Matzav

The father of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani sharply criticized Columbia University’s antisemitism task force during a faculty senate meeting, accusing the panel of operating like a punitive authority rather than serving the campus community, according to a report published Tuesday by The Washington Free Beacon.

Mahmood Mamdani, a veteran Columbia professor, delivered the remarks at a Dec. 12 meeting of the university senate, based on transcripts reviewed by the outlet.

“It became very clear that [the task force] saw itself not as representing the community, but as a prosecutorial agency,” Mamdani said, arguing that the group’s approach was intensifying divisions on campus instead of confronting antisemitism constructively.

He went on to liken the task force’s methods to the British Empire’s colonial-era policy of “divide and rule,” contending that its work was breeding suspicion and alienation among both students and faculty. Mamdani asserted that the panel’s actions were leaving segments of the university population feeling excluded.

Addressing fellow senators, Mamdani, whose academic work focuses on decolonization, colonialism, and racial capitalism, said the task force was escalating conflict rather than fostering cohesion within the university.

Two individuals present at the December meeting confirmed that Mamdani made the statements as described, while a third attendee said the unofficial transcript accurately matched his own notes from the session.

After Mamdani finished speaking, acting Columbia President Claire Shipman, who was chairing the meeting, publicly expressed appreciation for his comments and requested his input, formally referring to him as “senator.”

The remarks come as Columbia continues to face heavy criticism over its response to antisemitism, particularly following months of pro-Palestinian protests that erupted on campus after the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel.

Columbia is among several elite universities where demonstrations have featured chants widely denounced as antisemitic, rhetoric calling for Israel’s destruction, and significant disruptions to campus operations. Jewish students and advocacy organizations have accused university leadership of failing to protect them from harassment and intimidation.

The Trump administration has previously confronted Columbia and other universities over their handling of antisemitism, warning that federal funding could be jeopardized if institutions do not uphold civil rights protections for Jewish students.

As part of that effort, the administration has urged colleges to adopt clearer definitions of antisemitism and to discipline students and faculty involved in extremist or discriminatory behavior.

Columbia’s antisemitism task force was formed amid that federal pressure, alongside congressional probes examining whether universities violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by permitting a hostile environment for Jewish students.

University officials have maintained that the task force is a necessary mechanism to address antisemitism and ensure compliance with federal law, while critics within the campus community argue it has been wielded to silence political speech critical of Israel.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump is expected to announce the next stage of a U.S.-brokered Gaza ceasefire, advancing a strategy designed to marginalize Hamas terrorists and overhaul how the devastated territory is governed, according to a report published Tuesday by the Financial Times.

Despite doubts from some U.S. allies and a shortfall in international funding, officials in Washington and Jerusalem say they are pressing ahead with what they describe as “phase two” of the ceasefire arrangement that brought an end to more than two years of fighting, the report said.

This next phase is expected to focus on restructuring Gaza’s civil administration, increasing humanitarian access, and taking concrete steps to strip Hamas of control over civilian institutions within the enclave.

According to the Financial Times, the United States could present a new governance model for Gaza as soon as Wednesday. The plan would transfer daily administrative responsibilities from Hamas to a Palestinian technocratic committee.

The report said Nickolay Mladenov, a former United Nations envoy and Bulgarian defense minister, is slated to be appointed as “high representative” for Gaza. In that role, Mladenov would supervise a 14-member Palestinian technocratic panel responsible for restoring essential services and rebuilding civilian governing structures.

At the same time, the report noted that the formal launch of Trump’s proposed Board of Peace is expected to face delays.

U.S. and Israeli officials involved in shaping the plan argue that visible progress is achievable in the near term, pointing to potential “early wins” such as reopening the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, increasing medical assistance, and loosening restrictions on imports into Gaza.

Significant hurdles remain, however, including the absence of an international peacekeeping force and a major gap in reconstruction funding. The report said only about $1 billion has been secured so far, well below the tens of billions of dollars estimated to be necessary for rebuilding.

Western and Muslim nations have been hesitant to provide troops or substantial financial support while Israeli forces continue operating in parts of Gaza and Hamas terrorists maintain influence in other areas, the Financial Times reported.

Another unresolved issue is Hamas’ disarmament, which Israeli leaders insist must be addressed before any broad reconstruction effort or large-scale withdrawal of forces can take place.

The report also pointed to disagreements within policy circles over earlier aid initiatives, including the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.-supported effort intended to deliver assistance while bypassing Hamas-controlled distribution channels.

That program encountered serious challenges, including security breakdowns and disputes over who was responsible for food shortages and deadly incidents near aid distribution centers.

Even so, officials in the Trump administration remain optimistic, citing the ceasefire itself and the release of Israeli hostages as evidence that their strategy is producing results. They are expected to seek further political and financial support at the Davos economic forum later this month.

{Matzav.com}

Senior officials from Denmark and Greenland are scheduled to hold talks at the White House on Wednesday with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as tensions rise following President Donald Trump’s renewed push for U.S. control of Greenland, according to Denmark’s foreign minister.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and Greenland’s foreign minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, requested the meeting after Trump intensified public statements about taking over Greenland, which is a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.

“U.S. Vice President JD Vance also wanted to participate in the meeting, and he will host the meeting, which will therefore be held at the White House,” Rasmussen told reporters in Copenhagen on Tuesday.

“Our reason for seeking the meeting we have now been given was to move this whole discussion… into a meeting room where we ⁠can look each other in the eye and talk about these things,” he added.

Trump initially raised the idea of the United States acquiring Greenland in 2019 during his first term, but the proposal encountered resistance in Washington, including from members of his own party. Greenland, which Denmark has governed for hundreds of years, has steadily expanded its autonomy since 1979 and continues to move toward eventual independence, a position supported by every party represented in Greenland’s parliament.

Separately, Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said he will meet with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Brussels next week to address security issues in the Arctic, alongside Greenland’s Motzfeldt.

Poulsen also said Denmark intends to increase its military footprint in Greenland, with additional NATO nations expected to take part in training and military exercises there in 2026.

“It has been a Danish priority over the past several years to have a discussion within NATO, but not least to also get greater attention from NATO in relation to issues regarding NATO’s presence in and around the Arctic,” Poulsen said.

{Matzav.com}

The 2026 global passport rankings have been released, confirming that Singapore once again holds the top position, offering its citizens the widest international mobility of any country in the world.

Holders of a Singapore passport can travel to 192 destinations without needing a visa. Close behind, Japan and South Korea are tied for second place, with each passport providing visa-free access to 188 countries.

A group of five European nations occupies the third spot. Citizens of Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, and Luxembourg can each enter 186 countries without a visa.

The United Kingdom is ranked seventh in the new index, with its passport allowing entry to 182 countries. Overall, European nations continue to dominate the upper tier of the rankings, reflecting the strong global standing of their travel documents.

The United States places tenth on the list, with Americans able to visit 179 countries visa-free. Israel is ranked 18th, with access to 165 destinations.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Afghanistan sits at the bottom of the index in 101st place, as its passport permits visa-free travel to only 24 countries.

Syria follows just above Afghanistan, with access to 26 countries. Iraq’s passport allows entry to 29 destinations, while citizens of Yemen and Pakistan can travel visa-free to just 31 countries.

The United Arab Emirates stands out for its dramatic rise over time, having added 149 visa-free destinations since the Henley Passport Index began tracking changes in 2006. In the 2026 rankings, the UAE places fifth overall.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Tuesday that Iran’s governing structure is approaching collapse, arguing that the Islamic Republic is reaching its final stage amid expanding nationwide protests and a harsh security response.

Speaking with reporters during an official visit to India, Merz said any government that survives only through coercion has already forfeited its legitimacy. “If a regime can only keep itself in power by force, then it’s effectively at the end,” he said. “I believe we are now seeing the final days and weeks of this regime.”

Merz went on to say that Iran’s leadership does not command genuine public support, stressing that it is not grounded in free and democratic elections. “The population is now rising up against this regime,” he said.

Demonstrations began spreading across Iran in late December, fueled by worsening economic conditions, including runaway inflation, a collapsing currency, and sharp increases in food prices. Protests have been reported in many cities, in what analysts describe as the most extensive unrest Iran has seen in years.

Authorities in Tehran have answered the protests with force. A senior Iranian official has acknowledged that roughly 2,000 demonstrators have been killed, according to reports cited by Reuters, though human rights activists say the actual figure may be higher. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reports that more than 10,700 people have been arrested. Witnesses have also accused security forces of fatally shooting civilians who were not actively participating in the demonstrations.

President Donald Trump has strongly condemned the Iranian government’s response and has warned of repercussions. Earlier this week, he said the United States would impose a 25% tariff on imports from countries that continue doing business with Iran. He has also warned that Washington could step in if Iranian authorities persist in using deadly force against peaceful protesters.

Trump recently said that Iran’s leaders have indicated an interest in talks, but he warned that additional steps could be taken if the violence continues. Iranian officials, meanwhile, have cautioned that any US military action would trigger a severe response.

{Matzav.com}

A report released Tuesday by Iran International asserts that more than 12,000 people were killed in Iran amid a recent wave of nationwide protests, with the majority of fatalities said to have occurred during two back-to-back nights late last week.

The outlet reported that the unrest has unfolded alongside a sweeping clampdown on information, including internet disruptions, the silencing of media outlets, and intimidation designed to block the flow of information and obscure the extent of the violence used against demonstrators.

In the face of those restrictions, Iran International said it launched a large-scale effort to corroborate fragmented accounts of killings and repression emerging from across the country.

According to the report, information was collected from a broad network of sources, among them individuals with proximity to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, figures within the presidential office, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps personnel stationed in several cities, eyewitnesses, relatives of victims, reporters operating on the ground, and medical staff.

Iran International’s editorial board stood by the reported death toll, stating that the number was established through a “rigorous, multistage process conducted in accordance with established professional standards.”

“In the largest killing in Iran’s contemporary history, carried out largely over two consecutive nights, Thursday and Friday, Jan. 8 and 9, at least 12,000 people were killed,” the editorial board said in its conclusion.

The demonstrations mark the latest surge of unrest in Iran, fueled by widespread frustration over economic collapse, systemic corruption, political repression, and the clerical regime’s reliance on force to crush opposition.

Protests have erupted repeatedly across the country in recent years, often met by security forces employing mass detentions, live fire, and sweeping internet blackouts to restore control.

Iran’s government has a well-documented record of responding violently to public dissent, including during the protests of November 2019, when human rights organizations estimated that hundreds, and possibly thousands, of people were killed.

Officials have consistently rejected independent casualty estimates, curtailed outside reporting, and pressured victims’ families in an effort to prevent information about deaths from becoming public.

As details of the latest crackdown surfaced, U.S. officials told CNN that President Donald Trump has weighed military options aimed at assisting Iranian protesters, including potential strikes on security units in Tehran involved in suppressing demonstrations.

Trump has also offered explicit public backing for the protest movement. Writing on Truth Social on Tuesday, the president said, “Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!

“Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price. I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY. MIGA!!”

Iranian authorities have not independently verified the reported death toll and continue to depict the unrest as the result of foreign interference rather than a grassroots uprising driven by domestic grievances.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump on Tuesday publicly encouraged Iranians to take control of their country’s institutions, announcing that he has suspended all contact with Iran’s leadership as long as security forces continue to violently suppress protests.

In a series of posts on social media, Trump warned that those responsible for killing demonstrators would face consequences, rejecting Tehran’s claims that it has been maintaining dialogue with Washington during the unrest.

“Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price.”

He followed by declaring a complete freeze on diplomatic engagement with Tehran until the bloodshed ends.

“I have canceled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY,” he added.

Human rights groups say the violence has already claimed hundreds of lives. Since the demonstrations erupted, Iranian forces are believed to have killed at least 646 protesters, with fears that the final toll will be far higher. Reuters has reported that as many as 2,000 people may have been killed, citing an unnamed Iranian official.

Amid the escalating crisis, the White House confirmed on Monday that Trump is considering military action against Iran in response to the crackdown.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that while diplomacy remains the administration’s preferred course, the president is prepared to act forcefully if he believes it is required. She said Trump “has shown he’s unafraid to use military options if and when he deems necessary.”

Leavitt stressed that the president is deeply disturbed by the images emerging from Iran’s capital and beyond.

“He certainly doesn’t want to see people being killed in the streets of Tehran. And unfortunately that’s something we are seeing right now,” she added.

Iranian authorities have responded to the protests with lethal force and widespread repression, including shutting down internet access across large parts of the country to prevent photos and videos from reaching the outside world.

The current uprising marks the most serious challenge to the Islamic Republic since the nationwide demonstrations that followed the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini while in the custody of Iran’s morality police.

International leaders have also weighed in, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggesting that Iran’s ruling system may be nearing collapse.

“I assume that we are now witnessing the final days and weeks of this regime,” he told reporters during a visit to India on Tuesday.

Merz said the government’s reliance on violence signals its weakness rather than strength. “When a regime can only maintain power through violence, then it is effectively at its end. The population is now rising up against this regime,” he added.

{Matzav.com}

The United States has formally designated three branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Tuesday, marking a major step under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in November 2025. The move targets the group’s chapters in Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt.

“Today, as a first step in support of President Trump’s commitment to eliminate the capabilities and operations of Muslim Brotherhood chapters that pose a threat to the United States as described in Executive Order 14362, the United States is imposing terrorist designations against the Lebanese, Jordanian, and Egyptian chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood,” Rubio said.

According to Rubio, the State Department is taking action against the Lebanese branch by formally classifying it as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity, while also applying the same designation to its leader, Muhammad Fawzi Taqqosh. At the same time, the Treasury Department is imposing SDGT designations on the Egyptian and Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood chapters due to their alleged role in providing material support to Hamas.

“These designations reflect the opening actions of an ongoing, sustained effort to thwart Muslim Brotherhood chapters’ violence and destabilization wherever it occurs. The United States will use all available tools to deprive these Muslim Brotherhood chapters of the resources to engage in or support terrorism,” Rubio said in closing.

President Trump’s executive order issued in November launched the formal mechanism for identifying and designating specific Muslim Brotherhood branches as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. Those designations carry significant consequences, including sanctions, asset freezes, and strict limits on funding, sharply constraining the groups’ ability to operate internationally.

{Matzav.com}

A moving gathering took place tonight at the Chabad House in Yerushalayim’s Nachlaot-Rechavia neighborhood, where Rabbi Goldberg and Rabbi Marzel led a special ceremony marking the printing of the Tanya. Among those present were Eitan Mor, who was previously held hostage in Gaza, and Itzik Gvili, the father of Ran Gvili, who was killed after being taken captive.

Mor, who had been living in Nachlaot when he was abducted, arrived together with Gvili to an emotional reception from neighborhood residents, who greeted them with calls of “Am Yisrael Chai.” During the evening, Mor spoke candidly about his experiences in captivity and reflected on how they intersected with the teachings of the Tanya’s author.

He shared that before his abduction, his mother had often reminded him of the idea that “The mind rules over the heart.” Mor explained that after he later described his ordeal in Gaza to her, she told him, “‘In retrospect, you used that principle exactly there,’” noting how it had guided him during moments of danger.

Mor went on to describe a harrowing incident that occurred on the 33rd day of the war, while he was being moved through Gaza City. At one point, he said, he was left alone in a classroom inside a school. A man suddenly entered, shouted at him in Arabic, and Mor felt a wave of fear overwhelm him.

“In that moment, I used the Tanya’s teaching,” he said. “I told myself: don’t listen to your heartbeat. Think. I decided to pretend I was crazy. I started stammering without words, and that’s what saved me. He simply told me to go back to sleep and left.”

Looking back, Mor said the experience made clear to him how deeply those ideas had shaped his response. “In retrospect, I acted exactly as the Tanya teaches,” he said. “And I realized that even people who don’t know the Tanya live by its principles without knowing it. It’s a great joy to return to Nachlaot. Thank you all-and may Ran return quickly, amen.”

{Matzav.com}

Israel’s Holocaust Museum has accused Russia of Holocaust distortion over its decision to establish a new annual memorial day to commemorate the Nazi “Genocide of the Soviet People” while omitting any mention of their Jewish victims.

The new memorial day, which was signed into law by Russian President Vladimir Putin last month, will go into effect this year.

“Yad Vashem condemns this latest attempt to manipulate the historical facts of Nazi persecution for current political purposes,” Israel’s Holocaust Museum said in a Thursday post on X. “This new Russian law effectively erases the distinct Jewish dimension of the Shoah, despite the fact that they were the primary target of Nazi genocide.”

The Jerusalem Holocaust museum noted that while millions of Russians were killed during World War II, many of them in targeted murders, “the Holocaust is defined by the comprehensive campaign aimed at the total eradication of Jewish existence and the murder of six million Jewish men, women, and children, and as such must be recognized and remembered.”

The statement also added that the designated memorial date—April 19—set by the new Russian law has “profound significance” in Holocaust remembrance, as it marks the start of the famous uprising of the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1943.

Around 27 million Soviet citizens died in World War Two, including about 8.7 million military casualties, the highest death toll of any nation.

Israeli academics said on Monday that Yad Vashem was right to speak out.

“It is good that this statement came out, only too bad it did not come sooner because we are in the midst of a continued process of Putin’s manipulation of World War Two,” said Samuel Barnai of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. “Like every other narrative, the Jewish Holocaust has to be sacrificed for the narrative of Soviet victory. where the victims are the Soviet nation.”

“The Russian law on the so-called genocide of the Soviet people is an outright fiction as the term ‘genocide’ has a narrow legal definition,” Leonid Smilovitsky, Senior Research Associate at Tel Aviv University, told JNS. “It was adopted by the Putin regime 80 years after the end of World War II to serve as a tool of political rhetoric to justify Russia’s current actions related to Ukraine and the Holocaust.”

“It is a strategy of ‘victimhood nationalism’ undertaken by the Russian government to portray Russia as the primary victim of Nazism,” Konstantin Pakhaliuk, Associate Researcher at Ruppin Academic Center, said in an interview with JNS. “The idea first emerged last decade, and since the aggression against Ukraine, it is now used to say that throughout history, Russians were always the victims of the West.”

He added that the new memorial day enacted by Russia was not a straightforward denial of the Holocaust as a Jewish genocide but a distortion of history to downplay the Jewish tragedy and to highlight the Soviet one.

“Its primary purpose is entirely political,” he said. JNS

{Matzav.com}

It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of Mr. Eliezer (Louis) Glick z”l.

Mr. Glick is survived by his son, renowned machzik Torah and baal tzedakah Reb Shimon Glick, along with extended family and friends who remember him with affection and respect.

The levayah will take place today, at 3 p.m., at Riverside Chapel, located at 180 West 76th Street in Manhattan. The kevurah will take place in Eretz Yisroel.

Yehi zichro baruch.

{Matzav.com}

Opposition leader MK Yair Lapid on Monday sharply responded to remarks made by United Torah Judaism chairman MK Moshe Gafni, declaring that a proposed military draft law will not pass and accusing Gafni of crossing red lines.

Lapid’s comments came during a speech in the Knesset plenum, hours after Gafni referred to him in an interview using harsh language. Addressing the interview directly, Lapid said, “A few hours ago, in an interview with Kikar HaShabbat, MK Gafni called me ‘zero.’ I want to remind MK Gafni of what I told him here already 13 years ago — we are done taking orders from you.”

Turning to the substance of the dispute, Lapid added, “MK Gafni must understand, the draft law will not pass. Because it is an un-Jewish act to evade your obligation to fight alongside your brothers who are battling to save this homeland.”

Gafni’s remarks that sparked the response were made in an interview with journalist Yishai Cohen, in which he launched a broad attack on Lapid. Gafni accused Lapid of losing control and acting irresponsibly, claiming that delays in salary transfers and budget approvals that Lapid criticized were practices that also took place during Lapid’s own tenure as finance minister.

In the interview, Gafni escalated his rhetoric, accusing Lapid of obsessively targeting the chareidi public and using inflammatory language whenever related issues arise. “Now this brazen man comes along,” Gafni said, arguing that Lapid selectively ignored similar budget items benefiting religious state schools. He claimed that the accountant general had already explained that the same procedures existed under Lapid’s watch, and accused him of seeking to destabilize the government at any cost. Gafni concluded his remarks with a personal insult, saying of Lapid, “Who is he anyway? Zero.”

A special Yerushalayim-themed broadcast captivated listeners on Monday night as audiences were invited to vote for the greatest Yerushalayim song based on classical Jewish sources. As part of the festive programming titled “Yerushalayim – Oro Shel Olam,” aired during the popular radio show Ba B’Arba hosted by Kobi Brumer, the emotional contest drew hundreds of listener responses.

The broadcast focused on a particularly stirring category: Yerushalayim songs whose lyrics are drawn from seforim hakedoshim. Listeners at home were asked to choose which of the iconic classics deserved to advance to the grand finale later this week and earn a place in the program’s “hall of fame.”

The lineup pitted some of the giants of Jewish music against one another, featuring performances that have long become part of the Jewish musical canon. Competing for listeners’ votes were Avraham Fried with “Yerushalayim Oro Shel Olam,” Mordechai Ben David with the nostalgic favorite “Od Yeishvu,” “Shabchi Yerushalayim,” the moving ballad “Ivru BaShe’arim” by Naftali Kempeh, and “Im Eshkachech” performed by Yaakov Shwekey.

Im Eshkachech was composed by Yochanan Shapiro.

After tallying the many votes that poured in, the outcome was decisive. First place went to Shwekey’s “Im Eshkachech,” whose lyrics are drawn from Tehillim. Over the years, the song has become a staple at Jewish weddings, widely embraced as an emotional chuppah song.

Mordechai Ben David secured second place with “Od Yeishvu,” while Avraham Fried placed third with “Yerushalayim Oro Shel Olam.”

Listeners who took part in the live phone-in vote were also eligible for a prize. Among those who called in to rank their favorite songs, a high-quality karaoke microphone was raffled off toward the end of the program.

LISTEN:

{Matzav.com}

Dear Matzav Inbox,

In response to the recent post on Matzav from Rav Gershon Ribner, I feel compelled to share a painful observation that too many of us are noticing but few are willing to articulate.

There is a deeply troubling trend of girls marrying bnei Torah not out of shared values, yiras Shamayim, or a desire to build a true Torah home, but for cultural, social, or superficial reasons alone. The result is not harmony, but dissonance — marriages that look “frum” on paper yet are hollow at their core.

I recently overheard a so-called frum woman casually shmoozing with a neighbor, her language, attitude, and worldview indistinguishable from the surrounding culture. This is not an isolated incident. This is what happens when shidduchim are driven by money, status, and looks rather than middos and commitment to Torah.

And the image that has haunted me most: Standing in a grocery store, I saw a young man dressed like a slob, next to a woman whose appearance and demeanor could only be described as completely foreign to any notion of tznius or Torah values. The store manager — a man who certainly doesn’t keep 613 mitzvos — muttered under his breath, “Beauty and the beast.” When even the outside world sees the contradiction so clearly, something is terribly wrong.

Hashem yerachem.

This is not about clothing alone, nor about judging individuals. It is about the erosion of standards and the dangerous normalization of marriages built on everything except the foundations that are supposed to define a Torah home. If we continue pretending this isn’t happening, we will bear responsibility for the consequences — for our children, and for the future of our community.

Sincerely,
A. C.

To submit a letter to appear on Matzav.com, email MatzavInbox@gmail.com

DON’T MISS OUT! Join the Matzav Status by CLICKING HERE. Join the Matzav WhatsApp Groups by CLICKING HERE.

The opinions expressed in letters on Matzav.com do not necessarily reflect the stance of the Matzav Media Network.

{Matzav.com}

Rav Dov Landau delivered firm remarks regarding demonstrations against the military draft, warning yeshiva bochurim to stay far away from protests and reassuring them that gedolim are working tirelessly on the issue.

The comments were made ahead of the Fifth Annual Chinuch Conference of the Ha’azinu Center, scheduled for this coming Thursday. In response to questions posed by the organization about the current situation surrounding draft decrees, Rav Landau addressed the growing anxiety among bochurim amid intensified public discussion of enforcement actions by the authorities.

Asked how mashgichim and mechanchim should calm talmidim who feel confused and unsettled by talk of arrests and decrees, Rav Landau acknowledged the gravity of the situation. “The harsh decrees, the draft decree, are something very serious,” he said. “We are making every effort so that the situation should be good.”

When pressed on how an individual bochur can strengthen himself and avoid worry, Rav Landau emphasized caution and trust in the efforts of the gedolei hador. He stressed that talmidim must know that everything possible is being done on their behalf.

Rav Landau sharply criticized those promoting public demonstrations, describing them as deeply harmful. “There are those who go out against [the efforts], and they hold protests, and they are very damaging,” he said. “Do not participate in protests. You must give the bochurim a good feeling that people care deeply about them — that they are cared for very, very much.”

In further remarks, Rav Landau reiterated that the issue is occupying the foremost Torah leaders day and night. “It concerns the elders of the generation greatly,” he said. “They are making every effort. And there are also those who interfere, who hold protests and other foolishness. Do not participate in protests. Tell them that the elders of the generation care very much and are doing everything possible.”

He concluded with a call for vigilance and faith. “There are those who cause damage with protests and other actions. One must be careful and guarded, and we hope, with Hashem’s help, that the actions of the elders of the generation will succeed. Everything is in the hands of Heaven.”

President Trump issued a stark warning to Minnesota residents on Tuesday, telling them to “fear not” because a “day of reckoning and retribution is coming,” as his administration intensifies efforts aimed at illegal immigration enforcement and rooting out large-scale benefits fraud in the state.

Highlighting what he described as progress made through federal intervention elsewhere, Trump pointed to Chicago as an example, arguing that tougher enforcement leads to improved public safety. “Every place we go, crime comes down. In Chicago, despite a weak and incompetent Governor and Mayor fighting us all the way, a big improvement was made. Thousands of Criminals were removed!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Turning his criticism directly toward Minnesota’s leadership, the president accused Democratic officials of enabling unrest. “Minnesota Democrats love the unrest that anarchists and professional agitators are causing,” the president continued.

He followed with a message directed at residents of the state, writing in all caps, “FEAR NOT, GREAT PEOPLE OF MINNESOTA, THE DAY OF RECKONING & RETRIBUTION IS COMING!”

Trump’s comments come after earlier federal actions in other cities. He had previously sent National Guard troops into Chicago in an effort to curb violent crime, though he announced late last year that the deployment would end following adverse court rulings.

At the same time, Vice President JD Vance disclosed last week that the administration plans to appoint an assistant attorney general dedicated exclusively to combating fraud, with Minnesota set to be the first focus of that initiative.

Tensions in the Twin Cities have escalated in recent weeks following the fatal Jan. 7 shooting of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, an incident that sparked widespread protests.

The White House has defended the agent involved, maintaining that he acted in self-defense in response to what it described as an act of domestic terrorism.

Legal challenges have followed. On Monday, officials in Minnesota and Illinois filed lawsuits seeking to block the Trump administration’s plan to significantly increase the number of ICE agents operating in their states, arguing that the move violates the 10th Amendment, which reserves certain powers to the states.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that hundreds of additional federal officers would soon be deployed to Minnesota, on top of the roughly 2,000 ICE and Customs and Border Protection agents already stationed there.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison pushed back on that plan during a CNN appearance Monday night, saying, “Quite honestly, we need ICE to just do what ICE is supposed to do, which is immigration enforcement. They’re doing far more than that … by harassing people, by using excessive force on a routine basis.”

Trump, in another Truth Social post, framed the issue as a matter of public safety, asking, “Do the people of Minnesota really want to live in a community in which there are thousands of already convicted murderers, drug dealers and addicts, rapists, violent released and escaped prisoners, dangerous people from foreign mental institutions and insane asylums, and other deadly criminals too dangerous to even mention.”

He added that federal agents are motivated by a desire to protect communities, writing, “All the patriots of ICE want to do is remove them from your neighborhood and send them back to the prisons and mental institutions from where they came, most in foreign Countries.”

The president also suggested that demonstrations following Good’s death are being used to divert attention from what he described as massive financial wrongdoing, claiming that billions in taxpayer funds were “stolen by really bad and deranged people.”

While estimates of the total fraud losses differ, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said publicly last month that approximately $9 billion has been stolen since 2018. According to the Justice Department, nearly 100 individuals have been charged in connection with the scheme, with 64 convictions secured so far.

Amid the fallout from the welfare fraud scandal, Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced on Jan. 5 that he would not seek a third term in office.

{Matzav.com}

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Daniel Gopin LPC

All are asked to daven for the recovery of Rav Yitzchok Hacker, rosh yeshiva of the Grodno Yeshiva and a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Degel HaTorah, who underwent an emergency catheterization procedure in his leg overnight at Sheba Medical Center.

It has emerged that Rav Hacker has been suffering from a serious infection in his leg. Just last week, he underwent two catheterization procedures in that leg. Doctors have now detected a more severe infection in his other leg, raising concern for a possible life-threatening condition.

Rav Hacker is a son-in-law of the Ponovezh rosh yeshiva, Rav Shmuel Rozovsky zt”l. He has served for four decades as rosh yeshiva of the Grodno Yeshiva, initially in Ashdod and today in Be’er Yaakov.

In the beis medrash of the Grodno Yeshiva in Be’er Yaakov, as well as in the beis medrash of Ponovezh Yeshiva, talmidim and mispallelim recited three chapters of Tehillim for his refuah.

All are asked to daven for the refuah sheleimah of Rav Yitzchok ben Nechamah.

{Matzav.com}

Days after the fatal anti-draft protest in Yerushalayim that tragically claimed the life of 14-year-old Yosef Eisenthal z”l, the boy’s father has drawn attention with blunt remarks reaffirming his opposition to military enlistment.

In an interview with Israel Army Radio on Monday, Rabbi Shmuel Eisenthal addressed the slogan often heard at such demonstrations — “We will die and not enlist” — and said it still reflects his position. “They asked me whether the phrase ‘we will die and not enlist’ still stands. Honestly, I would prefer that he die and not go to the army,” he said.

Yosef Eisenthal was killed after being struck by a bus during a chareidi protest against military conscription in Yerushalayim. The incident unfolded amid severe disorder, as demonstrators blocked major roads, set trash bins on fire, and attacked a bus that entered the area before the deadly collision occurred.

During the interview, Rabbi Eisenthal acknowledged the public reaction his comments would provoke. “I understand that this is difficult to digest, and I am saying this as a bereaved father,” he said. “If they were to ask me whether I had two options — that Yossi go to the army or that he die the way he died — my answer is that I would prefer that he die.”

He stressed that his opposition to the enlistment of yeshiva students has not changed, even after the loss of his son.

The remarks come nearly a week after the deadly demonstration, which has since drawn heavy scrutiny over police handling of the protest. Following the incident, it was revealed that the bus driver had contacted the police emergency center during the unrest and requested assistance, later saying that no officers arrived at the scene in real time.

Last week, N12 reported that, contrary to the police’s initial account, a prior directive had been issued instructing Yerushalayim District officers not to deploy patrol vehicles into the protest zone. The instruction, coordinated with protest organizers and documented in an internal police document, prohibited police vehicles from entering major thoroughfares in the Bar-Ilan area and surrounding streets. As a result, no patrol cars were present in the area even as disturbances intensified.

{Matzav.com}

Pete Hegseth made a high-profile visit Monday to SpaceX headquarters alongside Elon Musk, flashing a Vulcan salute as the war secretary outlined a push to overhaul how the Pentagon develops and deploys new technology.

Welcoming Hegseth to Starbase, the South Texas community built around SpaceX’s launch and manufacturing complex, Musk framed the moment with a pop-culture nod. “We want to make Star Trek real,” Musk said as he greeted the Pentagon chief at the sprawling rocket facility.

Hegseth echoed the sentiment with a brief aside of his own, responding, “Star Trek real,” after Musk introduced him to the audience.

Speaking as part of his “Arsenal of Freedom” tour, Hegseth laid out a sweeping vision for maintaining U.S. dominance in what he described as a global race for technological superiority. He stressed the urgency of outpacing rival nations in areas such as artificial intelligence, autonomous platforms, hypersonic weapons, space systems, directed-energy technology, biotechnology, and long-range drones.

He argued that prior to President Trump taking office, the Department of War’s system for bringing new capabilities into service had fallen badly behind modern realities.

“Worse than that, we’ve done nothing but add layer upon layer” of bureaucracy, Hegseth said, criticizing what he called “endless projects with no accountable owners” and a culture of “high churn with little progress and few outputs.”

Comparing the Pentagon’s approach unfavorably to SpaceX’s rapid-development model, Hegseth said, “That sounds about like the exact opposite of SpaceX,” warning that such stagnation is a “dangerous game with potentially fatal consequences.”

He promised a dramatic shift, saying the department would “supercharge” innovation and abandon what he characterized as a complacent mindset. According to Hegseth, the Pentagon is “done running a peacetime science fair while our potential adversaries are running a wartime arms race.”

To make that change tangible, he pledged to “cut through overgrown bureaucratic underbrush and clear away the debris, Elon-style, preferably with a chainsaw,” to speed the rollout of new technologies.

As part of that effort, Hegseth revealed that the War Department will begin using X’s Grok artificial intelligence system later this month, alongside Google’s Gemini model. Both tools will be deployed across the department’s classified and unclassified networks, he said.

He also announced a key leadership appointment, naming Cameron Stanley, a former Amazon Web Services executive, as the Pentagon’s new chief digital and artificial intelligence officer.

Emphasizing that artificial intelligence depends on the quality and breadth of its data, Hegseth said he has ordered “all appropriate data” to be shared across “every service and component” so it can be “fully leveraged for warfighting capability development and operational advantage.”

“We must ensure that America’s military AI dominates, so that no adversary can exploit that same technology to hold our national security interests or our citizens at risk,” the Pentagon chief said.

He concluded with a warning that the United States’ inherent strengths could be squandered if mismanaged. Hegseth said America’s rivals “do not have our entrepreneurs … our capital markets … our combat-proven operational data … our hard-won classified technologies,” nor the ability to operate in places like “downtown Tehran or downtown Caracas without being seen in the process.” Still, he cautioned, those advantages will count for nothing “if we suffocate those advantages under a stifling bureaucracy.”

{Matzav.com}