Israeli Supreme Court President Yitzchok Amit on Sunday issued a temporary order delaying the election for Tel Aviv’s chief rabbi by approximately one month, following petitions filed by members of the Tel Aviv City Council.
The ruling postpones the vote that had been scheduled for next week, Tuesday, January 6, 2026 (17 Teves 5786), as determined by the city’s rabbinical election committee. The committee is chaired by retired dayan Rav Yaakov Zamir, a former member of Israel’s Supreme Rabbinical Court.
The petitions argued that the Ministry of Religious Services appointed representatives of the minister to the electoral body without consulting the city council, in alleged violation of legal requirements. According to the petitioners, this deprived elected council members of their lawful influence over the composition of the electoral forum and, by extension, over the identity of the rabbi to be chosen.
In his decision, Justice Amit indicated that postponing the election would allow time for the city council to present its position regarding the minister’s representatives on the electoral body, addressing the procedural concerns raised in the petitions.
The race for Tel Aviv’s chief rabbinate includes Rav Zavdiel Cohen, the city’s av beis din, who has received backing from the former chief rabbis as well as political support from the Shas party and Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai.
Also expected to enter the race is Rav Tzvi Yehuda Lau, son of former Chief Rabbi of Israel Rav Yisrael Meir Lau, who currently serves as the rov of the Yad Eliyahu neighborhood in Tel Aviv.
The court’s temporary order leaves the future timetable of the election dependent on further legal review and potential adjustments to the selection process of the electoral body.
{Matzav.com}
Hopes for progress toward normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia appear to be dimming once again, as senior voices in Riyadh issued sharp criticism following Israel’s recent recognition of Somaliland.
According to Israeli media reports, Saudi officials conveyed growing dissatisfaction with Israel’s diplomatic conduct, describing the move as yet another step that distances the two sides from a potential normalization agreement. Relations between Yerushalayim and Riyadh, which had shown signs of cautious engagement in the past, have recently cooled, with the Saudis repeatedly raising conditions and voicing disappointment over Israel’s actions.
A senior Saudi source, quoted by N12, said that Israel’s recognition of Somaliland sparked angry reactions across the Arab world and sent a negative signal to the Gulf kingdom. “Israel’s recognition of Somaliland pushes normalization with Riyadh further away and isolates Israel even more in the region,” the source said.
The same official pointed to domestic Israeli politics as an additional destabilizing factor, arguing that Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s desire to remain in office is exacerbating regional tensions. “Netanyahu’s pursuit of another term only intensifies the regional upheaval,” the source claimed. “It creates confusion both inside Israel and throughout the broader Middle East.”
The Saudi official went further, posing a pointed rhetorical challenge to Jerusalem’s leadership. “How would Netanyahu react if Saudi Arabia were to support Palestinian liberation movements in Judea and Samaria and Gaza, or Lebanese liberation movements in southern Lebanon?” the source asked. “Would he see that as a declaration of war? And after all that, is he still talking about normalization? It’s madness.”
{Matzav.com}
An act of disturbing vandalism was recorded overnight outside the main Beit Yosef shul in Givatayim, after an unidentified individual was caught on security cameras tearing tefillin, siddurim, and talleisim and scattering the ripped items on the ground near the shul entrance.
According to information obtained by Matzav.com, the shul was open at the time and was not broken into, and no structural damage was caused.
In an unusual detail, the suspect did not take the tashmishei kedusha from inside the building. Instead, security footage shows the man arriving on an electric scooter, carrying the religious items with him, vandalizing them outside the shul, and then throwing the torn remains onto the floor near the entrance.
The incident took place at the Beit Yosef shul on Gilboa Street in Givatayim and was fully documented by the shul’s surveillance cameras. The footage shows the unidentified man calmly approaching the area and carrying out the act before leaving the scene.
Rav Shlomo Batzri, the rov and a son of the mekubal Rav Dovid Batzri, expressed deep pain over the incident. “Our community is a place of great unity and ahavas Yisroel,” he said. “Only recently, members of the ‘Brothers in Arms’ organization held a bar mitzvah here. The shul is constantly involved in kiruv rechokim, and it is shocking that something like this could be done in such a horrific manner. We are examining the circumstances and trying to understand what led to this.”
The motive behind the act remains unclear.
{Matzav.com}
A day that had already been marked by major transportation disruptions in and around Bnei Brak took an unexpected turn Sunday night, when a citywide power outage plunged multiple wedding celebrations into darkness. Hours earlier, protests organized by the Peleg had caused severe traffic congestion on the main roads leading into the city, complicating access for residents and guests alike.
As the evening weddings reached their height, electricity suddenly cut out across the city center, leaving large banquet halls without lighting or sound. Festive scenes were instantly replaced by darkness, forcing families and guests to improvise with cellphone flashlights in an effort to keep the simcha going.
Video footage from the halls showed expansive spaces almost entirely blacked out, with small beams of light flickering between tables. Guests were seen moving cautiously through the halls, trying to preserve some sense of celebration under difficult circumstances. The music came to a sudden halt, and the lively atmosphere gave way to an uneasy quiet.
Musicians and event staff were visibly shaken by the sudden shutdown. Yehuda Galili, a well-known keyboardist and Kol Chai Music broadcaster who was attending one of the weddings, was filmed standing beside his silent instruments in disbelief. Asked during a live radio broadcast how he was feeling, Galili said, “I’m in shock,” as those nearby explained, “Power outage, the whole area is shut down.”
{Matzav.com}
Palestinian Authority officials in Ramallah said Sunday that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip continues to deteriorate, estimating that roughly 200,000 caravans are required to provide basic shelter for displaced residents. The PA’s government operations room cited severe winter conditions, including heavy rain and storms, which have caused widespread damage to tents and makeshift housing, leaving thousands in worsening conditions.
Against that backdrop, a senior Hamas figure leveled sharp criticism at Israel over the ceasefire framework. Mahmoud Mardawi, a top official in the Hamas terror organization, charged that Israel has failed to comply with the commitments laid out in the agreement.
Mardawi alleged that Israel is selectively applying certain clauses of the deal while continuing what he described as a policy of “killing and starvation” directed at the Palestinian Arab population.
He urged the US administration to intervene, calling on Washington to apply political pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ensure that the agreement is implemented in full and without delay.
According to Mardawi, carrying out all components of the ceasefire is a prerequisite for advancing to the second phase of the agreement, which he said is intended to bring an end to the fighting and alleviate civilian suffering in Gaza.
In that context, he added that a Palestinian Arab committee should be formed to administer the Gaza Strip, arguing that such a body must reflect the will of the Palestinian Arab people.
{Matzav.com}
Somalia has asked the United Nations Security Council to convene an emergency discussion over Israel’s decision to recognize Somaliland, with the session expected to take place on Monday. Somalia, which is set to assume the Security Council presidency in January, submitted the request on Saturday, one day after Israel announced the move.
The recognition has triggered sharp reactions from armed groups operating in the region. Al-Shabaab, the Somalia-based terrorist organization affiliated with Al-Qaeda, declared it would oppose any Israeli involvement in Somaliland following the announcement. “We will not accept it, and we will fight against it,” the group said in a statement. Al-Shabaab claimed the decision proved Israel “has decided to expand into parts of the Somali territories” in order to support what it described as “the apostate administration in the northwest regions.”
On Sunday, the leader of Yemen’s Houthi rebels, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, also issued a warning directed at Israel. In a statement, he said that any Israeli presence on Somali territory would be treated as a legitimate military target. “We will not agree to violations of Somalia’s sovereignty or to a security threat against us and against the Horn of Africa region in general,” al-Houthi said.
Israel announced on Friday that it had formally recognized Somaliland, a territory that broke away from Somalia in 1991. Since declaring independence, Somaliland has maintained effective self-rule and relative stability, but it has failed to gain international recognition from any other country until now.
The Houthis have previously launched missile and drone attacks toward Israel since the outbreak of the war in Gaza. Those strikes stopped after a US-brokered ceasefire took effect in October, though the latest statements suggest renewed tensions following Israel’s move regarding Somaliland.
{Matzav.com}
WATCH:
LISTEN:
https://matzav.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Bitachon4Life-Shiur-1666-Chikuy-Part-66-Situation.mp3For more info, email bitachon4life@gmail.com.
