath a densely populated residential neighborhood near the Philadelphi Corridor and extended beneath sensitive civilian areas, including a United Nations Relief and Works Agency compound, several mosques, medical clinics, kindergartens, and schools.

Inside the underground route, soldiers found roughly 80 rooms. These included command centers used by senior Hamas officials to store weapons, operate for extended periods, and plan terror attacks against IDF forces. Among the high-ranking commanders who used the complex was the Rafah Brigade commander, terrorist Muhammad Shabana.

IDF officials emphasized that the tunnel system demonstrated once again how Hamas embedded military infrastructure underneath civilian neighborhoods and humanitarian sites, endangering the local population while using them as shields.

A highly charged meeting took place Thursday evening in Bnei Brak, as Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, rosh yeshiva of Slabodka, arrived at the home of Rashbi rosh yeshiva Rav Meir Tzvi Bergman.

The discussion, which lasted about 45 minutes, focused entirely on the draft-law proposal that has dominated the public arena in recent days.

The meeting came just three days after the publication of a recording in which Rav Bergman sharply criticized the proposed legislation, using unusually forceful language.

Yesterday, Rav Hirsch—together with Slabodka rosh yeshiva Rav Dovid Landau—gave the coalition official approval to begin advancing the draft bill in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. That green light followed weeks of deliberations among the leadership and was seen as a decisive turning point enabling the legislative process to move forward.

However, the release this week of recordings of Rav Bergman changed the tenor of the conversation. In the recording, the rosh yeshiva rejects the draft-law outline promoted by committee chairman MK Boaz Bismuth, denouncing it in stark terms.

In excerpts aired by Channel 13 News, Rav Bergman is heard declaring: “I don’t understand how one can even begin to think about this. What are we, owners over the Torah? Will we be afraid that there won’t be money? ‘Mine is the silver and Mine is the gold,’ says HaKadosh Baruch Hu. How can anyone even think of this? We are not going along with it at all! One cannot agree to such a thing! It is both foolishness and wickedness!”

The rosh yeshiva continues in the same vein: “They can do whatever they want, but we cannot agree to it. Not at 50 percent, not at one percent! How can anyone say that a bochur should go to the army? Whoever goes there only deteriorates further and further. It means handing falsehood to our children! We scream that this is ‘shmad’ and that one must give up one’s life, and suddenly we support it? What they want to accomplish in five years is like jumping off the roof!”

Against this dramatic backdrop, Thursday night’s meeting between Rav Hirsch and Rav Bergman was convened in an effort to clarify the direction of the Degel leadership. Details of the meeting have not yet been released.

{Matzav.com}

A dramatic crisis has erupted within Ger amid growing fears that highly personal and sensitive conversations of tens of thousands of chassidim may have been recorded — and could, in the worst-case scenario, become public.

According to a report published this morning in Haaretz, the alarm was triggered during a private din Torah in Bnei Brak, when a relative of Rav Yitzchok Broide — the Gerer Rebbe’s close personal secretary — suddenly produced an audio recording of a private conversation taken from the chassidus’s internal hotline.

That hotline is a dedicated phone line through which Gerer chassidim leave voice messages for Rav Broide, who then conveys the questions to the Rebbe. For years, this system has been relied upon by tens of thousands of families to discuss their most delicate and confidential matters, trusting that the information remained between them, Rav Broide, and the Rebbe.

According to the report, the recording was produced only after that family member lost the initial stage of the din Torah. He then hired new representatives, who claimed to possess new evidence that could overturn the ruling — the recording from the hotline. This immediately led to a terrifying possibility: that not only that one conversation was captured, but potentially every single message ever left on the hotline.

Even after an appeal, the dayanim upheld their original decision. But the revelation sent shockwaves through the chassidus, as chassidim grasped that it may be possible that all their confidential messages — matters involving family struggles, shidduchim, medical issues, and other deeply private concerns — may have been preserved somewhere without their knowledge.

Attorney Shlomo Elbaum, a member of the Bnei Brak city council, told Haaretz: “I heard about what happened in the beis din. I looked into it with reliable sources and I heard that everything is true.”

Elbaum added that, as someone who was once part of Ger and used the hotline himself for personal matters, he is deeply worried that everything may have been saved and could one day be misused. “This is a massive breach of public trust, and everyone should be shaken by it, especially since we have no idea who is the responsible party holding the recordings.”

A current Ger chossid expressed his own sense of betrayal, saying: “I feel exposed and betrayed. It shook me to my core. Rav Broide was supposed to be the greatest guardian of our secrets. We all trusted him and saw him as a faithful messenger. I hope it stays that way.”

Rav Broide himself responded that he has no knowledge of any recordings being stored:
“I don’t know anything about recordings being kept. I’m not involved in the business dealings of my relatives or what they say in beis din. Someone mentioned it to me, but I’m not involved.”

Regarding responsibility for the hotline, he said: “I am not the owner of the phone line. They gave me a phone number, and that is what I work with. I don’t know anything beyond that. In any case, no one discusses truly personal matters here — only surgeries, shidduchim, things like that. Who is responsible for the line? I have no idea. This is the first time I’m hearing that the calls may have been recorded.”

Ger’s official statement to Haaretz denied any possibility that the hotline can be recorded:
“From our internal review, there is no ability to record calls on the line in question.”

{Matzav.com}

Just hours before he was scheduled to meet President Donald Trump at the White House, former hostage Bar Kuperstein sat down with CNN for an emotional interview, recounting the horrors he endured in captivity and the long journey back to himself since his release.

“It was Gehinnom,” he said, describing the nearly two years he spent underground, “but I try to laugh, be happy with my family, and look forward.”

Kuperstein had been freed only a month and a week earlier, yet every mundane moment still felt miraculous. “Every morning was emotional,” he said. “Just being here, breathing, and not down in the tunnels — it was a feeling of gratitude to Hashem.” Still, he admitted that the joy was mixed with lingering trauma. “There were nights I couldn’t fall asleep, hard thoughts, a sense of disconnection. I surrounded myself with people who support me — and I believed I would heal.”

On the day of his abduction, Kuperstein was working as a security guard at the Nova festival site. “I was responsible for safety,” he said. “If I had run, I could never have forgiven myself. People told me I was a hero, but I just did my job.”

He spent 738 days in captivity — “in a tiny cell,” as he put it. “At first my eyes were covered, and I wasn’t allowed to speak. I counted days — that was the only activity I had. Days turned into weeks, into months, and into two years.”

He described repeated threats of execution, starvation, beatings, verbal abuse, and being stripped of any basic human dignity. “They said it was because of Ben Gvir and the government,” he recalled. He also referenced the video in which he and Maxim Herkin were seen alive. “All I wanted was for my family to know I was alive. I didn’t care what they told me to say — I just wanted them to see me.”

The 23-year-old said that his faith deepened precisely in captivity. “Hashem gave me strength. From the first day I felt I would come out whole. I wasn’t very religious before — just traditional — but there I spoke to Hashem. He saved me. Every day I stayed alive was a miracle.”

He even managed to listen to radio broadcasts from the depths of the tunnels. “Imagine that — thirty meters underground, and you’re hearing the radio. I heard about the protests, about the birthday my mother organized for me in the Hostages Square. They even gave me a picture of my father standing at a protest on his feet, despite his disability.”

He said the hardest moments came each time rumors of a release deal collapsed. “Every time we thought — again it won’t happen. Even when I was already on the way home, I didn’t believe it was real.”

Now, together with sixteen other survivors, Kuperstein was heading toward a historic meeting in the Oval Office. Of Trump, he said: “He is a messenger of Hashem. Hashem wanted us to come out — and Trump fulfilled His role.”