Israeli Defense Minister Yisroel Katz said moments ago that Israeli Air Force fighter jets just “destroyed the headquarters of the Iranian regime’s internal security, the main arm of the Iranian dictator’s oppression,” Emanuel Fabian reports for the Times of Israel.
“As we promised, we will continue to target symbols of [Iran’s] rule and strike the Ayatollah regime wherever it may be,” he added.
{Matzav.com Israel}
Agudath Israel of America will be presenting, along with Chazaq and MDY, a grand Daf Yomi siyum on Maseches Shevuos Wednesday night, June 18.
The event will feature divrei chizuk from Rav Tzemach Mazuz, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Kisseh Rachamim.
The evening will feature powerful divrei chizuk, heartfelt tefillah, and celebration.
Location:
Yeshiva Ohel Simcha
141-41 72nd Avenue
Flushing, NY 11367
The program will begin at 8:30 PM. Men and women are invited to attend.
For those who cannot attend in person, the event will be streamed live at: TorahAnytime.com/Chazaqlive
To listen in to the program, call 718-820-7284 ext. 46.
May we continue to come together for such occasions and hear besuros tovos for all of Klal Yisroel around the world.
{Matzav.com}
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Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, issued a provocative statement on social media, just hours after President Trump demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender.”
“In the name of #Haider, the battle begins. Ali returns to #Khaybar with his Zulfiqar,” Khamenei wrote in Farsi on X, referencing Imam Ali and his legendary sword used in the historic Battle of Khaybar.
His post coincided with warnings broadcast by Iranian state outlets, which alluded to a dramatic escalation expected between Tuesday night and Wednesday, calling it an event that “the world will remember for centuries.”
In a televised speech, Khamenei directly addressed Trump’s warnings, emphasizing that Iran would not give in to coercion or military intimidation.
“Intelligent people who know Iran, the Iranian nation, and its history will never speak to this nation in threatening language because the Iranian nation will not surrender,” he said.
He continued with a stark warning aimed at Washington, stating, “The Americans should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage.”
Early Wednesday, Israel’s military detected unauthorized aerial activity, prompting air raid alerts across the northern region.
According to the Times of Israel, sirens sounded throughout the Golan Heights as the Israel Defense Forces announced they had intercepted three Iranian drones.
Not long after, roughly 30 missiles were launched from Iran in two waves targeting Israeli territory, with blasts being heard in Tel Aviv.
Reports indicated that Israel’s defense systems intercepted most of the incoming missiles, and no injuries were reported as a result of the attacks.
In retaliation, the IDF deployed 50 fighter jets to strike Iranian military sites, including a centrifuge production center and multiple arms factories near Tehran, according to statements posted on X.
“These strikes directly degrade Iran’s ability to threaten Israel and the region,” the IDF stated through its official account.
As tensions heightened, Israeli officials advised civilians in parts of southwestern Tehran to evacuate in anticipation of further attacks.
Iranian government media reported that the Israeli offensive targeted numerous locations, such as a university affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard and the Khojir missile development complex near Tehran.
Israel confirmed that the strikes were aimed at critical elements of Iran’s nuclear and missile operations during the overnight assault on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Khamenei’s X account ramped up its output of incendiary content, showcasing propaganda posters of Iranian missiles launching at Israel and firestorms engulfing its cities.
This current phase of hostilities, now lasting six days, was triggered by Israel’s launch of Operation Rising Lion, which involved preemptive strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
As a result of these attacks, Israeli forces succeeded in dismantling much of Iran’s air defense network, effectively securing dominance over Tehran’s airspace.
Trump announced that Iran’s aerial defense systems had been mostly neutralized, but he refrained from elaborating on the specifics.
“We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran. Iran had good sky trackers and other defensive equipment, and plenty of it, but it doesn’t compare to American made, conceived, and manufactured ‘stuff,’” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Nobody does it better than the good ol’ USA.”
He followed that up with a forceful call for “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER” from Iran and disclosed that U.S. intelligence was aware of Khamenei’s whereabouts.
“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump wrote.
In response, Iran threatened consequences should the U.S. choose to intervene militarily on Israel’s behalf.
“The U.S. is complicit in what Israel is doing,” said Ali Bahreini, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations office in Geneva, speaking on Wednesday.
According to the Times of Israel, Israeli forces have targeted over 1,100 Iranian sites since launching Operation Rising Lion.
IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin told journalists, “We are operating systematically to neutralize the nuclear threat.” He added that the operations were “deepening the significant damage” to Iran’s missile and air defense infrastructure.
Military analysts believe that Israel’s continuous bombardment has significantly depleted Iran’s weapons stockpile, especially its missile and munitions facilities.
Initially, Iran launched over 200 missiles across six waves. However, its recent offensives have dropped to about three dozen per attack, according to updated analysis from the Institute for the Study of War, a U.S.-based research organization monitoring the conflict.
{Matzav.com}
The first rescue flight from Larnaca touched down Wednesday morning at Ben Gurion Airport as part of Israel’s newly launched Operation “Safe Return,” a government initiative aimed at bringing home stranded Israelis following widespread flight cancellations.
The effort is being spearheaded by the Ministry of Transport and Road Safety, in coordination with the Israel Airports Authority and the Civil Aviation Authority. It was initiated in response to the ongoing aviation crisis that left tens of thousands of Israelis stuck abroad without a way home.
According to officials, the operation is being carried out in a gradual, carefully managed fashion based on current threat levels and ongoing security assessments. Authorities emphasized that every precaution is being taken to ensure the safety of passengers, flight crews, and aircraft.
In light of the current situation, the Airports Authority is urging the public not to come to Ben Gurion Airport to pick up arriving passengers. Per instructions from Transport Minister Miri Regev, all passengers arriving on rescue flights will be transported to their destinations free of charge—either by shuttle buses organized by the ministry or via Israel Railways.
Ahead of the flight’s landing, Minister Regev spoke with the plane’s captain, Captain Nechama, and expressed her support: “We’re waiting for you. We’re very emotional about receiving the first rescue flight as part of Operation ‘Safe Return.’ We’re preparing for an airlift to bring back all Israelis. May you land safely.”
The arrival of the El Al flight marks the beginning of what is expected to be a sustained and large-scale repatriation effort in the days ahead.
{Matzav.com}Israeli intelligence agencies have been employing mobile phone surveillance to pinpoint and eliminate targets inside Iran, including nuclear scientists, according to a report released Monday by media sources affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the Jerusalem Post reports.
“Israel uses mobile tracking to assassinate individuals in Iran. It previously killed Ismail Haniyeh the same way in Tehran,” the outlet reported, citing claims published by Iran International.
The same report explained that even when individuals power off their phones at certain sites or residences, the devices can still reveal their location. It recommended that high-value individuals switch to encrypted, anti-surveillance mobile technology to avoid detection.
According to The Jerusalem Post, Israeli forces on Tuesday eliminated Maj.-Gen. Ali Shademani, who had recently been appointed to head the Iranian Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters. His death came just days after the previous commander, Gholam Ali Rashid, was also killed in an Israeli operation.
Shademani’s assassination followed the initial phase of Israel’s Operation Rising Lion, launched last Thursday night, which resulted in the deaths of numerous senior Iranian military officials. The Jerusalem Post noted that the operation reaffirmed Israel’s continued dominance in both military strategy and intelligence gathering, despite Tehran’s attempts to counter it.
Iranian state-linked media have claimed that Israeli intelligence, including the Mossad and the IDF, have been employing digital surveillance such as phone tracking to monitor senior Iranian military leaders in the lead-up to the recent escalation.
While Iranian leadership has reportedly instructed key commanders to ditch their phones to avoid detection, Israeli intelligence has nonetheless succeeded in locating and neutralizing high-level targets, The Jerusalem Post reported.
{Matzav.com Israel}
The world of niggunim and chassidus is in mourning with the passing of one of its greatest composers, Reb Yitzchok Ungar z”l of Vizhnitz, who passed away at the age of 86. His niggunim became timeless treasures in the chassidic world, sung at countless tishen, Shabbos tables, and yom tov gatherings around the globe.
Among his most famous compositions is the beloved niggun “Menuchah V’simchah,” along with hundreds of others that have been embraced by kehillos worldwide and woven into the very fabric of chassidic life.
Reb Yitzchok was a son of Reb Dovid Yosef Ungar. As a young boy, he gravitated toward the Vizhnitz court and quickly developed a close bond with the Imrei Chaim of Vizhnitz, who recognized his musical gift and would often request that he compose niggunim for the Yomim Noraim, Shabbosos, and mo’adim.
He married a daughter of Reb Yehoshua Zev Mechlovitz, a senior Vizhnitz chossid who resided in Haifa. Reb Yitzchok settled in Kiryas Vizhnitz, where he lived in close proximity to the Imrei Chaim and continued to compose niggunim that inspired generations.
Aside from his musical genius, Reb Yitzchok earned a livelihood as a sofer stam, with many seeking out his Sifrei Torah, tefillin, and mezuzos. He lived a life of humility and simplicity, raising his children in the path of Torah, yiras Shamayim, and deep emunah.
Davening at Beis Shalom, the Vizhnitzer shul near the community’s senior center, Reb Yitzchok was beloved as a baal tefillah, especially during the Yomim Noraim.
One remarkable story he shared only recently involved a dream following the petirah of the Imrei Chaim. In the dream, his Rebbe appeared and taught him a new niggun. Upon waking, Reb Yitzchok immediately recorded it. Just a few weeks ago, sensing his end was near, he revealed this dream and taught the melody to others for the first time.
According to those close to him, Reb Yitzchok composed approximately 1,500 niggunim over his lifetime.
After the passing of the Imrei Chaim and later the Yeshuos Moshe and Toras Mordechai, Reb Yitzchok remained deeply connected to the current Vizhnitzer Rebbe and was a constant presence at every event and tish.
In recent weeks, Reb Yitzchok’s health declined and he was hospitalized at Mayanei HaYeshua Medical Center. Surrounded by his family, he was niftar last night.
He is survived by his devoted wife, children, and grandchildren, all following in his path of Torah and chassidus. His sons include Rav Dovid, a mechanech; Rav Avraham, a noted askan; Rav Chaim Meir; and Rav Meshulam Faish. Among his nephews are the esteemed mashpia Rav Nachman Biderman and the Gaavad of Tchaba.
The levayah was held this morning at his home on Rechov Admor M’Vizhnitz and passed through the main Vizhnitzer beis medrash in Kiryas Vizhnitz.
Yehi zichro boruch.
{Matzav.com Israel}
Bob Menendez, the disgraced Democrat from New Jersey, entered federal custody on Tuesday to begin serving an 11-year sentence following his conviction on a wide array of corruption-related charges.
According to the Associated Press, Menendez is now being held at the Federal Correctional Institution in Schuylkill, Pennsylvania. He is expected to be placed in the prison’s minimum-security facility.
Menendez was convicted in July 2024 on 16 counts that included bribery, fraud, obstruction of justice, and acting as an unregistered foreign agent. Prosecutors said he took in hundreds of thousands of dollars through illicit means—bribes in the form of cash, gold bars, and mortgage payments—according to ABC News.
He stepped down from office shortly after his conviction and was sentenced this past January alongside two New Jersey businessmen, Wael Hana and Fred Daibes. Hana received over seven years, while Daibes was sentenced to more than eight.
Prosecutors alleged that Menendez leveraged his senatorial influence to shield Hana and Daibes from legal trouble and to advance the interests of the Egyptian and Qatari governments, benefiting both businessmen in the process.
In addition to accepting bribes, Menendez was found to have worked to derail federal probes into his co-defendants, conspiring to obstruct the investigation into the broader corruption scheme.
Another associate, Jose Uribe, took a plea deal in May 2024 and testified against Menendez. Uribe admitted that he had paid for a Mercedes-Benz convertible for Menendez’s wife, Nadine, to replace a vehicle she wrecked in a 2018 accident that killed a pedestrian, as reported by NorthJersey.com.
After receiving his sentence in January, Menendez made headlines by invoking the name of President Donald Trump, claiming the legal proceedings against him were politically motivated. “President Trump was right,” he told reporters after his sentencing. “This process is political and is corrupted to its core. I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores the integrity to the system.”
This isn’t Menendez’s first time facing federal charges. In 2015, he was indicted on allegations of bribery and making false statements in a separate scandal. Prosecutors had accused him of pressuring the State Department to support a port security deal in the Dominican Republic that would benefit a donor who reportedly hosted him at lavish parties, a story originally uncovered by Breitbart News Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle at The Daily Caller in 2012.
That earlier case collapsed in 2017 with a mistrial, and the Department of Justice ultimately dropped the charges in 2018, Breitbart News reported.
Just before heading to prison, Menendez reignited criticism of the Obama administration, accusing it of politically targeting him over his opposition to the Iran nuclear agreement while he chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “People talk about the Trump DOJ, but it was the Democrats who started weaponizing the Justice Dept. When, as the Chairman of the SFRC, I didn’t go along with Obama’s Iran deal, I was indicted, and the next day after being stripped of my position, Obama announced the Iran deal,” the former senator wrote in a May 30 thread on X.
He continued, “Obama told me that he could not have the Democratic Chairman of the SFRC be against him. By having me removed as the Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Obama removed my major opposition to his Iran deal. It was a bad deal for the U.S. and for our ally, Israel.”
“This was the ultimate weaponization of the Justice Dept. for a political purpose… So when Democrats talk about weaponizing the Justice Dept, they should look into their own past actions. Obama was willing to use the Justice Department to pursue and preserve the legacy issue he felt would earn him the Nobel Prize he had received.”
Menendez, now 71 years old, continues to insist he did nothing wrong in either of the corruption cases brought against him.
His wife, Nadine Menendez, was convicted in April on related charges. Her sentencing is scheduled for September 11.
{Matzav.com}
General Mills revealed Tuesday that it is initiating a sweeping phaseout of artificial coloring in all of its cereal products sold in the U.S., as well as in the meals it provides to K-12 schools.
In a press release, the company outlined its timeline: artificial colors will be fully eliminated from all U.S. cereals and school foods by the summer of 2026, with the rest of its American retail items following suit by the close of 2027.
“Across the long arc of our history, General Mills has moved quickly to meet evolving consumer needs, and reformulating our product portfolio to remove certified colors is yet another example,” Jeff Harmening, CEO and chairman of General Mills, said in the announcement.
Harmening also highlighted that “the vast majority” of General Mills products already do not contain certified colors.
“Knowing the trust families place in us, we are leading the way on removing certified colors in cereals and K-12 foods by next summer,” Harmening added. “We’re committed to continuing to make food that tastes great and is accessible to all.”
General Mills’ decision arrived on the same day as Kraft Heinz’s own announcement declaring an end to the rollout of new products containing artificial dyes, specifically those classified as Food, Drug & Cosmetic (FD&C) colors. Kraft Heinz also committed to removing such dyes from existing products by the end of 2027.
The push to eliminate artificial food coloring in widely consumed products has intensified since March, when Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urged major food manufacturers to discontinue their use of artificial dyes.
Breitbart News reported: “Kennedy has pledged to tackle chronic illnesses by overhauling the U.S. diet and food dye elimination is part of his plan for reform. He has encouraged fast-food chains to switch to beef tallow instead of seed oils for French fries, and pushed for bans on additives like food colors, as Breitbart News reported.”
The campaign escalated in April when Kennedy joined FDA Commissioner Marty Makary in declaring that “petroleum-based food dyes” would be phased out from both food and pharmaceutical products in the U.S.
The FDA followed with a separate pledge to collaborate with food producers in removing synthetic color additives, including FD&C Green No. 3, Red No. 40, Yellow Nos. 5 and 6, and Blue Nos. 1 and 2, from the nation’s food supply “by the end of next year.”
{Matzav.com}
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Sirens are sounding, schools and jobs are shut, and families’ expenses are soaring while income has vanished. Our Rabbinic board has ordered a large crisis fund to keep food on tables and hope in hearts.
