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An extraordinary and sensitive operation was completed in Thailand on Tuesday as ZAKA volunteers, Chabad shluchim and members of the local Jewish community successfully relocated four graves from a cemetery near Bangkok after local authorities ordered the burial ground evacuated within just days.

The cemetery had been purchased approximately five years ago by Bangkok’s Jewish community and Chabad. In recent months, however, difficulties arose with local authorities, who declined to renew the cemetery’s burial license.

On Friday morning, Erev Rosh Hashanah, Chabad representatives received a letter from the regional governor ordering them to vacate the cemetery by Tuesday. Four Jewish graves were located on the property, leaving the community with only a matter of days to arrange their relocation in accordance with halachah and with the utmost kavod hameis.

Faced with the urgent situation, Rabbi Nechemia Wilhelm, a Chabad shliach in Bangkok, contacted ZAKA Chief Operating Officer Chaim Weingarten and requested immediate assistance.

ZAKA officials quickly conducted a halachic consultation with the organization’s rabbonim. Immediately after Shabbos, Weingarten and ZAKA volunteer Berale Yakubowitz flew to Bangkok to oversee the delicate operation.

A new burial plot had meanwhile been purchased by Rabbi Yosef Chaim Kantor, chief rabbi of Thailand’s Jewish community, providing a new resting place for the four niftarim.

On Tuesday, Rabbi Kantor, Rabbi Wilhelm, Rabbi Eliezer Ashkenazi and community members Yossi Goldberg and Davidi Haddad joined the ZAKA representatives for the operation.

After hours of painstaking and highly sensitive work, all four graves were successfully transferred intact to the new burial ground. Those involved took meticulous care to ensure that every stage of the operation was carried out in accordance with halachah and with the proper kavod hameis.

“When I received the request on Erev Rosh Hashanah and understood the urgency, it was clear to us that ZAKA would do whatever was necessary to preserve the dignity of the deceased,” Weingarten said. “Immediately after Shabbos, we left for Bangkok, following consultation with the organization’s rabbonim. Today, with the assistance of the Chabad rabbonim and members of the local community, we completed the complex mission and brought the deceased to their eternal resting place with the proper dignity.”

Rabbi Kantor described the situation as both extraordinarily sensitive and exceptionally urgent.

“This was a very complex and sensitive event that we were required to address within an extremely short period of time,” Rabbi Kantor said. “We thank the ZAKA organization and its personnel, who immediately responded to the call and came from Israel to assist us. Their cooperation and dedication made it possible to complete the transfer of the graves with dignity, sensitivity and in accordance with halachah.”

{Matzav.com}

Federal prosecutors have charged five people accused of participating in a Russian intelligence-linked network that allegedly sought to arrange assassinations in the United States and other countries and recruit individuals for violent attacks in European nations supporting Ukraine. All five defendants remain at large.

An indictment made public in Manhattan federal court alleges that people acting on behalf of Russian intelligence offered or attempted to offer payments to individuals in the United States and abroad to monitor selected targets before carrying out killings.

Prosecutors also allege that recruits were approached about conducting terrorist attacks against civilian and military infrastructure in European countries viewed as supportive of Ukraine.

James C. Barnacle Jr., who leads the FBI’s New York office, credited investigators with thwarting the alleged operations through “relentless work” as Russian intelligence personnel and associates “conspired to intimidate, threaten, or murder people on U.S. soil and around the world.”

Darren B. Cox, head of the FBI’s Washington field office, similarly praised the “extraordinary work by multiple FBI field offices, components, and partner agencies that collectively disrupted Russia’s attempts to conduct violent acts in our nation’s capital and throughout the United States.”

Cox said investigators acted immediately after becoming aware of the alleged operation. According to the government’s statement, the Washington field office and other agencies “moved quickly to disrupt the plot and hold the Russian government accountable for its actions.”

Federal authorities said the network has been operating on behalf of Russian Federation intelligence services since at least 2024, allegedly organizing murders and other attacks in multiple countries, including the United States.

Officials characterized the intelligence network as “one arm” of a broader Russian apparatus allegedly used to conduct attacks overseas, including targeted killings.

According to authorities, the operation had previously concentrated on Russian dissidents and defectors. Its alleged targets have more recently expanded to include individuals and infrastructure in countries regarded by Moscow as supporting Ukraine.

Investigators said members of the network have also recently sought to recruit people located inside the United States.

During the summer, according to federal authorities, the network enlisted an individual in the United States to conduct surveillance on a prominent Russian dissident before allegedly offering that person $40,000 to kill the intended victim.

The indictment identifies the recruited person only as “U.S. Resident-1.” Prosecutors said the individual was directed to visit two locations connected to the intended target and received “explicit instructions on how to conduct surveillance” along with a promise of payment.

After carrying out the surveillance and sending photographs and video of locations linked to the target to one of the defendants, the US resident rejected an alleged $40,000 offer to “eliminate” or “disappear” the intended victim.

Prosecutors allege that after the individual refused the offer, the intelligence operative behind it attempted to recruit several other people in the United States, offering substantial payments in an effort to have someone else carry out the killing.

Alan Dershowitz says the Supreme Court’s decision preventing President Donald Trump’s new mail-ballot rules from taking effect before November’s midterm elections does not necessarily determine how the underlying legal dispute will ultimately be resolved. The Harvard Law professor emeritus described the ruling as “just the beginning” of the litigation.

Speaking Tuesday on “The Record With Greta Van Susteren,” Dershowitz emphasized that the justices were considering an emergency request to allow the US Postal Service regulations to take effect while litigation continues. The court declined that request Monday, leaving a lower-court injunction against the rules in place.

“The ballot issue will not affect the midterms,” Dershowitz said. “That’s what the Supreme Court held.”

Dershowitz argued that the opinions accompanying the court’s order contain indications that the administration could receive a more favorable hearing when the underlying legal issues are considered outside the immediate pressures surrounding the November election.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh agreed that the rule should remain blocked for the upcoming election but wrote separately that there is “at least a fair prospect that the final rule falls within the Postal Service’s statutory authority.” He nevertheless concluded that implementing the requirements at this late stage would be “arbitrary and capricious.”

Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented. Alito’s opinion argued that the government had satisfied the requirements for a stay and was likely to succeed on the merits of its appeal.

Dershowitz interpreted the positions of Kavanaugh, Alito and Thomas as giving the administration a potential foundation for a future Supreme Court victory. He said Kavanaugh had indicated that the administration “has the better of the legal argument,” although that wording was Dershowitz’s interpretation and does not appear in Kavanaugh’s opinion.

He also suggested that other justices who declined to permit the regulations to take effect immediately could nevertheless reach a different conclusion when considering the merits of the broader case.

“It’s certainly possible that the Trump administration could get five votes,” he said.

Dershowitz said Congress could address some of the controversy by establishing federal minimum requirements while leaving states with their constitutionally assigned role in administering elections.

He said a federal statute requiring voters to demonstrate citizenship “would probably be upheld as constitutional,” arguing that legislation could settle at least part of the legal dispute over federal election standards.

“Cheating in elections is as American as apple pie, unfortunately,” Dershowitz said, referring to historical allegations surrounding the 1960 presidential election in Illinois and the ballot controversy in Palm Beach County during the 2000 election. He also reiterated his view that Trump won the 2020 presidential election. Dershowitz’s statement about 2020 is his position; official results and subsequent certification established Joe Biden as the winner of that election.

Monday’s Supreme Court order keeps intact a federal judge’s preliminary injunction preventing implementation of the Postal Service regulation. The rule would require ballot-mail envelopes to meet specific design and scanning requirements, including a specialized barcode for each voter, and would require states to upload specified voter information to a Postal Service portal.

The court’s unsigned order said the government was “unlikely to succeed on the merits” in its request for emergency relief. Kavanaugh’s separate opinion, however, distinguished the immediate dispute from the broader statutory issue and said there was a fair prospect that the Postal Service possessed authority to issue such a rule.

Dershowitz said the litigation will now proceed beyond the emergency stage, while cautioning against assuming how individual justices would ultimately rule once the underlying legal questions are fully presented.

The United Nations on Tuesday called for international investigators to receive access throughout the Gaza Strip “to assist with evidence-gathering,” as hundreds of bodies and human remains continue to be recovered from buildings destroyed during the war.

The UN human rights office said the discoveries raise concerns that war crimes may have occurred and asserted that many of the recovered bodies were those of women and children.

“The remains of what appears to be entire families are now being unearthed at locations that were pulverized by Israeli attacks,” UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement.

Turk cautioned that the remains found to date might represent only a fraction of those still buried beneath destroyed structures. “I worry the remains recovered so far may only be the tip of the iceberg,” he said, noting that “much of Gaza has been flattened by Israeli bombing or demolition and clearing by heavy machinery and explosives.”

He also accused Israeli forces of continuing demolition work in areas under their control without adequately safeguarding remains beneath destroyed structures. “Today, many areas in Gaza where the Israeli military is deployed continue to be leveled by bulldozers with no respect for the dead under the rubble,” he said.

Against that backdrop, the UN human rights office urged that “international investigators to be allowed into all parts of Gaza to assist with evidence-gathering.”

According to the UN office, the Hamas-run Gaza civil defense agency says more than 630 bodies and other human remains have been retrieved from beneath ruined buildings across the enclave since November.

The UN cited the civil defense agency as estimating that more than 8,000 people remain missing beneath the destruction, saying it “estimates the total number of missing under the rubble at over 8,000.”

Turk called for systematic efforts to identify the dead and preserve potential evidence. He said “every feasible effort must be taken to document and identify these victims, preserve forensic information and biological samples, record their burial locations and inform their families.”

“The discovery of extensive remains under the rubble in Gaza City resurfaces concerns of war crimes and other atrocity crimes,” Turk said.

A majority of Israelis described Jewish rioters involved in a recent violent incident in the West Bank village of Qusra as either “Israeli terrorists” or “nationalist criminals,” according to the September Israeli Society Index published by the Jewish People Policy Institute. The poll found that 33% selected the first description and 18% the second.

The findings came after dozens of masked Israeli civilians arrived in Qusra in pickup trucks and threw stones at Palestinian residents. According to JPPI’s account of the incident, some of the rioters entered a Palestinian home and barricaded themselves inside while residents were present. Several Palestinians were injured, including a woman who required medical treatment. The rioters fled when Israeli security forces arrived, and no arrests were made.

The survey found relatively little support for the most sympathetic descriptions of the group. Just 13% of Israelis chose either “young people who sometimes go too far” or “the salt of the earth.”

Responses differed sharply according to political identification. Among respondents on the left, 63% characterized the rioters as “Israeli terrorists,” while another 31% selected “nationalist criminals.” In the political center, 49% chose the terrorist designation and 31% described them as nationalist criminals.

The pattern was markedly different among respondents on the right. Only 3% used the description “Israeli terrorists,” while 22% called those involved “a handful of rioters” and 20% chose “a violent minority.” Another 12% selected “the salt of the earth.”

The poll also revealed a substantial difference between Jewish and Arab Israelis. Fifty-five percent of Arab respondents characterized those involved as “Israeli terrorists,” compared with 27% of Jewish respondents.

JPPI said the findings reflect a pronounced ideological divide over violence associated with fringe elements of the settlement movement. The institute noted that a separate question posed in its previous monthly survey concerning West Bank farms and outposts produced a similarly sharp split along ideological lines, while cautioning that the two questions were different and should not be directly compared.

The September Israeli Society Index was based on data collected from September 1 through September 3. The survey included 663 Jewish respondents from the Madad.com panel and 206 Arab respondents surveyed by Afkar Research, approximately half online and half by telephone. JPPI said the results were weighted by voting patterns and religiosity to represent Israel’s adult population.

{Matzav.com}

Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, is temporarily living in an Airstream trailer in Memphis, Tennessee, as he personally oversees the rapid expansion of xAI’s massive computing infrastructure, continuing his longstanding practice of sleeping close to the workplace when one of his companies is racing to complete a major project.

Musk revealed his unusual living arrangement during an appearance on the All-In podcast alongside SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell. Speaking remotely from Memphis, Musk jokingly described the trailer as his “palace.”

“This is coming to you from my, the palace that I live in in Memphis, which is an Airstream trailer,” Musk said.

Shotwell immediately confirmed that Musk was not joking about staying near the project, saying that his presence at the construction site reflected a side of his management style that outsiders often do not see.

“This is Elon, by the way, doing what people don’t believe he does. He sleeps on the factory floor. He’s in Memphis, helping build buildings,” Shotwell said.

Musk is in Memphis as xAI pushes ahead with an enormous expansion of its computing capacity. The city has become a key hub for the company’s artificial-intelligence infrastructure, including its Colossus supercomputer operation. Colossus was originally constructed beginning in 2024 to supply the computing power required for Grok, xAI’s artificial-intelligence model, with the initial buildout reportedly completed in just 122 days.

The company has continued expanding aggressively. In July, plans were announced for another Memphis data center known as Minihard, adding to the growing collection of facilities being developed in the area. Musk’s decision to remain in Memphis puts him close to the enormous number of GPUs and other infrastructure being installed as the company increases its AI computing capacity.

During the podcast conversation, Shotwell jokingly told Musk that he needed to remain focused on the Memphis operation.

“I actually think he needs to spend more time in Memphis,” Shotwell said. “Yes, obviously, I know you’re in Memphis. You need to be working, getting those GPUs up.”

Near the end of his appearance, Musk made clear that the work awaiting him was not merely theoretical.

“Yeah, I gotta go fix some GPUs here in Memphis,” he said.

The arrangement fits a pattern Musk has followed repeatedly throughout his business career: when a company faces an intensive development or production push, he has often chosen to sleep at or extremely close to the workplace rather than commute to a conventional residence.

That habit dates back to his earliest years as an entrepreneur. According to Walter Isaacson’s biography of Musk, Musk and his brother Kimbal slept in the small Palo Alto office of their first startup, Zip2, for roughly six months, showering at a local YMCA. After receiving $22 million when Zip2 was sold to Compaq, Musk continued sleeping under his desk on many nights while working to launch X.com, the online financial company that eventually became part of PayPal.

The same approach resurfaced years later at Tesla. During the company’s difficult Model 3 production ramp in 2017 and 2018, Musk frequently remained at the factory as Tesla struggled to reach its production targets, sometimes sleeping only several hours a night.

Musk repeated the practice after purchasing Twitter in 2022. During the intense restructuring of the social-media company, which was subsequently renamed X, he slept on a couch in the library at the company’s San Francisco headquarters. Musk said at the time that the company was facing what he considered a “code-red situation.”

His current accommodations are somewhat more comfortable than a factory floor. Airstream is famous for its distinctive aluminum travel trailers, some of which fit sleeping quarters, a kitchen and bathroom into relatively compact spaces. Musk did not identify which Airstream model he is using in Memphis.

The trailer arrangement also stands in sharp contrast to some of the luxurious properties Musk has owned in the past. In 2012, he purchased a Bel Air mansion for $17 million that included seven bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, a tennis court and a two-story library. He also owned a Mediterranean-style Silicon Valley estate reportedly worth $32 million and purchased the former home of actor Gene Wilder.

But Musk publicly announced in 2020 that he intended to sell most of his physical possessions, including his houses. He subsequently relocated to Texas and lived for a period in a small home near SpaceX’s Starbase operation that he said he rented from the company for about $50,000.

His latest temporary home now places him close to one of the most important projects in his sprawling business empire.

Memphis has become increasingly central to xAI’s effort to compete in the global artificial-intelligence race, where access to enormous amounts of computing power has become critical. Training and operating increasingly sophisticated AI systems requires huge clusters of specialized processors, enormous quantities of electricity and extensive data-center infrastructure.

For Musk, the immediate solution to keeping close tabs on that expansion appears to be characteristically unconventional: rather than spending significant time traveling back and forth to the construction site, he has simply moved into a trailer nearby.

And despite his extraordinary wealth, Musk seems amused by the contrast between his financial resources and his current accommodations.

For now, the billionaire’s Memphis “palace” is an Airstream trailer — close enough to the construction and GPUs that he can remain personally involved as xAI races to expand its computing infrastructure.

{Matzav.com}

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The House of Representatives voted Tuesday for a third time to restrict President Donald Trump’s ability to continue US military action against Iran, with seven Republicans joining Democrats in supporting the measure as the war becomes an increasingly prominent issue ahead of November’s midterm elections.

The measure passed with backing from seven Republican lawmakers, three more than supported the House’s previous resolution concerning the conflict. Democrats have characterized the latest action as their most substantial attempt so far to push back against Trump’s handling of the war, particularly with Congress nearing its final votes before the elections.

House Republican leaders have not formally directed GOP members on how to vote on the Iran resolutions. Trump, however, has publicly criticized Republicans who have broken with his position on the conflict, underscoring the importance he has placed on maintaining congressional support.

In July, the House approved a nonbinding resolution urging Trump to bring US military operations against Iran to an end. That measure passed by a 214-208 margin, with four Republicans joining all Democrats who voted in favor.

A separate joint resolution was later blocked in the Senate in a 47-49 procedural vote. Unlike the House measure, the Senate proposal would have carried the force of law if enacted, though it likely would have faced a presidential veto had it passed Congress.

The House has repeatedly sought to place restrictions on Trump’s military authority in connection with Iran. Lawmakers pursued another effort in June to limit the administration’s authority, but that measure ultimately failed after White House pressure prompted a Republican senator to change his vote.

It remains uncertain whether Senate Democrats can attract enough support to move another attempt forward. They are expected to try again later this week as the congressional debate over US military operations against Iran continues.

Thousands gathered at the main Dushinsky bais medrash in Yerushalayim on Monday night to hear the annual Shabbos Shuvah drashah of Rav Moshe Sternbuch, who delivered a forceful address focusing on the draft of yeshivah bochurim, chareidi military programs, the dangers of internet use and the need to strengthen shemiras Shabbos and regular study of its halachos.

The massive crowd included admorim, rabbonim, roshei yeshivah, dayanim, marbitzei Torah and members of the broader Yerushalayim Torah community. Dozens of prominent rabbonim and morei horaah were seated along the eastern wall as the bais medrash filled with people who had come to hear Rav Sternbuch’s traditional pre-Yom Kippur address.

Rav Sternbuch opened by addressing what he described as the struggle facing Torah Jewry against those seeking to undermine the Torah world and its institutions.

“The wicked are plotting to completely destroy us, to demolish the fortresses of Torah and the holy yeshivos, and to turn us into a nation like all other nations and a people like all other peoples. However, regarding this, the posuk has already promised us and Hakadosh Boruch Hu has declared: ‘That which enters your minds shall not come to pass!’ Our obligation at this time is to shake ourselves free and distance ourselves completely from the secular, not to look toward them at all, not to associate with them and not to participate with them in any matter whatsoever, because it is specifically in this separation that the foundation of our success and continued existence lies.”

To underscore the point, Rav Sternbuch cited an explanation from Rav Yehoshua Leib Diskin regarding a passage recited during the Hoshanos.

“Rav Yehoshua Leib explained our plea, ‘Hoshana, three hours, Hoshana,’ that during the final three hours before the arrival of the righteous redeemer, a terrible and frightening spirit of heresy and impurity will blow through the world. He further warned with holy foresight: Only one who completely separates and distances himself from the wicked will merit to be saved and to see the light of redemption.”

Rav Sternbuch then turned to the ongoing controversy surrounding the draft of yeshivah bochurim and the arrests of those who have refused to enlist, declaring, “The blood of our brothers is not hefker!”

“To our sorrow, during Rosh Hashanah, eighty precious bochurim sat in prison, despite having committed no sin or wrongdoing, other than their intense desire to cling to Hashem and toil in Torah, and their refusal to enlist in an army filled with impurity and heresy. Over this we protest with all our strength and cry out: The blood of our brothers is not hefker! Chazal have already said, ‘One who causes another to sin is worse than one who kills him,’ and this terrible decree hanging over the yeshivah bochurim is truly comparable to a death sentence, because without Torah we have no life at all. May Hakadosh Boruch Hu frustrate their counsel and disrupt their plans, and in the merit of the mesirus nefesh of those who learn Torah, may the decree soon be annulled.”

Rav Sternbuch also issued a strong warning against military programs marketed specifically toward chareidi men, including programs offering limited working hours and substantial financial compensation while promising an environment geared toward religious participants.

“To our sorrow, they have opened programs supposedly adorned in ‘chassidishe clothing,’ through which they entice the public to work a few hours and receive large amounts of money, thereby trapping the yeshivahleit in their net. Therefore, the obligation of the hour is to warn loudly: It is forbidden to go to them under any circumstances! The very foundation of the army is built upon heresy, and their entire aim and objective is simply to connect us with them so that we become like them, chas v’shalom.”

Turning to technology, Rav Sternbuch described internet use as one of the defining spiritual challenges confronting the current generation and urged the public to distance itself as much as possible.

“The obligation of the hour is to awaken people regarding the danger of the internet, which is the most difficult nisayon of the generation and leads to the ultimate source of impurity. Fortunate is one who does not use it at all, even ‘filtered internet,’ for as we say to the nazir, ‘Go around, go around; do not approach the vineyard.’ Boruch Hashem, today there are already holy groups in every community whose members undertake to distance themselves from all these things, and they should be called holy for overcoming the challenges of the times with strength.”

Rav Sternbuch devoted another portion of his drashah to Shabbos, noting that the first day of Rosh Hashanah fell on Shabbos this year and that Klal Yisroel therefore did not perform the mitzvah of shofar on that day. He said this makes strengthening shemiras Shabbos particularly important.

“This year Rosh Hashanah fell on Shabbos and we did not merit the mitzvah of shofar, and in such a year we need the merit of Shabbos to stand on our behalf and sweeten the judgments. Therefore, we must strengthen ourselves especially in observing Shabbos, so that it will serve as an advocate for us before the Throne of Glory. Chas v’shalom, if we do not observe it properly, it could instead become a source of prosecution, rachmana litzlan.

“Every single person should undertake to learn the halachos of Shabbos on a regular basis, as well as to protest against the increasing desecration of Shabbos. If we do what is incumbent upon us, Shabbos will stand as our advocate, and the words ‘If I safeguard Shabbos, Hashem will safeguard me’ will be fulfilled for us, and Hakadosh Boruch Hu will save us from all harm.”

At the conclusion of the lengthy address, thousands filed past Rav Sternbuch in an orderly procession to receive his brachah for the new year. Among the first to approach were the Dushinsky Rebbe and the Skulen Yerushalayim Rebbe.

Another notable scene unfolded afterward as the rabbonim of the Eidah Hachareidis passed before Rav Sternbuch and received his brachah together with a special Yom Tov gift of $1,000 apiece. More than $100,000 was distributed at the gathering through Rav Sternbuch’s Kupas Tomchin D’Oraisa, continuing his longstanding financial support for rabbonim, roshei kollel and avreichim throughout the year.

Moved by the occasion, Rav Yehudah Fisher, a member of the Badatz of the Eidah Hachareidis, rose and expressed the appreciation of the assembled rabbonim to Rav Sternbuch for carrying the needs of the community and assisting its members both spiritually and materially.

Following the gathering, large crowds accompanied Rav Sternbuch from the Dushinsky bais medrash through the streets of Yerushalayim, escorting him with great honor as far as Shmuel Hanavi Street. From there, Rav Sternbuch returned to his home in Har Nof.

{Matzav.com}

With 42 days remaining until Israel’s election for the 26th Knesset, a new Channel 14 poll released Tuesday night shows the right-wing bloc retaining a 64-seat majority, while the left-wing bloc receives 44 seats and the two Arab lists combine for 12. The overall bloc breakdown is unchanged from Channel 14’s previous survey on September 9.

Likud remains the largest party in the poll with 30 seats, down one from the previous survey. Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party also loses one seat, falling from 22 to 21. Shas remains unchanged at 10 seats, while the Democrats rise by one to nine.

Naftali Bennett’s Beyachad, United Torah Judaism, Otzma Yehudit and the Religious Zionism-Zehut alliance each receive eight seats. Beyachad and United Torah Judaism each gain one seat from the previous Channel 14 poll, while Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionism-Zehut remain unchanged.

Among the remaining parties, the Joint List rises from six seats to seven, while Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beytenu drops from seven to six. Ra’am falls from six seats to five. Together, the two Arab lists continue to account for 12 seats.

Several parties remain below the electoral threshold. Ofer Winter’s Amcha Yisrael increases slightly from 2.1% to 2.3%, while the Reservists-Economic Party rises from 1.4% to 2.1%. Blue and White receives 0.4%, Noam 0.3%, and the Haredi Public Party 0.2%. None would enter the Knesset based on this survey.

The poll also asked respondents which of several candidates they considered most suitable to serve as prime minister. Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu received 51%, unchanged from the previous Channel 14 survey. Eisenkot received 35%, up one percentage point, while Bennett fell two points to 9% and Lieberman rose one point to 5%. These figures represent responses to this specific Channel 14/NEXT DATA survey rather than a forecast of the election result.

In a separate head-to-head question asking respondents to choose between Netanyahu and Eisenkot, 53% selected Netanyahu and 47% selected Eisenkot, the same breakdown recorded in the previous survey.

The poll was conducted on September 15 by NEXT DATA among 483 adults from the general population, with the results analyzed by pollster Shlomo Filber.

{Matzav.com}

The mother of a married avreich who was arrested at the Taba border crossing while traveling to Uman has accused Israeli military authorities of denying her son and other detained yeshivah bochurim basic rights, including telephone calls, family visits, access to lawyers and proper personal supplies.

Speaking in an interview with Kol Chai’s Central Edition, the mother described the ordeal her family has faced since her son was detained last Thursday and transferred to Military Prison 10. She said the family was never formally notified of his arrest and was forced to determine his whereabouts on its own.

“We live in a democratic country, not a Third World country where people are kidnapped by a military junta in the dead of night. No authorized official informed me that my son had been arrested and was in Prison 10. Because of a phone call his wife received, I was forced to begin tracing his steps and searching for where my son was being held.”

The mother said many of the young men now facing arrest had previously attempted to resolve their military status through official channels, only to encounter repeated bureaucratic obstacles.

“They tried to resolve the matter and leave legally, but all of their requests on the websites were rejected. They sent young men from the Yerushalayim area all the way to recruitment offices in Be’er Sheva or Haifa, and when they arrived, they were told that they were late. Bureaucratic callousness.”

She went on to allege that the treatment of the detainees following their arrests has included the denial of telephone access and personal necessities, along with expedited disciplinary proceedings conducted without legal representation.

“To this day, I have not received even one phone call from him to know that he is under arrest. The supplies we sent him to the prison disappeared along the way, and basic requests for hygiene supplies were denied. They brought them supplies in garbage bags in a horrifying manner. They have all already been tried without legal advice and without a lawyer. They are pressured to stand trial immediately, the judging officer sentences them to days of confinement at his discretion without a written explanation and without protocols that can be appealed. The rights of these young men are simply being erased.”

She added that her son’s status as a married man should entitle him to additional rights while in custody, but claimed those requests had also been rejected.

“We are talking about a married man, and according to the law he is entitled to rights such as a family visit, but they denied all the requests.”

Concluding the interview, the mother issued an emotional appeal to the authorities, contrasting what she described as the treatment afforded to imprisoned Nukhba terrorists with that received by the chareidi detainees.

“Nukhba terrorists walk around the prison and they check whether they have fruit or not, and my son isn’t allowed a single phone call! If you established a special task force to arrest them – it is your obligation to give them the rights they are entitled to under the law.”

{Matzav.com}

A significant milestone was marked Tuesday in Yerushalayim with the signing of the foundation charter for the future Pnei Menachem World Center, a sprawling complex that will serve as the central bais medrash and institutional hub of the kehillah led by Rav Shaul Alter.

The modest but emotional ceremony took place on the large parcel recently allocated by the Yerushalayim municipality on Torah Mitzion Street, at the former site of the Israel Broadcasting Authority complex. Joining Rav Shaul were his brothers, Rav Yaakov Meir Alter and Rav Daniel Chaim Alter, sons of the Pnei Menachem of Ger, along with the rabbonim of the kehillah, including Rav Betzalel Wexelstein, and senior and prominent members of the community.

The event began with Rav Shaul conducting a brief lechayim tish, after which he and his brothers signed the foundation charter. The document will eventually be buried at the site during the formal cornerstone-laying ceremony, which is expected to take place at a later date.

Before the ceremony, Rav Shaul and his brothers stood on a specially constructed platform overlooking the property where the new complex will rise. Nachman Wideslavsky, director-general of the institutions, and architect Aharon Oestreicher presented the plans for the enormous project.

The complex is expected to include a large and magnificent bais medrash, shtiblach for tefillah, an expansive mikvah, a wedding hall, a Talmud Torah and kindergartens, along with other facilities serving the growing Pnei Menachem community.

As he viewed the architectural plans, Rav Shaul remarked that while a bais medrash needs to be carefully designed, the Bais Hamikdash will descend and be built even without architectural plans.

Yisrael Hakohen Levin, director of the Old Seminary, who served as master of ceremonies, raised a question about the timing of the gathering. Why, he asked, was such a ceremony being held specifically during the spiritually intense days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur? Could a more seemingly appropriate time not have been chosen?

In response, he recalled words spoken by the Pnei Menachem approximately half a century ago at the cornerstone-laying ceremony for a bais medrash named in memory of the Bais Yisroel of Ger: “A yeshivah is built with tears.”

“Following that same idea,” Levin said, “we too can say that a bais medrash is built not from stones, but from tears, from yearning and from the desire to draw closer and rise higher in the service of Hashem. Those aspirations motivated the members of the community to build a house for Hashem, and they are now privileged to see their offering accepted with favor.”

Levin concluded his remarks by recognizing Wideslavsky for his tireless efforts on behalf of the community, as well as Yisrael Mordechai Tzishinsky and Shaul Yechiel Margolies, who helped lay the groundwork for the project.

Rav Daniel Chaim Alter, rosh yeshivah of Pnei Menachem, spoke about the leaders of the dynasty, beginning with the Chiddushei Harim. He recalled that although the Chiddushei Harim occupied a distinguished position, when he saw that the pursuit of truth was burning in Peshischa, he did not hesitate to leave his position and embark upon a new path despite the persecution he endured.

Rav Daniel Chaim said that the actions of earlier generations became a model for their descendants, with the rebbes of the dynasty dedicating themselves to cultivating authentic Torah and yiras Shomayim. He said that under Rav Shaul’s leadership today, the community continues to witness unmistakable siyata diShmaya as it establishes a path for those seeking closeness to Hashem, despite the considerable sacrifices involved. He pointed in particular to the growth and flourishing of the Pnei Menachem educational institutions and the planned construction of the new central bais medrash.

At the center of the gathering, Rav Shaul delivered divrei Torah, citing the well-known words of the Ramban concerning the purpose of a bais haknesses: that people should gather there and give thanks to the Creator, declaring before Him, “We are Your creations.”

Rav Shaul explained that a person must thank Hashem each day for the kindnesses he is privileged to witness, but the central expression of that gratitude takes place in the bais haknesses, where a person declares his complete relationship with his Creator. Gratitude alone, he said, is insufficient; it must bring about personal change.

Citing the words, “He gave their land as an inheritance — an inheritance to Yisroel, His servant,” Rav Shaul said that while the community is preparing to enter a new property and construct a bais haknesses, it must never lose sight of the true objective. The physical inheritance is meant to help Klal Yisroel become servants of Hashem and recognize, “We are Your creations.”

Rav Yaakov Meir Alter, the eldest of the brothers, then read aloud the foundation charter, which was composed by senior rabbonim of the community.

The document recounts the development of the kehillah, which was established from virtually nothing seven years ago, and describes its commitment to the heritage and path of Peshischa, Kotzk and Ger. It emphasizes an approach that refuses to allow routine and habit to weaken a person’s inner spiritual drive, instead seeking constant renewal and renewed inspiration through intensive Torah learning and penetrating halachic study, together with work on one’s middos, yielding to others and judging people favorably.

The Pnei Menachem institutions are now preparing to move ahead with construction of the world center. Plans call for an expansive central bais medrash, a large Torah study hall, numerous shtiblach intended in part to alleviate the shortage of shuls in the surrounding neighborhood, a large mikvah, a wedding hall, communal assistance and chesed operations, a Talmud Torah and kindergartens.

The ambitious complex is intended to serve both residents of the surrounding area and the thousands who regularly come to the Pnei Menachem community to learn Torah and hear shiurim and guidance from Rav Shaul Alter.

המעמד בקהילת הגר”ש אלתר (צילום: דניאל נפוסי)

המעמד בקהילת הגר”ש אלתר (צילום: דניאל נפוסי)

המעמד בקהילת הגר”ש אלתר (צילום: דניאל נפוסי)

המעמד בקהילת הגר”ש אלתר (צילום: דניאל נפוסי)

המעמד בקהילת הגר”ש אלתר (צילום: דניאל נפוסי)

המעמד בקהילת הגר”ש אלתר (צילום: דניאל נפוסי)

המעמד בקהילת הגר”ש אלתר (צילום: דניאל נפוסי)

המעמד בקהילת הגר”ש אלתר (צילום: דניאל נפוסי)

המעמד בקהילת הגר”ש אלתר (צילום: דניאל נפוסי)

המעמד בקהילת הגר”ש אלתר (צילום: דניאל נפוסי)

המעמד בקהילת הגר”ש אלתר (צילום: דניאל נפוסי)

המעמד בקהילת הגר”ש אלתר (צילום: דניאל נפוסי)

המעמד בקהילת הגר”ש אלתר (צילום: דניאל נפוסי)

המעמד בקהילת הגר”ש אלתר (צילום: דניאל נפוסי)

המעמד בקהילת הגר”ש אלתר (צילום: דניאל נפוסי)

המעמד בקהילת הגר”ש אלתר (צילום: דניאל נפוסי)

המעמד בקהילת הגר”ש אלתר (צילום: דניאל נפוסי)

המעמד בקהילת הגר”ש אלתר (צילום: דניאל נפוסי)

{Matzav.ciom}

The IDF and Shin Bet announced Tuesday that they had eliminated Nael Abu Obeid, the commander of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade and a senior figure in the terror organization, in a targeted strike in the southern Gaza Strip. Abu Obeid also served as the head of Hamas’s operations array.

According to the Israeli security agencies, Abu Obeid took command of the Rafah Brigade following the elimination of his predecessor, Mohammed Shabana. Before assuming the position, Abu Obeid served in several senior roles, including deputy commander of the Rafah Brigade and commander of the Tel al-Sultan and Yabna battalions.

In his most recent position, Abu Obeid was responsible for overseeing Hamas terrorists in the Rafah area and directing plans for attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians. Israeli officials said he was also heavily involved in efforts to rebuild the Rafah Brigade after it suffered severe losses during the war.

Palestinian sources in Gaza reported that two people were killed, including an 8-year-old girl, and 14 others were wounded in three strikes targeting tents housing displaced Gazans in western Khan Yunis. According to those reports, two adjacent tents near the entrance to the Al-Sumoud camp were struck. The first explosion was reportedly caused by an explosive drone, followed by two missiles fired from an aircraft.

Abu Obeid was regarded as one of Hamas’s most powerful remaining figures in Gaza and had reportedly taken a leading role in the organization following the elimination of Mohammed Sinwar and later Shabana. Shabana was eliminated in a June 2025 strike in Khan Yunis together with Mohammed Sinwar, who at the time headed Hamas’s military wing.

Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu responded to Abu Obeid’s elimination with a brief statement: “No terrorist is immune, and Hamas will not be in Gaza.”

Defense Minister Yisrael Katz also addressed the operation, saying: “The policy being led by the prime minister and myself, and which the IDF is implementing in the most professional and proper manner, is clear: We eliminate terrorists and remove threats, and do not attack civilians and uninvolved individuals — contrary to the blood libel spread by the creators of the film ‘Naza’ against our heroic soldiers. No terrorist is immune, and Hamas will not be in Gaza.”

The strike came amid an increasing pace of targeted operations against senior Hamas commanders. In recent days, the Shin Bet located Mohammed Yazouri, also known as Abu al-Haytham, the commander of Hamas’s Khan Yunis Brigade. He was eliminated while together with a company commander and another Hamas terrorist.

The IDF carried out five additional targeted eliminations on Monday, including the commander of Hamas’s Jabalia Battalion. In a joint announcement, the IDF and Shin Bet said: “During the night, the IDF and Shin Bet struck in the northern Gaza Strip and eliminated terrorist Ahmed Batash, commander of the Jabalia Battalion in the Northern Gaza Brigade of the military wing of the Hamas terrorist organization.”

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The first stage of the Federal Aviation Administration’s sweeping effort to modernize the nation’s aging air traffic control system is expected to cost $16 billion, billions more than Congress has provided for the project, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told lawmakers Tuesday.

Congress approved $12.5 billion last year for improvements to the air traffic control system, with $9 billion designated for modernization efforts and another $3.5 billion allocated for construction and upgrades to facilities.

“It’s costing $16 billion to do phase one,” Bedford said during testimony before a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee.

Bedford said the FAA is covering the difference by drawing money from its existing facilities and equipment budget. Looking ahead, the agency is seeking at least another $10 billion from Congress to carry out the second phase of the modernization program, and Bedford urged lawmakers to provide those funds.

“The agency is working on scale-up to get ‌this done and get it done right,” Bedford said.

The warning came the same day the Government Accountability Office released a report finding that the FAA has not fully calculated the long-term cost of operating the new air traffic control system or established a sufficiently detailed schedule for completing the overhaul.

According to the GAO, the first phase encompasses more than 11,000 individual projects, which the FAA had previously estimated would cost $10.6 billion. Bedford noted that the agency had said last year that it would need between $15 billion and $16 billion for the initial phase, accounting for the funding gap.

Congress provided the modernization money amid longstanding concerns over the age of the nation’s air traffic control infrastructure, persistent airport congestion and flight delays, a shortage of controllers, and a series of technology failures that have highlighted weaknesses in the existing system.

One particularly costly component is the effort to replace antiquated telecommunications infrastructure. The projected price of those upgrades has risen by $4.75 billion, reaching $5.91 billion, according to the GAO. Bedford said the FAA intends to completely eliminate the outdated copper-wire telecommunications system by September 2027.

As part of the broader overhaul, the FAA selected Peraton, which is owned by Veritas Capital, in December to oversee the modernization initiative. The company was awarded a $1.5 billion contract for that role.

President Donald Trump sharply criticized the Biden-era FBI and former FBI Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday following the release of new federal records concerning Thomas Matthew Crooks, the gunman who attempted to assassinate Trump at his July 13, 2024, campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump also alleged, without presenting evidence, that the shooting was part of a Democratic plot to remove him from the presidential race. Investigators have previously said they found no evidence that Crooks had co-conspirators or was acting at the direction of a political organization.

Trump accused the FBI under President Joe Biden and Wray of improperly handling the investigation and claimed that crucial material was no longer available by the time he returned to the White House.

“By the time I got into Office, on January 20th, most of the information was missing, altered, corrupted, or gone,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “New info was just found! Why wasn’t it seen long ago?”

Trump went further, alleging without offering evidence that the assassination attempt was “a Democrat Plot, to get me out of the Election, that failed.” Current FBI Director Kash Patel has said investigators found no evidence Crooks was working with anyone else.

During its initial investigation in 2024, the FBI similarly said it had uncovered no co-conspirators or individuals who had advance knowledge of Crooks’ plans.

Trump’s comments came as newly obtained federal records provided to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, offered additional details about Crooks and his activities leading up to the Butler attack. Grassley has been conducting an investigation into the assassination attempt.

According to the records, Crooks developed an increasingly intense interest in firearms and long-range shooting during the years before the attack.

His father, Matthew Crooks, told investigators that his son’s interest in guns began during the COVID-19 pandemic. Crooks subsequently spent considerable time practicing and eventually became capable of accurately shooting at distances beyond 100 yards.

Matthew Crooks told investigators that on the morning of July 13, he gave his son the Panther Arms A-15 rifle that would later be used in the assassination attempt because he believed Crooks was headed to a shooting range.

The FBI had previously said Crooks’ father provided him with the rifle that afternoon under the impression that his son planned to go to the Sportsman’s Club.

Investigators determined that Crooks had practiced shooting at the club the day before the rally and had also conducted reconnaissance of the Butler rally grounds before carrying out the attack.

The newly reported records also indicate that Crooks used the name “Bob Dole” when making online purchases of firearms-related products and became increasingly focused on improving his shooting skills.

According to the records, Crooks’ father also described troubling behavior shortly before the attack, including seeing his son pacing and talking to himself while cleaning a firearm.

Crooks ultimately climbed onto a rooftop overlooking the rally and fired eight shots toward Trump. One bullet struck Trump in the ear, rally attendee Corey Comperatore was killed, and two other people were wounded. A Secret Service sniper then shot and killed Crooks.

The FBI opened investigations into both an attempted assassination and possible domestic terrorism following the attack.

Trump on Tuesday directed particular criticism at Wray, saying the former FBI director “should pay a price for the way he handled this assassination attempt.”

Wray had originally been nominated by Trump to serve as FBI director during Trump’s first administration. He resigned from the position before Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.

President Donald Trump’s administration has approved a massive $2.8 billion weapons sale to Israel that includes 40,000 2,000-pound bombs, according to a U.S. official cited by The New York Times, marking one of the largest transfers of heavy American munitions to Israel in recent years.

The package includes 20,000 MK-84 bombs and 20,000 BLU-117 bombs, both weighing approximately 2,000 pounds. The Washington Post reported that the package also includes 20,000 I-2000 Penetrator warheads, which are designed to penetrate hardened structures.

The $2.8 billion package is expected to be financed through U.S. military assistance provided to Israel rather than paid for directly with Israeli funds, according to the Washington Post. The proposed transfer has already been informally communicated to the congressional committees that review major foreign arms sales.

The enormous size of the package is notable even by the standards of the longstanding U.S.-Israel defense relationship. The Washington Post described it as the largest single sale of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel in recent years.

The MK-84 is a general-purpose bomb that can be used against buildings, fortified positions and other large targets. The BLU-117 is another 2,000-pound general-purpose bomb, while the I-2000 is a penetrator warhead intended for use against hardened targets.

Israel has used 2,000-pound bombs during military operations in Gaza and Lebanon. Their use in densely populated areas has drawn criticism from some arms-control and human-rights experts because of the extensive blast damage such weapons can cause. Israel has repeatedly said that it targets terrorists and military infrastructure, does not deliberately target civilians, and takes measures intended to reduce civilian casualties.

“If Hezbollah or whoever is in a building, an MK-84 will bring down the whole building,” Trevor Ball, a former U.S. Army explosive-ordnance-disposal technician, told the Washington Post.

Brian Finucane, a former State Department lawyer who is now a senior adviser at the International Crisis Group, raised concerns about how the weapons could be employed.

“Given the way Israel conducted its air war in Gaza and, to some extent, in southern Lebanon, there are real concerns about how such weapons would be used in densely populated areas,” Finucane said.

“That’s assuming that you have valid military targets to start with because there are concerns about what Israel deems to be valid military targets,” he added.

The new package follows a separate $2.04 billion munitions sale approved by the Trump administration in February 2025. That earlier package included up to 35,529 MK-84 or BLU-117 bomb bodies, or a combination of the two, as well as 4,000 I-2000 Penetrator warheads. At the time, the administration invoked emergency authority to bypass the normal congressional review period.

The Biden administration had temporarily halted a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel in 2024 amid concerns about their possible use in densely populated areas of Gaza. Trump lifted that restriction shortly after returning to the White House in January 2025, allowing the previously withheld weapons to be delivered.

The newly approved package comes amid continuing U.S. military backing for Israel and heightened regional fighting involving Iran and Iranian-backed forces. The United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran on February 28, 2026, prompting Iranian strikes against Israel and Gulf states hosting American military installations.

The arms sale could still face scrutiny on Capitol Hill. Major foreign military sales are ordinarily submitted to Congress, where lawmakers have procedures available under the Arms Export Control Act to seek to block a transaction. Reuters reported that the $2.8 billion package had already been informally presented to the relevant congressional committees.

Asked about the pending transaction before reports emerged that Trump had approved it, a senior White House official told the Washington Post that “all foreign arms sales are moving through the appropriate process. We do not comment on pending sales.”

Vice President JD Vance said the U.S.-Iran conflict is likely to move into a “much different phase in a couple of months,” backing President Donald Trump’s assessment that the war could wind down following the November midterm elections as Washington continues applying military and economic pressure on Tehran.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the New York Post aboard Air Force Two, Vance said Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz has continued to weaken and noted that commercial shipping through the critical waterway has now “returned to well over 50% of normal traffic.”

“We can’t predict the future, but I think the president is right to say that this thing will enter a much different phase in a couple of months,” Vance said. “He’s also the commander in chief, so he’s the person who determines … when conflicts start and when they stop.”

Vance acknowledged frustration among Americans over the length of the conflict but maintained that U.S. forces are no longer carrying out aggressive military operations against Iran.

“I certainly understand there’s some impatience from the American people, but fundamentally what’s happening right now is that the United States is not engaged in aggressive operations. We’re just not,” he added.

“But what is happening is that the Iranians are occasionally shooting at commercial shipping, usually not successfully,” Vance said.

Over the past four months, U.S. Navy SEALs have removed mines from substantial portions of the Strait of Hormuz, although shipping activity has yet to return to prewar levels. U.S. operations have also significantly degraded Iran’s missile and drone capabilities, while Tehran has continued intermittent attacks against commercial vessels and American military positions in the Middle East.

At the same time, Washington has continued its economic campaign against Tehran, targeting Iranian oil tankers and imposing Treasury Department sanctions on banks and other entities accused of helping finance Iran’s war effort.

“There are really two phases to this thing, and the first phase is done,” Vance continued. “The first phase was destroy the nuclear program, destroy their conventional military, destroy their ability to project power in a way that they were able to even a couple of years ago.”

“And then the second phase of this is ensure that they’re not able to rebuild and try to maintain as much global stability in the wake of that,” he also said.

Vance played a central role in the diplomatic effort that produced a memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran in June. The agreement established a ceasefire framework, called for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and set the stage for negotiations concerning Iran’s nuclear program and a broader end to the conflict.

Whether the coming months will bring intensified American military operations or further diplomatic progress remains uncertain. Trump has publicly said he expects the conflict to end after the November elections, while administration officials have continued pursuing pressure on Tehran.

Vance’s comments came days after Trump predicted that the war would end immediately following the midterm elections, saying Iran “can’t hold out any longer.” Trump also alleged that Tehran was attempting to prolong the conflict in hopes of affecting the U.S. elections.

“They’re desperate to try and affect the election so that we could get a nice, weak group of people in there and leave them alone and let them have their nuclear weapon.”

Trump said Monday that Iran was seeking an agreement with Washington and indicated that the United States remained willing to consider negotiations, while emphasizing that the decision on whether to proceed would ultimately be his.

“The failing Nation of Iran wants to make a deal, quickly and badly,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I will determine whether or not the U.S.A. will choose to engage – the concept of which we are open to.”