Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Tuesday leveled strong criticism at Israel, accusing Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s government of pushing the country into further isolation after it revoked visas for Australian envoys assigned to the Palestinian Authority.
The action followed Canberra’s refusal to grant entry to right-wing Israeli lawmaker Simcha Rothman as well as former Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked. The visa rejections came just after Australia revealed its plans to move ahead with official recognition of a Palestinian state next month.
Senator Wong denounced Israel’s move as “an unjustified reaction” and argued, “At a time when dialogue and diplomacy are needed more than ever, the Netanyahu government is isolating Israel and undermining international efforts towards peace and a two-state solution.”
On Monday, Australia barred Rothman a day before he was slated to appear at programs with the Jewish community. Interior Minister Tony Burke explained the decision, saying, “If you come here to spread hatred and division, we do not want you.” He noted that Rothman may reapply for entry after three years and emphasized the government’s commitment to keeping Australia a place where every individual feels secure.
The denials have ignited debate within Australia, where opponents of the move accused the governing Labor Party of taking a softer approach toward Hamas sympathizers while blocking an Israeli parliament member. Authorities pointed to Rothman’s outspoken rejection of a Palestinian state, his calls to impose Israeli sovereignty across the West Bank, and his declaration that “Hamas must be destroyed” as grounds that his presence might provoke unrest among Australia’s Muslim population.
Other Israelis have faced similar treatment. Both Shaked and Israeli-American activist Hillel Fuld were denied entry in recent weeks. Shaked explained that her visit was to take part in a policy forum hosted by AIJAC but that she was refused entry “simply because of my opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian terror state.” She called the ruling “clear evidence of bias and hostility toward Israel.”
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that his government would seek recognition of a Palestinian state at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly. Israel’s ambassador in Canberra, Amir Maimon, said the decision was taken under mounting international pressure, aligning Australia with countries such as France, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
Senator Wong reiterated that Australia remains committed to working alongside global partners to promote a two-state outcome, to advance a ceasefire in Gaza, and to press for the release of hostages. “Australia welcomes different races, religions and views, united by respect for each other’s humanity and right to live in peace,” she said.
{Matzav.com}
A radical activist group announced plans Monday for a vigil invoking one of New York City’s darkest episodes of racial and antisemitic violence – the deadly 1991 Crown Heights riots. The group, calling itself Crown Heights Bites Back, issued a statement accusing Chabad-Lubavitch of “brutally killing” Gavin Cato, a 7-year-old boy who died in a car accident in 1991 involving the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s motorcade. The group called the incident as “vehicular manslaughter by a motorcade of Jewish supremacists” and demanded “justice” for Cato. The crash, which also injured Cato’s cousin, ignited days of rioting in which mobs targeted Jewish residents, looted businesses, and murdered Yankel Rosenbaum, a 29-year-old Lubavitch chossid. The vigil is set for Tuesday at Utica Avenue and President Street, just blocks from Chabad headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway — the same intersection where the 1991 accident occurred. “They are attempting to reignite tensions by exploiting the tragic car accident that claimed the life of Gavin Cato — an event that led to the Crown Heights riots and the antisemitic murder of Yankel Rosenbaum,” the Jewish Future Alliance, a neighborhood advocacy group, warned in a statement. “This is a dangerous pattern,” the group added. “While this fringe minority may not represent the broader community, history has shown that rhetoric like this fuels hatred and leads to real violence. It must be unequivocally condemned.” The planned vigil comes amid a series of recent flare-ups in the neighborhood. In April, Crown Heights Bites Back staged a protest that featured explicitly racial messaging, with speakers invoking the 1991 riots and accusing Jews of running over Black children. That demonstration followed a string of tensions, including a widely circulated video of a street altercation between a Jewish man and a Black man in a wheelchair, and a visit by far-right Israeli politician Itamar Ben Gvir that drew anti-Israel demonstrators to Chabad’s headquarters. The NYPD said it is aware of Tuesday’s planned vigil. Jewish leaders are urging officials to ensure that hate-fueled rhetoric does not spill over into violence once again. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Israeli authorities on Monday lifted a years-long gag order shielding the identity of the man behind one of the most terrifying waves of bomb threats ever directed at Jewish communities worldwide. The suspect — long known internationally but never named in Israel — is 27-year-old Michael Kadar, an Israeli-American now fighting extradition from Norway to the United States. Kadar, dubbed the “hacker from Ashkelon,” admitted to placing nearly 2,000 fake bomb threats between 2016 and 2017. His calls targeted Jewish community centers, schools, hospitals, airlines, airports, shopping malls and police stations across the United States and other countries. The threats sparked chaos: fighter jets were scrambled, passenger planes dumped fuel and made emergency landings, schools were evacuated, and parents of Jewish children lived in terror of mass attacks. Authorities say Kadar’s campaign of intimidation extended across continents, from the U.S. and Canada to the U.K., Australia and New Zealand. His digital trail also led to AlphaBay, a now-defunct online black market, where prosecutors say he advertised a “School Email Bomb Threat Service” for $30 per threat, offering surcharges if clients wanted him to frame someone else. Court documents describe chilling threats in which Kadar allegedly claimed to be holding children hostage and threatened to execute them. U.S. officials say his conduct fits squarely within hate crimes statutes. The U.S. Justice Department has indicated Kadar could face decades in prison: up to 20 years for each hate crime charge, 10 years for each bomb threat, and five years for cyberstalking and hoax charges. Kadar was sentenced in 2018 by an Israeli court to 10 years in prison, later commuted to seven, after pleading guilty to hundreds of counts including extortion, spreading panic, computer crimes and money laundering. He was also fined 60,000 shekels. His name, however, remained under gag order in Israel due to his status as a minor at the time of some offenses — even as U.S. prosecutors and international media published it freely. The Tel Aviv District Court’s decision Monday finally removed that protection. It also allowed publication of details about his medical history. His family and defense attorney, Nir Yaslovitzh, pressed for disclosure, arguing that his health — including autism and a brain tumor — is central to his defense. Since completing his Israeli sentence in 2024, Kadar has been living in Norway with his family, where he sought asylum. Norwegian authorities denied the claim and detained him on the U.S. extradition request. His mental health has reportedly deteriorated in custody, with Ynet reporting fears he could be declared insane. Israel’s Foreign Ministry has quietly raised concerns with Oslo about his wellbeing, citing his history of repeated suicide attempts during his time in Israeli prison. His parents maintain that he never understood the gravity of his actions, believing the threats were a “game.” Prosecutors, however, say that whatever his medical conditions, Kadar’s actions were devastating. His bomb threats paralyzed institutions central to Jewish communal life, at a time of rising antisemitism worldwide. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
At a confidential session of the Supreme Court reviewing a petition against National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s move to block Red Cross representatives from visiting incarcerated Nukhba Force terrorists, the judges delivered sharp criticism of the government’s stance.
Supreme Court President Yitzchok Amit remarked during the proceedings: “At the moment, what’s being seen in the world is that Israel’s prisons are Guantanamo. This is what is being reported to the world: there is starvation, dozens of prisoners are dying; literally the Israeli Guantanamo, and you’re putting us, the court, in the forefront.”
Justice Dafna Barak-Erez voiced further concerns, saying: “The families of terrorists don’t know that they’re in prison, they are ‘prisoner X.’ Indeed, they did terrible things, but to not know that they are in Israel? Even in the most difficult times, there weren’t such things. Habeas corpus demands the release of information, and [Israel] always followed this. Suddenly, no information is being released.”
Later in the hearing, Justice Barak-Erez turned to the head of the Israel Prisons Service Intelligence Directorate and pressed him with a pointed question: “Is your organization so weak that it can’t deal with just one American Red Cross representative?”
In response, the Intelligence Directorate explained: “The terrorists in the prisons are talking about this hearing and are hoping that you allow the Red Cross to visit them.”
{Matzav.com}
Air Canada said Tuesday it will gradually restart operations after reaching an agreement with the union for 10,000 flight attendants to end a strike that disrupted the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of travelers. The union first announced the agreement early Tuesday after Air Canada and the union resumed talks late Monday for the first time since the strike began over the weekend. The strike is affecting about 130,000 travelers a day at the peak of the summer travel season. Canada’s largest airline said flights will start resuming Tuesday evening. Flight attendants walked off the job early Saturday after turning down the airline’s request to enter into government-directed arbitration, which allows a third-party mediator to decide the terms of a new contract. The union said the agreement will guarantee members pay for work performed while planes are on the ground, resolving one of the major issues that drove the strike. “Unpaid work is over. We have reclaimed our voice and our power,” the union said in a statement. “When our rights were taken away, we stood strong, we fought back — and we secured a tentative agreement that our members can vote on.” Chief executive Michael Rousseau said restarting a major carrier is a complex undertaking and said regular service may require seven to 10 days. Some flights will be canceled until the schedule is stabilized. “Full restoration may require a week or more, so we ask for our customers’ patience and understanding over the coming days,” Rousseau said in a statement. The two sides reached the deal with the help of a mediator early Tuesday morning. The airline said mediation discussions “were begun on the basis that the union commit to have the airline’s 10,000 flight attendants immediately return to work.” Air Canada declined to comment further on the agreement until the ratification process is complete. It noted a strike or lockout is not possible during this time. Earlier, Air Canada said rolling cancellations would now extend through Tuesday afternoon after the union defied a second return-to-work order. The Canada Industrial Relations Board had declared the strike illegal Monday and ordered the flight attendants back on the job. But the union said it would defy the directive. Union leaders also ignored a weekend order to submit to binding arbitration and end the strike by Sunday afternoon. The board is an independent administrative tribunal that interprets and applies Canada’s labor laws. The government ordered the board to intervene. Labor leaders objected to the Canadian government’s repeated use of a law that cuts off workers’ right to strike and forces them into arbitration, a step the government took in recent years with workers at ports, railways and elsewhere. “Your right to vote on your wages was preserved,” the union said in a post on its website. Air Canada operates around 700 flights per day. The airline estimated Monday that 500,000 customers would be affected by flight cancellations. Aviation analytics firm Cirium said that as of Monday afternoon, Air Canada had called off at least 1,219 domestic flights and 1,339 international flights since last Thursday, when the carrier began gradually suspending its operations ahead of the strike and lockout that began early Saturday. Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, Canada’s largest, said it will deploy additional staff to assist passengers and support startup […]
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar sent a letter this week to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio conveying Israel’s official position regarding the UNIFIL force in southern Lebanon. The UNIFIL force, whose mandate expires in August, was established to enforce UN resolutions in Lebanon and prevent Hezbollah from arming itself after the Second Lebanon War. Sa’ar’s letter states that Israel’s position is to end UNIFIL’s mandate immediately. Alternatively, if a transition period is required, the mandate can be extended for a limited period of six months to a year to allow for an orderly dismantling of the force. However, Saar emphasizes that its operations should not continue beyond that. The minister added that this timeframe will suffice for the redeployment of Lebanese army forces in the south of the country and the organized evacuation of UNIFIL positions. During the transition period, UNIFIL will focus on specific tasks only, such as assisting in the removal of explosives and mines, training the Lebanese army in various fields, and the orderly evacuation of the organization’s positions. Saar notes that the window of opportunity created after the last war and the weakening of Hezbollah makes it possible to advance two main goals: disarming Hezbollah and assisting the Lebanese army in gaining full control of its territory. Saar wrote that UNIFIL has been operating in the area for 47 years and that its original purpose, as reflected in its name “United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon,” was intended to be a temporary presence only. Saar’s appeal comes ahead of expected discussions in the UN Security Council on renewing UNIFIL’s mandate and following lengthy discussions in Israel’s political and security establishment. Saar is expected to meet with Rubio, who also serves as the U.S. National Security Advisor, during his visit to Washington next week. There are about 10,000 UNIFIL peacekeepers in southern Lebanon. while the official Lebanese army has only about 6,000 soldiers. Sarit Zehavi, a former Israeli military intelligence analyst and founder of the Israeli think tank Alma Research and Education Center, told the Associated Press that UNIFIL has played a “damaging role with regard to the mission of disarming Hezbollah in south Lebanon.” She noted the discovery of Hezbollah tunnels and weapons caches close to UNIFIL facilities during and after last year’s Israel-Hezbollah war. U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said UNIFIL continues to discover unauthorized weapons, including rocket launchers, mortar rounds and bomb fuses, this week, which it reported to the Lebanese army. (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
A Jewish family came under a vicious antisemitic attack in Vienna on Monday amid a wave of spiraling antisemitic attacks in Austria, in Europe, and throughout the world in recent months. According to local media reports, a couple, their two children, ages 10 and 13, and a 75-year-old relative ordered an Uber ride. In the course of the ride, the Uber driver realized that some of the passengers were Israeli and started shouting and calling them “murderers” and “child murderers.” The driver then said that he was “not interested in driving child murderers” and stopped the car on the side of the road and forced the family out of the car. He also got out of the car and continued to verbally assault the family, and even physically attacked the father. The family contacted the IKG Vienna’s Reporting Centre for Antisemitism, which helped them file a police complaint. IKG President Oskar Deutsch said that that attack was not an isolated incident, saying that Jews in Austria are often subjected to insults, and this is “often legitimized.” “If decisive action isn’t taken against this by politicians and the rule of law, as well as by civil society—by individual activists on the streets or in social media, in editorial offices and by cultural workers, by teachers and others in our society—then there will soon be no place left for Jews in Europe. No, that’s not an exaggeration. We’ve reached the tip of the iceberg.” B’Chadrei Chareidim reported another recent antisemitic incident in Vienna that happened to a Jewish couple walking on the street on the way home from the Great Synagogue on Friday night. Two men suddenly approached them and shouted a stream of curses into the husband’s ear. Avi, the man who was attacked, told B’Chadrei that he and his wife were very frightened: “Two antisemites are standing in front of me screaming ‘Free Palestine,”Free Gaza,’ and ‘To hell with Israel,’ and more curses. Luckily, his friend grabbed him seconds before he physically assaulted us.” “I don’t know if they were locals or immigrants; we didn’t notice. It was very stressful, and if his friend hadn’t stopped him, it would have ended in a physical assault.” (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
A federal judge in Miami issued a split decision in a lawsuit over the legal rights of detainees at the immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” dismissing part of the suit and also moving the case to a different jurisdiction. U.S. District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz issued the decision late Monday, writing in a 47-page ruling that claims the detainees at the facility don’t have confidential access to their lawyers or to hearings in immigration court were rendered moot when the Trump administration recently designated the Krome North Processing Center near Miami as a site for their cases to be heard. The judge heard arguments from both sides in a hearing earlier Monday in Miami. Civil rights civil rights attorneys were seeking a preliminary injunction to ensure detainees at the facility have access to their lawyers and can get a hearing. The state and federal government had argued that even though the isolated airstrip where the facility is located is owned by Miami-Dade County, Florida’s southern district was the wrong venue since the detention center is located in neighboring Collier County, which is in the state’s middle district. Judge Ruiz had hinted during a hearing last week that he had some concerns over which jurisdiction was appropriate. “Much has changed since the complaint’s filing,” Ruiz wrote. Six of the plaintiffs have met with lawyers through videoconference, though they claimed the conferences are not confidential since they are not in an enclosed room and staff is close by and in listening proximity to the detainees. A subset of detainees alleged they are eligible for bond hearings and their lawyers have been “unable to access — yet alone identify — the proper court for those hearings.” But Ruiz noted the facts in the case changed Saturday, when the Trump administration designated the Krome facility as the immigration court with jurisdiction over all detainees at the detention center. Ruiz wrote that the case has “a tortured procedural history” since it was filed July 16, weeks after the first group of detainees arrived at the facility. “Nearly every aspect of the Plaintiffs’ civil action — their causes of action, their facts in support, their theories of venue, their arguments on the merits and their requests for relief — have changed with each filing,” the judge wrote. The judge granted the state defendants change of venue motion to the Middle District of Florida, where the remaining claims of First Amendment violations will be addressed. The state and federal government defendants made an identical argument last week about jurisdiction for a second lawsuit in which environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe sued to stop further construction and operations at the Everglades detention center until it’s in compliance with federal environmental laws. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami on Aug. 7 ordered a 14-day halt on additional construction at the site while witnesses testified at a hearing that wrapped up last week. She has said she plans to issue a ruling before the order expires later this week. She had yet to rule on the venue question. (AP)
Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer recently made a secret visit to the United Arab Emirates, Kan News reported on Tuesday morning. According to the report, Demer was accompanied by a high-level delegation. The senior Israeli officials met with their Emirati counterparts and discussed the war in Gaza, a possible hostage release deal, security issues and diplomatic ties. In response to a Kan inquiry, Dermer’s office responded, “We have no comment.” Israeli media reported last week that Dermer intends to retire from politics before the next election. (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
Another yeshiva bochur was arrested by the military police overnight Monday for the crime of limmud Torah at his home in Or Yehuda, a city in central Israel. Military police arrived at his home at about 1:45 am, arrested him in front of his shocked parents, and immediately transferred him to military prison. The bochur, Daniel Yasipov, 23, a talmid at the Nezer Yisrael Yeshiva in Modi’in Illit, stems from a mesorati (traditional) family, and after he grew closer to Yiddishkeit on his own, began learning in yeshivah. Since joining the yeshivah world, he submitted his army deferments in accordance with the law, only stopping in recent months at the instructions of the Gedolei HaDor. Anger is growing among Chareidi askanim over the wave of arrests in recent weeks. “This is a targeted hunt for bnei yeshivos, aimed at creating an atmosphere of rare enforcement specifically during a sensitive period of discussions surrounding the conscription law,” one source told B’Chadrei Chareidim. Senior Chareidi officials added that the arrests, carried out in the middle of the night, “are intended to create intimidation and public pressure.” Kikar H’Shabbat reported that all the bnei yeshivos arrested for “draft-dodging” (and even those whom the IDF attempted to arrest but were unsuccessful) in recent weeks are Sephardi, ba’alei teshuvah, or geirim. A senior source close to one of the senior Rabbanim affiliated with Shas claimed to Kikar, “This is a deliberate move by the IDF. They are afraid to deal with the Litvaks and chassidim—they’re afraid that there will be a huge commotion there—so they come to the ‘weak,’ to our talmidei yeshivos and ba’alei teshuva. It’s a disgrace that must be dealt with.” “We are, of course, against the arrest of any talmid yeshiva—anyone who sits and learns Torah should be allowed to learn without any disturbance—but it is unacceptable that an enforcement operation is directed only at our community. This is unforgivable.” On the other hand, sources in the IDF claimed in a conversation with Kikar that these are general arrest operations and are not directed at Sephardim and ba’alei teshuva. “The operations are being carried out in non-Chareidi areas, so naturally, in the mixed areas there are more Sephardim and ba’alei teshuva,” they said. (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
Sacred and rare. A halachic ruling concerning inheritance and the appointment of guardians for orphans, issued in the Beis Din of the renowned gaon, “the father of hora’ah upon whom all of Klal Yisrael relies”, Rabbi Yosef Teumim, author of Pri Megadim, signed with his holy handwritten signature.
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Sacred and rare. A halachic ruling concerning inheritance and the appointment of guardians for orphans, issued in the Beis Din of the renowned gaon, “the father of hora’ah upon whom all of Klal Yisrael relies”, Rabbi Yosef Teumim, author of Pri Megadim, signed with his holy handwritten signature.
Former minister Meir Porush addressed the political turmoil surrounding the failure to pass the draft law for bnei yeshivos, insisting that when his own actions are judged, “if I stand before the Heavenly Court, I have what to answer.” At the same time, he placed part of the responsibility on other chareidi politicians, noting that “not always can a public official do everything he thinks should be done, because it has very broad consequences.”
Porush’s comments came during a conversation at his protest tent outside the office of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara in Yerushalayim, where he has set up a makeshift office.
When asked directly whether he believed the chareidi politicians had failed in advancing the draft law, Porush responded: “First of all, it’s not a draft law, it’s a law to regulate the status of yeshiva students. As for myself, if I stand before the Heavenly Court, I have what to answer about what I did and what I thought should be done. A public official cannot always act exactly as he wants because it has very wide implications. But if it had been handled differently, maybe we would be in another place today.”
The veteran politician also referred to the arrests of yeshiva students for learning Torah: “Now is not the time to argue about what was, how it was, who’s at fault, and what was done. My hope is that now, if we all stand together in the difficult battle before us, then even though in human terms I don’t see how this is resolved, if we show resolve, do not surrender, and certainly do not blink, perhaps something good will emerge.”
Porush was then asked if the rift between the chareidi public and the state has ever been this deep. He answered: “I don’t remember that chareidi Jewry, in the 77 years since the state was founded, has ever endured such a blow, such a crisis, regarding life itself and our way of life. We’ve never had anything like this.”
Addressing why the chareidim continue to align themselves with the right-wing bloc, Porush explained: “If you measure it by our absolute alliance with the right, understand that we lived 25 years in the opposition with the left because we could not get close to them. Only when Likud came along did Gedolei Yisroel agree to form a coalition.”
He added: “You need to know that on the left there are all sorts of wicked people that we are ashamed to stand next to. Their agenda from the outset includes public Shabbos desecration and other matters forbidden by the Torah. So I am not seeking connections with them. But I will say I am very disappointed there is no law regulating the status of yeshiva students. Let’s hope that perhaps now we can bring this to a positive conclusion.”
Just a week and a half ago, Porush, who is the chairman of Shlomei Emunim, gave a fiery interview from his protest encampment outside the Attorney General’s office in Yerushalayim, where he announced a hunger strike.
“I’m not entering into an argument with her,” Porush said of Baharav-Miara. “She says there should be 35% of the chareidi public serving in the army. That’s her judgment. Out of the 84,000 who received draft notices, how many showed up? Not one. That means they want a fight with the chareidi public. Let the attorney general admit that she erred in her judgment.”
Porush went on to argue: “There’s no law automatically exempting Arabs, yet the draft office doesn’t call them up. Why doesn’t she use her authority there?”
He then issued a warning about what could happen if yeshiva students continue to be arrested: “You are talking about tens of thousands of believers for whom Torah is life itself. I don’t see any state that can cope with hundreds of thousands of citizens who are devoted to a way of life and the state tries to crush them. The state will collapse, it will become dysfunctional, and people will not be able to live this way. You cannot go to war with a million and a quarter chareidi citizens who want to live a certain lifestyle. It’s impossible.”
Porush cautioned that the crisis could spiral out of control: “This will develop and swell, and no one will be able to stop it. Maybe now something can still be done, but later? It will be too late. The message will be clear: people will begin to be afraid. No one will be able to take responsibility for what might happen when fathers see their sons being arrested. You can’t predict what will happen here. You saw how the Kaplan protesters could disrupt when they wanted to. Here too, we could disrupt.”
{Matzav.com Israel}
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., sharply criticized President Donald Trump on Monday over his push to eliminate mail-in voting in U.S. elections.
“Two facts: Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, and vote by mail is safe, secure, and reliable,” Schumer said in a statement. “Let’s be clear — this is not based in fact or reality, but it is yet another way for Trump to silence Americans from using their voice in the democratic process and implement Jim Crow laws across America.”
Schumer added that “Senate Democrats will make sure that any and every measure that would make it even more difficult for Americans to vote will be dead on arrival in the Senate and will continue to fight to protect our democracy.”
Earlier in the day, Trump declared that he intends to “lead a movement” to abolish mail-in ballots and issue an executive order “to help bring honesty” to the upcoming midterm elections, acknowledging that his efforts “will be strongly opposed by Democrats.”
“I am going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS, and also, while we’re at it, Highly ‘Inaccurate,’ Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial VOTING MACHINES, which cost Ten Times more than accurate and sophisticated Watermark Paper, which is faster, and leaves NO DOUBT, at the end of the evening, as to who WON, and who LOST, the Election,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “With their HORRIBLE Radical Left policies, like Open Borders, Men Playing in Women’s Sports, Transgender and ‘WOKE’ for everyone, and so much more, Democrats are virtually Unelectable without using this completely disproven Mail-In SCAM.”
Trump also argued that other nations have abandoned mail-in voting because of what he called “massive voter fraud.” He added that states should follow the president’s example “for the good of the country.”
{Matzav.com}
Former Israel Sefardic Chief Rabbi and nosi of Shas’s Moetzet Chachmei Hatorah, Rav Yitzchak Yosef, held a meeting on Monday with Baruch Yitzchakov, a yeshiva bochur who was recently released from military prison after refusing IDF service.
During the conversation, Rav Yosef sharply criticized Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu for past remarks about his father, Rav Ovadia Yosef zt”l. “Netanyahu is chutzpadik. He said my father was a politician after my father told him he was sorry about the plight of the yeshiva bochurim. How can he belittle him like that?” Rav Yosef asked.
Turning to Yitzchakov directly, the Chief Rabbi gave him clear guidance. “Get a deferment. Torah is above everything. Do everything you can to be freed from this, but at the same time, strengthen yourself to become greater in Torah, with more diligence.”
Rav Yosef also recalled a personal incident from his own youth, when a Knesset query was submitted by Shulamit Aloni over his receiving a teaching stipend at Yeshivas Olam Va’ed despite his student status.
He described how then-Defense Minister Moshe Dayan came to his father, who was serving as Chief Rabbi at the time, seeking clarification. “My father said he would look into it. I took a paper from the Vaad Hayeshivos confirming that I was a yeshiva student, and Moshe Dayan read it aloud in the Knesset. That was the end of it. If I had been afraid, I would have gone to the army. What would I have become? The Chief Rabbi of the IDF? Chas v’shalom. There is nothing like Torah.”
{Matzav.com Israel}
A day after Yisrael Hayom reported that Israel is considering closing the French consulate in Jerusalem in response to France’s move to recognize a Palestinian state, the French Foreign Ministry denied the reports and claimed that it was unaware of any intention by Israel to advance the move. “We have not received any notification from the Israeli authorities about such a step, which would particularly harm our bilateral relations and provoke a strong response,” a spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry said. The French consulate, located near the Old City of Jerusalem, also provides services to Palestinians and maintains contact with the Palestinian Authority. Yisrael Hayom reported on Sunday evening that during Sunday morning’s cabinet meeting, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar recommended to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to close the French Consulate in Jerusalem in response to France’s move to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state. During the meeting, Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli demanded that Israel respond harshly to France, saying, “Macron’s move caused severe harm to the hostages and Israel, and no statement from us on the matter is sufficient. Drastic measures are required against France, primarily the nationalization of its assets in Jerusalem, and first and foremost the closure of the consulate.” Sa’ar responded by confirming that the closure of the consulate is under review and he had recommended that Netanyahu advance the move. According to the report, Netanyahu seemed to be in favor of the move. An official decision on the matter is expected soon. (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
China declared on Monday that it is prepared to make every possible effort to achieve a peaceful “reunification” with Taiwan, according to a statement from its foreign ministry. The remarks came in response to comments made by President Donald Trump during a recent interview.
In an interview with Fox News on Friday, Trump revealed that Chinese President Xi Jinping had assured him in a phone call that China would not move against Taiwan while Trump is in office.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters at a regular press conference that China would not permit “anyone or any force to separate Taiwan from China in any way.”
{Matzav.com}
The Saudi-based channel al-Hadath reported Monday evening that Israeli military operations in Gaza are pressing forward despite the ongoing talks with Hamas.
According to their coverage, Israeli tanks have been moving toward the Sabara district of Gaza City, advancing under the protection of air support.
Meanwhile, Hamas’s so-called “Ministry of Health” issued a statement to Arab outlets alleging that 20 Palestinians had been killed in the Gaza Strip since midnight.
Israel’s determination to secure full control of Gaza City was cited as the reason Hamas gave a favorable reply to the proposal from Qatari and Egyptian mediators for a partial agreement on hostages.
Earlier in the day, President Trump expressed his backing for Israel’s strategy, stating that “we will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed.”
{Matzav.com}
An Israeli official clarified this evening, after reports surfaced that Hamas had agreed to a ceasefire framework, that Israel’s stance regarding the release of all hostages has not shifted.
According to details of the arrangement Hamas is said to have accepted, the group would hand over 10 living hostages along with the remains of 18 murdered hostages. In exchange, Israel would free 140 terrorists serving life terms and another 60 prisoners serving lengthy sentences of 15 years or more.
If this outline is correct, it would mean that 10 of the captives would still remain in Gaza under Hamas’s control.
The Israeli source emphasized that Israel’s conditions for ending the conflict have not been altered, stressing that all 50 hostages still held in Gaza must be released as part of any agreement.
Reports from Arab media indicate that the proposal also calls for the IDF to pull back as far as one kilometer in northern and eastern sections of Gaza, though not from Al-Shujaiya or Beit Lahia. Adjustments to the positioning of Israeli forces in those areas would also take place. Additionally, the plan allows for a large-scale entry of humanitarian supplies once the deal goes into effect, consistent with the January 19 agreement. The assistance package would include fuel, water, electricity, medical and bakery equipment, and machinery for clearing rubble.
Further details note that the distribution of aid would be managed by the UN and its affiliates, the Red Crescent, and other international organizations. The Rafah border crossing would reopen in both directions under prior terms. Moreover, the arrangement specifies that for each Israeli hostage’s body returned, the remains of 10 terrorists would be transferred to the Palestinian side.
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Matzav.com}
It started with a phone call. In January 2022, a young bochur in shidduchim reached out. He wasn’t looking for a shadchan—he already had suggestions. What he didn’t have was clarity. Where should he take a girl for a first date? How should the evening be planned so it’s appropriate yet pleasant? How do you avoid the awkwardness of not knowing what’s expected? That one call turned into dozens. Then hundreds. It quickly became clear: the practical side of dating was being overlooked. So, we launched the Dating Resources Network—a simple hotline where bochurim could get hadrachah for planning dates, advice on what’s appropriate, and help thinking through the details. Today, that hotline supports and coaches bochurim through more than 4,000 dates every single year—offering guidance, reassurance, and practical direction at a stage when many feel lost. But the calls also revealed another challenge. Sometimes, a bochur knew exactly where he wanted to go—he just didn’t have the tools to make the date run smoothly. A Waze device for navigation, an umbrella for a rainy night, a board game for a relaxed activity—small things that can make a big difference. We began stocking a few shelves and boxes with these items. Today, those shelves have grown into 16 dating gemach locations across the country, accessed over 20,000 times a year. But then, a deeper issue emerged. Parents began to reach out. Shadchanim quietly shared that promising suggestions weren’t moving forward. The reason? Money. By the time you factor in a car rental, tolls, gas, and parking, a first date can easily cost over $165. And that’s before you calculate the costs of activities and dining on later dates. Multiply that across several dates, and for many families—especially those already managing tight budgets—the expense was simply out of reach. Dates were being improperly planned, others were too busy calculating costs to properly focus on the actual date, and yet others were simply not giving yeses at all. That’s when we launched our Financial Aid Program—a discreet, dignified way to ensure that no one is held back from building a future because of money. Every application is carefully reviewed by rabbanim, and once approved, the bochur receives direct support to cover his dating expenses. To ensure every penny is well spent, we set clear maximum reimbursement amounts—no open checks. In just the past year, over $240,000 has been distributed—quietly enabling hundreds of young men to date without shame or hesitation. And remarkably, the entire initiative is 100% volunteer-run. We have no payroll, no salaries—every dollar donated goes directly to helping bochurim move forward. It’s quiet work. No headlines. No fanfare. But week after week, more couples begin their journey that might never have happened without a small amount of guidance—and a little bit of help. Partner with us today in writing the future of Klal Yisrael one date at a time. CLICK HERE and Donate Now
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