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The dramatic decision by Shlomei Emunim and Belz to establish an independent political framework within United Torah Judaism erupted into an extraordinary war of words Tuesday night, with the rival camps trading accusations over control of Agudas Yisroel, its decision-making process and its party funds.

The confrontation followed the decision by Meir Porush of Shlomei Emunim and Belz representative Elyakim Stark to operate through a separate registered party, Chomas Toras Yisroel, rather than through Agudas Yisroel, as they had until now.

The new arrangement is intended to give Porush and Stark greater political and organizational independence, removing them from the authority of Agudas Yisroel’s existing party apparatus and the influence wielded within it by Ger. At the same time, they intend to remain candidates on the joint United Torah Judaism electoral slate.

What began as a procedural and organizational change quickly developed into a bitter public confrontation, with both sides offering sharply different accounts of what led to the split and who bears responsibility for the crisis.

A source in the office of Agudas Yisroel chairman Yitzchok Goldknopf described the development as the culmination of a political process that had been unfolding for years. According to the source, the process began during municipal elections with the establishment of the Koach party and continued through political divisions in cities including Ashdod and Beit Shemesh.

“Meir Porush has chosen to disconnect finally and completely from the ranks of Agudas Yisroel and embark on a completely independent path,” the source said.

Goldknopf’s camp portrayed the development as more than an internal administrative disagreement, arguing that the establishment of the new party would force chassidishe communities across Eretz Yisroel to decide where their loyalties lie.

“From now on, every chassidishe community in the country will have to make a clear and direct decision,” the source said. “Will it continue to belong to the historic Agudas Yisroel and obey the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, or will it join the new party established tonight by Meir Porush?”

Porush’s office responded with an exceptionally harsh statement of its own, accusing Ger activists of exercising authoritarian control over Agudas Yisroel and subordinating the broader party to the interests of a single group.

“In recent hours, we have witnessed the culmination of a long process spanning many years, in which Meir Porush and Elyakim Stark have chosen to put an end to the dictatorial conduct of Ger activists, who have taken Agudas Yisroel hostage to the interests of a single group,” Porush’s office said.

Porush’s camp traced the roots of the dispute back 18 years to the Yerushalayim mayoral election, claiming that Ger worked against a candidate who had the support of the Gedolei Torah. It charged that similar behavior resurfaced during the most recent municipal elections, when Ger allegedly backed candidates from other parties against candidates representing Agudas Yisroel and United Torah Judaism.

The most explosive accusation from Porush’s office was directed at Agudas Yisroel secretary-general Chanoch Zeibert and concerned the handling of party funds.

“The process continued with the conduct of the Agudas Yisroel secretary-general, who stole Agudas Yisroel’s money, contrary to the arbitration ruling that took place at the instruction of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah,” Porush’s office charged.

The allegation is an accusation made by Porush’s office amid the political dispute and was not presented as a judicial finding or an independently established fact.

The fight over party finances appears to be one of the central practical issues underlying the new political structure.

According to Porush’s associates, the establishment of the separate framework will allow Shlomei Emunim and Machzikei HaDas, representing Belz, to place their share of state party-financing funds under independent control.

“Tonight, the process reached a turning point with the decision of the Shlomei Emunim and Machzikei HaDas factions to transfer the party-financing funds of the majority of Agudas Yisroel to a separate account that will be managed fairly and equally,” Porush’s office said.

Under the arrangement, the two factions would therefore separate their financial and internal party operations from the existing Agudas Yisroel apparatus while continuing to participate in the joint UTJ electoral slate.

Porush’s office then turned the argument made by Goldknopf’s associates back against the Ger faction, saying it was Ger, rather than Shlomei Emunim and Belz, whose conduct should now be weighed by chassidishe communities.

“In light of the new reality that has been created, from now on every chassidishe community in the country will have to make a clear and direct decision: whether it continues to belong to the historic Agudas Yisroel and obey the Gedolei Torah, or whether it joins a faction run by a small group of people who trample upon members of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah time and again.”

The political bombshell came with the establishment of Chomas Toras Yisroel, the registered party framework through which Porush and Stark will operate.

Sources familiar with the arrangement stressed that there is currently no intention to dismantle United Torah Judaism or for the new faction to run independently in the Knesset election. Instead, they described the move as a procedural mechanism designed to establish the faction’s independent standing within UTJ.

Porush and Stark would thus remain under the United Torah Judaism electoral umbrella while operating through a separate organizational, financial and political structure rather than through the existing Agudas Yisroel mechanism.

Despite the insistence that the change is formally procedural, the ferocity of Tuesday night’s accusations made clear that the dispute extends far beyond paperwork or party financing. The upheaval has exposed a deep struggle over control of Agudas Yisroel and the balance of power between Ger, Shlomei Emunim, Belz and the other chassidishe factions.

{Matzav.com}

BANGKOK — Thai authorities have ordered a Jewish cemetery outside Bangkok to be cleared and bodies buried there to be removed, escalating a dispute that has alarmed Thailand’s Jewish community and raised concerns that growing hostility toward Israelis may be contributing to increased scrutiny of Jewish institutions in the country.

The controversy centers on the Jewish Cemetery Thailand in Bang Khla district of Chachoengsao Province, east of Bangkok. Thai officials say the cemetery’s operating license expired in 2023 and was not renewed because the property failed to meet requirements governing the location of cemeteries.

The case developed rapidly over the past several days. Deputy Interior Minister Polapee Suwunchwee visited the site Monday and initially announced that three bodies believed to have been buried after the license expired would have to be removed. A fourth burial, which authorities believe took place while the cemetery still held a valid license, was initially considered legal and was placed under further review.

However, Chachoengsao provincial authorities subsequently issued a broader written administrative order requiring the cemetery’s structures to be removed and bodies buried or stored at the property to be transferred to a properly licensed private cemetery within seven days. The order was issued by Chachoengsao Governor Chatchaporn Niyom, according to an announcement from Thailand’s government public-relations department.

The latest order therefore appears to go beyond the initial directive involving only the three post-license burials.

An inspection conducted Friday, Sept. 4, found four graves at the property, according to Thai authorities. Officials determined that burials at the site violated provisions of Thailand’s Cemetery and Crematorium Act because the facility did not currently possess a valid operating permit.

The cemetery was originally granted authorization in 2021, but the license expired in 2023. When its operators sought to renew it, authorities inspected the property and concluded that it failed to comply with regulations concerning required distances between cemeteries and nearby public infrastructure, including roads and waterways.

The operator appealed the refusal to renew the license to Thailand’s interior minister, but the appeal was unsuccessful. The cemetery’s representatives subsequently brought the dispute before the Rayong Administrative Court, where the case remains pending. The litigation has not, however, restored the cemetery’s operating authorization while the case is being heard.

Bangkok Chabad shliach Rav Nechemya Wilhelm explained that the Jewish community purchased the property about five years ago because the longstanding Jewish cemetery in Bangkok was approaching capacity.

“We have had a cemetery in Bangkok for nearly 30 years,” Rav Wilhelm said. “Unfortunately, it is already almost full, so about five years ago we purchased a property outside the city that would be suitable for burial.”

Rav Wilhelm stressed that the new property had not simply been chosen and used clandestinely. It had initially been approved for cemetery use.

“We bought the property with its designation as a cemetery, and apparently the seller made sure that everything was in order at the time,” he said. “After about three years, we were informed that the property did not meet cemetery standards, and we filed an appeal, because you don’t bury people for three years. Once we received a cemetery license, it should be permanent.”

The community’s need for additional burial space has been developing for years. Chabad’s Jewish Thailand organization says the Bangkok Jewish community maintains a chevra kadisha and provides traditional Jewish burial services. An account published by the community earlier this year said its original cemetery had been operating for more than 30 years and was nearly full, prompting the purchase and consecration of the Chachoengsao property.

The dispute has become particularly sensitive because disturbing a Jewish grave is a grave matter under halacha, and exhumation is generally prohibited except under limited circumstances.

Rav Wilhelm said the community intends to obey Thai law and, should relocation ultimately be unavoidable, ensure that the process is conducted in accordance with halacha.

“We have always acted according to the law, and in this matter as well we will act according to the law,” he said. “If we are forced to remove the bodies, we will act according to the rules of halacha.”

But Rav Wilhelm also raised concerns about the timing and atmosphere surrounding the government’s action, linking the sudden scrutiny to what he described as a recent wave of negative attention directed at Israelis and Jews in Thailand.

“Unfortunately, right now, because of the wave of reports against Israelis and Jews, they are looking everywhere there is something to investigate, and that is how they reached this as well,” Rav Wilhelm said.

Thai officials, however, insist that their broader enforcement campaign is not aimed at Jews or Israelis.

On Tuesday, Suwunchwee ordered authorities to inspect approximately 1,200 cemeteries and cremation facilities throughout Thailand. Officials were instructed to determine whether the sites have valid licenses and to collect information about their operators and religious affiliations. The deputy minister specifically said the investigation was not targeting any particular nationality.

Authorities are also looking into several Jewish burial locations in Bangkok’s Charoen Krung area. Suwunchwee said officials had identified four or five locations connected to Jewish burials and would examine their legal status.

The cemetery dispute has meanwhile attracted significant attention from residents of the Chachoengsao area. Local reports indicate that some residents had previously objected to the cemetery and raised concerns about its proximity to homes, a school, agricultural operations, roads and waterways.

One aspect of the case has also generated conflicting accounts from Thai authorities themselves. On Sept. 3, the provincial governor’s office said there were no longer any bodies at the site and that one body previously buried there had been removed. A subsequent inspection, however, found four graves, prompting officials to revise the picture dramatically within days.

The dispute has now moved well beyond a routine licensing disagreement. With a seven-day removal order reportedly in effect, the Jewish community faces the prospect of having to exhume and rebury Jewish bodies while its legal challenge over the cemetery remains before Thailand’s Administrative Court.

For Thailand’s Jewish community, the situation presents both a legal battle and an extraordinarily sensitive halachic problem: how to comply with the directives of Thai authorities while preserving kavod hameis and ensuring that any unavoidable transfer of the niftarim is conducted strictly according to Jewish law.

{Matzav.com}

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump moved Tuesday to block Canadian-made products from major U.S. government purchasing programs, opening a new front in the rapidly escalating trade war between the United States and Canada just as Ottawa’s latest retaliatory tariffs on American goods took effect.

Trump directed the General Services Administration, working with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, to take steps to remove Canadian-origin products from the GSA’s Multiple Award Schedules unless Canada gives American farmers and businesses what he called “full and fair reciprocity” in Canadian government procurement.

The GSA schedules are government-wide purchasing programs through which federal agencies — and, in certain circumstances, state and local governments — acquire products and services from approved vendors. Trump said the schedules account for more than $50 billion in purchases annually.

The president announced the move in a lengthy social media post accusing Canada and its provincial governments of shutting American businesses out of government contracts while Canadian firms benefit from broad access to the massive U.S. public procurement market.

“Everyone knows that Canada doesn’t let our Great Dairy Farmers sell into the Canadian Market, and that the only reason Canada makes Autos is because of previous disastrous Trade Agreements while other Presidents were in Office,” Trump wrote.

“Canada has been ripping us off for years, but what many do not realize is that the Canadian Government, including Canadian Provinces, have banned American Small Businesses and Companies from selling into their Government Procurement Markets,” he continued. “This is the case even though Canada gets broad access into the massive American Government Procurement Market, including those of our States.”

Trump then laid out the principle behind the new action in stark terms.

“That is not reciprocity, it is a Canadian Trade Scam. From now on, NO RECIPROCITY — NO ACCESS!” Trump declared.

“I am hereby directing the GSA, working with the USTR, to take all necessary steps to REMOVE Canadian-origin products from GSA’s Multiple Award Schedules unless Canada restores full and fair reciprocity for American Farmers and Companies,” Trump wrote.

“Those schedules account for more than 50 BILLION DOLLARS a year. This should have been cut off years ago, by other Administrations, like it was by mine, only to reinstituted by Sleepy Joe Biden. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he added.

The directive does not appear to constitute an immediate blanket prohibition on every Canadian company receiving a U.S. government contract. Rather, Trump instructed the GSA and USTR to begin taking the steps necessary to remove Canadian-origin products from the Multiple Award Schedules. The precise timetable and scope of the changes were not immediately clear Tuesday.

The announcement came on the same day that a new round of Canadian retaliatory tariffs against U.S. products went into effect, dramatically raising the stakes in the confrontation between Washington and Ottawa.

According to the Canadian government, the counter-tariffs took effect at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday and impose duties of 15%, 25% or 50% on a wide range of American products. Ottawa says the measures cover approximately $27.6 billion in U.S. imports and target sectors including steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics.

Canada imposed the measures in response to Trump’s use of Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 against Canadian products. The administration has accused Canada of discriminating against American exports, particularly in the dairy, automobile and alcoholic beverage industries.

The White House previously moved to impose tariffs of as much as 50% on billions of dollars in Canadian imports. Trump temporarily adjusted the timetable in August as the two countries continued efforts to resolve their differences, but negotiations failed to prevent the dispute from escalating.

The procurement action significantly broadens the fight. Rather than relying exclusively on tariffs at the border, Trump is now targeting Canadian access to one of the world’s largest government purchasing markets.

Trump has increasingly framed the dispute around the concept of reciprocity, arguing that countries seeking access to American consumers and government markets must provide comparable opportunities to U.S. companies.

The president has also recently threatened further action against major Canadian industries. He warned that Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier could face restrictions on selling planes in the United States unless production is moved south of the border.

“If they want our Market, they must build here, and stop treating America like a ‘piggybank,’” Trump wrote Monday. “BUY AMERICAN. FLY ON AMERICAN AIRLINERS. ENJOY AMERICAN LIQUOR AND BEVERAGES. SAIL ON LAKE AMERICA. AMERICA FIRST!”

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, meanwhile, has urged Canadians to reduce their economic dependence on the United States and buy domestically produced goods. Ottawa has portrayed its latest tariffs as a targeted response designed to defend Canadian workers and industries from U.S. trade measures.

“This won’t be easy, and I won’t pretend otherwise,” Carney said Tuesday. “But Canadians have faced difficult stretches before, and what has carried us through has never ever been any one measure. It’s always been Canadians looking out for each other.”

Despite the increasingly hostile rhetoric, officials from the two governments have remained in contact. But after negotiations that appeared close to producing an agreement last month broke down, there has been little indication that either Washington or Ottawa is preparing for an immediate return to formal trade talks.

Trump’s latest directive makes clear that the administration is prepared to use the enormous purchasing power of the U.S. government as another source of leverage.

For Canadian businesses that have relied on access to American government procurement, the president’s message was unmistakable: access to U.S. contracts will increasingly depend on whether American companies receive comparable treatment north of the border.

I can also keep an eye on this U.S.-Canada trade fight tonight and alert you if the White House, GSA, USTR or Carney government announces the actual implementation details or a Canadian response.

The Vizhnitzer Rebbe was taken to Hadassah Hospital in Yerushalayim for medical tests after experiencing weakness during the day, and was subsequently released after the results came back normal.

According to an update from the Rebbe’s household, doctors recommended that he go to the hospital as a precaution, where he underwent a series of examinations. B’chasdei Shomayim, the results were normal, and the Rebbe was able to return to the residence where he is currently staying in Moshav Ora.

Earlier Tuesday morning, the Rebbe had also been at Hadassah for follow-up examinations connected to medical treatment he underwent the previous day.

During his time at the hospital, the Vizhnitzer Rebbe also performed the mitzvah of bikur cholim, visiting his brother-in-law, the Belzer Rebbe, who has been hospitalized at Hadassah Ein Kerem.

The current plan calls for the Vizhnitzer Rebbe to return to his residence in Kiryat Vizhnitz in Bnei Brak ahead of Rosh Hashanah.

The Rebbe’s household is also expected to provide further information regarding arrangements for kabbalas kahal for the hundreds of Vizhnitzer chassidim traveling from overseas to spend the Yomim Noraim with the Rebbe.

The tzibbur is asked to continue davening for the complete and speedy refuah of the Vizhnitzer Rebbe, Rav Yisroel ben Leah Esther, b’soch she’ar cholei Yisroel.

{Matzav.com}

United Torah Judaism submitted its electoral slate just seconds before Tuesday night’s deadline, following hours of intense internal disputes that culminated in an unusual arrangement allowing the various factions to sign separate agreements with Degel HaTorah.

Under the agreement reached at the eleventh hour, Ger, Vizhnitz and Sanz signed separately with Degel HaTorah, while Shlomei Emunim and Machzikei HaDas, representing Belz, placed their first two candidates on the UTJ slate through a separately registered political party.

With the deadline rapidly approaching, Menachem Shapira rushed to formally submit the completed list to the Central Elections Committee shortly before registration closed.

Shlomei Emunim and Machzikei HaDas stressed, however, that the unusual arrangement should not be interpreted as their departure from Agudas Yisroel.

In a joint statement, the factions said that “מדובר במהלך טכני בלבד, שנועד להבטיח שותפות הוגנת בתוך אגודת ישראל שהופרה לאחרונה” — “This is merely a technical move intended to ensure a fair partnership within Agudas Yisroel, which has recently been violated.”

The leadership of both factions also instructed their remaining candidates on the UTJ slate to sign their candidacy papers in the customary manner as representatives of Agudas Yisroel.

Notably, the joint announcement did not identify the registered political party through which the first two candidates were submitted. Shlomei Emunim officials emphasized that they continue to regard themselves as an integral part of Agudas Yisroel and that the move does not constitute an ideological or political break from the party.

The complicated arrangement followed hours of fierce negotiations and disagreements, much of them centered on the fifth position on the UTJ slate. The dispute had earlier caused an Agudas Yisroel meeting to break down, with participants leaving without an agreement as tensions between the various chassidishe factions intensified.

Meanwhile, Yisroel Porush, the former mayor of Elad and son of MK Meir Porush, was placed in the 13th position on the United Torah Judaism slate.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu was personally warned by United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was preparing a major attack against Israel roughly 10 days before the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre, according to a bombshell investigation published Tuesday by Haaretz. Netanyahu’s office categorically denied the account, calling it “an absolute lie.” An Emirati source familiar with the alleged conversation subsequently confirmed to The Times of Israel that the warning was delivered in a phone call.

The allegations, which have triggered a political firestorm in Israel, are drawn from the new book “Kidnapped: 843 Days of Abandonment,” by journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval. The book is based on interviews with dozens of sources in Israel and abroad, including senior officials, according to reports on its findings.

According to the investigation, bin Zayed, widely known as MBZ, spoke with Netanyahu for approximately 45 minutes in late September 2023 and told him that Sinwar was planning a major operation against Israel. Three senior foreign sources familiar with the contents of the conversation were cited in the investigation.

The Emirati leader was reportedly deeply concerned about the information, warning that such an attack could produce extensive bloodshed, destabilize the Middle East and jeopardize the Abraham Accords, which had established diplomatic relations between Israel, the UAE and several other Arab countries.

Netanyahu reportedly responded calmly, telling MBZ that Israel was prepared for various scenarios and indicating that he believed Hamas was more likely to direct an operation toward Judea and Samaria than launch a major assault from Gaza.

The report further alleged that Netanyahu did not pass MBZ’s warning along to the top echelon of Israel’s security establishment. Ronen Bar, who was serving as head of the Shin Bet, and then-IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi both told Haaretz that they had not been informed about such a warning from the Emirati president.

The account described by Haaretz, however, began before the reported Netanyahu-MBZ conversation. According to the investigation, information about Sinwar’s intentions had moved through a Palestinian intermediary who had contacts with both Hamas and Israeli security officials.

In September 2023, according to the report, Sinwar sent alarming messages through the intermediary indicating that he was preparing a “zilzal,” an Arabic word meaning earthquake. He subsequently characterized what was coming as “the mother of all surprises” and “a terrifying operation.”

The information eventually reached the UAE leadership and was also relayed to the Shin Bet on Sept. 15, according to the investigation. Bar then briefed Netanyahu about Sinwar’s warning, and senior Israeli defense officials convened for a security assessment two days later.

At that discussion, Bar reportedly warned that Israel was “on a collision course” and urged officials to consider either taking a significant offensive action or substantially strengthening defenses in Gaza and Judea and Samaria ahead of the approaching Jewish holidays.

The meeting reportedly ended without such a decision being made.

According to the investigation, UAE officials subsequently concluded that Israel had not responded adequately to the intelligence, prompting MBZ to take the unusual step of raising the matter personally with Netanyahu.

The report said a separate warning also came from Egypt. Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel reportedly contacted Netanyahu during roughly the same period and warned that Hamas was preparing “something unusual, a terrifying operation.”

Netanyahu reportedly responded to the Egyptian warning by saying that Israel had the situation in Gaza under control and that the country’s attention and military deployments were concentrated in Judea and Samaria.

According to the investigation, Netanyahu did not raise either the alleged Emirati or Egyptian warning during an Oct. 1 security discussion focused on Hamas and Gaza.

A senior Shin Bet official cited by Haaretz said that had security officials known about the warnings reportedly conveyed by MBZ and Kamel, they might have viewed Sinwar’s earlier messages — as well as his withdrawal from negotiations — differently.

Ten days after the alleged conversation with MBZ, Hamas terrorists poured across Israel’s border from Gaza on Oct. 7, murdering approximately 1,200 people and abducting 251 others into Gaza in the deadliest terrorist attack in Israel’s history.

The Prime Minister’s Office issued an unequivocal denial of the central allegation.

“Netanyahu did not speak with the president of the United Arab Emirates during the period in question and did not receive any warning from him,” the Prime Minister’s Office said, calling the report “an absolute lie.”

In an additional response reported by the Associated Press, Netanyahu’s office said, “If there was any relevant information, it was passed through intelligence channels between the two countries.”

The UAE Foreign Ministry did not directly confirm the substance of the Haaretz account when responding publicly Tuesday. It said it would not comment on “speculation regarding conversations between government leaders,” while noting that Israel and the UAE have maintained “open and direct lines of communication” since establishing diplomatic ties. “When necessary, all relevant intelligence has been and continues to be communicated,” the ministry said.

Later Tuesday, however, an Emirati source familiar with the matter confirmed to The Times of Israel that MBZ had called Netanyahu and warned him that Hamas was planning a major attack, lending independent support to the central claim in the Haaretz investigation.

The report immediately became a major political issue in Israel, where the circumstances leading to Oct. 7 and the question of responsibility for the failures that preceded the massacre remain intensely contested.

Naftali Bennett, who served as prime minister before Netanyahu and now heads the B’Yachad party, told 103FM that he “knew for a fact the report is true.”

MBZ “warned Netanyahu that Sinwar was planning an operation. Abbas Kamel, the head of Egyptian General Intelligence, also warned Netanyahu days before the massacre that a major operation was being planned,” Bennett said. “I don’t want to talk about my relationship with anyone. I’m telling you that I know this fact is true.”

Bennett then leveled a blistering accusation against Netanyahu.

“Netanyahu led us blindly straight into this terrible disaster. He was so deeply immersed in his conception that Hamas was an asset, and despite receiving explicit warnings, he did nothing,” Bennett said.

“Netanyahu bears direct responsibility for this disaster, not only ministerial responsibility by virtue of being prime minister, but direct responsibility because he built up Hamas for 15 years and did nothing.”

Asked what he would have done had he been serving as prime minister and received a similar warning in 2023, Bennett said he would have immediately moved to increase Israel’s readiness.

“In a similar situation, if I had received a quarter of a warning when I was prime minister, I would have raced to the South. That’s what I always do: meet the commanders and the observation soldiers, convene the IDF chief of staff and the Shin Bet chief, increase alertness and defenses, and prepare for offensive action if necessary. I would have done everything to protect the lives of the residents.”

Gadi Eisenkot, the former IDF chief of staff and chairman of the Yashar Party, also seized on the report, saying it reinforced his contention that the failures preceding Oct. 7 reached Israel’s highest political level.

“More and more signs indicate that Netanyahu led Israel blindly into the October 7 failure,” Eisenkot said.

“According to the report this morning, he received an explicit warning, days before the massacre, from the president of the United Arab Emirates regarding Sinwar’s intentions, but did not update the heads of the defense establishment. Who failed to wake whom?”

Eisenkot continued: “Those around him are echoing the pathetic conspiracy and betrayal theory, inventing the most ridiculous sentence a leader could cling to, ‘They didn’t wake me up,’ because of two facts: He knows the truth; He is terrified of it and is trying to escape responsibility. Netanyahu received dozens of warnings ahead of October 7 and ignored them all. He is unfit.”

Eisenkot pledged that his party would seek a state commission of inquiry into the events leading up to the massacre if a new government is formed following Israel’s upcoming election.

“Immediately upon the formation of the next government, we will establish a state commission of inquiry that will investigate the previous decade, clarify what Netanyahu knew and did not know, get to the truth, and prevent the next disaster.”

The latest allegations add a significant new element to the long-running debate over the warnings Israel received before Oct. 7 and which officials knew about them. While Netanyahu’s office has flatly denied that the alleged conversation with MBZ occurred, the Haaretz investigation maintains that three senior foreign sources were familiar with its contents, and an Emirati source has now separately told The Times of Israel that the warning was indeed conveyed.

{Matzav.com}

The internal turmoil within United Torah Judaism intensified Tuesday evening, as a stormy Agudas Yisroel meeting at the Knesset broke down amid a fierce dispute over plans by Shlomei Emunim and Belz to run under a separate registered party within the broader UTJ framework.

The immediate dispute centered on the fifth slot on the UTJ electoral slate, with representatives of Shlomei Emunim and Belz ultimately walking out of the meeting as the confrontation escalated.

At the heart of the controversy was a decision by Shlomei Emunim chairman Meir Porush and Belz representative Elyakim Stark to place their candidates on the UTJ slate through a separate political party rather than through Agudas Yisroel.

The move was not intended as a departure from United Torah Judaism. Instead, Shlomei Emunim and Belz maintained that the arrangement would give them greater political independence while remaining part of the joint chareidi slate.

Under the proposed arrangement, UTJ would effectively consist of three separate political entities: Degel HaTorah, Agudas Yisroel, and the new framework representing Shlomei Emunim and Belz.

During the heated meeting, UTJ chairman Yitzchok Goldknopf said, “We will have to ask the Gerer Rebbe whether we can run on a list consisting of three parties.”

The confrontation grew sharper when Ger representative Chanoch Zeibert told Stark, “Under no circumstances will we sign the agreement unless you announce that you are splitting completely from Agudas Yisroel.”

Stark rejected the characterization of the move as an ideological break with Agudas Yisroel.

“There is no ideological split here,” Stark responded. “This is only so that there will be unity and peace among the factions throughout the entire term.”

The development came after an extended battle over the fifth position on the UTJ slate. Earlier, Ger’s Central Faction had announced that it was prepared to accept Shlomei Emunim’s demand that the fifth slot be given to Sanz.

That concession, however, apparently came too late. By then, the plan for Shlomei Emunim and Belz to operate through their own registered political framework had already advanced significantly.

The remaining question Tuesday evening was whether Agudas Yisroel would accept the new structure and sign the necessary agreements, or whether the dispute would trigger an even deeper internal confrontation in the final hours before the deadline for submitting electoral slates.

{Matzav.com}

Encouraging news emerged Tuesday evening from Belz, with the family of the Belzer Rebbe reporting a significant improvement in his condition and plans for his release from Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital on Wednesday.

Following his discharge, the Rebbe is expected to return to Kiryat Belz in Yerushalayim, where preparations are underway for him to lead the tefillos and seder hayom of the Yomim Noraim together with thousands of Belzer chassidim arriving from across Eretz Yisroel and abroad.

The encouraging development has brought considerable relief to Belzer chassidim, who have been anxiously following the Rebbe’s condition over the past several days.

Earlier Tuesday, the Vizhnitzer Rebbe visited his brother-in-law, the Belzer Rebbe, at Hadassah Ein Kerem. It was their second meeting at the hospital, following another visit on Monday.

Meanwhile, preparations in Kiryat Belz are continuing in anticipation of Rosh Hashanah, when thousands of chassidim are expected to gather in Yerushalayim to spend the Yom Tov in the presence of the Rebbe and participate in the tefillos under his leadership.

{Matzav.com}

Relatives of 9/11 victims, first responders and elected officials gathered outside New York City Hall on Tuesday to urge Mayor Zohran Mamdani to stay away from Friday’s ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, saying his presence would intrude on a deeply personal day of mourning for families who lost loved ones. The appeal is part of a petition campaign that has drawn tens of thousands of signatures.

Charles Wolf, whose wife was killed in the attacks, said at the midday press conference that Mamdani had not demonstrated the relationship with 9/11 families that other elected officials attending the annual commemoration have developed over the years.

“This mayor is not serving us,” Wolf said. “He’s serving himself. We are asking respectfully that he not show up.”

Wolf acknowledged that other political leaders will attend the Ground Zero ceremony but argued that their presence is different because many worked closely with victims’ families in the aftermath of the attacks and during subsequent efforts to secure legislation on their behalf.

“Even though there is going to be other politicians there, these are the politicians that helped us push beneficial laws through and literally held our hand during that time,” Wolf continued. “Mayor Mamdani has not shown any of that, none of it. He just wants to be there because he wants to be there.”

Wolf said the annual ceremony reopens the trauma experienced by victims’ relatives and emphasized that the commemoration is intended primarily for the families rather than as a public political event.

“So we are asking him to respect the fact that that trauma is revived during the ceremony. It is a private ceremony. It is not a public ceremony. Mayor Mamdani, please do not come.”

City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino joined organizers and relatives in formally bringing the petition to City Hall. Organizers said Tuesday that it had collected more than 101,000 signatures calling on Mamdani not to attend the anniversary observance.

“I am demanding that he not show his face at that sacred ground,” Paladino said. “He does not belong there.”

Paladino argued that the number of people who had signed the petition demonstrated the depth of opposition to Mamdani’s planned attendance among those supporting the effort.

“We the people do not care for Zohran Mamdani – 101,000 names is not a drop in the bucket. Do not, Zohran Mamdani, take us New Yorkers for granted. We were there that day. The sky looked very similar to this. Stay put. Stay in City Hall and promote your propaganda.”

The petition was organized by Giovanni Galante, whose wife, Grace Catherine Galante, was killed at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Galante has said that the effort is intended to preserve the anniversary as a solemn occasion centered on those who were murdered, their relatives and survivors.

“We don’t believe in what he believes in, and we really want us to be left alone,” Galante said. “This 25th anniversary is for victims and survivors to blend in and pray that day for all the families — not have a circus around us.”

Other relatives who joined the effort similarly said that the Ground Zero observance should remain a protected space where families can mourn without distractions.

“If we feel that we don’t want someone at our world-class memorial museum that’s sacred and hallowed, we feel that that person should respect our wishes,” said Monica Iken, whose husband, Michael, was killed in the attacks. “He didn’t go to the 20th … so I don’t know why he’s so adamant about going to this one when we just ask that he just respect us from 7 to 11 and let us have our mourning.”

Those speaking Tuesday said their objections center on Mamdani’s political positions, associations and appointments. The controversy has been building for weeks, even as Mamdani has said he intends to attend the commemoration to honor the victims, survivors and first responders.

Cheri Sparacio, whose husband, Tom, died in the South Tower, stressed that her opposition was based on Mamdani’s public record rather than his background or religion. Among the concerns she cited was his appointment of Ramzi Kassem as chief counsel. Kassem previously represented a Guantanamo detainee who was convicted of terrorism-related offenses.

“That is what we object to,” she said.

Republican City Councilwoman Joann Ariola also joined the call for Mamdani to stay away, arguing that the anniversary should focus entirely on those who were killed and those who survived rather than elected officials.

“Other politicians will be there, no one will speak — it is about the survivors and about those who were murdered that day,” Ariola said. “Mayor Mamdani, for once, listen to your constituents and not your influencers and stay away from an event, a ceremonial commemoration of the lives that were lost on 9/11.”

Mamdani, however, has indicated that he intends to attend Friday’s ceremony. He said this week that his focus will be on remembering those killed in the attacks and honoring the first responders who rushed to the scene. He has also designated Sept. 11 as an annual Day of Remembrance and Service in New York City.

[Video below.] President Donald Trump paid tribute Tuesday to the victims and heroes of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, marking the approaching 25th anniversary with a ceremony at the Ellipse outside the White House and a pledge that America will “never forget” the nearly 3,000 people killed that day.

The commemoration, organized by the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, centered on a massive steel beam recovered from the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Measuring 21 feet and weighing nearly 17,000 pounds, the beam has spent months traveling across the country as part of the foundation’s Steel Across America tour.

The beam is scheduled to return to New York on Friday in a procession retracing the route taken by fallen New York City firefighter Stephen Siller, who raced toward the burning towers on Sept. 11. Tuesday’s ceremony began a week of commemorative events for Trump, culminating Friday with observances that will include a ceremony at the Pentagon.

“This battered piece of steel here today on the Ellipse is a reminder that America is blessed with a strength no fire can consume, no evil can conquer and no terror can destroy,” Trump said.

Reflecting on the magnitude of the attacks and the way they changed the country, Trump said Sept. 11 was among those rare events in history that “divide time into really what came before” and after.

The president also briefly turned to politics during his address, warning against Americans moving in a “communistic way,” an apparent reference to his frequent criticism of Democrats and the growing influence of democratic socialists within the party.

Trump singled out two men who lost their lives on Sept. 11 for special recognition: New York City firefighter Jeffrey Palazzo and Welles Crowther, the young equities trader and volunteer firefighter who became known as the “man in the red bandanna” after helping rescue people from the World Trade Center.

The president announced that the U.S. Coast Guard will commission a new fast-response cutter in New York this weekend in Palazzo’s honor. Palazzo, a Coast Guard reservist, was serving with Staten Island’s Rescue Squad 5 when he responded to the World Trade Center on the morning of the attacks.

Crowther was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, for his extraordinary actions during the attack. His mother, Alison, and his sister, Paige, accepted the medal on his behalf.

Trump also recalled his own experience near Ground Zero following the attacks, describing a frightening moment when he and others feared that another nearby building could collapse.

“I was building a big building in New York and I took the whole crew down there right after this happened,” he said. “We thought it was coming down on top of us. And two firemen – big, strong guys, and I’m not the smallest guy in the world — they grabbed me under the arms.”

“They lifted me up and they started running with me,” he added. “I said, ‘Fellas, I could run myself,’ but they were amazing.”

Among those attending Tuesday’s ceremony were senior administration officials and members of Congress, including Reps. Mike Lawler of New York and Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania, whose district is located near Shanksville, where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed on Sept. 11. Approximately 150 first responders from New York, along with others from Washington and Pennsylvania, were also present.

Trump devoted part of his remarks to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who was chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald when the attacks occurred. The financial firm, which had offices in the World Trade Center, suffered catastrophic losses on Sept. 11, with more than 650 employees killed, including Lutnick’s younger brother, Gary.

“He’s done an amazing job,” Trump said of Lutnick. “He’s rebuilt Cantor Fitzgerald, and he’s given much of the profits to some of the families or the families of people who perished.”

Frank Siller, chairman and CEO of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation and the brother of Stephen Siller, said the enormous section of World Trade Center steel on display represented far more than the destruction inflicted on New York nearly 25 years ago.

“This steel beam represents the best of our country,” Siller said. “It’s important to recognize that the heroism that was exhibited that fateful day was nothing short of incredible.”

Britain’s Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis issued a forceful condemnation of the British government’s decision to impose sanctions targeting Jews living in Judea and Samaria, warning that the measures will strengthen extremists, deepen anti-Israel hostility and leave Jews increasingly vulnerable.

“This is truly a dark day for British Jews,” Mirvis said. “Today our Government has chosen to ignore the deep concerns expressed by so many of us.”

Mirvis charged that rather than helping bring about peace, the government’s actions give credibility to hostile anti-Israel narratives and those who are fixated on attacking the Jewish state.

“The measures announced amount to little more than political flag bearing for mendacious anti-Israel rhetoric and those who harbour a dangerous obsession with the Jewish State,” he said. “These measures will succeed only in bolstering the very extremism they seek to target.”

The chief rabbi emphasized that the decision was particularly troubling because it came on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, as British Jews confront what he described as a mounting tide of extremism that has intensified in recent years.

“On the eve of Rosh Hashanah and at a time when our community is more vulnerable than ever to the wave of extremism that has been building over recent years, these sanctions do nothing to advance the cause of peace. Nor do they make anyone safer – quite the contrary.”

Mirvis warned that punitive measures directed at Israel are contributing to an atmosphere in which increasingly hostile rhetoric about the Jewish state is becoming normalized. The consequences, he said, extend beyond Israel itself and can encourage those who direct their hatred toward Jews in Britain and around the world.

“Gesture politics of this kind feeds into an increasingly hostile discourse about Israel, and the cumulative effect of such punitive policies is to further embolden those, at home and abroad, who use hatred as a weapon against Jews,” Mirvis concluded.

Argentine President Javier Milei publicly shared a social media post by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir calling on Israel to recognize Argentine sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, adding a new dimension to the escalating dispute between Argentina and Britain over the South Atlantic territory.

Ben Gvir’s message, written in Spanish and reposted by Milei on Monday night, urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to formally side with Buenos Aires in its longstanding sovereignty claim and to impose sanctions on Britain as long as British control of the islands continues.

“The time has come for the State of Israel to publicly recognize the Falkland Islands as occupied Argentine territory, which the British are violently stealing from the Argentine people. The British are not only occupying the territory, but are also conducting oil drilling there and stealing money from the Argentine people,” Ben Gvir wrote.

“I call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to recognize Argentina’s sovereignty over the Falkland Islands and impose sanctions on Great Britain for as long as the occupation continues,” he added.

Milei’s decision to share the post comes as his government has sharply intensified Argentina’s campaign over the islands, known in Argentina as the Malvinas. Last week, Milei declared that Argentina would take new legal and economic measures against companies participating in oil exploration and development around the islands. His government subsequently opened sanction proceedings involving dozens of individuals and companies allegedly connected to hydrocarbon activity there.

The Argentine government went a step further this week, filing a criminal complaint against Israeli energy company Navitas Petroleum and company executives over their participation in the Sea Lion offshore oil project. Navitas holds a 65% interest in the development, which is expected to begin producing oil in 2028. Argentina maintains that companies operating there under British licenses are exploiting Argentine natural resources without authorization.

Britain rejects Argentina’s sovereignty claim and maintains that the Falkland Islanders have the right to determine their own political future. A British government minister reaffirmed Tuesday that London sees “no doubt” over British sovereignty and remains committed to the islanders.

Ben Gvir’s intervention came against the backdrop of a separate and rapidly escalating confrontation between Israel and Britain over Jewish communities in Yehudah and Shomron.

Britain on Tuesday announced broad economic restrictions targeting Israeli communities in Yehudah and Shomron, including a ban on imports of goods produced there. The move was coordinated with France and Canada as part of an effort to pressure Israel over settlement policy.

Reports of the impending British measures had already drawn furious reactions from senior Israeli officials before they were formally announced.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for Israel to expel the British ambassador, declaring, “The British ambassador should be expelled this evening.”

“We will not be a doormat for an antisemitic government in a country that has been conquered by radical Islam and is trying to save itself from economic and social decline by attacking Jews and the State of Israel. The British Mandate in the Land of Israel is over,” Smotrich said.

Ben Gvir, meanwhile, sought to turn the territorial issue back on London, invoking Argentina’s claim to the Falklands and arguing that Israel should respond to British pressure over Yehudah and Shomron by challenging Britain over its own disputed territory.

Milei’s repost was particularly noteworthy because Argentina has recently made the Falklands dispute a renewed national priority. In a televised address last week, Milei declared, “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” — “The Malvinas are Argentine” — and said recovering full sovereignty over the islands remains a permanent national objective.

The Falklands have been administered by Britain since 1833, while Argentina has maintained its claim to the islands for generations. Argentina invaded the islands in 1982, triggering the Falklands War, which ended with British forces retaking control.

Milei’s amplification of Ben Gvir’s statement now places an Israeli cabinet minister’s call squarely inside that longstanding international dispute — at a moment when both Argentina’s confrontation with Britain over the islands and Israel’s confrontation with London over Yehudah and Shomron are intensifying.

Rav Avraham Meir Hershowitz zt”l, a distinguished marbitz Torah who spent decades teaching and shaping talmidim in Eretz Yisroel and abroad, was niftar in Modiin Illit following a difficult illness and a prolonged period of suffering that he accepted with remarkable love and silence.

Rav Avraham Meir zt”l was a son of Rav Dovid Hershowitz zt”l, founder of Bais Medrash Bais Yechiel Meir. Upon reaching marriageable age, he married the daughter of Rav Yitzchok Yaakovson zt”l.

Throughout his life, Rav Avraham Meir devoted himself with extraordinary diligence and dedication to limud haTorah. He served as a ram in the Ponevezh Yeshiva for younger bochurim and later taught at Yeshivas Nishmas Yisroel in Paris, France, where his influence left a deep impression on numerous talmidim and where he disseminated Torah and yiras Shomayim. He also served as a marbitz Torah at Yeshivas Heichal Yosef in Modiin Illit, where he helped develop generations of talmidim.

Those who knew Rav Avraham Meir describe an exceptional ish emes, whose conduct was marked by purity, righteousness and unwavering attachment to his great rabbeim. He lived with tremendous humility, embodying the description of shayif ayil, shayif nafik, velo machzik tivusa lenafshei. Possessed of refined middos and nobility of spirit, he shared the burdens of others and greeted everyone, including those who were brokenhearted or downtrodden, with warmth and kindness. During his final years, he endured severe suffering, accepting his yissurim with love and without complaint.

Rav Avraham Meir leaves behind a distinguished family of sons, daughters, sons-in-law and descendants who continue along the path he established. His son, Rav Aryeh Leib Hershowitz, is among the roshei yeshiva of Yeshivas Heichal Yosef and carries the responsibilities of the yeshiva with great devotion. His brother, HaGaon Rav Elchonon Hershowitz, heads Bais Medrash Bais Yechiel and its kollelim.

The levayah departed today at noon from Rav Avraham Meir’s home at 12 Rambam Street in Modiin Illit. It continued at 2:30 p.m. from the Shamgar Funeral Home in Yerushalayim to Har Hamenuchos, where he was brought to kevurah.

The family will be sitting shivah until the onset of Yom Tov at the family home at 12 Rambam Street in Modiin Illit. Beginning Thursday morning, his brother Rav Elchonon, his sister Rebbetzin Rochlin, his sons from Bnei Brak, and his daughters, the Schreiber and Melamed families, will sit at the home of his daughter, the Schreiber family, at 3 Alcharizi Street in Bnei Brak. His sister Rebbetzin Kaplan will sit from Thursday through midnight on Erev Yom Tov at her home at 12 Panim Meiros Street in Yerushalayim.

Yehi zichro baruch. 

With just hours remaining before the deadline to submit electoral slates to the Central Elections Committee, United Torah Judaism was thrown into turmoil as representatives of Shlomei Emunim and Belz moved to establish a separate political party while remaining within the joint UTJ list.

MK Meir Porush of Shlomei Emunim and Elyakim Stark, representing Belz, announced plans to run as part of UTJ through a newly established party that would be organizationally independent of Agudas Yisroel.

The new party, named Chomas Toras Yisroel, would fundamentally alter the structure of UTJ. Instead of consisting of the traditional partnership between Agudas Yisroel and Degel HaTorah, the joint list would now comprise three independently constituted political factions.

The development comes after years of complaints from Shlomei Emunim and Belz regarding their treatment within Agudas Yisroel. Representatives of the two groups have alleged that the Ger faction, commonly referred to as the Central Faction, has held up the transfer of funding intended for their operations and branches around the country.

Establishing Chomas Toras Yisroel as an independent party would enable the new faction to receive its monthly Knesset party funding directly. The allocations, amounting to hundreds of thousands of shekels, have until now been administered through the Ger-controlled party framework.

The battle, however, involves considerably more than control over funding.

Operating as a separate party would give Porush and his faction an independent political status within the broader UTJ framework. As a result, future coalition negotiations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would require separate discussions with representatives of Chomas Toras Yisroel rather than having its interests represented exclusively through Agudas Yisroel.

Despite the timing of the announcement, the establishment of the new faction was reportedly not an eleventh-hour initiative. Preparations for the move are said to have been underway quietly for close to a year.

As part of those preparations, organizers obtained an already-existing dormant political party that could be used as the legal framework for the new faction. The plan was kept under tight secrecy until recent days, after which the party was renamed Chomas Toras Yisroel.

Degel HaTorah, the Litvishe component of UTJ, was reportedly made aware of the plan beforehand and assisted in keeping the initiative confidential while preparations proceeded.

The effort to formally establish the new arrangement, however, ran into strong resistance from representatives of Ger, who refused to give their approval to the proposed restructuring.

The disagreement ultimately caused the meeting to fall apart, with participants leaving the room without reaching an agreement. The breakdown left the future configuration of the entire United Torah Judaism slate unresolved, with tensions running high only hours before the deadline for submitting the list.

Israel announced Tuesday that it will shutter the British Consulate in Yerushalayim and impose a series of other measures against the United Kingdom, responding to new British sanctions and restrictions targeting Israel and Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said the retaliatory steps were approved in coordination with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He portrayed them as Israel’s response to what he said has been a sustained pattern of anti-Israel policies pursued by Britain’s Labour government.

The Israeli measures include closing the British Consulate in Yerushalayim, removing British personnel from the International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat, ending British involvement in training Palestinian Authority forces in Judea and Samaria through the “British Support Team in Ramallah,” and barring 12 British elected officials as well as other British citizens whom Israel says have participated in antisemitic or anti-Israel activities or denied Israel’s right to exist.

“Unfortunately, a hostile Labour Government is in office, systematically acting against the State of Israel, and it has left us with no choice but to finally respond to its hostile actions,” Sa’ar stated.

Israel’s announcement followed British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband’s unveiling of a new package of measures directed at Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria.

Miliband said Britain would seek to prohibit trade involving products originating in Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria. The government also plans restrictions against businesses and individuals that provide services — including financing and construction — connected to settlement expansion. Additional limitations on weapons exports to Israel were announced as well.

“For a long time, the British government has said such settlements are illegal,” Miliband told the House of Commons. “Today I announce the official view of the British government is that the occupation is unlawful.”

France and Canada also announced plans to adopt their own national measures prohibiting trade in products originating from Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria.

Miliband additionally condemned Israel’s publication of construction tenders for the E1 area. He said Britain accepts the United Nations’ definition of ethnic cleansing and believes that ethnic cleansing is occurring in portions of Judea and Samaria.

Sa’ar forcefully disputed those assertions and denounced both the substance of Britain’s actions and the circumstances surrounding their announcement.

“The accusations made today by the Foreign Secretary of the Labour Government in the British Parliament were outrageous lies,” he said.

“The British move is morally distorted and constitutes blatant interference in the affairs of a sovereign state and in its electoral process,” Sa’ar added.

Sa’ar also challenged Britain’s assertions about E1, maintaining that Israel has made no new decisions concerning development there.

“Contrary to the false claims of the Labour Government, no new decisions have been made regarding development in E1. The decision was taken more than a year ago, and the tender process has been underway for many months,” he stated.

According to Sa’ar, the Israeli government’s plans also encompass two road projects: Road 80, connecting the Bethlehem and Ramallah areas, and the “Fabric of Life” Road linking a-Za’im and al-Ezariya. He rejected allegations that the development plans would eliminate Palestinian territorial continuity.

The foreign minister further accused London of pursuing a one-sided approach toward Israel while taking no comparable action against the Palestinian Authority over its policy of making payments to terrorists.

“This conflict will not be resolved through declarations from London or Paris, and a one-sided, anti-Israel approach only pushes the possibility of reaching a solution further away rather than bringing it closer,” he said.

Sa’ar pointed to numerous policies adopted by Britain’s Labour government since taking office in July 2024. Among them, he cited Britain’s recognition of a Palestinian state, renewed funding for UNRWA, limits on defense exports to Israel, sanctions against Israeli government ministers and other Israelis, the suspension of free-trade negotiations, and curbs on military and security cooperation.

Sa’ar said Israel will deny entry to the following British elected officials and nationals: Jeremy Corbyn MP; Zarah Sultana MP; Fahad Ansari, Director of Riverway to the Sea; Naz Shah MP; Diane Abbott MP; Hannah Spencer MP; Carla Denyer MP; Sian Berry MP; Ellie Chowns MP; John McDonnell MP; Richard Burgon MP; and Adrian Ramsay MP.

In announcing the consulate’s closure, Sa’ar emphasized that Israel regards all of Yerushalayim as its sovereign capital and said foreign governments cannot operate there without Israeli authorization.

“United Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and is under its full sovereignty. Any activity by a foreign state within it must be carried out with the consent of the State of Israel,” he stated.

Sa’ar also indicated that Britain may not be the only country to face Israeli countermeasures, warning that governments taking similar actions against Israel could receive a similar response.

“Britain initiated and led the current move. But we will also take countermeasures, at our discretion, against other countries that act or will act against Israel,” he said.

“The message to every government that harms us is clear: whoever acts against Israel, Israel will act against them, and they will lose their influence and relevance in the region.”

“Measures against Israel will not go unanswered,” Sa’ar concluded.

Military prosecutors are prepared to proceed with the long-delayed trial of accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed without using a major confession he gave to FBI investigators, choosing not to appeal a judge’s decision excluding the statements in order to preserve the trial date now scheduled for June 2028.

The U.S. government has decided against challenging the recent ruling by a military judge barring Mohammed’s 2007 statements to the FBI from being introduced as evidence at his trial.

“An appeal could jeopardize the hard-earned June 5, 2028, trial date,” federal officials wrote in a Friday letter to families of 9/11 victims, according to sources familiar with the correspondence. The decision came one week before the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people.

Government lawyers were apparently concerned that challenging the ruling could add years to a case already defined by extraordinary delays. Appeals involving similar evidentiary disputes have taken years to move through the courts, prolonging a process that has repeatedly frustrated relatives of those killed in the attacks.

The prosecutions of Mohammed and his alleged co-conspirators Walid bin Attash, Mustafa al-Hawsawi and Ammar al-Baluchi have remained unresolved for decades as lawyers battled over numerous legal issues, particularly whether statements obtained following torture and coercive interrogations could legally be admitted at trial.

Prosecutors had previously agreed not to introduce evidence obtained during torture interrogations of Mohammed and the other defendants at secret CIA detention facilities following their capture in 2003.

They had, however, intended to rely heavily on statements Mohammed subsequently made at Guantánamo Bay, where he has been detained since 2006. Court filings indicated that prosecutors viewed that confession as an important part of the evidence they planned to present to the panel of military officers that will serve as the jury.

Lt. Col. Michael Schrama, the military judge overseeing the case, established the June 5, 2028, trial date last month. Just days later, he issued the ruling preventing prosecutors from using Mohammed’s statements.

The military did not immediately release the ruling publicly, citing a “security review.” Sources familiar with the decision said Schrama determined that Mohammed had endured “severe coercion” during years of CIA interrogation at secret overseas “black site” facilities. The judge also cited the fact that Mohammed had not been provided an opportunity to consult an attorney, according to the sources.

Despite losing the confession, military prosecutors maintain that they possess other evidence connecting Mohammed to the September 11 plot. That evidence reportedly includes telephone records and financial documentation linking him to the Al Qaeda terrorists responsible for hijacking the four aircraft used in the attacks.

The decision to proceed toward trial marks the latest development in a prosecution that has been repeatedly delayed by disputes over interrogation methods, classified evidence, legal procedures and attempts to resolve the cases through plea agreements.

Mohammed had been poised to formally admit his role in planning the September 11 attacks under a plea agreement reached in 2024 with the Biden administration. Mohammed and two other accused Al Qaeda conspirators agreed to plead guilty under an arrangement that would have allowed them to avoid the death penalty.

The agreement triggered an outcry from some relatives of 9/11 victims who opposed taking capital punishment off the table. Biden administration officials subsequently sought to withdraw the plea agreements, setting off additional litigation and further postponing a final resolution of the cases.

With prosecutors now declining to appeal the exclusion of Mohammed’s 2007 confession, the government is seeking to avoid another potentially lengthy detour and keep the case on course for trial on June 5, 2028 — nearly 27 years after the attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center, struck the Pentagon and resulted in the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in Pennsylvania.

{Matzav.com}

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani drew criticism on social media Monday after using his Labor Day message to credit “democratic socialists” with helping lead the movement behind the first Labor Day parade, while also touting his administration’s newly created Office of Worker Power.

“In 1882, 10,000 workers marched up Broadway in the first-ever Labor Day parade. Led by democratic socialists and organized by New York’s unions, they rallied the movement that went on to win us weekends, safety standards, overtime pay, a minimum wage, and social security,” Mamdani said in his Labor Day post.

“None of those victories were guaranteed. And none are permanent,” he said, pointing to his administration’s creation of the “first-in-the-nation Office of Worker Power to put the full weight of City Hall behind the people who keep New York running.”

“On Labor Day, we honor the workers who came before us by fighting for the workers who come next,” he added. “Happy Labor Day, New York. The future of worker power is ours to build.”

Mamdani’s characterization of the origins of Labor Day quickly prompted criticism online, with some users questioning his description of the organizers of the 1882 parade as “democratic socialists.”

“Democratic socialists? In 1882? And people think you’re brilliant? Your influencers are doing a great job with the taxpayer money you’re paying them with to LIE for you,” one social media user wrote.

“The difference is those people actually worked for what they received. They didn’t get handouts… nor did they ask for them,” another remarked.

Other critics objected to Mamdani drawing a connection between the labor activists of the late 19th century and today’s democratic socialist movement, including over contemporary immigration policies.

One critic wrote that the early labor activists were not demonstrating in favor of illegal immigrants coming into the United States to “steal our jobs and lower our bargaining power.”

“Making believe ‘Democratic Socialists’ had something to do with it. lol, nice one,” another wrote.

The history behind the first Labor Day celebration is more complicated than the online dispute suggested. The U.S. Department of Labor says the first Labor Day was held in New York City on September 5, 1882, under plans developed by the Central Labor Union. Historical accounts dispute whether Peter J. McGuire or Matthew Maguire deserves primary credit for proposing the holiday, with more recent research cited by the Labor Department supporting the case for Matthew Maguire.

The modern Democratic Socialists of America did not exist at the time. The organization was created exactly a century later, in 1982, through the merger of the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee and the New American Movement. DSA itself notes, however, that its ideological roots extend considerably further back in the history of American socialism and the labor movement.

Mamdani’s Labor Day message coincided with his signing of an executive order establishing the Mayor’s Office of Worker Power, which his administration described as the first municipal office of its kind in the country.

The new office is intended to coordinate worker-related initiatives across City Hall, conduct outreach and research, hold public hearings on labor issues and connect workers with information about workplace rights and organizations that provide assistance. Its focus is expected to include gig workers, immigrant workers, worker classification issues and the effects of new technologies on employment.

The controversy over Mamdani’s Labor Day message comes amid a broader debate within the Democratic Party over socialism and capitalism.

A CBS News poll released in August found that 58 percent of Democrats surveyed held a positive view of socialism, compared with 32 percent who viewed capitalism positively. The findings became a subject of discussion within the party, including during an interview with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”

Mamdani, a member of DSA, has made his democratic socialist political identity a prominent part of his public career. His administration has pursued proposals including city-owned grocery stores and other policies intended to address affordability and workers’ economic concerns, while critics have challenged the costs and economic consequences of those initiatives.

{Matzav.com}

Rav Chaim Feinstein, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Ateres Shlomo, delivered an inspiring shmuess of chizuk and hisorerus at Yeshivas Imrei Chochmah ahead of the Yomim Noraim, urging the bochurim not to be satisfied with a temporary burst of inspiration but to use the coming days to achieve genuine and lasting spiritual growth.

Rav Chaim, who serves as nasi of the yeshiva, was warmly welcomed upon his arrival by the Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Mordechai Shapiro, along with the yeshiva’s rabbonim and bnei hayeshiva. The gathering focused on preparing for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

During his remarks, Rav Chaim spoke about the extraordinary significance of the Yomim Noraim and the responsibility of every ben Torah to take advantage of this elevated period for introspection, correcting one’s actions and strengthening one’s avodas Hashem.

The Rosh Yeshiva urged the bochurim not to allow the inspiration of the season to remain a fleeting feeling, but instead to transform the yemei harachamim v’haselichos into a genuine process of change and spiritual growth.

“The main preparation for the Yomim Noraim is the desire to become a better person, a better ben Torah and a better oved Hashem,” Rav Chaim said.

He further stressed that one of the strengths of a ben Torah is the ability to utilize the days of Elul and the Yomim Noraim to undertake genuine kabbalos with careful thought and consistency, rather than making commitments based solely on temporary enthusiasm.

The bnei hayeshiva listened intently throughout the shmuess, with Rav Chaim’s words of chizuk making a powerful impression on those in attendance.

At the conclusion of the gathering, Rav Chaim gave his bracha to the roshei yeshiva and bnei Torah that they merit to be written and sealed immediately for a life of goodness and peace, and that the coming year bring continued growth in Torah and yiras Shomayim, along with hatzlocha in all their endeavors.

The shmuess left a strong impression on the bnei hayeshiva and added to the atmosphere of preparation for the Yomim Noraim at Yeshivas Imrei Chochmah, where the bnei hayeshiva continue their spiritual preparations as Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur approach.

{Matzav.com}