Jooish News

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to visit Israel next week for high-level discussions focused on Iran and other key regional issues, the State Department announced Friday, as Washington continues to expand its military presence in the Middle East amid escalating tensions with Tehran.

According to the State Department, Rubio’s trip will take place March 2-3. During his visit, he is expected to hold talks on Iran as well as broader regional matters, including developments in Lebanon and President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan.

{Matzav.com}

A shmuess delivered by Rav Simcha Klein.

WATCH:

https://matzav.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/About-AI-Generated-Videos-of-Gedolei-Yisroel-1.mp3

A growing number of governments are urging their citizens to leave Iran and Israel immediately, warning that a rapidly deteriorating security environment in the Middle East could spiral into open conflict at any moment.

The cascade of travel advisories and diplomatic withdrawals on Friday underscores mounting fears that war between the U.S./Israel and Iran may be imminent.

Poland’s foreign ministry called on its nationals to depart Iran, Israel and Lebanon without delay, citing what it described as a highly unstable regional situation.

“The security situation in the Middle East is unstable. The risk of escalation is high,” the ministry said in posts on X. “Airspace for civilian traffic may be closed. Return by air may be impossible or significantly hindered.”

Britain moved to reduce its diplomatic footprint in the region. The U.K. Foreign Office said it had temporarily withdrawn embassy staff from Iran due to the current “security situation,” adding that operations would continue remotely.

In Israel, London relocated some of its diplomatic staff and their dependents from Tel Aviv to another location within the country as a precaution.

“We have taken the precautionary measure to temporarily move some of our staff and their dependents from Tel Aviv to another location within Israel,” the Foreign Office said, warning that the situation “could escalate quickly and poses significant risks.”

France reiterated its advice for nationals not to travel to Israel or the West Bank — even for tourism or family visits — citing the security situation tied to rising tensions with Iran. French citizens already in the area were urged to exercise “great vigilance and prudence,” avoid demonstrations and identify nearby shelters.

Germany, too, is “urgently” advising against travel to Israel and East Jerusalem amid increasing tensions. Italy’s foreign ministry similarly urged its citizens to leave Iran if their presence was not strictly necessary and advised extreme caution across the broader region, including Iraq and Lebanon.

China issued parallel warnings. Its embassy in Israel called on Chinese nationals to strengthen security precautions and emergency preparedness, advising them to avoid unnecessary travel and closely follow official updates. Earlier Friday, Beijing urged its citizens to avoid travel to Iran altogether and called on those currently in the country to evacuate “as soon as possible.”

Air travel is already beginning to feel the strain.

Istanbul Airport announced that multiple flights to Tehran had been canceled Friday night amid the mounting U.S. military buildup around Iran. Flights operated by Turkish Airlines and two Iranian carriers were scrubbed, with additional cancellations scheduled for Saturday. A Turkish Airlines flight to the northern Iranian city of Tabriz was also called off.

While no formal declaration of hostilities has been made, the steady drumbeat of evacuations, airspace disruptions and diplomatic pullbacks suggests that governments are preparing for the possibility that events could escalate with little notice.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

President Donald Trump said Friday that he is unhappywith the way negotiations with Iran are proceeding but added that he has not made a final decision on whether to authorize a military strike.

“I’m not happy with the fact that they’re not willing to give us what we have to have. So I’m not thrilled with that,” Trump said. “We’ll see what happens, we’re talking later. We’ll have some additional talks today. But, no, I’m not happy with the way they’re going.”

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The president did not provide further details about the substance of the negotiations but indicated that additional discussions were scheduled for later in the day.

When asked whether he had made a final decision on striking Iran, Trump said he had not.

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In response to a question from Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy about the possibility that a U.S. strike could lead to a long-term conflict in the Middle East, Trump acknowledged there are risks associated with war.

“I guess you could say there’s always a risk,” Trump said. “You know, when there’s war, there’s a risk in anything both good and bad.”

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During his remarks, Trump referenced actions taken during his first and second terms, including the 2020 U.S. strike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force.

Trump also mentioned an operation carried out last summer known as Operation Midnight Hammer. He said that “everything’s worked out” so far with respect to those actions.

No additional details about the negotiations or potential military action were provided.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

WASHINGTON (VINnews) — Vice President JD Vance on Friday described the Tucker Carlson-Mike Huckabee interview, which has sparked allegations of antisemitism and diplomatic tensions with Arab states, as “a really good conversation that’s going to be necessary for the right.”

Vance, speaking to the Washington Post, said he had only seen segments of the more than two-hour interview but praised the exchange as part of a broader dialogue within the Republican Party.

The longtime Carlson ally emphasized the importance of a “real exchange of ideas,” including voices he finds disagreeable, framing it as essential for party unity and electoral success.

His remarks drew criticism from many including from former New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who tweeted that Vance’s praise suggested he either “is a puppet of Tucker” or “actually believes the garbage Tucker spewed,” and said both possibilities disqualify him from future GOP leadership.

Vance, widely viewed as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, reiterated that he believes the GOP should remain an open marketplace of ideas.

After describing the interview between Ambassador Huckabee and Tucker the snake, as “a really good conversation that’s going to be necessary for the right, not just for the next couple years but for long into the future.”

only one of the following statements can describe who or… https://t.co/H9ky73A1s7

— Dov Hikind (@HikindDov) February 27, 2026

I'll never support or vote for JD Vance. Never.
He's Tucker with a beard. https://t.co/JgMoT2IePA

— Lily West🌹 (@LilyRoslynWest) February 27, 2026

Doppelt Purim Adar 5786 new - LETTER

MILAN, Italy (AP) — A tram derailed Friday and slammed into a building in the heart of Milan, killing two people and injuring more than two-dozen others, officials said.

The incident, along the central Vittorio Veneto avenue, came as the Italian business capital is hosting its seasonal fashion shows and is in the interim between hosting the Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games.

The No. 9 tram runs through the heart of Italy’s financial capital. It was supposed to have continued straight along Vittorio Veneto and was going at a high speed. But it suddenly swerved at a switch track that is used by another tram line and went off its usual course, according to video of the crash broadcast by Sky TG24.

The video shows the tram nearly flipping onto its side as it takes the curve before slamming to a stop in a building.

Milan Mayor Beppe Sala suggested human error was to blame, saying the driver had apparently failed to switch the tracks to keep the tram going straight. Sala described the driver as a seasoned employee who had only been on his shift for an hour. But he said he had skipped a prior stop before the crash occurred, and would be questioned from the hospital where he was being treated for his injuries.

Sala confirmed two people had been killed — one passenger on the tram and one on the street. He said none of the other injured was in life-threatening condition.

Dozens of ambulances, fire trucks and police cars responded to the crash, with crews escorting passengers in thermal blankets away from the scene.

ATM, the Milan public transport company, said it was cooperating with prosecutors “to precisely establish the cause and dynamic of the incident.”

A person reacts at the scene of a derailment on Line 9 in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (Stefano Porta/LaPresse via AP)

Police officers speak with a man at the scene of a derailment on Line 9 in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (Stefano Porta/LaPresse via AP)

Mayor of Milan Giuseppe Sala, centre, arrives at the scene of a derailment on Line 9 in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (Stefano Porta/LaPresse via AP)

Emergency services work at the scene of a derailment on Line 9 in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (Stefano Porta/LaPresse via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A crowd gathered at a commuter gate at Reagan National Airport on Friday as fog-laden Washington skies caused an hourlong ground stop that backed up passengers hoping to head out from American Airlines’ Terminal D.

But soon the already densely packed area swelled even more, as word spread across nearby gates that, of the hundreds of air travelers coming and going, only one among them was accompanied by a U.S. Secret Service detail, along with uniformed local police officers: former President Joe Biden.

President Joe Biden is greeted by passengers awaiting an outgoing flight and poses for selfies, after his flight arrived, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026 in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)

Biden, who has rarely made public appearances since leaving office last year, sat, like many of his fellow passengers, awaiting a flight that would take him to Columbia, South Carolina, for an evening event with the South Carolina Democratic Party.

Passengers whispered and gaped in wonder: Why would a man who for a time was leader of the free world be, like they were, at the mercy of airport travel delays, even as he sat ensconced in his security detail?

Maybe for Biden it made more sense than for some other former presidents. Known for years as Amtrak Joe, Biden as a senator prided himself on becoming arguably the nation’s biggest Amtrak fan, regularly taking the train home to Delaware rather than taking up residence in Washington. Now, as a former president, he’s been spotted riding the rails since, taking selfies with and chatting up his fellow passengers.

On Friday, the vibe was about the same, as Biden — seated in the third row of the tiny first class cabin on the commuter jet — boarded the flight ahead of other passengers, along with his detail, members of which were spread throughout the plane.

“God bless you, sir,” one woman said, as she filed past Biden in his window seat, newspaper in his lap.

“Thank you for your service,” a man said, shaking Biden’s hand.

The woman who took the aisle seat next to the former president first set down her coffee on the arm rest they shared, deposited a bag in the overhead compartment, then sat down and realized her seatmate was the nation’s 46th president.

Biden set his hand on her cup to steady it, then met her gaze with a hello as she took her seat.

“I feel like I’m about to cry,” the woman said, as they shook hands and, over the course of the next hour, chatted throughout the flight.

Former presidents and their spouses receive lifelong Secret Service protection under federal law, but there are no provisions guaranteeing the elite levels of private travel that were necessary features of their time in office.

An Asbury Park man has pleaded guilty in connection with a fatal shooting that left one person dead and two others injured at a Toms River hookah lounge in 2022.

Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that on February 27, 2026, Eric Manzanares, 26, pled guilty to one count of Aggravated Manslaughter and two counts of Aggravated Assault before Judge Guy P. Ryan, P.J.Cr.P.

The charges stem from an incident that occurred around 1:20 a.m. on August 27, 2022, at Top Tier Hookah Lounge on Hooper Avenue in Toms River. Responding officers found three victims suffering from gunshot wounds.

Nymere Tinsley was shot in the lower abdomen and transported to Community Medical Center, where he was later pronounced deceased. Two other victims — Anthony Miller, 30, of Neptune Township, and Jamal Bland, 26, of Asbury Park — were transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center. Both were treated for their injuries and released.

Authorities said a joint investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Toms River Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit determined that Manzanares was responsible for the shootings.

Manzanares was initially charged on the day of the incident, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was later apprehended on April 7, 2023, in Prince William County and held at the Prince William-Manassas Regional Adult Detention Center before being extradited to Ocean County on January 24, 2024. He has remained in the Ocean County Jail since that time.

At sentencing, scheduled for April 24, 2026, prosecutors will seek a 23-year New Jersey State Prison sentence for the aggravated manslaughter charge, along with 10 years for each aggravated assault charge. The sentences are expected to run concurrently and will be subject to the No Early Release Act.

NEW YORK (VINnews) — New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Friday condemned a chaotic Washington Square Park snowball fight and vowed to protect officers after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg dropped assault charges against a suspect.

Several officers were struck by ice-filled snowballs during Monday’s melee, with two requiring hospital treatment. Gusmane Coulibaly, 27, of the Bronx, was arrested but prosecutors reduced his charges to harassment and obstruction of governmental administration, citing insufficient evidence of direct injury.

Tisch called the attacks “criminal” and said she “will not tolerate any attacks on my cops, period,” urging officers not to let the incident undermine pride in wearing the uniform.

The investigation remains ongoing, and police continue searching for other participants.

In a surprising spiritual initiative ahead of Purim, Knesset Member Moshe Abutbul has begun distributing printed copies of the laws of kemitzah to shuls and batei midrash throughout Israel, encouraging their study as a merit for the salvation of the Jewish people during a time of heightened security tensions and threats from Iran.

Abutbul’s office has circulated professionally printed booklets featuring the Rambam’s codification of the laws of kemitzah — the Bais Hamikdosh procedure in which a kohen would remove a handful of flour from a meal offering. The goal, according to Abutbul, is to inspire focused study of these laws on Purim as a spiritual protection for Klal Yisroel and as a show of support for talmidei chachomim.

Explaining the basis for the initiative, Abutbul cited the well-known teaching in Gemara Megillah that links the concept of kemitzah to the downfall of Haman. He recounted that when Haman sought out Mordechai to dress him in royal garments at King Achashverosh’s command, he found him studying Torah with his students. When Haman asked what they were learning, they replied that in the time of the Beis Hamikdash, one who brought a meal offering would present a handful of fine flour, which would atone for him. Haman then remarked that their “handful of flour” had outweighed the ten thousand talents of silver he had given Achashverosh in his plot to destroy the Jewish people.

Abutbul said that after consulting with prominent rabbanim, he was advised that in these days of internal and external conflict, with Iran once again issuing threats of war against Israel, it would be appropriate to adopt this spiritual approach on Purim. Studying the laws of kemitzah, he said, could help elevate the fortune of the Jewish people and strengthen the standing of talmidei chachomim, who protect the nation through their learning.

Along with the printed materials, Abutbul’s office included explanatory notes emphasizing the importance of studying these laws on Purim as a spiritual safeguard. The initiative concludes with a prayer that, just as in the days of Mordechai and Esther, the fortunes of the Jewish people will once again rise, fulfilling the posuk of LaYehudim: “For the Jews there was light and joy.”

{Matzav.com}

A Gallup survey released Friday shows a dramatic shift in American public opinion on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, with sympathies no longer leaning more toward Israel for the first time in the poll’s 25-year history.

According to the findings, 41% of Americans now say they sympathize more with the Palestinians, while 36% side more with Israel. Though the five-point difference is within the poll’s margin of error, it represents a sharp reversal from only a year ago, when Israel held a 13-point advantage.

From 2001 through 2025, Israel consistently enjoyed double-digit leads in public sympathy, with especially wide margins throughout the early 2000s and 2010s. The gap began narrowing several years before the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023, and has continued to shrink amid the ongoing war in Gaza and the subsequent U.S.-brokered ceasefire that began in October 2025.

As in past years, a significant portion of Americans express no preference: 4% sympathize with both sides, 9% with neither, and 10% offer no opinion.

Independents Drive the Shift

The most striking movement comes from political independents, who for the first time say they sympathize more with the Palestinians than with Israel, by a margin of 41% to 30%. Last year, independents still leaned toward Israel.

Democratic opinion has remained largely steady after shifting decisively toward the Palestinians in recent years. Sixty-five percent of Democrats now side with the Palestinians, while 17% sympathize more with Israel.

Republicans remain strongly supportive of Israel, with 70% siding with the Jewish state. However, that figure has dropped 10 points since 2024, falling to its lowest level in more than two decades.

Generational Changes

Younger Americans continue to show the greatest sympathy for the Palestinians. A majority – 53% of adults aged 18 to 34 – now say their sympathies lie with the Palestinians, compared to just 23% who sympathize more with Israel. This marks the first time the younger demographic has shown majority support for the Palestinians.

Middle-aged Americans, traditionally more balanced in their views, also shifted sharply: 46% sympathize more with Palestinians and 28% with Israelis, a near reversal from last year.

Among adults 55 and older, support still favors Israel, though by the narrowest margin since 2005. Forty-nine percent sympathize more with Israel, and 31% with the Palestinians.

Gallup’s separate ratings of favorability toward Israel and the Palestinian Territories likewise show significant movement.

Israel’s favorability has dropped to 46%, nearing its historical low, while the Palestinian Territories have reached a record 37% favorability.

Among independents, the shift is most pronounced: for the first time, equal shares – 41% each – view Israel and the Palestinian Territories favorably. Since early 2023, independent voters’ favorability toward Israel has dropped 26 points, while their favorability toward the Palestinian Territories has risen 12 points.

Democrats now view the Palestinian Territories more favorably than Israel, while Republicans remain strongly pro-Israel, though their support has also weakened compared to previous years.

A consistent majority of Americans—57%—support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. This ties the highest levels recorded since 2003 and reflects continued broad backing for a two-state solution even as partisan divisions widen.

Support is strongest among Democrats (77%), followed by independents (57%). Republican support stands at 33%, down significantly from pre-2023 levels.

Gallup’s latest results underscore a major realignment in how Americans view the longstanding conflict. While Israel continues to enjoy higher overall favorability, it no longer commands the clear sympathy advantage that defined U.S. public opinion for decades.

The survey also highlights growing generational and partisan divides, suggesting that the political landscape surrounding U.S. policy toward Israel may continue to evolve in the years ahead.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday to promote a sweeping affordable housing proposal, presenting the president with a mock newspaper front page touting the potential impact of major new federal investment in the city.

During the visit, Mamdani handed Trump a fabricated front page styled after the New York Daily News, crafted to highlight the scale and political resonance of the proposal. The headline read “Trump to City: Let’s Build,” echoing the paper’s well-known 1975 cover declaring “Ford to City: Drop Dead,” which referenced Gerald Ford’s pledge at the time to veto financial aid for New York City.

The approach appeared tailored to Trump’s well-known interest in media coverage. The president closely follows both national cable news and local New York publications, and aides to Mamdani said the presentation was designed to underscore how a large federal housing commitment could be received publicly. Mamdani later shared a photo from the Oval Office meeting on social media, prominently featuring the mock front page.

Anna Bahr, Mamdani’s communications director, said the mayor’s staff created the sample headlines to illustrate the positive reaction they believe a major housing partnership would generate. According to Bahr, Trump responded favorably to the proposal, which centers on constructing a platform over Sunnyside Yard in Queens and building 12,000 affordable housing units there.

Bahr said the president was “very enthusiastic” about Mamdani’s proposal, which would involve securing more than $21 billion in federal grants to deck over the rail yard and enable construction. City Hall estimates the development would generate 30,000 jobs and represent the largest housing and infrastructure initiative in more than half a century.

The meeting followed an earlier White House sit-down between the two in November, when Trump encouraged Mamdani to return with a bold proposal for collaboration in New York City. Despite repeatedly attacking Mamdani as a “communist” during the mayoral campaign, Trump struck a warmer tone after their previous one-on-one discussion in the Oval Office.

Thursday’s meeting, which had not been publicly scheduled in advance, lasted roughly an hour. In addition to housing, Mamdani raised concerns about the detention of Ellie Aghayeva, a Columbia University student from Azerbaijan who had been arrested earlier that day by federal immigration agents.

According to Aghayeva’s lawyers and Columbia’s president, immigration authorities gained entry to a campus residence by saying they were looking for a “missing person.” Mamdani asked Trump to review her case and consider her release.

Shortly after the White House meeting concluded, Trump called the mayor and informed him that Aghayeva would be released. Mamdani also provided White House chief of staff Susie Wiles with the names of four additional students facing federal action and requested assistance from the administration.

Those students — Mahmoud Khalil, Yunseo Chung, Mohsen Mahdawi and Leqaa Kordia — were detained in connection with pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Of the four, only Kordia remains in custody, though legal proceedings are ongoing in each case.

“Mayor Mamdani is absolutely right to call on President Trump to release Leqaa Kordia, the beloved daughter of an American citizen,” Hamzah Abushaban, Kordia’s cousin, said in a statement. “For nearly a year, my cousin Leqaa has been locked away in ICE detention, robbed of precious birthdays, holidays, and irreplaceable moments with her family. She has endured fear, isolation, and even suffered a seizure while trapped behind those walls. This is not justice. This is not humanity.”

{12}

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s government on Friday said it will allow Google to export detailed mapping data of the country to overseas servers under certain security requirements, responding to years of frustration by foreign travelers who found that Google Maps didn’t work effectively in the country.

After a review by government officials and private experts, authorities approved Google’s request to export 1:5,000-scale, high-precision map data on the condition that it implements security safeguards, such as limiting transfers to data necessary for navigation services and excluding contour lines and other sensitive information.

South Korean officials for years had rejected requests by foreign tech companies such as Google and Apple to transfer detailed mapping data to overseas servers, often citing security concerns, such as the risk that rival North Korea could exploit sensitive geographic information.

Google will have to process the data first on domestic servers and receive government clearance before exporting it, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. Officials also required Google to remove coordinates from South Korean territory and blur satellite and aerial images of military and other sensitive sites in time-series services such as Google Earth and Street View.

Google will be required to employ a compliance officer in South Korea to handle map export issues, and the government may suspend or revoke the approval if the company fails to comply with the conditions, the ministry said.

In an e-mailed statement, Cris Turner, Google’s vice president of government affairs and public policy, said the company “welcomes today’s decision and looks forward to ongoing collaboration with local officials to bring fully functioning Google Maps to Korea.”

South Korea’s restrictions have made it one of the few countries where the globally dominant Google Maps has limited use, with locals mostly relying on the services of South Korean internet companies like Naver and Kakao.

Besides security issues, there have also been concerns about the business impact on domestic firms. Some experts in favor of the restrictions have argued that control over national mapping data has become a matter of “sovereignty,” as it underpins emerging technologies such as autonomous vehicles, robotics and data-driven “smart cities.”

Critics say the restrictions hinder innovation and could be undermining tourism, citing complaints from foreign visitors. In South Korea, Google Maps lacks full walking and driving directions.

By Y.M. Lowy

Today will have a high of 39° and a low of 32°. It will be sunny and actually feel pretty nice for late winter, a bright break from the gray stretch we’ve had.

Shabbos warms up to a high of 47° with a low of 33°. The morning starts off foggy, but the sun takes over as the day goes on, making for a calmer and milder feel overall.

Sunday drops back down with a high of 37° and a low of 17°. Intermittent snow and flurries are expected in the morning, bringing a light coating. It becomes breezy in the afternoon and turns colder again, though streets should stay mainly wet.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton started his deposition before members of Congress investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Friday by telling them he “did nothing wrong” and saw no signs of Epstein’s abuse.

The closed-door deposition in Chappaqua, New York, marks the first time a former president has been compelled to testify to Congress. It came a day after Clinton’s wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, sat with lawmakers for her own deposition.

As someone who grew up in a home with domestic abuse, not only would I not have flown on his plane if I had any inkling of what he was doing—I would have turned him in myself and led the call for justice for his crimes, not sweetheart deals. pic.twitter.com/0rX8cat5Pu

— Bill Clinton (@BillClinton) February 27, 2026

Bill Clinton has also not been accused of any wrongdoing. Yet lawmakers are grappling with what accountability in the United States looks like at a time when men around the world have been toppled from their high-powered posts for maintaining their connections with Epstein after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to state charges in Florida for soliciting prostitution from an underage girl.

“Men — and women for that matter — of great power and great wealth from all across the world have been able to get away with a lot of heinous crimes and they haven’t been held accountable and they have not even had to answer questions,” said Republican Rep. James Comer, the chair of the House Oversight Committee, before the deposition began Friday.

Hillary Clinton told lawmakers Thursday that she had no knowledge of how Epstein had sexually abused underage girls and had no recollection of even meeting him. But Bill Clinton will have to answer questions on a well-documented relationship with Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, even if it was from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Hillary Clinton said Thursday that she expected her husband to testify that he had no knowledge of Epstein’s sexual abuse at the time they knew each other.

Republicans were relishing the opportunity to scrutinize the former Democratic president under oath.

“No one’s accusing anyone of any wrongdoing, but I think the American people have a lot of questions,” Comer said.

Republicans finally get a chance to question Bill Clinton
Republicans have wanted to question Bill Clinton about Epstein for years, especially as conspiracy theories arose following Epstein’s 2019 suicide in a New York jail cell while he faced sex trafficking charges.

Those calls reached a fever pitch late last year when several photos of the former president surfaced in the Department of Justice’s first release of case files on Epstein and Maxwell, a British socialite who was convicted of sex trafficking in December 2021 but maintains she’s innocent. Bill Clinton was photographed on a plane seated alongside a woman, whose face is redacted, with his arm around her. Another photo showed Clinton and Maxwell in a pool with another person whose face was redacted.

Epstein also visited the White House several times during Clinton’s presidency, and the pair later made several international trips together for their humanitarian work. Comer claimed the committee has collected evidence that Epstein visited the White House 17 times and that Bill Clinton flew on Epstein’s airplane 27 times.

In the lead-up to the deposition, Bill Clinton has insisted he had limited knowledge about Epstein and was unaware of any sexual abuse he committed.

“I think the chronology of the connection that he had with Epstein ended several years before anything about Epstein’s criminal activities came to light,” Hillary Clinton said at the conclusion of her deposition Thursday.

Comer has pledged extensive questioning of the former president. He claimed that Hillary Clinton had repeatedly deferred questions about Epstein to her husband.

The committee was working to publish a transcript and video recording of her deposition.

Has a precedent been set?
Democrats, who have supported the push to get answers from Bill Clinton, are arguing that it sets a precedent that should also apply to President Donald Trump, a Republican who had his own relationship with Epstein.

“I think that President Trump needs to man up, get in front of this committee and answer the questions and stop calling this investigation a hoax,” said Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, on Friday.

Comer has pushed back on that idea, saying that Trump has answered questions on Epstein from the press.

Democrats are also calling for the resignation of Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Lutnick was a longtime neighbor of Epstein in New York City but said on a podcast that he severed ties with Epstein following a 2005 tour of Epstein’s home that disturbed Lutnick and his wife.

The public release of case files showed that Lutnick actually had two engagements with Epstein years later. He attended a 2011 event at Epstein’s home, and in 2012 his family had lunch with Epstein on his private island.

“He should be removed from office and at a minimum should come before the committee,” Garcia said of Lutnick.

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace questioned Hillary Clinton about Lutnick’s relationship to Epstein during the deposition on Thursday. On Friday morning, Mace joined in calling for the commerce secretary to come before the committee.

“I believe we will have the votes to subpoena him,” Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna said.

BEIRUT (AP) — As wounded anti-government protesters poured into an Iranian hospital during last month’s crackdown, a young doctor hurried to the emergency room to help treat a man in his 40s who had been shot in the head at close range.

When the doctor and others tried to resuscitate the man, a group of armed, plainclothes security agents blocked their way, pushing some back with their rifles, the doctor told The Associated Press.

“They surrounded him and didn’t allow us to move further,” the doctor in the northern city of Rasht said.

Minutes later, the man was dead. The agents put his body in a black body bag. Later, they piled it and other bodies into the back of a van and drove away.

This wasn’t an isolated incident.

Over the course of a few days in early January, plainclothes agents swarmed hospitals in multiple cities treating the thousands wounded by Iranian security forces who fired on crowds to quash massive protests against the 47-year-old Islamic Republic. These agents monitored and sometimes obstructed care to protesters, intimidated staff, seized protesters and took away the dead in body bags. Dozens of doctors were arrested.

This story is based on AP interviews with three doctors in Iran and six Iranian medical professionals living abroad who are in contact with colleagues on the ground; reports from human rights groups; and AP’s verification of more than a dozen videos posted on social media. All of the doctors inside Iran spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.

The AP worked with Mnemonic, a Berlin-based organization, to identify online videos, posts and other material relating to violence in hospitals.

The doctors in Iran and abroad said the level of brutality and militarization of health facilities was unprecedented in a country that for decades has experienced crackdowns on dissent and surveillance of public institutions.

The Iran Human Rights Center, based in Oslo, has documented multiple accounts from inside hospitals of security agents preventing medical care, removing patients from ventilators, harassing doctors and detaining protesters.

The government has blamed the protests and ensuing violence on armed foreign-backed “terrorists.”

Health Ministry spokesman Hossein Kermanpour denied reports of treatment being prevented or protesters being taken from hospitals, calling them “untrue, but also fundamentally impossible.” He was quoted in state media as saying all injured were treated “without any discrimination or interference over political opinions.” The Iranian mission at the United Nations did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the doctors’ accounts.

Doctors tried to protect the wounded
The crackdown, which reached its height on Jan. 8 and 9, was the deadliest since the Islamic Republic took power in 1979. Details have been slow to emerge because of internet restrictions imposed by authorities.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency says it confirmed more than 7,000 deaths and that it is investigating thousands more. The government has acknowledged more than 3,000 killed, though it has undercounted or not reported fatalities from past unrest.

Once the crackdown began, the doctor in Rasht said he worked through 66 hours of hell, moving each day to a different facility to help with the wounded — first a trauma center, then a hospital and finally a private clinic.

Armed agents brought in wounded protesters and stood watch over them as staff worked, the doctor said. When it came time to discharge a patient, he said, “they would take anyone who was confirmed to be a protester.”

The doctor said he and other staff tried to hide wounded protesters by recording false diagnoses in hospital records.

“We knew that no matter what we did for the patients, they wouldn’t be safe once they stepped out of the hospital,” he said.

The AP could not independently confirm the doctor’s account of events at the hospital in Rasht. But it conformed with AP’s other reporting.

AP’s reporting focused on what happened at four hospitals, a snapshot of the Iranian security forces’ activity. Mnemonic gathered dozens of videos, posts and other accounts it says showed forces were present in and around nine hospitals, in some cases firing guns and tear gas. Mnemonic has been preserving digital evidence of human rights violations in Iran since 2022, creating with partners an archive of more than 2 million documents.

One video verified by AP shows security agents breaking through glass entrance doors into Imam Khomeini Hospital in the western city of Ilam. They then barged through the halls with their guns, yelling at people.

The Health Ministry told state media it was investigating the incident, saying it was committed to protecting medical centers, staff and patients.

Treating the wounded in hiding
On the night of Jan. 8, a 37-year-old general surgeon was out for dinner in Tehran when he received a call from a professional friend, an ophthalmologist. The fear in her voice made clear she needed his help urgently. She gave him an address.

Just before midnight, he drove to the address, a clinic for cosmetic procedures. Inside, he found the lobby transformed into a trauma ward, with more than 30 wounded men, women, children and elderly on the couches and blood-covered floor, shouting and crying,

The surgeon spent nearly four days there, treating more than 90 people, he estimates. At first, it was just him, the ophthalmologist, a dentist and two nurses. Eventually, the surgeon summoned three other doctors to help.

He used cardboard boxes and pieces of soft metal as splints for broken bones. With no anesthesia or strong painkillers, he used weaker suppository analgesics. The clinic had no blood supplies or transfusion capabilities.

They couldn’t send patients to hospitals for fear they’d be arrested.

A young man in his 20s had been shot with live ammunition in his elbow, shattering it. The surgeon sutured the wounds but knew the arm would have to be amputated.

A family of four — a mother, father and their 8- and 10-year-old children — were all riddled with pellets, the surgeon said.

On the morning of Jan. 9, the surgeon reached out to doctors he trusted to refer patients to them. First he had to make sure to remove all bullets and pellets from their bodies so they wouldn’t be detained at the hospital. He wrote referral letters saying the patients had been in car accidents.

None of the wounded died at the clinic, he said. The AP could not independently confirm the surgeon’s account of events at the clinic.

Doctors targeted for arrest
Since Jan. 9, at least 79 health care professionals have been detained, including a dozen medical students, according to Homa Fathi, an Iranian dentist pursuing a Ph.D. in Canada and member of IIPHA who has been monitoring Iranian government action against health professionals since 2022.

Around 30 have been released, most on bail, but many of them still face charges, including one accused of “waging war against God,” a charge that carries a death penalty, Fathi said.

The surgeon who treated protesters at the secret clinic said he was surprised security forces never stormed that location to make arrests.

But arrests have come since. Two health care workers who volunteered at the clinic were seized from their homes, the surgeon said.

“I am waiting, too.”

Digital advertisements mounted on top of New York City yellow cabs that read “Not gonna hide my Jewish star for a free bus ride” — a pointed reference to Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s proposal for free buses — were abruptly removed after media coverage brought attention to them.

According to a transcript of a video meeting, Jamie Lowe, executive vice president of the ad placement company Somo, informed representatives of the Jewish advocacy group JewBelong that the ads were taken down following backlash.

“You saw the article that ran in the NY Post today, you can imagine that it created a buzz, which it did … But the ad that’s running is obviously somewhat anti- the mayor of New York City,” Lowe said during the Tuesday call.

He added, “There were complaints across the board this morning to us, to the New York City Taxi Commission, and I’ll… I’ll leave it at that.”

Lowe later clarified that he had spoken not with the Taxi and Limousine Commission, which is overseen by Mamdani, but with Ron Sherman, head of the Metropolitan Taxi Board of Trade, an organization representing roughly a quarter of the city’s taxi industry.

“Just as the New York Post article said, it’s the slap of Mandami. That’s the challenge that we have,” Lowe told JewBelong co-founder Stacy Stuart and public relations representative Jenny McIntosh during the meeting.

JewBelong, which focuses on combating antisemitism, said the removal marked the first time in its five-year history that one of its advertisements had been censored.

During the discussion, Lowe acknowledged concern about drawing the ire of City Hall.

“I personally will be careful in running advertising that is somewhat, attacking City Hall or the mayor. So, I would say, yes, the political nature of the bus comment, and the mayor reference at this point in time is the challenge,” Lowe said.

Lowe and another sales representative proposed revising the ad to eliminate the apparent criticism of Mamdani’s transportation initiative, but JewBelong declined to alter the message.

He pointed to contractual language that, according to the transcript, allows his company to “reject or cancel any ad at any time without liability.”

JewBelong representatives argued that the decision amounted to suppressing a campaign intended to confront antisemitism.

“Why are Jewish voices being silenced in New York City at the very moment antisemitism is surging? Our taxi campaign was created to garner attention and start a conversation about the compromises many Jews feel pressured to make about visibility and identity amid rising antisemitism,” said JewBelong co-founder Archie Gottesman.

“Pulling it sends a chilling message that speaking out against hate is acceptable, until it makes someone uncomfortable. We refuse to be silent.”

The Anti-Defamation League also criticized the removal of the ads.

“If acknowledging that Jewish New Yorkers sometimes feel compelled to hide visible symbols of their identity is considered controversial, that should alarm all of us,” said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt.

“Suppressing awareness does not reduce antisemitism, especially at a time when we are seeing an alarming amount of antisemitic incidents,” he said.

The Taxi and Limousine Commission denied any involvement in the decision to remove the rooftop ads.

“We’re not aware of any complaints to the TLC related to these ads and we certainly haven’t asked for them to be removed,” said TLC spokesman Jason Kersten.

“We respect free speech, and for us to take any action the ads would have to violate our rules related to rooftop advertising, which these clearly don’t.”

Under TLC regulations, rooftop advertising providers “must not display advertising that is offensive to public morals” or violate criminal law.

The dispute over the advertisements unfolds against the backdrop of ongoing tension between Mamdani and some members of the Jewish community.

{Matzav.com}

NEW YORK (AP) — A blood-red moon will soon grace the skies for a total lunar eclipse — and there won’t be another until late 2028.

The spectacle will be visible Tuesday morning from North America, Central America and the western part of South America. Australia and eastern Asia can catch it Tuesday night. Partial stages of the eclipse with small bites taken out of the moon can be seen from Central Asia and much of South America. Africa and Europe will be shut out.

Solar and lunar eclipses happen due to a precise alignment of the sun, moon and Earth. There are between four and seven a year, according to NASA.

The eclipses tend to follow each other, taking advantage of the sweet spot in the celestial bodies’ orbits. Tuesday’s total eclipse of the moon comes two weeks after a ‘ring of fire’ solar eclipse that dazzled people and penguins in Antarctica.

During a total lunar eclipse, the Earth is between the sun and full moon, casting a shadow that covers the moon. The so-called blood moon looks red because of stray bits of sunlight filtering through Earth’s atmosphere.

The show unfolds over several hours, with totality lasting about an hour.

Compared to a solar eclipse, “the lunar eclipse is a little more of a relaxed pace,” said Catherine Miller at Middlebury College’s Mittelman Observatory.

For those in the path, there’s no need for any special equipment to observe — just a clear, cloudless view of the sky.

Use a forecasting app or any online celestial calendar to look up the exact timing for your area. Venture outside a few times to see Earth’s shadow darken the moon, eventually revealing the reddish-orange orb.

“You don’t have to be out there the whole time to see the shadows moving,” said astronomer Bennett Maruca with the University of Delaware.

There’s a partial lunar eclipse on the docket for August, visible across the Americas, Europe, Africa and west Asia.

The former Public Safety Director has filed a civil lawsuit against the Township of Jackson, the Jackson Township Police Department, former Police Chief Matthew Kunz, and other unnamed individuals, alleging a pattern of serious safety failures, mismanagement, and retaliation tied to his role.

According to the complaint filed in Ocean County Superior Court, plaintiff Joseph Candido — who served in a public safety leadership role — claims he identified multiple issues within the police department that he believed violated laws, regulations, and public policy.

Among the central allegations:

• Police Licensing Concerns: Candido claims the department failed to properly comply with mandatory licensing requirements set by the New Jersey State Police Training Commission. The lawsuit alleges that despite assurances from Chief Kunz that all officers were properly re-licensed, at least one application was submitted late — beyond the state deadline — raising concerns about compliance.
• Range Safety and Oversight Issues: The complaint outlines what Candido describes as serious security lapses at the township’s police firearms training facility. He alleges:
• Poor control over keys and access to the facility
• Multiple individuals sharing access codes, making it impossible to track who entered the building
• Unknown individuals accessing the range during early morning hours
• Outside vendors using the range without proper insurance documentation on file
Candido claims these conditions created “potentially dangerous” risks for both officers and the public.
• Equipment Safety Concerns: The lawsuit also references issues involving police safety equipment, including concerns over expired bulletproof vests and lack of proper tracking of expiration dates for officers’ gear.
• Internal Actions and Fallout: According to the filing, Candido took steps to address these issues, including initiating audits, implementing stricter controls, and submitting disciplinary actions. The complaint suggests that his actions and efforts to raise concerns ultimately led to conflict within the department.

The lawsuit seeks damages and a jury trial, alleging that the defendants are responsible both individually and collectively for harm suffered by the plaintiff.

No response from the township or police department was included in the filing, and the allegations have not yet been tested in court. The case is expected to proceed through the civil litigation process in Ocean County.

However, a high-ranking Township official who spoke on condition of anonymity, tells TLS “the lawsuit is very strong, and they are disappointed to see these allegations.”

(JNS) – Those who advocate boycotting the Jewish state have put Israel Bonds squarely in their sights, urging municipalities that have long invested in the security to put their money elsewhere. So far, however, those efforts do not appear to have negatively affected that investment in Israel.

The latest to take aim is the anti-Israel group Democracy for the Arab World Now, which recently issued a memorandum arguing against investing in Israel Bonds. A pro-Israel investment-focused group, JLens, is now issuing its response, countering each of DAWN’s arguments.

The anti-Israel group, which also lobbies the U.S. government against sending foreign aid to Israel, stated that “New York State and New York City officials should immediately cease new purchases and divest any holdings of Israel Bonds, because such investments breach their international and domestic legal obligations and expose citizens to unnecessary legal, financial and reputational harms.”

In its memorandum, DAWN cited decisions by the International Criminal Court, an independent judicial body in The Hague which is not part of the United Nations, to issue arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and former defense minister for war crimes, and an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, the principal U.N. judicial organ, that Israel’s continued presence in the “occupied Palestinian territory” is unlawful.

It also pointed to a U.N. General Assembly resolution that required all member states to avoid sustaining Israel’s presence in Judea, Samaria or Gaza.

DAWN refers only to “the occupied Palestinian territories” and does not recognize Israel as a sovereign state.

A nonprofit, DAWN does not disclose the names of its major donors in its 2024 tax filing, the most recent publicly available document. It stated that it sent “a cease and desist letter” to New York state and city officials.

Both New York City and New York State have long put part of their pension investments into Israel Bonds. That is, until the previous city comptroller, Brad Lander, who is running to represent New York’s 10th District in Congress, which includes parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn, let the city pension funds’ Israel Bonds lapse.

The current city comptroller, Mark Levine, indicated during his campaign that he would again invest part of the city’s pension funds in Israel Bonds. It is not clear on the comptroller’s website whether he has already done so, and Levine’s office did not respond to a JNS request for an update.

JLens’s managing director, Ari Hoffnung, told JNS that “the DAWN memo applies political advocacy standards, not the fiduciary standards that apply to pension funds.”

“Their duty is to the beneficiaries. The teachers, the police officers, men and women in the Fire Department,” he told JNS. “They’re not authorized to conduct foreign policy on behalf of the pension funds.”

Comptrollers often invest in foreign government bonds, he said, including those issued by China and Saudi Arabia. It is not clear whether the city’s comptroller has invested in bonds issued by those oppressive governments.

In fact, according to JNS research, Israel Bonds currently offer a better return than U.S. Treasury notes, which currently offer 4.03% interest on a 10-year investment. Chinese government-issued bonds are currently offering an exceptionally low 1.8% rate of return. Saudi Arabia’s short-term bonds are offering a 4.89% rate.

Israel Bonds’ “Maccabee Bonds” currently pay 5.13% for a 10-year commitment.

During the Gaza war, ratings agencies including Moody’s, S&P and Fitch, downgraded Israel’s reliability as an investment. Since then, they have returned Israel’s rating to “stable.”

Even the lowered ratings didn’t significantly impact sales, said an Israel Bonds spokesman.

“Despite the geopolitical pressures of the Gaza war and last year’s credit rating actions, Israel Bonds recorded three consecutive years of more than $2 billion in global sales and has raised more than $5.7 billion since Oct. 7, 2023,” Nate Miller told JNS in a statement on behalf of Israel Bonds.

“Local governments and municipalities have accounted for almost half of that,” he said. “That is a historic level of institutional commitment.”

“Israel Bonds investors from around the world continue to demonstrate strong confidence in Israel’s economy,” he told JNS. “This consistent performance reflects continued investor confidence in Israel’s economic resilience and long-term strength” and “the strength of the U.S.-Israel relationship.”

Asked if efforts to boycott Israel are damaging Israel Bonds, Dani Naveh, president and CEO of Israel Bonds, said that they have not.

“Despite a disinformation campaign driven by antisemitism, the continued and growing inclusion of Israel Bonds in portfolios represents a tremendous success,” Naveh, a former Israeli politician who served as a cabinet minister, wrote to JNS.

“Israel Bonds has long weathered attempts by the BDS movement and other anti-Israel campaigns to delegitimize this support,” he said. “Their efforts have failed, as evidenced by the billions raised globally. Our reputation is built on 75 years of delivering strong rates and steady returns and being the most direct way to support Israel.”

“No disinformation campaign changes that,” he added.

(AP) – ChatGPT maker OpenAI has received $110 billion in funding from Amazon, SoftBank and Nvidia, putting the technology company’s pre-money valuation at $730 billion.

Amazon is leading the trio of tech heavyweights in commitments, putting up $50 billion, followed by $30 billion each from Nvidia and SoftBank, said OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman on Friday. Other investors are anticipated to join as the funding round progresses.

Amazon will start with an initial $15 billion investment and will invest another $35 billion in the coming months under preset conditions.

“These partnerships expand our global reach, deepen our infrastructure, and strengthen our balance sheet so we can bring frontier AI to more people, more businesses, and more communities worldwide,” he wrote.

Altman said that ChatGPT has more than 900 million weekly active users, and more than 50 million consumer subscribers.

“We are entering a new phase where frontier AI moves from research into daily use at global scale,” he said. “Leadership will be defined by who can scale infrastructure fast enough to meet demand, and turn that capacity into products people rely on. This funding and these partnerships let us do both, and move faster on our mission to ensure AGI benefits all of humanity.”

OpenAI and Amazon’s multiyear partnership will include bringing new advanced AI capabilities to enterprises and having Amazon Web Services serve as the exclusive third-party cloud distribution provider for OpenAI Frontier. OpenAI and AWS will expand their current $38 billion multiyear deal by $100 billion over eight years. The companies will partner on developing customized models available to Amazon developers to power Amazon’s customer-facing applications.

OpenAI said it is also expanding its partnership with Nvidia.

OpenAI and Microsoft have had a partnership since 2019. OpenAI said in a statement that nothing about the funding or new partners announced Friday “in any way changes the terms” of its relationship with Microsoft.

“The partnership remains strong and central,” OpenAI said.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said Thursday that every Democratic and Republican president prior to President Donald Trump acted as a patriot, arguing that the current administration represents a break from that tradition.

Speaking on “Spectrum News One,” Pelosi addressed the upcoming midterm elections and the possibility of Democrats regaining control of the House. She said a narrow majority would be sufficient numerically but expressed concern about potential challenges if the margin is slim.

Pelosi said, “We only need a handful, but I would rather have at least 30 now. But it doesn’t matter if I want to win more than we need, because I think the Republicans will try to play a stunt and challenge if it’s just a few seats. So it’s good to have the insurance of having many more. That’s the way I like it.”

She then contrasted Trump with previous occupants of the White House.

She continued, “I’ve been in politics a long time, as you know, and we’ve had Democratic presidents, Republican presidents, they’ve all been patriots until now. We have to win this race.”

Pelosi also argued that core democratic institutions are being weakened.

She added, “Our democracy is at stake. What is a democracy? A democracy is free and fair elections, an independent judiciary, freedom of the press, due process, rule of law, all of that, all of that diminished under this president and the Republicans in Congress.”

Concluding her remarks, Pelosi warned that the issue extends beyond the current presidential term.

Pelosi concluded, “It’s not just about his second term and what that is. It’s about the Congress of the United States abolishing itself and just yielding to him on every score.”

{Matzav.com}

GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) — The faces of Mexico’s disappeared paint the streets of Mexico’s second biggest city.

Thousands of fliers reading “We miss you,” “have you seen her?” and “we’re looking for you” line buildings, monuments, lamp posts, parking meters, tree pots and bus stops.

Workers bustle by them in throngs in the center of Guadalajara. Men play basketball on courts surrounded by them. And a steady stream of cars pass by them every day.

The fliers are woven into daily life in the heart of Mexico’s forced disappearance crisis: the state of Jalisco.

The state, which was marked by an explosion of violence on Sunday following the killing of Mexico’s most powerful cartel leader, known as “El Mencho,” is among those with the highest number of disappeared people, with 12,500 documented cases.

Posters bearing the faces of missing people cover the Ninos Heroes monument in Guadalajara, Mexico, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

Now families who hang the fliers to search for their lost loved ones say they are running up against government efforts to erase the faces in the lead up to the FIFA World Cup, where Guadalajara will be a host city in June. While clashes between cartels and Mexican forces have brought search efforts for the missing to a halt in Jalisco, a number of local lawmakers are pushing forward a proposal that would make it easier to remove the signs.

“They don’t want people coming to the World Cup, people coming from abroad, to see” the fliers, said Carmen López, a woman looking for her brother and nephew, who went missing in two separate incidents. “It’s not in their interest, because they would get their hands dirty. It makes the government look bad in front of the entire world.”

Mexico’s missing
Mexico has nearly 131,000 missing people, enough to fill a small city. Forcibly disappearing people has long been a tactic by cartels to consolidate control through terror while also concealing homicide numbers. While figures date back to 1952, the majority of people have disappeared since the start of Mexico’s war on drugs in 2006.

For many, the forced disappearance crisis is emblematic of the lack of justice and deep levels of corruption that continue to permeate Mexico, especially stark in states like Jalisco.

Families like López’s often take matters into their own hands, organizing searches for dead bodies and hanging fliers in an attempt to continue their efforts and put pressure on local authorities.

A police officer walks past posters bearing the faces of missing persons in front of the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Missing Persons in Guadalajara, Mexico. Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

“Little by little it kills a part of your soul. They don’t only disappear your loved one, but also you as a father, or as a mother along with them,” said Héctor Flores, a leader of one of Jalisco’s many search groups, Luz de Esperanza, or Light of Hope.

Families fight for visibility
Flores started hanging fliers in Guadalajara after his 19-year-old son was forcibly disappeared by agents from the Jalisco state prosecutor’s office. The 2021 forced disappearance was later recognized by a Mexican court, pushing Flores to form the collective of 500 families investigating disappearances of relatives.

His collective goes into the streets of Jalisco’s capital and hangs anywhere between 2,000 and 5,000 fliers every weekend. The signs show the smiling faces of everyone from teenage girls to middle-aged men, and provide identifying details like tattoos as well as the date and location of where they went missing.

Search collectives are almost constantly hanging signs because the posters are regularly taken down.

“This is an act of searching in real time, with the hope that people who see these ID cards, they can provide us with information that will help us locate our families,” Flores said. “It’s also an act of visibility.”

Concerns over ban
Families now worry they will face more hurdles in the wake of the cartel violence this week that has raised security concerns ahead of the summer’s World Cup.

Police officers stand next to posters of missing persons in front of the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Missing Persons in Guadalajara, Mexico, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

In December, lawmakers proposed modifications to a bill originally intended to protect the fliers from being taken down. Local politicians attempted to modify the legislation in a way families fear creates prohibited public spaces for hanging the posters.

Carmen López, Flores and other relatives say the local government is trying to whitewash the issue of the missing ahead of the global sporting event. They say it follows years of efforts by authorities to downplay the depth of Mexico’s disappearance crisis.

“We’re aware that the city doesn’t look beautiful because of the search IDs, but they’re not trash,” said López, who wore a shirt with the faces of her two missing family members. “But what are we supposed to do? We’re doing everything in our power to find them.”

The modification was pushed by state legislator Norma López, a member of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Morena party, and a number of other lawmakers.

The state lawmaker in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday denied the accusation and said it was “bad interpretation” of the proposal by search groups, and that she wanted to defend families searching for their lost loved ones. She said one of her own relatives was also disappeared.

She said if passed, the law would allow posters to be taken down inside spaces like public universities, the state legislature, the Supreme Court, museums, churches and more without penalty. She said they were already allowed in other places.

“My proposal is not a basis for banning them,” she said. “We are all concerned about what is happening in Jalisco. The disappearances also pain me.”

Jalisco on alert
Mexican authorities have been grappling with scrutiny over Guadalajara’s ability to host World Cup soccer matches.

Sheinbaum has vowed this week there was “no risk” for visitors, but on Thursday the Diving World Cup set to be held in a Guadalajara suburb in March was canceled over security concerns. Earlier in the week, the Portuguese soccer federation said it was “closely monitoring the delicate situation” ahead of a friendly match against Mexico’s national team in Mexico City.

Meanwhile, some search groups in Jalisco say they have had to suspend investigating potential clandestine grave sites because Mexico’s federal government told them that security forces that provide protection to teams cannot help temporarily due to the violence.

Mexico’s National Search Commission for the disappeared did not respond to a request for comment.

Flores’ group and others have reported that they have already had to cancel search operations in grave sites around Guadalajara, leaving many feeling like justice is even further out of reach than before.

The tally of missing continues to grow hour by hour. Residents in the city passing by signs on their daily commutes don’t look twice.

“Now, it’s just normal,” said Jacinto González, 47, strolling by hundreds of signs plastered on a wall Wednesday.

After a few minutes of chatting, he added casually that his sister-in-law went missing six years ago.

LONDON (AP) — London police said they caught a vandal red-handed — or at least with red paint — after he defaced a statue Friday of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in central London with pro-Palestinian graffiti.

The 38-year-old suspect was arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage for allegedly painting “Zionist war criminal” on the plinth beneath the 12-foot statute of Churchill leaning on a cane that faces Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, the Metropolitan Police said.

“Stop the Genocide” and “Free Palestine” were also painted in red on the bronze sculpture.

The Dutch group called “Free the Filton 24,” a reference to Palestine Action activists charged with breaking into Israel-based defense firm Elbit’s sites in the U.K., claimed responsibility for the vandalism.

A view of the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square, defaced with graffiti, in London, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (Lucy North/PA via AP)

Police did not name the suspect, as is customary when someone hasn’t been charged, but said he was in custody.

Olax Outis, who said he is Dutch and part of the action group, claimed to be the man behind the act, explaining his actions in a seven-part Instagram post that was prerecorded.

“If you see this message that peaceful protest has begun and it’s a reasonable assumption that I’m currently in a jail, somewhere in London,” he wrote.

Outis denounced Churchill and the current government, saying he was drawing “attention to the horrible human rights violations happening in a country that’s run by colonizers who refuse to listen to their people.”

The statue created by Ivor Roberts-Jones and unveiled in 1973 has frequently been vandalized. Black Lives Matter protesters in 2020 and climate group Extinction Rebellion in October both spray painted the word “racist” on the statue.

As tensions continue to simmer between Israel and Iran, the IDF is stressing that there are currently no changes to safety instructions for the Israeli public.

In a video statement, IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin sought to calm public concern, acknowledging the atmosphere of uncertainty following recent regional developments.

“I am aware of the sense of uncertainty and the tension prevailing among the public in light of the regional developments,” Defrin said.

He emphasized that the military remains vigilant, stating: “The IDF is closely monitoring the situation in Iran and is alert and prepared to defend you.”

Defrin added that the IDF is “operating in full coordination with our partners, with the aim of strengthening the defense,” signaling ongoing strategic cooperation as Israel tracks developments closely.

He made clear that, for now, daily life should continue as usual. “There is no change in the guidelines. If there is a change, I will be here and we will provide an update accordingly,” he said.

Defrin concluded his remarks with “שבת שלום לכולם.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Following weeks of intense halachic debate among the rabbanim of Ramla regarding the proper observance of Purim in the city, a final ruling has been issued by Rav Yitzchok Yosef, clearly establishing the order of Purim observances for local residents.

The controversy, which drew significant attention in recent weeks and extended beyond rabbinic circles into the broader public, was brought before the former Rishon Letzion after the city’s mara d’asra, Rav Yitzchok Abuchatzeira, sought clarification regarding historical and halachic uncertainties surrounding Ramla’s status with respect to the laws of Purim.

In order to ascertain the precise facts on the ground and clarify the relevant historical data, the mara d’asra dispatched Rav Almog Levy to examine the findings and review the pertinent sources. The collected information was then submitted to the residence of Rav Yosef, who carefully analyzed the material before rendering a decision.

After a thorough review, Rav Yosef sent a special letter to the mara d’asra through his talmid, Rav Yisrael Siman Tov, issuing a definitive ruling outlining how Purim is to be observed in Ramla.

At the conclusion of the halachic deliberations, it was ruled that residents of Ramla are to observe the full seder yemei haPurim on both the 14th and the 15th of Adar. However, on the second day, the Megillah is to be read without a berachah. On both days, krias haTorah will take place.

{Matzav.com}

In an interview with Arutz Sheva on Friday, Israeli scholar of Arabic literature and Islamic culture and prominent academic expert on the Arab world Dr. Mordechai Kedar warned that Iran sees diplomacy with the United States as a weakness and is exploiting talks to buy time.

Despite the flexing of U.S. muscle represented by the great massing of American military assets in the region, Kedar says the ayatollahs aren’t disconcerted by President Donald Trump’s warnings. Iran’s willingness to negotiate is not an effort to make peace but to deceive the U.S. and other Western powers to buy more time to bolster its own defenses. The vice president of Newsrael also said that is why Iran fears Israel more than the U.S.: Iran respects strength. The U.S. talks, but Israel acts — and that’s what scares them.

“The Iranians do not feel any threat,” Kedar said. “Whenever they sense a willingness to negotiate, or maybe let’s come to terms, they start postponing, they start dragging time, buying time, con you, cheat you, lie to you.” But “Israel doesn’t negotiate with them. Israel just hits.”

Because the U.S. is trying to solve the nuclear issue via diplomacy, Iran doesn’t view it as a threat. Just the very fact that the U.S. tried to bring the Iranians to the table to hold discussions makes it unserious in Iran’s eyes. What’s more, when the U.S. issues dire threats followed by inaction, that makes it seem even weaker to Iran, despite the U.S. possessing the largest and most powerful military in the world.

While Trump’s advisers reportedly prefer that Israel strike first, with the U.S. joining later, after Israel has done all the heavy lifting — similarly to what happened in the June strikes — Kedar said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will ultimately decide. However, a strike on Iran can pull in larger, more powerful countries like Russia and China, and Netanyahu might balk at the idea of being recorded in history as the man who started World War III.

“I am not sure that Netanyahu wants to be remembered in the world’s history as the one who ignited World War III,” he said.

Kedar also said that peace negotiations with Hamas are destined to fail, because for peace talks to succeed, each side has to accept as a starting point that the other side has the right to exist. In this case, Hamas doesn’t believe Israel has the right to exist, and Israel doesn’t believe Hamas has the right to exist.

“Neither Israel nor Hamas recognizes the other’s right to exist, so what kind of peace can be built on this?” he asked.

The only way forward, he believes, is the system of emirates, in which clans establish local governance. This system works well in the Arab world, he explained, citing Dubai and Kuwait as examples. The clan system is far more preferable to nationalism or religious rule, he said; better would be for Israel to maintain control over rural areas while clans transform cities like Nablus and Jenin into small emirates.

“Nationalism is an ideology. Islamism is theology. Clan system is biology,” he said.

WASHINGTON (VINnews) — Wholesale prices rose more than expected in January, a sign that inflationary pressures may be heating up again, according to government data released Friday.

The Labor Department said its core producer price index — which excludes volatile food and energy costs — climbed 0.8% for the month, well above economists’ expectations and higher than December’s 0.6% increase.

Overall producer prices rose 0.5% in January, also topping forecasts. Compared with a year earlier, core wholesale prices were up 3.6%, while the headline index increased 2.9%. Both remain above the Federal Reserve’s 2% inflation target.

Services prices drove much of the increase, rising 0.8% in the biggest monthly gain since July 2025. Trade services jumped 2.5%, with higher margins for professional and commercial equipment wholesalers accounting for a significant share of the rise.

Goods prices fell 0.3% overall, reflecting declines in energy and food, though core goods prices — which exclude those categories — rose 0.7%. Metals prices increased 4.8%.

The data suggest pipeline price pressures remain in the economy even as policymakers have sought signs that inflation is cooling. President Donald Trump has said inflation has been brought under control, but the latest figures could keep the Federal Reserve cautious as it weighs future interest rate decisions.

Financial markets largely expect the Fed to hold rates steady in the near term, with potential cuts later this year.

With Pesach just a few weeks away, Lakewood Township and Ocean County officials met on Thursday to coordinate safety and logistics for related public activities, including trash drop-off sites, increased trash pickup, Biur Chometz locations and the permit/fire safety protocols for Lag Ba’omer bonfires.

Township Committeeman and Emergency Services Liaison Meir Lichtenstein; Police Chief Greg Meyer; Fire Chief Jonathan Yahr; Department of Public Works (DPW) Director Phil Roux; Ocean County Fire Marshal Dennis Allen; among other top officials in these agencies; reviewed tentative plans and exchanged ideas on how to further enhance the safety and practicality of these events.

The agencies will release detailed lists, times and protocols regarding these events and sites in the weeks ahead.

“Once again, it was inspiring to see Municipal and County agencies working together so professionally and effectively towards the common goal of how to best serve the people,” says Committeeman Lichtenstein. “We look forward to a safe and pleasant holiday season for all.”

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s top court on Friday moved to allow international aid groups to keep operating in the Gaza Strip and other Palestinian territories.

The Supreme Court’s order, which followed a petition from 17 aid groups, effectively halted an earlier Israeli government decision that barred aid groups for refusing to comply with Israel’s new rules.

Israel had announced it will ban 37 aid groups by March 1 for not abiding by rules introduced last year that require aid groups to register names and contact information of employees, and provide details about their funding and operations. The groups view the rules as invasive and arbitrary, and say the ban would hinder critical assistance to people in war-ravaged Gaza.

Friday’s order grants a temporary injunction, leaving the current terms in place and not requiring aid groups to leave. The injunction will be in place until the court rules in the case. That timeline is not yet set.

“This is, however, a step in the right direction — with a long, long way still to go. We will keep fighting to be able to do our jobs, and deliver life saving assistance to Palestinians in need,” said Athena Rayburn, the executive director of AIDA, an umbrella organization representing over 100 groups operating in the Palestinian territories.

Lawyers representing the aid groups said the decision has given Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank some “breathing room”.

The petition by 17 aid groups had argued that the new Israeli rules violate international law, that Israel, as an occupying power, has the obligation to ensure food and medicine reach people. It also says Israel does not have the authority to shutter organizations in areas under the nominal control of the Palestinian Authority.

The vast majority of Gaza’s 2 million residents rely on aid groups for food, water, health care, shelter and other essentials after Israel’s two-year offensive destroyed much of the territory. Hundreds of thousands are living in tents, and reconstruction has yet to begin following a shaky ceasefire agreement reached in October.

NEW YORK (AP) — Target will stop selling its entire assortment of cereal with certified synthetic colors by the end of May.

The move, announced Friday, underscores the acknowledgment that American consumers and the U.S. government under President Donald Trump are paying attention to what goes into packaged foods.

The Minneapolis-based discounter said it had been phasing out synthetic colors in cereals for several years, and currently nearly 85% of its cereal sales already come from products made without certified synthetic dyes. Some of the artificial food dyes detailed by Target are being reviewed by U.S. Food and Drug Administration like Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5 and 6 and Blue No. 1.

Target said that it has worked with national brands and its private brands to reformulate products as needed. Some cereals will have updated formulations, and many others already meet its new cereal assortment standard for no certified synthetic colors, the retailer said.

“We know consumers are increasingly prioritizing healthier lifestyles, and we’re moving quickly to evolve our offerings to meet their needs,” said Cara Sylvester, Target’s executive vice president and chief merchandising officer, in a statement.

Target said that reformulating its cereal line builds on the foundation Target established in 2019 with the launch of its store label food brand Good & Gather, which is made without artificial flavors and sweeteners, synthetic colors or high fructose corn syrup. The brand has more than 2,500 products across dairy, produce, ready made pastas meat as well as baby and toddler food.

In recent months, major food companies such as Kraft Heinz, Nestle and Conagra Brands have pledged to eliminate petroleum-based synthetic dyes in coming years.

General Mills also announced last year that it plans to remove artificial dyes from all of its U.S. cereals and all foods served in K-12 schools by the summer of 2026. It is also looking to eliminate the dyes from its full U.S. retail portfolio by the end of 2027.

Last October,Walmart said it plans to remove synthetic food dyes and 30 other ingredients, including some preservatives, artificial sweeteners and fat substitutes, from its store brands sold in the United States by January 2027.

Afghan Taliban soldiers peer through the sight of their weapons, on the Afghan side of the Torkham border crossing with Pakistan in Torkham, Afghanistan, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Wahidullah Kakar)

Afghan Taliban soldiers gather on the Afghan side of the Torkham border crossing with Pakistan in Torkham, Afghanistan, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Wahidullah Kakar)

An Afghan Taliban soldier stands in guard on the Afghan side of the Torkham border crossing with Pakistan in Torkham, Afghanistan, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Wahidullah Kakar)

A man, who was injured in the overnight cross border fighting between Pakistan and Afghan forces, receives treatment at a hospital in Khar, in Bajaur, a district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering with Afghanistan, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Anwarullah Khan)

Villagers carry the coffin of a paramilitary soldier killed during a gun-battle with militants in Waziristan area, for his funeral prayers on the outskirts of Kohat, Pakistan, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/S.B. Shah)

Villagers examine damages due to overnight cross border fighting between Pakistan and Afghan forces, at a village in Bajaur, a district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering with Afghanistan, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo)

Afghan Taliban soldiers stand on the Afghan side of the Torkham border crossing with Pakistan in Torkham, Afghanistan, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Wahidullah Kakar)

Afghan Taliban soldiers look toward the Pakistani side, with one peering through the sight of his rifle, on the Afghan side of the Torkham border crossing with Pakistan in Torkham, Afghanistan, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Wahidullah Kakar)

Afghan Taliban soldiers walk on a street as others instruct drivers on the Afghan side of the Torkham border crossing with Pakistan in Torkham, Afghanistan, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Wahidullah Kakar)

A villager looks at damaged solar plates and a portion following overnight cross border fighting between Pakistan and Afghan forces, at a village in Bajaur, a district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering with Afghanistan, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo)

Smoke rises after an explosion at a border post on the Afghan side of the Ghulam Khan crossing with Pakistan in Khost province, Afghanistan, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Saifullah Zahir)

Pakistan’s defense minister says there is a state of “open war” with Afghanistan. Both countries have a long and complicated history harking back to Pakistan’s creation in 1947.

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

A quiet but potentially far-reaching change may be underway within Satmar institutions, as discussions intensify over whether ninth-grade bochurim will begin wearing traditional chassidishe kasketlach (caps) during the week instead of the more expensive velvet hats. What began as a Purim initiative may soon evolve into an official policy, one that could save parents thousands of dollars.

Earlier this week, during the month of Adar, the Satmar Rebbe visited the ninth-grade division of the Satmar Talmud Torah headed by Rav Yoel Spitzer. The Rebbe toured the classrooms, inquired about the learning schedule, and expressed satisfaction at the vibrant kol Torah he encountered.

During the visit, observers noted an unusual sight: dozens of talmidim were wearing kasketlach rather than the customary velvet hats. At first, it appeared to be a creative Purim-related initiative introduced by one group’s “Purim Rav.” However, it has since emerged that the matter is being seriously examined by the Satmar educational leadership.

It has been learned that the administration of the Talmud Torah is currently considering implementing the kasketlach as mandatory weekday headwear for all ninth-grade students across its branches, following a model that has already gained traction in numerous communities in Eretz Yisroel.

The idea reportedly gained momentum after the Rebbe’s recent visit to Eretz Yisroel. There, he was impressed by bochurim who wore kasketlach during the week and suggested exploring the feasibility of adopting a similar approach in the United States. The primary objective is to ease the significant financial burden placed on parents.

The issue of rising hat prices is not new. Several years ago, when the cost of velvet hats surged sharply, dozens of Talmud Torah administrators and roshei yeshiva in Eretz Yisroel joined forces and directed students to switch to kasketlach on weekdays. Today, more than 90 yeshivos ketanos and major chassidishe communities in Eretz Yisroel have already adopted the policy.

The financial difference is substantial. In recent years, the price of a standard velvet hat has climbed from approximately 600 shekels to an average of around 1,400 shekels. By contrast, a kasketel costs roughly 100 shekels. In Satmar institutions, there is hope that if the initiative moves forward, it will result in savings of thousands of dollars per family.

{Matzav.com}

Once again, BoroPark24 is bringing you the most comprehensive Megilah Reading schedule for Purim across Boro Park!

Last year, we were proud to provide our community with a complete listing of Megilah reading times, and we're doing it again this year to ensure you don’t miss a moment of the festivities.

We’re inviting all residents to send us their Shul's Megilah reading times so we can include them in our upcoming Purim coverage. 

Email full information to [email protected].

LAST YEAR'S LIST👇👇

This morning, the father of the boy who was buried for over an hour underneath an igloo in Lakewood this week, recounts the open miracles they experienced.

Last night, a Seudas Hodaah was held as well, where the boy himself got up to give a Shevach and Hodaah to Hashem.

See the full video below (which was posted earlier on TLS Communities).

JERUSALEM (VINnews)-Israel’s Channel 14 will switch to “Silent Wave” mode for the upcoming Shabbat, with similar silent broadcasts activated on select radio stations, due to heightened regional tensions, authorities and the station announced Friday.

The emergency protocol, coordinated with the Home Front Command and approved by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, permits religiously observant viewers and listeners to leave their televisions or radios tuned to the designated channels and powered on before Shabbat begins. The broadcasts remain completely silent—no regular programming, audio, commentary or music—unless a life-threatening situation requires immediate interruption for real-time alerts, missile warnings, advance notices, shelter instructions or all-clear messages from the Home Front Command.

In Hebrew, the format is known as Gal Sheket (“quiet wave”). On radio, it operates on frequencies including Kan Moreshet (90.5 FM, 90.8 FM, 92.5 FM, 100.7 FM), Kol Barama (92.1 FM, 104.3 FM, 105.7 FM) and Kol Hai (92.8 FM, 93 FM, 102.5 FM), among others, during periods of elevated security risk.

The measure upholds pikuach nefesh, the paramount Jewish principle of preserving life, while respecting halachic restrictions on using electronics during Shabbat.

Channel 14, a prominent right-leaning Israeli news outlet, has deployed the Silent Wave format multiple times in recent years amid threats from Iran, Hezbollah or allied groups. Friday’s announcement, widely circulated on social media and OSINT channels, serves as a standard precautionary step amid ongoing regional developments, though no specific imminent attack was referenced in official statements.

The Home Front Command routinely endorses these arrangements for observant communities, enabling access to critical advance warnings that can provide vital time before standard sirens activate.

A national survey released Thursday by Emerson College Polling provides an initial look at the 2028 presidential race, with California Gov. Gavin Newsom holding a slim advantage in a competitive Democrat primary, while Vice President JD Vance maintains a commanding lead among Republican voters. The poll also shows Democrats improving their position ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, expanding their lead on the generic congressional ballot.

In the early Democrat primary picture for 2028, Newsom tops the field with 20 percent support.

He is followed by former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at 16 percent and Vice President Kamala Harris at 13 percent.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez receives 9 percent, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro stands at 7 percent, and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear registers 5 percent.

At the same time, 24 percent of Democrat voters say they remain undecided.

The numbers indicate that while no single contender has unified the party, emerging blocs of support are taking shape.

“Candidates are starting to carve out their 2028 bases,” said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling.

Ocasio-Cortez performs strongest among voters under 30, where she captures 20 percent, pointing to solid backing from younger progressive Democrats.

Buttigieg leads among women with 20 percent and also posts a plurality among voters with postgraduate degrees at 21 percent, highlighting strength among highly educated constituencies.

Newsom’s best performance comes among voters over age 50, where he secures 23 percent support.

Harris draws her most significant backing from Black voters, earning 36 percent support within that group — her most substantial base in the early contest.

The large share of undecided voters suggests that the Democrat race remains fluid. With nearly one-quarter of respondents uncommitted, shifts in visibility, fundraising, or broader political dynamics could quickly alter the standings.

On the Republican side, Vance holds a decisive edge with 52 percent support, more than twice that of his closest rival.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio receives 20 percent, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis posts 6 percent. Eleven percent of Republican voters say they are undecided.

Kimball said Vance’s backing is even more concentrated among core Republicans.

Among self-identified Republican voters, 59 percent support Vance, compared to 19 percent for Rubio.

Independents who say they plan to participate in the 2028 Republican primary also lean toward Vance, though by a narrower margin of 33 percent to 23 percent over Rubio.

The early data suggest that Republican voters are quickly consolidating behind the vice president, in contrast to the more divided Democrat primary landscape.

Beyond the presidential contest, the survey points to a favorable environment for Democrats heading into the 2026 midterms.

On the generic congressional ballot, Democrats lead Republicans 50 percent to 42 percent, giving them an 8-point advantage and marking a 2-point gain from last month’s poll.

Independent voters favor the Democrat candidate by a 50 percent to 37 percent margin, a notable shift given their outsized influence in recent national elections.

The findings imply that voter concerns — particularly economic issues — may be shaping the political climate.

When respondents were asked to rank issues on a scale from 1 to 10, cost of living received the highest average importance score at 8.2.

Healthcare costs followed at 7.8, inflation at 7.6, deportation policy at 7.1, healthcare access at 6.9, and border security at 6.3.

The issue breakdown reflects clear partisan differences. Democrats assign especially high importance to healthcare costs, rating it at 8.6 on average, while placing border security lowest at 4.9.

Republicans, by contrast, prioritize border security at 8.3 and deportation policy at 8.2, considerably higher than Democrats and independents.

For independents, cost of living ranks as the most pressing concern, also scoring 8.2.

Taken together, the results suggest that everyday economic pressures may play a central role in the 2026 elections, even as immigration and border enforcement continue to energize Republican voters.

The Emerson College Polling national survey was conducted February 21-22 among 1,000 likely voters across the United States. The poll reports a credibility interval of plus or minus 3 percentage points, comparable to a traditional margin of error.

{Matzav.com}

A group of Israelis at a ski resort in Bansko, Bulgaria, was subjected to a violent antisemitic assault when a bystander heard one of them singing to himself a song in Hebrew with the words “Tel Aviv.”

When the bystander heard “Tel Aviv,” he administered a shoulder strike to the singer, shouting, “F*** Tel-Aviv!” A father tried to separate the two, but instead was knocked down, and the attacker kicked him in the face with a ski boot. He has been hospitalized with fractures to the skull and sinuses.

A member of the group posted a message he sent to a relative on X:

“Hi Daniel, I wanted to report a shocking case of antisemitism and severe violence that just happened to us at the ski site in Bansko. It all started when our friend was singing for his own enjoyment in Hebrew, ‘Tel Aviv, ya habibi, Tel Aviv.’ A local/foreign person who heard him approached, shouted ‘F*** Tel Aviv,’ and head-butted him hard in the face without any provocation,” the relative posted.

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

“A fight broke out when friends and other Israelis tried to separate them and help. The father of one of the friends, who was only trying to calm things down and break it up, was brutally attacked by one of them, who kicked him directly in the face with a ski boot,” the post continues.

“The result is very severe: the father is currently hospitalized with fractures to his skull and sinuses. This was a violent, premeditated antisemitic attack simply because they heard us speaking and singing in Hebrew,” he added.

“We would appreciate your help in publicizing this case to warn other Israelis and to ensure the attackers do not escape punishment,” he concluded.

The history of Bulgaria’s Jews during the Holocaust is astonishing, especially considering the fact that Bulgaria was a Nazi ally. Because the Orthodox Church, high-ranking politicians and the public opposed deportation, none of Bulgaria’s 50,000 Jews were deported, the only country that kept its all Jews safe (Denmark succeeded in ferrying most of its Jewish population to safety). But Bulgaria’s record is mixed. It helped deport Jews from other occupied territories in Macedonia, Thrace and Pirot to Treblinka. It also imposed heavy restrictions on its Jewish population, including forcing the men into slave labor. Still, given such a record, the rise in antisemitic violence against Jews is especially disappointing.

JERUSALEM (VINnews) – The Israel Defense Forces carried out airstrikes against Hamas operatives in the Gaza Strip overnight after several armed Palestinian gunmen emerged from a tunnel on the Israeli side of the ceasefire line in Rafah, the military said Friday.

Troops from the Golani Brigade, stationed in eastern Rafah, spotted the armed operatives exiting the tunnel Thursday, according to the IDF. The military described the incident as a violation of the ceasefire agreement.

The troops directed an airstrike that “eliminated several of the terrorists,” the IDF said.

In response to the breach, the IDF conducted additional airstrikes overnight targeting “armed Hamas terrorists.”

Palestinian media reported that the strikes killed five people, including three in an attack on a Hamas police station near Khan Younis.

The IDF has previously reported that dozens of Hamas operatives remain trapped underground in the eastern Rafah area, on the Israeli side of the ceasefire line — known as the Yellow Line — with some 50 killed or captured in recent months amid ongoing operations to locate and neutralize threats.

The incident highlights persistent tensions despite the U.S.-brokered truce, with both sides accusing the other of violations as efforts continue to stabilize the fragile agreement.

The USS Gerald R. Ford, a towering symbol of American naval dominance, has entered Israeli waters as tensions between Israel and Iran continue to rise.

Stretching more than 1,100 feet across the sea and displacing roughly 100,000 tons, the Ford is the world’s largest and most expensive aircraft carrier. Its sheer scale has often been described as breathtaking, a floating city rising from the waterline with a flight deck that feels more like a moving airfield than a ship.

The deployment comes as President Donald Trump and senior U.S. military leaders increase pressure on Tehran over its nuclear program and destabilizing regional behavior, even as diplomatic negotiations continue in Geneva. The Ford’s arrival significantly deepens the American naval presence in the region, joining other key assets already operating nearby, including the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group.

Construction of the USS Gerald R. Ford cost more than 16 billion dollars, making it the most expensive warship ever built.

Operating the carrier costs an estimated 8 million dollars per day when factoring in manpower, aviation operations, logistics, maintenance, and full strike group support.

Approximately 4,500 sailors, aviators, engineers, and command staff live and work aboard the vessel. It contains medical facilities, large scale food service operations preparing thousands of meals daily, aircraft maintenance complexes, advanced radar systems, munitions storage, and command centers coordinating military operations across entire regions.

Photo: File image of the USS Gerald R. Ford.

Powered by two nuclear reactors, the carrier can operate for more than two decades without refueling. It produces its own electricity and fresh water, sustaining itself at sea for extended deployments.

Its air wing can include more than 75 aircraft, from advanced strike fighters to surveillance and electronic warfare platforms. The Ford class introduced the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, replacing traditional steam catapults and enabling faster and more efficient aircraft launches.

NORFOLK (Nov. 26, 2022) The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) returns to Naval Station Norfolk after completing their inaugural deployment to the Atlantic Ocean with the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group (GRFCSG), Nov. 26. The GRFCSG, returned to Naval Station Norfolk following a scheduled deployment with Allies and partners in an effort to build strategic relationships and contribute to a stable and conflict-free Atlantic region, while also showcasing the U.S. Navy’s most advanced class of aircraft carrier. (U.S. Navy Photo/Video by Mass Communication Specialist First Class Nathan T. Beard)

The carrier serves as a sovereign mobile airbase capable of launching sustained operations across much of the Middle East without relying on foreign airfields.

Defense analysts say a U.S. carrier strike group represents one of the most formidable conventional military formations in the world. The Ford’s presence sends a clear strategic message.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gives a speech during a graduation ceremony at Shahid Sattari Air Force Academy in Tehran, Iran. The ceremony marks the commissioning of new officers from Iran’s air force academies in the presence of senior military commanders. (Photo by Hossein Fatemi / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)

As negotiations with Iran continue, the arrival of this floating city of American power shows Washington’s readiness to defend its interests and its allies if tensions escalate further.

Europe’s top human rights court has ruled that a medieval antisemitic carving affixed to a German cathedral may remain in place, rejecting a petition filed by a Jewish retiree who argued the relief violates the rights of Jews in Germany.

According to a report Friday in the German magazine Der Spiegel, the European Court of Human Rights dismissed the complaint concerning the so-called “Judensau” — or “Jews’ sow” — relief embedded in the exterior wall of the cathedral in Wittenberg, Germany.

The carving, created around 1290, depicts figures identified as Jews engaged in intimate contact with a pig. In the relief, two figures wearing pointed hats — historically used in medieval Europe to mark Jews — appear to suckle from the animal. A third figure, resembling a rabbi, lifts the pig’s tail and looks into its hindquarters.

Historians say the “Judensau” motif was intended to ridicule and degrade Jews, warning Christians against supposed “Jewish behavior.” The Wittenberg carving is one of 47 surviving depictions of the motif from the 13th century, most of them located in German-speaking regions. The images are widely regarded as stark examples of entrenched Christian antisemitism during the Middle Ages.

The petitioner, Dietrich Döllmann, argued that the continued public display of the relief infringes on his fundamental rights. His attorneys contended that through “bizarre and distorted imagery, Jews were portrayed as the filth of humanity,” and maintained that leaving the carving in place violates the personal rights of “every Jew in Germany.”

Germany’s Federal Court of Justice addressed the issue in 2022, ruling that although the carving constitutes “antisemitism carved in stone,” the Protestant church that oversees the cathedral had sufficiently distanced itself from the image. The court said the relief had been contextualized and effectively transformed into a “Mahnmal” — a German term describing a memorial that serves as a warning against future wrongdoing or against the repetition of past atrocities. Holocaust memorials are often described using the same term.

The European court’s decision leaves that ruling intact, allowing the relief to remain on the cathedral’s southeast façade.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) said Thursday that President Donald Trump is transforming Immigration and Customs Enforcement into what he described as a heavily armed force that will operate on American streets, raising concerns about increased militarization and reduced training.

Speaking on MS NOW’s “The Last Word,” Schiff outlined findings from a review of Department of Homeland Security contracting records, which he said show a sharp rise in spending on weapons and detention infrastructure tied to immigration enforcement.

Schiff said, “We wanted to go through DHS contracting records and document just how much they’re spending to militarize this new, you know, effectively new police forces, palace guard of the presidents that is wreaking such havoc in our cities. And we found dramatic increases in spending on weapons, as you said, ICE agents will be equipped with now 3 to 4 times the amount of weapons as the previous year. Customs and Border Protection doubling their expenditure on the same.”

He argued that the increased weapon purchases are occurring alongside a reduction in training for new agents, which he described as a troubling development.

He added, “I think what we’re seeing is a dangerous combination of a much more heavily armed immigration, law enforcement, complex. At the same time, we heard whistleblower testimony this week that they’ve cut the training for these new ICE agents. And they’re getting inadequate training on when to use these weapons and how to use these weapons. That is a really dangerous mix. And we wanted to sound the alarm with this report that we’re seeing the emergence of a kind of law enforcement or immigration enforcement industrial complex, because it’s not just the weapons. We’re seeing dramatic increases in expenditures on detention centers. They want to build around the country. And this is a way of gathering its own momentum. And we need to be aware of what’s happening, that we’re building a not small army now, that’s going to be policing American streets.”

{Matzav.com}

Sweden’s military has intercepted a suspected Russian drone off the south of the country as a French aircraft carrier was docked in the port of Malmö, officials said.

The armed forces said Thursday that a Swedish naval ship observed the suspected drone during a patrol in the Öresund, the strait that divides Sweden from Denmark. They said that unspecified countermeasures were taken to disrupt the drone, and that contact with it was then lost.

The French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is in the southern Swedish city of Malmö this week as part of regular NATO exercise activities. Malmö is located on the Öresund, opposite Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen.

French military spokesperson Guillaume Vernet told The Associated Press that the drone was detected on Wednesday and handled by Swedish forces integrated into a security system around the carrier. He said Friday that the drone was more than 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the Charles de Gaulle.

“This system showed it is robust, and this event had no impact on the activity of the aircraft carrier battle group,” Vernet said.

Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson told public broadcaster SVT Thursday evening that the suspected violation of Swedish airspace by a drone happened in connection with a Russian military ship being in Swedish territorial waters. Asked what country he thinks the drone belongs to, he replied: “Probably Russia.”

The Russian ship continued into the Baltic Sea, and Swedish authorities have been in close contact with Denmark about the incident, Jonson said. The armed forces said that no further drones were observed.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Friday that he didn’t know about the incident. Asked by reporters about Swedish officials linking the drone to the Russian ship, Peskov said that “it’s quite absurd” to claim that the drone was Russian just because a Russian ship was nearby.

Western officials say Russia is masterminding a campaign of sabotage and disruption across Europe. An Associated Press database has documented well over 100 incidents. Not all of them are public and it can sometimes take officials months to establish a link to Moscow.

While officials say the campaign — waged since Russia launched an all-out war against Ukraine in 2022 — aims to deprive Kyiv of support, they believe Moscow is also trying to identify Europe’s weak spots and divert law enforcement resources.

(AP)

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman

Tyler Oliveira strikes again.

He built his YouTube channel on a simple formula: find a community that looks different, show up with a camera, and let the algorithm do the rest.

He filmed addicts overdosing in Vancouver without consent. He amplified the debunked pet-eating hoax about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, splicing in unrelated arrest footage to manufacture fear. The subjects change. The method never does.

Then Tyler came for the Jews.

In January 2026, he drove to Kiryas Joel, a Satmar Hasidic village of 44,000 in Orange County, and produced a forty-minute video titled “Inside the New York Town Invaded by Welfare-Addicted Jews.”

He bypassed the village’s offices and businesses—where he could have met professionals and business owners—and focused on encounters that critics described as staged to create confrontation. Nearly five million views. The top comment: “The Great Noticing continues”—a coded antisemitic term whose usage increased by more than 2,000 percent in a single year.

Then he drove to Lakewood. His video, “I Exposed New Jersey’s Jewish Invasion,” opened with the claim that Orthodox Jews had sparked “fear” among non-Jewish residents. He cited fraud charges against a rabbi—charges that were later dismissed. He highlighted large family sizes as though fertility were an accusation. When one resident warned him, “This is going to jump a lot of hatred towards a community that’s seeing a rise in antisemitism that hasn’t been seen in years—every single day, our lives are at risk,” Oliveira responded: “You say antisemitism, I say anti-Goyism.”

Richard Roberts, a prominent Lakewood philanthropist, invited Oliveira into his home for a three-hour interview, hoping to show him the truth. Oliveira listened politely. Then he chopped the interview to fit his predetermined narrative and gave extended airtime to local activists critical of the community.

Roberts, who had hired his own videographer to record the full conversation, called the final product a “hit piece” that was “feeding an antisemitic crowd.”

The pattern was clear. Tyler Oliveira had found his niche: filming Orthodox Jews and asking questions that weren’t really questions.

Now pretty much everyone in both Lakewood and Kiryas Yoel is familiar with the F. family.  How would Tyler Oliveira present them?

“Okay guys, so I’ve been looking into this family,” he’d say into his camera, sitting in his car in that way he does—the same way he sat outside kosher supermarkets in Lakewood, narrating his suspicions. “The father—Yoshiyahu—is a manufacturer. That’s his business. And this man has seventeen children.

Seventeen.

Seven with his first wife, Chana, and then she dies and he marries a woman named Avigayil and has ten more. I mean—how?

How does a small manufacturer afford seventeen kids? What is going on here? Who’s funding this?”

He’d pause for effect, the way he always does.

“And look at this—two of the kids are both named Yosef. Both of them died in infancy. I’m not making light of that, obviously, but—seventeen kids and you’re running out of names?

This is what happens when a community just has kids without any plan.”

Then he’d get to Binyamin, the youngest son, and really hit his stride.

“This kid gets pulled out of school at ten. Ten years old. No more formal education. His father puts him to work in the candle shop. Then at twelve he gets apprenticed to his half-brother Ya’akov, who runs a printing press. Twelve years old, working in a print shop. No diploma. No degree. And somehow—somehow—this kid ends up owning his own press, starting a newspaper, publishing something, and getting himself into politics. How does that happen? How does a kid with no education end up running everything? I’m just asking questions, guys.”

He’d shake his head slowly.

“Large family. Small manufacturing business. No secular education. Kids apprenticed to relatives. And then suddenly they’re in media, in government, in civic life. It’s the same pattern, guys. The same thing I showed you in Kiryas Joel. The same thing I showed you in Lakewood. The same thing I showed you in Monsey. I’m not saying anything. I’m just showing you what I see.”

He’d upload it. He’d add the ominous music. He’d splice in some unrelated footage of crowded streets. The comments section would do the rest. “The Great Noticing continues.”

There’s just one thing Tyler didn’t bother to find out.

The F family’s real name is Franklin.

Yoshiyahu is Josiah Franklin. Chana is Anne Child. Avigayil is Abigail Folger. Ya’akov is James Franklin.

And Binyamin—the uneducated kid from the shop who somehow ended up in media and politics?

That’s Benjamin Franklin.

Founding Father. Inventor. Diplomat. Architect of American democracy. The man who helped draft the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. The face on the hundred-dollar bill.

Everything Tyler Oliveira films in Orthodox communities and presents as evidence of dysfunction—the large families, the trades, the apprenticeships, the lack of conventional diplomas, the tight-knit networks, the kids who start working young and end up building something extraordinary—America celebrates as its greatest origin story when the family name is Franklin.

But when the family name is Teitelbaum or Friedman? When the father wears a black hat instead of a tricorn? When the business is on Route 9 instead of Milk Street in Boston? Then it’s a “Jewish invasion.” Then it’s “welfare-addicted.” Then it’s five million views and a comments section full of people “just noticing.”

The only difference is the yarmulke.

The author can be reached at [email protected]

Pakistan and Afghanistan traded attacks in a dramatic escalation of tensions between the countries that Pakistan’s defense minister said Friday means they are now in “open war.”

Tensions have been high between the neighbors for months, with border clashes in October killing dozens of soldiers, civilians and suspected militants. Pakistan accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban government of harboring militant groups that then stage attacks across the border and also of allying with its archrival India.

A Qatari-mediated ceasefire ended the fighting, although the two sides still occasionally trade fire. Several rounds of peace talks in Istanbul in November failed to produce a formal agreement.

Late Thursday, Afghanistan launched a cross-border attack on Pakistan, saying it was in retaliation for deadly Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan border areas Sunday.

Pakistan then carried out airstrikes in Kabul and two other Afghan provinces early Friday.

After the strikes Friday, Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif said in an X post that Pakistan had hoped for peace in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of NATO forces in 2021 and expected the Taliban, which seized power in the country, to focus on the welfare of the Afghan people and regional stability.

Instead, he said that the Taliban had turned Afghanistan “into a colony of India,” with which Pakistan has periodically engaged in wars, clashes and skirmishes since gaining independence from British colonial rule in 1947. India has had improved ties with Afghanistan recently, offering to enhance bilateral trade, to the annoyance of Islamabad.

“Our patience has now run out. Now it is open war between us,” he said. There was no immediate reaction from Afghan officials.

Afghan authorities in the eastern Nangarhar province said that fighting was ongoing in the Torkham border area Friday morning. The province’s information directorate said that Pakistani mortar fire hit civilian areas in Torkham, including a refugee camp, which had been evacuated overnight. In response, Afghanistan was targeting Pakistani army posts across the border, it said.

‘Exporting terrorism’

Asif, the Pakistani defense minister, accused Afghanistan of “exporting terrorism.” Islamabad frequently levies the allegation at its western neighbor as militant violence has surged in Pakistan, accusing Afghanistan of supporting the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, and outlawed Baloch separatist groups.

Pakistan accuses the TTP — which is separate from but closely allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban — of operating from inside Afghanistan. Both the group and Kabul deny that charge.

Pakistan has also frequently accused neighboring India of backing the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army and the Pakistani Taliban, allegations New Delhi denies.

Asif’s comments came hours after Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, as well as in Kandahar in the south and Paktia province in the southeast, according to Pakistani officials and Afghanistan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid. Pakistan said the strikes were in retaliation for the Afghan cross-border attacks.

Retaliatory strikes

Afghanistan, meanwhile, said that it launched its attack late Thursday also in retaliation — for deadly Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan border areas Sunday.

The governments have issued sharply differing casualty claims. Each said that it inflicted heavy losses of dozens of soldiers on the other, while putting its own casualty figures in the single digits. The claims couldn’t be independently verified.

Afghanistan also claimed it had captured an undisclosed number of Pakistani soldiers. Mosharraf Ali Zaidi, a spokesperson for Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, denied any soldiers had been captured.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Pakistan’s anti-drone systems shot down several small drones over the northwestern cities of Abbottabad, Swabi, and Nowshera on Friday. He said the drones appeared to be part of a failed attack by the Pakistani Taliban, and that there were no casualties. Tarar claimed the drone attacks “once again exposed direct linkages between the Afghan Taliban regime and terrorism in Pakistan.”

International calls for restraint

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held separate phone calls with his Pakistani, Afghan, Qatari and Saudi counterparts on Friday to discuss the conflict, a Turkish official said, without providing details on the talks. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government policy.

In October, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia had facilitated talks between the sides.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres urged both sides to protect civilians as required under international law and “to continue to seek to resolve any differences through diplomacy,” U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

Russia called for an immediate halt to the fighting and for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict, Russian diplomat Zamir Kabulov told news agency Ria Novosti. Kabulov, who is President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for Afghanistan, said that Moscow would consider mediating between the two countries if asked, according to Ria Novosti.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged Pakistan and Afghanistan to resolve their differences through dialogue during the holy month of Ramadan. He also said that Tehran was ready to assist in facilitating dialogue.

Refugees at the border

Pakistani authorities said that dozens of Afghan refugees in the Torkham border area had been relocated to safer places.

Pakistan launched a sweeping crackdown in October 2023 to expel migrants without documents, urging those in the country to leave of their own accord to avoid arrest and forcibly expelling others. Iran also began a crackdown on migrants at around the same time.

Since then, millions have crossed the border into Afghanistan, including people who were born in Pakistan decades ago and had built lives and created businesses there.

Last year alone, 2.9 million people returned to Afghanistan, the U.N. refugee agency has said, with nearly 80,000 having returned so far this year.

(AP)

An El Al flight en route to Miami was forced to turn around Thursday afternoon and divert to Portugal due to a medical emergency involving one of the passengers — just hours after another company flight changed course because of a suspected engine malfunction.

The Miami-bound flight made a U-turn and landed at an alternate airport in Portugal after a passenger experienced a medical emergency during the journey.

In a statement, the airline said: “El Al flight LY1017 from Tel Aviv to Miami landed at an airport en route due to a medical incident involving one of the passengers. After consultation with the company physician, it was decided to land in order to evacuate her to a hospital as soon as possible.”

The company added, “After the passenger is evacuated, the flight will continue to its destination as planned. El Al places the safety and security of its passengers and crew at the top of its priorities.”

The incident occurred only hours after a separate event earlier in the day involving a flight from Tel Aviv to Boston. That flight diverted to Heathrow Airport in London following concerns about a possible technical malfunction in one of the aircraft’s engines.

The plane, which had already entered Atlantic airspace, turned around and landed in London. The airline stated that there was concern over a potential technical issue with one of the engines, possibly limited to an indicator system malfunction. However, in accordance with safety protocols, it was decided not to proceed to the original destination.

{Matzav.com}

As US forces mass in the Middle East, Iran faces the threat of major strikes by the world’s most powerful military, potentially targeting its leaders, military, nuclear sites, and critical infrastructure.

Iran has nowhere near the capabilities of the United States, and is even more vulnerable after last year’s war with Israel as well as recent anti-government protests. But it could still inflict pain on American forces and allies, and may feel it has to if the Islamic Republic’s survival is at stake.

While Iran suffered major losses last June, it still has hundreds of missiles capable of hitting Israel, according to Israel’s estimates. Iran boasts a much larger arsenal of shorter-range missiles capable of hitting US bases in Gulf countries and offshore American forces, soon to be joined by a second aircraft carrier.

Iran has previously threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for the global oil trade, and claimed to have done so partially during military drills last week.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that Iran could sink American warships, and top officials have said a US attack would spark regional war. Iran’s UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said “all bases, facilities and assets of the hostile force in the region” would be legitimate targets.

Israel carried out heavy strikes on Iran’s longer-range missile arsenals — as well as its military leadership and nuclear program — during the 12-day war in June. The US struck Iran’s main nuclear sites, and US President Donald Trump said at the time that they had been “obliterated.”

But the extent of the damage — and how much has been rebuilt — is still unknown. Iran continued to strike Israel with missiles and drones until the fighting stopped, often eluding its vaunted air defenses.

Iran’s shorter-range missile arsenal was largely untouched, said Danny Citrinowicz, an Iran expert at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies. That could make Iran more inclined to retaliate against tens of thousands of US forces based in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and elsewhere.

“Iran may be weak. But it still has ways to inflict real pain on the United States — and much more incentive to try than it did before,” Nate Swanson, head of the Atlantic Council’s Iran Strategy Project, wrote in Foreign Affairs. “Iranian officials feel they need to give Trump a bloody nose or they will perpetually be at risk.”

Iran launched missiles at a US base in Iraq after the killing of its top general in 2020 and targeted a US base in Qatar near the end of last year’s war. Those strikes, which appeared to have been telegraphed in advance, caused damage but no fatalities, as early warning systems and missile defenses swung into action.

Iran could also carry out attacks farther afield. The country has been accused of using criminal gangs and armed groups to plan or carry out attacks around the world, including on dissidents, Israelis, and Jewish targets.

Last year’s Israeli strikes killed several top generals and nuclear scientists, revealing major vulnerabilities. At one point, Trump said the US knew where Khamenei was hiding, calling him an “easy target.”

Fresh off the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, Trump may consider decapitation strikes aimed at bringing down Iran’s decades-old Shiite theocracy, which he recently said “would be the best thing that could happen.”

The Iranians have had eight months to learn from their mistakes and firm up internal security. Citrinowicz said there are likely contingency plans if Khamenei were to be killed. Rather than naming a single successor, power would probably shift to a small committee until hostilities subsided.

Experts say the death of the 86-year-old Khamenei, who has ruled Iran for over three decades, would not in itself spell the end of the Islamic Republic. Power might eventually pass to a member of his inner circle, as it did in Venezuela, or to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

American allies are clearly concerned about a regional war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned of a massive response to any Iranian attack on Israel.

Arab Gulf states have long viewed Iran with concern and leaned on the US for defense, but do not want to be drawn into war. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which host thousands of American troops, have said they would not allow their airspace to be used.

An Arab Gulf diplomat said regional leaders were talking to Iran and the United States to avert war, warning that it could have severe consequences, including a spike in oil prices. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive, closed-door talks.

Iran has its own allies, including Houthi rebels in Yemen, armed groups in Iraq, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian territories. But its self-described Axis of Resistance suffered major losses in the fighting that rippled across the region after Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel from Gaza.

Another close-in target could allow Iran to inflict wider pain.

Around one-fifth of all traded oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, just off Iran’s shore. The US Navy is committed to keeping it open, but Iranian attacks could disrupt trade, as the far-weaker Houthis managed to do in the Red Sea for much of the past two years.

Iranian officials have not explicitly threatened to target the strait in the current standoff, but Iranian forces partially closed it last week during military drills, signaling it could be vulnerable if war breaks out.

Other critical oil assets would also be within range. In 2019, strikes on oil infrastructure temporarily halved Saudi Arabia’s production. Yemen’s Houthis claimed responsibility, but US officials later blamed Iran.

After initially threatening military action over Iran’s killing of protesters, Trump shifted attention to its nuclear program, warning that “bad things” would happen if Iran didn’t agree to a deal. The two sides were holding another, potentially decisive, round of indirect talks in Geneva on Thursday.

Iran, which is committed to destroying Israel, has always said its nuclear program is peaceful, while enriching uranium to levels that have no peaceful application. The US and other Western powers have long suspected that Tehran intends to eventually develop weapons. After Trump scrapped a 2015 nuclear agreement, Iran ramped up its enrichment of uranium, building up a stockpile of near-weapons-grade material.

Iran’s biggest sites were hit by US and Israeli strikes in June, causing significant damage above ground. But it’s unclear whether enriched uranium was spirited away before they were hit or buried underground. Iran says it has been unable to enrich since then, but it has also barred inspections.

(AP)

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by Rabbi Yair Hoffman

It is the Shabbos before Purim. The shul is packed. The baal korei steps up to the bimah, and the entire congregation rises to its feet.

There is a hushed silence. Everyone – men, women, and even young children old enough to understand – leans forward to hear every word. The Torah is unrolled to the end of Parshas Ki Seitzei. The baal korei begins: “Zachor eis asher asah lecha Amalek…” – Remember what Amalek did to you…

There is something electric about this moment.

The Shulchan Aruch (OC 685:7) rules that Parshas Zachor is a Torah-level obligation – one of the very few times during the year when listening to the Torah reading is considered a biblical commandment.

The Mishnah Berurah adds that even people in outlying areas who do not have a minyan must travel to a place where Parshas Zachor will be read. This is not just another leining. This is a mitzvah of the Torah itself.

But why?

What is it about these few pesukim that carries such extraordinary weight? What does the Torah want us to do with the memory of Amalek – and isn’t it, at first glance, counter-intuitive to remember something in order to wipe out its memory?

Why did Chazal insist that we fulfill this Torah mitzvah specifically on Shabbos? And perhaps most importantly – how can we use this mitzvah to gain real inspiration in our Avodas Hashem?

To understand the answers, we need to go back to the very beginning – to the dawn of creation and the beginning of time itself.

UNLEASHED FORCES AT THE DAWN OF CREATION

Long ago, at the very beginning of time, different forces were set loose in the universe. Some were unleashed by Hashem Himself as part of the fabric of creation. Others were unleashed by the actions of mankind. There were forces of goodness and purity, and there were dark, impure forces. The universe was a battleground between these two opposing sides from the very start.

THE OHR HAGANUZ – THE HIDDEN LIGHT

One of the most remarkable forces created at the dawn of time was the Ohr HaGanuz – the Hidden Light.

The Gemara in Chagigah (12a) teaches that the light Hashem created on the first day of creation was not the light of the sun, which was only created on the fourth day. This original light was something far more powerful – a spiritual light so intense that a person could see with it from one end of the world to the other.

Hashem saw that the wicked would one day misuse this light, so He set it aside – ganaz it – for the tzaddikim to enjoy in the World to Come (Rashi, Bereishis 1:4).

But the Ohr HaGanuz is not only a physical phenomenon. The Baal Shem Tov (quoted in Toldos Yaakov Yosef, Bereishis) teaches that the Hidden Light is also accessible in a figurative, spiritual sense: tzaddikim in every generation are able to perceive the hand of Hashem in every event, in every detail of creation.

They see with absolute clarity that Ain Od Milvado – there is nothing other than Him. Through this clarity, they truly see from one end of the universe to the other – not physically, but spiritually. Every event, every challenge, every moment of beauty and every moment of suffering – it all leads back to Hashem.

This vision – this spiritual clarity – is the opposite of what Amalek represents, as we shall soon see.

MAN HAS BECHIRAH – THE POWER OF FREE CHOICE

Mankind was created differently from every other creature. Man was endowed with something called Bechirah – freedom of choice. A pre-frontsl cortex that contains within it – the power of choosing between good or evil.

The Rambam (Hilchos Teshuvah 5:1) writes that this is a fundamental principle of the Torah: every person has the ability to choose good over evil. We are not robots, nor are we AI. We are not pre-programmed. At every moment, we face a fork in the road, and the decision is ours.

A person could take the impure, destructive forces in the world and use them in his choice toward evil. He could spread cruelty, falsehood, and destruction. Or he could harness the pure forces of creation – truth, kindness, justice – and use them to build, to heal, and to elevate the world.

This is the backdrop against which the story of Amalek unfolds.

THE MAHARAL’S EXPLANATION – THE PRIMORDIAL DESTRUCTIVE FORCE

The Maharal, Rabbi Yehudah Lowe of Prague, was a towering giant in Torah knowledge. He was a master Talmudist and was also fluent in the deep, esoteric wisdom of Kabbalah. In one of his works, Ohr Chadash (Introduction, p. 51), the Maharal explains something profound.

He writes that the snake in Gan Eden – the nachash described in Bereishis – was not merely a talking animal. It represented the dark and impure destructive force that was woven into the fabric of creation. The evil Haman in the story of Purim also represented and tapped into that very same primordial force. The Sages of the Talmud were, of course, well aware of this deep connection.

The Talmud (Chulin 139b) asks a fascinating question: “Haman – from the Torah itself – where can he be found?” The Talmud answers with the verse in Bereishis 3:11, when Hashem turns to Adam after the sin and asks: “Hamin ha’eitz asher tzivischa levilti achol mimenu achalta?” – “Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to partake of?” The word Hamin is spelled with the exact same letters as Haman.

On a surface level, this might seem like a simple play on words – a coincidence of spelling. But the Maharal explains that the Talmud is not merely revealing a clever siman or mnemonic. Rather, it is telling us something deep about the nature of reality: the force that caused the downfall in Gan Eden is the very same force that defined Haman and his ancestor Amalek. \

It is the primordial force of destruction – of pulling human beings away from closeness to Hashem.

AMALEK – ME’UKAL – WARPED

Rav Chaim Vital, the primary student of the holy Arizal, adds another layer to this understanding. He explains (Eitz HaDaas Tov, Vol. III, p. 105) that the Hebrew letters of the name Amalek can be rearranged to spell M’ukal – which means “warped” or “distorted.”

Amalek represents the very peak of warped and distorted thinking. It is the force in the world that takes something pure and twists it beyond recognition. It takes justice and makes it into cruelty. It takes faith and replaces it with cold, cynical doubt. Amalek is the anti-thesis of everything that is pure and just.

AMALEK AND SAFEK – THE GEMATRIA OF DOUBT

The Bnei Yissaschar (Chodesh Adar, Maamar 9) brings a well-known and powerful observation: the numerical value (gematria) of Amalek (עמלק) is 240 – which is the exact same gematria as the word Safek (ספק), meaning “doubt.”

This is no mere coincidence. Amalek’s entire strategy, in every generation, is to plant seeds of doubt. Doubt in Hashem. Doubt in the Torah. Doubt in ourselves and in our mission. After Klal Yisroel experienced the miraculous Splitting of the Sea and the most open revelation of Hashem’s power the world had ever seen, Amalek attacked. The Torah says (Devarim 25:18): “Asher karcha baderech” – which Rashi explains (based on the Midrash Tanchuma, Ki Seitzei 9) comes from the word kar, meaning “cold.” Amalek cooled off the burning faith of Klal Yisroel. After the nations of the world stood in awe of Hashem’s people, Amalek came along and said, “It’s not so impressive. Let’s attack.” They were like a person who jumps into a scalding hot bath – even though he gets burned, he cools it off for others.

This internal battle with safek – with doubt – is something that every one of us faces. Every time a person thinks, “Maybe it doesn’t matter,” or “Does Hashem really care about this small mitzvah?” – that is the voice of Amalek whispering inside us. Parshas Zachor calls on us to fight that voice.

MORDECHAI – THE PRIMORDIAL FORCE OF GOODNESS

If Amalek and Haman represent the dark, destructive force of creation, then Mordechai represents the polar opposite – the primordial force of goodness. He is the cure, the antidote to evil and destruction.

The Gemara points this out as well (Chulin 139b): “Mordechai – from the Torah – where can he be found?” The Gemara answers based on the pasuk in Shemos (30:23): “Kach lecha besamim rosh, mor dror” – “Take for yourself the finest spices, pure myrrh (“mor dror”).” The Targum translates mor dror as “Mordechai.” This refers to the Ketores – the incense offering in the Beis HaMikdash – about which the Gemara in Shabbos (89a) teaches that it has the power to stop death and destruction.

Think about how fitting this is. Haman and Amalek represent the force that brings death and destruction into the world. Mordechai – connected to the Ketores – represents the force that stops death and destruction. These two forces have been battling each other since the beginning of time.

WHAT ESTHER AND MORDECHAI REPRESENT

The triumph of good over evil in the Purim story did not happen on its own. It came through the extraordinary actions of two remarkable leaders.

Esther represented self-sacrifice. She gave of herself so that the Jewish people would survive. Rav Meir Simcha of Dvinsk, the author of the Meshech Chochmah, explains that Esther’s original plan was breathtaking in its courage: she intended to give up her own life so that Klal Yisroel would be saved. That is why she never revealed her identity or her background – she was prepared to sacrifice everything. When she said (Esther 4:16), “Ve’ka’asher avadeti, avadeti” – “If I perish, I perish” – she meant it with every fiber of her being.

Mordechai represented chessed – lovingkindness. Rav Yerucham Olshin, shlita, explains that Mordechai’s greatness was rooted in his extraordinary acts of chessed. He looked after Esther – a young orphaned girl who had been taken to the palace against her will. For years, he watched over her, cared about her wellbeing, and never abandoned her. This chessed – this act of pure, selfless caring for another human being – was the merit that helped save Klal Yisroel.

The lesson is powerful: the forces of evil are defeated not through military might alone, but through self-sacrifice and genuine kindness.

PARSHAS ZACHOR – REMEMBERING OUR MISSION

With all of this as background, we can now understand Parshas Zachor on a deeper level. The Torah is not simply asking us to remember a historical event. It is asking us to remember our mission – the eternal battle of good against evil, of light against darkness, of truth against the distortions of Amalek.

Haman’s plan was the wholesale murder and destruction of men, women, and children who carry the message of Hashem in this world. That plan was defeated. How? Through the courage, self-sacrifice, and chessed of Mordechai and Esther. Through prayer, fasting, and teshuvah. Through the realization that our connection to Hashem is the most precious thing we have.

THE BRISKER RAV: ZACHOR VS. LO TISHKACH

Rav Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik, the Brisker Rav, draws an important distinction between the two parts of this mitzvah. The Torah says (Devarim 25:17): “Zachor” – Remember. And then it says (25:19): “Lo tishkach” – Do not forget.

The Brisker Rav explains that these are two separate obligations. “Zachor” is a positive commandment – an asei – to actively remember what Amalek did, through speech. This is fulfilled by hearing Parshas Zachor read aloud from a Torah scroll. “Lo tishkach” is a negative commandment – a lav – that we must never let this memory fade from our hearts. One is about active remembering; the other is about never allowing ourselves to forget.

Together, these two obligations create a powerful message: this is not something we recall once and move on. This is something that must remain with us constantly – shaping how we see the world and how we serve Hashem.

THE RAMBAM’S FORMULATION

The Rambam codifies the mitzvah of remembering Amalek in Hilchos Melachim (5:5), linking it directly to the mitzvah of destroying Amalek as a nation. But the Rambam also writes (Sefer HaMitzvos, Positive Commandment 189) that the purpose of remembering is “so that the matter will not be forgotten and the hatred of him will not weaken or diminish with the passage of time.”

The Rambam understood that time has a way of dulling our feelings. An event that shook us to our core can slowly fade into a distant memory. The Torah commands us: do not let that happen. The evil that Amalek represents must always feel urgent and present to us. We must never become comfortable with it.

WHY ON SHABBOS?

Why did Chazal specifically ordain that Parshas Zachor be read on Shabbos? The answer touches on the very heart of what Shabbos means.

Shabbos represents the mission of Klal Yisroel – to build, to elevate, and to do the will of Hashem. The Sheiltos of Rav Achai Gaon explains that Hashem instructed us to rest on Shabbos just as He rested from all creative activity on the seventh day. By observing Shabbos, we declare our deep belief in Hashem as the Creator of the world.

But Shabbos is more than just rest. Shabbos has always been the symbol – the flag, as it were – of the Jewish nation. Just as a patriot looks at his flag and sees more than colored cloth with fancy designs – he sees the values, the sacrifices, and the dreams of his nation – so too, Shabbos represents everything that Klal Yisroel stands for. Shabbos is our declaration that we are builders and creators, not destroyers. That we follow Hashem’s blueprint for the world.

Reading Parshas Zachor on Shabbos, then, ties together these two ideas beautifully: we recall the forces of destruction that sought to annihilate us, precisely on the day that celebrates our role as builders and partners with Hashem in perfecting the world.

THE GENERAL DEBATE AMONG THE RISHONIM

There is a fascinating debate among the Rishonim – as to the underlying reason for the mitzvah of Parshas Zachor.

The Sefer HaChinuch (Mitzvah 603) understands this mitzvah as a practical measure: its purpose is to encourage and stir the men of Klal Yisroel to battle and to defend against an implacable enemy. Because the Chinuch sees this as connected to warfare, his position is that women are exempt from this mitzvah.

The Sefer Mitzvos Ketanos (SMaK) – authored by Rav Yitzchok ben Yosef of Corbeil (1210–1280) – disagrees. He holds that the reason is spiritual, not military: we read Parshas Zachor to internalize the awareness that Hashem saved us from the hand of Amalek, and so that we should always be in awe of Him, which will prevent us from sinning against His will. This position can perhaps be traced to the Targum Yonasan on the verse “Lo tishkach” (Devarim 25:19), who writes: “V’afilu l’yoma Malka d’Meshicha lo tisnashi” – that this mitzvah applies even in the times of Moshiach. If the purpose were only about going to war, it would not apply once Moshiach has already come. But if the purpose is about maintaining our awe and gratitude to Hashem, it is eternal.

THE MINCHAS CHINUCH: DO WOMEN HAVE THIS OBLIGATION?

The Minchas Chinuch (Mitzvah 603) raises an important halachic question that flows from this debate. If we follow the Sefer HaChinuch’s reasoning – that Parshas Zachor is connected to warfare – then women, who are not obligated in military combat, would be exempt. But if we follow the SMaK, who holds that the purpose is spiritual awareness and Yiras Shamayim, then women would be equally obligated.

In practice, many Poskim encourage women to attend the reading of Parshas Zachor. The Mishnah Berurah (685:16) notes that some authorities hold that women are indeed obligated. This is why many shuls today arrange a special second reading of Parshas Zachor specifically so that women who could not attend the main reading can fulfill this mitzvah.

THE NESIVOS SHALOM’S BEAUTIFUL DEFINITION OF YIRAS SHAMAYIM

There is a stunning explanation of Yiras Shamayim – fear of Heaven – provided by the Slonimer Rebbe, the author of the Nesivos Shalom. It is different from the explanation that is commonly given, and it has the power to transform the way we think about our relationship with Hashem.

Normally, when we think of “fear of Heaven,” we imagine being afraid of punishment – afraid that Hashem will punish us if we sin. But the Nesivos Shalom offers a completely different picture.

He gives a mashal, a parable: Imagine you are drowning in a vast, dark ocean. The waves crash over your head. You cannot breathe. You are certain that this is the end. And then, out of nowhere, a lifeguard appears. He jumps into the churning water and pulls you to safety. You grab onto him with every ounce of strength you have. Your arms are wrapped around him, and you are shaking, terrified – not of him, but of letting go. You are afraid that if you loosen your grip even slightly, the ocean will swallow you again.

That, says the Nesivos Shalom, is Yiras Shamayim.

We are afraid of losing Hashem. We are afraid of losing the connection, the bond, the relationship that is our very lifeline. Every aveirah, every sin, loosens our grip. And we are terrified of what happens if we let go.

When you love someone deeply – a parent, a spouse, a child – your greatest fear is not that they will hurt you. Your greatest fear is losing them. That is the Yiras Shamayim the Nesivos Shalom is describing.

THE ARIZAL: AMALEK AS AN INTERNAL BATTLE

The holy Arizal takes this even further. He teaches that the battle against Amalek is not only a physical, national battle against an external enemy. It is also an internal, spiritual battle that takes place inside the heart of every Jew.

Every time we experience a moment of spiritual doubt, a moment where we question whether our efforts in Torah and mitzvos really matter, a moment where the voice inside us says, “Why bother?” – that is the voice of Amalek. Every time we feel spiritually “cold” – when davening feels like a chore, when learning feels empty, when Shabbos feels routine – that is the cooling effect of Amalek.

Parshas Zachor is a call to arms against that inner Amalek. It reminds us: do not let the fire go out. Do not let the doubt win. Remember who you are and Whose you are.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

We now have several powerful layers of understanding that, when combined, paint a breathtaking picture.

The Maharal teaches us that the battle between Klal Yisroel and Amalek is a cosmic struggle between the primordial forces of good and evil – a struggle that has been raging since the very beginning of creation.

The Bnei Yissaschar and the Arizal teach us that Amalek is not only an external nation – it is an internal force of doubt and spiritual coldness that each of us must fight every single day.

The SMaK tells us that the purpose of Parshas Zachor is to awaken our awareness that Hashem saved us, and to fill us with awe of Him.

The Nesivos Shalom teaches us that this awe is not about fear of punishment – it is about the terror of losing our most precious relationship.

The Brisker Rav teaches us that we must both actively remember and never forget – this consciousness must be with us always.

The Rambam reminds us that time dulls our feelings, and the Torah commands us to never let the urgency of this battle fade.

The Sefer HaChinuch and the Ramban remind us that this remembering is connected to action – we must actively fight against evil in all its forms.

STANDING IN SHUL THIS SHABBOS

This Shabbos, when we stand in shul and hear Parshas Zachor, let us think about these layers. Let us remember that we are part of an ancient, cosmic battle – a battle between the forces that would destroy and the forces that build. Let us think about the Nesivos Shalom’s mashal and hold on to Hashem a little tighter. Let us think about the gematria of Amalek and safek, and resolve to silence the voice of doubt in our hearts.

Let us think about Esther’s self-sacrifice and Mordechai’s chessed, and commit to acts of courage and kindness in our own lives. Let us think about the Ohr HaGanuz – the Hidden Light – and strive to see Hashem’s hand in everything that happens around us.

And let us walk out of shul that Shabbos morning with a renewed sense of mission: we are Hashem’s people. We carry His light. And no force of destruction – no matter how ancient, how powerful, or how clever – will ever extinguish it.

The author can be reached at [email protected]

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and his wife Janet shared a lighthearted Purim greeting this week featuring their dogs Gumbo and Bandit dressed in festive Purim costumes.

In the video posted to social media, Gumbo wears an outfit adorned with the Israeli flag while Bandit sports the American flag. The two pups also wear colorful holiday hats as Huckabee recounts the story of Purim, explaining how more than two thousand years ago God used Queen Esther and Mordechai to save the Jewish people from destruction in ancient Persia.

Purim commemorates the dramatic events recorded in the Scroll of Esther, when the Persian official Haman plotted to annihilate the Jews but was ultimately defeated and executed on the very gallows he prepared for Mordechai. This year the holiday falls on March 2 and 3, with Jerusalem and other walled cities observing it a day later in accordance with Jewish tradition.

“Janet and I want to wish all of our Jewish friends in Israel, America and all over the world a very happy Purim, right boys?” Huckabee says in the clip, encouraging the dogs to join in the greeting.

The cheerful holiday message comes just days after Huckabee made headlines for a widely viewed airport interview with commentator Tucker Carlson. In the exchange, Carlson pressed the ambassador on U.S. policy toward Israel and biblical connections to the land. Huckabee firmly defended the U.S. Israel alliance and pushed back against criticism, reinforcing his longstanding support for the Jewish state.

WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 07: U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee delivers remarks as President Donald Trump hosts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a dinner in the Blue Room of the White House on July 7, 2025, in Washington, DC. Trump is hosting Netanyahu to discuss a potential ceasefire agreement to end the fighting in Gaza. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Earlier this week Huckabee also met with senior Israeli lawmakers at the Knesset, where he reaffirmed the strength of the partnership between the United States and Israel amid ongoing regional tensions and rising antisemitism.

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman

The news has recently announced that actor Bobby J. Brown, an actor has trafically passed away in a barn fire at the age of 62.  I do not know who he was exactly, but there are nine Mitzvos plus something else that his tragic death can teach us.

His daughter confirmed his death to the media, saying he died after getting caught in a barn fire in Maryland. The Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed that he died from diffuse thermal injury and smoke inhalation. His death was determined to be an accident.

According to the news reports, Brown’s death occurred while he was trying to jump-start a vehicle inside a barn. At some point, a blaze got ignited. He reportedly yelled out to a family member for a fire extinguisher, but the 50-by-100-foot structure was already engulfed in flames by the time they reached him. His wife also suffered severe burns while trying to save him.

What Likely Happened

While we may never know the exact details of what transpired in that barn, it is this author’s supposition that the fire was likely caused by an improper jump-start connection.

In all likelihood, the positive cable was connected to the positive terminal and the negative cable was connected directly to the negative terminal of the dead battery. While many people think this is the correct way to jump-start a vehicle, it is actually extremely dangerous – and can cause a catastrophic explosion and fire.

Most people do not know this. They assume, quite logically, that positive goes to positive and negative goes to negative – directly on both batteries. This is incorrect and potentially deadly.

This author’s father, Dr. Nathan Hoffman z”l, whose yartzeit is in less than 7 weeks, was a well-regarded physicist and metallurgist who warned about this danger constantly. He would explain the science behind it to anyone who would listen, and was deeply concerned that the average person had no idea of the explosive risk involved in improperly jump-starting a car battery. His warnings, are sadly as relevant today as they ever were.

The Science Behind the Danger

Here is what he would explain: A standard lead-acid car battery contains a solution of approximately 35% sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) and 65% water. Inside the battery, lead dioxide (PbO₂) positive plates and spongy lead (Pb) negative plates are immersed in this electrolyte solution.

During the chemical reactions that occur when a battery is being charged, jump-started, or is in a weakened state – the water in the electrolyte undergoes a process called electrolysis. This breaks down the water molecules into their component gases: hydrogen (H₂) and oxygen (O₂).

Hydrogen gas is colorless and odorless. It is also extraordinarily flammable. The explosive range for hydrogen in air is between 4% and 75% concentration by volume – meaning that even a relatively small accumulation of hydrogen can create an explosive atmosphere. A dead or weak battery, in particular, can emit elevated levels of hydrogen gas.

When you make the final connection of a jump-start, there is almost always a spark. If that final connection is made directly on the dead battery’s negative terminal – right next to where the hydrogen gas is venting – that spark can ignite the hydrogen gas.

The result can be a violent battery explosion that sprays sulfuric acid in all directions, or, in an enclosed space like a barn with other flammable materials, it can ignite a fire that spreads rapidly and uncontrollably.

This is especially dangerous in an enclosed structure such as a barn, where hydrogen gas can accumulate in the still air around the battery, and where hay, wood, gasoline, and other combustible materials may be present.

The Proper Way to Jump-Start a Vehicle

The correct and safe procedure for jump-starting a car is as follows:

Step 1: Connect the RED (positive) cable to the positive (+) terminal of the dead battery.

Step 2: Connect the other end of the RED cable to the positive (+) terminal of the good (donor) battery.

Step 3: Connect the BLACK (negative) cable to the negative (–) terminal of the good battery.

Step 4 – THE CRITICAL STEP: Connect the other end of the BLACK cable to an UNPAINTED METAL SURFACE on the engine block or frame of the car with the dead battery – NOT to the negative terminal of the dead battery. This ensures that any spark produced by the final connection occurs far away from the battery and its hydrogen gas emissions.

When removing the cables, reverse the order: remove the ground connection first, then the negative from the donor battery, followed by both positive connections.

Additionally, one should never attempt to jump-start a vehicle in an enclosed, unventilated space. If one must do so, all doors should be opened as wide as possible to allow hydrogen gas to dissipate. One should never smoke or have any open flames near a battery. And if a battery appears swollen, cracked, or frozen, it should never be jump-started at all.

The Torah Obligation of Safety

This tragic incident underscores a matter that is not merely one of practical wisdom, but one of serious halachic obligation. The Torah places extraordinary emphasis on the preservation of life and the obligation to take proper safety precautions. There are numerous Torah-level (d’Oraisa) mitzvos that relate to the obligation to safeguard oneself and others from danger:

1. Venishmartem Me’od L’nafshoseichem – “You shall greatly guard your souls” (Devarim 4:15). The Rambam and many other Poskim understand this as a Biblical commandment to take proactive measures to protect one’s health and physical safety. This includes being informed about potential dangers in everyday activities, including something as seemingly mundane as jump-starting a car.
2. Lo Sa’amod Al Dam Rei’echa – “Do not stand idly by the blood of your fellow” (Vayikra 19:16). This is mentioned in Shulchan Aruch (CM 426:1) and in the Rambam. One who knows of a safety hazard and does not warn others may be in violation of this negative commandment. Sharing this life-saving information about proper jump-starting procedure is itself a fulfillment of this mitzvah.
3. Hishamer Lecha U’sh’mor Nafsh’cha Me’od – “Beware for yourself and greatly guard your soul” (Devarim 4:9). The Shulchan Aruch (CM 427:8) applies this verse to the prohibition of placing oneself in any dangerous situation. The Rambam (Hilchos Rotzeiach 11:4) writes that anyone who leaves a dangerous hazard and does not remove it has negated this positive commandment and violated “lo sasim damim.”
4. Lo Sasim Damim B’veisecha – “Do not place blood in your house” (Devarim 22:8). This is the prohibition against maintaining any dangerous condition in one’s property. It is derived from the mitzvah of building a fence around one’s roof (ma’akeh), but the Rambam and the Shulchan Aruch extend this to all safety hazards. Keeping improperly maintained equipment or failing to understand safe procedures for dangerous tasks falls within this prohibition.
5. The Mitzvah of Ma’akeh – Building a Fence (Devarim 22:8). While the literal commandment refers to placing a parapet around one’s roof, the Rambam (Hilchos Rotzeiach 11:4) extends this to the general obligation to remove all hazards and dangerous obstacles. Taking the time to learn proper safety procedures for common activities is a fulfillment of the spirit and the letter of this mitzvah.
6. Hashavas Aveida – Returning a Lost Object, Including One’s Very Life (Devarim 22:2). The verse states, “Vahashaivoso lo – and you shall return it to him.” The Gemara in Sanhedrin (73a), however, includes within its understanding of these words the obligation of returning “his own life to him as well.” For example, if someone is in physical danger, there is an obligation of “Vahashaivoso lo.” It is highly probable that it is to this general mitzvah that the Shulchan Aruch refers in Orach Chaim 325. Informing others of the proper and safe way to jump-start a vehicle is a direct fulfillment of this mitzvah.
7. Lo Suchal L’hisalaym – “You cannot shut your eyes to it” (Devarim 22:3). There is yet another negative commandment associated with the positive commandment of Hashavas Aveida, and that is this verse which comes directly after the mitzvah of Hashavas Aveidah. The Netziv (HeEmek She’ailah) refers to this mitzvah as well. One who is aware of a life-threatening safety issue and “shuts his eyes to it” – who does not bother to share the information – violates this commandment.
8. V’Chai Achicha Imach – “And your brother shall live with you” (Vayikra 25:36). The Sheiltos (Sheilta #37), based upon the Gemara in Bava Metzia 62a, understands these words to indicate an obligation to save others with you. The Netziv in his He’Emek She’ailah understands it as a full-fledged obligation according to all opinions. He writes that one must exert every effort to save his friend’s life – until it becomes pikuach nefesh for himself.
9. V’Ahavta L’Rei’acha Kamocha – “And love your neighbor as yourself” (Vayikra 19:18). The Ramban, in Toras HaAdam Shaar HaSakana (p. 42–43), understands this verse as a directive to save others from danger as well. Although he discusses the issue of medical danger, it is clear that this is but an example, and it would apply equally to physical danger. Even without the Ramban, however, it is clear that defending and protecting someone from danger is a fulfillment of this mitzvah. When we see someone about to jump-start a car incorrectly, we are obligated to speak up.

The Chofetz Chaim, in his Sefer HaMitzvos HaKatzar, emphasizes that the obligation of “venishmartem” applies to every type of danger, not only spiritual ones. The Chazon Ish similarly ruled that one is obligated to take precautions in matters of safety just as one is obligated in other areas of halacha.

We thus see that there are no fewer than nine Torah-level mitzvos – both positive and negative commandments – that obligate us to be informed about matters of safety, to take proper precautions, and to share potentially life-saving information with others. Ignorance of a common safety procedure like the proper way to jump-start a car is not merely a gap in practical knowledge – it touches upon multiple d’Oraisa obligations.

The death of Bobby J. Brown is an unspeakable tragedy. But it is our responsibility to ensure that such a tragedy is not repeated.

Please share this information with your family, friends, and community. Print it out and keep it in your glove compartment. The knowledge of how to properly jump-start a car is not merely good advice – it is a matter of pikuach nefesh, the saving of a life. And there is virtually nothing in the Torah that overrides pikuach nefesh.

The author can be reached at [email protected]

A new Knesset seat projection published by Channel 14 indicates continued stability for the right-wing bloc, which would secure 65 mandates if elections were held today. The survey also shows Likud maintaining a clear lead as the largest party in the Knesset.

According to the poll, Likud drops by one seat compared to the previous survey but still stands at 33 mandates, keeping its position at the top of the political map.

In second place is the Joint List with 13 seats. The notable shift in the survey comes from Gadi Eisenkot, whose party Yashar rises to 11 mandates — an increase of two seats from the last measurement. Shas also gains one seat, reaching 11 mandates. In contrast, Naftali Bennett’s party weakens and falls to fifth place with 10 seats.

The Democrats maintain their standing with 9 mandates. Yisrael Beiteinu and United Torah Judaism each receive 8 seats, though the latter drops one mandate compared to last week’s poll. Otzma Yehudit remains steady at 8 seats, while Religious Zionism strengthens slightly to 5. Yesh Atid hovers just above the electoral threshold with 4 mandates, and Blue and White fails to cross the minimum threshold required to enter the Knesset.

When broken down by political blocs, the right-wing camp holds 65 mandates, while the left-wing bloc stands at 42. The Arab parties collectively account for 13 seats, preserving the current balance between the opposing camps.

On the question of suitability for prime minister, Binyomin Netanyahu continues to lead by a wide margin with 55 percent support — a three-point increase. Gadi Eisenkot ranks second with 19 percent and shows upward momentum, while Naftali Bennett declines sharply to 14 percent, marking a drop of seven points. Avigdor Liberman registers a modest rise to 6 percent, and Benny Gantz trails behind.

{Matzav.com}

United States Vice President JD Vance and other U.S. officials plan to meet with the Omani Foreign Minister tomorrow in Washington, D.C. to discuss Iran, a source familiar with the meeting tells NewsNation.

President Donald Trump on Thursday praised a federal court decision rejecting a lawsuit that sought to block construction of a new ballroom at the White House, describing the outcome as “great news for America.”

In a message posted on social media, Trump wrote that the judge had “thrown out, and completely erased, the effort to stop its construction” of what he called “the most beautiful Ballroom anywhere in the World.”

The president stressed that “not one dollar of Taxpayer money is being spent,” saying the initiative is financed solely by “Patriot Donors and Contributors.”

Trump added that the planned ballroom — which he has previously floated as a venue for future inaugurations and large-scale state functions — is “ahead of schedule, and under budget,” and said it would stand “as a symbol to the Greatness of America.”

Since it was first announced, the proposal has drawn debate. Opponents, including historic preservation advocates and ethics groups, have raised concerns that erecting a substantial new addition within the White House grounds could affect the historic nature of the executive residence, which is subject to federal preservation protections.

Backers of the project contend that constructing a permanent ballroom would eliminate the recurring need for temporary tents and off-site locations for major gatherings, enhance the White House’s ability to host official events and do so using private funding rather than public dollars.

{Matzav.com}

(JNS) – Daryl Campbell, a Democratic Florida state representative, cited a prior statement about Jews by the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk in his decision to vote against a day of remembrance for the founder of Turning Point USA, killed by a gunman at an event in Utah on Sept. 10.

“He didn’t deserve to die, but he doesn’t deserve to be honored either,” Campbell said. “We can do better than legislating immorality.”

The Florida state House voted 82-31 on Feb. 25 to approve CS/HB 125, which would designate Oct. 14 as “Charlie Kirk Day of Remembrance” and authorize the governor to issue a proclamation. The measure now heads to the state Senate.

Among the statements of Kirk’s that Campbell cited was one that the activist made on his podcast on Oct. 26, 2023, when he said that “Jewish donors have been the number one funding mechanism of radical open-border, neoliberal, quasi-Marxist policies, cultural institutions and nonprofits.”

“It’s not just the colleges. It’s the nonprofits, it’s the movies, it’s Hollywood, it’s all of it,” Kirk said.

His comments were part of a conversation about Jew-hatred after Oct. 7.

Many Jewish leaders have praised Kirk, including for speaking out about antisemitism in the Republican Party. After Kirk was killed, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called him a “lion-hearted friend of Israel,” who “was murdered for speaking truth and defending freedom.”

Kirk “fought the lies and stood tall for Judeo-Christian civilization,” the Israeli prime minister said. “I spoke to him only two weeks ago and invited him to Israel. Sadly, that visit will not take place.”

Campbell didn’t quote more of Kirk’s remarks when he said that “this is a beast created by secular Jews, and now it’s coming for Jews, and they’re like, ‘What on earth happened?’”

The bill’s sponsor, Yvette Benarroch, a Republican, said that she filed the legislation “to honor the life and legacy of Charlie Kirk, a young conservative voice who inspired millions to stand for faith, family, freedom and truth.”

“He believed deeply in the promise of America and the power of open dialogue,” she said. “This bill reminds us that courage still matters, free speech must always be protected, and the values that built this nation are worth defending.”

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), a Florida gubernatorial candidate, criticized the Democrats’ remarks, saying, “once again, Democrat derangement is on display. You don’t need to be elected to be a leader in American politics. Charlie Kirk was a true leader and a dear friend.”

(AP) – The U.S. military used a laser to shoot down a Customs and Border Protection drone, members of Congress said Thursday, and the Federal Aviation Administration responded by closing more airspace near El Paso, Texas.

It’s not clear why the laser was deployed but it’s the second time in two weeks that one has been fired in the area. The US military is required to formally notify the FAA anytime it takes any counter-drone action inside U.S. airspace.

The earlier laser firing did not hit a target. It was done by the CBP near Fort Bliss, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northwest, and prompted the FAA to shut down air traffic at El Paso airport and the surrounding area. This time, the closure was smaller and commercial flights not affected.

U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen and two other top Democrats on the House Transportation and Infrastructure and Homeland Security committees said they were stunned.

“Our heads are exploding over the news,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement. They criticized the Trump administration for “sidestepping” a bipartisan bill to train drone operators and improve communication among the Pentagon, FAA and Department of Homeland Security.

“Now, we’re seeing the result of its incompetence,” they said.

The Defense and Transportation departments referred questions to the FAA, which said in a brief statement that it had expanded the airspace closure around Fort Hancock. Border Protection did not immediately respond to questions.

The El Paso shutdown two weeks ago lasted only a few hours but it raised alarm and led to a number of flight cancellations in the city of nearly 700,000 people not far from the Mexican border.

In that case, an anti-drone laser was deployed by CBP near Fort Bliss without coordinating with the FAA, which then decided to close the El Paso airspace to ensure commercial air safety, according to sources familiar with what happened who weren’t authorized to discuss it.

Afterward, members of Congress said it appeared to be another example of dysfunction within the government with different agencies failing to coordinate with each other.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he was planning to brief members of Congress sometime this week about what happened. He said at an unrelated news conference last Friday that it wasn’t a mistake for the FAA to close the airspace in El Paso and that he doesn’t think it was a communication issue that led to the problems.

The investigation into last year’s midair collision near Washington, D.C., between an airliner and Army helicopter that killed 67 people highlighted how the FAA and Pentagon were not always working well together.

The National Transportation Safety Board said the FAA and the Army did not share safety data with each other about the alarming number of close calls around Reagan National Airport and failed to address the risks.

Two months ago, Congress agreed to give more law enforcement agencies — including some state and local departments — the authority to take down rogue drones as long as they are properly trained. Previously, only a select few federal agencies had that power.

Armed drones carry out devastating attacks daily in Ukraine and have also allowed Ukraine to strike deep within Russia. The U.S. government has handed out more than $250 million to help the states prepare to respond to drones before hosting World Cup matches and celebrations planned this summer for America’s 250th birthday.

Another $250 million in grants will be awarded later this year to strengthen the nation’s drone defenses.

Drones already cause problems along the border. Cartels routinely use drones to deliver drugs across the Mexican border and surveil Border Patrol officers. Officials told Congress last summer that more than 27,000 drones were detected within 1,600 feet (500 meters) of the southern border in the last six months of 2024.

The threat to planes from drones continues to increase along with the number of near misses around airports. Homeland Security estimates there are more than 1.7 million registered drones flying in the United States, and that number has been growing.

Anti-drone systems can use radio signals to jam drones, or high-powered microwaves or laser beams like the ones that have been used in Texas that are capable of disabling the machines. Some others station small drones to take flight quickly and ram into threatening drones. And there are systems that use bullets, but those are more common on battlefields than in domestic use.

Three years after the passing of the longtime rov of Meron, Rav Elazar Stern has now been formally appointed as the official rav of Meron, succeeding his father, Rav Meir Zev Stern zt”l, who led the community for decades.

Rav Elazar was confirmed in the role today in an official capacity, solidifying what had already been his practical leadership in recent years.

For many years, Rav Stern has served as a respected posek and dayan, recognized for his clear rulings and depth in Torah scholarship. He is the author of the widely regarded seforim Gan Na’eh and the responsa work Birkas Elazar.

While residing in Ashdod, he served as rav of the Ma’orei Or community. Following his father’s passing, and in accordance with his father’s wishes, he relocated to Meron, where he continued serving in rabbinic leadership and halachic guidance for residents and visitors alike.

With today’s decision, the appointment has now received formal confirmation from the Meron Moshav committee, granting official status to Rav Stern’s role as rav of the sacred site.

{Matzav.com}

The Knesset’s legal department issued a sharp warning Thursday that a proposed amendment to Basic Law: The Government — dubbed the “Ben Gvir Law” — could be invalidated by the High Court of Justice if enacted in its current form.

In a preparatory document circulated to members of the special committee reviewing amendments to the Basic Law, the Knesset’s legal adviser wrote that the bill’s attempt to bar judicial review over the appointment and dismissal of ministers may exceed constitutional boundaries set by the Supreme Court. The adviser cautioned that the proposal could be viewed as personal legislation and potentially deemed an abuse of the Knesset’s constituent authority under standards established in recent rulings.

According to the draft under consideration, courts would be prohibited from exercising judicial review over the appointment or removal of ministers, aside from verifying compliance with formal eligibility requirements set by law. In practical terms, this would eliminate judicial scrutiny of the prime minister’s discretion and remove from the court’s authority the precedent established in the Deri-Pinhasi ruling, which laid the groundwork for intervention in appointments considered extremely unreasonable.

The legal opinion states that a sweeping elimination of judicial oversight would conflict with warnings expressed in recent Supreme Court decisions, particularly the January 2024 ruling that struck down the amendment canceling the reasonableness doctrine. In that case, a majority of justices held that the court retains authority to intervene in exceptional cases involving misuse of constituent power. The document notes that several senior justices indicated that a narrower amendment — for example, one that limits application of the reasonableness doctrine specifically in the context of ministerial appointments — might have been considered differently than a broad measure barring all forms of review.

The legal department warned that the current wording could undermine foundational principles of separation of powers and the rule of law because it “leaves entire areas without effective judicial review” and hampers the protection of important public interests, including public trust and governmental integrity.

Beyond the substantive concerns, the legal office also pointed to constitutional and political timing issues. Renewed efforts to advance the bill could place it in direct tension with the Supreme Court’s doctrine of “abuse of constituent authority,” as articulated in the ruling on incapacity legislation. The document highlights that in light of Justice Stein’s ruling regarding Aryeh Deri, as well as the conditional order issued in a petition asking the court to instruct the prime minister to dismiss National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, there is heightened concern that the amendment may be aimed at producing immediate consequences for specific political figures. Under the framework set by the court, such circumstances could support a claim that the Knesset is not acting as a general constituent authority but rather tailoring a Basic Law to address a present political need.

Among the alternatives suggested by the legal department is adopting a more limited model that would restrict judicial review only with respect to the reasonableness doctrine, particularly in cases where appointments have also been approved by the Knesset, while preserving the possibility of review on other legal grounds. Another option under consideration is prospective application — delaying the amendment’s effect until the next Knesset — a step that could mitigate claims of personal legislation and avoid the appearance of altering constitutional rules midstream.

The legal adviser further recommended strengthening parliamentary oversight mechanisms to prevent the creation of unchecked executive authority. Proposed measures include expanding the Knesset’s ability to hold individual votes on certain ministerial appointments during the swearing-in of a government; requiring presentation to the plenum of the circumstances surrounding a new minister’s appointment upon the request of 40 members of Knesset; and even establishing a structured process allowing the Knesset to remove a minister by majority vote after due proceedings and the opportunity for the minister to present arguments.

Deliberations on the proposal resumed after the Knesset Committee voted to reconstitute the special committee under Section 89 of the Knesset bylaws, enabling it to revisit language that had previously been prepared for second and third readings but never brought to a final vote. The legal department emphasized that nearly three years have passed since that draft was formulated and that significant constitutional rulings have since been issued, warranting a renewed review of the bill’s language and its compliance with judicial standards.

At the center of the debate is whether lawmakers will insist on advancing a sweeping amendment that would largely remove High Court involvement in ministerial appointments and dismissals, or instead adopt a more measured revision designed to reduce constitutional friction and increase the likelihood that the legislation would withstand judicial scrutiny if challenged.

{Matzav.com}

Pro-Palestinian groups, working together with a range of civil society organizations, have unveiled plans for a new maritime convoy bound for the Gaza Strip, describing it as a major effort to challenge Israel’s naval blockade and deliver humanitarian supplies.

Organizers say the flotilla is set to leave on April 12 from multiple Mediterranean ports in Spain, Italy, and Tunisia. Its stated objective is to breach the blockade imposed on Gaza and transport assistance directly to the coastal enclave.

According to a report by Al-Arabi Al-Jadid, more than 200 boats are expected to take part in the initiative. The effort is being backed by the “Mavi Marmara” Freedom and Solidarity Association as well as the Turkish İHH Foundation, a humanitarian group that says it is dedicated to safeguarding freedoms, defending human rights, and providing relief aid.

Bülent Yıldırım, president of the İHH Foundation, told the newspaper that the ships designated for the flotilla will be acquired through donated funds. He indicated that organizers intend to assemble a substantial number of vessels in an effort to complicate any attempt by Israel to block their arrival along the Gaza shoreline.

Yıldırım further stated that participants from 150 countries — numbering in the thousands — are expected to join the mission. In addition to carrying supplies, the flotilla aims to bring medical professionals, educators, infrastructure and environmental development teams, attorneys, and investigators focused on alleged war crimes.

A similar attempt last October ended when the Israeli Navy intercepted vessels linked to the “Freedom Coalition” flotilla that sought to reach Gaza. Approximately 150 individuals aboard those ships were detained without incident and taken to the port of Ashdod, where they underwent questioning before being deported.

At the time, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement declaring, “Another futile attempt to break the maritime blockade and enter a combat zone has ended in nothing.”

{Matzav.com}

A protest campaign opposing the arrest of Chareidim for evading military conscription has escalated, as activists erected a display in Modiin Illit labeled “Hostages Square” — invoking imagery associated with the Israeli hostages held captive in Gaza.

The installation was set up Thursday in a central traffic circle in the predominantly Chareidi city following a series of arrests of men who failed to report for draft orders. Protesters hung a large sign reading “Hostages Square,” an apparent reference to the well-known site in Tel Aviv dedicated to Israelis abducted during Hamas’ October 7 attack. Black and yellow ribbons — symbols also widely linked to the hostage campaign — were draped around the area.

At the center of the roundabout, activists placed wooden lecterns resembling shtenders. The empty shtenders appeared to mirror the empty chairs displayed in Tel Aviv as a symbol of those held in Gaza.

The campaign began several weeks ago, with black ribbons appearing in Chareidi neighborhoods in response to draft-related arrests. In recent months, protestors have increasingly adopted language and symbols associated with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which advocates for the release of those abducted by Hamas.

In October, an image circulated online showing a detained bochur wearing a yellow ribbon alongside the slogans “Until the last hostage” and “Bring them home, now.”

Some Chareidi politicians have also drawn comparisons between jailed draft evaders and hostages held by Hamas, a parallel that has sparked criticism from other sectors of Israeli society.

Meanwhile, the “Code Black” hotline — a network that mobilizes protests in response to arrests of bochurim or military police operations in Chareidi areas — issued guidance ahead of Purim. The group warned of increased police presence during festivities and urged participants to exercise caution.

The hotline cautioned against escalating routine police encounters into confrontations and warned that arrests or criminal charges could have long-term consequences, including lasting records in police databases.

If a “Code Black” alert is issued — a mass message capable of drawing hundreds of protesters within minutes — participants were instructed to “maintain composure, avoid confrontations with security forces and certainly not be dragged into violence.”

“Harm or irresponsible behavior will carry serious consequences for both the individual and the public as a whole,” the statement said.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

We are officially in the thick of it. The hislahvus of Adar is everywhere, and with it comes the annual blitz of Purim fundraising. As someone who grew up in the system and now has sons in Yeshiva, I recognize that these campaigns are the lifeblood of our mosdos. We want our boys to be involved, and we know the hanhalos are under immense pressure to make ends meet.

However, I think it’s time we have an honest conversation about the impact this has on the average baalebus.

For those of us in the workforce, our workday is our Seder. It’s how we fulfill our acharayus to our families and, ultimately, how we earn the money that funds these very institutions. But lately, it feels like the boundaries have vanished. Between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM, my phone is a constant stream of unrecognized numbers, “urgent” WhatsApp blasts, and credit card links from bochurim I’ve never met, representing yeshivos I have no shaychus to.

The problem is that as mentchlich Yiden, we hate to say no. We don’t want to hang up on a bochur doing a mitzvah. But when you’re in the middle of a meeting or a sensitive project, the tenth call of the morning isn’t just a distraction—it’s a bitul zman that affects our parnassah.

If we want to keep the spirit of giving alive without burning everyone out, we need some sechel in how we handle this:

First, we need to realize that we aren’t bottomless wells. Halacha gives us a clear priority: Aniyei ircha kodmim. It is perfectly okay—and often necessary—to tell a caller, “I’ve already allocated my Purim tzedakah to my local mosdos for this year.” You don’t need to feel guilty for having a budget. In fact, being direct saves the bochur time so he can find someone who hasn’t hit their limit yet.

Second, we need to protect our yishuv hadaas during work. If you’re busy, let the unknown number go to voicemail. If it’s someone you actually know, they’ll leave a message. If it’s a cold call, they’ll move to the next name. That’s not being rude; it’s being responsible to your job.

Finally, I’d like to ask the Rebbeim who run these drives to give the boys some direction. Teach them that a phone call at 10:30 AM on a Tuesday might be interrupting a man’s livelihood. Maybe encourage them to lead with a respectful text first, and to always respect a “no” without pushing back.

We all want the same thing: flourishing Yeshivos and a vibrant community. But that only works if there is mutual respect for the Seder of the Baal Habas as much as the Seder of the bochur.

Wishing the entire tzibbur a simchas Purim and much hatzlacha.

A Busy Lakewood Father

The views expressed in this letter are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of YWN. Have an opinion you would like to share? Send it to us for review.

Former hostage Matan Angrest says he was tortured, including being subjected to electric shocks, during more than two years in Hamas captivity.

In a Thursday interview with Channel 12’s investigative program Uvda, he describes an eight-hour interrogation in which he faced pressure to divulge sensitive information. “For eight hours in a row, I sat and had to tell them things, during which I knew that it wasn’t just about my own well-being but the security of the country at stake. There are things that are in the realm of ‘die and don’t tell,’” he says, noting that his exposure to classified intelligence stemmed from serving in an elite tank unit.

Angrest recalls the moment he regained consciousness after being taken from his tank, which had been hit by an RPG near the Gaza border, and realizing he was inside a house in Gaza.

He says he found himself facing more than half a dozen Palestinians seated in front of him.

They questioned him about his military service and the circumstances of his abduction, speaking in Arabic, which he could not understand. He says their frustration quickly escalated into violence as they beat him while his hands and feet were tied.

Angrest adds that his arm was so badly burned that he couldn’t move it.

“Someone came to me with two cables and put them on my wound and just turned (a machine) on. I could feel myself being electrocuted. I screamed in a pain that is impossible to describe,” he recounts.

A group of Queens elected officials and civic leaders is taking New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to court, alleging his administration unlawfully delayed the release of records tied to a controversial decision to rescind the city’s adoption of a widely used definition of antisemitism.

The lawsuit, filed this week in state court, accuses the mayor’s office of “stonewalling” a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request seeking internal communications and documents related to Mamdani’s repeal of an executive order adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism.

The plaintiffs — Queens Councilmembers Joann Ariola and Vickie Paladino, along with Queens Civic Congress President Warren Schreiber — say the public is entitled to understand the reasoning behind the move, particularly as antisemitic incidents have risen in New York and nationwide in the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

“The purpose of the FOIL applications at issue in this proceeding is to decipher and obtain the documentary trail of information illuminating Mayor Mamdani’s motives,” the complaint states, arguing that the administration’s response has been “arbitrary and capricious.”

On his first day in office in January, Mamdani revoked a slate of executive orders issued by his predecessor, former Mayor Eric Adams. Among them was an order formally adopting the IHRA definition — a framework that has been endorsed by dozens of democratic governments and institutions, including the U.S. State Department, the European Union and the United Nations.

The IHRA definition describes antisemitism as “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews,” and provides 11 contemporary examples. Those include Holocaust denial and certain rhetoric directed at Israel, such as denying the Jewish people’s right to self-determination or holding Israel to standards not applied to other democratic nations.

Supporters of the definition argue it provides law enforcement and public officials with a consistent standard for identifying antisemitic conduct, particularly in gray areas involving anti-Israel rhetoric.

Critics, however, have argued that some of the examples risk conflating criticism of Israeli government policy with antisemitism.

Mamdani’s office has said the decision to rescind the IHRA adoption was not targeted, but part of a broader administrative reset. The mayor revoked all executive orders issued after Sept. 26, 2024 — the date Adams was indicted on corruption charges, which were later dismissed — framing the move as an effort to begin his term with a clean slate.

But opponents say that explanation is insufficient.

They contend that eliminating the IHRA adoption — even as part of a wider rollback — carries significant policy implications at a time when hate crime statistics show Jewish New Yorkers continue to account for a disproportionate share of reported bias incidents.

According to the lawsuit, the mayor’s office acknowledged receipt of the FOIL request and projected an April timeline for producing responsive documents. The plaintiffs argue that the delay violates the spirit and letter of New York’s open-records law, given the public interest surrounding the issue.

They are asking the court to compel the administration to produce the requested materials and to formally justify its decision-making process.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Tampa International Airport said on social media Thursday that it wanted to ban people from wearing pajamas at the Florida facility. No, it wasn’t being serious.

A post on the airport’s official X account said that after successfully going “Crocs-free,” Tampa International had “seen enough” of pajamas.

pic.twitter.com/mjHyM5KZkG

— Tampa International Airport ✈️ (@FlyTPA) February 26, 2026

“The madness stops today. The movement starts now,” reads the post, which had been viewed 5.7 million times by mid-afternoon Eastern time and generated a debate about airport attire in the comments.

Beau Zimmer, an airport spokesperson, told The Associated Press the post was part of the airport’s longstanding social media persona — a tongue-in-cheek voice it has cultivated since its early days on Twitter, before the platform rebranded as X. The account has attracted a loyal global following, he said.

“Our regular social media followers just eat this stuff up,” Zimmer said. “But obviously this is all in fun, and we encourage our travelers to be comfortable.”

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy reacted to the post with a GIF of actor John Krasinski from the TV show “The Office” looking into the camera and saying, “Yes!”

Duffy has been encouraging passengers to dress more formally while flying, part of a civility campaign he launched last November — called “the Golden Age of Travel Starts with You.” The Transportation Department said the campaign was “intended to jumpstart a nationwide conversation around how we can all restore courtesy and class to air travel.”

The airport released a statement Thursday clarifying its post was intended as a joke.

“Today’s post about ‘banning’ pajamas was another playful nod to day-of-travel fashion debates,” it said. “We encourage our passengers to travel comfortably and appreciate our loyal followers who enjoy the online humor.”

Zimmer said the airport’s online personality has been around for at least a decade. In the earlier days of what was then Twitter, a young intern started posting light-hearted jokes, like poking fun at rival sports teams and fans, “and it really took off.”

Earlier this month, the day after the Tampa Bay Lightning rallied from a four-goal deficit to beat the Boston Bruins 6-5 in an NHL Stadium Series game in Tampa, the airport shared on X: “Oh, and safe flight home to all the Bruins fans today :)”

Last month, alluding to an ongoing joke about passengers mixing up the airport’s code of TPA with TIA, an airport in Albania, the Tampa airport shared a New Year’s resolution “to stress out less.”

“Unfortunately,” the post continued, “some of y’all’s resolutions is to continue calling us TIA so we will not be meeting our goal.”

One X user responded that Tampa airport should just change its code to “GOAT so people don’t get confused,” referring to the acronym for “greatest of all time.”

If you have driven into Jerusalem lately and felt like the skyline is quietly rewriting itself, you are not imagining it. Around the HaTurim light rail stop, the Yitzhak Navon rail station, and the Chords Bridge, a new central business district is forming. It is being built to function as a true “front door” for Israel’s capital, where commuters step off a train, ride a light rail, walk into an office tower, and spend the evening in a hotel, restaurant, or public plaza without needing a car.

The Jerusalem Gateway quarter is slated for roughly 20 towers, many rising up to about 40 stories, with total new construction around 1.2 to 1.25 million square meters. It is designed to include major office and commercial space, thousands of hotel rooms, cultural and public buildings, and an expanded convention ecosystem anchored by the Binyanei HaUma complex. City planners and project managers have repeatedly framed it as a jobs engine, with estimates of about 60,000 new employment opportunities once fully built out.

The district itself is being developed across roughly 700 dunams (173 acres) at the western entrance to the city, connecting offices, hotels, public space, culture and commerce into a dense urban fabric that planners hope will reshape how Jerusalem grows and works. Rough initial investment figures for the overall Gateway plan have pointed to around 1.4 billion shekels in public and private funding, with major tenders like the NIS 120 million award for two 40-story towers and an eight-story building already made by a consortium of Israeli developers.

The Gateway is being positioned as Israel’s largest integrated transportation hub, adjacent to the high speed rail at Navon, the Jerusalem Central Bus Station, and multiple light rail lines, plus bike infrastructure and a large underground public parking facility.

That transportation bet is now entering a visible new phase because the Green Line is approaching its first public launch. Trial runs have begun on the Malha to HaTurim segment, running around the clock during the testing period and not carrying passengers. The first stage is widely expected to open to riders soon, connecting major nodes like Malha, Givat Ram, and the government quarter, and strengthening the logic of placing a national scale business district right at the city’s entrance.

Marom Tower is the clearest symbol of where the project stands today. It is widely described as the first major office tower in the Gateway quarter to move from planning into real construction, with 40 stories and a direct connection to Yitzhak Navon station. The project is designed as a flagship office building, offering roughly 60,000 square meters of workspace alongside ground level retail, dining, and public areas, including a cultural component in the lower floors.

The official development bodies have been explicit that the district is meant to attract major Israeli and international firms and institutions, with design standards meant to match global business expectations rather than compromise on cost-cutting styles of prior projects.

Other projects marketed as part of the same entrance transformation include mixed use developments on Jaffa Street and Shazar Boulevard near the courthouse and government compounds, with residential towers alongside office space, commercial areas, and public plazas.

The Gateway is an attempt to correct a long running imbalance. Jerusalem’s economy has historically been under supplied in modern Grade A office clusters compared to Tel Aviv, even as the city grew into a major hub for government, academia, hospitals, and emerging tech. A district that sits directly on the intercity light rail line changes the commuting math for high value employers. It lets a company hire talent living along the rail corridor without forcing them into a car commute through the city entrance bottleneck.

On the ground, the build stage is already deep. Multiple towers are in excavation and foundation phases, and major infrastructure coordination is underway because the entire quarter is being assembled around live transportation corridors. This is one of the most complex construction environments in the country as the high speed train, light rail, bus terminal, arterial roads, and dense high rise foundations all compete for the same space.

The project comes along with its own unique set of risks and debates. Planners acknowledge that residents worry about a building spree changing the character of the capital for years. The Gateway’s answer is essentially that Jerusalem cannot expand its borders, so it must densify.

Will Jerusalem be able to really fill the sheer volume of new office and hotel space at the level the plan envisions? Only time will tell as this historic project unfolds.