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Degel HaTorah chairman MK Moshe Gafni charged Thursday that senior Finance Ministry officials had repeatedly threatened to withhold funding from yeshivos and the olam haTorah in an effort to pressure him into abandoning his support for Israel’s regional councils and agricultural sector.

Gafni leveled the accusation during a gathering of regional council heads and political party leaders at the Regional Government Center, where he stressed that he has consistently backed local authorities and agricultural communities, including on occasions when their interests conflicted with positions taken by Finance Ministry officials.

Addressing those gathered, Gafni rejected any suggestion that his political decisions were dictated exclusively by the interests of the Chareidi community and said he had faced direct pressure because of positions he took on behalf of other sectors.

“I have never been bought off by sectoral interests, and make no mistake about that,” Gafni declared. “There were many times when Finance Ministry officials directly threatened me that if I supported the regional councils, agriculture, and issues important to you, they would freeze funding for yeshivas and the Torah world.”

Gafni said those threats did not cause him to change course and vowed that similar pressure would not influence his decisions going forward.

“I stood up to them. I did not give in then, and no one should think I will give in in the future.”

The veteran Degel HaTorah leader went on to describe the strengthening of Israel’s peripheral communities and agricultural sector as an important national priority, pledging to continue advocating for the regional councils.

“I have always supported you and will continue to help you with all my strength. The regional councils and Israeli agriculture are a critical and central pillar of the State of Israel’s resilience.”

Looking ahead to the government that will be formed following the upcoming elections, Gafni said regional authorities should receive greater attention and resources, including reforms designed to give local councils the ability to properly carry out their responsibilities.

“The next government to be formed will need to prioritize strengthening regional government, and advance genuine reforms that provide the councils with all the tools and resources they need to function, and I will be there to make sure that happens.”

FBI Director Kash Patel has sharply expanded the bureau’s efforts to capture fugitives overseas and return them to the United States, with the agency carrying out 157 extraditions and 86 foreign transfers of custody during Patel’s first 18 months in charge.

FBI figures obtained by Fox News Digital show that Patel personally made 100 calls to international partners during that period as part of the push to strengthen cooperation with foreign governments. By comparison, his predecessor, Christopher Wray, made nine such calls during the final 18 months of the Biden administration.

The FBI said extraditions have risen 65% compared with the final 18 months of the Biden administration. Foreign transfers of custody, known as FTOCs, increased by 54%. Such transfers involve suspects or fugitives apprehended outside the United States and subsequently placed in American custody.

Patel credited the increased activity to closer relationships between the Trump administration and foreign governments, as well as cooperation between the FBI and Justice Department.

“When I became FBI Director, I made clear that we would relentlessly manhunt high-value targets from overseas, and we’ve delivered,” FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News Digital. “It’s a direct result of President [Donald] Trump’s relationships with foreign governments, which allow us to work in spaces where we were never permitted to before — and Attorney General Todd Blanche’s leadership giving us the legal tools we need to return these subjects back to America to face charges.”

“These targets are literally the worst of the worst and we will give them no sanctuary,” Patel added.

One of the most recent high-profile cases involved Alexis Flores, a Honduran national who had previously appeared on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. Flores was extradited to Philadelphia on Monday after spending approximately 25 years on the run in connection with the alleged rape and murder of a 5-year-old girl.

Flores was arrested in Honduras in February, and authorities there subsequently approved his extradition to the United States. According to the FBI, he had been removed from the Ten Most Wanted list in March 2025 because the previous Honduran government would not extradite him for the alleged crimes, citing restrictions under the country’s laws.

Patel said at the time Flores was returned to the United States that the FBI had completed more than 70 extraditions since June alone.

Another case highlighted by the bureau involved Zobaidul Amin, a Bangladeshi national who was extradited from Malaysia in March to face federal charges stemming from what authorities have described as an extensive online child exploitation operation.

Federal prosecutors allege that Amin impersonated a teenager on Instagram and Snapchat to target hundreds of minors, including children as young as 11, and pressure them into creating explicit images and videos. Authorities allege that he then threatened to distribute the material to victims’ relatives, friends and classmates unless they provided additional images.

The FBI has also pointed to the case of Abdullah Anwar, a 28-year-old Texas resident who was returned from Qatar to face fraud charges. Authorities say Anwar fled the United States for Pakistan before being arrested in Qatar, whose government subsequently agreed to send him back to Texas.

The bureau has made overseas apprehensions and extraditions a major priority under Patel, with the director significantly increasing his direct contacts with international law enforcement and government officials.

According to FBI figures, Wray made 20 calls to foreign partners between 2022 and 2025, including nine during his final 18 months under the Biden administration. Patel, by comparison, logged 100 such calls during his first 18 months as director — 400% more than Wray made during the cited four-year period and a 1,011% increase compared with Wray’s final 18 months.

International extradition cases generally require extensive coordination between the FBI, Justice Department and foreign authorities. The FBI typically works with overseas law enforcement agencies to locate and apprehend suspects who have fled the United States or are otherwise wanted on American charges.

After a fugitive is taken into custody overseas, the Justice Department can formally seek the suspect’s extradition under applicable treaties and agreements. If the foreign government approves the request, FBI personnel travel to the country, assume custody of the suspect and transport the individual back to the United States to face prosecution.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu is facing sharp criticism from the right over a prerecorded television interview scheduled to air on Friday night, with Channel 14 host Boaz Golan accusing the prime minister of showing disrespect for Shabbos despite frequently invoking siyata diShmaya.

Netanyahu sat for an interview with i24NEWS journalist Naveh Dromi that is scheduled to be broadcast Friday night as part of the network’s “Friday Cabinet” program. The interview itself was recorded in advance and did not take place on Shabbos.

The Netanyahu interview is expected to serve as a centerpiece of the program, which i24NEWS has promoted with language that includes the phrase “Opening Shabbat.” Netanyahu has previously faced criticism over a similar situation involving a prerecorded interview that was broadcast on Friday night.

Following news of the planned broadcast, Golan, a prominent right-wing media personality and Channel 14 presenter, issued a blistering criticism of Netanyahu on Thursday evening, arguing that such an appearance by a sitting Israeli prime minister is highly unusual.

“From a quick search I conducted: Since the establishment of the state, no sitting prime minister has given an interview to a program broadcast on Friday night (even an interview filmed in advance). Not even to a program that would show portions of the interview and perhaps broadcast the rest after Shabbos,” Golan wrote.

Golan pointed out that Netanyahu himself had done something similar in 2010 but subsequently apologized and pledged to be more careful in the future.

“The only one who did so in 2010 was Benjamin Netanyahu, and afterward he apologized and promised to be careful about it going forward. This week he is doing it again!” Golan wrote. The assertion was based on Golan’s own review of previous prime ministers’ television appearances.

Golan concluded his criticism by invoking Netanyahu’s own references to Divine assistance during Israel’s ongoing war.

“Someone who speaks in the media about ‘siyata diShmaya’ in an existential war cannot disgrace Shabbos — the source of blessing for the Jewish people,” he wrote.

Golan then added a single word: “Disgrace.”

The latest controversy is not the first time Golan has taken Netanyahu to task over matters involving Shabbos. In February 2025, he strongly criticized the Prime Minister’s Office for issuing non-urgent statements during Shabbos.

“I’m going to say something here that is unpleasant to say: Lapid and Bennett violated Shabbos less with announcements than Netanyahu, and that needs to be said,” Golan said at the time.

Golan also urged Israel’s religious political parties to treat government activity on Shabbos as a red line, arguing that remaining in a coalition should depend upon respect for Shabbos.

“Over Shabbos, one should leave a government,” he said, adding, “Government ministries are not supposed to work on Shabbos.”

{Matzav.com}