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Arad Mayor Yair Maayan ignited a major political and communal storm in a blunt radio interview in which he said the city has no interest in welcoming additional chassidic groups beyond the existing Gerer community, while also exposing what he described as severe anti-chareidi hostility within the city.

Speaking on the Bonim Atid program on Kol Chai Radio with hosts Chanoch Rapoport and Yisrael Melman, Maayan addressed Arad’s rapid development, tensions between different populations, and his long-term vision for the city. During the interview, he recounted disturbing incidents of hatred directed at chareidim. “Today someone sent me a message saying there are cockroaches everywhere,” he said. “I asked, where? He told me, no, I’m calling the religious people cockroaches. That’s horrific antisemitism. It’s a disgrace and a shame.”

Maayan, who was elected about two years ago, said he deliberately changed the city’s approach toward the Gerer community, the largest and most established chassidic group in Arad. He sharply criticized previous municipal leadership, accusing them of racism and illegal discrimination. “The prior administration acted with racism and unlawful discrimination and diverted funds away from chareidi education,” he charged. To address housing needs and reduce friction in mixed neighborhoods, Maayan announced plans for a new chareidi neighborhood comprising roughly 2,000 housing units.

Addressing claims surrounding a recent land tender won by developers identified with Ger, Maayan rejected allegations of improper coordination. “I assume that in the chassidus, many miracles happen,” he said sarcastically. “So it turned out that no one competed with anyone else over the same plot.”

Asked whether Arad plans to open its doors to additional chareidi communities, Maayan delivered his most controversial statement of the interview. “Here in Arad, we’re satisfied with Ger,” he said. “We don’t want any other chassidic groups here. Other communities should go to Kesif.”

Beyond the chareidi issue, Maayan outlined an ambitious plan to double Arad’s population to 50,000 residents within five years through large-scale residential construction involving thousands of housing units. He also announced plans for an advanced medical center in the city and said the government is expected to approve the construction of a new airport in the Negev region near Beit Kama as early as Sunday.

Maayan concluded the interview with a sharp message aimed at residents he accused of inciting hatred against chareidim. “People like that — antisemites — don’t belong living in the Land of Israel at all,” he said. “We hope their hatred will push them to leave the city and the country.”

{Matzav.com}

CENTCOM shares new footage from the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, sailing near Iran.

Trump on Greenland: Can you believe, They own a large piece of ice that we’re negotiating for. It’s the biggest piece of ice in the world. World’s largest piece of ice.”

President Donald Trump used his address at the 74th National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday morning to argue that his presidency has strengthened religion’s role in American public life, telling attendees that no previous president has done more for people of faith. Speaking to a packed audience at the Washington Hilton, Trump praised religious freedom, highlighted policy achievements, and accused Democrats of pushing faith to the margins.

Calling the event a cherished national custom, Trump told the crowd, “This is a beautiful American tradition, and it’s a true honor to be back,” noting that he has participated in the breakfast nearly every year.

He described the gathering as a rare pause from the demands of office, saying it offers a moment to reflect amid constant pressure, and quipped that he needs “all the help I can get.”

In remarks broadcast live on Newsmax, Trump declared that religion in the United States is experiencing a resurgence, saying it is “back now, hotter than ever before,” and credited his administration’s policies with bringing faith back into the public square.

While conceding personal imperfections, Trump said his record shows tangible achievements for religious Americans after what he described as years of being overlooked.

“I’ve done more for religion than any other president,” Trump said, arguing that many modern presidents have effectively “bailed out” on faith, opting for neutrality or even opposition.

He went further in his criticism of the opposition party, stating bluntly, “The Democrats are against [religion],” and questioned how “a person of faith can vote for a Democrat.”

As an example, Trump pointed to voter ID laws, which he said enjoy overwhelming support among Americans of all backgrounds, including religious voters.

Referring to polling data, he said support for such laws exceeds 90 percent and framed the requirement as basic common sense.

“When you go to the polls, you show who you are,” Trump said.

“They don’t want to approve it. Everyone’s trying to figure out why.”

He accused Democrats of blocking voter ID measures for political reasons, despite broad public backing.

Trump also used the speech to praise congressional Republicans, singling out House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana and GOP lawmakers for pushing conservative goals through a closely divided Congress.

Joking about placing late-night calls to persuade hesitant members, Trump said Republicans eventually come together and “always get there.”

Turning briefly to other topics, Trump cited achievements beyond religious policy, including rebuilding the military, expanding domestic energy production, and restoring American influence abroad.

He described the current economic climate as one of historic investment and momentum, calling it a “tremendous success.”

In closing, Trump thanked the bipartisan leaders of the National Prayer Breakfast and stressed the importance of keeping faith central to the nation’s character.

“We have a great country,” he said. “And when you put religion back where it belongs, everything else gets stronger.”

The National Prayer Breakfast, an annual Washington tradition, brings together elected officials, religious leaders, and public figures for reflection and prayer—an event Trump said continues to play a vital role in the country’s future.

{Matzav.com}

A Jewish woman who, as a young girl, refused to present flowers to Adolf Hitler during the opening ceremony of the Berlin Olympics has passed away at the age of 102. Mrs. Yocheved Gold a”h, sister of two prominent rabbonim from the Neuwirth family, passed away after a life that spanned Nazi Germany, the Holocaust era, and the entire history of the State of Israel.

Yocheved was 13 years old when she entered Berlin’s Olympic Stadium in August 1936 to watch the opening ceremony of the Games. Because she looked German, she was asked to join a group of children selected to hand flowers to Hitler, who had been appointed chancellor of Germany three years earlier. She refused.

“I saw him face to face and I was a little afraid,” she later recalled. “That I, a Jew, should give Hitler flowers? I refused.”

By the time of the 1936 Olympics, Germany under Hitler had already enacted sweeping legal discrimination against Jews, effectively pushing them out of public life. The passage of the Nuremberg Laws in 1935 stripped Jews of German citizenship, barred them from most professions, and isolated them socially and economically.

Yocheved was born in 1923 in the town of Halberstadt in central Germany. Her father, Rabbi Dr. Aharon Neuwirth, served as a rov and dayan in several communities, including Mainz, Halberstadt, Berlin, and Amsterdam. Her mother was Mrs. Sara Chaya Neuwirth.

In 1938, when Yocheved was about 15, she witnessed the destruction of shuls during Kristallnacht. A year later, at the age of 16, she fled to Haifa in Mandatory Palestine, leaving her parents behind in Europe.

She managed to maintain correspondence with her parents until the final year of World War II, when their letters suddenly stopped. “I was sure they had been killed,” she later said. Unexpectedly, her parents survived the war and the Holocaust.

According to Yocheved’s own testimony in interviews and accounts recorded in the sefer Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasa, written by her brother Hagaon Rav Yehoshua Neuwirth, her parents were saved through a series of extraordinary events. One such incident occurred when her father went to a pharmacy for treatment. Because it was Shabbos, he refrained from taking the medication that night. The substance later turned out to be rat poison.

Rav Yehoshua Neuwirth, who headed Yeshivas Chochmat Shlomo, was niftar in 2013. He was widely known as the author of the aformentioned Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah, a foundational and widely used work on the halachos of Shabbos.

Another brother, Rav Reuven Yosef Raphael Neuwirth, was renowned for running one of the most prominent free-loan funds in the chareidi world. He passed away nine months ago at the age of 94.

Yocheved spent the rest of her life in Israel. She was among the founding members of Kibbutz Sa’ad, located near the Gaza border. In 1942, she married Shmuel Gold, one of the kibbutz’s founders. He died in 1961 at the age of 40.

Over the course of decades, Yocheved worked in a wide range of administrative and organizational roles at the kibbutz. She was eventually appointed as the kibbutz nurse, despite lacking formal medical training, and held the position for approximately 40 years before retiring at age 69.

Remarkably, she lived through every major war fought by Israel since its founding, including the War of Independence and later conflicts in Gaza. On October 7, 2023, she spent 30 hours in a fortified safe room with her son during the Hamas attack. She was later evacuated to a hotel near the Dead Sea but insisted on returning home.

“I’m not willing to die in a hotel,” she told her family. “Take me back home. If I die, I will die there.”

She returned to Kibbutz Sa’ad at the age of 100. She passed away at 102, leaving behind children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.

Yehi zichrah boruch.

{Matzav.com}

On January 18, Jewish music history was made once again at A Time for Music 39, the most ambitious and influential stage in Jewish music. Outside, the air was icy and the roads slick. Inside NJPAC, the atmosphere was electric. Thousands filled the theater for a night of warmth, energy, and heart, while tens of […]

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday participated in a closed-door briefing of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. According to an Arutz Sheva report, during the discussion, Netanyahu revealed that on the morning of October 7, 2023, at 5:15 a.m., the Shin Bet issued an official document summarizing all of the warnings received overnight […]

The Pan American Health Organization, PAHO, issued a new epidemiological alert following a surge of measles cases across the Americas, with Mexico reporting the highest numbers. It also called for urgent vaccination campaigns, highlighting that 78% of recent cases involved unvaccinated people. The alert, announced on Wednesday, follows Canada’s loss of measles-free status in November […]

[COMMUNICATED]

Three kedoshei elyon had one common concept when it came to learning Torah – they were the Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh (Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar 1696-1743) when he came to Eretz Yisroel; the Ramchal (Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto 1707-1746) when he lived in Padua, Italy;  and Hagaon, Harav Chaim Volozhiner, (1749-1821) the famous talmid of the Gaon of Vilna.

They each had a yeshiva with ‘around-the-clock’ Torah learning, 24-hours a day, so that there would be no minute when the sound of Torah learning would not be heard in this world. The 24-hour period would be divided into shifts, and as one ended the next would begin.

Torah-24

A “Torah-24” Center has been opened in Yerushalayim and the Nasi is Maran Sar Hatorah, Harav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l.

Under ONE ROOF, from 6:00 am – 6:00 am, 10 kollelim fill successive learning shifts. Each kollel focuses on a specific area of in-depth Torah study. The “Torah-24” Kollelim include: Boker (Gemora), Yerushalmi, Bavli, Zeraim-Taharot, Dalet Chelkei Shulchan Aruch, Erev (Gemora), Chatzos- Zohar/Kabbolah, Erev Shabbos (Chumash / Medrash b’iyun). 

Already there are 52 avreichim metzuyonim, and a large number of candidates are vying for the remaining slots in the kollelim. All the avreichim are required to take rigorous monthly tests.

Endorsements & Letters

Endorsements include Maranan Hagaonim shlit”a: Harav Gershon Edelstein, Harav Berel Povarsky, Harav Shimon Badani, Harav Dovid Cohen, Harav Boruch Mordechai Ezrachi, Harav Chaim Feinstein, Harav Shimon Galai, Harav Shraga Shteinman.

Letters of support-encouragement have been received from Maranan Hagaonim, shlit”a: Hamekubal Harav David Bazri, Hamashpia Hagadol Reb Elimelech Biderman, Hamekubal Harav Yaakov Meir Schechter, Harav Moishe Sternbuch, Harav Yitzchak Tuvia Weiss.

For more “Torah-24” information click on: www.torah-24.com or call 718-766-5022

My wedding is approaching, and I’m missing even the basic necessities. Your help will let me walk to the chuppah with joy instead of fear. CLICK HERE TO DONATE.

A large crowd of chassidim and distinguished guests took part this week in the Chsunah of the granddaughter of the Spinka Rebbe, who married the grandson of HaGaon haRav Efraim Fishl Motzen, Av Beis Din of Kiryat Baal Shem Tov in Petach Tikvah. During the chuppah, the chosson’s uncle, the Sanzer Rebbe, was honored with […]

A moving discovery has come to light at the Satmar yeshiva in Komemiyus, revealing a poignant detail from the final hours of a 17-year-old bochur who was killed earlier this month in a tragic accident.

Naftali Tzvi Kramer z”l was struck and killed by a bus on the second day of Shevat near Komemiyus as he was returning with fellow talmidim from a protest opposing post-mortem examinations. In the hours before the accident, he approached the person responsible for the yeshiva otzar haseforim and asked that the otzar haseforim purchase a newly released sefer titled Shema Shlomo, a collection of teachings from Rav Shlomo of Karlin, who was killed al kiddush hashem.

The demonstration Naftali attended had been organized by members of the Badatz of the HaEdah HaChareidis following the horrific daycare tragedy in Yerushalayim in which two young children lost their lives. Talmidim from the yeshiva traveled to protest in defense of kavod hameis. As the group was returning to Komemiyus, a bus drove into them at high speed near the moshav. Naftali was killed at the scene, in front of his stunned friends.

The sefer Naftali had requested, Shema Shlomo, was recently republished in an expanded and elegant edition. It brings together the teachings, minhagim, and accounts of the life of Rav Shlomo Halevi of Karlin, one of the foremost disciples of the Maggid of Mezeritch and a foundational figure in the early Chassidic movement.

Rav Shlomo of Karlin himself was murdered al kiddush hashem on the 22nd of Tammuz in the year 1792, during the Polish-Russian war. A Cossack shot him through the window of a shul in Ludmir while he was wrapped in his tallis and deeply immersed in davening. He succumbed to his wounds several days later. Since then, he has been revered as a kadosh, and thousands visit his kever each year on the yahrtzeit.

Only after Naftali’s petirah did fellow talmidim learn of his quiet request to acquire the sefer. In retrospect, it took on an especially haunting meaning. Talmidim spoke emotionally of the striking parallel: a young man drawn, in his final hours, to the teachings of a tzaddik who gave his life for his faith, before himself being taken while returning from a protest conducted to defend the honor of the deceased.

The revelation sparked a powerful wave of chizuk throughout the yeshiva. Talmidim quickly fulfilled Naftali’s request, purchasing the sefer and placing it in the yeshiva otzar haseforim in his memory.

{Matzav.com}

Trump on Farmers: “The farmers are doing very well. We just handed them $12 billion out of tariff money. They don’t even want it. They just want to be treated fairly.”

Additional footage shows a U.S.-led coalition convoy following its withdrawal from the Al-Shaddadi base in northeastern Syria, reportedly heading toward Erbil in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region.

U.S. forces have begun pulling out of the Al-Shaddadi base in Syria’s northeastern Hasakah province, moving toward Erbil in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, an Iraqi security source told Qatari outlet Al-Araby TV. Syrian media report the convoy also includes buses transporting ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraq.

Investigators are set to give an update on the search for Nancy Guthrie — after searching her property and the home of her daughter.

CNN: “New data shows January was the lowest months for job cuts since the 2009 Great Recession … layoffs way up, hiring ways down. During the month of January, US-based employers announced just over 108,000 layoffs. That’s roughly double January 2025. In fact, this is the highest since January 2009.”

TRUMP: “I never get a fair break from the fake news, which is back there. That’s a lot of fake news. Last time I was having a lot of fun, we had 60,000 people and I’m talking about the fact I will never make it to heaven. I was being funny … I really think […]

Iranian IRGC terrorists claim they have captured two oil tankers in the Persian Gulf carrying around 1 million liters of diesel fuel.

What is being described as an “urgent asifah” will take place today at Bais Medrash Govoah in Lakewood, NJ to address the challenges posed by AI, or artificial intelligence.

Signs posted at the yeshiva call the gathering an “asifa nechutzah (urgent gathering) and kinnus chizuk.”

The gathering will be addressed by Rav Malkiel Kotler; Rav Dovid Breslauer, rosh kollel at Yeshivas Zichron Moshe of South Fallsburg; and Rav Efraim Glassman, menahel at Mesivta Torah Vodaas in Brooklyn.

The asifah is scheduled to take place at 6:15 p.m. at the Beren Dining Room of the yeshiva.

{Bais Medrash Govoah}