Matzav

Weddings scheduled for Sunday evening across New York and New Jersey have been moved up by several hours, with nearly all simchos rescheduled to the afternoon, as a powerful winter storm threatened to bring full blizzard conditions to the region tonight into Monday.

Event halls and caterers have confirmed that all simchos originally set for Sunday night were shifted earlier in the day in an effort to allow guests to travel home safely before conditions deteriorate. With forecasts calling for heavy snowfall, damaging winds, and near-zero visibility, families made last-minute adjustments to avoid the peak of the storm. (See invitations below.)

The annual dinners of Mesivta of Long Beach and Yeshiva Gedolah of Passaic have been cancelled.

The Links Strings Concert, scheduled to be held tonight in New Jersey, has been rescheduled for Tuesday, February 24.

In Lakewood, NJ, Yeshiva Ohr Yehuda cancelled their annual dinner, which was to be held tonight, and Mesivta Ohr Chaim Meir has moved their dinner up to the afternoon.

A major winter system is expected to slam New York City and the broader Tri-State area beginning this afternoon, intensifying rapidly after sunset. Eyewitness News Meteorologist Jeff Smith warned that the storm could rank among the most significant snow events the region has experienced in years.

Forecasters say the storm could be the largest snowmaker to strike the area since January 2016, when New York City recorded its biggest snowstorm on record. The last blizzard warning issued for the region was in March 2017, underscoring how unusual this event is. Meteorologists describe the system as a powerful convergence of energy from the Ohio Valley colliding with moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, producing a storm that resembles a winter hurricane.

By midday today, steadier snow is forecast to develop, especially from New York City south and west, with visibility beginning to drop. After sunset, temperatures will fall and the storm is expected to rapidly strengthen offshore, drawing intense snow bands directly into the region.

Meteorologists warn that snowfall rates could reach 2 to 3 inches per hour, with some areas seeing those heavy bands linger overhead for extended periods.

Most of the Tri-State area is projected to receive between 12 and 18 inches of snow. Localized totals could climb to 24 inches or more where the heaviest bands stall, particularly across Long Island and parts of the Jersey Shore. Areas farther north and west, including the Poconos and Catskills, are expected to see lower totals in the 8- to 12-inch range due to less direct access to the storm’s core moisture.

Blizzard warnings are in effect for Long Island, all five boroughs of New York City, Westchester and Rockland counties, coastal Connecticut, and much of New Jersey.

The storm meets the criteria for a blizzard, with winds expected to gust at 35 mph or higher, heavy snowfall, and visibility reduced to less than a quarter mile for at least three consecutive hours. Forecasters say the region could experience 10 to 12 hours of true blizzard conditions Sunday night into Monday.

Winds will steadily increase throughout Sunday, peaking overnight with gusts exceeding 40 mph across much of the region and potentially reaching 60 mph on Long Island. The combination of strong winds and wet, heavy snow raises the risk of downed trees and widespread power outages.

Road conditions are expected to worsen quickly Sunday evening. Officials warn that the Monday morning commute may be nearly impossible in some locations.

Snow is forecast to taper off Monday afternoon, though gusty winds and areas of blowing snow will continue to create hazardous conditions.

Temperatures will turn colder and breezy on Tuesday as cleanup efforts begin. Another system could approach midweek, though early projections indicate it will be significantly weaker than the current storm.

{Matzav.com}

Officers from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have assumed a leading role within Hezbollah as preparations intensify for a potential confrontation involving the United States and Israel, according to a report by Saudi outlet Al-Arabiya. At the same time, Lebanese political figures were said to be voicing alarm over the possibility that their country could be pulled into a broader regional war.

Citing sources described as close to Hezbollah, Al-Arabiya reported that several IRGC officers recently arrived in Lebanon from Iran and are now overseeing efforts to restore the group’s military strength. Hezbollah’s capabilities were heavily damaged during 14 months of hostilities with Israel that concluded with a ceasefire in November 2024, and the Iranian officers have reportedly been tasked with rebuilding those assets.

The unnamed sources said the Iranian personnel have been conducting direct briefings for Hezbollah members throughout Lebanon. They also claimed that IRGC officers were meeting with operatives from Hezbollah’s missile division at a facility in the Beqaa Valley that was struck overnight by Israeli forces. The wave of airstrikes reportedly left at least 50 people wounded and 12 dead, including a senior Hezbollah commander. The IDF said the strikes targeted Hamas and Hezbollah command centers.

Sources aligned with Hezbollah told Al-Arabiya that a broader Israeli assault on Lebanon is inevitable and could occur at any time.

The developments unfolded as US President Donald Trump has bolstered American military deployments in the region and has repeatedly warned that those forces could be used against Iran. Initially, his threats focused on Tehran’s harsh suppression of anti-regime protests last month, but more recently they have centered on Iran’s nuclear activities.

Hebrew-language media outlets have reported that Israel is preparing to coordinate military action with the United States and believes it could come under Iranian attack if Washington launches strikes on Iran.

The Kan public broadcaster reported last night that Israeli officials have detected preparations by Hezbollah, particularly within its rocket units, to carry out attacks in the event Iran is targeted. According to the report, Hezbollah could join forces with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iranian-backed Shiite militias in Iraq, and Yemen’s Houthi rebels in striking Israel.

Haaretz, citing unnamed Israeli military officials, reported that recent Israeli air raids against Hezbollah positions were designed to weaken the organization’s operational capacity in anticipation of possible hostilities. On Friday, at least 10 people were reported killed and 50 injured in Israeli strikes in eastern Lebanon after the Israel Defense Forces said it had targeted Hezbollah command centers.

Channel 12 news reported that Trump was leaning toward attacking Iran, but had agreed to a request from his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to give Iran another day or two to submit a proposal in the indirect US-Iran nuclear negotiations that commenced earlier this month.

An unnamed US official was quoted by the network saying that the 10- to 15-day deadline Trump gave Iran on Thursday was “not scientific.”

Trump has demanded Iran give up entirely on its nuclear enrichment program, but is reportedly open to letting the Islamic Republic preserve some “token” enrichment capabilities.

Last month in Lebanon, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem addressed pro-Iran demonstrators and declared that the group would not remain neutral if the United States attacked Iran, though he did not directly threaten Israel.

In a separate report this week, the Ynet news site, without citing sources, said Iran was urging Hezbollah to join it in combat should war break out with Israel. The report added that the IDF has formulated a plan to “significantly strike” Hezbollah and has conveyed to the group “that if it decides to intervene, this time the blow will be very painful.”

Yesterday, Lebanese outlet Nidaa al-Watan, which is critical of Hezbollah, cited “prominent political sources” as saying that Beirut must formally declare neutrality in the event of a US-Iran conflict and prevent Hezbollah from drawing Lebanon into another war with Israel.

“Hezbollah thought it could confuse Israel and the US by saying it would not be neutral if Iran were struck, so Israel responded by saying that as soon as it’s informed by Washington of the zero hour, it will preemptively strike Hezbollah. Israel won’t let Hezbollah have the initiative,” Nidaa al-Watan quoted its sources as saying. “Hezbollah will drag Lebanon into this war.”

Hezbollah, once a dominant power within Lebanon’s political system, has seen its influence reduced since January 2025, when Lebanon’s US- and Saudi-backed President Joseph Aoun, a former army chief, took office. Aoun has pledged to enforce the state’s exclusive authority over weapons, an implicit challenge to Hezbollah’s vast independent arsenal.

JPMorgan Chase disclosed that it terminated more than 50 bank accounts connected to President Donald Trump shortly after he left office following his first term.

The bank confirmed Friday that “more than 50 Trump accounts” were shut down in February 2021, just weeks after the January 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, according to The New York Times.

The disclosure came after Trump “and the Trump Organization” filed a lawsuit in January against JPMorgan Chase and its chief executive, Jamie Dimon, alleging that the bank had improperly cut off the president’s access to financial services, the newspaper reported.

According to the report, the accounts JPMorgan allegedly “debanked” included those tied to “for Trump hotels, housing developments and retail shops” across multiple states, in addition to “Trump’s personal private banking relationship that handled his inheritance:”

The accounts included those for Trump hotels, housing developments and retail shops in Illinois, Florida and New York, as well as Mr. Trump’s personal private banking relationship that handled his inheritance from his father, according to letter filed to the court.

In correspondence submitted to the court, JPMorgan did not provide a detailed explanation for the widespread closures. In one unsigned note to Mr. Trump, dated Feb. 19, 2021, the bank wrote that he would need to “find a more suitable institution with which to conduct business.”

Breitbart News’s John Nolte reported, Trump’s attorneys filed a $5 billion lawsuit against JPMorgan and Dimon, claiming that the institution debanked several of his accounts:

The lawsuit says that on February 19, 2021, Trump received notice, “without warning or provocation,” that several of his and his company’s bank accounts would be closed “just two months later, on April 19, 2021.

“In essence, JPMC debanked plaintiff’s accounts because it believed that the political tide at the moment favored doing so,” the lawsuit claims.

Before JPMorgan publicly acknowledged the account closures, the bank had sought to shift “the case be moved from Florida state court… to a federal court in New York,” according to the NYT.

{Matzav.com}

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It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of Rebbetzin Rochel Zuckerman a”h, the devoted wife of Rav Aharon Zuckerman, rov of Khal Zichron Pinchos in Lakewood, NJ.

Rebbetzin Zuckerman was known to all who merited to know her as a woman of deep kindness, refinement, and strength. She embodied warmth and sincerity, greeting each person with a gentle smile and a listening ear. Her life was defined by chesed, compassion, and an unwavering dedication to Torah and to Klal Yisroel.

As a rebbetzin, she stood steadfastly at her husband’s side, supporting his harbotzas haTorah and rabbonus with devotion. Whether during their years in Brooklyn or later in Lakewood, she played an essential role in supporting her husband. Her home was open to all, a place of comfort, guidance, and encouragement. With dignity and humility, she carried the responsibilities of a rebbetzin, always seeking to uplift others.

She is survived by her husband, Rav Aharon Zuckerman; her children, Rabbi Yitzchok Zuckerman (Monsey), Rabbi Pinchos Zuckerman (Detroit), Rabbi Shlomo Chaim Zuckerman (Brooklyn), Rabbi Mayer Zuckerman (Jackson), Rabbi Eli Zuckerman (Passaic), Mrs. Roizy Nadoff (Lakewood), Rabbi Baruch Zuckerman (Lakewood), Rabbi Avraham Yeshaya Zuckerman (Lakewood), Mrs. Shaindy Trenk (Lakewood), and Mrs. Yenta Chaya Moldaver (Lakewood); and many grandchildren. She is also survived by her siblings, Mrs. Sarah Bleich (Brooklyn), Mrs. Itty Mendelson (Brooklyn), Rabbi Shmuel Lew (London), and Rabbi Luzzy Lew (Lakewood).

The levayah will be held Sunday morning at 9 a.m. at Khal Zichron Pinchos, located at 145 Flintlock Drive in Lakewood, NJ.

Yehi zichrah boruch.

it is with great sadness that Matzav.comreports the the passing of renowned philanthropist and devoted patron of Torah and chessed Rabbi Yehuda Friedlander z”l, who was niftar over Shabbos at the age of 90.

Rabbi Friedlander, widely respected as one of the foremost benefactors of the Vizhnitzer and Sadigura courts, was known for his vast charitable contributions.

Throughout his life, Rabbi Friedlander divided his time between the Jewish community in Brazil — which he helped build and strengthen — and Yerushalayim, where he settled in his later years. His reputation as a generous supporter of thousands of Torah and charitable institutions preceded him, yet his heart was especially bound to the holy courts of Vizhnitz and Sadigura.

Within Vizhnitz, he was regarded as a central member of the chassidus’ board of trustees. His name is prominently associated with the grand and majestic Vizhnitz beis medrash in Beitar Illit, which he funded and dedicated from his personal wealth out of deep attachment to his rebbe, the Vizhnitzer Rebbe.

Rabbi Friedlander also maintained a profound and enduring relationship with the Sadigura court. He enjoyed close ties with the previous Sadigura Rebbe, and that connection continued with even greater strength with the current Sadigura Rebbe.

Beyond his financial generosity and acts of righteousness, Rabbi Friedlander was known for his rare diligence in limud haTorah. Just a month ago, an acquaintance recounted a moving example that illustrated his character. During a flight to the United States lasting more than ten hours, the 90-year-old philanthropist sat with a sefer open before him, immersed in learning without interruption or rest for the duration of the journey, like a young man in the prime of his strength.

The levayah was held at the main beis medrash in Kiryat Vizhnitz and proceeded to the Kfar Nachman cemetery in Ra’anana for kevurah.

Shivah will be observed at the home of his daughter, the Shargovitz family, at 2 HaHagana Street in Ra’anana.

Yehi zichro boruch.

{Matzav.com}

Peak excitement has gripped Toldos Aharon. With the arrival of the month of Adar, the dam has burst in the chassidus. Eighty-three couples celebrated their engagements over the past week, with nearly every home in the neighborhood marking a family simchah. And behind it all lies a closely guarded secret that the mechutanim kept in their hearts throughout the winter so as not to disturb the shteiging in the Toldos Aharon yeshiva.

In recent years, the chassidus instituted a well-known rule that second-year talmidim in the Toldos Aharon yeshiva gedolah do not enter the shidduch world before the month of Adar. As a result, the end of this past week saw an extraordinary outpouring of simcha.

A fascinating detail reveals the depth of discipline: in some cases, even when a shidduch was finalized during the winter months, the matter was kept strictly confidential. The mechutanim, the chosson, and the kallah guarded the secret carefully and did not reveal it to anyone, not even to their closest family members.

All of this was done to preserve the concentration of the chosson’s fellow talmidim in yeshiva and to prevent any disruption to the learning. Only with the arrival of Adar was the news made public. Then, all at once, families learned of the joyous occasions.

In the official community bulletin released ahead of Shabbos, chassidim were informed of the staggering figure: No fewer than 83 shidduchim were completed in a single week among members of the community, bli ayin hara. (See the listings below.)

The reality on the ground is remarkable. There is hardly a family in the chassidus that does not have a first-degree relative, brother-in-law, or cousin who celebrated a l’chaim this week. The streets of Meah Shearim and its alleyways have turned into one continuous parade of mazel tov platters, flowers, and the sounds of singing emanating from homes.

The focal point of the celebrations is, of course, the residence of the Rebbe of Toldos Aharon, where the mechutanim hold their l’chaim gatherings.

The successful model of Toldos Aharon has, in recent years, spread to additional chassidishe yeshivos. At the Rachmastrivka yeshiva and other prominent chassidic institutions, roshei yeshiva have likewise implemented the rule that the winter term is dedicated solely to limud haTorah.

“Conservative” commentator Tucker Carlson is facing sharp criticism following remarks he made during his interview this week with Mike Huckabee in which he floated the idea of conducting widespread DNA testing in Israel to determine biblical lineage connected to land claims.

During a podcast episode titled “Tucker Confronts Mike Huckabee on America’s Toxic Relationship With Israel,” Carlson suggested using genetic analysis to identify “who Abram’s [Abraham’s] descendants are,” citing the promises described in the Book of Genesis. “Why don’t we do genetic testing on everybody in the land and find out who Abram’s descendants are? … We’ve cracked the human genome. We can do that,” Carlson said.

The comments arose in the context of a larger exchange about Jewish identity, ancestral claims to the land and comparisons to Palestinian heritage. Carlson maintained that some Palestinians could potentially trace deeper genetic roots in the region than certain Jewish immigrants from Europe. He questioned how theological arguments about ancestry align with Israel’s demographic framework if lineage is central to the claim.

Huckabee rejected the premise, voicing discomfort with grounding national or civil rights in biological lineage. “I have no idea what that would prove… I’m comfortable with secular nation states where it’s none of this is done on the basis of blood. I’m uncomfortable with that,” he said. Huckabee instead pointed to archaeology, religious tradition and longstanding historical continuity as the foundation for Jewish ties to the land, distancing himself from Carlson’s proposal for genetic screening.

The reaction was swift. Among those criticizing Carlson was pro-Israel activist Laura Loomer, who accused him of advancing ideas reminiscent of eugenics and antisemitism. She argued that the suggestion would effectively require “every single Jew to take a DNA test.”

In a series of social media posts, Loomer labeled Carlson a “rabid Jew hater.” Other critics connected the controversy to earlier remarks Carlson made in a December 2025 interview, when he discussed regulations on commercial DNA testing in Israel related to privacy and identity issues. While such testing is regulated in the country, it is not banned.

{Matzav.com}

As a powerful nor’easter bomb cyclone barreled toward the region, New York City issued an urgent appeal today for temporary snow shovelers — requiring applicants to present multiple forms of identification, a policy that stands in contrast to the city’s voter identification rules.

The National Weather Service issued the city’s first blizzard warning in nearly ten years, forecasting between 19 and 24 inches of snow along with wind gusts reaching 55 miles per hour. Officials warned that the combination of heavy snowfall and strong winds could create dangerous travel conditions and widespread disruptions.

Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a State of Emergency covering New York City, while Mayor Zohran Mamdani said city outreach teams had been deployed in preparation for the storm’s impact.

The New York City Department of Sanitation announced that it is hiring temporary, per diem workers to clear snow and ice from public spaces such as bus stops, crosswalks, fire hydrants and step streets. The agency said the additional manpower is necessary to address the expected accumulation and maintain public safety.

Compensation for the emergency positions begins at $19.14 per hour and rises to $28.71 per hour after 40 hours worked within a week. However, applicants must satisfy several eligibility requirements before being hired.

According to the department, candidates must be at least 18 years old, physically capable of performing strenuous labor and legally authorized to work in the United States. In addition, applicants are required to present two small 1.5-inch square photographs, two original forms of identification along with copies, and a Social Security card at the time of registration.

The documentation standards for emergency shovelers differ from the rules governing most voters in New York City. The New York City Board of Elections does not require identification from the majority of registered voters at polling sites.

Individuals voting for the first time are asked to provide one of three identifying numbers: a driver’s license number, a non-driver ID number or the last four digits of a Social Security number. Voters who did not submit identification when registering are permitted to cast an affidavit ballot.

{Matzav.com}

WATCH:

Shock swept through Bnei Brak over Shabbos after Rav Chaim Yosef Dovid Weiss, noted senior poskim, was verbally attacked during a Shabbos morning gathering at a local beis medrash.

Rav Weiss, who serves as the rav of Satmar chassidim in Antwerp, was present at a Kiddush celebrating his grandson’s aufruf at the Bobov 45 beis medrash on Rechov Chagai when the incident occurred.

According to witnesses, the dayan was seated at the mizrach table, engaged in animated Torah discussion with rabbanim and admorim in attendance, when an individual approached him and began shouting harsh and insulting remarks. The verbal assault reportedly continued for approximately ten minutes and was said to be connected to recent halachic rulings Rav Weiss had issued regarding matters of communal property.

Those present, including family members and rabbonim, were stunned by the brazenness of the confrontation and sought to intervene and remove the man from the premises.

Observers say it was at that moment that Rav Weiss’s composure stood out. Remaining calm throughout the tirade, he signaled to those around him not to respond. Maintaining a steady expression, he allowed the man to finish speaking. When the attacker concluded, the dayan simply responded softly, “Gut Shabbos,” and resumed his Torah conversation as if nothing had occurred.

Within hours, news of the episode spread throughout Bnei Brak and chassidic communities. Rav Weiss is regarded as one of the leading halachic authorities in European Jewry, and the affront against him was widely viewed as an act of severe disrespect.

In wake of the incident, preparations are underway for the upcoming wedding of Rav Weiss’s grandson, scheduled to take place Tuesday at the Ganey Hadekel hall in Bnei Brak. Associates say urgent meetings are being held with event organizers and security professionals to ensure the celebration proceeds without disruption and to prevent any repeat of such an occurrence.

Community activists in the chareidi sector expressed strong condemnation of the attack. “We will not accept the ביזיון of תלמידי חכמים within Bnei Brak,” one representative said. “Anyone who raises a hand or opens his mouth against the dayan will face a firm response.”

Rabbi Liraz Zeira, a Chabad shliach serving university campuses in Yerushalayim, is recovering after losing both legs in an explosion during military service in Syria and says that he has chosen life, faith and even laughter over despair.

“Don’t say Shema Yisrael over me — I’m staying alive!” he shouted seconds after an IDF grenade detonated beneath him, severing both of his legs. Now, in an emotional and at times darkly humorous interview on the “Hashem Echad” program in Israel with Yossi Abedo, Zeira recounts the moment his life changed, the medical drama that followed and the faith that carried him through.

Sitting in a rehabilitation room at Beit Levinstein Hospital, Zeira smiles — not just politely, but with what appears to be genuine joy. Just five months ago, he accidentally stepped on a grenade while stationed in Syria. Today, speaking openly before the cameras, he reflects on the ordeal that nearly cost him his life.

The incident occurred on the seventh of Tishrei, shortly before his battalion was scheduled to be released from duty. Zeira, who served both as a combat commander and as the battalion rabbi, set out on what seemed to be a routine final mission: inspecting the eruv at a military outpost in Syria.

“Soldiers told me there was a rumor the eruv was invalid,” he recalls with understated irony. “I said to myself: ‘Oh, finally the rabbi has a real job.’” He walked along the trenches surrounding the post, lifted his eyes to check that the eruv wire was intact — and in an instant, everything changed. “While I was looking up, I slipped and fell on my back. My legs fell downward and then I heard the ‘pak-boom.’ Later we understood it was an IDF grenade that flipped me onto my stomach.”

What followed was a desperate fight for survival. Zeira immediately realized he could not move his legs. He began crawling across the ground, his face pressed toward the earth, focused on a single goal: to stay alive. “It’s hard to look back in a situation like that, and my focus was only forward,” he says. He crawled dozens of meters until he reached a visible position and called out for help.

His fellow soldiers acted quickly. Within two minutes and twenty seconds, tourniquets were applied. But it was the radio report that seared itself into his mind: “I heard the company commander report: ‘One wounded, two legs amputated.’ That sentence, instead of breaking me, gave me tremendous clarity.”

The drama intensified inside the military Humvee during evacuation. Zeira lay bleeding, struggling to remain conscious, when a frightened soldier beside him began reciting “Shema Yisrael,” believing Zeira was in his final moments. “I opened my eyes and shouted at him: ‘No! Not Shema Yisrael!’” Zeira recounts with a smile at the absurdity of the moment.

“I think it’s the first time in history a Chabadnik tells someone not to say Shema Yisrael. But at that moment, ‘Shema Yisrael’ was, for me, a confession before death, like Rabi Akiva. I told him: ‘I’m not going anywhere! I have a mission and I’m going to carry it out with all my strength.’”

Rather than mourn what he had lost, Zeira chose a different perspective, drawing inspiration from a 1976 address by the Lubavitcher Rebbe to wounded Israeli soldiers. “The Rebbe said that someone whom G-d chooses to function without a certain limb is not ‘disabled’ but ‘exceptional,’ a person with special strengths. I told my children: ‘I was accepted into a special club.’ I don’t feel damaged — I received an upgrade. If G-d takes legs, He gives wings to influence an entire generation.”

Today, as he begins basic training on prosthetic legs and continues delivering his daily Tanya class via Zoom from the hospital, Zeira says he feels embraced by the Jewish people.

“When I woke up in Rambam Hospital, I told my wife I feel like a child who jumped from the stage into the crowd, and the crowd is holding him up in the air. The prayers and good deeds of the Jewish people are what hold me. All the checks I handed out to students about faith and trust — now it’s time to cash them.”

When he arrived at Rambam, his condition was critical. He had lost nearly half of his body’s blood volume, and during the helicopter evacuation no pulse was detected in his arms. Doctors managed to stabilize him, but then faced a harrowing medical decision. Professor Norman, one of the senior surgeons, told Zeira’s wife he did not know how to save the knees — a vital component for future mobility and rehabilitation.

The choice was stark: a shorter, safer surgery that would leave him permanently wheelchair-bound, or a risky series of 12-hour operations for each leg in hopes of preserving function. “My wife wrote to the Lubavitcher Rebbe that she was at a loss,” Zeira says emotionally. “And I told her the Rebbe would find a way to answer.”

The response, he says, came unexpectedly. A stranger named Yinon Cohen entered the intensive care unit. “At first I didn’t understand who he was, until I realized he himself had lost both legs and was walking on prosthetics,” Zeira recalls. “The first sentence he told me was: ‘Your mission not only hasn’t ended — it has just begun.’ He explained exactly which medical path to choose and resolved the dilemma in a single moment. I felt it wasn’t coincidence — it was a direct message from Heaven sent to me in the darkness.”

The chain of what Zeira calls divine providence continued before the decisive second surgery. Searching for someone to pray on his behalf at the Rebbe’s gravesite in New York, he discovered that a close friend was there at that very moment and sent him a live video of the prayer. Even the surgeons’ skepticism about the complex procedure met with Zeira’s unwavering faith. “The doctor told me ‘two out of two is hard to believe,’ I answered him: ‘Doctor, not only do miracles happen to us — we count on miracles.’ And that’s what happened.”

Yet Zeira says the most difficult moments were not the major surgeries or the explosion itself.

“Everyone thinks the hardest moments are the big surgeries or the injury,” he tells Abedo candidly. “But the truth is the breaking point comes in daily life, in the small things.”

He describes summoning enormous effort to get out of bed on his own, maneuvering his wheelchair down the hallway to the water dispenser — only to discover there were no disposable cups left. “I got all the way to the water, victory already in hand, and I had no way to drink. At that moment, it’s a harder test than a grenade exploding on you. That’s where you break.”

Another time, when he slipped from his wheelchair and fell to the floor on a Friday afternoon with no one around to hear him, he made a surprising choice. “I sat on the floor and just burst out laughing. I realized how surreal the situation was. The tests that come without a sign saying ‘test’ are the real examination of faith, and there I chose to laugh instead of cry.”

At the close of the interview, when Abedo calls him a hero of Israel, Zeira declines the title for himself.

“Anyone who thinks being a hero means I slipped on a grenade — I’m not with him. But anyone who thinks a person who is willing to give everything for the Jewish people is a hero — then okay, I agree. And Baruch Hashem, we have many heroes like that.”

14Fresh satellite photos and aviation tracking records indicate a sharp increase in American military aircraft at a strategic air base in central Jordan, according to a report published Friday by The New York Times, as concerns intensify over Iran’s nuclear program.

Imagery taken Friday shows more than 60 U.S. combat aircraft stationed at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base — about triple the number normally deployed there.

Flight-tracking information further reveals that at least 68 cargo aircraft have touched down at the base since Sunday, pointing to a substantial influx of troops, supplies and logistical equipment. Additional fighter jets may also be housed inside fortified hangars.

The photographs depict sophisticated aircraft, including F-35 stealth fighters, as well as drones and helicopters. The base has also been reinforced with new air defense systems designed to guard against potential missile attacks.

Jordanian officials, who spoke anonymously due to the sensitivity of military operations, said the American deployment is consistent with an existing defense agreement between the United States and Jordan.

The military expansion coincides with deliberations within the Trump administration over how to address Iran’s nuclear activities. President Donald Trump said Friday that he is weighing a limited military strike intended to push Tehran toward a nuclear accord.

The increased American footprint in Jordan appears to form part of a wider regional repositioning as diplomatic talks move forward.

Government officials in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have recently voiced backing for continued diplomacy and have publicly stated they do not want their territories used as launch points for strikes against Iran.

{Matzav.com}

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has proposed nearly $30 million in funding reductions for the city’s public library systems, a move that contrasts sharply with his campaign vow to increase their budgets and his prior criticism of similar cuts as “cruel.”

Mamdani’s $127 billion preliminary budget outlines significant decreases for all three major library systems. The New York Public Library’s Manhattan branch would face an $11.6 million reduction, while the Brooklyn Public Library and Queens Public Library would see their budgets trimmed by $8.7 million and $9.2 million, respectively, compared to the previous year.

Library officials warn that the proposed reductions would affect services including programming for seniors and resources for individuals pursuing U.S. citizenship.

The plan marks a reversal from Mamdani’s campaign pledge to allocate 0.5% of the city’s total budget to the three systems. He reiterated that commitment following his election during a December press conference at the Greenpoint branch of the Brooklyn Public Library.

“We’re not going to be doing a dance around things that are critically important to New Yorkers. If there is something that we believe in, we will make that clear in our own preliminary, and we will be making announcements soon on our approach to the budget at large,” Mamdani said to boisterous applause.

As a candidate, Mamdani had sharply criticized then-Mayor Eric Adams for implementing similar budget reductions that led to temporary suspensions of weekend library service.

“As Mayor, I’ll end this absurd budget dance that keeps our beloved libraries in limbo year after year,” he wrote on social media in August.

During Adams’ term, all three library system leaders publicly objected to the $58 million in proposed cuts, though that funding was later restored.

“In one breath, Mayor Adams tells NYers that such cruel budget cuts to libraries, sanitation, and parks are necessary fiscal measures,” Mamdani railed in a 2023 tweet.

“And in another, he offers to restore funding to some of those very cuts in exchange for shielding the NYPD from accountability. Ridiculous.”

Mamdani’s campaign website still includes his pledge to dedicate 0.5% of the city’s overall budget to libraries, describing the system as “critical to our city’s success” and promising to undo what he characterized as the “devastating” impact of Adams’ policies.

Adams responded Friday on X, highlighting what he described as inconsistency in the mayor’s position.

“WHERE IS THE “SAVE THE LIBRARIES” GANG?!” Adams fumed on X Friday.

The activist group Occupy Wall Street also criticized the proposed reductions, arguing that Mamdani’s plan allocates less to libraries than “disgraced & former NYC Mayor Adams.”

“Get active to make sure our libraries receive 0.5% of the city’s expense budget, as he promised during the campaign and reaffirmed after his election,” the group wrote.

Under the proposed fiscal year 2027 budget, $2 million remains allocated for Sunday openings at libraries, a provision initially included in Adams’ previous budget, according to a library spokesperson.

The three library systems refrained from directly condemning the proposed cuts but signaled their expectation that the mayor would fulfill his earlier commitments.

“We look forward to working with the Administration and City Council to ensure that the FY27 budget fully funds the city’s libraries so that we can maintain vital services while also supporting enhanced Sunday hours,” spokespeople from the Brooklyn, Queens and New York systems said in a joint statement.

“We are also highly encouraged by the Mayor’s pledge to dedicate 0.5% of the city’s budget to libraries.”

Mamdani’s office defended the proposal, citing financial challenges inherited from the previous administration.

“Libraries and city parks are the jewels of our city and embody the promise of public spaces,” Dora Pekec, a spokesperson for Mamdani, said in a statement.

“But the budget crisis we inherited compels us to take an all-of-government approach and use every tool at our disposal to meet the legal mandate to balance the budget, including achieving efficiencies and cutting waste.”

The investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie shifted again late Friday after a Tucson couple reported discovering what they believed were blood-stained gloves in a desert area near her neighborhood.

According to KVOA, the pair, who requested anonymity, said they came across the items on Feb. 11 less than a mile from Guthrie’s neighborhood near Campbell Avenue.

“Sure enough it was a black glove in the desert, it appeared to have looked like it was ripped,” the wife said.

“It also appeared to look like it had blood on it,” she continued.

“The blood appeared to be towards the wrist side of the glove and on the pointer finger.

“It looked like this was like used for something that could’ve possibly been what they were looking for,” she said.

The couple said a second glove was located less than 10 feet from the first.

The husband said there seemed to be additional possible evidence beneath one of the gloves.

“And also from the glove, it looked like a blood drop on a rock underneath the glove was like dried blood or something.

“We didn’t move it or touch it, we immediately were like we have to do something. So I was like I will call the sheriff department,” he said.

Fearing that incoming rain could compromise the potential evidence, the couple also called 911 to ensure authorities responded quickly.

Deputies arrived at the scene, interviewed the couple and stayed in the area until approximately 2 a.m.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said it could not verify details about the specific gloves but confirmed that investigators have recovered several gloves from the vicinity and that forensic testing is underway.

Officials have also indicated that they are not dismissing the possibility that more than one individual could be connected to Guthrie’s disappearance.

The FBI continues to solicit information through its 1-800-CALL-FBI hotline and online tip portal, offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information that leads to locating Guthrie or to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.

An additional $202,500 reward is available through 88-CRIME.

Meanwhile, the Sheriff’s 911 Communications Center reported handling more than 32,000 calls between Feb. 1 and Feb. 19, compared to nearly 22,000 calls during the same timeframe last year.

Investigators are asking the public to provide only credible, actionable information so that emergency lines remain open for urgent situations.

A newly launched branch of the well-known London bakery chain Gail’s was defaced after demonstrators staged a pro-Palestinian protest accusing the company of supporting Israel, JTA reports.

The chain, which operates around 170 stores across the United Kingdom, recently opened a location in north London. The debut was met by a small group of protesters holding a large banner reading “Boycott Israel For Genocide And War Crimes in Gaza.” Another placard alleged that the company was “funded by investors in apartheid,” according to video footage of the protest shared online.

In a clip posted to X, a Jewish passerby challenged the demonstrators, asking, “Why are you protesting a UK-based business saying ‘Boycott Israel’? Is it because they’ve got Jewish directors?”

One of the protesters replied that the bakery’s earnings were “going to private equity owners and investors” who had invested in Israeli “war tech.”

After the demonstration concluded, the storefront was splashed with red paint, and graffiti was scrawled across the exterior reading, “Boycott Gail’s, funds Israeli tech.”

The Metropolitan Police in London said no arrests had been made in connection with the incident and that officers were “continuing to review other footage to identify any lines of enquiry that might help to identify the suspects.”

Gail’s began in the 1990s as a wholesale baking operation founded by Israeli bakers, including Gail Mejia and Ran Avidan. The company opened its first retail location in 2005.

In 2021, the business was purchased by the American private equity firm Bain Capital, which has holdings in Israeli technology firms.

“We are a British business with no specific connections to any country or government outside the UK,” a spokesperson for Gail’s told the Jewish News. “Our focus right now is on working with the authorities and making sure our people feel safe and supported.”

The north London incident is not the first time a bakery with Israeli roots has faced protests. In the United States, the Israeli-inspired chain Tatte has been the subject of both in-person and online demonstrations. In New York City, the Israeli bakery chain Breads recently encountered unionization efforts that referenced the establishment’s “support of the genocide happening in Palestine.”

Jewish organizations and leaders in the UK swiftly condemned the vandalism, warning that it reflects a growing pattern of targeting businesses perceived to have Jewish or Israeli ties.

“Targeting a business on the basis of alleged or perceived Israeli and or Jewish connections reflects a very worrying trend. Across the UK, companies and individuals are increasingly singled out by reference to their association, real or otherwise, to Israel, with an inevitable disproportionate impact on the Jewish community,” a spokesperson for the Board of Deputies of British Jews said. “That is not legitimate protest; it is creating an atmosphere of intimidation for Jewish businesses, staff and customers. And is part of a wider trend to try and drive Jews out of wider civil society.”

The European Jewish Congress also denounced the incident, calling it “deeply concerning” in a post on X.

“Targeting a local business because of perceived Jewish or Israeli associations reflects a troubling normalization of hostility that must be firmly rejected,” the post read. “Such acts have no place in our societies and must be unequivocally condemned.”

British Labour Party Member of Parliament David Taylor criticized the protest as well, writing on X, “This is pure anti-semitism, no ifs, no buts.”

Police have arrested extremist activist Moshe Iram after he allegedly threatened a nurse at a health clinic in Yerushalayim and spray-painted inflammatory graffiti accusing medical staff of being “vaccine murderers.”

According to suspicions outlined by investigators, Iram arrived at the clinic, where he confronted a nurse and told her, “You have the judgment of a murderer. In Heaven you will pay for this.” He then proceeded to spray graffiti at the entrance to the facility targeting the medical team.

Authorities detained Iram, who has a prior criminal record stemming from actions in 2021 against prominent public figures in the chareidi community. Among those he targeted was Knesset Member Meir Porush. According to previous indictments, Iram acted both directly and through associates, carrying out offenses that included assault, harassment, threats, and in two cases, extortion through force and intimidation.

The indictment against him detailed violent incidents involving MK Meir Porush, several rabbonim in Yerushalayim, and the desecration of the kever of Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman זצ”ל at the cemetery in Bnei Brak on the eve of his yahrtzeit.

Police said in 2021 that the suspect had also planned to murder an individual. During court proceedings at the time, a police representative stated that the investigation had reinforced serious suspicions against Iram. Law enforcement officials told the court they possessed evidence indicating that he had intended to carry out a murder, though they did not disclose the alleged target.

In 2023, the Yerushalayim Magistrate’s Court sentenced Iram to three and a half years in prison, along with a suspended sentence and financial compensation of 15,000 shekels to each of the victims. He was convicted, under a plea agreement, for his actions against senior public figures in the chareidi sector.

Right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson alleged that the Israeli government sought to target members of his family and launched a series of sharp accusations against the Jewish state in a program released Friday following his short trip to Israel.

In the broadcast, Carlson described Israel as “probably the most violent country on earth,” labeled it a police state, questioned its legitimacy and the historical connection of the Jewish people to the land, and asserted that it exerts control over U.S. policy. He also falsely claimed that President Isaac Herzog had visited Jeffrey Epstein’s private island, referencing what appeared to be a fabricated AI-generated image that had circulated online.

Carlson, who has emerged as a prominent conservative critic of Israel, traveled to the country Wednesday to interview U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee. Some reports indicated that he remained in the airport area and left shortly thereafter. Friday’s program featured his interview with Huckabee along with extended monologues in which Carlson sharply criticized Israel.

Speaking on his own during the show, Carlson said: “There was a threat to my family. The Israeli government, and [Prime Minister] Netanyahu himself, tried to punish two members of my family. I won’t be more specific, but actually punish two members of my family because he, as he has said in public many times, believes in blood guilt, Amalek. You know, when someone commits a crime against you, you punish not just him, but his family, his bloodline.”

Carlson did not provide details or evidence to back up the allegation. Netanyahu has not stated that he supports collective punishment or “blood guilt.” References he made to Amalek following the October 7 attack were widely understood as invoking historic existential threats faced by the Jewish people.

Carlson continued: “There’s no idea that’s less Western than that, more anti-Christian than that. Christians reject that. Netanyahu doesn’t. That’s why he’s talking about Amalek, and he was going after my family, literally, so I felt very threatened by that.”

A man drove a pickup truck into the front gate of the Brisbane Synagogue in Queensland, Australia, narrowly missing a person on the premises, according to local authorities.

Footage from the scene shows a Toyota Hilux reversing into the gate of the largest shul in Queensland’s capital city, as an individual standing on the opposite side quickly steps away to avoid being struck.

Police tracked down the vehicle shortly after the incident and took a 32-year-old man into custody, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

According to the ABC, the suspect faces charges including willful damage, serious vilification or hate crime, dangerous operation of a vehicle, and drug-related offenses.

Law enforcement officials are investigating the episode as a criminal matter rather than an act of terrorism. Police said they do not believe the driver intended to enter the shul building itself.

Australia’s Anti-Defamation League denounced what it described as a “violent vehicle attack” on the shul, calling it “a chilling assault on a sacred place of worship and a stark reminder that antisemitism in Australia is escalating beyond words.”

“While no one was physically injured, the deliberate targeting of a house of worship has sent shockwaves through the Jewish community and reinforced the urgent need for decisive action against hate-fueled violence,” the organization said.

Dvir Abramovich, the group’s chair, said the truck “didn’t just smash into metal gates last night. It smashed into the idea that Jews in Australia can pray in peace. When a vehicle is driven at a synagogue that is intimidation on wheels.

“We are told this is not being treated as terrorism. But when a synagogue is deliberately attacked, the label matters less than the impact. The fear is real. The shock is real. The message is unmistakable. Since October 7, antisemitism in this country has not whispered, it has roared,” he said.

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{Matzav.com}