Officers in the IDF’s Northern Command say numerous incidents involving Hezbollah are taking place along the “Yellow Line” in southern Lebanon without being disclosed to the public, Walla’s military correspondent Amir Bochbot reported on Monday.

Bochbot wrote that “the IDF is not telling the public everything that is happening along the Yellow Line in southern Lebanon,” citing Northern Command officers who admitted that a large number of confrontations and operational incidents involving Hezbollah terrorists never reach public awareness.

The report suggests that the operational reality in the area is broader and more complex than what is reflected in official military statements.

In recent months, the Yellow Line in southern Lebanon has become one of the main friction points between IDF forces and Hezbollah terrorists. Alongside the IDF’s public operations, officers describe an increasingly tense reality on the ground, including Hezbollah’s escalating explosive drone threat, Hezbollah attempts to ambush Israeli forces, test Israel’s operational boundaries, and maintain a presence in areas from which the terror organization is expected to distance itself.

The report raises broader questions about transparency toward the Israeli public. While the IDF issues official statements regarding some strikes, interceptions, and neutralized threats, Northern Command officers suggest that many additional incidents remain outside the public eye.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

The IDF rushed new defense measures to IDF troops in southern Lebanon after Hezbollah released a video on Sunday showing FPV (first-person view) drones striking an Iron Dome battery, Ynet reported.

The video released by Hezbollah on Sunday shows two FPV drone strikes against an Iron Dome battery on Thursday and Friday, with the first strike showing a drone directly striking the battery. The second drone, launched the next day, purportedly struck a group of IDF soldiers next to the Iron Dome as they were removing the damaged launcher.

IDF  officials confirmed that such a strike did occur, but did not confirm any details and said that the strike did not create any “operational gap” in northern Israel’s air-defense system. The incident, one of the most serious incidents during the so-called “ceasefire,” is still under investigation.

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The IDF spokesperson said on Sunday that it was delivering thousands of meters of fishing nets to troops in southern Lebanon to help trap drones before they can detonate, an improvised measure amid many others, including firearms and technological detection systems.

However, according to IDF officials, no military has yet found a perfect answer to the danger posed by explosive drones on the battlefield.

The IDF announced on Monday that three soldiers were lightly injured in a Hezbollah FPV drone attack in southern Lebanon in the morning.  Earlier on Monday morning, the IDF announced the death of Alexander Glovanyov, H’YD, who was killed on Sunday by a Hezbollah explosive drone attack.

On Shabbos, three reservists were wounded, one seriously and one moderately, by FPV drones in the Shlomi area near the border.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

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A terrorist was eliminated Monday morning after opening fire with an automatic weapon at Israel Border Police forces during an operational activity in the village of Qalandiya.

The incident began after Border Police forces entered the village as part of a pre-planned operational mission in the area.

As the forces entered the village, the terrorist got out of a vehicle armed with a long gun and immediately began firing directly at the troops.

The Border Police officers responded quickly and opened fire, eliminating the terrorist. Baruch Hashem, no Israeli forces were injured in the incident.

Security forces remained at the scene to complete searches and collect additional evidence related to the attempted attack.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

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PETAH TIKVA (VINnews) – A 47-year-old IDF reservist was killed Saturday when Hezbollah launched several explosive drones into northern Israel, the military announced Sunday.

Warrant Officer (res.) Alexander Glovanyov, a driver in the Transport Center’s 6924th Battalion, was killed in the attack close to the Lebanon border, according to an IDF investigation. Glovanyov, a resident of Petah Tikva, was the sole fatality in the incident.

The drones struck Israeli territory, with one detonating in a manner that killed Glovanyov, the military said. No other injuries were immediately reported.

Hezbollah has intensified drone and rocket attacks on northern Israel amid ongoing cross-border hostilities. The IDF has responded with strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

Glovanyov is survived by family in central Israel. Funeral arrangements were pending Sunday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Sunday that the war against Iran and its regional terror network is far from over, warning that Tehran still possesses enriched uranium, missile infrastructure, and active proxy forces across the Middle East.

Speaking in a wide-ranging interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” Netanyahu said the central unresolved threat remains Iran’s nuclear program and military capabilities.

“Because there’s still nuclear material, enriched uranium that has to be taken out of Iran, there is still enrichment sites that have to be dismantled,” Netanyahu said.

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“There are still proxies that Iran supports. There are ballistic missiles that they still want to produce.”

The prime minister said Israel and the United States have already inflicted major damage on Iran’s capabilities, but stressed that significant work remains.

“We have degraded a lot of it, but all of that is still there, and there’s work to be done,” he said.

Netanyahu revealed that U.S. President Donald Trump agreed on the importance of removing Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium from the country.

Asked whether such a mission was feasible, Netanyahu responded: “I think it can be done physically. That’s not the problem.”

“If you have an agreement, and you go in and you take it out, why not? That’s the best way,” he added.

The Israeli leader also addressed the possibility of regime collapse in Tehran, suggesting such an outcome could fundamentally reshape the Middle East and dismantle Iran’s terror proxy empire.

“If this regime is indeed weakened or possibly toppled, I think it’s the end of Hezbollah,” Netanyahu said.

“It’s the end of Hamas, probably the end of the Houthis, because the whole scaffolding of the terrorist proxy network that Iran built collapses.”

Still, Netanyahu cautioned that predicting the downfall of the Islamic Republic remains impossible.

“I think you can’t predict when that will happen. Is it possible? Yes. Is it guaranteed? No,” he said.

Netanyahu compared the process to bankruptcy: “It proceeds gradually and then it falls.”

The prime minister also made headlines by saying he hopes Israel can eventually eliminate its dependence on American military aid, currently totaling approximately $3.8 billion annually.

“We receive $3.8 billion a year, and I think that it’s time that we weaned ourselves from the remaining military support,” Netanyahu said.

“I said, ‘Let’s start now and do it over the next decade.’”

Netanyahu also warned that Israel has suffered major setbacks in the information war, blaming manipulated social media campaigns and hostile propaganda for declining support in the United States.

“We have several countries that basically manipulated social media,” he said. “And they do it in a clever way. And that’s something that has hurt us badly.”

He added: “Israel is besieged on the media front, on the propaganda front, and we’ve not done well on the propaganda war.”

“We have to fight back against these lies, this propaganda, with the only weapon we have. It’s the truth.”

Netanyahu further claimed that China provided “certain amount of support and particular components of missile manufacturing” to Iran, though he declined to elaborate further.

Discussing regional diplomacy, Netanyahu said he believes the war has actually opened new opportunities for ties between Israel and Arab states.

“I now see the possibility of the expansion and deepening of the agreements we do have into alliances with Arab states of the kind that we never even dreamed of,” he said.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

TENERIFE, Canary Islands (AP) — One the 17 American passengers evacuated from a cruise ship In the Canary Islands has tested positive for the hantavirus but is not showing any symptoms, U.S. health officials said late Sunday.

The charter flight was carrying 17 Americans evacuated off the MV Hondius following its arrival in Tenerife, the largest island in the Spanish archipelago off the West African coast. The aircraft was due to arrive in Omaha, Nebraska, early Monday.

The Americans would first be flown to the University of Nebraska, which has a federally funded quarantine facility, to assess whether they have been in close contact with any symptomatic people and their risk levels for spreading the virus.

“One passenger will be transported to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit upon arrival, while other passengers will go to the National Quarantine Unit for assessment and monitoring. The passenger who is going to the Biocontainment Unit tested positive for the virus but does not have symptoms,” said Kayla Thomas, a spokesperson for The Nebraska Medical Center.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

TENERIFE, Canary Islands (AP) — Passengers evacuated from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship began flying home Sunday aboard military and government planes after the vessel anchored in the Canary Islands, where travelers were escorted to shore by personnel in full-body protective gear and breathing masks.

Spanish passengers were the first to leave the MV Hondius following its arrival in Tenerife, the largest island in the Spanish archipelago off the West African coast. They were then flown to Madrid and taken to a military hospital. Hours later, a plane that evacuated French passengers landed in Paris, where it was met by emergency vehicles.

The planes arriving in Tenerife were to fly out passengers from more than 20 countries in an evacuation effort that was expected to last until Monday.

One of the five French passengers developed symptoms on the flight, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said in a statement, and all were put into strict isolation with plans to be tested.

Earlier, officials from the Spanish Health Ministry, the World Health Organization and the cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions had said none of the more than 140 people who were then on the Hondius had shown symptoms of the virus.

Three people have died since the outbreak began, and five passengers who left the ship earlier are infected with hantavirus.

Health officials say risk to public is low
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reiterated that the general public should not be worried about the outbreak.

“We have been repeating the same answer many times,” he said. “This is not another COVID. And the risk to the public is low. So they shouldn’t be scared, and they shouldn’t panic.”

Even so, those disembarking and workers at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife wore protective gear during the evacuation process, including hazardous-materials suits, face masks and respirators. Video obtained by The Associated Press showed passengers on the tarmac donning similar suits and being sprayed down with disinfectant.

Passengers were relieved to be on their way home, another WHO official said.

“It’s been great seeing all the buses coming out and people really happy to be on land again and being repatriated,” said Diana Rojas Alvarez, the WHO health operations lead, who is on Tenerife.

Authorities have said the disembarking passengers and crew members will be checked for symptoms and will be forbidden from having any contact with the local population. They were to be taken off the ship only when evacuation flights are ready. Tedros and Spain’s health and interior ministers are supervising the operation in Tenerife.

Hantavirus usually spreads when people inhale contaminated residue of rodent droppings, and the disease is not easily transmitted between people. But the Andes virus detected in the cruise ship outbreak may be able to spread between people in rare cases. Symptoms usually show between one and eight weeks after exposure.

Passengers and disembarking crew members left behind their luggage and were allowed to take only a small bag with essentials, a cellphone, a charger and documentation.

Some crew, as well as the body of a passenger who died on board, will remain on the ship, which will sail on to Rotterdam, Netherlands, where it will undergo disinfection, Spanish authorities said.

The journey to Rotterdam takes about five days, the cruise company said.

Passengers will be monitored
The WHO is recommending that passengers’ home countries “have active monitoring and follow-up, which means daily health checks, either at home or in a specialized facility,” said Maria van Kerkhove, the organization’s top epidemiologist.

“We are leaving this up to the countries themselves to actually develop their own policies,” she added. “But our recommendations are very clear.”

Numerous countries have said their people will be quarantined or hospitalized for observation.

In the U.K., for example, authorities have said passengers will be hospitalized for 72 hours of quarantine, followed by six weeks of self-isolation.

The French had planned a similar protocol, but after Sunday’s flight, the prime minister said the five passengers would be kept in the hospital “until further orders.”

A Dutch evacuation plane touched down Sunday evening in the Netherlands city of Eindhoven, with disembarking passengers wearing masks and carrying belongings in white plastic bags. The 26 aboard included eight Dutch citizens, as well as people from India, Germany, Argentina, Belgium, Greece, Portugal, Ukraine, Guatemala, the Philippines and Montenegro, the Dutch Foreign Ministry said.

The Dutch citizens were being taken home by medical transport and will self-quarantine for six weeks. Local health services were arranging quarantine locations for others.

The acting director of the Centers for Disease Control, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, said Americans would first be flown to the University of Nebraska, which has a federally funded quarantine facility, to assess whether they have been in close contact with any symptomatic people and their risk levels for spreading the virus.

After that, he told CNN’s “State of the Union,” they will be given the choice of staying in Nebraska or going home, where their conditions would be monitored by state and local health agencies.

He noted that seven Americans who left the cruise have been in the U.S. for roughly two weeks, and they are living across the country.

Australia is sending a plane, expected to arrive Monday, to evacuate its people and those from nearby countries, such as New Zealand, and unspecified Asian countries, said Spanish Health Minister Mónica García, who added that the evacuation flight was expected to be the last to leave Tenerife.

Norway sent an ambulance plane to the island with personnel trained to transport patients with high-risk infections, its Directorate for Civil Protection told public broadcaster NRK.

British medics parachute into remote territory
Elsewhere, British Army medics parachuted onto the remote South Atlantic territory of Tristan da Cunha, where one of the 221 residents has a suspected case of hantavirus.

The patient was a passenger on the MV Hondius and disembarked last month.

The U.K. Defense Ministry said a team of six paratroopers and two medical clinicians jumped Saturday from a Royal Air Force transport plane, which also dropped oxygen and medical equipment.

Tristan da Cunha is Britain’s most remote inhabited overseas territory, about 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) from the nearest inhabited island, St. Helena. The group of volcanic islands has no airstrip and is usually accessible only by a six-day boat voyage from Cape Town, South Africa.

Meanwhile, a Spanish woman in the southeastern province of Alicante suspected of being infected tested negative for hantavirus, Spanish health authorities said Saturday.

The woman was a passenger on the same flight as the Dutch woman who died in Johannesburg after traveling on the cruise ship.

[Video below.] Rav Aharon Teitelbaum, the Satmar Rebbe of Kiryas Yoel, delivered sharp words of criticism last week regarding what he described as the increasingly inappropriate atmosphere that has become commonplace at many contemporary weddings within the frum world, calling it “ekeldig,” or “disgusting.”

The remarks were delivered during a gathering in Williamsburg last Tuesday, where the Rebbe addressed a range of concerns affecting the broader tzibbur. A central focus of his comments was the changing style and tone of contemporary chasunos, particularly the growing dominance of nightclub-style music and behavior that many ehrliche Yidden feel has drifted far from the spirit of a traditional Jewish wedding, calling it “ekeldige negginim mit ekeldige tantzeray” (disgusting songs with disgusting dancing).

The rebbe lamented what he described as a steady erosion of the kedusha and dignity that once defined a chasunah. He expressed pain that weddings, which are meant to be sacred occasions centered around building a bayis ne’eman b’Yisroel, have increasingly become centered around spectacle and goyishe noise.

The rebbe joins the chorus of rabbonim who decry scenes now commonly witnessed at weddings, where guests dance to booming DJ-driven music that resemble secular nightlife culture far more than a traditional simcha shel mitzvah.

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}

Anti-Semitic YouTuber Tyler Oliveira is reportedly on his way to Israel aboard El Al Flight LY26, raising concern among many in the frum world following a series of highly controversial videos in which he portrayed Orthodox Jewish communities in an inflammatory and deeply negative light.

Oliveira, a YouTube personality with millions of followers, has become known for producing provocative “investigative” videos in which he enters insular or controversial communities and creates highly dramatized content built around confrontation, shock value, and controversy.

Over the past year, Oliveira sparked widespread outrage in frum communities after releasing videos focused on Orthodox Jewish populations in places such as Kiryas Joel and Lakewood. He deliberately frames frum Jews through the lens of longstanding antisemitic stereotypes while ignoring the broader reality of Torah life, family values, chessed, and community infrastructure.

Among the strongest criticisms leveled against Oliveira is that his videos focused obsessively on government assistance, poverty, large families, and political influence in a way many felt was designed to provoke hostility toward religious Jews. Community members have shown how the editing, narration, thumbnails, and titles painted frum communities as parasitic, secretive, manipulative, and alien, themes with deep historical antisemitic roots.

Oliveira selectively edits interviews and interactions to maximize controversy while minimizing nuance and context. Several people featured in the videos later claimed they were misrepresented or used to create a predetermined narrative.

The backlash intensified as antisemitic comments flooded social media platforms beneath the videos, with many commenters openly attacking Jews and repeating classic anti-Jewish tropes. Oliveira either knowingly fueled that reaction or was reckless in creating content that predictably encouraged such hostility.

Now, with Oliveira reportedly heading to Israel, concern is growing that he may attempt similar content involving chareidi neighborhoods, protests, the draft issue, poverty, or tensions between secular and religious Israelis.

NEW YORK (VINnews) – Just one week after budget carrier Spirit Airlines ceased operations, a grassroots effort launched by a TikTok creator has drawn more than $335 million in non-binding pledges from people hoping to revive the airline through public ownership.

Voice actor and social media personality Hunter Peterson sparked the movement with a viral video posted shortly after Spirit’s shutdown on May 2. In the clip, which has garnered millions of views, Peterson proposed that everyday travelers pool resources to purchase and relaunch the carrier.

“This is a genius idea: We nationalize Spirit Airlines, owned by the people,” Peterson said in the video. “Airlines gone. We make a new airline.”

Peterson, who did not initially expect the idea to gain traction, quickly launched a website — letsbuyspiritair.com — to collect pledges. As of Saturday, more than 130,000 people had participated, with an average pledge around $900 to $1,000. No money has been collected yet; the pledges serve only to demonstrate public interest.

The campaign envisions a cooperative model similar to the fan-owned Green Bay Packers, where shareholders would have equal voting rights regardless of contribution size. Peterson has emphasized that the effort began as a joke but has “rapidly [gone] out of control in the best possible way.”

Spirit Airlines, a pioneer of ultra-low-cost flights, filed for bankruptcy protection multiple times in recent years before announcing an orderly wind-down of operations earlier this month. The shutdown left thousands of passengers scrambling for rebooking options and employees out of work.

Aviation industry observers have expressed skepticism about the feasibility of a crowdfunding takeover, citing regulatory hurdles, enormous capital requirements for restarting operations and the complexities of acquiring assets from bankruptcy proceedings. Peterson has acknowledged the challenges while encouraging continued momentum to show serious public demand.

The campaign maintains official sites at letsbuyspirit.com and letsbuyspiritair.com and has active presences on TikTok and Instagram under the “Spirit Airlines 2.0” banner.

No formal bids or negotiations with Spirit’s creditors have been confirmed as of Sunday

A former US intelligence and Pentagon official warned Sunday that adversaries such as China and Russia could trigger massive economic disruption by targeting the undersea cable network that powers global communications, financial systems, and military infrastructure.

The warning comes as President Donald Trump prepares to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing for high-stakes discussions expected to center on trade, artificial intelligence, and Taiwan.

According to experts, undersea cables carry approximately 99% of the world’s data traffic and support as much as $10 trillion in global financial transactions every day.

Andrew Badger, chief strategy officer at defense technology startup Coalition Systems, said hostile nations increasingly view the ocean floor as a strategic battlefield.

“America depends on the fragile nervous system of subsea cables for modern life,” Badger told Fox News Digital before warning that U.S. adversaries “seek to turn the bottom of the ocean into a battlefield.”

Badger argued that China and Russia have invested far more heavily in offensive undersea capabilities than the United States and its allies have invested in defense.

“The asymmetric threat — China and Russia are devoting far more resources to attacking undersea infrastructure than the U.S. or its allies are to defending it,” Badger said.

According to Badger, Beijing and Moscow have identified a critical vulnerability in Western infrastructure.

“They’ve identified one of our greatest vulnerabilities, and we haven’t caught up. A coordinated strike on American undersea infrastructure could fundamentally disrupt our way of life — the internet, banking, energy markets and military communications all run through these cables. The dollar cost is almost incalculable, and the real damage would be the chaos and political instability that would follow,” he said.

His remarks came amid growing concern in Washington over the security of critical subsea infrastructure.

In April, Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen introduced bipartisan legislation known as the Strategic Subsea Cables Act of 2026, designed to improve protection and resilience for underwater cable systems.

“Undersea cables are important for a variety of reasons. They carry 99% of the world’s internet traffic. They also support $10 trillion in financial transactions each and every day,” Barrasso said in a statement.

Concerns intensified after reports emerged in April that China had successfully tested advanced deep-sea cable-cutting technology.

According to reports, China’s Ministry of Natural Resources confirmed a mission involving an “electro-hydrostatic actuator,” a device reportedly capable of severing armored submarine cables at depths of 3,500 meters.

Suspicious cable disruptions have also occurred in Europe and other regions, fueling fears of coordinated “gray-zone” operations intended to pressure Western countries while avoiding outright military confrontation.

“This is hybrid warfare in its purest form, designed to weaken the adversary below the threshold of declared war,” Badger said, noting that incidents such as anchors dragging across the seabed can provide plausible deniability.

Badger warned that the ability to damage undersea infrastructure gives America’s adversaries enormous leverage.

“Cables give Beijing and Moscow the ability to inflict devastating economic chaos almost at will,” Badger warned. “This gives both nations tremendous strategic leverage over the U.S.”

He also suggested China could potentially use attacks on American undersea infrastructure to discourage US military involvement in a Taiwan conflict.

“Beijing could simultaneously target cables landing in the U.S., not to win militarily, but with the goal of breaking the American public’s will to intervene in Taiwan,” he said.

China continues to claim Taiwan as its territory, while the United States — Taiwan’s largest unofficial ally — continues providing military assistance under longstanding US law requiring support for Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities.

The Taiwan Strait has also become increasingly critical because of its importance to the global artificial intelligence industry and related technologies.

Anniki Mikelsaar of the Oxford Internet Institute noted that expanding AI infrastructure is increasing demand on submarine cable networks worldwide.

According to Mikelsaar, growth in artificial intelligence means “rising capacity requirements on submarine cables.”

At the same time, she cautioned that not all cable disruptions are linked to hostile activity.

“Not all recent cable damage incidents can be attributed to foreign adversaries: the ICPC estimates 150 to 200 cable breaks occur per year around the globe, most of them accidents,” she said.

{Matzav.com}

A large emergency response unfolded Sunday afternoon at a home near the intersection of 17th Avenue and 55th Street after an emotionally disturbed individual barricaded himself inside the residence, prompting a heavy NYPD presence in the area.

Initial reports of a possible hostage situation drew a significant response from NYPD, FDNY, and EMS units, however authorities later determined there were no hostages involved. After tense moments at the scene, officers safely removed the individual from the home without incident or injuries.

Following the removal of the barricaded individual, NYPD conducted a precautionary search inside the residence and discovered a suspicious package. Out of an abundance of caution, the NYPD Bomb Squad was requested to the scene to conduct a thorough investigation of the item.

Sen. Lindsey Graham on Sunday called on President Donald Trump to reconsider his current approach toward Iran following reports that Tehran rejected the latest American proposal aimed at ending the war.

Responding to Trump’s Truth Social post declaring Iran’s response to the US proposal “unacceptable,” Graham said the time may have come for Washington to pursue a tougher strategy against the Islamic Republic.

“I appreciate President Trump’s earnest efforts to seek a diplomatic solution to change the behavior of the Iranian terrorist regime. However, between their constant attacks on international shipping, the persistent attacks on our Middle Eastern allies and now a totally unacceptable response to America’s diplomatic proposal, it is in my view, time to consider changing course,” Graham wrote.

The South Carolina senator also referenced “Project Freedom Plus,” the proposed expanded US maritime operation in the Strait of Hormuz that Trump delayed last week to allow negotiations with Iran to continue.

“Project Freedom Plus sounds pretty good right about now,” he added.

Later Sunday, after Iranian media reported that Tehran had officially rejected the American proposal, Graham issued another warning regarding Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

“The idea that Iran would not completely destroy all their enrichment facilities as part of a negotiated solution makes no sense. The moratorium – without complete dismantlement of the enrichment facilities and capabilities – truly becomes the JCPOA.”

“I am certain that Iran’s refusal to destroy their enrichment capability will be soundly rejected,” said Graham.

Iranian state-linked media reported Sunday night that Tehran had formally rejected the US-backed proposal intended to end the conflict.

According to the report, Iranian officials argued that “the American proposal is equivalent to a surrender by Tehran to Trump’s excessive demands.”

Earlier in the day, an Iranian official dismissed Trump’s criticism of Tehran’s response and indicated that Iran was not concerned by the president’s objections.

Speaking to the Tasnim news agency, the senior Iranian official stated, “No one in Iran drafts plans to please Trump. The negotiating team draft is solely for the rights of Iran, and naturally, it is better if Trump is dissatisfied with them.”

{Matzav.com}

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President Donald Trump on Sunday sharply criticized Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and several prominent Democratic attorneys, accusing them of attempting to influence future elections through a newly announced Democratic election task force.

In a Truth Social post, Trump reacted to Schumer’s recent announcement that Senate Democrats were assembling a legal and political operation aimed at protecting upcoming midterm elections from what Schumer described as threats posed by Trump and MAGA Republicans.

“Palestinian Chuck Schumer is hiring Eric Holder, famous for handing guns to Mexican cartels under the Barack Hussein Obama administration, as part of a Democrat-led ‘Election Integrity Group’ that will no doubt try to suppress Republican voters, and interfere in our Elections,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump also targeted Democratic attorney Marc Elias for his role in the effort.

“Furthermore, Marc Elias, a terrible lawyer with a horrible track record, is also involved,” Trump said.

Trump then revisited longstanding complaints regarding investigations connected to the 2016 election.

“This is the same disgusting individual who was responsible for the fake Russia dossier from a foreign nation to meddle in the 2016 Election, which I won in historic fashion,” he added. “The Democrats are totally unhinged and we will not allow them to threaten the integrity of our Elections.”

Schumer announced the election task force during remarks on the Senate floor last week, saying Democratic senators would work alongside Elias, former Attorney General Eric Holder, and other election lawyers in preparation for what he characterized as possible threats to future elections.

Holder served as attorney general during the Obama administration from 2009 through 2015.

Conservatives have frequently criticized Holder over the Justice Department’s “Fast and Furious” operation, an ATF gun-trafficking investigation connected to Mexican drug cartels.

Following his tenure as attorney general, Holder became chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, an organization involved in redistricting litigation and election map disputes.

Elias has emerged as one of the Democratic Party’s most prominent election attorneys and founded the Elias Law Group, which states that its mission is to help “Democrats win” and “citizens vote.”

He previously worked as general counsel for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and was linked to the financing arrangement surrounding the Steele dossier.

Trump also argued that Democrats are preparing broader election operations ahead of future races and pledged that Republicans would significantly expand their own election-integrity efforts in response.

“During my Historic Election in 2024, when I won every single Swing State, and decisively won both the Electoral and Popular votes by wide margins, the Republicans had an Election Integrity Army in every single State to preserve the sanctity of each legal vote,” Trump wrote.

Trump said Republican election-monitoring operations heading into 2026 would be even larger.

According to Trump, Republican efforts next cycle will be “much bigger and stronger,” while promising that “this Election will be fair.”

In recent years, Republicans have increasingly focused on election oversight initiatives following disputes surrounding the 2020 election. Several Trump-aligned organizations previously announced plans to deploy attorneys and volunteers across the country to monitor polling places and challenge suspected voting irregularities.

{Matzav.com}

With the New York Knicks completing a four-game sweep of the Philadelphia 76ers this afternoon, organizers of the upcoming Adirei HaTorah gathering at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia can now breathe easier, as there is no longer any possibility of a scheduling conflict with a potential 76ers playoff home game.

The Adirei event — the fifth of its kind — is scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 31, 2026, at Xfinity Mobile Arena, formerly known as the Wells Fargo Center, and concerns had lingered in recent weeks that a deep playoff run by the 76ers could potentially complicate arena availability.

Those concerns were erased today after the Knicks dismantled Philadelphia 144-114 to complete the second-round series sweep and eliminate the Sixers from the postseason.

The Knicks delivered a historic offensive performance in front of a heavily pro-New York crowd inside the Philadelphia arena, setting an NBA playoff record with 11 three-pointers in the first quarter. New York finished with 25 three-pointers overall and recorded the highest-scoring playoff game in franchise history. They will face either the Detroit Pistons or the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The New York Knicks were led by Jalen Brunson, while Deuce McBride erupted for seven three-pointers and 25 points. The Knicks advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive season.

Knicks fans once again overtook the Philadelphia arena in massive numbers, waving brooms and “Always Knicks” towels throughout the game as the Sixers’ season came to an end.

A significant number of members of the frum community were on hand at Xfinity Mobile Arena for the Knicks victory, including noted Adirei supporter and baal tzedakah Mr. Shimi Jacobovits, Owner and Principal of Censible Marketing. Other in attendance included noted music producer, composer, and arranger Matt Dubb.

Meanwhile, preparations continue for what is expected to be one of the largest Torah gatherings in North America this year. The featured guest arriving from Eretz Yisroel for Adirei HaTorah will be Rav Yitzchok Soloveitchik. The keynote address will be delivered by Rav Uri Deutsch.

Matzav.com has extensively covered each of the first four Adirei HaTorah events, publishing full reports, photographs, and detailed coverage of the gatherings, which have drawn tens of thousands in support of the lomdei Torah of Lakewood.

LOS ANGELES (VINnews) – Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt said Friday that if elected, he would give the city’s homeless population and street criminals a two- to three-week grace period to comply with new rules before launching mass arrests and clearing encampments.

Pratt, a reality television personality and political newcomer challenging incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in the June 2 primary, outlined the timeline during a campaign appearance. He described an initial phase focused on warnings and voluntary compliance.

“First 3 weeks: signups, no nakedness, no drug use, no robbing, no dog abuse,” Pratt said, according to a video clip circulated on social media. “THEN? Streets will be BACK!”

He added that his administration would warn those in encampments: “Hey, get three more weeks of this, clocks ticking.” Pratt suggested the grace period could be shortened to two weeks and that some individuals might leave the area voluntarily once aware of the new leadership.

Pratt, who has made public safety and homelessness central to his campaign, criticized current conditions in the city. “People are just living in feces and drug use and dogs burning!” he said. “We need these streets cleaned.”

He also vowed to involve the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to address what he called “medieval diseases” in the encampments, citing a lack of testing and sanitation.

“We’re going to go around, we’re going to warn everybody,” Pratt said. “The people that are aware, they may start leaving.”

Pratt has positioned himself as a tough-on-crime candidate, previously calling for zero tolerance for open-air drug use, encampments and certain crimes. He has criticized the city’s handling of homelessness, arguing it is driven largely by drug addiction rather than a lack of shelter beds.

The comments come as Los Angeles grapples with ongoing challenges of street homelessness, visible drug use and related public health and safety issues. Pratt’s campaign website and public statements emphasize clearing encampments and enforcing laws.

Pratt announced his candidacy in January, citing frustration over the city’s response to wildfires and urban decay. Polling has shown him as a competitive challenger in the nonpartisan race.

Campaign representatives did not immediately respond to a request for further comment. Bass’s office has previously defended its homelessness initiatives, pointing to billions spent on housing and services.

Iran has reportedly turned down the latest American proposal aimed at ending the war, with officials in Tehran dismissing the plan as unacceptable and accusing the United States of demanding Iran’s surrender.

According to Iran’s IRIB news agency, Iranian officials argued that “the American proposal is equivalent to a surrender by Tehran to Trump’s excessive demands.”

The rejection came after President Donald Trump publicly criticized Iran’s response to the American proposal and declared it unacceptable.

“I have just read the response from Iran’s so-called ‘Representatives.’ I don’t like it – TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP,” Trump wrote Sunday on Truth Social.

An Iranian official later responded by minimizing the significance of Trump’s criticism and insisting that Tehran’s negotiating team was not interested in satisfying the American president.

Speaking to the Tasnim news agency, the senior Iranian official stated, “No one in Iran drafts plans to please Trump. The negotiating team draft is solely for the rights of Iran, and naturally, it is better if Trump is dissatisfied with them.”

Trump’s remarks followed a separate Truth Social post earlier in the day in which he accused Iran of deceiving the United States and the international community for decades while benefiting from policies implemented during the Obama administration.

According to Trump, Iran spent 47 years “playing games” with America and “the rest of the World” while repeatedly delaying negotiations.

Trump also sharply attacked former President Barack Obama over his handling of relations with Tehran.

“He was not only good to them, he was great, actually going to their side, jettisoning Israel, and all other Allies, and giving Iran a major and very powerful new lease on life,” Trump wrote of Obama.

The president further claimed Iran received massive financial benefits from the United States during that period.

Trump alleged that Tehran obtained “Hundreds of Billions of Dollars” from the US, including “1.7 Billion Dollars in green cash, flown into Tehran.”

He added that the funds were “handed to them on a silver platter” and claimed the money arrived “in suitcases and satchels.”

“They had never seen money like this, and never will again,” Trump stated, adding that Iranian officials “finally found the greatest SUCKER of them all, in the form of a weak and stupid American President.”

Trump also accused Iran of being responsible for the deaths of Americans through roadside bomb attacks and condemned the regime for crushing internal protests and “wiping out 42,000 innocent, unarmed protestors.”

He concluded the post with a warning directed at Tehran, writing: “They will be laughing no longer!”

{Matzav.com}

In a classic case of meaning well but taking a giant misstep, President Donald Trump scheduled a national Shabbat event to celebrate American Jewish Heritage Month … on Shabbat. That means observant Jewish invitees will be unable to attend the event, which is scheduled to take place before Shabbat ends in the Indian Treaty Room, part of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

One invitee spoke to JNS about the event.

“This Shabbat is part of an initiative to promote Sabbath observance,” the invitee, who asked not to be named, said. “It’s a sad oversight that attending this event would cause someone to violate it.”

“It’s a rare misstep from the Trump administration that is usually better about including Orthodox Jews at their events,” the invitee added.

Trump called last week for national Shabbat observance from sundown May 15 to nightfall May 16 in honor of American Jewish Heritage Month and the nation’s 250th anniversary.

In his official statement, Trump referred to George Washington’s famous Letter to the Hebrews, in which he wrote to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island, “May the Children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while everyone shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid.” 

He then praised Jewish Americans for their myriad contributions to American society throughout the ages.

“In special honor of 250 glorious years of American independence and on the weekend of Rededicate 250 — a national jubilee of prayer, praise, and thanksgiving — Jewish Americans are encouraged to observe a national Sabbath,” he wrote. “From sundown on May 15 to nightfall on May 16, friends, families, and communities of all backgrounds may come together in gratitude for our great Nation. This day will recognize the sacred Jewish tradition of setting aside time for rest, reflection, and gratitude to the Almighty.”

Supporters of the initiative hope that a corrective action can be issued to remedy this rather awkward situation.

Nassau County Executive and Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman sharply criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani during a rally against antisemitism in Queens on Sunday attended by roughly 150 people.

Speaking to The New York Post at the event in Forest Hills, Blakeman accused Mamdani of making antisemitism a divisive political issue in the city.

“One of his first acts as mayor was to change the definition of antisemitism. We don’t have enough problems in the city? That was the first thing he had to do?” Blakeman said, referencing controversy surrounding the mayor’s handling of antisemitic tensions, including protests outside Park East Synagogue last week.

Blakeman then launched a broader attack on the mayor.

“He’s got a dark heart. He’s un-American and he’s antisemetic. And he’s got to change or otherwise this city will rise up against him because this is a city of good people,” the Nassau County executive said.

“This is a city of every race, religion, ethnic group. People of all abilities and lifestyles. And they should all be living together in peace and harmony. And not have a mayor that divides us.”

The rally, held at Yellowstone Park in Forest Hills, was organized in response to what organizers described as a “staggering” rise in antisemitic hate crimes in Queens.

Comedian Zach Sage-Fox, another speaker at the event, also criticized Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji, over social media activity that resurfaced earlier this year, including posts allegedly supporting Hamas following the October 7 massacre in Israel.

“I’d rather him be honest. At least his wife doesn’t play both sides. At least she says who she is. Her silence is complicity and at least we know what we’re dealing with,” Sage-Fox said.

“But no, the two-faced stuff, it’s BS and we’re not going to stand for it. We’re not going to stand for it,” he continued.

“We have a person running this city who takes no accountability for the rise of antisemitism that he helped create over his political career. I’m sorry, but it’s the truth — he’s playing both sides of the coin.”

The Rebbetzin of Hagaon Harav Moshe Hillel Hirsch shlita, Rosh Yeshivas Slabodka, has been hospitalized and is in need of rachamei Shomayim.

Harav Moshe Hillel had been scheduled to participate in Keren Olam HaTorah’s fundraising mission to Brazil and Argentina, which departed Motzaei Shabbos, but remained in Eretz Yisroel to be at his Rebbetzin’s side following her sudden hospitalization.

The mission is continuing as planned, led by Harav Yaakov Hillel, Harav Avrohom Salim, Harav Chaim Peretz Berman, Harav Malkiel Kotler, Harav Shimon Galei, and Harav Yosef Chevroni, who are traveling on behalf of the campaign to sustain the Torah world in Eretz Yisroel and fortify its yeshivos and kollelim.

The tzibbur is asked to daven for the refuah sheleimah of Avigayil Gittel bas Chaya Miriam.

Ahead of his performance at Binyanei HaUma, Shwekey appeared on the “Zman Avir” radio program hosted by Menachem Toker and spoke emotionally about returning to the country during such a sensitive period.

“To come once again to Yerushalauyim, to this holy place, and sing for all the people who have really been waiting such a long time — it’s truly going to be warm,” Shwekey said.

During the interview, Toker referenced the singer’s previous trip to Israel, when Shwekey became stranded in the country because of escalating security tensions. This time, however, the singer decided to come despite the concerns.

Shwekey said he viewed the trip as a genuine mission.

“I promised people that we would do this, and there’s a real responsibility in doing something like this,” he explained.

The singer added that during times of war and uncertainty, people need music and joy more than ever.

“We need more singing, more music, and more joy. To add morale and all these things. People are truly under tremendous pressure and stress, and music is the remedy — our remedy, spiritually as well.”

One of the more intriguing moments of the interview came when Toker raised the subject of President Donald Trump’s warm attitude toward Israel and Shabbos observance.

Toker jokingly wondered whether Trump himself may have heard Shwekey’s Shabbos songs through the singer’s popular “Project Shabbos” initiative.

Shwekey responded that he had heard from people working inside the White House that Jewish music is indeed played there.

“I actually spoke with a few people who work there… and they listen to Shabbos songs,” Shwekey said.

“There are a lot of Jews working there, so who knows,” he added.

Shwekey also said his “Project Shabbos” initiative has generated unexpected reactions around the world.

“I see with the Project Shabbos that it’s managing to accomplish things, that this is really entering every place in the world,” he said.

According to the singer, the fact that Shabbos songs are now being heard in surprising places creates a powerful feeling of Kiddush Hashem and strengthens Jewish identity and connection.

{Matzav.com}

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According to police, the suspect — described as an illegal infiltrator — was apprehended in an apartment in Yaffo following a targeted operation carried out by security forces.

The investigation was launched after multiple reports were received regarding mezuzos being removed from the doorposts of homes throughout the two cities.

Officers from the Cholon police station conducted an undercover investigation that included the use of advanced technological equipment in an effort to identify those responsible for the thefts.

As investigators gathered evidence and carried out additional investigative activity, police said they were able to uncover the suspect’s identity and locate him.

Authorities stated that at the time of the arrest, the suspect was found in possession of numerous mezuzos believed to have been torn from the doorframes of homes in Cholon and Bat Yam.

The suspect was taken to the Cholon police station for questioning as investigators continue examining whether he may have been involved in additional incidents and work to gather further evidence connected to the case.

Police said that the suspect is expected to be brought before the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, where investigators will request an extension of his detention in order to continue the investigation.

{Matzav.com}

Yechiel Leiter, Israeli ambassador to the United States, sent a sharply worded letter to several American Jewish groups that coordinated with Spain on an exhibit of Jewish life under Muslim rule in medieval Spain.

The traveling exhibit, called “The Golden Age of the Jews of Al-Andalus,” showcases the contributions of Jews to Spanish society during that period. The Spanish Embassy in Washington hosted the exhibit Wednesday.

The ambassador’s letter, obtained by the Times of Israel, excoriated the groups for working with a government that he said is spreading libelous disinformation about Israel and under whose jurisdiction antisemitism rose by 567% from 2022 to 2024.

The letter was addressed to the World Jewish Congress, the American Sephardi Federation and the Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America and represented a rare criticism from an Israeli official directed at pro-Israel groups.

Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

“As the ambassador of the State of Israel, the nation-state of the Jewish people, I found your partnership in this event both surprising and deeply disappointing given the Spanish government’s ongoing and aggressive campaign against the State of Israel and, increasingly, against the Jewish people more broadly,” Leiter wrote.

“In recent years, Spain’s leadership … has repeatedly promoted deeply hostile rhetoric toward Israel. They have leveled the libelous charges of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and starvation, against the Jewish state, while publicly calling for Israeli officials to face international prosecution,” he said.

“Against this backdrop, participation in such an event risks lending legitimacy to a government that is actively working to isolate and vilify the world’s only Jewish state,” he added.

“I have no doubt that the rise of antisemitism is also of deep concern to you, and it is
precisely for that reason that I am writing to you. At this critical time in Israel’s history, the Jewish
people must stand shoulder to shoulder. We all bear a responsibility to speak clearly and
unapologetically against campaigns aimed at delegitimizing Israel and Jewish people,” he concluded.

The Jewish groups pushed back, expressing disappointment with Leiter’s tone and saying that disengagement is not the solution. The WJC also expressed a willingness to meet with Leiter to discuss the matter further.

“We were somewhat surprised by both the tone and framing of your message, particularly given the longstanding and constructive relationship between the World Jewish Congress and Israeli institutions and embassies around the world,” the WJC said in a letter also obtained by the Times of Israel.

“At a time of widespread ignorance about Jewish history and identity, such initiatives are very necessary,” the group explained. “We are fully aware of the difficult environment currently facing Jewish communities in Spain, including rising antisemitism and deeply concerning rhetoric by members of the Spanish government toward Israel,” the response read.

“We have a duty to protect and strengthen Jewish life wherever it exists,” the letter added. “That requires maintaining dialogue with institutions and interlocutors willing to contribute meaningfully to Jewish life, Jewish visibility, and the fight against antisemitism in their respective countries.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that negotiations involving Iran’s enriched nuclear material fell apart after the United States allegedly reversed an earlier understanding and insisted the material be transferred exclusively to American control rather than Russia.

Speaking at a lengthy press conference in the Kremlin following Russia’s Victory Day commemorations in Moscow, Putin described the failed discussions as a lost diplomatic opportunity that could have eased tensions surrounding Iran’s nuclear program and the broader crisis in the Persian Gulf.

During the exchange with reporters, Putin disclosed what he described as previously undisclosed details about negotiations involving Iran, Israel, Russia, and the United States.

“We didn’t just propose it; we already did it once, in 2015,” Putin said.

According to Putin, Russia had previously handled transfers tied to the international nuclear agreement with Iran and had earned Tehran’s trust in the process.

“Iran trusts us completely … and it has good reason to trust us, because, firstly, we’ve never violated any agreements.”

Putin said that during the latest round of discussions, all sides initially supported the idea of sending Iran’s enriched nuclear material to Russia.

“And initially, and this is sort of a secret, everyone agreed — representatives of the United States agreed, Iran agreed, Israel agreed,” Putin told the press about more recent negotiations.

He claimed the negotiations later collapsed after Washington toughened its demands and insisted the material be transferred only to the United States.

According to Putin, “the United States hardened its position and demanded that the uranium be transported only to the United States.”

Putin said Iran subsequently withdrew support for exporting the material overseas.

The Russian president said former Iranian official Ali Larijani later informed Moscow that Tehran no longer backed the plan to transfer the uranium abroad.

Instead, Putin said Iran proposed “creating a joint venture, but on Iranian territory, and diluting the uranium together there.”

Putin stated that Russia remained willing to accept that compromise if it helped reduce regional tensions.

He said Moscow responded to Tehran by saying: “Go ahead, we’re not against it. The main thing is that this defuses the situation.”

At the same time, Putin indicated he doubted the revised proposal would be accepted by either Washington or Jerusalem, describing the negotiations as having reached “a dead end.”

Despite Putin’s comments, a source within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government reportedly told Newsmax that Israel still supports the concept of transferring Iran’s nuclear material to Russia provided international inspection safeguards are included.

Putin argued that the Russian proposal would have ensured transparency through international supervision by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“Everyone would see what it is, how much of it, and where it is,” Putin said. “Secondly, it would all be placed under IAEA control.”

He also said the process of diluting the uranium would have remained under international oversight as well.

According to Putin, “the work of liquefying this uranium would also be organized under IAEA control and would be transparent and safe.”

The Russian leader additionally defended Iran against accusations that it is actively pursuing nuclear weapons capability.

Putin asserted that “the IAEA has never said that there’s evidence that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons,” while also citing religious rulings issued by Iranian leaders opposing nuclear weapons development.

Throughout the press conference, Putin repeatedly portrayed Russia as acting primarily as a mediator attempting to lower tensions rather than seeking strategic advantage in the region.

“We simply want to make some small contribution, if it suits everyone, to defusing the situation,” he said.

Although the negotiations failed, Putin maintained that a diplomatic breakthrough remains achievable.

He insisted that “compromises are possible” and said Russia would back “any solution that will break this deadlock and make it possible to move toward a peaceful resolution.”

Putin’s remarks came amid continued tensions across the Persian Gulf tied to Iran’s nuclear activities and ongoing instability throughout the Middle East.

The Russian president warned that any further escalation would ultimately harm all sides involved and argued that there were “no longer any interested parties in continuing this standoff.”

Saturday’s press conference followed Russia’s annual Victory Day celebrations commemorating the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. This year’s events were noticeably reduced in scale because of ongoing security concerns linked to the war in Ukraine.

{Matzav.com}

Although I don’t work with couples in therapy, I do work with individuals on their marriage. Couples work focuses on the relationship. Individual marital work focuses on where the relationship resides- in you. In your feelings, thoughts, beliefs, perceptions.

A practical difference between couples therapy and individual work on a marriage is that couples therapy requires full participation from both partners. Individual marital work only requires you. If you change where the relationship resides, the relationship changes by itself. (This is not applicable to abusive relationships.)

This article is the first in a series on many things you can do on your own to create a real change in your marriage. The first step is a detox from all the problems.

The One Month Marriage Detox

The way you think about your spouse will determine the quality of the marriage and your own well being. We have an inborn fault finding system hardwired into us. Neuroscience calls it the “negativity bias.” We are biased towards noticing problems and flaws. That has its advantages in certain areas of life, but not in relationships.

In marriage, the negativity bias helps you notice everything you don’t like about your spouse. It can destroy your love, attraction, respect and sense of connection. The more you indulge the negativity bias, the more it blinds you to seeing the good in your spouse, until you can see no good at all.

What do you think a marriage looks like when each spouse only sees the flaws in the other? Besides being a miserable experience, it also precludes any change in those flaws. No one wants to change for someone who looks down on them, doesn’t appreciate them, and only sees their flaws. On the contrary, the more you find fault, the worse the faults will get. It becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

Warmth, love, appreciation and respect are the fuel of change, not the result of change. Change in a relationship can happen when the feeling in the relationship is “I love you, can you do this for me?”, not, “I can’t stand you. If you change, then I’ll love you.”

Here’s how a marriage detox looks. For one month, you temporarily pause trying to solve any marriage problems. You also do your best to stop thinking about the problems as well. When your spouse upsets you in the moment, allow yourself to feel upset but then move on without “hashing it out” or stewing in it. Instead, for one month, intentionally look for and notice what you like, respect, and appreciate about your spouse. It might be their smile. Their sense of humor. Maybe it’s how they do certain things for you. What a good mother/father they are. When you notice something, allow yourself to savor the good feeling it gives you. If you look, you will find lots of things that make you feel good.

It’s important to note that this detox is intended primarily for your benefit, not your spouse’s. You don’t need to voice these positive observations to your spouse. The noticing helps to wean you off the negativity bias and rewires your brain to make you feel happier in general and with your spouse. When you feel happier as an individual and more positive towards your spouse, the relationship will automatically feel good and that leads to changes in other areas as well.

At the end of the month you may find that a few amazing things happened:

1.You and your spouse feel more loving, appreciative and happier with each other. Lots of what you thought were big issues may have disappeared. Many of the issues may not have been a big deal. The negativity bias loves drama. It makes a mountain out of a molehill.

2. The marriage is now ripe for more growth in the areas that need change. By detoxing from the negativity bias, you have cultivated the feeling of “I love you, can you do this for me?”. That feeling is the fuel of change.

_______________________________

Chaim Moshe Steinmetz LISW is a psychotherapist in private practice and provides in person and telehealth therapy for a variety of issues. Visit Chaimmoshesteinmetz.com to get a free guide to “ Amino Acid Therapy for rapid relief of Anxiety, Insomnia and Stress”

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran sent its response to the latest U.S. ceasefire proposal via Pakistani mediators and wants negotiations to focus on permanently ending the war, but President Donald Trump quickly rejected it as “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” with no details.

Iran seeks to end the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon, where Israel is fighting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, and to ensure the security of shipping, state TV said. Washington’s latest proposal addressed a deal to end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and roll back Iran’s nuclear program.

Trump earlier on social media accused Tehran of “playing games” with the United States for nearly 50 years, adding: “They will be laughing no longer!”

Trump is giving diplomacy “every chance we possibly can before going back to hostilities,” the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, told ABC earlier.

Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen or heard publicly since the war began, “issued new and decisive directives for the continuation of operations and the powerful confrontation with the enemies” while meeting with the head of the joint military command, the state broadcaster reported, with no details.

Drone attacks target Gulf Arab nations
The fragile ceasefire was tested when a drone ignited a small fire on a ship off Qatar and the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait reported drones entering their airspace. The UAE said it shot down two drones and blamed Iran. No casualties were reported, and no one immediately claimed responsibility.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry called the ship attack a “dangerous and unacceptable escalation that threatens the security and safety of maritime trade routes and vital supplies in the region.” The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center gave no details about the ship’s owner or origin.

Kuwait Defense Ministry spokesperson Brig. Gen. Saud Abdulaziz Al Otaibi said forces responded to drones but did not say where they came from.

Iran and armed allied groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon have used drones to carry out hundreds of strikes since the war began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Feb. 28.

Iran says it’s on ‘full readiness’ to protect nuclear sites
Trump has reiterated threats to resume full-scale bombing if Iran does not accept an agreement to reopen the strait and roll back its nuclear program. Iran has largely blocked the strategic waterway that’s key to the global flow of oil, natural gas and fertilizer since the war began, rattling world markets.

The U.S. military in turn has blockaded Iranian ports since April 13, saying it has turned back 61 commercial vessels and disabled four. On Friday, it struck two Iranian oil tankers it said were trying to breach the blockade. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard navy says any attack on Iranian oil tankers or commercial vessels would be met with a “heavy assault” on U.S. bases in the region and enemy ships.

Another sticking point in negotiations is Iran’s highly enriched uranium. The U.N. nuclear agency says Iran has more than 440 kilograms (970 pounds) enriched up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons grade.

In an interview posted late Saturday, an Iranian military spokesperson said forces were on “full readiness” to protect sites where uranium is stored.

“We considered it possible that they might intend to steal it through infiltration operations or heli-borne operations,” Brig. Gen. Akrami Nia told the IRNA news agency.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an excerpt of an interview with CBS airing Sunday said the war isn’t over because the enriched uranium needs to be taken out of Iran. “Trump has said to me, ‘I want to go in there,’ and I think it can be done physically,” he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that Moscow’s proposal to take enriched uranium from Iran to help negotiate a settlement remains on the table.

The majority of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is likely at its Isfahan nuclear complex, the International Atomic Energy Agency director-general told The Associated Press last month. The facility was hit by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes in the 12-day war last year and faced less intense attacks this year.

Iran warns against French-British effort in the strait
Iran’s deputy foreign minister warned against a planned French-British effort that aims to support maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz after hostilities are over.

“The presence of French and British vessels, or those of any other country, for any possible cooperation with illegal U.S. actions in the Strait of Hormuz that violate international law will be met with a decisive and immediate response from the armed forces,” Kazem Gharibabadi said on social media.

French President Emmanuel Macron responded by saying it won’t be a military deployment but an international mission to secure shipping once conditions allow.

Several attacks against ships in the Persian Gulf have occurred over the past week, and a U.S. effort to “guide” ships through the strait was quickly paused.

South Korea announced initial findings from an investigation that said two unidentified objects struck the South Korean-operated vessel HMM NAMU about one minute apart while it was anchored in the strait last week, causing an explosion and fire. A foreign ministry spokesperson said officials have yet to determine who was responsible.

The body of one of the soldiers who went missing during the multi-national joint military “African Lion” exercise in Morocco was recovered at 8:55 a.m. Saturday, the Army said in a statement, identifying the soldier as Lamont Key Jr.

Key was one of a group of soldiers who went on a hike May 2 to watch the sunset. A soldier who could not swim fell from an ocean cliff into the water. Another soldier jumped in to rescue him but was hit by a wave. A third soldier leaped in but was unable to retrieve either man, managing to struggle back to shore unharmed. It’s unclear whether Key is the soldier who couldn’t swim or the one who made the rescue attempt.

Army officials said the search for the second missing soldier will continue, focusing on the area where Key’s body was found but also including a wider perimeter.

This unverified photo purports to show soldiers participating in an African Lion exercise. (From a post on X)

The 27-year-old soldier had joined the Army in 2023, after graduating from Methodist University in North Carolina with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and minors in international business, entrepreneurship and business administration, according to the Army. He joined his battalion in 2025, quickly rising through the ranks to become a platoon leader, and was described as selfless, caring and inspirational by his leadership, winning several awards for his service, including the Army Achievement Medal and Army Service Ribbon.

The Richmond, Virginia, native served as an air defense artillery officer with the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command.  He “embodied the highest standards of service as a selfless, inspirational leader whose unwavering dedication to his soldiers and their development leaves an enduring legacy within our ranks,” said Lt. Col. Chris Couch, commander of 5-4 ADAR. 

Key’s colleagues were “grieving” and would “continue to support one another” as well as the soldier’s family “as we honor his life and service,” said Brigadier Gen. Curtis King, commanding general of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command.

Key is survived by his parents, sister and brother-in-law.

Senior officials within the Israeli chareidi parties are privately acknowledging that legislation regulating the status of yeshiva students and the draft law will likely not pass during the current Knesset term, according to conversations ahead of the opening of the Knesset summer session.

The upcoming summer session is widely viewed as the final realistic opportunity to pass the controversial legislation before Israel enters another election period.

“We failed in our central mission in the Knesset,” one senior chareidi party leader reportedly admitted during a private conversation over the weekend.

Another senior chareidi official said the parties remain deeply dissatisfied with the current wording of the proposed law and expressed serious doubt that it can advance in the present political climate.

“We are not at peace with the wording of the draft law, and it is difficult to see it passing during the current term,” the official said.

According to the report, much of the internal hesitation stems from objections to comments and revisions proposed by the Knesset’s legal advisers.

“The comments are unacceptable to us, so passing a law without any legal support could end up causing more harm than good,” the official added.

The report said the chareidi factions are now facing a critical decision regarding whether to continue pushing the legislation or postpone the battle until after the next elections.

As previously reported, Shas and Degel HaTorah are expected to decide in the coming days how to proceed regarding legislation regulating the status of yeshiva bochurim, with only a few months remaining before the likely collapse of the current coalition and the start of a new election campaign.

Officials in Shas reportedly continue supporting efforts to advance the legislation and are waiting for a final decision from Degel HaTorah. According to the report, the parties previously agreed that any move on the issue would only proceed in full coordination between the chareidi factions.

A senior Degel HaTorah official said a ruling from Rav Dov Landau could arrive within the next day or sometime this week.

At the center of the discussions are three possible paths forward.

The first option would involve accepting the demands and revisions proposed by the Knesset’s legal advisers, including stricter provisions and changes to the bill’s language.

A second option would be to pass the legislation without legal backing, despite fears that the courts could immediately freeze or strike down the law through injunctions and judicial intervention.

The third possibility would be abandoning efforts to pass the law during the current Knesset altogether and postponing the issue until after the next elections, in hopes that a future right-wing coalition would have stronger political leverage.

Another senior chareidi source involved in the draft-law negotiations said that the legislation currently lacks sufficient parliamentary support to pass.

“The law will not pass. It is not acceptable to us, but mainly because it does not have a majority in the Knesset. That is the truth. It will not have a majority during the final months of this term,” the source said.

The Knesset summer session, which opens this week, is expected to be the final opportunity to advance the legislation before Israel shifts fully into election mode.

{Matzav.com}

President Trump tells Barak Ravid in a phone call Sunday afternoo. that he “doesn’t like” Iran’s latest response to the draft agreement, calling it “inappropriate.”

Trump added that he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this evening and briefly discussed the Iranian reply.

“It was a very nice conversation. We have a good relationship, but this is my matter, not anyone else’s,” Trump said regarding the Iran negotiations.

Rav Ezriel Auerbach, noted posek and rov of Kehillas Chanichei Hayeshivos of Bayit Vegan in Yerushalayim, is currently on a visit to the United States.

Rav Auerbach spent this past Shabbos, Parshas Behar-Bechukosai, where he was hosted at the home of Reb Mendel Tress on New Central Avenue. Friday night, the public was invited to join Rav Auerbach at an oneg Shabbos held at the home of his hosts.

This morning, Rav Auerbach delivered divrei hisorerus at the Lutzk Bais Medrash in Lakewood.

{Matzav.com}

Jews and non-Jewish allies poured into Downing Street en masse — up to 20,000 of them, according to some estimates — to protest near the residence of Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the alarming spike in antisemitic incidents over the past two years.

The protest followed the torching of Jewish ambulances; several arson attacks against synagogues, Jewish institutions and businesses; and assaults such as a recent stabbing in the Golders Green neighborhood in London that sent two men to the hospital.

The protesters were joined by political and religious leaders representing the full mosaic of British religious life: Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Zoroastrian, Hindu and Sikh. Participants carried British and Israeli flags as well as Iranian flags to protest the government’s poor response to Iran’s brutal January crackdown on protests that saw the murder of tens of thousands of Iranians.

Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservative Party, vowed to fight antisemitism. (From a post on X)

The speakers featured an all-star cast of Britain’s top leaders, beginning with the chief rabbi of Great Britain, Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis.

“It is unacceptable that poisonous antisemitism has become normalized in the UK,” Mirvis said.

Kemi Badenoch, leader of the U.K. Conservative Party, vowed to confront antisemitism, an issue she has made a cornerstone of her platform. She has called the recent attacks a “national emergency” and compared the current climate in Britain to the 1930s.

“The people who want us to be afraid must never be allowed to win,” she said, vowing to fight for “a Britain where Jews can go to school and worship freely.”

The deputy leader of Reform U.K., Richard Tice, was initially booed, but in the end his words were enthusiastically received.

Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey and deputy leader of Reform U.K. Richard Tice also spoke but were initially greeted with boos. Nevertheless, the crowd appreciated what they had to say in the end.

Jewish leaders pulled no punches in speeches slamming the rising tide of hatred that has swept over Britain’s Jewish community.

“If this were any other country, there would be a national outrage,” said Saul Taylor, president of the United Synagogue. “Where are the Jewish Lives Matter marches? Where is the so-called anti-racist movement? As we know only too well, Jews don’t seem to count.”

Noting that British Jews had been living in the country for 370 years, he added, “we are not going anywhere. We are, and we always have been, proud British Jews, and we do not want to leave. We will not be beaten.”

In a stinging rebuke to British society, he said that the £1 million a year his synagogue spends on security is “a tax on being Jewish in Britain.”

Gideon Falter, CEO of Campaign Against Antisemitism, coined the term “Britifada” in his equally harsh remarks against the increase in Jew hatred.

“When Jews are murdered at synagogue on Yom Kippur, that is what the Britifada looks like,” he said. “When Jews are stabbed at the bus stops in Golders Green, that is what the Britifada looks like. Shame!”

Actor Paul Cox pointed out in an X post the notable absence of certain groups at the rally.

“At today’s Downing Street rally against antisemitism, the ‘stand up to racism’, ‘hope not hate’ and ‘anti-racism’ cohort were very much conspicuous by their absence,” he wrote. “I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it’s as if their values are selective.”

Lakewood resident Avrohom Moshe ben Rivka is in very serious condition, and the family has requested TLS publicize this so the Tzibur can be Mispallel.

Moshe was scheduled to undergo a procedure, but during the operation, he ran into serious complications, leaving him in very serious condition.

An emergency surgery is scheduled to take place Monday morning.

The family requests all be Mispallel for Avrohom Moshe ben Rivka.

(VINnews) – Abraham Foxman, the longtime national director of the Anti-Defamation League who became one of the most recognizable voices combating antisemitism and extremism in America, has died at the age of 86.

Foxman led the ADL from 1987 until stepping down in 2015, later serving as national director emeritus. He was succeeded by Jonathan Greenblatt.

Born May 1, 1940, in what is now Belarus, Foxman survived the Holocaust after his parents entrusted him to the care of his Polish Catholic nanny in an effort to save his life during World War II. He was reunited with his parents in 1944, and the family immigrated to the United States in 1950.

After graduating from New York University School of Law, Foxman joined the ADL and rose through the organization’s ranks before becoming national director.

Under his leadership, the ADL expanded its role as one of the nation’s leading organizations tracking hate groups, antisemitism and extremism.

Following his retirement, Foxman served from 2016 to 2021 as vice chair of the board of trustees of Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York.

His funeral is scheduled for Tuesday morning and will be livestreamed.

Police classified a protest Sunday as a public disturbance and ordered demonstrators to clear out as Haredi protesters came out in force to decry the arrest of a draft dodger, blocking the Jerusalem light rail.

Police clear protesters blocking the light rail at a previous protest late last week. (From a post on X)

After protesters reportedly refused to comply, Israel Police officers from the Jerusalem District and Border Police officers attempted to clear the area and restore order.

One man was arrested for disturbing public order, according to police, who said that they would do nothing to impede the free expression of speech and legal protests but would not allow the “blatant violation of public order” that disrupts freedom of movement.

Sunday’s protest followed several others last week, in which police used water cannons, at times filled with blue dye, to disperse the protesters.

By Y.M. Lowy

As temperatures start climbing across New York City, mosquito season is quickly settling in with the familiar buzzing and itchy bites many residents know too well.

A new study from Terminix, a nationwide pest control company that tracks service data across the country, ranks New York City as the worst city in the U.S. for mosquitoes in 2025. The ranking is based on actual service calls and activity reported by its local branches.

Warm weather, high humidity, and standing water create the perfect conditions for mosquitoes to breed. New York State as a whole also ranked eighth nationwide.

Health officials continue to monitor the situation closely. The New York City Department of Health carries out routine spraying across the boroughs each year to reduce the risk of West Nile virus. In 2025 alone, over 1,000 mosquito samples in the city tested positive for the virus.

West Nile virus spreads through infected mosquito bites. Most cases are mild, but symptoms can include fever, headaches, body aches, fatigue, and in some cases stomach issues or rash.

Mosquito season in New York City typically runs from April 1 through October 31, meaning this is just the beginning of what could be a long and uncomfortable stretch.

photo: Shutterstock

After nearly a decade of requests from Jewish communities across the United States, the former chief rabbi of Israel, Rav Yitzchok Yosef, concluded a major and historic visit to communities and Torah institutions throughout California, Texas, and New Jersey.

The trip began last Wednesday at the invitation of rabbonim and community leaders who asked the rav to deliver Torah shiurim in kollelim, strengthen yeshivos and בתי מדרש, and inspire Jewish communities during the ongoing war in Eretz Yisroel.

Upon arriving in Los Angeles, Rav Yitzchok was greeted at the airport by leading rabbonim and dayanim of the city, including Rav Yehuda Moshe and Rav Moshe Norola, together with Israel’s consul general in California, Israel Bachar.

Immediately after landing, the rav joined a large ציבור for Shacharis and afterward encouraged organizers of a special weekly Torah program for professionals throughout Los Angeles, including attorneys, doctors, and other working individuals who dedicate Wednesdays to Torah study and shiurim. Rav Yitzchok emphasized the importance of kevias ittim laTorah.

Later, the Rishon Letzion visited the Or Eliyahu school headed by Rav Goldberg, where he addressed hundreds of students studying in a unique framework that combines prominent local families together with kiruv-oriented families.

That afternoon, Rav Yitzchok delivered an in-depth shiur iyun at the central Los Angeles kollel led by Rav Shmuel Pasman. Speaking before hundreds of avreichim, he spent an extended period analyzing the sugya of tartei l’reiusa in Maseches Niddah, which is currently being studied in the kollel.

That evening, the rav visited the Beis Aharon kehillah led by Rav Moshe Norola. Following a large reception attended by hundreds of community families, Rav Yitzchok spoke for more than an hour, delivering divrei aggadah, kiruv, chizuk, and practical halachic guidance regarding Hilchos Brachos and Sefiras HaOmer.

On Thursday morning, the Rishon Letzion davened at the Shuva Yisroel community led by Rav Shmuel Laniado. The community regularly broadcasts Rav Yitzchok’s weekly shiur from the Yazdim Shul in Yerushalayim.

Following davening, Rav Yitzchok delivered a shiur on Hilchos Basar B’Chalav and encouraged the ציבור to strengthen their observance in those areas.

The rav later made an emotional visit to the Maimonides school in Los Angeles, which serves approximately 1,000 students. In honor of the visit, local organizers closed nearby streets and arranged an elaborate reception as Rav Yitzchok walked through long rows of students accompanied by live music.

Afterward, the Rishon Letzion visited the Beis Yaakov seminary, where he spoke about the importance of building a Torah home and establishing a life centered around Torah learning and kevias ittim.

That evening, Rav Yitzchok delivered another major shiur chizuk in the Valley neighborhood at a community led by Rav Shimon Gabai, which includes hundreds of Israeli families.

One of the central events of the visit took place at a gathering organized by the Israeli Consulate in California under the leadership of Consul General Israel Bachar. Thousands attended the event, including prominent members of the local community and civic leaders, as Rav Yitzchok spoke extensively about the many miracles experienced by Israel during the war and stressed the merit of Torah learners in bringing about those ניסים.

The Rishon Letzion spent Shabbos with the Magen David kehillah led by Rav Yehuda Moshe, where thousands participated throughout the special Shabbos gathering. The main sanctuary could not contain the crowds, forcing organizers to open additional halls for the tefillos and events.

Throughout Shabbos, Rav Yitzchok delivered multiple shmuessen and divrei chizuk. The main shiur on Shabbos afternoon drew extraordinary crowds, with longtime residents of Los Angeles reportedly saying they had not seen anything similar since Rav Ovadia Yosef’s visit to the city roughly 50 years earlier.

On Sunday morning, the rav visited the central Los Angeles yeshiva gedolah and delivered a lengthy shiur klali filled with deep pilpula d’Oraisa. Participants described an atmosphere of intense rischa d’Oraisa among the talmidim and roshei yeshiva.

On Monday, Erev Lag B’Omer, Rav Yitzchok visited several additional educational institutions, including a major Talmud Torah and girls’ school led by Rav Dovid Zargari, who has spent decades building Torah institutions in the city.

As sunset approached, the Rishon Letzion headed to the week’s central event — a massive citywide Lag B’Omer gathering and hadlakah organized jointly for the first time by all the major communities in Los Angeles. Thousands attended the gathering in honor of the special day.

Rav Yitzchok spoke passionately about the importance of achdus among Klal Yisroel and the need to strengthen Torah and halachah study. The evening also included a Siyum HaZohar led by Rav Yair Chodorov before the Rishon Letzion conducted the central hadlakah amid singing and dancing by the massive crowd.

The following day, Rav Yitzchok traveled to Dallas, Texas, at the invitation of local community organizations and the iConnect organization led by Rav Yitzchok Chazan. Organizers described the visit as an effort to recreate the historic trip made by Rav Ovadia Yosef to Dallas in 1976.

That evening, thousands of local residents — men, women, and children — gathered together with the rabbonim and dayanim of Dallas to hear Rav Yitzchok’s keynote address, which continued late into the night.

During his remarks, the rav stressed the importance of building strong religious infrastructure throughout the region, preserving the integrity of Jewish life, and combating assimilation through increased Torah learning, Torah classes, and kiruv activities.

The next day, Rav Yitzchok visited numerous schools throughout the city and encouraged educators to continue bringing Jewish children from public schools into Jewish educational institutions.

“Upon your shoulders rests the future of the next generation,” the Rishon Letzion told the educational staff.

Throughout the entire trip, and due to ongoing security concerns, Rav Yitzchok traveled with a high-level security convoy typically reserved for senior government officials.

At the conclusion of the visit, the rav traveled to New Jersey, where he delivered a shiur at a local yeshiva gedolah, participated in Shacharis, and later gave another shiur at Congregation Adas Israel before returning to Israel.

NEW YORK (VINnews) – Jewish communities across the United States, particularly in New York City, remain on edge following a tense protest outside a historic Manhattan synagogue and fresh acts of vandalism, as a new report highlights 2025 as one of the most violent years for American Jews since the Anti-Defamation League began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979.

The ADL released its annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents on Wednesday, documenting 6,274 cases of harassment, vandalism and assault nationwide last year — a 33% drop from the record high in 2024 but still the third-highest total on record. While overall incidents declined, physical assaults reached a historic peak of 203, a 4% increase, with attacks involving deadly weapons rising 39%. The report also noted antisemitic fatalities for the first time since 2019.

“2025 marked one of the most violent periods for American Jews,” the ADL stated, with incidents averaging 17 per day. New York led the nation with 1,160 incidents, followed by California and New Jersey. New York City alone accounted for 860 cases, concentrated in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

The audit’s release coincided with two high-profile incidents in New York this week. On Tuesday evening, anti-Israel protesters clashed with police outside Park East Synagogue on the Upper East Side during a demonstration against a real estate event promoting properties in Israel. Witnesses and video footage showed protesters shouting antisemitic insults, including slurs and violent threats, as they tried to disrupt access to the building.

The protest came one day after vandals defaced two Queens synagogues and nearby Jewish homes with swastikas and pro-Hitler graffiti. NYPD officers are investigating the incidents, which have drawn condemnation from local leaders.

Jewish residents and communal leaders expressed heightened anxiety amid the events. Many described a persistent climate of fear, with synagogues, schools and public spaces remaining potential targets even as some campus-related incidents have decreased.

The ADL noted a sharp 66% drop in antisemitic incidents on college campuses in 2025 compared to 2024, attributing part of the national decline to reduced protest activity. However, assaults in New York State rose 10% to 90 cases.

Community advocates called for stronger law enforcement responses and federal protections for houses of worship. The report underscores that antisemitic violence persists at elevated levels more than two years after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel.

VINnews will continue to monitor developments as Jewish organizations urge vigilance and reporting of incidents to authorities and the ADL.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir warned the Knesset once again that the IDF faces a manpower shortage and desperately needs new recruits amid a multi-front war and fierce Haredi opposition to the draft.

In a closed-door session of the Knesset Sunday, the IDF chief told lawmakers that “I am not dealing with political or legislative processes — I am dealing with multifront warfare and defeating the enemy.”

“In order to continue to do that, the IDF needs more soldiers immediately,” he said.

Zamir recommended moving forward with three-part legislation.

First, he said that mandatory service, which was shortened to 30 months in August 2024, should be lengthened to 36 months.

“Shortening regular service… will cause an unreasonable burden on the reserves. There are urgent security needs,” he said, explaining that the first group under the new law shortening service is eligible to be relieved of duty in January 2027, worsening the shortage.

Haredim protest the arrest of draft dodgers on May 7. (From a post on X)

Second, he suggested lengthening reserve service as well, based on need.

Third, he recommended advancing legislation to increase conscription, with a focus on the ultra-Orthodox sector.

The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee says its goal is, in theory, to “regulate the status of full-time yeshiva students while recognizing the importance of Torah study,” but, in practice, it provides exemptions to full-time yeshiva students while conscripting those no longer studying. In addition, it has removed sanctions on draft evaders when they turn 26 and dropped a provision to monitor yeshiva students to ensure they are still studying.

The IDF says it needs 12,000 new recruits to relieve the strain on those serving for prolonged periods, with 80,000 Haredi men ages 18 to 24 believed to be eligible.

Zamir previously warned about the manpower shortage, saying in March that the system would collapse without a surge of fresh recruits. At the time he also recommended the extension of mandatory service and changing legislation to allow for more Haredi conscription.

President Donald Trump has increasingly been asking advisers and friends a question that is fueling Republican speculation about 2028: “What do you think? JD or Marco?”

According to several people close to Trump, the president has repeatedly asked which of the two – Vice President JD Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio – they prefer as a future presidential nominee. Trump has also joked that the two should run together on the same ticket in 2028.

Trump advisers insist the president is simply entertaining himself and is not focused on the next election. Still, both men have taken on larger public roles ahead of the midterms, drawing growing attention inside the Republican Party.

This week, Rubio appeared in the White House briefing room answering questions about the Iran war before heading to Italy, where he met Pope Leo XIV and presented him with a crystal football. “Wow, OK,” Leo said to Rubio after receiving the gift. Rubio also met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and is expected to accompany Trump on a trip to China.

At the same time, Vance traveled to Iowa to campaign for Rep. Zach Nunn, where he sharply criticized Democrats while reflecting on his own political evolution.

“It’s heartbreaking for a kid who came from a union Democrat family to realize that Democrats these days, they seem to care more about gender transition than they do about you keeping more of your hard-earned money,” Vance said.

The pair’s high-profile appearances have intensified speculation over whether Rubio could eventually challenge Vance for the Republican nomination. People close to both men say they are friends and do not want to appear to be rivals, though many acknowledge it is still far too early to know how the race will unfold.

“They both appreciate the moment, right?” Sen. Eric Schmitt said. “This is a historic comeback by a president who was out of office, who came back, and a unique coalition that, you know, brought that to be.”

He added: “I think that drives them to work together in addition to their kind of personal friendship.”

Rubio’s allies argue his broad appeal and visibility could help expand Trump’s coalition beyond the president’s core base. Republican pollster Whit Ayres said Rubio is capable of reaching Republicans who supported Trump without being deeply enthusiastic about him.

“He is a politician who could appeal to a whole lot of Republicans who went along with Trump but weren’t overly enthusiastic about him,” Ayres said.

Rubio himself has previously ruled out challenging Vance if the vice president runs.

“If JD Vance runs for president, he’s going to be our nominee, and I’ll be one of the first people to support him,” Rubio told Vanity Fair last year.

Even so, Vance is widely viewed as the current front-runner for the GOP nomination due to his close ties to Trump’s political base and growing influence inside the Republican National Committee.

“The logistical upper hand that JD has cannot be understated,” former Trump press secretary Sean Spicer said.

Still, political challenges remain for both men, particularly over the unpopular Iran war and concerns about the economy. During his Iowa visit, Vance acknowledged that two Iowans were killed in an Iranian drone strike on a military base in Kuwait earlier this year.

“We have to make this country worthy of that sacrifice,” Vance said.

Some Republicans also note that Trump himself could complicate any future presidential race, given his dominant role inside the party.

“The president understandably expects full loyalty from a vice president,” said Marc Short, former chief of staff to Mike Pence. “But in my experience he doesn’t really set up his vice president for political success afterwards.”

A massive gold-colored statue of President Donald Trump was formally unveiled at Trump National Doral Miami during a ceremony led by Evangelical pastor Mark Burns.

The towering monument, standing 22 feet high, was installed among palm trees on the grounds of Trump’s golf resort in Doral, Florida.

The sculpture portrays Trump raising his fist in the air, mirroring the gesture he made after surviving the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.

During the unveiling ceremony, the statue remained covered in flowing white and blue fabric. Several dozen attendees sat nearby as Burns addressed the crowd from a podium.

“Today at Trump National Doral Miami, we witnessed an unforgettable moment,” Burns wrote on social media before emphasizing that the gilded effigy was not a false idol.

“Let me be clear: this is not a golden calf,” he said. “This statue is a celebration of life. It is a symbol of resilience, freedom, patriotism, strength, and the will power to keep fighting for the future of America.”

Burns, who has previously spoken publicly about his belief that Trump was chosen by God, said the monument also serves as a reminder that divine protection has preserved the president through multiple assassination attempts.

At one stage of the event, Burns held his phone to the microphone so attendees could hear remarks from Trump himself.

“I want to thank Mark Burns, a pastor, he’s a good pastor, he’s a good man,” Trump said. “I’ve known him a long time, he’s been with me from the beginning, right from the beginning, maybe about two days later.”

“I want to thank everybody there,” he added. “I know it was done from love.”

The bronze statue itself measures roughly 15 feet and sits atop a 7-foot pedestal.

{Matzav.com}

The BMG administration tells TLS (TheLakewoodScoop.com) that Rav Uri Deutsch Shlita, Rav of Forest Park, Lakewood, will serve as the keynote speaker at the upcoming 2026 Adirei HaTorah event.

The event, which is expected to draw tens of thousands in celebration of support for lomdei Torah, is scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 31, 2026, at the Xfinity Mobile Arena — formerly known as the Wells Fargo Center.

Organizers said extensive efforts were made over the past several days to secure a larger venue in light of overwhelming public demand, however, FIFA-related restrictions and venue control surrounding upcoming World Cup events made it impossible to secure a larger location for this year’s ma’amad.

At the same time, Adirei HaTorah organizers said they continue to work closely with the Wells Fargo Center to secure additional seating at the current venue. Organizers noted that donors will receive first rights to any additional seats that become available.

Adirei HaTorah has rapidly become one of the largest Torah gatherings in the United States, bringing together participants from across the country for an evening dedicated to honoring Torah.

PRINCETON, N.J. (VINnews) — Dr. Adam Hamawy, a plastic surgeon and Democratic candidate for Congress who has made opposition to Israel a centerpiece of his campaign, is charging his own congressional bid $7,900 a month for office space at his medical practice.

Federal Election Commission filings show Hamawy’s campaign has already paid the first month’s rent to Princeton Plastic Surgeons, the practice state business records identify him as sole owner. Additional payments are scheduled in the months ahead, a campaign spokesperson confirmed to Jewish Insider.

“We would much rather be spending this money on paid media, literature, or anything else, but we are running a grassroots campaign in one of the most expensive real estate markets in America, and a space for our volunteers to gather and organize is crucial,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Hamawy, an Iraq War veteran seeking to replace retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) in the state’s 12th Congressional District, has positioned sharp criticism of Israel as a core element of his platform. He has described Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide” and accused the Jewish state of practicing “apartheid” in the West Bank, based on two medical missions he undertook there in 2024 and 2025.

“In 2024 and 2025, I went on medical missions to Gaza. While bombs were falling, I treated patients,” Hamawy has stated. “In three weeks, I treated more children than I have in all other warzones, combined… What I witnessed was a genocide, paid for with American tax dollars.”

Key elements of his foreign policy platform include:

Immediate cutoff of all U.S. military aid and arms sales to Israel.

Opposition to funding Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, which he has said insulates Israel from “having to make decisions to make peace.”

Support for Palestinian “Right of Return” under international law.

Broader calls to slash Pentagon spending and redirect funds to domestic priorities such as Medicare for All.

Hamawy has rejected support from pro-Israel groups including AIPAC and has received endorsements from progressive and pro-Palestine organizations such as Justice Democrats, PAL PAC, CAIR Action and AJP Action. His campaign website and social media emphasize the theme “healthcare not bombs,” framing U.S. support for Israel as coming at the expense of American domestic needs.

Hamawy’s Princeton Plastic Surgeons practice offers cosmetic procedures including Brazilian butt lifts, hair transplants and post-pregnancy “mommy makeovers.”

Campaign finance regulations generally permit candidates to rent space from their own businesses if the rate reflects fair market value and is properly disclosed. The arrangement has nonetheless drawn attention given the self-dealing aspect and the candidate’s reliance on grassroots funding claims.

The June 2, 2026 Democratic primary in New Jersey’s 12th District is expected to feature multiple candidates.

(AP) – The National Transportation Safety Board on Sunday said it is gathering information about the evacuation of a Frontier Airlines plane after it hit and killed a person on the runway at Denver International Airport during takeoff.

The plane, on route from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport, “reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11:19 p.m. on Friday,” according to a post on the airport’s official X account.

Passengers were evacuated via slides, and the emergency crew bused them to the terminal. An airport spokesperson said 12 passengers suffered minor injuries and five were taken to hospitals. The spokesperson did not provide details on how the passengers were injured. But some people on board expressed concern about the evacuation, including being stuck in the plane for several minutes as smoke filled the cabin and left on the tarmac in the cold once they were out.

“We are gathering information about the emergency evacuation to determine if it meets criteria for a safety investigation,” NTSB spokesperson Sarah Taylor Sulick said early Sunday, adding that the agency might have more details in a few hours.

Frontier Airlines didn’t respond early Sunday to a request for information about the evacuation.

The pedestrian, who authorities have still not identified, was hit two minutes after two minutes after jumping the fence and crossing the runway. The person is not believed to be an airport employee.

“We’re stopping on the runway,” the pilot tells the control tower according to the site ATC.com. “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”

The pilot tells the air traffic controller they have “231 souls” on board and that an “individual was walking across the runway.”

The air traffic controller responds that they are “rolling the trucks now” before the pilot tells the tower they “have smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.”

Frontier Airlines said in a statement that flight 4345 was the one involved in the collision and that “smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff.” It was not clear whether the smoke was linked to the collision.

The airline said the plane was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members.

“We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities,” the airline said.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a post on X that the person “breached airport security at Denver Int’l Airport, deliberately scaled a perimeter fence, and ran out onto a runway.”

He added: “No one should EVER trespass on an airport.”

The incident came a day after a Delta Air Lines employee was killed while on the job at the Orlando International Airport. In a statement, the airline said the employee was killed Thursday night without providing details of the incident or the name of the employee.

“We are focused on extending our full support to family and taking care of our Orlando team during this difficult time,” the airline said. “We are working with local authorities as a full investigation gets underway to determine what occurred.”

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is fighting for his job after devastating local election results for his Labour Party spurred dozens of lawmakers to call for his resignation.

Starmer plans to use a speech on Monday to argue that he can change tack and revive his government’s fortunes. But his position is fragile as rivals weigh their options. One lawmaker, Catherine West, said she will try to trigger a leadership contest if she doesn’t like what she hears in the speech.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, often seen as a potential challenger, said the party “needs to change,” though she did not explicitly call for Starmer to go.

She said “the prime minister must now meet the moment and set out the change our country needs.”

Starmer is trying to regain momentum after heavy losses for his center-left party in local elections across England and legislative votes in Scotland and Wales. Last week’s elections were widely seen as an unofficial referendum on Starmer, whose popularity has plummeted since he swept to power in a landslide less than two years ago.

His government has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living, and been hamstrung by repeated missteps and policy U-turns on issues including welfare reform. He has been further hurt by his disastrous decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as Britain’s ambassador to Washington.

Last week’s elections saw Labour squeezed from both right and left, losing votes to both the anti-immigration Reform UK and the “eco-populist” Green Party. It reflects the increasing fragmentation of British politics, long dominated by Labour and the Conservatives.

Still, Starmer told The Observer newspaper on Sunday that he wants to remain in office for a decade. He’s pinning his hopes on Monday’s speech and an ambitious set of legislative plans to be set out in a speech Wednesday by King Charles III at the State Opening of Parliament.

A key policy is closer ties with the European Union, which the United Kingdom left in 2020, four years after the “leave” side narrowly won a membership referendum. Starmer’s government has already moved to ease some of the trade restrictions that have burdened British businesses since Brexit, and he says he will secure a youth mobility deal so young people can spend a few years working across the continent.

“Brexit has held back our young people,” Starmer told The Observer, adding that “we have to be closer to Europe.”

Labour campaigned to stay in the EU during the 2016 referendum campaign, but has been reluctant to reopen a debate that bitterly divided the country. Starmer has ruled out seeking to reenter the EU, or to rejoin the EU’s customs union or single market, two things that would make a big difference to U.K. businesses.

Starmer’s future hangs in the balance
None of the high-profile Labour politicians considered potential challengers to Starmer — including Rayner, Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham — has called for him to resign.

But a growing number of Labour lawmakers urged the prime minister to set a timetable for his departure. British politics allows parties to change leader midterm without the need for a new election.

Josh Simons, a formerly loyal Labour lawmaker, wrote in the Times of London that Starmer “has lost the country” and “should take control of the situation by overseeing an orderly transition to a new prime minister.”

West, a former junior minister, is trying to hurry the process along, vowing to try to trigger a leadership contest unless Starmer delivers a barnstorming speech on Monday. West acknowledged she does not have the support of 81 colleagues, needed to force a contest, and her move appeared to be an attempt to force more high-profile contenders to make a move.

“Working people sent us a message,” West said. “We have to listen to that, and we have to change and we have to do it quickly.”

YS GOLD 

We regret to inform you of the passing of Reb Tzvi (Hershel) Melzer, the eldest Bobover chossid in the world, and a role model to scores of chassidim. He was 104, and with his passing, the Bobover chassidus has lost the last of its centenarians. 

The niftar was born in the town of Kshanov, to a family of Radomsker chassidim. After he endured the horrors of the war, in which he lost most of his family, he connected with the Bobover Rov, and remained within the chassidus for the ensuing eight decades. 

He raised a beautiful Torah family, and leaves behind a legacy of chassidus and yiras Shomayim. 

The levaya took place at the Bobover shul this morning, and kevurah will be in the Bobover beis hachaim in Deans, New Jersey. 

Yehi zichro baruch.

Ukraine is dramatically increasing production of unmanned ground vehicles as the country pushes to shift dangerous front-line logistics and evacuation work away from soldiers and toward robotic systems.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said it intends to sign contracts for 25,000 unmanned ground vehicles during the first half of 2026, a sharp increase from previous years as Kyiv accelerates its investment in battlefield automation.

Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced the initiative after discussions with domestic defense manufacturers, describing the effort as part of a broader strategy to have robots eventually carry out all front-line resupply operations.

In an April 18 Facebook post, Fedorov wrote that “UGVs perform important logistics and evacuation tasks on the front line” and revealed that Ukrainian troops completed more than 9,000 robotic missions during March alone.

The ministry has now established a goal of making robotic systems responsible for 100% of front-line logistics missions, marking a major shift from traditional manned supply operations that have become increasingly vulnerable to Russian drone surveillance and attacks.

The planned procurement would represent a major jump from earlier production levels. Ukraine aimed for 15,000 ground robots in 2025 after managing to field only several hundred units in 2024.

According to Ukrainian officials, the Defense Procurement Agency has already finalized 19 agreements totaling 11 billion hryvnias, or approximately $250 million. Authorities have also started arranging contracts extending into 2027 in an effort to provide manufacturers with longer-term production stability.

Ukraine recently approved one of its newest robotic systems, the Bizon-L, under NATO cataloging procedures. The robot, capable of carrying payloads weighing up to 300 kilograms across distances of 50 kilometers, was formally cleared on April 23 for use by Ukrainian and allied forces.

Officials say NATO standardization could eventually allow the system to be exported and integrated with partner militaries.

The unmanned vehicles are designed for a range of battlefield tasks, including transporting ammunition, evacuating wounded troops, laying mines, and even participating directly in combat operations.

Ukrainian forces have reportedly experimented with mounting RPG-7 grenade launchers onto robotic platforms. Ukrainian media reports also described at least one machine-gun-equipped ground robot that allegedly maintained an infantry position by itself for roughly six weeks.

President Volodymyr Zelensky highlighted the expanding use of robotic systems during an April 14 speech marking Arms Makers’ Day. Zelensky said Ukrainian units conducted more than 22,000 unmanned missions over the previous three months and unveiled a goal of producing 50,000 ground robots during 2026.

Ukraine’s defense-tech sector has rapidly expanded since the war began. Officials say the number of companies involved in ground drone production has grown from none in 2022 to approximately 300 firms operating under Brave1, a state-supported military technology initiative focused on grants and battlefield testing.

The Defense Ministry has also introduced a digital procurement platform that allows military units to place direct orders with more than 280 domestic defense manufacturers.

Despite the rapid growth, significant obstacles remain.

A Ukrainian developer identified as “Flash” told Euromaidan Press that communications systems — rather than the robots themselves — remain the biggest challenge limiting large-scale deployment. According to the developer, electronic warfare continues disrupting the control signals needed to operate the vehicles effectively on the battlefield.

Ukrainian engineers are continuing work aimed at improving communications reliability, signal protection, and the overall survivability of the robotic systems under combat conditions.

{Matzav.com}

Gallery includes: Rachmastrivka, Hagoen Reb Binyamin Eisenberger, Zidichoiv Beer Sheva, Boyan America Rav, Bluzhev Ribatitch, Faltishan, Loyev Chernobile, Linz, Liska, Semihei.

photos: Avrumi Berger.

Howell Fire District #4 and the Ramtown Fire Company recently placed an order for a new Pierce Enforcer 100′ Ascendant Aerial Tower Ladder to add to their fleet.

Tower ladders gives firefighters an advantage of being above a fire on a stable platform to assess changing fire conditions below among many other capabilities.

The new truck is not expected to be delivered for at least a year.

By Y.M. Lowy

Monday will be cooler with a high of 60 and a low of 47. Expect cloudy skies, breezy conditions, rain in the morning, and a few more showers later in the day.

Tuesday will be brighter with a high of 62 and a low of 50. Mostly sunny skies and a light breeze should make for a more comfortable day.

Wednesday will be mostly cloudy with a high of 59 and a low of 52. A little rain is possible in the morning, with a few more showers later on.

Thursday will be a bit milder with a high of 62 and a low of 51. Clouds stick around, though conditions look calmer overall.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is continuing to exert major influence over Tehran’s military and diplomatic strategy despite serious injuries suffered during the war, according to multiple people familiar with US intelligence assessments.

The reports mark one of the clearest indications yet from American intelligence sources that the 56-year-old cleric remains deeply involved in directing Iran’s response to the conflict and ongoing negotiations with the United States.

Sources familiar with the intelligence told CNN that Khamenei has been overseeing discussions tied to cease-fire efforts and talks involving the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz while operating from an undisclosed location.

According to those reports, Khamenei suffered severe physical injuries during US and Israeli strikes earlier in the war, including the loss of a leg and extensive disfigurement.

Despite those injuries, individuals close to his inner circle have reportedly described him as remaining mentally alert and actively engaged in high-level decision-making involving senior figures in the Islamic Republic.

The younger Khamenei has not appeared publicly or delivered any televised remarks since taking over leadership following the appointment as successor to his father in March.

Iranian state media has only broadcast written statements attributed to him three times since he assumed power.

Iranian officials, however, are rejecting reports suggesting the country’s new supreme leader remains in poor physical condition.

Khamenei “is now in complete health,” Mazaher Hosseini, head of protocol in the office of Iran’s supreme leader, said Friday.

“Thank God, he is in good health,” Hosseini told an Iranian crowd.

“The enemy is spreading all kinds of rumors and false claims. … He will speak to you when the time is right.”

Hosseini acknowledged that Khamenei had sustained injuries, saying “a small piece of shrapnel had hit him behind the ear,” while insisting the ayatollah is recovering well.

American intelligence sources, however, reportedly believe Khamenei suffered far more serious wounds, including severe burns affecting parts of his face, torso, arm, and one leg.

The reports also indicate that Khamenei has sharply limited his communications in an effort to avoid detection. He is reportedly avoiding electronic devices entirely and communicating either face to face with trusted officials or through handwritten and courier-delivered messages.

Although Khamenei is said to remain heavily involved in shaping Iran’s broader wartime strategy and negotiations, officials within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are believed to be overseeing much of the government’s day-to-day operational management inside Tehran.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Thursday that he recently held a lengthy in-person meeting with Khamenei, marking what appeared to be the first publicly reported direct encounter with the country’s ruler since the war began.

“What struck me most during this meeting was the vision and the humble and sincere approach of the supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution,” Pezeshkian gushed, according to Iranian state media.

{Matzav.com}

Tel Aviv, Israel (AP) — Israel deported two activists on Sunday after being detained for slightly over a week for leading an aid flotilla attempting to break the Israeli naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.

The two, Spanish-Swedish citizen of Palestinian origin Saif Abukeshek and Brazilian citizen Thiago Ávila, were among dozens of activists intercepted by the Israeli navy off the coast of Crete. Both are members of the Global Sumud Flotilla’s steering committee, whose mission is to break Israel’s naval blockade and bring some humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry called the two activists in a post on X on Sunday “professional provocateurs,” saying ”Israel will not allow any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza.”

At the time of the arrest, Israeli authorities said the two had been detained for questioning, and that Abukeshek was “suspected of affiliation with a terrorist organization” and Ávila was “suspected of illegal activity,” without providing evidence. No formal charges have been publicized against the two, the last activists who were held in Israel.

Spain and Brazil have condemned“the kidnapping of two of their citizens in international waters by the Government of Israel” in a joint statement at the time. The two activists’ detention sparked solidarity protests in several countries.

After arriving in Athens, Abukeshek insisted that he would continue protesting Israel’s blockade of Gaza and what he said was the mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israel.

“We have to continue mobilizing. We can’t forget the Palestinian prisoners,” he said in a video comment posted on the Global Sumud Flotilla’s X account.

In all, 22 boats and 175 activists were intercepted by the Israeli navy. Activists said Israeli forces stormed their vessels, smashed engines and detained some of those onboard. The incident occurred hundreds of miles (kilometers) from Gaza and Israel overnight from Wednesday to Thursday.

Israeli officials said they needed to take early action against the flotilla before it reached Israeli waters because of the high number of boats involved.

The flotilla’s latest attempt to reach Gaza comes less than a year after Israeli authorities foiled a previous effort by the group. That attempt involved about 50 vessels and around 500 activists, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela, and several lawmakers.

Israel arrested, detained and later deported the participants, including Ávila, who claimed Israeli authorities abused them while in detention. Israeli authorities denied the accusations.

A criminal complaint has been filed in Zurich against several mohelim, alleging “dangerous conduct involving infants,” raising fresh concerns within European Jewish communities over growing legal scrutiny surrounding bris milah.

According to reports in Switzerland, the public prosecutor’s office in Zurich is now reviewing allegations of possible bodily harm tied to bris milah procedures.

The complaint was reportedly filed by a Jew with a history of antagonizing and provoking Jewish kehillos in Europe, who previously launched similar legal actions in Vienna and Antwerp — cases that ultimately led to criminal proceedings and convictions. Jewish leaders fear the new case in Switzerland could become another major legal battle over religious freedom and bris milah in Europe.

The complaint claims that some brissim are allegedly being performed by individuals without formal medical certification and under conditions that do not meet hygiene standards.

“These procedures are sometimes performed by people without medical training and in unhygienic basement conditions,” the complainant alleged. “These practices have nothing to do with religious bris milah of any kind.”

The filing also calls for investigations into hospital and intensive care admissions to determine how many infants allegedly required medical treatment following a bris.

The Zurich case comes amid a broader controversy across Europe regarding regulation of mohelim and religious bris milah.

As previously reported, prosecutors in Belgium filed indictments against mohelim in Antwerp following raids last year tied to allegations that brissim were being performed without official government certification. During that investigation, police reportedly confiscated milah knives and demanded lists of children who underwent the procedures.

The Antwerp case sparked outrage within the Jewish community and even led to diplomatic tensions.

In February, U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Bill White sharply criticized the Belgian legal proceedings, calling them a serious infringement on religious freedom for Jews in the country.

White directly appealed to Belgian Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke, urging Belgium to establish legal protections allowing Jewish mohelim to continue performing brissim lawfully. He argued that bris milah is practiced “throughout the civilized world” and that Belgium must safeguard religious liberty for Jewish families.

Belgian officials rejected accusations of religious persecution, insisting the issue is not opposition to bris milah itself, but rather enforcement of national medical and health standards.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever recently acknowledged that bris milah is essential to both Judaism and Islam, while also emphasizing that health regulations must be upheld, saying authorities must find a balance between the two.

Jewish communities across Europe now fear the Zurich complaint could encourage additional countries to tighten oversight and restrictions on mohelim, placing one of Judaism’s most fundamental mitzvos at the center of an escalating legal and political battle over religious freedom in Europe.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

NEW YORK (VINnews) — An Orthodox Jewish family from Long Island is suing Uber, alleging the ride-share company failed to enforce its own safety policies for underage riders before their 16-year-old daughter was allegedly sexually assaulted in Brooklyn by a man she met through Snapchat.

According to court papers published by the NY Post, the teenager left her Nassau County home in March and entered an Uber allegedly ordered by the suspect. The lawsuit claims the driver failed to verify the girl’s age or deny her the ride, despite Uber’s policy prohibiting riders under 18 from traveling alone unless they use a designated teen account. The family also alleges the driver dropped the teenager off in Brooklyn without confirming she was safe or accompanied by a guardian.

Authorities said the suspect, identified as 26-year-old Ralfy Figueroa, had communicated with the girl online for several months before the alleged attack. Prosecutors said Figueroa threatened the teenager and her family if she refused to meet him. After the girl entered his vehicle, prosecutors allege he sexually assaulted her and recorded the encounter.

Court documents state the suspect later arranged another Uber ride to send the girl home and allegedly canceled the trip after she entered the vehicle. The lawsuit accuses Uber of negligence and claims the company failed to properly enforce safeguards designed to prevent minors from riding alone.

Figueroa was arrested and charged with first-degree rape. He has pleaded not guilty and was being held at Rikers Island on $100,000 bail, according to court records. Prosecutors also said he had previously been participating in an alternative-to-incarceration program tied to a narcotics case and could face additional prison time if that agreement is revoked.

The teenager’s family said she suffered severe emotional trauma and is receiving treatment at an out-of-state mental health facility. Uber called the allegations “incredibly distressing” and said drivers are encouraged to cancel rides involving unaccompanied minors who do not have teen accounts.

Approximately 100 JCP&L customers remain without power this morning after a vehicle struck a utility pole, resulting in a fire which caused power outage in the surrounding area.

Route 9 remains closed between Chestnut Street and Yale Drive and drivers are advised to avoid the area and seek alternate routes.

Jersey Central Power & Light said it expects power to be restored by early this afternoon.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that he believes the war in Ukraine could soon conclude, offering some of his most optimistic remarks yet about the conflict as diplomatic efforts continue behind the scenes.

“I think that the matter is coming to an end,” Putin told reporters inside the Kremlin while discussing the nearly four-year war.

The Russian leader indicated that the United States has shown interest in helping mediate a resolution, describing Washington in unusually warm terms during his remarks.

Putin referred to the US as a “partner” and “friend,” grouping it together with countries such as China and India while discussing international involvement in the conflict.

“Clearly, they have no need for this conflict, as they have many other priorities,” he said.

“But this is, first and foremost, a matter for Russia and Ukraine.”

Putin also addressed the possibility of face-to-face talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying he would agree to a meeting in a neutral location only after all major terms of a peace arrangement are finalized.

“This must be the final step, not some negotiations,” Putin said, according to state-run TASS news agency.

“I have never refused” to meet Zelensky, he claimed. “I am not proposing this meeting, but if someone proposes it, then let them come. Whoever wants to meet should come to Moscow, and we will meet.”

During his comments, Putin also criticized Western governments, accusing “globalist” leaders of breaking promises made after the collapse of the Berlin Wall by allowing NATO to continue expanding eastward and drawing Ukraine closer to the alliance.

The remarks came shortly after Russia concluded its annual Victory Day observances commemorating the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. This year’s events unfolded alongside a temporary three-day cease-fire between Russian and Ukrainian forces that was facilitated by Washington.

President Donald Trump expressed hope that the pause in fighting could help move the war toward a conclusion.

“Hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard fought War,” President Trump posted on Truth Social.

Trump also said the United States is prepared to dispatch senior officials to Moscow as part of renewed efforts to push negotiations forward.

“I would very much like to see the end of the conflict,” Trump told reporters during a press gaggle near the White House Saturday.

Despite the latest optimism, major disagreements remain unresolved. Negotiators are still divided over the future status and control of the disputed Donbas region, which continues to be one of the biggest obstacles to a broader settlement.

{Matzav.com}

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Chaos erupted last night outside the Yerushalayim residence of Brisk rosh yeshiva Rav Avrohom Yehoshua Soloveitchik after an individual allegedly released pepper spray and other irritants as hundreds of bochurim arrived for the rosh yeshiva’s weekly Chumash shiur, forcing the gathering to be canceled.

Witnesses said numerous participants began coughing and choking after the substance was sprayed in the stairwell of the building on Rechov Gesher Hachaim in the Mekor Boruch neighborhood.

According to attendees, the disturbance did not end there. The suspect allegedly sprayed additional gas toward the residence itself and hurled garbage and liquids onto the balcony of the home where the shiur was scheduled to take place.

Volunteers and participants distributed water and attempted to calm the situation as the effects of the spray slowly wore off. Despite those efforts, the disruption was severe enough that the weekly shiur could not proceed.

Those familiar with the situation said that the individual is a neighborhood resident who has repeatedly objected to the large crowds that gather each week for the shiur. They claimed that previous understandings had already been arranged, including the use of a separate private entrance to minimize disturbances, but alleged that the resident has continued to threaten and disrupt the gatherings periodically.

{Matzav.com}

NEW YORK (VINnews) — Elon Musk is setting another ambitious goal in the field of brain implants, claiming that as early as next year it may be possible to restore basic vision to blind people through a direct connection between a camera and the brain’s visual processing centers. According to a media report, the project has received accelerated status from U.S. authorities and is designed to convert digital information into electrical signals that the brain can interpret as images.

Unlike medical approaches that attempt to repair the retina or optic nerve, the technology being developed by Neuralink aims to bypass the eye entirely. Users would wear glasses equipped with a camera that captures the surroundings and processes the information in real time. The data would then be translated into electrical signals delivered to electrodes implanted in the brain’s visual region.

These signals are intended to create tiny flashes of light in the brain, known as phosphene perceptions. They would not provide full natural vision, but could allow recognition of outlines, movement, objects, and changes in lighting. For someone living without sight, even such limited capability could dramatically improve spatial navigation and orientation.

The main engineering challenge is inserting extremely thin electrodes into brain tissue without causing damage. According to the report, Neuralink’s solution relies on a highly precise surgical robot that inserts microscopic threads while tracking brain movement and blood vessels. The goal is to reduce the risk of bleeding, scarring, or tissue damage.

At the initial stage, the artificial vision is expected to be very basic and low-resolution, far from the natural experience of human eyesight. However, the long-term potential is much broader. Once visual information is transmitted directly to the brain, it could theoretically become possible in the future to develop abilities beyond ordinary human vision, such as detecting heat, infrared, or additional frequencies.

The timelines presented by Elon Musk are considered extremely ambitious, as has often been the case with his previous ventures. Still, the very shift from repairing the eye to transmitting information directly into the brain marks a dramatic technological direction: not merely an attempt to restore lost ability, but a future possibility of bypassing the limits of human biology altogether.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff met with Qatari’s prime minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, Saturday in Miami.

The prime minister first met with Vice President J.D. Vance in Washington, D.C., then, instead of returning to Doha as planned, flew to Miami, where he called Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister to discuss the status of the negotiations. He then met with Rubio and Witkoff to discuss the so-called one-page memo that constitutes the U.S. proposal to Iran.

The U.S. proposal calls for a permanent end to the war and the reopening the Strait of Hormuz while postponing talks on Iran’s nuclear program, similar to a previous Iranian proposal.

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani. (Photo by Karim Jaafar/AFP via Getty Images)

Although Pakistan has officially been brokering the talks, Qatar has worked behind the scenes to move the process along. The United States sees Qatar as a key player in the negotiations.

Sources said that Arab allies, including Qatar, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, are pushing for a memorandum of understanding to end the war.

“The mediators are urging both parties to de-escalate and focus on getting a deal.”

Tehran sent Washington its response Sunday, but the details of that response have not yet been disclosed.