Feed aggregator

President Donald Trump issued a series of forceful warnings Tuesday, declaring that the United States will continue targeting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and any facilities associated with its weapons program while signaling that additional military action could come soon.

Speaking at the White House, Trump reiterated that Iran will never be permitted to acquire a nuclear weapon and warned that any location connected to such efforts would remain a target.

“Any site where they’re even thinking about nuclear, we’ll be hitting it very, very powerfully,” Trump said.

The President argued that recent U.S. military operations have dealt a devastating blow to Iran’s capabilities, saying the damage would take decades to repair.

“Now, nobody knows except the Iranians the damage that we’ve done to them. We have done damage that will take them 20, 25 years to recover from. So if we left tomorrow, we had a big success. But we’re not leaving tomorrow,” Trump said.

Trump also suggested that another major strike could soon target Iran’s heavily fortified Pickaxe Mountain complex, an underground site near the Natanz nuclear facility that has drawn increasing scrutiny because international inspectors have not been granted access.

Asked whether Iran had transferred uranium enrichment centrifuges to the mountain complex, Trump said it was possible but emphasized that U.S. intelligence is closely tracking Iran’s nuclear materials.

“They may have,” Trump said, adding, “we follow the material, that’s where the action is.”

He then indicated that military action against the site could be imminent.

“We’ll be hitting that area very, probably pretty soon. And there’s not a thing they can do about it. You know, normally I wouldn’t say that. If I thought they could do something about it, I would never say that. But we’ll be hitting that area pretty soon and very heavily,” Trump said.

Despite the ongoing military campaign, Trump said Iran is now seeking negotiations following repeated U.S. strikes against its military assets.

“They can not have a nuclear weapon and they won’t have — they have no chance of having a nuclear weapon… But we are doing very well. We are degrading them at levels that nobody thought was possible,” Trump said.

He added that Iran’s military has suffered severe losses but acknowledged that one recent Iranian attack in Jordan succeeded in killing American troops.

“They’re being degraded, really so seriously. They did slip something through in Jordan,” Trump said.

Meanwhile, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the United States has maintained intense pressure on Iran after ten consecutive days of strikes carried out by U.S. Central Command.

According to Hegseth, Tehran has repeatedly been offered opportunities to negotiate but instead has continued threatening international shipping.

“Iran has been given every opportunity to negotiate, to show that they’re reasonable on the Strait of Hormuz,” Hegseth said.

“But if they’re going to shoot a commercial shipping, then we’re going to hit them, as the president said, ten times harder, which every night we’re degrading them further and further,” he added.

“And the president has all the options necessary. If they want to talk, they can talk. Otherwise they can deal with the War Department. And we’re prepared.”

Trump also praised the U.S. naval blockade surrounding Iranian ports, describing it as nearly impenetrable.

He said the operation has effectively sealed off Iranian maritime traffic, while CENTCOM announced that U.S. forces have redirected multiple commercial vessels and prevented ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports since the blockade resumed.

The President also warned Iran-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen against carrying out threats to shut down the Red Sea shipping lanes.

“We’ll see what happens. So far, it hasn’t happened. Might happen, but we take care of things. If something like that happens, we take care of it,” Trump said.

When asked specifically how the United States would respond if the Houthis attempted to blockade the Red Sea, Trump replied, “I think that if there is something like that, we’ll just have to take care of business.”

Elsewhere in the region, Iran expanded its military campaign by launching fresh missile and drone attacks against neighboring countries. Bahrain activated nationwide warning sirens and urged residents to seek shelter after Iranian forces claimed responsibility for attacking the U.S.-operated Sheikh Isa Air Base. Kuwaiti officials likewise reported intercepting incoming Iranian missiles and drones.

The growing conflict also reached northern Iraq, where three explosive drones were intercepted near the U.S. Consulate in Erbil. The incident temporarily halted operations at Erbil International Airport, while U.S. officials warned that escalating tensions could trigger additional attacks against American diplomatic facilities worldwide.

Reflecting those concerns, the State Department issued a worldwide security alert urging Americans to exercise heightened caution.

“Due to heightened tensions in the Middle East, the security environment remains complex with the potential for unforeseen escalation,” the advisory stated.

The warning added that “U.S. diplomatic facilities, including outside the Middle East, have been targeted. Iran and groups supportive of Iran may target other U.S. interests overseas or at locations associated with the United States and Americans throughout the world.”

The Department also advised Americans in the Middle East to prepare for possible flight cancellations, temporary airspace closures, and other travel disruptions, while recommending that travelers reconsider nonessential travel to the region as the conflict continues to escalate.

{Matzav.com}

Joel Rubin, who led Jewish outreach for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign, has publicly distanced himself from the Vermont independent, accusing him of backing candidates whose views and rhetoric have contributed to rising antisemitism.

In an interview with Jewish Insider at the Aspen Security Forum, Rubin said Sanders has thrown his support behind “the most categorically anti-Israel, antisemitic candidates that we’ve seen in a generation, if ever.” He argued that those endorsements have helped normalize political figures whose positions have driven many Jewish voters away.

Rubin, who also served as a State Department official, said he once believed Sanders could bridge progressive ideals with strong support for the Jewish community. Instead, he contended, the senator has chosen to align himself with candidates whose rhetoric has gone beyond criticism of Israeli government policy and crossed into antisemitic stereotypes and hostility toward Jews. Rubin said those endorsements are especially troubling at a time when antisemitism is increasing in the United States and worldwide.

His comments represent one of the most pointed public criticisms Sanders has faced from a former senior member of his own presidential campaign, particularly someone responsible for Jewish outreach. Rubin said elected officials have an obligation to draw a clear distinction between legitimate debate over Israeli policy and rhetoric or movements that vilify Jews or encourage antisemitism.

Sanders, who is Jewish, has consistently maintained that his criticism of Israeli government actions is separate from antisemitism and has repeatedly rejected claims that opposing Israel’s policies is inherently antisemitic. Even so, Rubin’s remarks highlight the deepening disagreements within the Democratic Party over Israel, antisemitism, and the future direction of progressive politics as the 2026 midterm elections approach.

{Matzav.com}

France has become the first member of the European Union to approve a nationwide ban preventing children under the age of 15 from using social media, as lawmakers seek to curb the growing impact of harmful online content on young people.

The legislation cleared both houses of Parliament on Tuesday, marking one of President Emmanuel Macron’s signature domestic initiatives during his second term. In addition to restricting social media access for younger teens, the measure also prohibits mobile phone use in French high schools.

The vote comes amid mounting concern over the influence of social media on children’s mental health. In recent years, several French families have filed lawsuits against TikTok, alleging that harmful content on the platform contributed to teenage suicides. Child safety advocates and many parents welcomed Parliament’s decision.

“We’ve been campaigning for this bill from the start because, frankly, we have no other option, no other way to counter tech giants,” said Gaëlle Berbonde, a 52-year-old who lives in the Paris region. “The only thing we can do is protect our children, just as we protect our children from drinking alcohol.”

Berbonde told The Associated Press that her daughter received her first smartphone while in seventh grade. Although the family used parental controls to supervise her online activity, they were unfamiliar with TikTok and its content. Within months, they discovered their daughter had begun self-harming and was battling anorexia and depression. After spending a year and a half in the hospital, she has since recovered and is now 16 years old.

The bill represents one of the final major legislative accomplishments of Macron’s presidency before his term concludes next year. The French president hopes the new restrictions will take effect when schools reopen in September, although the legislation is expected to undergo constitutional review first, a process that could postpone its rollout.

The new law does not apply to educational resources such as online encyclopedias or scientific and academic directories.

Opposition lawmakers from the left-wing France Unbowed party voted against the measure, contending that its legality under the French Constitution remains uncertain. They also argued that enforcing the law would be extremely difficult and warned it could effectively eliminate online anonymity.

Ines Legendre, a legal advisor for the online protection group e-Enfance, cautioned that implementation will take time and will require significant technical solutions.

“We’ll also have to address the issue of existing accounts for those under 15. How do we identify them? How do we suspend them? And then there’s the question of age verification for all new accounts that will come into effect,” she said.

Data from France’s national health authority underscores the widespread use of smartphones among young people. According to the agency, half of all teenagers spend between two and five hours each day using their smartphones. A report released in December found that about 90% of children ages 12 to 17 use smartphones daily to access the internet, while 58% regularly use them for social networking.

Health officials also warned that frequent use of social media can negatively affect young users by lowering self-esteem and increasing exposure to content promoting dangerous behaviors, including self-harm, drug abuse, and suicide.

Before the legislation received final approval, lawmakers revised the proposal after the European Commission concluded that portions of the original bill conflicted with the European Union’s Digital Services Act, which regulates online platforms across the bloc. Following negotiations Monday, Parliament agreed on amended language that aligned with EU rules, paving the way for Tuesday’s final vote.

{Matzav.com}

New Jersey officials revealed Tuesday that a software malfunction at the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission mistakenly placed roughly 6,600 noncitizens on the voter rolls over the course of a year. State officials said fewer than 400 of those individuals ultimately voted before the erroneous registrations were identified and removed.

According to the Murphy administration, the registration problem occurred between June 2023 and June 2024, well before Gov. Mikie Sherrill assumed office.

Officials explained that the affected applicants had visited the MVC to obtain driver’s licenses or state identification cards and had correctly indicated that they were not U.S. citizens. Despite those responses, a flaw in the agency’s voter registration system automatically added them to New Jersey’s voter database.

“Through no fault of their own, the system registered them,” Sherrill said in a statement obtained by the New Jersey Globe.

The announcement followed President Donald Trump’s prime-time address just five days earlier, during which he argued that New Jersey had a significant number of noncitizens listed as registered voters.

Trump claimed that 35,152 noncitizens appeared on New Jersey’s voter rolls and estimated that approximately 250,000 noncitizens were registered across New Jersey, California, Nevada, and Pennsylvania.

Sherrill said she first learned of the issue last week and immediately directed state officials to investigate the matter while removing every voter registration that had been improperly created during the affected timeframe.

“I also ordered the removal of any residents from our voter rolls who were erroneously added between June 2023 and June 2024,” she said. “The new MVC administrator that I appointed has begun the process of replacing the vendor responsible for administering the system.”

The software involved was administered by IDEMIA, a company that supplies digital identity and biometric services to government agencies, including the TSA PreCheck program.

Sherrill said the state has already completed the removal of the improper voter registrations.

“Our preliminary analysis shows fewer than 400 individuals who were newly registered for the first time because of the error voted,” she said. “They were registered as Democrats, Republicans, and unaffiliated voters and were scattered across the state.”

State officials have not disclosed which elections those ballots were cast in or whether any contests were affected by the votes.

The New Jersey Globe reported that the software errors occurred while Latrecia Littles-Floyd was serving as acting chief administrator of the MVC during the administration of then-Gov. Phil Murphy. The report also noted that Littles-Floyd had previously been linked to a separate MVC issue in which eligible U.S. citizens were mistakenly removed from the voter rolls and efforts to remedy that problem reportedly faced resistance.

Officials have not determined whether Littles-Floyd or other members of the Murphy administration were aware of the software defect before it became public.

“I am appalled by the reckless failures that allowed this to happen, and the lack of transparency shown by those in charge at the time,” Sherrill said. “This failure didn’t occur under my watch, but accountability starts now.”

While outlining steps to strengthen confidence in the state’s election system, Sherrill also criticized Trump’s repeated claims regarding election security.

“The difference is simple: when we find a problem, we don’t hide it, deny it, or invent conspiracies,” she said. “We investigate it, we fix it, and we tell the public. That’s what accountability and good governance look like, and that’s exactly what my administration is doing.”

{Matzav.com}

A major investigation by a leading Swiss newspaper claims Hamas spent years quietly building a terrorist network across Europe in preparation for a coordinated wave of attacks modeled after the October 7 massacre, with Israeli, Jewish, and Western targets reportedly in its crosshairs.

According to an investigative report published by Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Hamas established a clandestine infrastructure throughout Europe well before the October 7 attacks in Israel. The network allegedly included concealed weapons stockpiles, arms-smuggling operations, logistical support systems, and sleeper cells that could be activated at the direction of the group’s leadership.

Citing German security investigation files, the newspaper reported that German authorities believe Hamas intended to launch the planned attacks around the second anniversary of the October 7 massacre. Officials say the alleged plot was thwarted through intelligence gathering and coordinated arrests carried out in multiple European countries.

Investigators reportedly identified Hamas-related operations spanning Germany, Austria, Denmark, Britain, Greece, and Cyprus. Among the most significant discoveries was a cache of weapons uncovered in Austria last year that contained five loaded handguns, ten magazines, more than 100 rounds of ammunition, and several explosive devices.

The report identifies Vienna as the central logistical base for the network. Authorities arrested a 39-year-old British man in London in connection with the Austrian weapons cache, while investigators allege that 13 pistols, an AK-47 rifle, and more than 900 rounds of ammunition were moved through Denmark, Germany, and Austria. German courts have since convicted four Hamas operatives in connection with the operation.

According to the investigation, Hamas’s military wing secretly created an operational presence in Europe despite the organization’s longstanding assertions that its activities were confined to Israel, Gaza, and Judea and Samaria. Investigators say the network featured hidden arms depots, weapons-smuggling routes, and a system designed to rapidly activate terrorist cells once leadership gave the order.

The findings come as Germany’s Federal Prosecutor continues pursuing charges against Hamas members accused of establishing terrorist infrastructure throughout Europe. Prosecutors contend that the preparations began years before the October 7 massacre, reflecting what investigators describe as Hamas’s long-term strategy to extend its terrorist operations well beyond the Middle East.

{Matzav.com}

[COMMUNICATED]

By Jamie Geller

I did not expect to hear the word joy so many times while making a film about grief.

In 2025, twenty Jews were murdered in antisemitic attacks outside of Israel. More than 800 severe antisemitic incidents were documented around the world. It was the deadliest year for Jews living outside Israel this century, and so I started working on a film to document it. When I began, I assumed I already understood the shape of that year. I did not. It took sitting across from the people who lived through it to see the pattern that had been there all along. They did not come for us at random moments. They came for us on our holidays.

A terrorist attacked Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in Manchester on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year, while worshippers prayed and fasted. Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby were murdered that morning. Melvin was the first Jewish man killed in the United Kingdom for being Jewish in 80 years. Gunmen opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney, killing fifteen people, among them a girl who had just turned ten, a Holocaust survivor, and a rabbi. And during the war between Israel and Iran, a ballistic missile struck a residential building in Haifa on the fourth day of Passover, killing four members of the Gershovitz family.

Yom Kippur. Hanukkah. Passover. While we were praying. While we were lighting candles. While we were celebrating. This has been something that has happened in Israel several times: the Yom Kippur War, October 7th, now it is spreading to the Diaspora.

As the person behind Aish’s Tisha B’Av documentary While We Were Celebrating, I traveled to three continents this year to sit with the people who lived through each of these attacks, and with the families they left behind. I went in bracing myself for grief. I have made enough films and sat with enough loss to know what to expect. What I found instead has not left me since.

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Karen Cravitz told me she was the one who encouraged her husband Melvin to leave for synagogue early that Yom Kippur morning, because that is simply what you do on the holiest day of the year. She has spent every day since turning that decision over in her head, a decision made entirely out of love and faith. Yoni Finlay was holding the synagogue doors shut to keep the terrorist out when a police bullet struck him in the chest and passed through his body into his friend Adrian, who was standing right behind him. And Rabbi Daniel Walker described his congregation to me as a reserved, quiet English crowd that does not usually dance on Friday nights. That next Friday, they danced.

In Sydney, Sheina Gutnik told me about her father, Reuven Morrison, who ran toward the gunmen at Bondi Beach and used his own body as a shield, saving dozens of lives before losing his.

Through the grief, through the funeral, through the memorial service that followed, Sheina lit Hanukkah candles. All eight nights. She told me she was not going to be the one to let the light go out. That message really moved me in ways I cannot explain.

Chavi Israel recounted how she threw herself over her baby, Meir, the moment the shooting started, trying to protect him and trying somehow not to suffocate him at the same time. She told me it was Reuven who saved both their lives. 

Yonatan Frank, a soldier who had come to Australia from Gaza days earlier, and wanted to go to the beach, found himself unarmed in the middle of a massacre and ran toward it anyway. Yonatan helped Chavi’s sister-in-law and her baby reach a waiting car that had arrived to rescue them. Eleven people ended up crammed into a car built for five. Chavi, Meir, Yonatan, and eight strangers who were suddenly not strangers at all. Once they were safe, they lit Hanukkah candles to keep the light alive.

In Haifa, Professor Lena Sagi told me about her neighbors, the Gershovitz family, who were found after an eighteen-hour search through what had been their home. Lena had lost everything but her life that night, the Gershovitz family weren’t as lucky. Lena told me that she later danced at her daughter’s bat mitzvah. Alex Gershovitz, Vladimir’s brother, still cannot speak about his family without his voice catching. In the same moment that he described himself to me as a secular Jew, he looked me in the eye and said that he believes God has a plan.

I sat with each of these people separately. Different continents, different languages, different circumstances. None of them knew what the others had said, yet every single one of them told me the same thing, completely unprompted.

They did not want to talk to me about their pain. They wanted to talk to me about joy. Not in spite of what happened to them, but because of it.

They chose to speak now, ahead of Tisha B’Av, because they understand what that day means to the Jewish world. It is our most reflective moment, the day we sit with our losses across history. None of these people are asking to be pitied. They are asking to be heard; they are asking us to understand our mission to live.  

This is nothing new for us. It runs through our history like a current, from the Inquisition to the pogroms to the Holocaust to October 7th, to Manchester, to Bondi, to Haifa. Our enemies have tried to extinguish our flame in every generation, and in every generation, the answer has been the same.

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Live more Jewishly. Live more joyously. Celebrate again. That will be the ultimate victory over our enemies.

This Tisha B’Av, as we sit on the floor and mourn what we have lost, I am sure that I will keep hearing Karen, Sheina, Chavi, and Lena in my head, asking this of me. I did not write their message. I am only carrying it, but now I am not making simple assumptions; I too am listening.

———————–

While We Were Celebrating, the Aish Original Tisha B’Av documentary film, premieres worldwide on July 22. It is free to watch. Register at aish.com/9av. To arrange a community screening, visit 9av.aish.com/groupscreening. For more information email 9avfilm@aish.com

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday that the federal government is halting more than $1 billion in Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota while officials investigate what they believe may be fraudulent claims involving the programs.

“We are not sending Medicaid dollars out the door until we have confidence that they are being spent lawfully and appropriately,” Kennedy said at an announcement on Tuesday.

Kennedy said the funding will remain on hold unless California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz can demonstrate that the payments are valid. According to the secretary, if the governors “want the money to fund low-income healthcare, they need to provide documentation that these payments are legitimate.”

The HHS secretary placed responsibility for the alleged problems on the Biden administration, along with Democratic leaders in California and Minnesota, accusing them of failing to safeguard taxpayer-funded healthcare programs from abuse.

“Instead of protecting your money, they open the floodgates to theft,” Kennedy said. “They dismantle basic program integrity and oversight.”

The suspension of the Medicaid funds is the latest step in the Trump administration’s broader campaign to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse throughout the federal government.

The announcement follows a major healthcare fraud crackdown unveiled last month by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who revealed that 455 defendants had been charged in schemes involving approximately $6.5 billion in fraudulent healthcare claims.

Federal officials described that operation as the “greatest combined federal and state effort in combating health care fraud in history,” alleging that participants exploited taxpayer-funded healthcare programs to bankroll lavish lifestyles.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump signaled growing ties between the United States and Lebanon during a White House meeting Tuesday with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, while also delivering a stark warning to Iran that any attempt to rebuild its nuclear infrastructure would be met with overwhelming military force.

Speaking alongside Aoun, Trump emphasized Washington’s commitment to supporting Lebanon and expressed optimism about the future of bilateral relations. “We’re gonna help [Lebanon] a lot,” Trump said. President Aoun responded, “The time has come for Lebanon to be stable and secure.”

During the meeting, Trump also suggested that Lebanon could eventually join the expanding list of nations participating in the Abraham Accords.

“The Abraham Accords have been, I think, a tremendous success. I think you’re going to see a lot of countries joining pretty soon,” he said.

Turning to Iran, Trump said the United States has no interest in negotiations unless Tehran is willing to make meaningful concessions, despite what he described as repeated efforts by the regime to open talks.

“The Iranians are desperate to meet with us, but until they’re prepared to do something meaningful, we’re not interested in meeting with them,” Trump said.

He reiterated that Iran has been attempting to initiate secret contacts with the United States but insisted those overtures will continue to be rejected unless they lead to substantive progress.

“They want to desperately meet – and until they’re ready to meet in a meaningful way, we have no interest,” he said.

Trump concluded with a forceful warning over reports that Iran has relocated uranium-enrichment centrifuges to the underground Pickaxe Mountain facility, making clear that any effort by the regime to revive its nuclear program would trigger an immediate American military response.

“How about these people? They’re in this because of nuclear weapons, and they’re trying to possibly reconstitute a site? We’ll hit that site. Any site where they’re even thinking about nuclear – we’ll be hitting it very, very powerfully.”

{Matzav.com}

The Treasury Department says it has prevented nearly $100 million in federal payments from being sent to deceased individuals after launching a government-wide payment verification system, marking another step in the Trump administration’s campaign to curb fraud and improper spending.

According to information obtained by The New York Post, Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service uncovered the questionable payments while reviewing roughly 885 million federal transactions with a combined value approaching $2.7 trillion.

Since the screening process began in March 2025, officials have flagged more than 4,900 payments totaling about $99 million that were linked to recipients who had already died, Treasury said.

Rather than allowing the money to be distributed, Treasury returned those payments to the federal agencies that initiated them so they could be examined before any taxpayer funds were released. Officials noted that payments directed to deceased individuals can often be a warning sign of fraud.

Although the blocked payments represented only about 0.0036% of the $2.7 trillion reviewed, Treasury emphasized that the amount was more than three times higher than what had been detected before President Trump took office last year as part of the administration’s broader effort to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse.

“Treasury has delivered on a key promise of President Trump’s mandate to stop improper payments and fraud before money leaves the Treasury, and strengthen the integrity of the federal payment system,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

“Together with Vice President Vance’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, this new safeguard addresses a longstanding vulnerability and helps ensure every dollar the federal government spends reaches its intended recipient,” Bessent added. “Treasury will continue efforts to modernize the federal payment system, strengthen safeguards against fraud and improper payments, and protect taxpayer dollars.”

To identify the improper payments, Treasury relied on the federal Do Not Pay program, which verifies a recipient’s identity, eligibility, and banking information before federal funds or awards are issued. Officials also employed additional verification technologies that helped detect the nearly $99 million in payments intended for deceased recipients.

Treasury said it dramatically broadened the use of these verification tools last year in response to directives issued by President Trump.

A law enacted in 2021 temporarily gave the department access to the Social Security Administration’s Full Death Master File, enabling officials to identify many of the deceased individuals listed as payment recipients.

That authority became permanent in February when President Trump signed the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act into law, ensuring Treasury retains ongoing access to the federal death records database.

Looking ahead, Treasury estimates that the expanded safeguards will generate approximately $330 million in net savings by preventing improper payments from being issued to deceased individuals.

{Matzav.com}

Israel’s military confirmed on Tuesday that it is constructing a physical barrier along the so-called “yellow line” in Gaza.

The confirmation came after the Associated Press presented the Israel Defense Forces with satellite imagery analyzed by the news agency. The military said that the project is part of a broader security zone aimed at preventing infiltration and protecting troops and nearby Israeli communities, outfitted with advanced intelligence and technological infrastructure.

Satellite imagery shows the barrier stretching more than 23 kilometers (14 miles) across Gaza, with a rapid expansion in recent months.

The military declined to detail the barrier’s full route or planned extent but said it is working to clearly mark the line, which was designated as a temporary boundary under a U.S.-backed ceasefire agreement with the Hamas terrorist organization which led the Oct. 7, 2023 invasion of southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.

Imagery indicates continued expansion in both southern and central Gaza, including near Rafah and Khan Yunis, with additional segments in the north. JNS

{Matzav.com}

As Tishah B’Av approaches, Rav Ofir Malka addressed a common halachic question regarding the use of electronic cigarettes during the fast, ruling that vaping is prohibited because of the flavored liquid used in the devices.

Speaking on his Halachah Lemaaseh radio program, Rav Malka was asked whether smoking an electronic cigarette is permitted on Tishah B’Av.

His response was unequivocal.

“Electronic cigarettes may not be smoked on fast days, and certainly not on Tishah B’Av,” he said.

Rav Malka added that even the limited leniency some authorities extend to conventional cigarettes applies only “privately after chatzos.”

He explained that the prohibition stems from the flavored liquid contained in electronic cigarettes.

“It has moisture, and that is considered like taste, similar to sucking on something,” he said.

When the caller argued that the liquid is not fit for consumption, Rav Malka responded that, in its diluted form, it nevertheless has a pleasant taste.

“It is moisture that is enjoyable to you. In low concentrations, it tastes good to you,” he explained, concluding that vaping is therefore prohibited during a fast.

Rav Malka also noted that because the liquid has flavor, it requires kosher certification throughout the year—not only on Pesach.

“It has an enjoyable taste in every respect, together with that moisture,” he said.

Later in the program, Rav Malka was asked about someone who accidentally ate during a fast.

His answer was clear: “He certainly must stop immediately and continue fasting.”

He explained that inadvertently eating does not exempt a person from completing the remainder of the fast.

{Matzav.com}

One of the first emergency responders to arrive at the scene of Sunday’s deadly balcony collapse in Yerushalayim has recounted the harrowing moments that unfolded, describing a critically injured victim trapped beneath the debris, workers rescued from inside the damaged building, and the heartbreaking arrival of the victim’s grandchildren.

Nachman Tuvul, a volunteer with United Hatzalah, told Kol Chai Radio’s Hamahadura Hamerkazis that when rescue teams first received the call, they had no idea what had actually happened.

“At first we thought it was some kind of construction accident,” Tuvul said. “But when we arrived, we found a shop—a restaurant or café—with several diners inside. Above it was the balcony of a residential apartment, and it had simply collapsed onto the roof of the business.”

According to Tuvul, the balcony crashed through a lightweight roof that offered virtually no protection from the impact.

“The roof was made of sheet metal and an acoustic ceiling, nothing that could absorb the force of the collapsing balcony,” he said.

One of the people trapped beneath the wreckage was later pronounced dead.

“When we arrived, he was still trapped and in critical condition,” Tuvul recalled.

As rescue efforts continued, responders learned that additional people remained trapped inside the shop.

“The wife of the elderly man told us there were still other people inside,” Tuvul said.

United Hatzalah volunteers entered the building through a rear window, where they located a male cashier and a female cashier. Although neither had suffered physical injuries, both were unable to escape because of the collapse.

“We instructed them to stay close to the back wall of the store in case, chas v’shalom, the structure continued collapsing,” he said. “They remained there until the fire department was able to rescue them.”

Before the workers were freed, several customers managed to climb out of the debris on their own, suffering only minor injuries. Firefighters, meanwhile, continued operating cautiously because sections of the damaged roof remained suspended overhead and posed a risk of further collapse.

By the end of the incident, four people with minor injuries had been transported for medical treatment, while another four individuals were treated for emotional trauma.

Tuvul said one of the most painful moments came when the victim’s grandchildren arrived at the scene.

“They saw him trapped beneath the rubble, without signs of life.”

United Hatzalah’s trauma response teams immediately provided emotional support to the grieving family members, as well as to the two cashiers who had endured a lengthy and terrifying ordeal before being rescued.

Reflecting on the operation, Tuvul said all of the trapped victims were ultimately located and evacuated.

“Baruch Hashem, we can report that, as far as evacuating the victims, treating the injured, and completing the rescue operation, the incident has come to an end.”

Despite the successful rescue effort, the collapse claimed the life of one elderly man and left four others injured, bringing a tragic conclusion to an incident that rescuers say will remain with them for a long time.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu is expected to create greater public distance between himself and Israel’s chareidi parties as the next election campaign approaches, according to a report Monday evening by Kan News, even as he seeks to preserve the cohesion of the right-wing coalition.

Senior Likud officials told the broadcaster that Netanyahu intends to emphasize that separation as campaigning intensifies.

“As we get closer to the elections and the campaign begins, Netanyahu plans to deepen the separation from the Chareidim and try to distance himself from them publicly,” one senior party official said.

Another senior Likud figure said the prime minister will have to strike a careful political balance.

“He will have to walk a tightrope so as not to attack the Chareidim directly and damage the bloc,” the official said.

The report comes amid renewed tensions within Israel’s right-wing camp over military service and public support for IDF soldiers. Earlier Monday, Prime Minister Netanyahu weighed in after remarks by the rosh yeshiva, Rav Dov Landau, criticizing elements of the Religious Zionist community sparked widespread controversy.

Although Netanyahu did not mention Rav Landau by name, he wrote that “IDF soldiers deserve deep appreciation, gratitude, and the full backing of every segment of the public, certainly including the Torah world.” He added that Israel’s soldiers—religious, secular, and chareidi alike—risk their lives to defend the country.

Netanyahu adviser Yonatan Urich also entered the debate, writing: “Better late than never: Do not speak disparagingly about IDF soldiers. I repeat and emphasize: Do not speak disparagingly about IDF soldiers. Not perhaps, not indirectly, not because of something else, not at all.”

Urich also responded to a clarification issued by Rav Landau’s office, which stated that “It is unclear what Netanyahu is condemning. The rav did not speak about Religious Zionist soldiers themselves. He was referring to a theoretical halachic discussion about a situation in which the state sends soldiers to war for its own honor rather than for an existential war. Nothing more.”

Rejecting that explanation, Urich wrote: “That is the most distorted clarification I have ever seen. Here’s a suggestion: Let the political operatives keep quiet for 99 days so that we can win the election.”

{Matzav.com}

A centuries-old mystery surrounding the burial place of Rashi has reportedly been resolved following the discovery of an ancient manuscript in Oxford University’s library. The newly uncovered document, together with additional historical manuscripts and maps found this year, points to the precise location of Rashi’s burial in the French city of Troyes. The discovery has already prompted efforts to establish a proper monument at the site.

Rashi—Rabbeinu Shlomo Yitzchaki, the greatest commentator on Tanach and the Gemara—was born in Troyes in the Hebrew year 4800. At the age of 20, he traveled to Germany to study Torah, returning to France a decade later to lead a yeshiva and compose the monumental commentaries that became foundational to Torah learning. He passed away on the 29th of Tammuz in the year 4865.

Following the expulsion of the Jews from France during the era of the Rishonim, the tombstones in the Jewish cemetery of Troyes were uprooted, and the city’s Jewish community disappeared for centuries. Although French Jewish tradition consistently maintained that Rashi had been buried in Troyes, later rumors claimed he had instead been buried in Prague or Worms.

Those reports were always viewed with skepticism, particularly since both Prague and Worms maintained continuous Jewish communities that preserved no tradition identifying Rashi’s burial place there. Nevertheless, the conflicting claims created enough uncertainty that many historians eventually concluded that the exact location of Rashi’s grave was unknown.

This year, as talmidim of the Vizhnitz London Yeshiva prepared for a trip to the gravesites of the Rishonim in France under the leadership of Rav Levi Yitzchak Hager, son of the Vizhnitz-London Rebbe, they undertook extensive research into the question. Their investigation led them to an ancient manuscript housed in Oxford’s library that, for the first time, provides what they describe as a clear historical source confirming that Rashi was buried in Troyes.

The manuscript, known as Seder HaYuchasin of the sages of France during the era of the Rishonim, was written in France toward the close of the fifth millennium of the Hebrew calendar. Portions of the work were previously cited by the Maharshal in his Teshuvos (Siman 29), but the complete manuscript has only now come to light. Because of its difficult handwriting, earlier researchers who examined it reportedly overlooked its most significant passage.

In its account of Rashi’s passing, the manuscript states: “In the year 4865, the lamp of Israel was extinguished, the crown of glory fell, and he was laid to rest with his fathers in Troyes!”

The newly discovered source also reinforces a statement by Rabbeinu Tam, Rashi’s grandson, who referred to Troyes in his Sefer HaYashar (Teshuvos, Siman 16) as “the city of my fathers’ graves,” echoing the language of Nechemiah. While that phrase alone did not explicitly identify Rashi’s burial place, the newly discovered manuscript—written in France only a few generations after Rashi, while the Jewish cemetery still existed—states directly that Rashi was buried alongside his ancestors in Troyes.

Following the discovery, researchers contacted historians of the city of Troyes working on behalf of the French government. They were told that, independently, additional medieval Christian writings had recently been uncovered identifying Troyes as Rashi’s burial place. Researchers also located detailed historical maps identifying the precise boundaries of the former Jewish cemetery, with a full report expected to be published later this summer.

Last week, talmidim of the Vizhnitz London Yeshiva traveled to the gravesites of the Rishonim in France as a reward from the yeshiva administration for faithfully maintaining daily written records of their learning throughout the year. After davening at the resting place of the Baalei HaTosafos in Ramerupt, they continued to nearby Troyes, where they davened within the grounds of the historic Jewish cemetery believed to contain Rashi’s kever.

While there, the talmidim completed Maseches Bava Basra, which they had studied throughout the year, timing the siyum to coincide with Rashi’s yoma d’hilula. In doing so, they fulfilled Rashi’s own words in Yevamos (122b): “On the day that a great person dies, it is established in his honor, and every year when that day arrives, Torah scholars gather from all around and come to his grave together with the rest of the people to establish a yeshiva there.”

Rav Yisrael Meir Gabbai, chairman of Oholei Tzaddikim, who participated in the trip, met while in Troyes with local attorneys and representatives of the local Jewish community and French government to begin the legal and logistical process of erecting a permanent monument marking the precise location of Rashi’s burial. The goal, organizers said, is to enable Jews from around the world to visit the site, daven there, and seek yeshuos for both spiritual and material needs.

{Matzav.com}

A couple who were advised by doctors to reduce a triplet pregnancy have welcomed three healthy baby girls after choosing to continue the pregnancy based on the guidance and blessing of Rav Yigal Cohen. In recent days, they visited the rav together with their daughters to express their gratitude for the support they received throughout the journey.

Nearly a year ago, Rav Yigal Cohen, rosh mosdos Yabia Omer and a member of Israel’s Chief Rabbinate Council, received an urgent request for guidance from a woman who had become pregnant with triplets.

The woman explained that although she had been blessed with the pregnancy, her doctors strongly recommended reducing two of the fetuses because of what they described as serious medical concerns. Unsure how to proceed, she turned to Rav Cohen for hadrachah.

Together with his personal assistant, Shimon Bardi, who remained in close contact with the family throughout the process, Rav Cohen carefully reviewed the case. After consulting with leading physicians and medical specialists, he reached the decision that the pregnancy should continue without any fetal reduction.

The husband and wife accepted the rav‘s ruling wholeheartedly and received his berachah. Throughout the pregnancy, they remained in regular contact with Bardi, who continually updated Rav Cohen on the mother’s condition and the progress of the pregnancy.

B’chasdei Shamayim, the couple welcomed three healthy, complete baby girls, bringing tremendous joy to their family.

In recent days, the parents returned to visit Rav Cohen, bringing the three infants with them to personally thank him and Bardi for their guidance, encouragement, and support throughout the pregnancy. Those present said the emotional reunion moved many to tears.

The story carries special significance for Rav Cohen because of his own family’s experience. Years ago, his daughter was diagnosed during pregnancy with a severe heart defect, and doctors urged the family to terminate the pregnancy. However, after receiving a berachah from the Admor Rav Dovid Abuchatzeira, the pregnancy continued. Today, Rav Cohen says his daughter has become a source of inspiration for him and for many other families facing similar circumstances, encouraging them to preserve pregnancies despite difficult medical predictions.

{Matzav.com}

Hundreds of Gerer chassidim gathered late Monday night outside the Tel Aviv home of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, holding a surprise protest just hours after the Gerer Rebbe led a massive demonstration outside Prison 10 over the arrest of a yeshiva bochur from the chassidus.

The late-night demonstration drew approximately 200 participants, who assembled outside the attorney general’s residence after Gur’s leadership canceled plans for a much larger protest that had originally been expected to attract thousands.

According to organizers, the larger event was called off because of the severe congestion, overcrowding, and disturbances that developed earlier in the evening during the main rally outside Prison 10.

Despite the official cancellation, about 200 chassidim made their way to the site on their own. Wrapped in taleisim, participants recited Selichos, with the shliach tzibbur leading the davening while draped in a tallis. Later, demonstrators cried out together, “She has no share in the World to Come.”

Among those in attendance were young children who stood alongside their fathers carrying protest signs reading, “We do not abandon any Torah learner,” and “Whoever disgraces Torah scholars has no share in the World to Come.” At one point during the protest, several demonstrators became involved in heated verbal exchanges with a passerby.

Earlier in the evening, tens of thousands of Gerer chassidim, led by the Gerer Rebbe, had assembled outside the entrance to Prison 10 in a large-scale protest against the imprisonment of a yeshiva student from the chassidus.

The massive gathering was marked by significant crowding and heavy congestion, eventually leading demonstrators to breach the fence surrounding the prison complex. Although the event had been coordinated in advance with Israel Police, it was suspended for an extended period because of safety concerns.

As the situation intensified, United Torah Judaism chairman MK Yitzchak Goldknopf appealed to the crowd to move back in order to protect those gathered near the stage where the Gerer Rebbe was seated.

הפגנת גור מול ביתה של היועשית (צילום: הילל בן אור)

הפגנת גור מול ביתה של היועשית (צילום: הילל בן אור)

הפגנת גור מול ביתה של היועשית (צילום: הילל בן אור)

הפגנת גור מול ביתה של היועשית (צילום: הילל בן אור)

הפגנת גור מול ביתה של היועשית (צילום: הילל בן אור)

הפגנת גור מול ביתה של היועשית (צילום: הילל בן אור)

הפגנת גור מול ביתה של היועשית (צילום: הילל בן אור)

הפגנת גור מול ביתה של היועשית (צילום: הילל בן אור)

הפגנת גור מול ביתה של היועשית (צילום: הילל בן אור)

הפגנת גור מול ביתה של היועשית (צילום: הילל בן אור)

הפגנת גור מול ביתה של היועשית (צילום: הילל בן אור)

{Matzav.com}

By Rabbi Doniel Neustadt

When Tisha B’Av falls on Thursday, the halachos of the Tenth of Av are different to usual.

The Nine Days begins on Rosh Chodesh Av and ends on the evening of Tishah B’Av. But because the Beis Hamikdash was actually destroyed on the tenth of Av, Ashkenazi custom dictates that many of the Nine Days restrictions continue to be in effect on the tenth of Av as well, until chatzos.

However, when Tishah B’Av falls on a Thursday, as it does this year, many of these restrictions aren’t practiced on Thursday night or Friday, since doing so might be in conflict with the important mitzvah of preparing for Shabbos.

There are many opinions and customs as to exactly which restrictions continue to be in effect on Thursday night and Friday, and which don’t. There are also various opinions as to when exactly these restrictions are lifted.

If you have a specific family custom regarding this issue, then continue to follow it. Otherwise, the list below can serve as a guide for you and your family to follow:

Business / Construction / Gifts                          – Thursday night

Cleaning (house) for Shabbos                            – Thursday after chatzos (if necessary)[1]

Embroidery / Crocheting                                        – Thursday night

Food shopping and preparation                    – Thursday after chatzos[2]

Haircut and Beard Trim                                           – Thursday night

Laundry / Dry Cleaners (all clothes)               – Thursday night

Laundry separation / preparation                     – Thursday after chatzos (if necessary)

Meat[3] and Wine                                                            – Friday after chatzos

Mending / Sewing                                                        – Thursday night

Music / Dancing                                                           – Friday after chatzos

Nail cutting                                                                      – Friday morning (Thursday night, if necessary)

Shaving (for Shabbos[4])                                            – Thursday night

Shaving (not for Shabbos)                                     – Friday after chatzos

Shower (cold / lukewarm, for hygiene)          – Thursday night

Shower / Bath (hot, for pleasure)                      – Friday after chatzos

Shower / Bath (hot, for Shabbos[5])                    – Friday morning

Shehecheyanu                                                              – Friday after chatzos

Shopping (Shabbos clothes)                                – Thursday night

Shopping (weekday clothes)                                – Friday after chatzos

Swimming (adults) / Boating                                – Friday after chatzos[6]

Swimming (small children) / Sprinklers        – Thursday night

Travelling                                                                           – Thursday night

Wearing laundered / new clothes                     – Friday after chatzos[7]

Wearing freshly set / new wig                              – Friday after chatzos[8]

Wig washing and setting                                     – Thursday night

[1] A regularly scheduled cleaning lady may come before chatzos as well.

[2] If necessary, food shopping permitted before chatzos as well.

[3] Clear chicken soup is permitted Thursday night. Meat and wine are permitted at a siyum on Thursday night.

[4] Not planning to shave again for Shabbos.

[5] Not planning to bathe or shower again for Shabbos.

[6] Swimming for exercise permitted Thursday night.

[7] If pre-worn or used is not available, fresh or new may be worn from Thursday night.

[8] If pre-worn or used is not available, fresh or new may be worn from Thursday night.

Maran Rav Dov Landau, Slabodka rosh yeshiva, responded Monday night for the first time to the public controversy surrounding remarks that were widely interpreted as criticism of soldiers from the Religious Zionist community.

Speaking at a gathering of community rabbonim organized by the Ichud Bnei Yeshiva, Rav Landau sharply criticized the way his private comments had been portrayed following their publication.

“As was proven over the past day when remarks I made during a private conversation were published, those motivated by hatred of the unlearned approached those words with distortion and complete misunderstanding,” Rav Landau told the assembled rabbonim.

His comments came after widespread reaction to the publication of a private meeting at his home with the heads of Yeshivas Mir, during which he spoke critically about what he referred to as the “knitted-kippah community.”

The controversy sparked strong reactions from across Israel’s political spectrum. Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu firmly rejected the remarks, saying that “IDF soldiers deserve the deepest appreciation.” In response, Degel HaTorah issued a forceful statement defending Rav Landau and warning critics, “Beware of speaking against the Torah giants.”

During the same gathering, Rav Landau also addressed yeshiva students, offering guidance for the upcoming bein hazemanim period.

“During bein hazmanim, you may encounter people whose way of life is different from ours. It is essential to avoid any ideological arguments with them,” the rosh yeshiva emphasized. “Our worldview is clear to us from our rabbonim, the mighty giants of the land, from whose teachings we draw.”

Rav Landau further cautioned bnei yeshiva against engaging in debates with “people who, under the banner of their beliefs, persecute the Torah and those who study it.”

According to Rav Landau, such individuals “are incapable of understanding or accepting our worldview, which was the worldview of our great rabbonim, the Chazon Ish and the Brisker Rav zt”l.”

{Matzav.com}

Former President Barack Obama sharply criticized Vice President JD Vance during a public discussion Thursday, accusing him of promoting a “blood and soil” view of American identity despite being married to the daughter of immigrants.

Obama made the remarks while speaking with author Malcolm Gladwell about the Reconstruction era, arguing that many of the debates that defined that period continue to shape American politics today.

“It’s impossible to spend a lot of time thinking about Reconstruction without reflecting on the present day, right?” Obama said. “Because these issues are — well, they’re still there. If somebody is asking why it is relevant to talk about Reconstruction, I have to describe for them the degree to which we’re having the same arguments. The issues of: How are we going to help the freed people who’ve been enslaved? What are we going to give them to allow them to have a go at life? What does real freedom mean?”

Drawing parallels between Reconstruction and current political debates, Obama pointed to disputes over voting rights following Supreme Court rulings on congressional districts and argued that one of the nation’s major political parties has embraced an exclusionary definition of American identity.

“We have a politics now that at least one of our major parties has been captured by politics that is not that subtle about suggesting that ‘We the people’ means a certain kind of people,” Obama said. “When you have the vice president, current vice president, making a speech that is basically a blood and soil version of ‘We the people,’ that it matters who your parents were and how long they’ve been here despite him being married to a daughter of an immigrant himself.”

He continued, “That echoes, then, ideas about who can be a citizen, who belongs, who gets to make decisions. So all these issues are still being debated, sometimes not as bluntly and explicitly as they have in the past, but they’re still there.”

The phrase “blood and soil” originated in Nazi Germany and has long been associated with white nationalist ideology.

Gladwell echoed Obama’s criticism, accusing Vance of hypocrisy for advancing what he described as a nativist message while being married to Usha Vance, whose parents immigrated from India. Obama agreed with that characterization but argued that such inconsistency nevertheless reflected societal progress.

“That is progress. Listen, hypocrisy is progress. It is, because it means that you feel guilty enough to either lie to yourself or others. And that is better than not even thinking about the idea that maybe you’re doing something wrong,” Obama said.

Obama’s comments appeared to reference Vance’s Independence Day address earlier this month commemorating America’s 250th birthday in New York, during which the vice president urged Americans to reject narratives that focus solely on the nation’s shortcomings.

“So what I’d ask you to do, my fellow Americans, on our 250th birthday, is to reject the two-dimensional view of your fellow citizens and reject the two-dimensional view of your country. Reject that America is a place for zero-sum thinking because it is not. Our history is one of people carving a great civilization out of the wilderness. Reject the view of your nation that sees only its sins, but not its grace and its greatness. Everything that we have done, everything that we’ve done as a country, we have all done together, not as citizens divided against each other, but as a common people working towards a common future,” Vance said.

Although Obama has generally refrained from mentioning Vance by name in recent public appearances, he previously took an indirect jab at the vice president during the 2024 presidential campaign after then-Vice President Kamala Harris selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.

“When a presidential candidate chooses a running mate, it says a lot about who they are and what kind of president they’ll be. Do they pick someone inexperienced and polarizing who will deepen our divisions?” Obama asked. “Or do they pick someone with the judgment to make tough decisions, and the character to believe that every voice counts and everyone deserves an equal chance?”

{Matzav.com}

MK Yaakov Asher (Degel HaTorah) has accused Israeli Supreme Court Deputy President Justice Noam Solberg of using his position on the bench to wage an ideological battle between the chareidi and Religious Zionist communities over the military draft law and the broader relationship between religion and the state.

Speaking in an interview with Kikar HaShabbat, Asher argued that although Solberg is considered a conservative justice, he has long held ideological differences with the Haredi community.

“Here we have a conservative judge today—Justice Noam Solberg—but he has had ideological disagreements with us from the very beginning,” Asher said. “He is using his judicial seat to educate us according to the values by which he educates his own children.”

According to Asher, Solberg’s rulings are driven by his deeply held beliefs rather than personal animosity toward the chareidi community.

“He’s a human being, not an angel. Solberg is not an angel, and Amit certainly isn’t an angel. It’s clear that he comes from a place of deep conviction on this issue. Anyone who is not chareidi and is not connected to our faith, our guidance, and the worldview of our rabbonim finds it difficult to understand.”

Asher added that the long-running ideological divide between the Religious Zionist and Haredi communities over issues of religion and state has become increasingly prominent.

“Especially now that the longstanding disagreement between the Religious Zionist community and the chareidi community over how to view religion and the state has become public, I can appreciate him on a personal level. He is someone who truly does not come from a place of hatred or anything of that sort, but he does come with his own ideology.”

Asher concluded by saying that judges do not shed their personal beliefs simply because they wear judicial robes.

“People come to work wearing a robe; they don’t become angels. He has a disagreement with us. He was raised according to the teachings of different rabbonim.”

{Matzav.com}