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IDF, ISA Strike Terror Targets in Gaza, Secure “Magen Oz” Corridor in Khan Yunis
Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein: I Did Not Say to Leave Eretz Yisroel on Shabbos
Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein, the rov of Ramat Elchonon and renowned posek, addressed questions from mispallelim after reports circulated claiming he had issued a psak allowing chillul Shabbos to avoid army service, Lechatchila reported.
During a shiur, someone asked Rav Zilberstein about the alleged ruling, and he responded sharply: “Whoever publicized that does not know his right hand from his left hand. One didn’t hear what I said, and publicized it. It’s all a tale.”
He clarified that his words were in the context of a completely hypothetical situation. He had asked what a Yid should do if, chas v’shalom, a government would issue a gezeirah forbidding limud haTorah. In such an extreme case, he said, it would be mutar to travel on Shabbos to escape.
“But where is that happening here in the Land of Israel? Do the authorities prevent Torah study? Of course not! If when they do their army service, they want to learn Torah, will someone oppose that? G-d forbid!” Rav Zilberstein continued. “This was said only about a scenario where the nations of the world ban Torah study.”
One participant mentioned that his son was mechalel Shabbos “because Rav Zilberstein said to desecrate Shabbos and not to enlist.” The rov reacted with disbelief: “Maybe he had a dream. Maybe he dreamed a dream! I did not say that.”
When asked about bochurim who are not shteiging in Torah and instead spend their time wandering the streets, Rav Zilberstein was clear that such cases are different: such a young man should “enlist where Rav [Aharon Leib] Shteinman said – of course. What’s the question? Of course he should.”
The specific framework he was referring to is the IDF’s Netzach Yehuda battalion, established to accommodate those from chareidi backgrounds who cannot sit and learn full-time. The program allows them to fulfill their army obligations while continuing with some level of limud haTorah.
{Matzav.com Israel}
Municipality Approves: Yom Kippur Davening to be Held in Tel Aviv’s Meir Park
The Tel Aviv-based Rosh Yehudi outreach organization will once again host Yom Kippur tefillos in a public area this year, after receiving official permission from the municipality. This approval follows last year’s Supreme Court decision allowing gender-separate services at Meir Park.
On Thursday morning, Rosh Yehudi was granted a permit from city officials to hold davening at the park on Yom Kippur eve, starting at 5:30 p.m., as well as on Yom Kippur day itself, between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
“We are expecting a large and calm prayer per the approval of the municipality and Supreme Court,” Rosh Yehudi Chairman Yisrael Ze’ira told Ynet. “We invite the residents of the area to a unifying and uplifting prayer, as one person with one heart, in accordance with the municipality’s approval.”
The annual event has sparked significant tension in recent years. In 2023, fierce confrontations broke out when anti-religious activists tried to halt the service and tore down the makeshift partition the organizers had set up using Israeli flags, after the municipality initially banned separate seating at public gatherings.
{Matzav.com Israel}
Kfar Saba High School Students Protest Against Principal Who Lamented The “Hunger In Gaza”
Oversight Committee Probes Wikipedia for Bias
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has launched an inquiry into claims of coordinated efforts to insert bias into Wikipedia articles and the platform’s handling of such incidents, according to a report from The Hill on Wednesday.
Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., along with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who leads the subcommittee on cybersecurity, information technology, and government innovation, sent a formal request to Maryana Iskander, CEO of the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that manages Wikipedia.
In their letter, the lawmakers explained that the committee is investigating “the efforts of foreign operations and individuals at academic institutions subsidized by U.S. taxpayer dollars to influence U.S. public opinion.”
The request asked for “your assistance in obtaining documents and communications regarding individuals (or specific accounts) serving as Wikipedia volunteer editors who violated Wikipedia platform policies as well as your own efforts to thwart intentional, organized efforts to inject bias into important and sensitive topics.”
Comer and Mace pointed out that “multiple studies and reports have highlighted efforts to manipulate information on the Wikipedia platform for propaganda aimed at Western audiences,” adding that “one recent report [that] raised troubling questions about potentially systematic efforts to advance antisemitic and anti-Israel information in Wikipedia articles related to conflicts with the State of Israel.”
They noted that the Wikimedia Foundation, “which hosts the Wikipedia platform, has acknowledged taking actions responding to misconduct by volunteer editors who effectively create Wikipedia’s encyclopedic articles.”
The lawmakers also stated that “the committee recognizes that virtually all web-based information platforms must contend with bad actors and their efforts to manipulate. Our inquiry seeks information to help our examination of how Wikipedia responds to such threats and how frequently it creates accountability when intentional, egregious, or highly suspicious patterns of conduct on topics of sensitive public interest are brought to attention.”
The letter further stressed that “this includes questions concerning the tools and methods Wikipedia utilizes to identify and stop malicious conduct that injects bias or undermines a neutral point of view on its platform. We also seek to better our understanding of the individuals caught engaging in prohibited behavior.”
{Matzav.com}
Jobless Claims Fall as Employers Hold Onto Workers, Signaling Labor Market Stability
Rabbi Nachman Seltzer and Shai Graucher: Chessed Under Fire
Trump Says He Has Raised Over $1.5B Since 2024 Election
President Trump announced that since his victory in November, he has secured $1.5 billion in total fundraising, reaching a significant benchmark. “I am pleased to report that I have raised, since the Great Presidential Election of 2024, in various forms and political entities, in excess of 1.5 Billion Dollars. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” he posted Wednesday on Truth Social.
The primary super PAC supporting Trump, MAGA Inc., disclosed that it currently holds nearly $200 million in its accounts, as preparations intensify for the 2026 midterm elections when control of Congress will once again be determined.
In a recent CNBC “Squawk Box” interview, Trump remarked that he will “probably not” pursue a third term since the Constitution prohibits it. However, he also hinted at his interest in another run, pointing to strong polling numbers that continue to fuel speculation.
Over the past several months, Trump and some of his allies have occasionally suggested the possibility of seeking a third term. While these comments have often been dismissed as lighthearted, there have also been moments when he appeared to seriously consider it despite the 22nd Amendment, which restricts any individual from serving more than two terms.
When asked on NBC’s “Meet the Press” about discussions on passing leadership to Vice President J.D. Vance, he responded that the president regularly explores a wide range of topics. “And if it’s in the news, the president and I have certainly discussed it. But I think the president is just focused on doing a good job for the American people,” Vance said. “He wants me to be focused on doing a good job for the American people.”
Trump also recently commented that it was premature to decide who should lead the Republican ticket in 2028 but acknowledged that Vance is the “most likely” successor at this point. He additionally mentioned Secretary of State Marco Rubio as a potential running mate for Vance, suggesting such a pairing could create a strong and competitive campaign.
{Matzav.com}
Antisemitism In Chile: Historic Shul Vandalized With Anti-Israel Graffiti
NYC MAYORAL RACE: Andrew Cuomo Would Beat Socialist Zohran Mamdani In Head-To-Head Matchup, Poll Finds
Shift in Tone? Rav Yitzchak Yosef: “A Bochur Who Doesn’t Learn — Should Enlist”
In what appears to signal a potential change in approach, Rav Yitzchak Yosef, the former Sephardic Chief Rabbi and nosi of the Shas Moetzet Chachmei Hatorah, stated in a newly released recording that a yeshiva bochur who is not actually learning should enlist in the IDF.
The remarks, captured in a conversation published by journalist Avraham Freund, mark a significant nuance compared to the strong positions Rav Yosef has previously voiced on the draft law. In the recording, Rav Yosef clarified the intent behind his past statements:
“הזכירו לי שאני אמרתי באחד השיעורים אפילו בחור בטלן לא ילך לצבא. שאלו אותי למה התכוונתי. לא התכוונתי לאחד שעובד בלילות כמלצר וכל מיני עבודות. לא התכוונתי לזה. אתם יודעים, אצל מי שלומד בישיבה, יש לפעמים תקופות של משבר.”
“They reminded me that I once said in a shiur that even a lazy bochur shouldn’t go to the army. They asked me what I meant. I didn’t mean someone who works nights as a waiter or does other jobs. That wasn’t my intention. You know, among those learning in yeshiva, there are sometimes temporary periods of crisis.”
In other words, Rav Yosef explained that his opposition to enlistment referred only to yeshiva students who are genuinely part of the Torah learning framework but temporarily struggling, not to those who have left learning entirely. For a bochur who is no longer engaged in Torah study, he implied, the draft may be appropriate.
This statement comes after repeated past declarations from Rav Yosef in which he strongly opposed the enlistment of chareidim, including into special frameworks such as the Chashmonaim Brigade. Those remarks were often accompanied by sharp criticism of the army, politicians, and rabbanim advocating for broader chareidi recruitment, as well as of the religious-Zionist (dati leumi) sector.
Meanwhile, related developments emerged yesterday when Matzav.com reported that another member of the Shas Moetzet, Rav Moshe Maya, recently met with Brig. Gen. Shay Tayeb, head of the IDF’s TUMACH division, to discuss the conditions required for chareidi enlistment into the Chashmonaim Brigade. Rav Maya has reportedly stated in recent days that if specific religious conditions are formally anchored in IDF orders, a pathway could be opened for some chareidim to serve.
{Matzav.com Israel}
U.S. Financial Institutions Told to Flag Suspected Chinese Money Launderers, Mexican Cartels
‘Six Million Wasn’t Enough’ Written On Minneapolis Shooter’s Gun
Police have identified the individual responsible for Wednesday’s deadly shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis as Robin Westman, who killed two children and injured 17 others. Investigators discovered a YouTube channel believed to be tied to her, featuring numerous weapon-related videos and a manifesto.
The YouTube account, which has now been deleted, contained disturbing videos showing Westman’s arsenal of firearms. Some of the weapons were marked with antisemitic and anti-Israel phrases, including “six million wasn’t enough,” “extra Jew gas,” and “Israel must fall.”
On one firearm, Westman wrote “I am a terrorist” and “I’m a nightmare” in Russian, along with other messages such as “Where is your god?” and “Kill pedos.” A bump stock was inscribed with the names of six other school shooters, including Adam Lanza, who carried out the Sandy Hook massacre.
Footage from the deleted channel also showed what appeared to be Westman flipping through a handwritten journal in which she described “being that scary, horrible monster standing over those powerless kids” and expressed admiration for the Sandy Hook attack.
Videos linked to her account revealed that Westman sometimes used Cyrillic letters to disguise her writings. According to an analysis by The Jerusalem Post, she meticulously planned the attack for several months, mapping out both the school grounds and the attached church.
“I’m feeling good about Annunciation,” reads a passage from her manifesto that surfaced on social media. She explained that she deliberately chose a time when parents were unlikely to be present, fearing that they might “have a gun to attack her with scary ferocity.”
Her writings suggest she delayed the attack until the school reopened after a break. In several entries, she openly stated that she “can’t wait to kill” and confessed that she “wants to kill kids for fun.”
Reuters reported that Westman’s mother, Mary Westman, had been employed as an administrative assistant at Annunciation Church, the same campus where the shooting occurred.
In additional videos from the manifesto, Westman expressed that she either had cancer or viewed herself as “a cancer on the world.”
She also repeatedly wrote in Cyrillic script, “I am sick, I fall, and I die.” Another chilling entry read, “I am your nightmare. I am the harbinger of destruction.”
According to local officials, Westman had purchased all of her weapons legally. In a 20-minute video traced back to her account, she claimed that her father had given her $2,000 in financial support, which she then used to buy a firearm.
Authorities confirmed that police are examining the direct link between Westman and the deleted channel, according to The New York Post.
Meanwhile, the FBI has classified the case as “an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics,” Reuters reported.
{Matzav.com}IDF Airstrikes Target Houthi Leaders In Yemen; Results Being Assessed
Over 4000 Bachurim in More Than 20 Camps Participate in Dirshu’s Daf HaYomi B’Halacha L’Bochurim Program
‘Your Son Isn’t More Holy!’ – Explosive Showdown Between Menachem Horowitz and Boaz Naki on Draft Law on Live TV
A heated confrontation broke out on Wednesday evening during a live broadcast on Israeli’s Channel 12 News between journalist Menachem Horowitz and Boaz Naki, a spokesman for the Peleg Yerushalmi, as tensions over the draft law continue to intensify.
During the debate, Horowitz criticized the current exemption structure for yeshiva students, saying: “אנשים עם כיפות סרוגות נהרגו ונטבחו והם תלמידי חכמים לא פחות מהבן שלך” — “People with knitted kippahs were killed and slaughtered, and they are no less talmidei chachamim than your son.”
Naki immediately pushed back, responding sharply: “לא כמו בני התורה שיושבים ולומדים” — “They are not like the bnei Torah who sit and learn.”
The discussion escalated further when Naki challenged the comparison between the mother of a soldier on the frontlines and the mother of a chareidi yeshiva student. He remarked:
“מי שהולך ל-8200 ויושב בחדר ממוזג גם מפחד למות? אני עושה יותר מ-8200” — “Someone who goes to Unit 8200 and sits in an air-conditioned room — is he also afraid of dying? I’m doing more than 8200.”
Horowitz fired back: “אתם לא מתגייסים, כי אתם שמעתם על מאות אנשים שנהרגו בקרבות. אתה רוצה את הבן שלך בראש השנה לידך” — “You’re not enlisting because you’ve heard about hundreds of people killed in battles. You want your son next to you on Rosh Hashanah.”
Naki later referred to comments made by the current IDF Chief of Staff, stating: “הרמטכ”ל אמר דבר חשוב, שצריכים כולם להתגייס, הוא התכוון על הצפונבונים שלא מתגייסים בהמוניהם” — “The Chief of Staff said something important, that everyone should enlist, but he was talking about the privileged northerners who don’t draft in large numbers.”
He then questioned why, according to him, tens of thousands of soldiers released from service under former Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi were not being recalled to active duty.
The debate reached its peak when Horowitz asserted: “בני ישיבות ההסדר יותר תלמידי חכמים” — “Students in hesder yeshivas are greater talmidei chachamim.”
Naki shot back furiously: “שקר, אתה יודע שזה שקר” — “That’s a lie, and you know it’s a lie.”
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Matzav Inbox: The Mile of Madness: An Open Letter to New Square’s Leadership
To the Leadership of New Square,
Hello, we’ve never met, but we’re well aware of your position.
You’ve made it loud and clear: you want to enforce a Judenrein mile around New Square, and you’re determined to get it done.
Let’s call it what it is, arrogant, backwards, and completely detached from reality. Where did you pull the “mile” from? Why not two miles? Or five miles? Or a techum Shabbos? This isn’t Torah, it’s fantasy.
You claim to have written some letter ten years ago requesting that Yidden not buy within a mile of New Square. If we had seen that back then, we would’ve assumed it was a joke. Who in their right mind tries to control where a fellow Yid lives, just because it doesn’t fit your kehilla’s preferences? That’s not how normal communities function.
Let’s be honest: if a different Rebbe, not yours, had told you to stop the Skver expansion, would you give it a second of thought? Of course not. So don’t expect us to either.
There was no such thing as a widely understood or accepted “mile rule” when families moved in. Not in halacha, not in law, not in any shared communal understanding. You invented it, expected blind obedience, and are now shocked that no one took it seriously.
Nobody was informed, because nobody outside of your shtetel recognized it as a real or binding concept. And even if someone had mentioned it, there’s no reason anyone would have taken it seriously, because the idea that one kehilla can unilaterally redraw the map around itself, with no halachic basis, and no legal standing, is simply not how Torah communities or civilized society operate.
So you’ve decided to escalate and pick a fight with your Yiddishe neighbors. No, not with fire and arson like in 2011. You learned the hard way that violence has consequences. This time you’ve decided to wage economic and demographic warfare. Buying homes and illegally renting them out to multi-family tenants, including illegal migrants in order to sabotage the neighborhoods around you.
Let’s be clear: this isn’t just shady. It’s criminal. You’re breaking halacha and, l’havdil, federal, state, and local law. Worst of all, you’re breaking the basic norms of decency that every Jewish community, every one, has upheld for generations.
You will be stopped – that’s a fact.
The question is – how ugly and expensive it’s going to get for you.
Even before the law catches up to you, you’re already paying a price. You’ve ignited a storm. Matzav, the Jewish Velt, the Mikveh nies, CBN, Imamother, WhatsApp chats, it’s everywhere, and it’s not flattering. And what’s the story? A once looked up to and respected kehilla acting like a gang of bullies and crooks. You’re becoming a national disgrace. Another scandal, another headline, you’re being spoken about in the same breath as Lev Tahor – a fringe cult that no one wants to touch.
You built something meaningful over sixty years. Skver used to mean something. A respected name. A good hechsher. A community known for warmth and ehrlichkeit. That’s all on the verge of going up in smoke. For what? To block a few Yiddishe families from living peacefully, that’s what you’re burning it all down for?
This was stupid. Not just wrong—stupid. You’re throwing away your credibility, your standing, your future. And you’re doing it for a cause that has no halachic foundation, no precedent in Jewish history, and no chance of success.
Skver is not self-funded. You rely on outside donors. What do you think they’re going to say when they realize their tzedakah dollars are financing mafia tactics and illegal rentals? Once they understand what’s being done in their name, support will evaporate. No one wants to fund chillul Hashem.
What exactly do you think you’re accomplishing?
You really think if you push Yidden a mile away, your kehilla won’t see them? Won’t talk to them? Won’t think? Won’t wonder?
You think isolation stops curiosity? You think isolation stops the yearning for freedom?
This isn’t about us. Your young people are leaving because of you, because forced conformity and mind control are unsustainable. Because personality cults dressed in religious clothing have a shelf life. Because when you don’t allow people to breathe, think, question, or grow, you don’t produce tzaddikim – you produce escapees.
That’s not on us. That’s on you.
And no, this is not going away. We will keep this front and center until it’s resolved. You will either sell those homes, or you will rent them out legally.
You want to be “frim”? Start with the Gemara. Start with the Shulchan Aruch. Rent to Jewish families if you care so much about kedusha. But we don’t expect that from you. Apparently, that’s not your thing.
At the very least, you will be forced to follow the law. Dina d’malchusa dina. The world is not hefker!
You’ve made a catastrophic miscalculation. It’s not too late to stop the bleeding. Climb down quietly – or be dragged down, loudly. Either way, this ends with your defeat. The only question is: how much of your kehilla’s dignity, reputation, and future are you willing to destroy before that happens?
Your Neighbors in the Mile
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{Matzav.com}
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