Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that any foreign troops deployed to Ukraine, particularly while its invasion was still ongoing, would be considered “legitimate targets” by Moscow’s forces. Putin’s comments came hours after European leaders repledged their commitment to a potential peacekeeping force, a prospect that Moscow has repeatedly described as “unacceptable.” “If any troops appear there, especially now while fighting is ongoing, we assume that they will be legitimate targets,” he said during a panel at the Eastern Economic Forum in the far eastern Russian city of Vladivostok. Putin also dismissed the idea of peacekeeping forces in Ukraine after a final peace deal, saying “no one should doubt” that Moscow would comply with a treaty to halt its 3½-year full-scale invasion of its neighbor. He said that security guarantees would be needed for both Russia and Ukraine. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov later said Moscow would need “legally binding documents” to outline such agreements. “Of course, you can’t just take anybody’s word for something,” he told Russian news outlet Argumenty i Fakty. European leaders pledge peacekeeping force in Ukraine Putin’s comments follow remarks from French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday that 26 of Ukraine’s allies have pledged to deploy troops as a “reassurance force” for Ukraine once fighting ends. Macron spoke after a meeting in Paris of the so-called coalition of the willing, a group of 35 countries that support Ukraine. He said that 26 of the countries had committed to deploying troops to Ukraine — or to maintaining a presence on land, at sea or in the air — to help guarantee the country’s security the day after any ceasefire or peace is achieved. Addressing the participants of the international economic conference the Ambrosetti Forum on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was important that security guarantees “start working now, during the war, and not only after it ends.” He said he could not disclose more details as they are “sensitive and relate to the military sphere.” Drone strikes continue Russian troops attacked Ukraine overnight with 157 strike and decoy drones, as well as seven missiles of various types, Ukraine’s air force reported Friday. Air defenses shot down or jammed 121 of the drones, it said. One attack damaged multiple residential buildings in Dnipro in central Ukraine, regional administration head Serhii Lysak wrote on social media. The regional administration also said that an unspecified “facility” had been set alight in the strike, but did not give further details. Lysak shared photos of residential buildings with damaged roofs, glass shards lying on the ground and people carrying wooden boards to cover broken windows. “Private homes were damaged. Windows in apartment buildings were shattered,” he wrote. Meanwhile, in Ukraine’s Chernihiv region north of Kyiv, Russian drones attacked infrastructure in the Novhorod-Siversk district, leaving at least 15 settlements without electricity, local authorities reported. Elsewhere, Russian troops destroyed 92 Ukrainian drones overnight, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Friday. Local social media channels in the city of Ryazan, approximately 200 kilometers (125 miles) southeast of Moscow, reported that the city’s Rosneft oil refinery had been targeted. They shared videos that appeared to show a fire against the night sky. Local Gov. Pavel Malkov said that drone debris had fallen on an “industrial enterprise” but did not give further details, instead warning residents not to post images of air defenses on social media. (AP)
The daughter and son-in-law of a Nazi financier who helped plunder Europe’s Jewish-owned art collections during World War II were charged Thursday in Argentina with concealing dozens of stolen works, including 22 paintings by French modernist Henri Matisse. The case erupted last month after “Portrait of a Lady,” an 18th-century painting by Italian baroque artist Giuseppe Ghislandi, surfaced in a real estate advertisement for a property in Argentina — only to disappear shortly after. The work had been missing for eight decades. Investigators later traced the painting to the home of Patricia Kadgien, 58, daughter of Nazi official Friedrich Kadgien, who fled to Argentina after the war and died there in 1978. Police raids in the seaside city of Mar del Plata uncovered the missing Ghislandi and a trove of additional works, including 22 canvases from Matisse’s 1940s period. The origins of other seized paintings are still under review. Friedrich Kadgien, once a financial adviser to Adolf Hitler, played a role in transporting art stolen from Jewish families and collectors to South America during the war. Among the victims was Dutch dealer Jacques Goudstikker, who died in 1940 while fleeing the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands. His “Portrait of a Lady” was among hundreds of pieces stripped from his collection, much of it divided up by senior Nazi leaders, including Gestapo founder Hermann Goering. Although more than 300 works were later retrieved by the Dutch state and returned to Goudstikker’s heirs, many remain unaccounted for worldwide. The rediscovered Ghislandi, believed to be worth about $50,000 today, is the latest reminder of how Nazi-looted art continues to resurface more than 80 years after the Holocaust. Kadgien’s daughter Patricia and her 60-year-old husband surrendered the Ghislandi painting to authorities and were formally charged with “concealment” during a court appearance Thursday. Prosecutors say the couple knowingly hid the art for decades, only to be exposed by the chance appearance of the Ghislandi work in a property listing. Images of the painting were displayed this week at the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Mar del Plata, where Argentine visual arts teacher Ariel Bassano identified it as the long-lost baroque portrait first documented in Dutch newspaper AD. The case highlights Argentina’s dark role as a haven for fleeing Nazis after World War II. Thousands of Nazi officials and collaborators crossed the Atlantic to South America, where many — like Kadgien — built quiet lives shielded from prosecution. Chile and Argentina in particular became notorious for sheltering fugitives tied to Hitler’s regime. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
[COMMUNICATED]
Beis Meir, author’s Personal Copy,
with Hundreds of Glosses in His Handwriting
Sefer Beis Meir, Even HaEzer Frankfurt an der Oder, 1787. First Edition.
— the very volume used by its author, the great Gaon Rabbi Meir Posner, containing hundreds of chiddushim and additions penned in his own holy handwriting.
These additions, numbering approximately three hundred and fifty (!!), are substantial enough to amount to a composition of “Beis Meir – Mahadura Basra.”
The U.K.’s deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, resigned Friday after an independent inquiry found that she did not meet the ethical standards required for government ministers over a recent home purchase. Rayner, who admitted on Wednesday that she did not pay enough tax on her purchase of an apartment in Hove, on England’s south coast, earlier this summer, said the report found that she acted in good faith, but that, crucially, she should have sought more specific tax advice. “I take full responsibility for this error,” she said in her resignation letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “I would like to take this opportunity to repeat that it was never my intention to do anything other than pay the right amount.” In response, Starmer voiced his sadness but said Rayner had made the right decision. “I have nothing but admiration for you and huge respect for your achievements in politics,” Starmer wrote. The handwritten letter signed off “with very best wishes and with real sadness.” Rayner referred herself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards, Laurie Magnus, on Wednesday, who delivered his report to Starmer on Friday. Though Magnus concluded that Rayner had “acted with integrity and with a dedicated and exemplary commitment to public service,“ he said that “with deep regret” she had breached the ministers’ code of conduct. She said in her resignation letter that she also had to “consider the significant toll that the ongoing pressure of the media is taking on my family.” In the U.K., levies are charged on property purchases, with higher charges due on more expensive homes and secondary residences. Reports have suggested that Rayner saved 40,000 pounds by not paying the appropriate levy, known as a stamp duty, on her 800,000-pound ($1 million) purchase. Rayner, 45, had sought to explain that her “complex living arrangements” related to her divorce in 2023 and the fact that her son has “lifelong disabilities” underlay her failure to pay the appropriate tax. Rayner’s journey from teenage single mother to trade union official to lawmaker and deputy prime minister is a rarity in British politics. Her no-nonsense attitude and plain-speaking manner have been a distinct — and politically useful — contrast to the more pragmatic, lawyerly Starmer and she will be hard to replace. She had the ability to connect with sections of the public that Starmer had struggled with since he became prime minister. Rayner, who held the housing brief in the Labour government, had often railed against those who deliberately underpay tax, particularly those in the preceding Conservative administration, which Labour replaced in July 2024. Her previous comments had opened her up to charges of hypocrisy, particularly from current Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who said Rayner’s position had been “untenable for days.” “The truth is simple, she dodged tax,” she said in a video posted on social media. “She lied about it.” Rayner is a hugely popular member of the Labour Party and was widely tipped to be a potential successor to Starmer. In addition to resigning as deputy prime minister, Rayner quit as deputy leader of the party, meaning that members will have to select someone new. Starmer is undertaking a shuffle of his Cabinet following Rayner’s resignation. He will be hoping that the political agenda can now move on after days of speculation […]
The IDF on Thursday released footage of the airstrike that killed Hudhaifa Kahlout, better known by his nom de guerre Abu Obeida, the longtime spokesman for Hamas’s military wing. Kahlout, who was killed last week in a joint IDF–Shin Bet operation, had served as the public face of Hamas’s military apparatus for years, often appearing masked in videos as the group’s chief propagandist. The IDF described him as a central figure in Hamas’s psychological warfare operations and propaganda network. According to the military, Kahlout played a direct role in overseeing the use of cameras during the October 7 attack on Israel and in coordinating the release of hostage videos throughout the war. The IDF also published a previously undisclosed photo showing Kahlout alongside several of Hamas’s most senior military leaders — including former military chief Muhammad Deif, Khan Younis Brigade commander Rafa’a Salameh, and intelligence chief Muhammad Odeh. All three were later killed in separate Israeli strikes. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
President Donald Trump has inserted himself directly into New York City’s mayoral race, privately urging long-shot candidates to bow out within days in order to block Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani from seizing City Hall, The New York Post reported. Trump phoned billionaire businessman John Catsimatidis on Sunday, warning of the political fallout if Mamdani, the Democratic front-runner, prevails in November. Catsimatidis — who has ties to both Mayor Eric Adams and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa — said the president made clear he would not allow a socialist mayor to take charge of the city. “He is concerned about the New York City race. He does not want a socialist mayor, and he said, ‘It’s not going to happen under his watch,’” Catsimatidis told The Post. “He wants the field narrowed within the next 10 days so the strongest candidate can take Mamdani head-on.” According to sources familiar with Trump’s thinking, the president is weighing ways to push Adams and Sliwa aside in favor of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Despite his tarnished political brand, Cuomo has consistently polled second in the crowded field, while Sliwa trails in third and Adams a distant fourth. Party insiders say the maneuver is not rooted in Trump’s affection for Cuomo but in cold political calculus: Mamdani’s support has stalled, and internal polling shows the ex-governor as the only candidate with a plausible path to victory. “Either Adams or Sliwa dropping out would give Cuomo the boost he needs,” one source said. The president’s intervention comes as White House officials quietly explore landing Adams a federal post to coax him out of the race — an effort insiders say has so far failed. Adams has repeatedly vowed to stay in, with allies describing his disdain for Cuomo as outweighing his fear of a Mamdani victory. “While other candidates have quit their jobs, Mayor Adams hasn’t walked away from his responsibilities,” campaign spokesperson Todd Shapiro said. “He is running for re-election not because he needs another position, but because he believes deeply in the future of this city and has a proven record of getting things done.” Sliwa, meanwhile, has rejected outright any suggestion that he step aside. “I am the only major-party candidate on the ballot besides Mamdani, and I am not dropping out because I will save this city,” he declared Thursday. Trump’s call marks a rare — and historic — direct intervention by a sitting president in a New York City mayoral contest. While the White House has declined public comment on his involvement, Catsimatidis said Trump left no doubt he was prepared to act if the field does not shift by next week. “He’s going to do whatever he has to do,” Catsimatidis said. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Another yeshivah bochur was arrested in the dead of the night earlier this week at his home in Bat Yam. Military police officers knocked at his door at 2:30 a.m., arrested him and transferred him to military prison. The bochur, who grew up in a religious family that grew closer to Yiddishkeit over the years, submitted his army deferments in accordance with the law until the expiration of the Draft Law. After the law was annulled, he received a summons for this past January but did not report, in adherence with the instructions of Gedolei Yisrael. He was taken to detention at the Tel Hashomer base, where he was tried in a ‘disciplinary hearing’ before a military judicial officer and sentenced to 20 days in military prison—and from there transferred to Prison 10 in Kfar Yona. At the time of the arrest and even afterward, no contact was made with any of the organizations that assist bnei Torah imprisoned for the “crime” of limmud Torah. The Am Kodesh organization was eventually informed about the arrest, but by then, the bochur had already been tried, without receiving any legal representation. Am Kodesh assigned Attorney Shlomo Hadad to the case. “We will take every possible legal measure to shorten his detention,” Hadad said. (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
The Justice Department has begun examining mortgage fraud allegations against Lisa Cook, the Federal Reserve governor who is challenging a Trump administration effort to remove her from her job and erode the central bank’s independence. Investigators have issued subpoenas as part of an inquiry into Cook, spawned by a criminal referral from the country’s top housing regulator, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss the probe and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on the inquiry, which was earlier reported by The Wall Street Journal. “Predictably and recognizing the flaws in challenging their illegal firing of Governor Cook, the administration is scrambling to invent new justifications for its overreach. This Justice Department — perhaps the most politicized in American history — will do whatever President Trump demands,” Cook’s lawyer, Abbe David Lowell, said in a statement. News of the investigation comes amid a high-stakes legal fight over President Donald Trump’s removal last month of Cook, an action she says is being undertaken so that he can seize control of the independent central bank. Trump said he was firing Cook on Aug. 25 after one of his appointees alleged that she committed mortgage fraud related to two properties she purchased in 2021, before she joined the Fed. Cook is accused of falsely listing two properties as “primary residences.” Down payment requirements are often more lenient and mortgage rates are lower for primary residences versus a second home or investment property. The Justice Department probe is centered on the two properties in Atlanta and Ann Arbor highlighted by Bill Pulte, who made the criminal referrals in his capacity as director of the Federal Housing Finance Authority, according to the person familiar with the matter. The work is being coordinated by Ed Martin, the director of the Justice Department’s Weaponization Working Group, who is also spearheading other investigations into perceived Trump adversaries. Cook’s lawyers have adamantly denied any wrongdoing on her behalf. “The questions over how Governor Cook described her properties from time to time, which we have started to address in the pending case and will continue to do so, are not fraud, but it takes nothing for this DOJ to undertake a new politicized investigation, and they appear to have just done it again,” Lowell said. (AP)
Beis Meir, author’s Personal Copy, with Hundreds of Glosses in His Handwriting Sefer Beis Meir, Even HaEzer Frankfurt an der Oder, 1787. First Edition. — the very volume used by its author, the great Gaon Rabbi Meir Posner, containing hundreds of chiddushim and additions penned in his own holy handwriting. These additions, numbering approximately three hundred and fifty (!!), are substantial enough to amount to a composition of “Beis Meir – Mahadura Basra.”
Bichasdei Hashem, YWN is pleased to report that the Zkan Roshei Yeshiva, HaGaon HaRav Shmuel Kamenetsky, shlita, Rosh Yeshiva of Philadelphia, has been released from the hospital. As previously reported, the Rosh Yeshiva had been hospitalized in July in critical condition, with doctors stating that only a miracle could save him. The Rosh Yeshiva had been in deep septic shock with virtually no chance of recovery. Now, in an incredible turn of events, the Rosh Yeshiva has been discharged from the hospital, a development that has brought tremendous joy and gratitude across Klal Yisrael. Please continue to say Tehillim for Shmuel ben Ita Ettil for a refuah sheleima. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
The United States is designating two Ecuadorian gangs as foreign terrorist organizations, marking the Trump administration’s latest step to target criminal cartels in Latin America. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the announcement Thursday while in Ecuador as part of a trip to Latin America overshadowed by an American military strike against a similarly designated gang, Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua. That attack has raised concerns in the region about what may follow as President Donald Trump’s government pledges to step up military activity to combat drug trafficking and illegal migration. “This time, we’re not just going to hunt for drug dealers in the little fast boats and say, ‘Let’s try to arrest them,’” Rubio told reporters in Quito, Ecuador’s capital. “No, the president has said he wants to wage war on these groups because they’ve been waging war on us for 30 years and no one has responded.” Los Lobos and Los Choneros are Ecuadorian gangs blamed for much of the violence that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. The terrorist designation, Rubio said, brings “all sorts of options” for Washington to work in conjunction with the government of Ecuador to crack down on these groups. That includes the ability to kill them as well as take action against the properties and banking accounts in the U.S. of the group’s members and those with ties to the criminal organizations, Rubio said. He said label also would help with intelligence sharing. Los Choneros, Los Lobos and other similar groups are involved in contract killings, extortion operations and the movement and sale of drugs. Authorities have blamed them for the increased violence in the country as they fight over drug-trafficking routes to the Pacific and control of territory, including within prisons, where hundreds of inmates have been killed since 2021. The strike in the southern Caribbean has taken the attention on Rubio’s trip, which included a stop in to Mexico on Wednesday. U.S. officials say the vessel’s cargo was intended for the U.S. and that the strike killed 11 people, but they have yet to explain how the military determined that those aboard were Tren de Aragua members. Rubio said U.S. actions targeting cartels were being directed more toward Venezuela, and not Mexico. “There’s no need to do that in many cases with friendly governments, because the friendly governments are going to help us,” Rubio told reporters. “They may do it themselves, and we’ll help them do it.” A day earlier, Rubio justified the strike by saying the boat posed an “immediate threat” to the U.S. and that Trump opted to “blow it up” rather than follow what had been standard procedure to stop and board, arrest the crew and seize any contraband on board. The strike drew a mixed reaction from leaders around Latin America, where the U.S. history of military intervention and gunboat diplomacy is still fresh. Many, like officials in Mexico, were careful not to outright condemn the attack. They stressed the importance of protecting national sovereignty and warned that expanded U.S. military involvement might backfire. Ecuador has its own issues with narcotics trafficking. President Daniel Noboa thanked Rubio for the U.S. efforts to “actually eliminate any terrorist threat.” Before their meeting, Rubio said on social media that the U.S. and Ecuador are “aligned as key partners on ending […]
At a ceremony held this evening at the President’s Residence in Yerushalayim, Israeli President Isaac Herzog presented the 2025 President’s Volunteer Award. Among this year’s recipients was Rav Shlomo Raanan, founder and chairman of Ayelet HaShachar, an organization that for more than thirty years has worked to bridge divides in Israeli society, fostering unity and building connections across communities.
The award comes at a time when Israel is experiencing deep polarization and divisive public discourse. The prize committee explained: “The work of Rav Raanan and Ayelet HaShachar proves that it is possible to create connections even in a fractured reality. It exemplifies a profound belief in the power of the Jewish people to unite around shared values.”
In his remarks at the event, President Herzog said: “Rav Raanan is a pioneering figure of devotion and mission. Ayelet HaShachar has succeeded in creating a new reality—communities, encounters, and dialogue—that make our society stronger. This is work that brings genuine hope to Israel.”
Rav Raanan, visibly moved, responded: “The President’s Volunteer Award belongs to the thousands of Israelis who prove how deeply Am Yisroel yearns for connection, for dialogue that brings people closer, and for a more united society. This is a mission we will continue with all our strength.”
Founded in 1998, Ayelet HaShachar has initiated the establishment of more than 80 synagogues in secular kibbutzim and launched the Chavrusa project, pairing some 10,000 secular and chareidi partners who learn Torah together each week. The organization has organized holiday events in communities unfamiliar with Jewish tradition, while also developing educational and cultural programs connecting teachers, families, and communities across the spectrum.
Following the October 7 attacks, the group broadened its activities into aid and rehabilitation: setting up a prayer tent at Hostages Square, providing personal support for hostage families, rebuilding homes and synagogues in the south and the north, collaborating with volunteer architects to restore war-damaged homes, and even launching the “Iron Bonds” initiative to arrange shidduchim for wounded soldiers.
{Matzav.com Israel}
A sense of excitement is sweeping through the Bobov community in Eretz Yisroel ahead of the highly anticipated Nichsefa Nafshi gathering, set to take place next Wednesday near the Bobov center in Bat Yam. The event, which is expected to be a landmark moment for Bobover Chassidim in Israel, carries a message of spiritual elevation, strengthening, and renewal for the institutions and communities that embody the legacy of the Bobover Rebbes.
At the heart of this gathering will be the special mission entrusted to Rav Chaim Shalom Halberstam, the eldest son of the Bobover Rebbe. Sent directly by his father, Rav Chaim Shalom will deliver the Rebbe’s divrei kedusha, bringing words of inspiration and encouragement to the Chassidim in Israel.
The program will focus on reinforcing the Torah institutions of Bobov, particularly the yeshiva and cheder in Bnei Brak, which continue to flourish.
The majestic gathering will be held at the Bellagio Hall near the Bobover community in Bat Yam.
The evening will be graced with music by the Bobov and Malchus choirs, conducted by Pinchas Bichler, with orchestral accompaniment by R’ Shmuel Lutterman.
{Matzav.com Israel}
President Trump is set to issue an executive order on Friday that will reinstate “Department of War” as an alternative designation for the Department of Defense, according to a White House official.
In recent weeks, Trump, 79, has emphasized that the historic title “sounds stronger” and is “much more appropriate” for the Pentagon.
The directive will require Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to prepare both legislative and executive measures that would establish “US Department of War” as the official name of the agency.
Hegseth will also be granted the authority to sign off as “Secretary of War” in official letters, public remarks, ceremonial events, and in documents that do not carry statutory weight.
The order further requires that all federal offices “recognize and accommodate” the use of the revived title in their communications.
The War Department originally bore that name from its founding in 1789 until 1947, when Congress reorganized the structure by separating the Army and the newly formed Air Force into their own departments, alongside the Navy Department, to create what was then called the National Military Executive.
That entity was renamed the Department of Defense in 1949.
“The United States military is the strongest and most lethal fighting force in the world, and the President believes this Department should have a name that reflects its unmatched power and readiness to protect national interests,” a White House fact sheet on the forthcoming order stated.
Officials said the adjustment is meant to convey “strength and resolve” and reinforce Trump’s “peace through strength” doctrine.
Trump had already expressed dissatisfaction with the current name during an Oval Office meeting last month.
“‘Defense’ is too defensive,” Trump said. “We want to be defensive, but we want to be offensive, too if we have to be.”
Previewing his intentions, Trump remarked, “We’re just going to do it. I’m sure Congress will go along if we need that.”
One legislator has already vowed to back the move with legislation.
“I’m drafting a bill to restore the Department of War to its original name— the only name that captures the full range of America’s military capabilities,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) wrote on X last month.
According to the White House, this executive order will be the 200th signed by Trump since the start of his presidency.
{Matzav.com}
A federal jury has ordered Google to pay $425.7 million for improperly snooping on people’s smartphones during a nearly decade-long period of intrusions. The verdict reached Wednesday in San Francisco federal court followed a more than two-week trial in a class-action case covering about 98 million smartphones operating in the United States between July 1, 2016, through Sept. 23, 2024. That means the total damages awarded in the five-year-old case works out to about $4 per device. Google had denied that it was improperly tracking the online activity of people who thought they had shielded themselves with privacy controls. The company maintained its stance even though the eight-person jury concluded Google had been spying in violation of California privacy laws. “This decision misunderstands how our products work, and we will appeal it,” Google spokesman Jose Castaneda said Thursday. “Our privacy tools give people control over their data, and when they turn off personalization, we honor that choice.” The lawyers who filed the case had argued Google had used the data they collected off smartphones without users’ permission to help sell ads tailored to users’ individual interests — a strategy that resulted in the company reaping billions in additional revenue. The lawyers framed those ad sales as illegal profiteering that merited damages of more than $30 billion. Even though the jury came up with a far lower calculation for the damages, one of the lawyers who brought the case against Google hailed the outcome as a victory for privacy protection. “We hope this result sends a message to the tech industry that Americans will not sit idly by as their information is collected and monetized against their will,” said attorney John Yanchunis of law firm Morgan & Morgan. The San Francisco jury verdict came a day after Google avoided the U.S. Department of Justice’s attempt to break up the company in a landmark antitrust case in Washington, D.C., targeting its dominant search engine. A federal judge who had declared Google’s search engine to be an illegal monopoly ordered less radical changes, including requiring the company to share some of its search data with rivals. (AP)
A survey carried out by the Midgam Institute for Channel 12 indicates that if Israelis went to the polls today, Likud would secure 24 seats, while a new party headed by Naftali Bennett would capture 19 seats.
The poll further shows that a party under Gadi Eisenkot would obtain 12 seats, with the Democrats taking 11, Yisrael Beytenu also at 11, Shas with 8, Yesh Atid with 7, United Torah Judaism at 7, Otzma Yehudit with 7, Hadash-Ta’al with 5, Ra’am with 5, and the Religious Zionist Party coming in with 4.
Benny Gantz’s Blue and White would not manage to cross the electoral threshold, according to the results. In this projection, the opposition bloc reaches 60 seats while the coalition bloc lands at 50. The Arab factions would keep their combined total of 10 seats.
In a different scenario presented by the poll—if Bennett and Avigdor Lieberman were to unite their factions—a joint party led by Bennett would emerge as the largest in the Knesset, commanding 30 seats.
Under such a merger, Likud would tally 25 seats, the Democrats 11, Eisenkot’s list 10, Yesh Atid 8, Shas 8, United Torah Judaism 7, Otzma Yehudit 7, Hadash-Ta’al 5, Ra’am 5, and the Religious Zionist Party 4.
Here too, Gantz’s party would fall short of the threshold. The opposition bloc would dip slightly to 59 seats, while the coalition bloc would climb to 51. The Arab parties would hold steady with 10 seats.
{Matzav.com}
Q: “Do you plan to speak with Russia’s President Putin in the near future?” TRUMP: “I will be, yeah. I will be. We’re having a very good dialogue.”
POTUS: “I’d prefer not to have a Communist mayor of New York City.” “I would like to see two people drop out & have it be one-on-one & I think that’s a race that can be won.”
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