Feed aggregator

Roshei yeshiva, rabbanim, and admorim packed the Keter HaRimon hall in Bnei Brak on Sunday night for an emergency asifa for Keren Olam HaTorah, raising a unified cry over what the gedolim repeatedly described as the gravest assault on olam haTorah in Eretz Yisroel in decades.

The asifa came amidst the combined crises of the gezeiras hagiyus, the slashing of yeshiva budgets and the financial choking of thousands of bnei Torah and avreichim, and served as a call to global Jewry to carry a piece of the burden of holding up the limud haTorah of Eretz Yisroel.

The pain of the families, more than the politics, set the tone from the opening words. HaRav Dov Landau shlit”a expressed the daily fear that has taken hold inside the homes of bnei Torah. Standing before the assembled gedolim, he spoke of the trembling of the wife of the avreich and the mother of the ben yeshiva every time her husband or son walks out the door, dreading that the military police will seize him.

“Our heart aches from the pain of their families,” Rav Landau said, laying out the new blunt reality: the responsibility for the kiyum of the olam haTorah no longer sits on the shoulders of the gevirim alone. Every Yid, he said, must accept the responsibility on their shoulders, to whatever extent they can.

Harav Moshe Hillel Hirsch shlit”a, Rosh Yeshivas Slabodka, added that the days of hoping the situation would reverse itself in a year or two are over. The old yeshiva budgets are not coming back, he said, and the framework in which a handful of wealthy supporters carried the olam haTorah simply cannot stretch to meet the moment.

“Every Yid must be a shutaf in Keren Olam HaTorah,” Rav Hirsch declared. He laid out the math openly: the cost of sponsoring a single avreich for one month is $276. We ask every Yid to, at a minimum, sponsor a month, either at once or spread across a year at $23 a month. Those who can give more, the Rosh Yeshiva said, should give more. And if one can sponsor an avrech for a full year at $276 per month, Hakodosh Baruch Hu should shower you with blessings.

Harav Meir Tzvi Bergman shlit”a told the assembled gedolim and the tzibbur that no threat, of any kind, will move klal Yisrael to give up a single bochur, and urged tefillos for the gedolim who are set to travel to America in the coming days on behalf of Keren Olam Hatorah.

The Sanzer Rebbe shlit”a said that the gezeira against limud haTorah is the inner milchamah of the geulah, the war waged by those who want to uproot Torah from Klal Yisroel.

“When Yidden support lomdei Torah, the money takes on a tzurah of kedusha,” the Rebbe said. He invoked the Noam Elimelech on the passuk “v’tzarta hakesef b’yadcha,” explaining that the dollars given to hold up olam haTorah become, in shamayim, a kli of taharah that is mevarech both the giver and his home.

By the end of the kinus, the gedolim had set a course. A delegation of roshei yeshiva and gedolei Torah is preparing to leave for the United States next week, in what marks the third such mission of askanim and gedolim on behalf of the keren since the gezeiros began. The earlier missions, the gedolim noted, were met with support from American Yidden that no one in Eretz Yisroel had dared expect, with hundreds of millions of dollars flowing to keep yeshivos and kollelim open and to keep avreichim learning while the state walked away from its obligations.

Now, with the dollar weakened and need growing greater each day, the gedolim are calling for every Yid to take on a share of the burden.

{Matzav.com}

Israel moved a step closer to new national elections early Tuesday after the Knesset approved legislation to dissolve itself, setting in motion a process that could send voters to the polls as early as September.

The proposal to disband the 25th Knesset passed its first reading in the plenum with overwhelming support, receiving the backing of 106 lawmakers and drawing no opposition votes.

Following the vote, coalition chairman Ofir Katz, who introduced the legislation, outlined the anticipated election schedule.

“the projected timeframe for the elections is between September 8 and October 20.”

Having passed its initial reading, the bill will now return to the House Committee, where it will be prepared for the second and third readings required before becoming law. The official election date will not be determined until those final stages receive approval from the Knesset.

The vote comes on the heels of a session held two weeks ago, when lawmakers gave preliminary approval to 13 separate bills seeking to dissolve the Knesset. Those measures were submitted by members of both the coalition and nearly all opposition parties.

Although opposition factions backed all of the dissolution proposals, coalition leaders chose to move forward only with their own bill and a similar measure submitted by the Blue and White party, formally launching the political campaign season and beginning the march toward a national election.

President Donald Trump announced that Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu agreed to call off a planned military operation in Beirut following a direct conversation between the two leaders, while expressing optimism that the latest cessation of hostilities could endure indefinitely.

In a message posted on Truth Social, Trump said he personally urged Netanyahu not to proceed with a major attack in the Lebanese capital and thanked him for reversing course.

“I had a conversation with Bibi Netanyahu today, asking him not to go into a major raid of Beirut, Lebanon. He turned his Troops around. Thank you Bibi!” wrote Trump in a post on Truth Social.

Trump also stated that he had been in contact with individuals representing Hezbollah and said those discussions resulted in a commitment to halt attacks against Israel.

He added, “I also had a conversation with Representatives of the Leaders of Hezbollah, and they agreed to stop shooting at Israel, and its soldiers. Likewise, Israel agreed to stop shooting at them. Let’s see how long that lasts – Hopefully it will be for ETERNITY!”

Earlier in the day, Trump revealed details of his phone call with Netanyahu and said both sides had agreed to stop military actions against one another.

Posting on Truth Social, Trump declared that Israeli forces would not move forward with an operation in Beirut and claimed Hezbollah had likewise agreed to suspend its attacks.

“I had a very productive call with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel, and there will be no Troops going to Beirut, and any Troops that are on their way, have already been turned back. Likewise, through highly placed Representatives, I had a very good call with Hezbollah, and they agreed that all shooting will stop – That Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel,” Trump wrote in the initial post.

Following his discussion with Trump, Netanyahu released a statement outlining Israel’s position regarding Hezbollah’s continued aggression.

The prime minister stressed that Israel remains prepared to target terrorist infrastructure in Beirut if attacks continue, while making clear that ongoing military operations in southern Lebanon will proceed.

“I spoke this evening with President Trump and told him that if Hezbollah does not cease attacking our cities and civilians, Israel will strike terrorist targets in Beirut. This position remains unchanged. At the same time, the IDF will continue operating in southern Lebanon as planned,” Netanyahu said.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has ignited a fierce battle within Democratic ranks by throwing his support behind a socialist challenger seeking to unseat longtime Congressman Adriano Espaillat, according to political insiders.

The mayor’s endorsement of Darializa Avila Chevalier, a fellow member of the Democratic Socialists of America, in the June 23 Democratic primary for New York’s 13th Congressional District is being viewed as part of a broader effort by Mamdani and his allies to reshape and eventually dominate the Democratic Party from within.

“In New York City, it’s a civil war in the Democratic Party,” said campaign consultant Evan Roth Smith.

According to Roth Smith, Mamdani’s decision to back Avila Chevalier against Espaillat will serve as a key measure of how much influence the mayor and the DSA can wield in future elections throughout the city.

“The 13th District is an early experiment on how far Mamdani’s popularity goes,” Roth Smith said.

The move has drawn criticism even from prominent Democratic leaders. State Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs publicly questioned the wisdom of challenging an established incumbent.

“I think it’s a mistake. When you have a good incumbent, stick with him,” Jacobs said.

Praising Espaillat’s record in office, Jacobs added that many voters have expressed frustration with Mamdani’s intervention in the race.

“Espaillat is an excellent congressman,” he said. “I’ve heard from a lot people in the Hispanic community and in general who are upset about him going against Espaillat.”

The 13th District, which includes large Hispanic, Latino, and Black populations, has traditionally not been viewed as fertile ground for Democratic Socialists. That contrasts with the neighboring 7th and 10th Congressional Districts, areas critics have dubbed the “Commie Corridor,” where progressive challengers have found greater success and where contentious Democratic primaries are also underway.

Still, demographic shifts have begun to alter the district’s political landscape, with younger residents who supported Mamdani increasingly moving into the area and potentially providing a receptive audience for his preferred candidate.

Mamdani carried the 13th District during both the Democratic mayoral primary and the general election, defeating Andrew Cuomo in the area despite Espaillat’s earlier endorsement of the former governor. Following Mamdani’s victory in the primary, Espaillat later endorsed him.

Avila Chevalier has built a reputation for inflammatory rhetoric, directing criticism at law enforcement, establishment Democrats, and the United States itself through a series of social media posts.

During President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign, she referred to him as a “rapist” and “war criminal.” She also criticized Sen. Bernie Sanders, a favorite among many progressives, over what she described as his “liberal Zionism” after he voted present on legislation involving military aid to Israel.

In another controversial online post from 2019, she wrote: “I forgot to get napkins so I just wiped my hand on the American flag behind me,” accompanied by a smiling emoji.

Mamdani has also become involved in another congressional contest, endorsing Democratic Socialist Assemblywoman Claire Valdez in the race for the open 7th District seat representing waterfront communities in Brooklyn and Queens.

That seat is being vacated by retiring Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, who has instead endorsed Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in the Democratic primary against Valdez.

In the neighboring 10th District, Mamdani has likewise backed former City Comptroller Brad Lander in his challenge against incumbent Congressman Dan Goldman, another district where DSA-aligned candidates have historically performed well.

“He’s going to be mayor for four years and maybe eight. They believe in the long game,” Roth Smith said, referring to the far-left group.

Roth Smith argued that Mamdani’s efforts are partly driven by frustration over Albany politics. He noted that the mayor failed to secure all of the tax increases he sought during budget negotiations with Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers, making it advantageous for him to elect more allies to state and federal office.

Jacobs, however, accused Mamdani of undermining party unity by targeting members of New York’s congressional delegation.

“We should not be fomenting dissent in the primaries when we have so much at stake in the general election,” Jacobs said.

Describing the endorsements as a show of political strength, Jacobs said the mayor is attempting to demonstrate his growing influence across the city.

“It’s an effort by Mamdani to flex his muscles in the city,” he said.

“We’ll see how that turns out.”

{Matzav.com}