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An unusual incident in Haifa on Friday sparked public outrage after a tefillin stand erected in memory of a fallen IDF soldier was confiscated and the soldier’s brother was detained by authorities.

The person detained was Menachem Cohen, a Chabad chossid and a bereaved brother, who had set up the stand together with friends as part of an initiative to honor the memory of his brother, Shneur Zalman Cohen Hy”d, who was killed during the Iron Swords War. The stand included a sign bearing the fallen soldier’s name and photograph and was intended as a merit for his neshamah.

According to those present, municipal inspectors arrived at the scene, followed shortly thereafter by a significant police presence that included five additional patrol cars from both the police and municipal enforcement. Cohen was detained, the tefillin stand and sign were confiscated, and Cohen later claimed that he was physically assaulted during the course of the detention. He was released only after public pressure was brought to bear.

Reacting to the incident, Rabbi Yehuda Ginzburg, a Chabad shliach in Haifa, said that for more than 50 years, members of Chabad-Lubavitch have gone out across the city to offer Jews the opportunity to put on tefillin. “This has always been done in a positive and pleasant atmosphere,” he said.

Rabbi Ginzburg added, “Unfortunately, there are those who try to inflame tensions. We are pained by what happened here. We expect the Haifa municipality to apologize and to work in coordination with this important activity. We are confident that this was a one-time mistake by the city and not an ongoing policy.”

In a statement, the Israel Police rejected claims that the detention was connected to the tefillin stand itself. “Contrary to claims made in publications that may mislead the public, this was a temporary detention following a confrontation with municipal inspectors at the site,” the police said. “To be clear, the police have no interest in harming tefillin stands, and the matter had no connection to the tefillin position that was set up. The incident involved a noise violation and heated behavior toward inspectors, who summoned municipal policing to the scene. The individual was released after several minutes following clarification, and the matter will be reviewed with the municipality.”

{Matzav.com}

Former adviser to President Donald Trump, Steve Bannon, is preparing the groundwork for a potential run for president in 2028, according to a report published Saturday by Axios. Axios, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter, reported that Bannon has begun taking early steps consistent with a presidential campaign, including setting up a political action […]

Aryeh Deri, chairman of the Shas party, delivered a stark message on the dangers of modern technology during a talk of chizuk delivered this evening to hundreds of mechanchim.

Speaking at an education conference organized by Levaker BeHeichalo, initiated by Yerushalayim Deputy Mayor Tzvika Cohen, Deri addressed what he described as the growing spiritual and social challenges facing the current generation, with particular emphasis on smartphone addiction.

Recalling his own years as a bochur, Deri reflected on his time learning at Chevron Yeshiva. “In our days at Chevron Yeshiva, we were more outspoken and freer,” he said. “We would travel to Wadi Qelt, and afterward we were filled with guilt over missing even one seder in yeshiva.”

Contrasting that era with the present, Deri expressed deep admiration for today’s bnei yeshiva. “I say this as a limud zechus for today’s bochurim,” he said. “How are they able to sit and learn with yishuv hadaas—long winter Friday night sedarim of seven hours—after the nonstop ‘brainwashing’ from the news and the hotlines they hear?”

Deri then turned to what he described as an even greater threat. “I’m not even talking about the ‘treife iPhone,’ may Hashem have mercy,” he said. “It is a terrible addiction, worse than any other addiction afflicting today’s youth, something that is almost impossible to withstand.”

He stressed that the problem is widely recognized, even beyond the chareidi community. “Even those who are not chareidi understand that this is an addiction of the younger generation that is impossible to fight,” Deri said. “Families have been destroyed because of it. People can no longer sit together at the table and talk. There is no longer dialogue between parents and children. A child of six or seven is sitting on an iPhone, and it is literally like drug addiction. Hashem should have mercy.”

Deri concluded on a note of awe and gratitude. “When I attend weddings and see a ben Torah and a bas Yisrael standing under the chuppah, building a home of Torah with holiness, and you see that they are preserving the character of bnei Torah,” he said, “I say to myself: What a miracle this is! It is a tremendous miracle.”

{Matzav.com}

An investigation by Haaretz has found that one of its former political analysts received payments worth hundreds of thousands of dollars that could be traced back to the Qatari government, marking the second time in recent months that a writer for the newspaper has been linked to the so-called “Qatargate” scandal. According to a new […]

[Video below.] President Donald Trump drew attention at a recent White House event after appearing with an unfamiliar accessory attached to his jacket.

The moment took place Friday, Jan. 9, as Trump, 79, hosted a meeting with oil and gas executives in the East Room. During the discussion, Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy interrupted the proceedings after noticing a new lapel pin beneath the president’s customary American flag pin and asked what it represented.

In response to the question about the unusual pin, which had not been seen publicly before, Trump explained that it was not something he had selected himself.

“Someone gave me this,” he said while lifting the pin so those in attendance could see it clearly. “That’s called a ‘happy Trump.’ ”

The president then added a characteristically pointed remark about the meaning behind it. “I’m never happy, I’m never satisfied,” he said, continuing, “I will never be satisfied until we make America great again, but we are getting pretty close. This is called a ‘happy Trump.’ Someone gave it to me, and I put it on.”

The pin itself depicts a cartoon-style likeness of Trump, showing him with an open mouth, knitted eyebrows, and clenched fists at his sides.

At the Jan. 9 gathering, Trump was seated alongside Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Another exchange from the same meeting later generated headlines when Trump appeared to catch Rubio off guard by publicly reading from a private note.

After calling on ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance to address the room, Rubio passed a handwritten message to Trump, while Vance, 41, appeared unsure of what was happening.

“Marco just gave me a note,” Trump said aloud, as Rubio closed his pen and looked down.

Trump then proceeded to read the contents of the note, turning toward Rubio as he did so. “Go back to Chevron,” Trump read from Rubio’s note. “They want to discuss something. Go back to Chevron.”

As the comment landed, Vance could be seen laughing, while Rubio smiled, seemingly embarrassed by the unexpected disclosure.

“Go ahead, I’m going back to Chevron,” Trump said as he set the note down and gave Rubio a friendly pat on the back, adding, “Thank you, Marco.”

The meeting occurred just days after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

Speaking to reporters following the early-morning operation on Jan. 3, Trump said the United States would now take control of Venezuela’s direction.

“No nation in the world could achieve what America achieved, successfully capturing Maduro in the dead of night,” Trump said. “We’re going to get the oil flowing the way it should be…we’re gonna run it properly. We’re gonna make sure the people of Venezuela are taken care of.”

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{Matzav.com}

Yair Netanyahu, son of the Prime Minister, has been elected to serve as a member of the Likud Party’s central committee via internal party agreements. The position, which wields power over key party decisions, is highly sought after within the Likud. It is an unpaid role. Channel 12 quoted a Likud source who said the […]

Scenes of simcha and deep emotion filled the bais medrash of Yeshivas Kol Torah in Yerushalayim on Sunday, as the yeshiva’s mashgiach, Rav Aviezer Shapira, returned to the beis medrash and delivered a shmuess after several weeks away due to serious illness.

Rav Shapira, who had been hospitalized in critical condition in recent weeks, returned to the yeshiva in the Bayit Vagan neighborhood following a wave of heartfelt tefillos on his behalf. He had been in need of rachamei Shamayim merubim, and talmidim had davened intensely for the recovery of Rav Aviezer Zelig ben Rochel.

Upon his return, Rav Shapira addressed the talmidim, delivering a shmuess that was met with visible emotion. Afterward, the mashgiach thanked the bochurim for their tefillos, telling them, “There were open miracles and wonders. The tefillos went up Above, baruch Hashem.”

Following his words, the talmidim recited Nishmas in thanksgiving to Hakadosh Baruch Hu for the great kindnesses shown, before breaking into heartfelt song, chanting “Al ta’azveini Hashem Elokai al tirchak mimeni.”

{Matzav.com}

TEHILLIM: The 6-year-old boy who was struck by a Hatzolah ambulance on Shabbos morning in Boro Park, after reportedly running into the street, remains in critical condition and is currently in an induced coma. The tzibur is asked to daven for Yitzchok ben Shifra Mirel.

Rav Ezriel Auerbach visited the Eisenthal family on Sunday morning to be menachem avel following the tragic passing of their son, habochur Chaim Yosef (Yossi) Eisenthal z”l.

The family is sitting shivah in the Ramot neighborhood of Yerushalayim after Yossi was fatally struck during protests in the city against the draft law.

Rav Auerbach spent an extended period consoling the family, offering words of chizuk and comfort.

Among those present was the boy’s father, Rav Shmuel Eisenthal, R”M at Yeshivas Ohel Torah. Also there was the grandfather, Rav Uriel Eisenthal, mara d’asra of Ramot Gimmel.

During the visit, a discussion arose regarding the appropriate wording to be engraved on the matzeivah in light of the tragic circumstances of his death. Rav Auerbach expressed the view that the inscription should read “HaKadosh Chaim Yosef Eisenthal Hy”d,” indicating that he should be regarded as having died sanctified.

Rav Uriel responded that he was familiar with the halachic reasoning behind that position, adding that the matter would be decided definitively in the near future.

Notably, condolence notices posted on neighborhood bulletin boards in Ramot already included the designation Hy”d in reference to Yossi, similar to the wording commonly used for victims of terror attacks.

Whether the family will ultimately adopt this wording on the matzeivah remains to be seen.

{Matzav.com}

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani publicly distanced himself from past statements made by one of his top housing officials that described home ownership as a “weapon of white supremacy,” as scrutiny mounts over the official’s rhetoric and record. Mamdani addressed the controversy during an interview with PIX11 anchor Henry Rosoff, after Rosoff pressed him […]

Tzachi Braverman, chief of staff to Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, was released late last night following more than 12 hours of police questioning, but was ordered to stay away from the Prime Minister’s Office as the investigation continues.

Braverman was freed under restrictive conditions, including a ban on contacting others involved in the case, a 30-day prohibition on leaving the country, and a 15-day suspension from entering the Prime Minister’s Office. The move further deepens the disruption within the prime minister’s inner circle, after senior aide Yonatan Urich has already been kept away from the office for an extended period.

Another Prime Minister’s Office employee, Omer Mansour, a member of the communications staff, was also released under identical conditions. Mansour is currently suspected of obstruction of justice.

Earlier in the day, Eli Feldstein was released after being brought in for questioning in parallel with Braverman, in order to conduct a face-to-face confrontation between the two. Braverman was questioned following Feldstein’s claim, made in an interview with Israel’s public broadcaster, that the chief of staff attempted to interfere with the investigation into the leak of documents to the German newspaper Bild.

According to details reported by Kan News, during the confrontation Feldstein told Braverman that he “knows the truth.” Braverman responded that “there were meetings that dealt with other matters.” Mansour, who investigators say was present at a clandestine meeting between the two in an underground parking garage at the Kirya military complex, told police that he “does not remember” the details of the incident.

Mansour, who had previously categorically denied that such an event took place after the report about him surfaced several days ago, is considered a key witness in the affair. According to the allegations, he was the one who held the mobile phones of Feldstein and Braverman during that meeting.

Braverman’s attorney, Jacques Chen, said in a statement: “The chief of staff in the Prime Minister’s Office, Mr. Braverman, has concluded his police questioning and returned home. During his interrogation, he answered all investigators’ questions and categorically denied a fabricated version of events put forward by a defendant who concealed it for a year and chose to present it in a television interview. Mr. Braverman was released by agreement under restrictive conditions, primarily a prohibition on contact with the Prime Minister’s Office and those involved in the investigation, as well as a short-term delay on leaving the country. We are convinced that at the conclusion of the investigation, the authorized authorities will announce that there is no truth to the claims of that unreliable defendant.”

The Likud party issued a sharp response, saying: “The warning-level investigation of Tzachi Braverman is nothing more than a continuation of the campaign of persecution against the prime minister and his staff. This is yet another attempt at phone ‘phishing,’ this time targeting the chief of staff, in order to look for something that could be used as leverage against him.

“By contrast, the State Attorney’s Office and the attorney general decided that the former military advocate general who threw her phone into the sea — and it was found only five days later — would receive kid-glove treatment, and people who met with her during the investigation have not been questioned to this day. Apparently, everything depends on which side of the political map you are on.”

{Matzav.com}

[Video below.] Rep. Ilhan Omar urged Americans to document encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and criticized the Trump administration for offering conclusions about the fatal shooting of Renee Good before investigators complete their work.

“It is really important for Americans to record, to create the level of accountability and transparency that we need,” the Minnesota lawmaker said Sunday on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”

She described what she said were common ICE tactics in Minneapolis, telling the program, “What we’ve seen in Minneapolis is ICE agents oftentimes jumping out of their cars, these are unmarked cars, oftentimes they’re wearing a mask, they’re approaching, running towards cars.”

Authorities have said ICE officer Jonathan Ross shot Good after she drove her SUV toward him. Officials confirmed Ross recorded the encounter on his cellphone, and the video has been released publicly in recent days.

Ross was not wearing a body camera at the time of the incident. ICE Director Todd Lyons explained on Fox News’ “The Sunday Briefing” that the agency is “still in the process of deploying” body cameras.

Omar also charged that the Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly misrepresented facts surrounding high-profile ICE operations. Representing Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, which includes Minneapolis, she said Good appeared frightened when agents approached and sharply criticized their actions.

“Renee Nicole Macklin Good as you hear her say, she’s not mad, she’s sitting in her car, peacefully waving cars to get by,” Omar said. “You see the other officer, who can clearly see the car is moving, move towards the front of the car.”

“If they are saying that he has 10 years on service and is trained, he should know that you shouldn’t be trying to get in front of a moving car.”

Video from the scene shows Ross positioned in front of Good’s SUV while it was stationary. When the vehicle began moving toward him, he fired three shots, killing her.

After the shooting, Ross was taken to a nearby hospital after he was “hit by the vehicle,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said, and later released.

Omar also faulted senior Trump administration officials for commenting publicly so soon after the shooting.

“We can see in the videos that have been produced so far that what they are describing is really not what had taken place,” Omar said. “This level of rhetoric is not justifiable to the American people.”

The congresswoman previously drew attention last year by saying ICE questioned her son, a claim the department has denied.

ICE activity in Minnesota has increased as the Trump administration responds to widespread outrage over a major welfare fraud scandal in the state.

Omar criticized the federal probe, arguing that “What they are doing is creating confusion, chaos, trying to intimidate people from being able to exercise their regular, normal activities.”

“There are ways to investigate fraud, which we have been doing in Minnesota, which the federal government has been doing under the Biden administration,” Omar said. “There is no reason for them to use this level of rhetoric.”

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}

Sir Ephraim Mirvis, the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, has spoken out against describing Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as “genocide,” saying the charge cheapens the word and transforms what he called “humanity’s gravest crime” into a tool of political rhetoric.

Writing in The Telegraph, Sir Ephraim Mirvis argued that the allegation is now deployed with alarming ease. As he put it: “Today it takes almost no thought to repeat the accusation that Israel has committed ‘genocide’.”

He noted that the accusation comes from different quarters and motivations. “Some repeat it from a place of singular hostility toward the world’s only Jewish state; others from an earnest desire to hasten an end to an unquestionably horrific conflict in which many innocent people have suffered. But whatever the motivation, the result is the same: this gravest of crimes is invoked casually, without due regard for the weight of the word itself.”

Mirvis went on to describe a public climate driven by exaggeration and online outrage. “In an age when hyperbole dominates our discourse and outrage is rewarded with clicks, campaigners reach instinctively for the most extreme language available. Faced with images on social media of immense, tragic suffering in Gaza, journalists, academics and celebrities understandably feel compelled to speak out.”

He cautioned that this escalation in language carries serious risks. “Yet the race to linguistic escalation has consequences. The ubiquity of a term is often wrongly understood as evidence of its veracity. And some terms have a meaning that must remain protected at all costs. ‘Genocide’ is one of them.”

Pointing to the legal standard for genocide, Mirvis stressed that the crime requires intent to destroy a people, in whole or in part. He explained: “It is why Britain and her allies are not accused of genocide for our strategic bombing of Nazi Germany, despite the hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians who were killed. Intent is the moral and legal hinge. The clearest evidence that Israel did not intend to destroy the people of Gaza is that it did not in fact do so.”

He characterized the war as one “Israel did not seek, nor start,” and said Israel’s aims have centered on freeing hostages and neutralizing Hamas, which he described as a group committed to Israel’s annihilation. He added: “If Hamas lays down its arms, there will be no fighting and no suffering. If Israel were to lay down its arms, there would be no Israel.”

The Chief Rabbi also took aim at certain human rights groups, saying they “appear to revel in misappropriating the term genocide” by stretching its definition and engaging in what he called “a truly troubling moral deceit.”

While acknowledging the dire humanitarian toll in Gaza, Mirvis said: “The tragic suffering of Palestinians abounds” and insisted that “no decent person could fail to be moved by it or wish to see its end”. At the same time, he maintained that there is no proof of “systematic massacres, mass executions, or the targeted killing of civilians as a matter of policy”.

He warned that careless use of the term ultimately corrodes its meaning. “When academics, activists, faith leaders and public figures declare, with unshakeable certainty, that genocide has occurred, they do something far more destructive than merely repeat a falsehood. They trivialise the very concept they claim to defend. What language is left for the Rohingya, expelled en masse, systematically raped and slaughtered? For the Uyghurs, subjected to mass internment, forced sterilisation and cultural erasure? For the ethnically targeted killing and mass rape in West Darfur? To invoke the term ‘genocide’ as an accusation against Israel is to strip it of its true meaning, reducing humanity’s gravest crime to a political insult.”

In closing, Mirvis called for compassion alongside moral clarity. “The suffering of innocent people demands empathy, accountability and a genuine commitment to preventing future conflict. But to level the charge of genocide against Israel is to commit a moral inversion whose casualties include not only Israelis and Palestinians, but the very idea of human rights itself.”

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump has been advised by senior military leaders that preparations are not yet complete for any possible military action against Iran, even as protests against the Islamic Republic intensify across the country, according to a report by The Telegraph.

The report said Trump has reviewed a variety of potential military responses and has been briefed on possible targets tied to Iran’s internal security forces, especially those linked to the crackdown on demonstrators. Commanders overseeing US forces in the region, however, have warned that troops need additional time to reinforce defenses and secure positions before taking steps that could trigger Iranian retaliation.

Trump has openly warned Tehran that continued killings of protesters could prompt US intervention, saying Iran would be struck “very, very hard, where it hurts.” According to The Telegraph, he has been presented with scenarios that include attacks on regime-linked security elements or non-military sites in Tehran.

The discussions are unfolding as unrest has erupted across Iran for multiple nights in a row, with analysts describing the scope and intensity as surpassing the 2022 protests over the hijab law. While reports suggest that hundreds of people may have been killed, a sweeping internet shutdown has made it difficult to confirm casualty figures. Videos circulating online appear to show security forces firing live ammunition at crowds in several areas.

Iranian leaders have responded with stark warnings, including threats of capital punishment for protesters. Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf cautioned the White House against a “miscalculation,” while a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that any attack would lead to retaliation against Israel, US military installations, and naval assets.

Axios reported Sunday that Trump is reviewing several avenues to back the protest movement and intensify pressure on the Iranian government, citing two US officials. While military strikes have been part of internal discussions, most of the options under consideration were described as non-kinetic, and no final determination has been reached. Officials told Axios that all options remain under consideration as demonstrations persist despite a harsher crackdown and ongoing internet blackout.

Iranian officials have blamed both the United States and Israel for fueling the unrest and have warned of consequences if Iran is attacked. Despite the widespread protests, US and Israeli officials quoted by Axios said there is no current assessment that the regime is on the brink of collapse.

{Matzav.com}

More from the historic groundbreaking event taking place on Sunday for the New building of the Kollel of North Miami Beach.

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu on Tuesday finalized a joint declaration with Germany’s Interior Minister, Alexander Dobrindt, establishing a broad security cooperation framework between the two nations. The agreement formalizes collaboration among Israeli and German security agencies in fields including cybersecurity, cutting-edge technology, policing, counterterrorism efforts, and civil defense.

“I attach enormous importance to the overall cooperation between Israel and Germany, and especially Israel and Germany on this question of cybersecurity, which is one of the main threats to our internal security, and in many ways also our infrastructure and other threats,” Netanyahu stated.

Expanding on the depth of bilateral ties, the prime minister pointed to existing joint projects and ongoing defense coordination between Jerusalem and Berlin. “And I think Germany and Israel are natural partners. We’ve cooperated on the Arrow III; we’ve cooperated in many areas. We cooperate technologically. Chancellor Mertz was here recently, and we talked about defense cooperation,” he added.

Netanyahu closed his remarks by welcoming the German interior minister and emphasizing the personal and diplomatic significance of the agreement. “And now I’m very pleased to welcome a dear friend of Israel, Minister Dobrindt, to sign this important pact. So, thank you for your friendship, thank you for your support, and please convey this to your government as well.”

{Matzav.com}

The head of the FBI’s New York field office has been named co-deputy director of the bureau, replacing Dan Bongino following his recent departure, an FBI spokesperson said Friday. Christopher Raia, who helped lead the response to the deadly truck attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day last year, was picked to run the […]

Hagaon HaRav Dovid Schustal and other Roshei Yeshiva arriving on Sunday morning for the historic groundbreaking of the new building for the North Miami Beach Kollel.