“OUTRAGEOUS”: 9/11 Families Pack NYC Court as Saudi Arabia Fights to Avoid Trial Over Alleged Aid to Hijackers

Nearly 100 relatives of those murdered on Sept. 11, 2001, packed a federal appeals courtroom in lower Manhattan on Wednesday as Saudi Arabia sought to overturn a ruling that could finally force the kingdom to face trial over allegations that its government agents helped support some of the Al Qaeda hijackers.

The emotional hearing before the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unfolded only blocks from Ground Zero, with families who have spent more than two decades pursuing the case watching as lawyers for Saudi Arabia again argued that the kingdom should be shielded from the lawsuit.

“It’s outrageous, after seeing the evidence of the direct link between the Saudi government agents and hijackers, for them to continue denying their culpability,” said Terry Strada, whose husband, Tom, was killed in the attacks.

“We’re hoping to finally see justice,” added Lisa Friedman, whose husband, Andrew, was killed on Sept. 11.

The dispute before the appeals court stems from a major August 2025 ruling by U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels, who rejected Saudi Arabia’s renewed attempt to have the case dismissed. Daniels found that the families had produced “reasonable evidence” concerning the alleged roles of Saudi nationals Omar al-Bayoumi and Fahad al-Thumairy in assisting two of the hijackers, Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar, after they arrived in the United States.

The ruling did not find Saudi Arabia liable for the attacks. Rather, it rejected the kingdom’s effort to end the case before trial, concluding that the evidence was sufficient for the litigation to move forward. Saudi Arabia appealed that decision, setting up Wednesday’s hearing.

The kingdom has repeatedly and emphatically denied any involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks, maintaining that it neither knew about the plot beforehand nor supported Al Qaeda. Saudi Arabia has also argued that it is protected from the lawsuit by the doctrine of foreign sovereign immunity.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has never supported its enemy, Al Qaeda, against its ally, the United States,” Gregory Rapawy, an attorney representing Saudi Arabia, told the court during the roughly 90-minute hearing.

The families contend that Congress substantially changed the legal landscape in 2016 with passage of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, known as JASTA, which created an exception to sovereign immunity for certain claims involving acts of international terrorism committed on American soil.

Gavin Simpson, an attorney representing the Sept. 11 families, argued that Saudi Arabia had “failed” to establish that it was entitled to be dismissed from the litigation.

When Simpson completed his presentation, several family members sitting in the gallery broke into applause, prompting Circuit Judge William Nardini to intervene.

“Please, this is not a moment for such things,” Nardini told the courtroom.

The long-running litigation, first brought more than two decades ago, focuses heavily on al-Bayoumi, a Saudi national who was living in California before the attacks. The families allege that he was connected to Saudi intelligence and provided critical assistance to al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar, two of the eventual hijackers.

Among other things, al-Bayoumi helped the men find housing in the San Diego area after their arrival in California and assisted them as they settled into the United States. Plaintiffs have also pointed to his contacts with Saudi officials and other evidence they say undermines his longstanding contention that his encounter with the future hijackers was innocent.

More recent evidence has intensified scrutiny of al-Bayoumi. A video recovered by British authorities shows him filming the U.S. Capitol in 1999 while discussing aspects of the building and its surroundings. Lawyers for the families have argued that the footage shows al-Bayoumi “casing” the Capitol, while Saudi Arabia has disputed that characterization and maintained that the video was innocuous.

Investigators also recovered a drawing of an airplane in one of al-Bayoumi’s notebooks, accompanied by mathematical calculations. The families have cited expert analysis they say indicates that the calculations related to the trajectory of an aircraft toward a target. Saudi lawyers have offered a far more benign explanation, arguing that the sketch was connected to al-Bayoumi helping his son with schoolwork.

The FBI has also described al-Bayoumi in declassified material as an operative of Saudi intelligence, while al-Bayoumi has denied being a spy. He is believed to be living in Saudi Arabia.

Thumairy, the other Saudi national at the center of the lower court ruling, served as an imam at the King Fahad Mosque in Culver City, California, and was also employed by the Saudi government. The families allege that he and al-Bayoumi formed part of a network that assisted the hijackers after they reached the United States.

Daniels wrote in his 2025 decision that Saudi Arabia had failed to provide sufficient evidence overcoming the inferences raised by the plaintiffs regarding the two men’s activities. His ruling cleared a major legal hurdle that had kept the case from reaching trial for years.

Fifteen of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers were Saudi nationals. Saudi Arabia has consistently denied that its government had any role in planning or facilitating the attacks, which killed 2,977 people at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and aboard the four hijacked aircraft.

Outside the courthouse Wednesday, the frustration among families extended beyond Riyadh. Several relatives called on President Trump to become personally involved and pressure Saudi Arabia to address the allegations against it.

“We’re all fed up. And it’s time that the president defended us,” said Aaron Sand, whose father, Eric, was killed when the Twin Towers were attacked.

“President Trump, I love ya, but you are not doing enough,” Sand added. “You have to prioritize the family members who were harmed, who lost loved ones because of this nation that claims to be an ally but is very much proving the opposite.”

Brett Eagleson, president of 9/11 Justice, said families were exhausted by the years they have spent traveling to hearings and fighting to keep the case alive.

“Every single one of us is sick and tired of coming here and having to miss birthdays, anniversaries, special events, being with family, but we have to be in Washington. We have to be in New York City. We have to be fighting the Saudi government, who refuses to accept accountability,” Eagleson said.

“Saudi Arabia has spent years trying to avoid answering for what its own agents did in the lead-up to 9/11,” Eagleson added. “A federal judge has already reviewed the evidence and ruled that this case belongs in an American courtroom. We are asking the Second Circuit to uphold that decision so the families who have waited a quarter of a century can finally have their day in court.”

The families are also continuing to seek government records they believe could shed additional light on Saudi contacts and activities in the period before the attacks. Some relatives have accused the U.S. government of keeping relevant material secret even as the country marked the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11 last month.

Victims’ relatives traveled from across the country for Wednesday’s arguments. Among them was Steve Milam, who flew to New York from Dallas. His brother, U.S. Army Major Ron Milam, was killed in the attack on the Pentagon.

“I’m just hoping the judges will see that it is necessary in order to help the families in their healing process that Saudi Arabia be held liable for the tragic loss of our loved ones,” Milam said.

The three-judge panel — Nardini and Circuit Judges Guido Calabresi and Eunice Lee — questioned lawyers for both sides but gave no clear indication of how it would rule. The court is expected to issue its decision in writing at a later date.

{Matzav.com}

A well-known chassidishe photographer has decided to disconnect from WhatsApp and switch to a kosher phone after hearing a powerful message from the Sanzer Rebbe during Hakafos Shniyos.

Photographer Moshe Goldstein said he made the decision after hearing his Rebbe speak about the use of technological devices and the impact they can have on a person’s life and home.

Goldstein explained that the decision was not an easy one, particularly because WhatsApp has become an important part of his livelihood as a professional photographer.

The Sanzer Rebbe promised a happier life to those willing to give up the technological tools he had addressed. The message struck Goldstein deeply enough that he decided to act on it immediately despite the professional inconvenience involved.

“It’s difficult for me,” Goldstein admitted, explaining that WhatsApp is a tool he regularly uses for his parnassah.

Asked how he would now send photographs to members of the media and others who need his work, Goldstein said he intends to return to a simpler method: email.

“You can live calmly with email, and also see that there are children at home,” he said.

Despite the challenges the move may create in his photography work, Goldstein said he is determined to follow through with the decision he made after hearing the Sanzer Rebbe’s words.

{Matzav.com}

Three years after the Oct. 7 massacre, the international activist network behind the Gaza flotilla joined by Greta Thunberg is turning its attention to Yehuda and Shomron, recruiting foreign activists to participate in the upcoming Palestinian olive harvest.

According to Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Ministry, the Global Sumud Flotilla is currently recruiting participants from abroad to travel to Yehuda and Shomron, with the deadline for applications set for Oct. 7.

Those accepted into the program are expected to remain in the area for at least two weeks and undergo training in what organizers describe as “direct action,” along with political and media training.

Participants are also reportedly required to commit to continued political activism after returning to their home countries, indicating that the initiative is intended to extend beyond the olive harvest itself.

The recruitment effort follows the organization’s previous campaigns connected to Gaza, including the flotilla involving Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.

The new initiative is one of several efforts underway to bring international activists to Yehuda and Shomron during the annual olive harvest. Various organizations have promoted programs offering what they describe as a “protective presence” alongside Palestinian farmers.

Israeli officials contend that the campaigns are also being used to develop an international network of activists who can participate in organized political actions and generate media attention surrounding confrontations in the area.

Diaspora Affairs Ministry Director-General Avi Cohen-Scali issued a warning over the recruitment effort, saying Israel would act against foreign activists who arrive as part of organized efforts to provoke confrontations or disturb public order.

“Israel will not serve as a playground for foreign anarchists,” Cohen-Scali said.

He said Israeli authorities would take action against anyone entering the country as part of an organized network whose purpose, in the ministry’s view, is to create provocations and disrupt order.

The olive harvest has repeatedly become a flashpoint in parts of Yehuda and Shomron, with Israeli and international activists accompanying Palestinian farmers in areas near Jewish communities and IDF positions. Israeli security forces are frequently deployed during the season amid concerns about confrontations involving Palestinians, Jewish residents and activists.

{Matzav.com}

Vice President JD Vance marked the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre on Wednesday with a brief message remembering the Jews and Americans murdered in the terrorist assault on Israel and invoking the traditional Jewish expression honoring the deceased.

Vance posted the message on his official X account Wednesday afternoon, three years after Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel, attacking communities, military installations and the Nova music festival.

“Three years ago over 1,000 Jews (including 49 Americans) were brutally murdered in Israel in one of the worst Islamic terrorist attacks of our lives. May their memory be a blessing.”

The message was notably focused exclusively on the victims of the Hamas attack. Vance did not use the anniversary statement to criticize Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza or to address Palestinian casualties.

The vice president’s statement came as Israel and Jewish communities around the world held memorial ceremonies for the victims of the Oct. 7, 2023, assault, in which Hamas-led terrorists murdered approximately 1,200 people and abducted 251 hostages into Gaza. Memorial events in Israel began at 6:29 a.m., the time the attack began three years earlier.

Vance’s reference to the American victims highlighted the significant U.S. toll from the attack. Americans were among those murdered and kidnapped during the Hamas invasion, making Oct. 7 not only the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust but also a terrorist attack that directly claimed American lives.

The statement comes amid considerable attention to how American political leaders are marking the anniversary. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries condemned the Hamas massacre in his own statement Wednesday but also called the devastation in Gaza “reprehensible” and demanded a dramatic change in American policy that would include the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani went further, using his Oct. 7 statement to accuse the Israeli government of an “ongoing genocide” in Gaza and denounce what he called “occupation and apartheid.” Mamdani’s remarks drew criticism from several Democratic members of Congress as well as Jewish organizations and Republican officials.

Vance’s message also comes against the backdrop of an evolving relationship between the Trump administration and the Netanyahu government. In recent months, the vice president has emphasized that while Israel remains an important American partner, the United States will pursue its own interests and will not necessarily agree with the Israeli government on every issue.

“Israel has been an important partner when it comes to military technology, when it comes to intelligence sharing, but also sometimes the United States doesn’t always agree with Israel,” Vance said last month.

Vance has nevertheless consistently placed responsibility for the Gaza war’s origins on Hamas. Discussing the conflict in October 2025, he stressed that the fighting began with the terrorist assault on Israel and said the Trump administration remained focused on eliminating the terrorist threat while addressing humanitarian needs in Gaza.

His position on Oct. 7 itself has also remained consistent. On the first anniversary of the massacre in 2024, when he was President Trump’s running mate, Vance attended a memorial gathering on the National Mall in Washington and declared that the attack would not be forgotten.

“My friends, I know I speak for all of us and saying we will never forget October the 7th. We’re going to reject anti-Semitism in our schools, rejected in our foreign policy. And if we do this the right way, we’re going to reject it in the ballot box on November the 5th, 2024.”

At that same 2024 gathering, Vance said Israel had the right to defeat the terrorist organization responsible for the massacre.

“We want to give Israel the right and the ability to finish what Hamas started. Israel didn’t start this. Hamas did. But Israel is going to finish it.”

{Matzav.com}

A former U.S. Postal Service employee who was caught on surveillance video shoving a 4-year-old boy to the pavement in Monsey has been sentenced to three years of probation, bringing an end to a case that sparked widespread outrage when the disturbing footage surfaced earlier this year.

Gabriel Stan, 39, of Stony Point, was also ordered to complete six weeks of anger-management classes, pay a $1,000 fine and stay away from the child following his conviction for endangering the welfare of a child.

The incident occurred on March 19 while Stan was working as a USPS mail carrier in the Town of Ramapo. Surveillance footage showed the young boy approaching Stan near his Postal Service vehicle before the mail carrier suddenly shoved him backward.

The force of the shove sent the child crashing onto the pavement, with his yarmulke flying off his head. The boy then got back up, retrieved his yarmulke and walked away.

The video quickly spread throughout Monsey and beyond, triggering anger over the apparently unprovoked encounter and prompting an immediate investigation by Ramapo Police.

Stan was arrested the following day and initially charged with attempted assault in the third degree and endangering the welfare of a child, both misdemeanors.

The case was ultimately resolved with Stan pleading guilty to endangering the welfare of a child. He will not serve jail time under the sentence imposed but will remain under probation supervision for three years.

The U.S. Postal Service said Stan is no longer employed by the agency. His employment was terminated following the incident.

The footage drew strong condemnation from elected officials when it became public. Ramapo Town Supervisor Michael Specht described what he saw as deeply disturbing.

“I have viewed the video depicting an incident involving a physical attack on a small child,” Specht said at the time. “The content of this video is very disturbing.”

Specht praised Ramapo Police for moving quickly in the case.

“Ramapo Police have treated this matter with extreme seriousness and have now arrested the suspect,” he said.

Assemblyman Aron Wieder also condemned the incident, calling it “appalling and deeply troubling.”

State Sen. Bill Weber said residents had contacted him after seeing the footage and expressed outrage over what happened.

“I’ve heard from constituents who are deeply alarmed by the assault of a young child in the @TownOfRamapo. I share their concern and outrage,” Weber said.

“He must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law!” he added.

Stan’s sentence includes no-contact provisions protecting the child, along with the three years of probation, anger-management requirement and $1,000 fine.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries marked the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre on Wednesday by strongly condemning the terrorist group’s atrocities and reaffirming Israel’s right to exist, while also declaring the devastation in Gaza “reprehensible” and calling for a dramatic shift in U.S. policy that would include the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

The New York Democrat issued the statement exactly three years after Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, murdering approximately 1,200 people, kidnapping 251 others and committing widespread atrocities during the deadliest attack against the Jewish people since the Holocaust.

Jeffries opened his statement by focusing directly on the Hamas assault and the Israelis and Americans who were murdered, abducted and assaulted that day.

“Three years ago today, Hamas terrorists intent on destroying Israel launched an unthinkable massacre, murdering, kidnapping and sexually assaulting innocent Israeli civilians, as well as American citizens. We continue to mourn with the loved ones of those who were killed on that tragic day and stand with all still healing, including former hostages recovering from unimaginable horror,” he wrote.

Jeffries then addressed the dramatic rise in antisemitism that has followed the Oct. 7 attack, describing the Jewish people as facing an enduring struggle for survival and insisting that the United States remain committed to Israel’s security.

“As we solemnly commemorate October 7 and antisemitic attacks around the world surge, we are reminded of the painful reality that the Jewish people are in a constant struggle for survival, as has been the case for thousands of years. America must remain committed to Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state, living in safety and security with its neighbors. We must permanently remove Hamas from power, eradicate terror and strive for a just and lasting peace in the region.”

But Jeffries then pivoted from the Hamas massacre to Israel’s ensuing war in Gaza, using the anniversary statement to sharply condemn the civilian death toll and destruction in the Palestinian territory.

“Throughout the past three years, considerable suffering has plagued the Middle East. The horrific death of Palestinian civilians, destruction of civil society and devastation in Gaza is reprehensible and can never be allowed to happen again.”

Jeffries proceeded to call for a significant change in Washington’s approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, declaring that the United States should explicitly commit itself to creating a Palestinian state.

He also demanded a new generation of Palestinian leadership and condemned violence by Israeli settlers in Yehudah and Shomron, which he referred to as the West Bank.

“In order to end the vicious cycle of bloodshed, for the good of the Israeli and Palestinian people, American policy in the region must change dramatically. We must commit to the creation of an independent Palestinian state to provide dignity, respect and self-determination for the Palestinian people. We must also support a new generation of Palestinian leaders and put an end to the egregious settler violence in the West Bank. Nothing short of a future that involves Israel and a Palestinian state living side by side in peace and prosperity is acceptable.”

The remarks were not the first time Jeffries has recently demanded a change in American policy toward the conflict. In an August letter outlining his views on the Middle East, Jeffries said the United States must “strongly support the creation of an independent Palestinian state” and called for reconstruction of Gaza, the removal and disarmament of Hamas, increased humanitarian assistance and greater economic development in Gaza and Yehudah and Shomron.

His latest statement nevertheless drew additional attention because it was issued specifically on Oct. 7, a day on which Jewish communities in Israel and around the world were commemorating the victims of the Hamas massacre.

Jeffries was also not the only senior Democrat to use the anniversary to call for changes in American or Israeli policy. Other prominent Democrats issued statements Wednesday addressing Palestinian suffering and the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict alongside their commemorations of the Hamas attack.

The House Democratic leader’s statement came the same day that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani issued his own highly controversial Oct. 7 message, although Mamdani went considerably further in his accusations against Israel.

Mamdani acknowledged the Hamas atrocities and the suffering of Israelis before accusing the Israeli government of carrying out an “ongoing genocide” in Gaza and denouncing what he called “occupation and apartheid.” His statement triggered fierce criticism from Jewish leaders and elected officials who accused him of exploiting the anniversary of the massacre to attack Israel.

Jeffries has had a complicated political relationship with Mamdani over Israel. He formally endorsed Mamdani during the 2025 mayoral campaign but had previously pressed him to address concerns within New York’s Jewish community over his anti-Israel positions.

The issue resurfaced only days before the Oct. 7 anniversary after Mamdani reiterated his desire for the United States to join the International Criminal Court and enforce its arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu.

Asked during a CNN interview whether he agreed with Mamdani’s position, Jeffries did not endorse the mayor’s demand. Instead, he said that another Oct. 7 must never be permitted to occur and that the destruction seen in Gaza must likewise not be repeated, while again advocating for Israel and a Palestinian state to exist alongside one another.

Jeffries’ position on Israel has evolved in emphasis since the immediate aftermath of the Hamas attack. One month after Oct. 7, 2023, he strongly defended Israel’s right and responsibility to protect its citizens and said the effort to defeat Hamas “must succeed,” while also insisting that Israel comply with the laws of war and minimize Palestinian civilian casualties.

{Matzav.com}

Three years after the Oct. 7 massacre, Yehuda Avidan, director-general of Israel’s Ministry of Religious Services, has offered a harrowing account of what unfolded behind the gates of the Shura military base, where hundreds of bodies were brought for identification following the Hamas-led attack.

In an extensive interview, Avidan described taking responsibility for the civilian victims within hours of the massacre, working virtually without sleep as bodies poured into Shura, confronting horrifying cases of mutilation and abuse, and participating in the extraordinary halachic effort required to identify victims and prevent women from being left as agunos.

Avidan, an Ashdod resident, said he learned early on the morning of Oct. 7 that something far beyond an ordinary terrorist attack was taking place.

“Because I don’t live in a chareidi neighborhood, the news reached me very quickly, already at 8:00 in the morning. A neighbor came to me and showed me pictures of the vehicle in Sderot, the jeep. When I saw the white pickup truck in Sderot, I told him, ‘My brother, we are in a world war.’ By the end of the holiday, I already knew that we were looking at hundreds of murdered people — while television was showing only 130.”

Under the legal structure in place at the time, responsibility for civilian fatalities belonged to the Interior Ministry. Avidan said that by the conclusion of the holiday, however, he understood that an entirely different system would be required to handle the scale of the catastrophe.

“The first two phone calls I made at the end of the Yom Tov were to Interior Minister Moshe Arbel and Religious Services Minister Michael Malchieli. I told Moshe Arbel, ‘My brother, forget it, you cannot handle these fatalities. This is my field. I am taking responsibility for all of it as though the government decision has already taken effect. Tell your people that I am taking responsibility for this issue.’ He told me, ‘Accepted. Thank you very much. I thank you. It is also absolutely the right thing.’ I put him on a conference call together with Malchieli, we agreed that I would receive responsibility, and from that moment, the rest is history.”

By 8:30 the following morning, Avidan was already holding a conference call with senior ministry officials and the country’s major chevros kaddisha. His instructions reflected the numbers he feared were coming.

“The next day at 8:30 a.m., I was already on a conference call with the entire senior leadership of my ministry and the large chevros kaddisha. I instructed each of them to dig 50 graves around the country and begin preparing. I was simply trying to understand how I was going to handle this thing, all based on personal intuition.”

Half an hour later, approximately 150 people — including Religious Services Ministry officials, religious council leaders and representatives of chevros kaddisha — joined an emergency Zoom meeting.

“At 9:00 in the morning, I scheduled a management meeting at the ministry with the minister and all the heads of the religious councils and chevros kaddisha — there were 150 of us on Zoom. There I made two very simple decisions: First — there are no rules, there are no regulations, do what needs to be done, don’t ask questions. When the accountant and legal adviser began asking questions, I told them: ‘There are no rules, there are no laws, do whatever needs to be done, you have my authorization. Whoever sues you — I will back you.’”

Avidan also decided that all civilian bodies requiring preparation for burial would initially be directed to a single location in Rishon LeZion because of the severe condition in which many victims were being recovered.

“At the same time, I made an immediate decision that I was activating one place in the country to receive all the bodies for preparation for burial — and that was Rishon LeZion, because I understood that the condition of the bodies was not good and kavod hameis required it. At 12:00 we went down to Shura, and from that moment my place of residence was Shura Camp and Rishon LeZion.”

When Avidan arrived at Shura, he found senior representatives of the police, military, Health Ministry and other agencies attempting to respond to a catastrophe on a scale none of the existing systems had been designed to handle.

“I arrived there as a relatively new director-general, only eight or nine months into the job. You come, and suddenly standing next to you are Deputy Commissioner Yoav Telem, Deputy Commissioner Shlomit Landes, Lahav 433 personnel. Suddenly you see deputy commissioners everywhere, the Health Ministry, the police, the army… They didn’t even know what the role of the Religious Services Ministry was.”

Within hours, Avidan said, it became clear that the overlapping responsibilities threatened to create chaos.

“By the afternoon, I already understood that it was beginning to become a mess, and I announced: ‘Gentlemen, according to the law, I am responsible for the identification. I am responsible for everything concerning the fatalities.’ From that moment, I took command and began coordinating the entire operation. The police were responsible for the identification, and we began working like machines.”

The identification of civilians posed challenges substantially different from those involving soldiers. The military had extensive identifying information readily available for its personnel, while civilian records were scattered among different government agencies and databases.

“Unlike the army, where identification can take half an hour because they have all the data, with us, among civilians — anyone who had not been in the army, his information did not come up. It took us a day or two to arrange the transfer of information between the agencies, and then things began moving.”

What followed were days and nights confronting scenes Avidan said remain seared into his memory: hundreds of victims, many burned beyond recognition, alongside evidence of horrific abuse inflicted during the massacre.

Among the most wrenching episodes was the case of a father and daughter whose fate remained uncertain. An instinct that something was wrong ultimately led authorities to reopen a grave, where investigators made an extraordinary discovery: the father and daughter had died together, still embracing one another.

The immense identification challenge also created grave halachic questions. In cases where a married man could not conclusively be identified, his wife could potentially remain an agunah, unable to remarry without sufficient evidence of her husband’s death.

To address those cases, a discreet halachic committee was established under the leadership of then-Rishon LeZion Rav Yitzchak Yosef. Working largely outside the public eye, the committee examined the most complicated identification cases and the evidence available in each one, seeking halachically valid grounds to establish deaths and release women from the status of agunah.

The work at Shura ultimately became one of the least visible but most painful fronts of the aftermath of Oct. 7. Behind the casualty figures were teams required to examine what remained after the massacre, establish identities, preserve kavod hameis, return victims to their families and confront unprecedented halachic questions — all while new bodies continued arriving.

{Matzav.com}

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is launching a broad federal initiative aimed at studying and assisting people who say they suffered serious injuries following vaccination, including a new National Institutes of Health clinic devoted to such patients and proposed changes intended to encourage doctors to report suspected vaccine side effects.

Kennedy traveled to the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland, earlier this week for an unannounced visit in which he met with patients who believe they were injured by vaccines and unveiled elements of the new program, according to people familiar with the initiative.

The initiative represents one of Kennedy’s most significant moves yet on an issue he championed for years before becoming President Trump’s health secretary: his contention that Americans reporting serious health problems after vaccination have often been ignored or dismissed by the medical establishment.

A centerpiece of the effort is a new NIH clinic that will both study and provide care to patients with suspected vaccine injuries. Kennedy attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the clinic during his visit to the Bethesda campus.

The administration is also working on a new medical billing code that would allow physicians to be reimbursed for the time involved in filing reports of serious suspected vaccine reactions. The proposal is designed to increase reporting to the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, known as VAERS, which is jointly administered by the CDC and FDA.

VAERS accepts reports of health problems occurring after vaccination, but a report by itself does not establish that a vaccine caused the condition. The system is intended to detect potential safety signals that can then be investigated using additional data and research.

Kennedy’s initiative is expected to extend beyond the new clinic. Federal officials have been examining ways to modernize the government’s vaccine-injury reporting and compensation systems, areas Kennedy has repeatedly argued are inadequate for people who believe they have suffered genuine vaccine-related injuries.

The federal government already recognizes that vaccines, like other medical products, can in rare cases cause serious adverse reactions. The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, created by Congress in 1986, provides a special legal mechanism through which people alleging injuries from certain vaccines can seek compensation without first bringing a conventional product-liability lawsuit against a vaccine manufacturer.

Under that program, claimants can receive compensation for medical expenses, lost earnings, pain and suffering and, in cases involving a vaccine-related death, payments to an estate. Some conditions appearing within specified periods after particular vaccines are listed on the government’s Vaccine Injury Table and receive a presumption of causation, while other claims require evidence establishing that the vaccine caused the injury.

Kennedy has been openly dissatisfied with how that system operates. In July 2025, he disclosed that he had assembled a team to examine major changes to the compensation program, saying the government needed to better serve people who have suffered legitimate vaccine injuries.

Those efforts have since generated a fierce debate within medicine and public health. Kennedy and his supporters argue that patients reporting debilitating symptoms after vaccination deserve serious investigation, medical care and a fair opportunity to obtain compensation. Medical organizations agree that genuine vaccine injuries should be identified and compensated but have strongly objected to proposals they say could presume causation for conditions where scientific evidence has not established a link.

That dispute became particularly intense this year over a petition seeking a dramatic expansion of the Vaccine Injury Table. Medical and infectious-disease organizations warned Kennedy in May that adding hundreds of conditions without adequate scientific evidence could overwhelm the compensation system and make it harder for patients with well-established vaccine injuries to receive timely assistance.

The new NIH effort could potentially address one of the central points of disagreement by placing greater emphasis on research intended to determine which reported conditions actually have a causal relationship with vaccination and which merely occurred afterward.

Kennedy’s latest move comes amid a much broader transformation of federal vaccine policy under his leadership. He has overhauled the CDC’s vaccine advisory structure and pursued significant changes to federal vaccination recommendations, actions that have triggered lawsuits and intense opposition from state officials and major medical organizations.

Kennedy’s critics argue that his approach risks undermining confidence in vaccines that have prevented enormous numbers of illnesses and deaths. His supporters counter that investigating possible adverse effects more aggressively should strengthen rather than weaken public confidence by demonstrating that federal health agencies take safety concerns seriously.

The controversy is particularly sensitive because establishing that an illness occurred after a vaccination is fundamentally different from demonstrating that the vaccine caused it. Serious medical events occur naturally in large populations, meaning researchers generally need controlled studies, epidemiological data and other evidence before determining whether a particular condition occurs more frequently among vaccinated people than would otherwise be expected.

Kennedy has nevertheless made clear that people who believe they have been injured will occupy a more prominent place in federal health policy. Speaking last month at a conference hosted by Children’s Health Defense, the organization he previously led, Kennedy pledged to continue fighting for people who report vaccine injuries and told attendees that they have a “strong and steadfast friend at the White House.”

The administration has not yet publicly released all of the new initiative’s details, including precisely how the NIH clinic will select patients, which vaccines and medical conditions will be studied, how large the research program will become, or how much federal funding will be devoted to it.

But the establishment of a dedicated NIH clinic, combined with efforts to pay physicians for reporting suspected adverse reactions and Kennedy’s continuing push to overhaul the compensation system, signals that vaccine injury is becoming a distinct research and policy priority within the nation’s health agencies.

{Matzav.com}

Approximately 100,000 people are expected to visit the kever of Rav Ovadia Yosef zt”l in Yerushalayim next week, as final preparations are completed for the massive annual aliyah l’kever marking his yahrtzeit.

The pilgrimage to the Sanhedria cemetery is scheduled to begin Tuesday evening, the night of 3 Cheshvan, and continue through Thursday, with organizers preparing transportation, security and crowd-control arrangements for the tens of thousands expected to arrive from across Israel.

A special steering committee has been established to oversee the logistical and operational aspects of the event, working together with police and other relevant authorities. Dozens of security personnel and ushers will be stationed throughout the area to direct the crowds and maintain order.

Transportation is expected to be one of the largest components of the operation. Buses carrying visitors are scheduled to arrive from approximately 70 cities throughout Israel during the yahrtzeit, while public transportation companies are preparing to significantly increase service on local routes serving the area of the kever.

Under the traffic plan, visitors will enter the kever complex from the intersection of Sderot Eshkol and Eretz Chefetz. Bloy Street will be designated for exiting the area only.

Traffic arrangements will also be altered around the Sanhedria Junction and on roads leading toward the cemetery because of the enormous number of visitors anticipated during the event.

Special tents for tefillah will be erected at the site, along with refreshment stations providing drinks for those coming to the kever. Ushers and security personnel will be deployed at multiple points throughout the complex to keep pedestrian traffic moving safely during the three-day period.

Organizers are strongly urging visitors not to arrive in private vehicles because of the heavy congestion expected around Sanhedria and restrictions that will be imposed on private traffic near the cemetery.

Those who do travel toward the area by car are being advised to use municipal parking lots or park in nearby neighborhoods and continue to the kever using public transportation.

The public is also being asked to follow all instructions issued by police officers, security personnel and ushers throughout the yahrtzeit.

Rav Ovadia Yosef, one of the most influential Sephardic poskim and Torah leaders of the modern era, was niftar on 3 Cheshvan 5774, October 7, 2013. His levayah drew an estimated 800,000 people to the streets of Yerushalayim, making it one of the largest funerals in Israel’s history.

In the years since his petirah, his kever in Sanhedria has become a destination for large numbers of visitors throughout the year, with particularly enormous crowds arriving each 3 Cheshvan to mark his yahrtzeit and daven at his resting place.

{Matzav.com}

Gov. Kathy Hochul maintains a double-digit advantage over Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman with less than four weeks remaining before Election Day, but a new Marist poll shows the Nassau County executive leading among independent voters and running even with the Democratic governor in New York’s suburbs.

The statewide survey found Hochul backed by 53% of registered voters, compared with 42% for Blakeman, while 5% remain undecided. The 11-point margin nevertheless masks significant differences across regions and political affiliations that could shape the closing weeks of the campaign.

Among independents, Blakeman leads Hochul 49% to 42%, according to Marist. The two candidates are also deadlocked among suburban voters, with each receiving 48%.

Hochul’s commanding strength in New York City accounts for much of her statewide advantage. The governor leads Blakeman 69% to 24% among city voters. Upstate, however, the picture is reversed, with Blakeman holding a 51% to 45% advantage.

The poll also found a striking gender divide. Hochul leads among women by 29 percentage points, 62% to 33%, while Blakeman holds a narrow advantage among men, 51% to 47%.

Blakeman rejected the survey’s findings during a campaign appearance in Queens on Wednesday, accusing Marist of consistently producing results favorable to Democrats.

“The phony Marist poll by the woke university that always favors Democrats over Republicans,” he charged, before predicting he’ll get “record turnout” in New York City. “I’ve been in the South Bronx, Brooklyn, here in Queens many times just this week.”

Hochul, meanwhile, brushed aside questions about whether the latest numbers gave her reason to worry about the race.

“Being ahead by half a point or 1% is concerning. Double digits means something,” she told reporters Wednesday. “So, I’ll just let you all analyze that.”

The Marist result falls between several other recent surveys that have produced significantly different pictures of the race. A Siena poll released last month put Hochul ahead by nine points, 50% to 41%, while a Quinnipiac University survey released the same day gave the governor a much wider 19-point advantage, 58% to 39%, among likely voters.

The Quinnipiac findings differed notably from Marist on independents as well. Quinnipiac’s September survey had Hochul leading independent likely voters 51% to 45%, while the new Marist survey has Blakeman ahead among independents by seven points.

Another survey conducted in late September by Co/efficient showed Hochul leading 48% to 41%, with 11% undecided, placing her advantage at seven points. Taken together, the recent polling has consistently shown Hochul ahead statewide, although the size of that advantage has varied considerably depending on the poll.

The new Marist numbers also carry an echo of the 2022 gubernatorial contest. A Marist poll released during the closing weeks of that race showed Hochul leading Republican Lee Zeldin by 10 points. Hochul ultimately defeated Zeldin by roughly six percentage points, in what became New York’s closest gubernatorial election in decades.

Blakeman is seeking to build support in the closing stretch by focusing heavily on crime, taxes, affordability and immigration, while Hochul has sought to tie him closely to President Trump and national Republicans. Trump is scheduled to campaign with Blakeman in Syracuse on Friday as Republicans work to boost turnout in Upstate New York and several closely watched congressional districts.

The broader findings from Marist suggest Democrats retain an advantage in New York heading into the midterm elections. Asked which party’s congressional candidate they would support, 55% of registered voters chose the Democrat and 42% chose the Republican.

Independents were much more closely divided on the congressional ballot than in the governor’s race, with 49% supporting a Democratic congressional candidate and 47% backing a Republican. Democrats lead 73% to 25% in New York City and 51% to 47% in the suburbs, while Republicans hold a 52% to 45% advantage Upstate.

The survey also examined the extent to which President Trump is influencing voters’ congressional choices. Forty-four percent said their vote would primarily be a vote “against” Trump, while 22% said their vote would be in support of the president. Another 33% said Trump would have little or no effect on their decision.

Among independents, 49% said Trump was not much of a factor in determining their congressional vote.

Marist also found Trump with a 38% job approval rating among registered voters statewide, while 60% disapproved of his performance.

Economic concerns remain widespread among New Yorkers. Forty percent of those surveyed said their family finances had worsened over the previous year, compared with 18% who said their situation had improved. Another 41% reported little change.

Despite the competitiveness reflected among independents and suburban voters, most respondents believe Hochul will ultimately prevail. Sixty-nine percent told Marist they expect her to be reelected, compared with 27% who expect Blakeman to win.

The Marist survey was conducted from Oct. 1 through Oct. 4 among 1,361 registered New York voters using live telephone interviews, text and online responses. The poll carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

{Matzav.com}

“מי שמחזיק בדירה – יכול לקבל הלוואה מידית”

נפתלי כהן כתבה מקודמת

08:30

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu on the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre, offering his support to Israel and declaring that those responsible for the Hamas-led attack are now “paying a very big price.”

“I spoke with Bibi Netanyahu, and I wished him well, and I wished the people of Israel well. That was a horrible day, a horrible tragedy – horrible,” Trump told reporters.

Trump then delivered a pointed message about the consequences faced by those responsible for the attack.

“The other side is paying a very big price for what they did on October 7, believe me,” the president said.

Trump did not disclose precisely when the conversation with Netanyahu took place or reveal whether the two leaders discussed other issues during the call.

The conversation came as Israel marked three years since the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, when approximately 1,200 people were murdered and 251 were abducted into Gaza.

Memorial ceremonies were held across Israel on Wednesday, including in communities along the Gaza border and at the site of the Nova music festival massacre, as survivors, bereaved families and officials commemorated the victims of the deadliest terror attack in Israel’s history.

Trump’s remarks come as the situation in Gaza remains unresolved despite the ceasefire and hostage agreement reached under his administration last year.

The first stage of Trump’s Gaza plan produced a ceasefire and the release of the remaining living hostages held in Gaza, but several of the plan’s central objectives have yet to be fully implemented.

Most significantly, Hamas has not been fully disarmed, Israel has not completed the withdrawal envisioned under the plan, and the enormous task of rebuilding Gaza has barely begun. Israel continues to control roughly two-thirds of the Gaza Strip, while military operations have continued despite the ceasefire framework.

In July, Trump announced what he called a “HISTORIC agreement for the COMPLETE DISARMAMENT of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza,” describing it as a major step in the implementation of his 20-point Gaza plan.

Under the framework, Hamas is to surrender its weapons in stages, Israeli forces are to withdraw as the disarmament process is completed, and an International Stabilization Force is eventually to work alongside a new Palestinian police force to maintain security.

Implementation, however, has proven difficult. Israel has maintained that it will not complete its withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed, while disagreements have persisted over how that disarmament would be carried out and verified.

The Gaza Health Ministry says at least 1,400 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire took effect in October 2025. The Hamas-run ministry does not distinguish in its figures between civilians and combatants.

Meanwhile, the Trump-created Board of Peace has sought to move forward with reconstruction plans despite the unresolved security situation. In September, the board unveiled an initial $2.45 billion program aimed at beginning reconstruction and governance projects in the devastated territory.

The scale of the rebuilding challenge is far greater. International estimates have placed Gaza’s long-term reconstruction and recovery needs in the tens of billions of dollars, with the United Nations and European Union estimating that the process could require more than $70 billion over the coming decade.

Against that backdrop, Trump’s anniversary conversation with Netanyahu offered no indication of a new diplomatic breakthrough. Instead, the president focused publicly on the enormity of the Oct. 7 attack and the consequences that have followed for those responsible.

“The other side is paying a very big price for what they did on October 7, believe me,” Trump said.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump is considering launching another round of U.S. military strikes against Iran before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, with the White House directing the Pentagon to prepare options for possible action in the coming weeks, according to various sources.

The planning, which is being carried out by U.S. Central Command, comes despite widespread expectations that Trump would seek to preserve the recent relative lull in fighting until after Election Day. No final decision has been made, and both the scope of a potential operation and the targets that could be struck remain under discussion.

The White House request reflects an intensifying debate inside the administration over whether renewed military action could pressure Tehran, demonstrate American strength and give Trump a tangible achievement before voters head to the polls — or instead reignite a deeply unpopular conflict at precisely the wrong political moment.

One option under consideration is a relatively limited strike before the election, potentially followed by a much broader military campaign after Nov. 3. Supporters of the approach believe a successful operation could allow Trump to claim progress against Iran and reinforce the image that Washington is regaining control of a conflict that has dragged on for months.

“It would make the president look like he got a win and that gas prices would start going down,” a Republican familiar with the deliberations said.

But even advocates of the proposed operation acknowledge that limited strikes alone would be unlikely to force Iran back to the negotiating table, reopen the Strait of Hormuz to normal shipping or bring gasoline prices down before Election Day.

Those concerns have fueled opposition among some Trump advisers, who believe the administration would be better served by waiting until after the midterms. A renewed attack could provoke Iranian retaliation against American troops and Gulf allies, send oil prices sharply higher and once again put the war at the center of the national political debate.

Approximately 50,000 U.S. troops are currently stationed across the region, potentially placing them within reach of an Iranian response. Another campaign would also further draw down American weapons stockpiles that have already been strained by months of fighting.

“Military action has done nothing to drive down oil prices; in fact, it has done the opposite,” said Will Walldorf, an international-affairs professor at Wake Forest University and senior fellow at Defense Priorities. “And if this is an attempt to rally the Republican vote, how does that make any sense given how unpopular this war is?”

Trump himself has repeatedly signaled that additional military action remains on the table. In his address to the United Nations last month, the president threatened to “annihilate the Islamic Republic” if Tehran refused to reach an agreement.

In an interview released earlier this month, Trump also indicated that the United States has been preparing for the possibility of another major confrontation, saying, “we’ve been stocking up for the last six months.”

Trump went even further last week when discussing when he expected the United States to prevail in the conflict, saying victory could come “right after the election,” before adding, “Maybe before the election.”

The timing is especially sensitive because the Iran conflict has emerged as a significant political liability for Republicans. Rising energy costs have become a major campaign issue, with GOP candidates in competitive House and Senate races increasingly worried that voters will punish the party over gasoline and diesel prices.

Gasoline now averages approximately $4.37 a gallon nationwide, compared with just under $3 before the United States and Israel launched their military campaign against Iran on Feb. 28. Oil prices soared to nearly $118 a barrel during the spring and, despite fluctuating since then, have remained around $100 a barrel in recent weeks.

The Pentagon has already presented Trump with a range of options for renewed military action after the elections. Those plans reportedly range from smaller, targeted strikes to a much larger assault that could include additional attacks against Iran’s energy infrastructure.

CENTCOM is now developing a separate menu of options that could be carried out before the election.

Trump has reportedly grown increasingly frustrated by the failure to bring the conflict to a decisive conclusion. People close to the president believe he is prepared to strike Iran again, although some of his advisers continue to argue that the safest political and military course would be to wait until after Nov. 3.

A White House official emphasized that Trump “has all options available at any time,” adding that “things will go one of two ways; the easy way or the hard way.”

The official did not say whether the president is leaning toward authorizing strikes before the election.

The deliberations are unfolding as the United States dramatically expands its military capabilities in the Middle East. The Pentagon is preparing for the possibility of having three aircraft carriers in the region, along with amphibious warships, thousands of additional sailors and Marines, and hundreds of military aircraft.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and USS Makin Island amphibious readiness group are among the forces being sent toward the region. If the deployments proceed as planned, the United States could have three carrier groups positioned in the Middle East by late October, providing Trump with substantially greater firepower should he order another major operation against Iran.

At the same time, Washington and Tehran remain engaged in indirect contacts through mediators. Those negotiations have produced little visible progress, with significant disagreements remaining over the terms and sequencing of a ceasefire, the U.S. blockade connected to the Strait of Hormuz and the reopening of the critical waterway.

The Strait of Hormuz remains central to both the military and economic confrontation. Before Iran moved to restrict the waterway earlier in the war, roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passed through the strait. Even modest changes in tanker traffic have therefore had an immediate effect on global energy markets.

Earlier this week, Iranian forces again targeted ships attempting to pass through the strait, prompting some shipping companies to reconsider using the route. Administration officials reportedly view the attacks as a deliberate attempt by Tehran to inflict additional economic and political pressure on Trump ahead of the midterms.

“Iran is watching the calendar and knows the election is coming,” one adviser said. “And they want to stick it to the president.”

The administration has also announced plans to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an effort to increase supply and prevent gasoline prices from climbing further.

Meanwhile, the security threat from Iran has extended beyond the Middle East. The United States recently withdrew B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford in Britain after intelligence pointed to the possibility of an Iranian-linked attack against the base. Iran has denied involvement.

Despite those developments, senior administration officials reportedly believe Tehran is now in its weakest position since the conflict began. Iran is facing severe economic pressure, soaring inflation and uncertainty within its leadership, while hard-liners continue to resist significant concessions to Washington.

Some Trump advisers believe those pressures could eventually force Tehran to compromise. From that perspective, another American strike before Election Day could provide the additional pressure needed to break the stalemate.

Others fear precisely the opposite: that another attack would harden Iran’s position, trigger retaliation, drive oil and gasoline prices higher and return the war to the forefront of American voters’ minds just weeks before they decide control of Congress.

{Matzav.com}

The average U.S. 30-year fixed mortgage rate surged to 7.49% last week, reaching its highest level in nearly three years and delivering another blow to Americans already struggling with the cost of buying a home.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday that the average contract rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage with a conforming loan balance jumped 19 basis points, from 7.30% to 7.49%, during the week ending Oct. 2. The rate has not been higher since November 2023.

The sharp increase immediately weighed on demand. Overall mortgage applications fell 4.2% from the previous week, dropping to their lowest level since February 2025. Applications to purchase homes declined 2%, while refinancing applications plunged 8%.

Refinancing has been hit particularly hard. Refinance applications are now 56% below their level at the same time last year and have fallen to less than half of last year’s pace, as millions of homeowners remain locked into mortgages carrying significantly lower rates.

“Mortgage rates moved to their highest level in almost three years last week, with the 30-year fixed rate reaching 7.49% as both Treasury rates increased and spreads widened with the increase in rate volatility,” said Joel Kan, the MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist.

“Very few homeowners have an incentive to refinance at these rates, and the jump in borrowing costs has caused many potential borrowers to step back from the purchase market. With rates roughly a percentage point higher than a year ago, refinance applications last week were at the lowest level since 2025 and fell to less than half of last year’s pace.”

The latest increase marks the seventh consecutive week that mortgage rates have risen. The 30-year rate has climbed roughly 1.4 percentage points since late February, when the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran began and the resulting surge in oil prices intensified inflation concerns.

Mortgage rates do not move directly with the Federal Reserve’s benchmark interest rate. Instead, they tend to track the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note, which has been soaring amid concerns about inflation, elevated energy prices, stronger-than-expected economic growth and the future direction of monetary policy.

The 10-year Treasury yield climbed above 5.3% on Monday, reaching its highest level in 24 years. The 30-year Treasury yield has also surged, reaching approximately 5.7% Wednesday, its highest level since 2002.

Those moves have pushed borrowing costs higher across the economy and intensified the affordability crisis confronting prospective homebuyers, who are simultaneously dealing with home prices that remain elevated in many parts of the country.

The difference between a mortgage in the 6% range and one approaching 7.5% can translate into hundreds of dollars in additional monthly payments. On a $500,000 30-year mortgage, for example, principal and interest at 7.49% would be approximately $3,490 per month, compared with about $3,000 at 6%. That is nearly $500 more each month, before property taxes, insurance and other housing expenses are included.

The pressure is particularly acute for first-time and lower-income buyers. Applications for Federal Housing Administration purchase loans fell 6% last week, the steepest decline among the major loan categories tracked by the MBA.

“Purchase activity decreased across all loan types with FHA purchase applications falling the most, declining 6%, as these higher rates add to ongoing affordability challenges for many homebuyers,” Kan said.

As fixed mortgage rates have risen, more borrowers have turned to adjustable-rate mortgages in an effort to secure lower initial payments. Adjustable-rate loans accounted for 10.3% of total mortgage applications last week.

Other mortgage products also became more expensive. The average rate for a 15-year fixed mortgage climbed from 6.56% to 6.71%, while the average FHA-backed 30-year mortgage increased from 6.97% to 7.14%. Jumbo 30-year mortgage rates rose from 7.27% to 7.39%.

One exception was the average rate on a 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage, which edged down from 6.47% to 6.43%.

The renewed mortgage-rate surge comes as inflation has again become a major concern for policymakers. Inflation measured by the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge was running at 3.4% in August, well above the central bank’s 2% target.

Federal Reserve officials raised their benchmark rate in September and have indicated that another increase could come before the end of the year, although financial markets currently expect policymakers to leave rates unchanged at their meeting later this month.

President Donald Trump addressed the mortgage-rate surge Wednesday, again arguing that interest rates should be lower. Trump praised Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh but said other members of the Fed board “would like to see the country do badly, in my opinion, because I think interest rates should come down.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attributed much of the recent inflation and rate pressure to the surge in energy prices associated with the Iran conflict, predicting that borrowing costs could ease once those pressures subside.

“So once we get on the other side of this Iran conflict, (the) energy market is going to be well supplied, and we will move down towards the Fed’s target and mortgage rates and the 10-year will come back down,” Bessent said.

{Matzav.com}

The Trump administration is proposing a sweeping overhaul of a popular program that allows international students to work in the United States, calling for a new $70,000 fee for an F-1 student’s initial participation in Optional Practical Training and $30,000 for each subsequent period of training.

Under the Department of Homeland Security proposal unveiled Wednesday, the fees would formally be paid by colleges and universities certified under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program before a school could recommend an international student for OPT. The proposal would permit institutions to recover the expense from the student or an employer, potentially leaving foreign graduates facing an enormous new cost to work in the United States.

The fees represent a dramatic escalation from the current system and could fundamentally change how American universities, international students and employers use OPT, which has long served as a bridge between studying in the United States and entering the American workforce.

Optional Practical Training allows eligible F-1 students to take jobs directly related to their fields of study while enrolled or after completing their academic programs. Most graduates can receive up to 12 months of post-completion OPT, while students with qualifying science, technology, engineering and mathematics degrees can seek an additional 24-month STEM extension.

The proposed rule would require a $70,000 payment when a student is recommended for an initial period of OPT and $30,000 for any subsequent OPT recommendation, including a STEM extension. The payment would have to be made before the school’s designated official could issue the recommendation.

DHS says the extraordinary fees are intended to combat what the department describes as widespread fraud and abuse within OPT while protecting American workers from foreign labor competition.

In announcing the proposal, DHS described the program as a “pipeline for cheap foreign labor.”

The department argues that OPT has expanded far beyond its original purpose of providing temporary practical training connected to a foreign student’s education and has increasingly become a pathway for employers to hire foreign graduates at the expense of American workers.

The administration says the fees would force schools to evaluate more carefully whether participation in OPT is warranted and would discourage institutions, students and employers from using the program improperly. DHS also says the revenue would help offset the substantial costs associated with investigating fraud and enforcing OPT requirements.

The scale of the proposal could have enormous financial consequences. More than 400,000 international students have participated in OPT in recent years, with foreign graduates playing a particularly significant role in technology, engineering and other STEM-related industries.

Universities that recruit heavily overseas could also feel the effects. International students frequently pay full tuition and have become an important source of revenue for many American institutions, while the ability to obtain work experience after graduation has been a major attraction for students deciding whether to study in the United States.

Critics immediately warned that imposing fees of $70,000 and $30,000 could make the program effectively unusable for many students and schools and could push talented foreign students toward universities in other countries.

Fanta Aw, CEO of NAFSA, an organization representing international educators, argued that OPT provides valuable hands-on experience to foreign graduates while supplying workers to American industries that need highly trained employees.

“Driving away the talents, perspectives, and aspirations of international students will only hurt American innovation, economic growth, workforce development, and global leadership,” Aw said in a written statement.

The proposal is the latest in a series of moves by President Donald Trump’s administration aimed at tightening the rules governing foreign students and foreign workers in the United States.

In 2025, federal authorities abruptly terminated the immigration records of thousands of international students in a government database, triggering a wave of lawsuits and court rulings questioning aspects of the administration’s actions.

The administration subsequently moved to replace the longstanding “duration of status” system for international students with fixed periods of admission, a change that would generally prevent students from remaining in the United States for more than four years without receiving additional federal authorization. Universities objected that many legitimate academic programs, particularly doctoral programs, routinely take longer than four years to complete.

A federal court blocked that rule from taking effect in September, handing the administration a setback in its effort to impose tighter controls on international students.

The OPT proposal also arrives amid a broader battle over employment-based immigration. The administration has sought major changes to programs used by American companies to employ foreign workers, arguing that immigration programs should not be used to undercut wages or replace American employees.

The new OPT rule is only a proposal and will not take effect immediately. The regulation is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on Thursday, Oct. 8, after which the public will have 30 days to submit comments on the rule itself. A separate 60-day period applies to comments concerning its information-collection requirements.

DHS must consider the public comments before issuing a final regulation, and the eventual rule could differ from Wednesday’s proposal. Universities, international-education organizations and business groups could also mount legal challenges, potentially delaying or preventing implementation.

If ultimately adopted substantially as proposed, however, the new fees would represent one of the most dramatic changes ever imposed on the OPT system, forcing universities to decide whether recommending an international student for American employment is worth a $70,000 initial price tag.

{Matzav.com}

Prof. Eytan Gilboa is cautioning against drawing premature conclusions about Iranian involvement in the attempted attack aboard Flydubai Flight FZ1073, warning that public declarations blaming Tehran could create expectations for an Israeli or American military response before investigators have established who was behind the plot.

Gilboa made the comments after President Donald Trump publicly said he personally believes Iran was responsible for the attempted attack aboard the Israel-bound flight. Investigators have not publicly announced evidence establishing an Iranian role, and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu has said it remains too early to determine whether Tehran was involved.

Trump initially said that, based on what he was hearing, he believed there could be an Iranian connection. Asked whether the United States would retaliate if Iran was found responsible, Trump warned that Tehran would be “hit very hard.” He subsequently went further, saying that he personally believes Iran was behind the attack.

Speaking with Avi Mimran, Gilboa warned that statements of that nature carry consequences beyond simply identifying a possible suspect.

“The moment you say that Iran is involved, it means that Israel has to act against Iran. So he doesn’t always think two steps ahead or three steps ahead, and it’s not good that he does this,” Gilboa said.

Gilboa also discussed the attention the attempted attack has received in the United States, saying the incident immediately evoked memories of the Sept. 11 attacks, particularly United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers fought back against the terrorists who had hijacked the aircraft.

The comparison, he said, reflects the extent to which the attempted attack on the Flydubai flight is being viewed as a threat with implications extending well beyond Israel.

Gilboa also addressed concerns about foreign interference in Israel’s upcoming election. He noted that countries including Russia, Iran, China and North Korea have previously been accused of trying to influence political processes in other countries through online operations, disinformation and other methods.

At the same time, Gilboa stressed that he has no information at present that would allow him to determine whether foreign governments are currently attempting to interfere in Israel’s election or what methods they might be using.

He said Trump appears reluctant to become overly involved in Israeli electoral politics and argued that both Israel and the United States should refrain from intervening in each other’s domestic political affairs.

Gilboa also addressed the escalating fighting in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia is backing a major campaign against the Houthis aimed at restoring areas surrounding the strategically critical Bab el-Mandeb Strait to the control of Yemen’s internationally recognized government.

Forces aligned with the Yemeni government and backed by Saudi Arabia have launched a broad offensive in the area amid heavy airstrikes against Houthi positions.

The discussion comes as the Flydubai incident continues to expose questions surrounding Israel’s procedures for screening foreign airline personnel.

During a Knesset discussion Tuesday, lawmakers were told that 1,240 airline crew members carrying passports from countries that do not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel have entered the country since the beginning of the year.

The revelation has added urgency to efforts to overhaul the screening process following the Flydubai attack, with Israeli officials now moving toward requiring flight crews from designated high-risk countries to submit their information for security vetting 48 hours before operating flights to Israel.

{Matzav.com}

Three years after the October 7 massacre, Knesset lawmakers on Wednesday demanded that Israel move ahead with the prosecution of Hamas Nukhba terrorists, as officials revealed that the first indictments under Israel’s newly created legal framework are expected during the first half of 2027, with trials projected to begin later that year.

The Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee convened on the third anniversary of the massacre to review implementation of the landmark law enacted in May establishing a special system for prosecuting those who participated in the Hamas-led atrocities.

Committee chairman MK Simcha Rothman opened the session with a minute of silence in memory of those murdered and those who fell defending Israel, followed by the recitation of Tehillim 79.

Rothman said the timing of Wednesday’s hearing was deliberate. Although the law requires officials to report to the committee on preparations for the trials, he said the third anniversary of the massacre carried particular significance.

“On this day, October 7, three years after the event, this is an important point in time to understand where the State of Israel stands in light of the verse we just read – ‘Avenge the spilled blood of Your servants,’” he said.

The law creating the special prosecution system was approved by the Knesset in May in an extraordinary display of coalition-opposition unity. It passed its final readings by a 93-0 vote, after lawmakers from across the political spectrum joined behind legislation sponsored by Rothman and Yisrael Beytenu MK Yulia Malinovsky.

The legislation establishes a military court seated in Yerushalayim to hear cases involving participants in the October 7 massacre. The court can adjudicate charges under Israel’s Prevention of Genocide Law, Penal Law and Counter-Terrorism Law, among other statutes.

The framework was designed to address the unprecedented legal challenges created by the massacre, including the enormous number of crimes and victims, the volume and nature of the evidence, and cases in which prosecutors may be able to prove that a terrorist participated in the assault without being able to establish which specific victim he personally murdered or attacked.

The law also establishes special procedures for selecting judges, including sitting and retired judges, and provides for extensive video and audio documentation of the proceedings, with portions of the trials potentially broadcast to the public. The goal is not only to prosecute those responsible, but also to create an authoritative historical record of the October 7 atrocities.

Rothman told the committee that bringing the perpetrators to justice is part of Israel’s obligation to those murdered in the massacre and to their families.

“The very important mission demanded by the blood of our murdered brothers and sisters is for the State to make sure that it does not allow this to pass,” he said.

He stressed that the issue has transcended Israel’s bitter political divisions, with coalition and opposition lawmakers jointly pushing the legislation and now demanding that government agencies implement it.

“We are all working on this as one, coalition and opposition. The Knesset is united in the need, in the oversight and examination, and three years later, also in the urgency that this happen and be carried out.”

Rothman said separately Wednesday that preparations have advanced rapidly since the law was enacted five months ago. He said current estimates call for the first indictment to be filed during the first half of 2027, with the first trial beginning approximately six months later.

The committee chairman said Israel could begin seeing verdicts and sentences during 2028 — considerably sooner than would have been possible had prosecutors attempted to handle the unprecedented cases through the ordinary criminal justice system.

Preparations include establishing the physical court complex in the Atarot area of Yerushalayim, allocating funding, recruiting personnel and creating a dedicated prosecutorial apparatus capable of handling cases unlike anything previously confronted by Israel’s judicial system.

Rothman said the official who will head the prosecution apparatus is expected to be appointed shortly, after which decisions can begin to be made about which defendants will face the first indictments and how the cases will be structured.

MK Moshe Saada told Wednesday’s hearing that the trials must accomplish more than imposing punishment. He argued that the proceedings should also establish before the world a factual and legal record of what Hamas and its accomplices perpetrated on October 7.

“The blood of our brothers cries out from the ground, the images cry out, and what lies before us is the need to do justice and, through the legal process, also tell the world,” Saada said.

With competing narratives about October 7 increasingly circulating internationally, Saada said Israel has a responsibility to use the proceedings to document the atrocities and present the evidence publicly.

“Today we see other narratives around the world, and the time has come to hold up a mirror and tell the clear truth. There is a moral obligation to do this, and we all need to join hands together to ensure that justice is done.”

Malinovsky, who worked with Rothman for more than two years to develop and advance the legislation despite sitting on the opposite side of the political aisle, demanded tangible progress from the officials responsible for carrying it out.

“If there are problems, we will solve them, and if necessary, we will bang on the table, but we want results. The people of Israel deserve answers.”

She said the Knesset had completed its responsibility by constructing and approving the necessary legal framework and that disagreements among government agencies could not now be allowed to stall implementation.

“We did what we needed to do, we passed the law, and now every official must put personal whims and disagreements aside and rise to the occasion.”

The legislation covers Hamas terrorists and accomplices accused of participating in murder, kidnapping, rape, looting and other crimes committed between October 7 and October 10, 2023, as well as offenses subsequently committed against Israeli hostages in Gaza.

More than 400 suspects could ultimately face prosecution under the framework, making the proceedings among the largest and most consequential criminal trials ever conducted in Israel. Defendants prosecuted or convicted under the law are also barred from being released in future prisoner exchanges or diplomatic agreements.

The law allows the special military court to impose the most severe punishments available under Israeli law for qualifying crimes. Lawmakers who drafted the legislation have said the trials must balance the need for extraordinary measures with the requirement that proceedings remain orderly, professional and capable of withstanding legal scrutiny.

Malinovsky vowed that Knesset oversight would not end with the current political cycle, saying the responsibility to the victims and their families must remain above partisan considerations regardless of who controls the next Knesset.

“Regardless of the election results and the person who will sit in this chair, we will not let up. We owe this to the families.”

{Matzav.com}

Standing at the Nova festival grounds near Re’im, where hundreds were murdered and dozens abducted during the Hamas-led October 7 attack, President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday marked the massacre’s third anniversary with a pledge that Israel will remember those lost, rebuild what was destroyed and continue to live.

Herzog joined survivors, bereaved families and others at the memorial ceremony at the site of the festival, which has become one of the central symbols of the atrocities perpetrated on October 7, 2023. This year’s commemoration was the first anniversary since all of the hostages were returned to Israel, either alive or for burial.

The ceremony began at 6:29 p.m., exactly 12 hours after the time Hamas launched its assault three years earlier. Former hostage Elkana Bohbot recited a prayer for the bereaved, followed by Kaddish from a bereaved father and the lighting of a memorial candle. Nova survivor Yuval Raphael, who later represented Israel at Eurovision, performed at the ceremony.

Before addressing those gathered for the memorial, Herzog spoke to members of the international media from the Nova site, recalling what the field had been before terrorists transformed a celebration into one of the deadliest scenes of the massacre.

“Here at the Nova Musical Festival, thousands of young people came to sing and to dance, to celebrate life. People of 36 nationalities, from all over the world and from Israel. They were horrifically butchered, killed, tortured, raped, and abducted into Gaza,” Herzog said.

More than 370 people were murdered at the Nova festival and surrounding area, and dozens were abducted to Gaza. The memorial grounds at Re’im are now filled with photographs and tributes to those killed, drawing bereaved families, survivors and visitors from Israel and around the world.

Herzog said that three years after the massacre, the site stands not only as a place of grief and remembrance, but also as a testament to the determination of the survivors, families and communities that have struggled to rebuild their lives.

“We are here to tell their stories, and to remember, and reflect, and reminisce, and say to the world: we will dance again, we will live again,” he declared.

“We are a nation in agony, but we are showing immense resilience. This whole region, which was attacked barbarically on October 7th, is now rebuilding.”

Communities throughout the Gaza border region held memorial events Wednesday, as Israelis returned to the locations where the October 7 atrocities unfolded. Ceremonies and gatherings were held in communities including Kfar Aza and at the Nova site, while commemorations elsewhere in Israel began at 6:29 a.m., the moment the attack started.

Herzog used his remarks to stress that Israel’s determination to defend itself against terrorism does not conflict with its desire for a peaceful future in the region.

“We are a nation like all nations. We have the inherent right to defend ourselves and fight terror. But we yearn for peace, and we want our neighbors to live in peace as well,” he said.

The president said the international community must work toward the disarmament of Hamas while confronting the broader threat posed by Iran and its allies throughout the region.

“And there is a pathway to that by implementing UN Security Council Resolution 2301, which calls for the disarming of Hamas. This should be the international goal, as well as combating the empire of evil from Tehran,” Herzog stated.

Herzog also expressed appreciation to people around the world who reached out to Israelis and the families of the victims on the anniversary, as messages of solidarity arrived from numerous world leaders and governments.

“I want to thank everybody who came here, and all those who have sent messages of condolences and share in our pain,” he said.

The Nova memorial itself has continued to develop over the past three years. What began with families placing photographs, flowers and personal items at the places where their loved ones were killed has evolved into an official memorial site, with individual memorial pillars and trees planted in memory of victims.

For the Nova community, the site remains both a physical reminder of the devastation of October 7 and a gathering place for survivors and bereaved families determined to preserve the lives and stories of those who were murdered.

Herzog closed his remarks with a final tribute to the victims.

“Let the memory of those who were killed be a blessing to all of us.”

{Matzav.com}

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon accused New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani of “hijacking” the third anniversary of the October 7 massacre, comparing the mayor’s decision to use the day to attack Israel to transforming the anniversary of 9/11 into “a day of mourning for al-Qaeda terrorists.”

Mamdani’s statement Wednesday acknowledged the Hamas-led massacre that killed approximately 1,200 people and saw 251 hostages abducted to Gaza, but devoted most of its message to accusations against Israel, including charges of “genocide,” “apartheid” and “war crimes.”

Danon said Mamdani had taken a day that should have centered on the victims and survivors of Hamas’s atrocities and instead turned it into an opportunity to condemn the Jewish state.

“‘Mamdani-ism’ — an attempt to hijack the anniversary of October 7 and turn it into yet another propaganda attack against Israel,” Danon wrote on X. “We will remember those who were murdered, and we will never forget who was behind this massacre.”

Speaking separately about the mayor’s statement, Danon said the timing was particularly offensive because October 7 is the one day specifically set aside to remember those slaughtered and abducted in the attack.

“What he is trying to do is hijack the only day we have for the victims and survivors,” Danon said. “He’s trying to hijack the day to talk about attacking Israel.”

Danon compared the approach to commemorating the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks by shifting the focus from those murdered by al-Qaeda to criticism of America’s subsequent response.

Mamdani began his official statement by describing the Hamas attack as “horrific war crimes” and acknowledging the Israelis murdered and taken hostage on October 7, 2023.

He said Hamas killed more than 1,100 Israelis and abducted 251 people, adding that New Yorkers continue to grieve alongside friends and neighbors carrying the pain of the massacre.

But the mayor then shifted to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, accusing the Israeli government of an “ongoing genocide” and invoking accusations of “occupation,” “apartheid,” and “war crimes.”

Mamdani further charged that the United States was complicit in Israel’s conduct by continuing to provide the Jewish state with weapons.

Israel has categorically rejected accusations that it is committing genocide in Gaza, maintaining that its war is directed against Hamas and other terrorist organizations and that the IDF takes extensive measures intended to minimize civilian casualties.

Mamdani’s statement triggered criticism from a range of Israeli officials and Jewish organizations Wednesday. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called the mayor’s remarks an “outrageous & disgusting rant,” while Israeli Consul General in New York Ofir Akunis accused Mamdani of displaying “a complete lack of human sensitivity.”

The controversy erupted against the backdrop of continuing concern over antisemitism in New York City. New NYPD figures released this week show that Jewish New Yorkers were the victims in 245 of the city’s 463 confirmed hate crimes during the first nine months of 2026 — approximately 53% — despite Jews accounting for roughly 10% of the city’s population.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch highlighted the disparity Tuesday while discussing the city’s latest crime statistics and the heightened security being provided to Jewish institutions around the October 7 anniversary.

“The most striking trend continues to be antisemitic hate crimes,” Tisch said.

“So far this year, 53% of all confirmed hate crimes have targeted Jewish New Yorkers, despite Jews making up only roughly 10% of the city’s population,” she said. “Those numbers are deeply concerning.”

The NYPD has deployed additional resources around Jewish institutions and communities, with Tisch pledging continued police protection as the city confronts both antisemitic incidents and demonstrations surrounding the anniversary.

“On the eve of the third anniversary of Oct. 7, we renew our pledge to Jewish institutions that they will not be left to protect themselves without a strong partner in the NYPD,” Tisch said.

Mamdani’s handling of antisemitism has also drawn skepticism among Jewish New Yorkers. A poll of 503 Jewish voters across the five boroughs conducted from October 2 through October 6 found that 65% disapproved of the mayor’s handling of antisemitism, including 47% who strongly disapproved, while 34% approved.

The dispute comes just days after Mamdani unveiled a citywide strategy to combat antisemitism. Several major Jewish organizations welcomed portions of the initiative while arguing that the administration had failed to address anti-Israel rhetoric that they believe can contribute to hostility toward Jewish New Yorkers.

UJA-Federation of New York, JCRC-NY, AJC New York and the New York Board of Rabbis praised elements of the plan but warned that rhetoric that “demonizes and delegitimizes Israel” can have consequences for Jews in the city.

Mamdani has consistently rejected the argument that his attacks on Israel amount to hostility toward Jews. He has maintained that his criticism is rooted in opposition to harm against civilians regardless of who commits it and has repeatedly pledged that Jewish New Yorkers will be protected and valued by his administration.

Danon, however, said October 7 was not the day for the mayor to wage that political battle, insisting that the anniversary must remain focused on those murdered and abducted by Hamas.

{Matzav.com}

Exactly three years to the minute after Hamas launched its October 7 invasion of Israel, Israel Prison Service forces carried out coordinated surprise raids Wednesday morning in five prisons holding security prisoners, conducting extensive searches aimed at uncovering contraband and preventing disturbances or attacks.

The operation began at precisely 6:29 a.m. — the time the Hamas assault began on October 7, 2023 — as Israel marked three years since the massacre that killed more than 1,100 people and saw 251 hostages abducted into Gaza.

The large-scale prison operation was launched following a security assessment ahead of the highly sensitive anniversary, with officials seeking to head off any attempt by security prisoners to exploit the date to cause unrest or threaten prison personnel.

The raids were conducted simultaneously at five security detention facilities across Israel. Officers entered cells and prison wings housing terrorists and other security prisoners and carried out extensive searches for prohibited items and potential security threats.

The operation drew personnel from across the Prison Service’s northern, central and southern districts and included a substantial contingent of specialized forces.

Among those participating were members of the elite Metzada unit, which specializes in complex prison emergencies and hostage situations, along with the Nachshon unit, district units, first-response prison forces and prison intelligence and investigative personnel.

The Prison Service said the goal was to reinforce its control and authority within the facilities, locate contraband and thwart in advance any effort to disrupt prison order, attack guards or compromise the security of the prisons.

The timing at 6:29 a.m. was deliberately chosen to coincide with the exact moment Hamas began its assault three years earlier. The same hour was marked elsewhere across Israel Wednesday with memorial events, moments of silence and ceremonies honoring those murdered on October 7.

The Prison Service did not immediately disclose whether weapons, communications equipment or other prohibited materials were discovered during Wednesday morning’s searches.

The operation comes amid a dramatically changed prison landscape since October 7. Before the massacre, Israel held approximately 16,200 inmates in Prison Service facilities, including roughly 5,200 security prisoners. The war and the detention of thousands of terrorists and terror suspects placed enormous additional pressure on the country’s prison system.

Since the outbreak of the war, Israeli authorities have also significantly tightened the conditions under which security prisoners are held, while increasing searches, intelligence operations and other measures intended to prevent terrorist organizations from maintaining command structures and communications from inside Israeli prisons.

Under the policy of Prison Service Commissioner Kobi Yaakobi, officials said proactive operations aimed at asserting control over security prisoners are conducted throughout the year. Those measures are intensified when intelligence assessments indicate heightened sensitivity or an increased potential for unrest.

The third anniversary of October 7 was considered one such period, leading authorities to increase preventive and deterrence measures throughout the prison system and stage Wednesday’s coordinated operation.

“The Israel Prison Service will continue to act with determination to maintain order, control and security in correctional facilities and to thwart any threat emanating from them,” the service said.

{Matzav.com}

Neriyah Leiter, the IDF reservist and son of Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter who suffered a severe brain injury in a terrorist ramming attack two weeks ago, has begun breathing on his own in an encouraging development, his father revealed Wednesday.

While Neriyah remains unconscious and his condition continues to be extremely serious, the latest update marks a significant improvement from just days ago, when Ambassador Leiter said his son remained on life support following emergency brain surgery.

“Neria has severe head injuries, but in recent days he has begun breathing on his own. He is still unconscious.”

Neriyah was critically wounded on Sept. 23 when a Palestinian terrorist rammed him with a vehicle near the Maccabim checkpoint on Route 443. The terrorist was subsequently shot and killed by IDF soldiers at the scene.

Neriyah was rushed unconscious to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Yerushalayim, where doctors performed hours of emergency brain surgery and other procedures. The hospital said following the operation that his condition remained extremely serious and that his life was in danger.

The critically wounded reservist has served hundreds of days in the IDF reserves on several fronts since the October 7 massacre, despite the devastating loss of his older brother, Maj. Moshe Yedidya Leiter, who was killed fighting Hamas in Gaza in November 2023.

Ambassador Leiter rushed back to Israel after learning of the attack on his son. Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu visited Neriyah and the family at the hospital shortly after the attack and returned for another visit ahead of Simchas Torah.

Only days before Wednesday’s encouraging update, Ambassador Leiter wrote an emotional message from Neriyah’s bedside, describing his son as still dependent on life support and thanking Jews around the world for the extraordinary outpouring of tefillos on his behalf.

“As I sit here at my son Neria’s bedside, I am thinking about what the most appropriate message would be as we enter the Simchat Torah holiday. Neria is still on life support and my first thought is one of immense gratitude for the support and all the prayers on his behalf. Your prayers have given my family and me tremendous strength in the knowledge that prayers matter. Prime Minister Netanyahu visited us in the hospital today to share a much-needed sense of comfort and support.”

Leiter then connected the attack on his son to the broader wave of terrorism directed at Israelis and Jews, writing that the ideology behind the October 7 massacre remains a threat that must be defeated.

“My second thought is of the importance of reminding ourselves, and anyone still willing to listen, that the October 7 attack on Simchat Torah three years ago was cultivated in an ideology that believes killing Jews is admirable and that there is no place for an Israel, any Israel. It is the same ideology that murdered Nathaniel Shukrun just before Yom Kippur, tried to murder my second son right after Yom Kippur, and tried to crash a passenger jet on its way to Tel Aviv two days before the anniversary of Israel’s own September 11. Until we defeat this ideology, we are all like Neria, on life support.”

In a third reflection, the ambassador turned to the resilience of Klal Yisroel and the significance of his son’s name.

“And thought #3: People don’t understand Israeli resilience. Neria is Hebrew for “G-d’s candle.” We gave him that name because he was born just before the Sabbath when the Biblical portion that begins with Numbers 8:2 is read in synagogues. In the verse, G-d instructs Moses to tell Aharon to set up seven lamps in a way that they face forward and give light in front of the Temple’s golden lamp stand. Aaron’s merit in this task was greater than all the other leaders who participated in the consecration of the holy Temple. Greater why? Because the consecration was a one-time occurrence, while illuminating the Temple, Jerusalem, was a permanent and ongoing duty.”

Leiter then cited Mark Twain’s famous reflections on the remarkable survival of the Jewish people through centuries in which far larger and more powerful civilizations disappeared.

“History has proven the light’s eternity. Mark Twain perhaps put it best: “If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of star dust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way. Properly the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of.”

“He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world’s list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also away out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers.”

“He has made a marvellous fight in the world, in all the ages; and has done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself, and be excused for it. The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed, and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished.”

“The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?”

At the time, with his son still on life support, Leiter concluded with a plea that the public continue its tefillos and expressed the hope that Neriyah would be able to celebrate Simchas Torah with his family one year from now.

“Please continue to pray for Neria’s recovery, perhaps next Simchat Torah he will be able to rejoice together with his darling wife and children.”

Wednesday’s news that Neriyah has now begun breathing independently offered the first major encouraging development since the attack, although he remains unconscious with severe head injuries.

The public is asked to continue davening for Neriyah Dov ben Chana for a complete refuah sheleimah.

{Matzav.com}

Three years after the October 7 massacre, the IDF has opened to journalists a sprawling Hamas tunnel complex near Kibbutz Nachal Oz that military officials say was used by terrorists involved in one of the deadliest battles of the attack and later served as part of the underground network into which Israeli hostages were taken. Pasted markdown

The tunnel, stretching approximately a mile and a half beneath Gaza, contains reinforced doors, living quarters, electricity, running water, air conditioning and other infrastructure that allowed Hamas terrorists to remain underground for extended periods. An IDF commander described the network as effectively “a city under a city.”

The newly exposed tunnel lies less than half a mile from Nachal Oz, one of the communities and military positions hit hardest when Hamas launched its massive invasion of southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

“It is hard to imagine, but it [the tunnel] is all connected and goes back to [Gaza City],” an IDF commander in the southern Gaza Strip told reporters.

From above ground, there was little to indicate what lay underneath. The entrance was concealed in an area that has since been largely leveled, with what appeared to be an ordinary screen door leading down into the underground system.

Once inside, however, reporters encountered an extensive Hamas installation built for prolonged use. A massive reinforced door had been installed near the entrance, designed to delay Israeli soldiers attempting to enter while giving terrorists time to escape through another route.

The underground compound included several rooms, sleeping quarters, a bathroom and sink, air-conditioning equipment and a functioning water system. Electrical wires ran along the narrow corridors, lights were installed along the walls, and pipes carried water through the complex.

“Many thousands [of Hamas terrorists] could live in the tunnels,” the commander said.

The revelation comes exactly three years after the October 7 attack, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed across southern Israel and 251 people were abducted into Gaza.

Nachal Oz was among the scenes of the most devastating fighting. Hamas terrorists attacked both the IDF base and the neighboring kibbutz, overwhelming Israeli defenses before murdering soldiers and civilians and abducting Israelis into Gaza.

A subsequent IDF investigation into the fall of the Nachal Oz military base described what happened there as a “systemic failure.” There were 162 soldiers stationed at the base that morning, including only about 90 who were armed, when waves of Hamas terrorists descended on the facility.

Military investigators later determined that Hamas had gathered extraordinarily detailed intelligence about the base before the attack. The terror group knew its layout, the location of barracks and bomb shelters, where commanders slept, the number of soldiers ordinarily stationed there, where surveillance cameras were positioned and how long it was expected to take Israeli reinforcements to arrive.

Hamas had even calculated that it could reach and penetrate the base within approximately 15 minutes of crossing the Gaza border. The terrorists took slightly longer than that to break in, but major Israeli reinforcements would not arrive for hours.

At approximately 6:30 a.m., surveillance soldiers began detecting Hamas squads moving toward the border carrying explosives. Terrorists subsequently blasted through sections of the border defenses and began pouring into Israel on foot, motorcycles and pickup trucks.

The Nachal Oz base was located only about 850 meters from the Gaza border. Despite that proximity and its critical surveillance role, investigators found serious weaknesses in its defenses. Guard positions were inadequately manned, troops were not prepared for an assault of such magnitude and Hamas rapidly overwhelmed the forces attempting to defend the installation.

Approximately 215 Hamas terrorists ultimately stormed the base in several waves. Fifty-three Israeli soldiers were killed there, including 16 female surveillance soldiers, and 10 soldiers were abducted into Gaza.

Seven of those abducted were female surveillance soldiers. Ori Megidish was subsequently rescued by Israeli forces. Noa Marciano was killed in captivity and her body recovered by the IDF. Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Agam Berger were eventually freed in hostage agreements.

Images of the captured surveillance soldiers became some of the most haunting footage from October 7. Several were seen bloodied and injured after being taken prisoner, surrounded by armed Hamas terrorists.

The IDF base’s extensive network of security cameras captured portions of the assault as Hamas fighters overwhelmed the facility. Terrorists attacked soldiers in shelters and eventually set fire to the command center after Israeli troops inside refused to surrender.

At the same time, Hamas terrorists invaded nearby Kibbutz Nachal Oz. Seven people were abducted from the kibbutz itself, while residents were murdered and homes were burned during the attack.

The tunnel now shown to reporters was part of the underground system used after the assault. According to the IDF commander who led journalists through it, 18 soldiers and civilians abducted from the Nachal Oz area were taken into the tunnel network. Israeli military officials believe some hostages may subsequently have been held inside portions of the complex during the Gaza war.

The scale and sophistication of the facility provide another glimpse into the underground infrastructure Hamas constructed beneath Gaza over many years. Rather than serving merely as passageways, portions of the network were built as functioning subterranean bases where terrorists could eat, sleep, communicate and remain hidden for extended periods.

An IDF commander who has been involved in operations against Hamas’s underground infrastructure estimated that Israeli forces have destroyed at least 32 miles of tunnels during operations under his command since the war began.

But the military believes hundreds of miles of Hamas tunnels remain beneath Gaza. The commander estimated that dismantling the remaining network — believed to total more than 300 miles — could “take years.”

The journalists were also taken to an IDF position inside Gaza overlooking Deir al-Balah. Israeli officials said the territory presently under IDF control represents nearly 70 percent of Gaza and that there are “no Palestinians inside the IDF-controlled territory.”

Despite the ceasefire that has prevented a return to the full-scale warfare seen earlier in the conflict, Israeli troops continue to face attacks from Hamas. Military officials said terrorists detonated a roadside bomb against an IDF engineering vehicle only days before the journalists toured the area.

Israeli officials also say Hamas is using the relative lull to replenish its ranks and rebuild its capabilities.

“Hamas is doing everything to rebuild,” an IDF official from a Gaza Strip military post said. “A Gaza boy at the age 15 [in 2023] is now recruitable.”

The tour also brought journalists to Kibbutz Kfar Aza, another Gaza-border community devastated on October 7. Sixty-four residents were killed there, including children, and numerous residents were abducted.

IDF spokeswoman Rona Epstein, who grew up in Kfar Aza, told reporters that her brother, Netta, was among those murdered. During the Hamas attack, Netta threw himself on a grenade to shield his partner, Irene Shavit. When IDF soldiers eventually reached the scene, they found Shavit alive beneath his body.

Kfar Aza was home to approximately 1,000 people before October 7 and had employed Gazans in an effort to foster peaceful relations between the communities. Three years later, only about 200 residents and volunteers are living there.

The newly exposed tunnel near Nahal Oz stands as another physical reminder of what was waiting just across the border before October 7: an extensive underground military infrastructure running beneath Gaza, close to Israeli communities that would become some of the principal targets of the deadliest terrorist attack in Israel’s history.

{Matzav.com}

A special service is taking the concept of a mobile shul to an entirely different level, offering families and event organizers the ability to have virtually everything needed for a fully functioning minyan delivered directly to their location.

Known as “The Rolling Shul,” the service provides a complete portable shul setup for occasions where a regular shul may not be readily available, including family events, retreats, weekends away and other gatherings throughout the tristate area and beyond.

Rather than forcing organizers to piece together a temporary shul on their own, The Rolling Shul delivers and arranges the entire setup at the requested location.

Available equipment includes an aron kodesh, bimah and amud, along with custom bookcases already stocked with siddurim, chumashim and seforim. Sifrei Torah and talleisim can also be provided, allowing organizers to have the necessities of a functioning minyan prepared in advance.

The service even offers bris equipment, making it possible to create an appropriate setting for a bris milah at a location that does not ordinarily have the necessary furnishings.

The idea is simple: instead of finding a shul near the event, bring the shul to the event.

The Rolling Shul handles delivery, setup and arrangement, with its promotional message summing up the concept: “You plan the event, we bring the shul.”

The service is available throughout the tristate area and beyond, with full shul setups brought directly to the customer’s location.

For additional information, The Rolling Shul can be reached at 848-240-4321 or [email protected].

President Donald Trump briefly confused Brazil with India in a late-night Truth Social post about Sunday’s Brazilian presidential election, incorrectly telling his followers that 125 million people had voted in “India’s Presidential Election” before deleting the message and reposting it with the correct country.

The mistake came as Trump sought to contrast Brazil’s rapid vote count with the lengthier process used in parts of the United States, arguing that American elections should be able to produce results much more quickly.

“125 Million People voted today in the first round of India’s Presidential Election. The results came out shortly after the vote closed, on the SAME DAY!” Trump wrote in the original post, which was published at approximately 11:32 p.m. ET Sunday.

There was one significant problem: India had held no presidential election. Brazil had gone to the polls Sunday for the first round of its presidential contest between incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, conservative Senator Flávio Bolsonaro and other candidates.

Trump’s figure of 125 million voters was, however, remarkably close to Brazil’s actual turnout. Official figures from Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court showed approximately 125.3 million voters participated in Sunday’s election.

The error was quickly corrected. Trump removed the original post and published essentially the same message again, this time correctly identifying Brazil as the country that had held the election.

“125 Million People voted today in the first round of Brazil’s Presidential Election. The results came out shortly after the vote closed, on the SAME DAY! In Detroit, Philadelphia, California, and numerous other U.S. Cities and States, the results, with much smaller numbers, will often take weeks to Rig, I mean, calculate. Voting in America is CORRUPT!!!” Trump wrote in the corrected version.

Screenshots and archived versions of the initial post confirmed that Trump had originally written “India” before changing it to “Brazil.”

The distinction is particularly notable because India does not directly elect its president through a nationwide popular vote. India’s president is selected indirectly by an electoral college consisting of elected members of Parliament and state legislative assemblies.

Brazil, by contrast, held its first-round presidential election on October 4. With virtually all ballots counted, Flávio Bolsonaro finished first with 47.03 percent of valid votes, receiving approximately 56.1 million votes. Lula finished second with 45.16 percent, receiving approximately 53.9 million votes.

Because neither candidate received more than 50 percent of the valid vote, Bolsonaro and Lula will face each other in a runoff election on October 25.

Trump’s underlying argument focused on the striking speed with which Brazil tabulates its election results. Brazil uses a nationally standardized electronic voting system, allowing authorities to process results from across the country rapidly after polls close.

The United States operates under a substantially different system. Elections are administered primarily under state law, meaning procedures vary widely from state to state. Some jurisdictions also accept mail ballots that arrive after Election Day if they were properly postmarked, while election officials must verify signatures and complete other processing requirements before those ballots can be counted.

For that reason, the fact that some American jurisdictions continue counting ballots for days after Election Day does not by itself indicate fraud. Trump provided no evidence in the post to support his allegation that slower counting in Detroit, Philadelphia, California or elsewhere is the result of elections being “rigged.”

The president has long criticized extended ballot-counting periods and mail voting, repeatedly arguing that the United States should move toward elections in which voting and counting are completed far more rapidly.

His Brazil post was intended to reinforce that argument, pointing to a country with a population of more than 200 million that was able to report the overwhelming majority of its presidential vote within hours.

Instead, the original version of the post attracted attention for the Brazil-India mix-up. Several Indian news organizations quickly highlighted the mistake, noting both that India had held no election that day and that its president is not chosen through a direct national popular vote.

Trump did not publicly address the error when he corrected the message, and the White House did not immediately provide an explanation for how “India” appeared in the original post.

The corrected post remained focused on Trump’s broader criticism of American election administration, with the president declaring, “Voting in America is CORRUPT!!!”

{Matzav.com}

Concern is mounting in Teveria after Rav Dov Chizkiyahu HaKohen Kook was hospitalized again following a deterioration in his health, just weeks after he was able to return home ahead of Yom Kippur.

Rav Kook experienced a slight worsening of his condition, prompting doctors to transfer him to Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center for testing and close medical observation.

B’chasdei Shomayim, his condition stabilized and has since returned to its previous state. Rav Kook remains hospitalized under observation.

The latest development follows an extended and difficult medical period for Rav Kook. He was hospitalized for a lengthy period and subsequently underwent a complicated series of treatments and rehabilitation that continued for several months.

Shortly before Yom Kippur, Rav Kook was released to his home in Teveria, allowing him to spend the Yom Hakadosh together with his many talmidim and participate in the tefillos.

Because his medical condition still required close supervision, special arrangements were made for him inside the bais medrash. A designated area was prepared and enclosed with a curtain, allowing Rav Kook to remain together with the tzibbur while maintaining his privacy and preventing visitors from approaching him in a manner that could interfere with his much-needed rest.

Rav Kook’s family expressed its gratitude to the public for the concern and numerous tefillos offered on his behalf throughout his illness.

In light of his latest hospitalization, the family is asking the tzibbur to continue storming the heavens for a complete and speedy refuah sheleimah for Rav Chizkiyahu Dov HaKohen ben Shoshana, b’soch she’ar cholei Yisroel.

{Matzav.com}

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani faced a barrage of condemnation from Israeli, American and Jewish officials Wednesday after using his statement on the third anniversary of the October 7 massacre to accuse Israel of “genocide,” “apartheid” and “war crimes,” with critics charging that he had hijacked a day meant to remember Hamas’s victims in order to attack the Jewish state.

Among the harshest responses came from U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who branded Mamdani’s message an “outrageous & disgusting rant” issued on a day that “ought to honor the over 1200 civilians butchered by Hamas including 46 Americans.”

Huckabee compared Mamdani’s approach to commemorating the September 11 attacks by simultaneously condemning America for its response to al-Qaeda.

“There is NO genocide in Gaza,” Huckabee stated, blaming the death toll on Hamas and its continued holding and abuse of hostages. He added that an apology for Mamdani’s “obtuse and utterly ignorant remarks” would not be enough, concluding: “God help the people of New York for electing a jihadist sympathizer!”

Israel’s Consul General in New York, Ofir Akunis, also issued a blistering response, accusing Mamdani of displaying a shocking lack of sensitivity on the anniversary of the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

“Anyone with a human heart should be ashamed today of the New York City Mayor’s response to the October 7th massacre,” Akunis stated.

“A day when human monsters invaded the State of Israel on a holiday, murdering, kidnapping, beheading hundreds, and raping hundreds of women.”

Akunis said Mamdani had chosen to continue making what he called antisemitic accusations against Israel rather than devote the anniversary to remembering those murdered and abducted by Hamas.

“Mamdani is displaying a complete lack of human sensitivity and continues to spread his antisemitic blood libels against the Jewish state,” he said.

“It is a disgrace to New York City that such a man stands at its helm, and that, on this day, he chooses to disparage the memory of the murdered victims.”

Akunis then renewed an invitation he had extended to Mamdani earlier this week to attend a screening in New York of the IDF’s approximately 47-minute compilation of raw footage from the October 7 atrocities. The film includes graphic material recorded by Hamas terrorists themselves during the massacre.

“It is not too late for him to attend the screening of the horror film we are hosting this evening, and to witness with his own eyes, for the first time, the kind of human monsters he supports,” Akunis stated.

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon similarly accused the mayor of attempting to transform the anniversary from a day of remembrance into another vehicle for anti-Israel messaging.

“’Mamdani-ism’ – an attempt to hijack the anniversary of October 7 and turn it into yet another propaganda attack against Israel. It is like turning September 11 into a day of mourning for al-Qaeda terrorists. We will not let this happen. We will remember those who were murdered, and we will never forget who was behind this massacre.”

The Israeli-American Council also delivered an extensive condemnation, saying that whatever political debate Mamdani wished to have about the Gaza war, October 7 was first and foremost a day for the Jewish and Israeli communities to remember the victims of Hamas’s attack.

“For the Jewish and Israeli community, October 7 is, first and foremost, a day of mourning, remembrance, and trauma. On the third anniversary of Hamas’ mass murder, mass rape, mass torture, and mass hostage taking of over 1,200 Israelis, Mayor Mamdani chose, once again, to use the day to accuse Israel of “genocide.” That claim is demonstrably false. The IDF has taken extraordinary steps to minimize civilian casualties, far beyond what the law of armed conflict requires, while fighting an enemy that systematically hides beyond women and children and uses civilians as human shields.”

The organization said Mamdani’s remarks could not be dismissed as a single poorly chosen statement, arguing that his rhetoric about Israel has become a recurring feature of his public messaging and has consequences for Jewish New Yorkers.

“This is not a one-time lapse. Every year, on the anniversary of the day our community buries its dead, the mayor reaches for the same blood libel against the Jewish state. Rhetoric like this doesn’t stay online – it is exactly the kind of messaging that has fueled a documented rise in antisemitic incidents across New York City,” the IAC said. “The mayor’s job is to keep New Yorkers safe and ensure Jewish and Israeli residents can mourn without their grief being hijacked for a political attack. The mayor today has betrayed his duty and continued to fuel anti Jewish hatred.”

The backlash followed Mamdani’s official statement Wednesday morning marking three years since Hamas-led terrorists invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023, murdering approximately 1,200 people and abducting 251 others into Gaza.

Mamdani began by acknowledging the massacre and the continuing pain experienced by New Yorkers with relatives and friends affected by it.

“This day is profoundly painful for so many New Yorkers. It marks three years since the horrific war crimes of October 7,” Mamdani wrote on X.

“On that day, Hamas killed more than 1,100 Israelis and abducted 251 others. We grieve alongside our many friends and neighbors who still carry that unthinkable loss.”

But Mamdani then devoted most of his statement to Gaza, declaring that Palestinian suffering “did not begin nor end that day” and accusing Israel of conducting an “ongoing genocide.”

He claimed that more than 74,000 Palestinians, including more than 21,000 children, had been killed by Israel, and said more than 1,400 Palestinians had died since what he called the “so-called ceasefire.” Those figures are based on casualty counts from authorities in Hamas-run Gaza. Israel has repeatedly disputed Hamas’s presentation of the casualty figures and categorically rejects the charge that it is committing genocide.

Mamdani also accused Israel of bombing ambulances outside hospitals, targeting residential buildings and journalists with drone strikes, and preventing shipments of food from crossing into Gaza. He said American taxpayers were financing Israeli “war crimes.”

He concluded by calling for an end to what he characterized as Israeli “occupation and apartheid” and accusing the federal government of complicity through continued weapons shipments to Israel.

The controversy came only days after Mamdani’s administration unveiled a $7.4 million citywide initiative aimed at combating antisemitism, including increased security measures, educational programs and training for city employees. The mayor has maintained that his fierce criticism of Israel should be distinguished from hostility toward Jews.

The timing of Wednesday’s remarks nevertheless intensified criticism from Jewish and Israeli leaders, particularly as memorial ceremonies were being held in New York, Israel and around the world for those murdered and abducted three years ago.

Mamdani’s October 7 rhetoric has been controversial before. On the second anniversary of the massacre in 2025, before becoming mayor, he similarly mourned those killed by Hamas before accusing Israel of waging what he called a “genocidal war” in Gaza, drawing a condemnation from Israel’s Foreign Ministry.

{Matzav.com}

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani ignited a new firestorm Wednesday after using his official statement marking the third anniversary of the October 7 Hamas massacre to accuse Israel of carrying out an “ongoing genocide” in Gaza, practicing “apartheid” and committing “war crimes” with American support.

While Mamdani began his statement by acknowledging the Israelis murdered and kidnapped during the Hamas-led attack, the bulk of his message focused on condemning Israel and the United States, prompting fierce criticism from Israeli officials and Jewish leaders who accused the mayor of turning the anniversary of the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust into a platform for his longstanding attacks on the Jewish state.

“This day is profoundly painful for so many New Yorkers. It marks three years since the horrific war crimes of October 7. On that day, Hamas killed more than 1,100 Israelis and abducted 251 others. We grieve alongside our many friends and neighbors who still carry that unthinkable loss,” Mamdani said.

He then pivoted immediately to Gaza.

“The suffering did not begin nor end that day. It instead continued through the Israeli government’s devastating, ongoing genocide in Gaza, in which it has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians—including more than 21,000 children. Even since the so-called ceasefire, more than 1,400 Palestinians have been killed. That suffering has intensified with every Israeli bomb dropped on ambulances waiting outside hospitals, every drone strike targeting a residential building or journalist, and every shipment of food aid turned away at a border crossing. Many New Yorkers are reckoning with this unbearable grief, and we mourn alongside them—all while knowing that our tax dollars fund these war crimes.”

The casualty figures cited by Mamdani are based on figures from authorities in Hamas-run Gaza. Israel has disputed Hamas’s accounting of casualties throughout the war and strongly rejects allegations that its campaign constitutes genocide, saying its military operations target Hamas and other terrorist organizations while seeking to minimize civilian casualties. Israel also disputes accusations that it systematically blocks humanitarian aid from entering Gaza.

Mamdani went on to condemn Israel’s presence in Palestinian territories and Washington’s continued military assistance to the Jewish state.

“Three years later, we must refuse to accept a world in which occupation and apartheid continue, where war crimes are met with impunity, and our federal government continues its complicity with every arms shipment,” said Mamdani.

“To honor the dead, we must fight for a world in which every person can live with freedom, safety, and dignity.”

The statement came exactly three years after Hamas-led terrorists stormed across Israel’s border on October 7, 2023, murdering approximately 1,200 people and abducting 251 hostages into Gaza. Entire communities along the Gaza border were devastated, hundreds of young people were murdered at the Nova music festival, and families were slaughtered or abducted from their homes.

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon blasted Mamdani for using the anniversary to shift attention from the victims of the Hamas massacre to accusations against Israel.

“What he is trying to do is hijack the only day we have for the victims and survivors. He’s trying to hijack the day to talk about attacking Israel,” Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon told The Post.

Danon compared Mamdani’s approach to using the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks to focus simultaneously on the terrorists responsible for them.

“It’s like on 9/11 you talked about victims and al-Qaeda terrorists. It’s basically taking the only day we have for victims and trying to attack Israel with propaganda. He’s dangerous and sophisticated. He will go to both ceremonies and try to say he feels for both losses of life.”

Menashe Shapiro, who served as an adviser to Mamdani’s predecessor, Mayor Eric Adams, issued an even more blistering condemnation, calling the mayor’s statement “incitement and electronic violence against New York’s Jews.”

“He doesn’t get to hide behind Hamas’ made-up stats to justify his open Jew-hatred.”

The controversy comes amid already strained relations between Mamdani and significant portions of New York’s Jewish community over his rhetoric concerning Israel. Mamdani has repeatedly accused Israel of genocide and has sharply criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government.

Those tensions have persisted even as Mamdani has sought to reassure Jewish New Yorkers that his administration is committed to combating antisemitism. Just days before the October 7 anniversary, City Hall unveiled a new citywide strategy to fight antisemitism, including enhanced security around Jewish institutions, educational initiatives and efforts to address anti-Jewish hate crimes.

A new survey released Wednesday underscored the depth of the divide. The poll of 503 Jewish voters across New York City found that 65% disapproved of Mamdani’s handling of antisemitism, including 47% who strongly disapproved, while 34% approved.

The survey also found substantial opposition among Jewish respondents to Mamdani holding or attending an official city commemoration of October 7, reflecting the distrust that has developed between the mayor and portions of the community.

The issue has taken on particular urgency in New York, home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said this week that antisemitic incidents continue to constitute more than half of all reported hate crimes in the city, even though Jews represent only a fraction of New York’s population.

Mamdani has faced criticism from Jewish leaders before over the effect they say his language about Israel can have on Jewish New Yorkers. During an August meeting with a group of rabbis and Jewish leaders, participants directly confronted the mayor over those concerns.

{Matzav.com}

Israel is moving to tighten security screening for foreign airline crews following the attempted attack aboard Flydubai Flight FZ1073, with crew members from countries designated as high-risk to undergo security vetting 48 hours before departing for Israel.

The new procedures were discussed Tuesday during a classified session of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee’s Intelligence Subcommittee, amid growing questions over how foreign flight crews are screened before being permitted to enter Israeli airspace and land in the country.

The meeting followed several days of finger-pointing among Israeli government and security agencies over responsibility for screening the crew of the Flydubai flight.

According to the plan discussed at the session, the National Security Council will work with the Mossad and Shin Bet to formulate a list of countries that will be classified as presenting a heightened security threat.

Once that list is established, the identities and personal details of flight crew members from those countries will have to be provided to Israel 48 hours before a scheduled flight, allowing Israeli security agencies to conduct background checks and grant approval before departure.

A second change will involve passengers and crew members traveling on passports issued by countries that do not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel.

At the request of the Transportation Ministry, the Population and Immigration Authority will be required to provide the ministry’s security division with lists identifying passengers and crew members holding passports from such countries.

The closed-door discussion also sought to establish more clearly which Israeli government agency bears responsibility for each stage of the screening process.

According to information presented during the meeting, responsibility for checking the passports of passengers and flight crew members rests with the Population and Immigration Authority, working through the National Security Council. Relevant information is then supposed to be transferred to the agencies responsible for carrying out the necessary security assessments.

The changes follow revelations of significant gaps in Israel’s existing system for vetting foreign flight crews.

According to previous reports, Israeli authorities received the crew list for Flydubai Flight FZ1073 in advance and raised no objection to any of the individuals aboard. The flight’s Omani co-pilot was subsequently accused of attempting to carry out a terrorist attack during the Israel-bound flight.

The incident raised questions over whether the existing system adequately evaluates the backgrounds and nationalities of foreign crew members before they are permitted to operate flights to Israel.

Tuesday’s classified meeting was therefore aimed at creating a clearer division of responsibility among the National Security Council, Shin Bet, Mossad, Population and Immigration Authority and Transportation Ministry, while ensuring that potentially significant information reaches the appropriate security agency before an aircraft departs for Israel.

Under the proposed framework, Israeli authorities would have a 48-hour window to examine flight personnel from countries considered particularly sensitive, rather than confronting potential security concerns only after a flight is already underway or approaching Israeli airspace.

{Matzav.com}

Six people aboard a medical transport jet traveling from Bermuda to Boston are presumed dead after the aircraft reported electrical problems, plunged thousands of feet and disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean south of Nantucket, with the U.S. Coast Guard later locating wreckage from the plane.

The Gulfstream G100, operated by Ontario-based Latitude Air Ambulance and flying as Heartbeat 104, was carrying a Bermudian patient and her son, along with two Canadian pilots and two Canadian medical crew members, when it went down early Saturday, Oct. 3.

What began as an enormous search-and-rescue operation ended after approximately 66 hours, with the Coast Guard suspending its active search after covering thousands of square miles of ocean. No survivors were located.

The six people aboard have since been identified as 66-year-old Marilyn Lavonne Bean of Bermuda, who was being transported to Boston for medical treatment; her 41-year-old son, Sergio Wayne Lottimore; Captain Philip Gregory Childerhose; First Officer Thomas Henry Farquhar; flight nurse Sarah Jane Paton; and respiratory therapist Jolene Beth Weir.

The Canadian-registered aircraft, tail number C-GRJP, departed Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International Airport shortly after midnight and was heading to Boston Logan International Airport when the crew encountered trouble while approaching the northeastern United States.

The plane was scheduled to arrive in Boston at approximately 1:25 a.m., but air traffic controllers began having difficulty communicating with the crew as the aircraft flew north over the Atlantic.

Chilling air traffic control recordings captured a controller struggling to understand transmissions from the jet as its apparent emergency developed.

“You’re coming in blind? Is that what you said?” the air traffic controller asked around 12:46 a.m. “Are you declaring an emergency or no?

“You’re coming in a little weak so I didn’t hear what your response was,” the controller added.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has since confirmed that the crew reported electrical difficulties as the aircraft approached the Boston area. The jet subsequently entered a rapid descent before air traffic controllers lost contact with it south of Nantucket.

Flight-tracking information showed the aircraft falling from approximately 24,000 feet to around 11,000 feet in roughly three minutes beginning at about 1:04 a.m. The jet appeared to stabilize following the dramatic descent, but communications problems continued.

At Boston Logan, emergency personnel were already preparing for the aircraft’s arrival. At approximately 1:12 a.m., a Massport Fire Rescue dispatcher alerted crews that a plane experiencing an “electrical issue” was expected to land in Boston in about 15 minutes.

“The aircraft has lost radio and radar,” the dispatcher said of the plane.

Those preparations would prove futile. The jet never reached Boston, and an official search-and-rescue alert was triggered at approximately 1:20 a.m.

“The FAA is coordinating with the Rescue Coordination Center and the U.S. Coast Guard to locate the aircraft,” the agency said as the search began.

The Coast Guard deployed an extensive array of resources into the waters south of Nantucket, including an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft and MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod, a 47-foot motor lifeboat from Station Brant Point and the Coast Guard cutter William Sparling.

The William Sparling continued searching through the night as aircraft and vessels combed the ocean for any indication of the missing plane or its six occupants.

Crews eventually spotted a debris field in the Atlantic south of Nantucket. The Coast Guard subsequently confirmed that the wreckage was associated with the missing Gulfstream, extinguishing hopes that the aircraft might somehow have remained airborne or made an emergency landing elsewhere.

During the first 27 hours alone, Coast Guard crews searched approximately 1,644 square miles. The massive effort ultimately continued for about 66 hours and covered thousands of square miles before officials concluded that the chances of finding survivors no longer justified continuing the active search.

Latitude Air Ambulance subsequently said that the six people aboard Heartbeat 104 were presumed dead. The company described the loss as a devastating event and said it would cooperate with investigators while supporting the families of those aboard.

The flight was a medical mission carrying Bean from Bermuda to Boston for treatment. Her son Lottimore, a Bermuda-based reinsurance executive and former Warwick Academy student, accompanied her on the flight.

The four Canadian crew members were experienced aviation and medical professionals tasked with carrying patients requiring specialized care between countries. Latitude Air Ambulance is based in Hamilton, Ontario, and specializes in long-distance medical transportation.

Attention has now shifted from rescue operations to determining exactly what caused the aircraft to go down.

Canada’s Transportation Safety Board announced that it will lead the investigation because the Gulfstream was registered in Canada. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board will participate as an accredited representative, and Canadian investigators are expected to assist with efforts to locate and recover the aircraft and other evidence.

The investigation will focus in part on the electrical difficulties reported by the crew, the deterioration in radio communications and the jet’s sudden loss of altitude. Investigators will also examine weather conditions along the aircraft’s route.

No official determination has been made about what caused the crash, and investigators have cautioned against drawing conclusions before the wreckage, flight data and other evidence can be examined.

Former Transportation Department Inspector General Mary Schiavo said the combination of the aircraft’s steep descent, poor weather and possible instrument problems would be particularly dangerous for a pilot.

“Something bad happened with this big drop, and they flew into this big storm. It’s a terrible place to have a loss of your instruments and be flying blind,” said Schiavo.

“It’s very easy to get disoriented and not know if you’re turning, climbing, descending, etc. Spatial orientation hits pretty quickly.”

The aircraft was manufactured in 1996 and had been registered to Latitude Air Ambulance since 2018. The Gulfstream G100 is a twin-engine business jet that can be configured for long-range medical transportation.

Because the accident occurred in international waters off the Massachusetts coast, the investigation involves authorities from multiple countries. Under international aviation agreements, however, Canada, as the aircraft’s country of registration, will take the lead, with U.S. investigators assisting.

Investigators are expected to seek the recovery of as much wreckage as possible as they attempt to reconstruct the aircraft’s final minutes and determine why a medical flight bound for Boston suddenly lost communications, descended sharply and disappeared into the Atlantic.

{Matzav.com}

California is moving closer to effectively banning the fabrication of many popular engineered-quartz countertops, as state regulators confront a rapidly worsening epidemic of silicosis that has sickened nearly 600 countertop workers, led to dozens of deaths and forced scores of patients to undergo lung transplants.

The proposed regulation would prohibit workers in California from fabricating or manufacturing engineered-stone countertops and similar products containing more than 1 percent crystalline silica. That would encompass most traditional engineered quartz, which can contain more than 90 percent crystalline silica.

The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board voted unanimously in May to begin the process of establishing the prohibition, directing Cal/OSHA to pursue emergency rulemaking. Cal/OSHA has since moved the proposal forward, releasing a draft standard in September and soliciting public comments as regulators work toward a final rule.

The danger is not primarily to homeowners who have quartz countertops installed in their kitchens. Rather, the crisis involves workers who manufacture and fabricate the slabs, particularly those who cut, grind, drill and polish engineered stone. Those activities can release extremely fine particles of crystalline silica into the air, which workers can inhale deep into their lungs.

Repeated exposure can cause silicosis, a progressive and incurable disease in which scar tissue develops in the lungs, eventually making it increasingly difficult for patients to breathe. Severe cases can require lung transplantation and can be fatal.

The scale of California’s outbreak has risen dramatically. Researchers reported in August that California health officials had identified 592 cases of engineered-stone silicosis between January 2019 and June 2026. Of those workers, 65 had undergone lung transplants and 31 had died. Researchers cautioned that the actual number of cases is almost certainly higher because many workers have never been screened or have been misdiagnosed.

The disease has struck workers at unusually young ages. California officials have said that approximately 98 percent of workers diagnosed with industry-related silicosis in the state are Latino men and that the average age of workers who died was under 50.

Engineered stone has become enormously popular because it can offer the appearance of natural stone while being durable, consistent and available in a wide variety of designs. Unlike slabs of natural granite or marble, engineered quartz is generally produced by crushing quartz and combining it with resins and pigments.

That manufacturing process is at the heart of the health concern. Traditional engineered stone can contain extraordinarily high concentrations of crystalline silica, meaning that cutting and grinding it can generate large amounts of dangerous silica dust.

California has already tried imposing stricter workplace rules rather than eliminating the material. An emergency silica standard was adopted in late 2023, followed by permanent requirements in 2025 governing such practices as cutting, grinding, polishing, cleanup, respiratory protection and exposure monitoring.

But state officials concluded that those measures have not been enough. Cal/OSHA and Standards Board staff found that workers fabricating and installing artificial stone continued to face significant exposure risks and that the silicosis crisis was worsening despite existing protections.

California health officials have also warned that even commonly required safeguards, including wet-cutting methods designed to suppress dust, may not always reduce silica exposure sufficiently to prevent disease. The sophisticated equipment and controls needed to maintain extremely low exposure levels can also be difficult and expensive for smaller fabrication shops to implement consistently.

The proposed rule therefore represents a fundamental change in strategy: instead of attempting only to control the dust generated by high-silica engineered stone, California would largely remove the hazardous material itself from fabrication workplaces.

Importantly, the proposal is not a blanket prohibition on every product marketed as quartz or engineered stone. The key threshold is crystalline silica content. Under the draft approach, engineered-stone products containing more than 1 percent crystalline silica would be prohibited from fabrication, pushing manufacturers and contractors toward low- or no-crystalline-silica alternatives.

Manufacturers have already begun developing substitute products using materials such as amorphous silica, which carries a substantially lower silicosis risk than crystalline silica.

California would not be the first jurisdiction to take drastic action. Australia banned the manufacture, supply, processing and installation of engineered stone beginning in 2024 after its own surge in silicosis among countertop workers. California officials and researchers have repeatedly pointed to the Australian response while considering how to address the growing number of cases in the state.

The California epidemic was barely recognized several years ago. The state identified its first known countertop-fabrication silicosis case in 2019. That worker was diagnosed at just 32 years old and died of respiratory failure at 38. Investigators subsequently discovered additional cases among workers at the same company, helping reveal what has since become a statewide occupational-health crisis.

By November 2025, California had confirmed 432 cases, including at least 25 deaths and 48 lung transplants. By June 2026, those figures had climbed to 592 cases, 31 deaths and 65 transplants — illustrating how rapidly additional victims are being identified.

Enforcement has also intensified. Through its silica enforcement initiative, Cal/OSHA has issued more than 900 citations carrying approximately $1.9 million in proposed penalties and conducted hundreds of workplace consultations reaching more than 27,000 employees.

The proposed ban would directly affect California’s countertop-fabrication industry and could have broader implications for manufacturers, contractors, kitchen remodelers and consumers. High-silica engineered quartz has become one of the most widely used countertop materials in American homes, and California’s enormous construction and remodeling market means a prohibition could accelerate the industry’s shift toward alternative products nationwide.

For now, however, quartz countertops have not simply been “banned” in California. The state is still in the rulemaking process. The Standards Board authorized Cal/OSHA to pursue an emergency prohibition, and regulators released a draft in September targeting fabrication and manufacture of artificial stone containing more than 1 percent crystalline silica.

If the rule takes effect substantially as proposed, California would become the first U.S. state to impose such a sweeping restriction on high-silica engineered stone, transforming a product found in countless kitchens into the target of one of the nation’s most significant occupational-health crackdowns in years.

{Matzav.com}

A senior IDF official has acknowledged that young Military Police soldiers are effectively incapable of carrying out arrests of chareidi yeshiva bochurim when confronted by hundreds of protesters, following the dramatic collapse of an attempted arrest in Modi’in that ended with the bochur being released.

“We are dealing with enormous protest operations. Young soldiers in the Military Police have absolutely no chance against an event like this,” the senior military official said. “We need much more significant police assistance, with much larger forces.”

The admission followed the chaotic events in Modi’in, where Military Police arrived to arrest Yairi Lieberman, a student at Yeshivas Ohr Hachaim who is approximately 20 days away from his wedding.

When Military Police arrived at the building, the “Black Color” alert system was activated, rapidly bringing hundreds of protesters to the scene. Demonstrators arrived from Modi’in as well as Modi’in Illit, Yerushalayim and Beit Shemesh, eventually making their way all the way to the apartment on the 11th floor.

“Suddenly, at around midnight, I heard knocking at the door, and they told me, ‘Go in, go into the room — it’s the Military Police,’” Lieberman recalled. “While they gave me time to get ready, I managed to call ‘Black Color.’”

Within a short period, hundreds of people had converged on the building. The Military Police ultimately departed without taking Lieberman into custody.

The episode has now triggered a bitter dispute between Israel Police and the IDF, with each side presenting a sharply different account of how the arrest unraveled — and, in particular, who made the decision to release Lieberman.

An internal Israel Police review placed responsibility squarely on the Military Police, saying that a small military force had operated in direct violation of established procedures.

According to the police account, the Military Police arrived to arrest the draft evader but, instead of immediately removing him from the location once the arrest had been carried out, allowed him an extended and unreasonable amount of time to prepare to leave.

That delay gave protesters time to surround the building in large numbers, eventually leaving the military force itself in serious difficulty. Israel Police said its officers were then summoned on an emergency basis to rescue the Military Police personnel and restore order.

Police also emphatically rejected any suggestion that their officers had ordered Lieberman’s release.

“The decision to release the draft evader and provide him with an order to regulate his status was made by IDF officials and not by Israel Police,” police said.

The IDF, however, presented the opposite version of events, maintaining that the decision to release Lieberman was effectively made by Israel Police.

The failed arrest comes amid mounting pressure from the attorney general for authorities to significantly increase enforcement against chareidi draft evaders.

During a discussion on the issue Tuesday, it was revealed that 64 draft evaders had managed to leave Israel without being apprehended and were arrested only when they subsequently returned to the country.

A document presented during the proceedings stated that proactive enforcement operations have effectively been absent for some time and called for action by the Military Police and military prosecutors. IDF officials said proactive enforcement will resume during October, with operations coordinated between the Military Police and local Israel Police stations.

A senior official in one of the chareidi parties said the developing situation had vindicated the position taken for years by the Peleg Yerushalmi regarding the draft issue.

“The situation we find ourselves in now, and throughout the recent period, in which there is no draft law and there are efforts by the legal authorities to push the IDF and police to resume the arrests, which will clearly lead to riots and demonstrations, proves to us first and foremost that the ‘Peleg Yerushalmi’ was right throughout the years in all of its arguments regarding the draft issue.”

The Modi’in confrontation follows several other recent cases in which attempts to arrest yeshiva bochurim were disrupted by rapidly mobilized protesters.

On the night of Hoshana Rabbah, authorities attempted to arrest a yeshiva bochur at the Paz-Hayarkon gas station on Namir Road in Tel Aviv and transfer him to the Military Police.

Within minutes, hundreds of yeshiva bochurim arrived at the scene and succeeded in removing him from the area. The protesters subsequently blocked Namir Road, with hundreds dancing and singing in the roadway.

At the same time, two other bnei yeshivos were arrested in Eilat and transferred to the Military Police.

Yakir Ralbag, formerly a student at Yeshivas Chevron-Knesses Yisrael and currently learning at Rav Sosovsky’s yeshiva in Beit Meir, was arrested in Eilat and immediately handed over to the Military Police.

His arrest followed that of a Yerushalmi kollel yungerman who had reportedly been listed as absent from military service for more than 450 days. The avreich, who married only about three months ago, was apprehended while on a family vacation in Eilat.

{Matzav.com}

[COMMUNICATED]

by Rabbi Eliezer Sandler

The concept of the Yissachar-Zevulun Torah Learning Pact goes back well over 3,500 years, to the time of Yaakov Avinu and his sons. It is named for the Torah pact between two of his sons – Yissachar the scholar and Zevulun the merchant. Not only was it an equal pact but, Chazal explained, the deed of Zevulun/the Sponsor is considered even greater than that of Yissachar, because without the support of Zevulun, Yissachar would not have had the wherewithal to study Torah undisturbed.”

It is well-known that when it comes to learning Torah, people who sponsor the learning, often do so, not just as a donation. By financially supporting specific Torah scholars, they enter into a binding, written, signed and sealed learning partnership pact whereby the Sponsor (the Zevulun) is deemed by Halacha as if he personally studied the Torah completed by the Scholar (the Yissachar). (See below.) 

Thus, those who support the Talmidei Chachomim at Shas Yiden via a Yissachar-Zevulun Pact merit a portion in every daf of the entire Talmud Bavli and associated texts that they study, and complete the entire cycle in the space of ONE year. Some of the Sponsors opt to continue sponsoring repeat cycles of Shas which accrue to them.

Sar Hatorah, Maran Hagaon Harav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l, Nasi Shas Yiden, emphasized: The most mehudar Yissachar-Zevulun pact to support in our times is that offered by Shas Yiden – it comprises the entire Shas, Rashi and Tosfos – all in just one year!

Rav Chaim explained why this pact with Shas Yiden is the most mehudar. Chazal say that the highest level of learning is when one understands what he is learning b’iyun u’ve’amkus. However, even higher than that is when one remembers b’al peh all what he has learned. I have farhered the Shas Yiden avreichim geonim many times and can attest ZEI KENNEN SHAS (they know Shas)!

YES! YOU CAN MAKE
your OWN SIYUM on the ENTIRE
Shas, Rashi & Tosfos
IN JUST ONE YEAR!

The Yissachar-Zevulun Pact in Halacha

The Shulchan Aruch in Yoreh De’ah Chapter 246 regarding the efficacy of the Yissachar-Zevulun Sponsorship Pact for the Zevulun (the Sponsor) states clearly:  It is deemed as if he (the one sponsoring the learning) himself learned all the Torah studied under the pact. 

All the learning under the Shas Yiden Yissachar-Zevulun Pact is yours בעוה”ז ובעוה”ב (in both This World and the World to Come)! Concerning this, the Netziv of Volozhin comments that in Olam Habah, the Zevulun sponsor will sit together with the Gedolei Torah of the past and merit to participate in their discussions and pilpulim on all the Torah learned.

Achieve Almost 7 million Mitzvos in One Year

The Vilna Gaon in Shnos Eliyahu Pe’ah 41 states that one should hold precious every word of Torah that he learns because each word is considered a mitzvah of its own. 

Thus, since in Talmud Bavli, Rashi and Tosfos there are 6,608,891 words, that translates into almost 7 million mitzvos accruing through Yissachar-Zevulun at Shas Yiden. 

Official Shtar from Shas Yiden

Each Yissachar-Zevulun pact is confirmed by an official contract (shtar) from Shas Yiden specifying the learning of the entire Shas, and is witnessed by talmidei chachomim.

All who wish to enter into a Yissachar-Zevulun Pact for the entire Shas during ONE year should contact Shas Yiden to make arrangements: 718-702-1528.

The opportunity to complete the entire Shas has been a cherished way to honor family members and others as a prized achievement. It has also proven to be a source of comfort for mourners to obtain such a zechus for their dear ones during the year of mourning – a siyum of the entire Shas can be completed on the yahrzeit!

Yissachar-Zevulun Pact – Beyond the Grave

The legendary visionary and “Father of Yeshivos”, Reb Chaim of Volozhin, was the founder of the famous yeshiva in the town of Volozhin and the beloved talmid of the Vilna Gaon. 

Reb Chaim had an ongoing Yissachar-Zevulun pact with a local shoemaker – a man who was not learned but who dearly valued Torah learning. They had a ‘deal’ whereby the shoemaker would pay the monthly financial support needed for Reb Chaim and his family. For this financial support, the shoemaker would have an equal share in all Reb Chaim’s daily Torah study – both in the mitzvah of Torah study בעוה”ז and that the knowledge of the Torah learned would continue to be his בעוה”ב (in the World to Come).

One day the shoemaker passed away suddenly. During the shiva period, Reb Chaim was facing a perplexing halachic question and researched high and low for a solution. That night the shoemaker appeared to him in a dream and gave him the full solution that he sought. Reb Chaim was amazed and commented, “Azoi gich, Azoi Gich – So quickly, so quickly has he acquired the zchus and knowledge of the Torah that I have studied!”

In the words of Gedolei Torah:

Maran Hagaon Harav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l, Nasi Shas Yiden:

“In just ONE year, through Yissachar-Zevulun at Shas Yiden, you can be zoche to the entire Shas forever – בעוה”ז ובעוה”ב (in olam hazeh and olam habah).

“Moreover, whoever supports Shas Yiden is zocheh to fulfill both Yissachar-Zevulun and support of aniyei (the poor of) Eretz Yisroel in the fullest sense of the word.

“Those who support Shas Yiden will be saved from chevlei (the travails of) Moshiach – spiritually and materially, and will be zoche to have ehrlicher bonim u’vanos yir’eishomayim ”

Maran Hagaon Harav Dov Lando, shlit”a, Rosh Yeshiva, Slabodka:

“Who compares to the Shas Yiden? Incredible talmidei chachomim geonim who raised the bar in limud Hashas b’iyun u’v’amkus. Blessed are those who enter a Yissachar-Zevulun pact with them.”

Hamashpia Hagadol Reb Meilech Biederman, shlit”a:

 “Yissachar-Zevulun at Shas Yiden – best possible deal, and in just 1 year! 100% partnership! 100% Shas x 5 times! 100% Shisha Sidrei Mishna – בעוה”ז ובעוה”ב”

Sanzer Rebbe, shlit”a:

“A first in 2000 years of Jewish history! Until Shas Yiden, never a Torah institution where ALL the avreichim metzuyonim v’geonim know the entire Shas by heart”

Maran Hagaon Harav Yaakov Hillel, shlit”a:

“Therefore, the great mitzvah to support the efforts [of the Talmidei Chachomim] with generous donations in order that they should continue diligently with their studies to enhance the greatness of the Torah and its glory. 

ShasYiden.com

Shas chairman Aryeh Deri has issued an unequivocal commitment that his party will neither join nor enable the formation of any future government unless legislation regulating the draft status of yeshiva bochurim is passed first.

Deri said the position was adopted on the instructions of Shas’s Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah and former Rishon LeTzion Rav Yitzchak Yosef, making passage of the legislation a prerequisite to any coalition negotiations following the election.

“As we have said, in the sense of ‘know what to answer’ — there is also a clear answer,” Deri said. “The Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah instructed us, and we announced it explicitly. Maran the Rishon LeTzion Rav Yitzchak Yosef also announced at the opening conference of Shas’s election campaign: Shas will not enter a government and will not allow a government to be formed without first passing the law regulating the status of those who learn Torah.”

Deri’s declaration means that, according to the party’s stated position, Shas will demand that the draft issue be resolved legislatively before discussing cabinet positions, budgets or other elements of a coalition agreement.

Shas officials said there would be no flexibility on the sequence of events.

“Deri left no room for maneuver,” party officials said. “We have made it clear to all potential partners — anyone who wants Shas in the government will have to understand that the issue at the heart of the chareidi community is not something to be bargained over. First they will pass the law and regulate the status of the yeshiva students, and only afterward will we talk about positions and budgets.”

The pledge comes as the confrontation over the draft has intensified, with the absence of legislation regulating the status of bnei yeshivos leaving thousands exposed to enforcement action for failing to report for military service.

The tensions erupted again earlier this week in Modi’in, where an attempt to arrest a yeshiva bochur led to a large protest and ultimately ended with his release. Police subsequently conducted a review of the incident that placed responsibility for what occurred on the Military Police.

At the same time, the attorney general has been pressing for the urgent resumption of arrests of draft evaders, while the IDF has announced that proactive enforcement operations will resume during October.

Two additional bnei yeshivos were arrested in Eilat in recent days — a student at Yeshivas Chevron and a married Yerushalmi kollel yungerman who wed approximately three months ago.

{Matzav.com}

Elkana Federman, who served as the security chief of the Nova music festival and was wounded while fighting terrorists during the Oct. 7 massacre, has filed a 2.5 million shekel lawsuit against former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, accusing him of negligence in the hours before the Hamas invasion and alleging that intelligence in Bar’s possession could have led authorities to evacuate the festival hours before the attack.

The damages lawsuit, filed in Yerushalayim Magistrate’s Court, alleges that Bar failed to fully relay intelligence to officials who could have taken action before the Hamas assault began.

According to the lawsuit, the Shin Bet received several unusual indications during the night before the massacre. Among them was the activation of dozens or possibly hundreds of Israeli SIM cards that had allegedly been prepared for use by Hamas terrorists, unusual movements involving senior Hamas figures, and changes in the terror organization’s communications patterns.

The suit further alleges that a human intelligence source reported Hamas operatives gathering at mosques and other meeting points, and that this information ultimately reached Bar.

Federman claims that this particular piece of intelligence was not presented during a situation assessment held at Southern Command at approximately 3 a.m. The lawsuit describes the information as a potential “game changer” that could have caused officials to interpret the other warning signs very differently.

Federman also points to Bar’s decision to dispatch the Shin Bet’s elite Tequila unit to southern Israel during the night, arguing that the move itself demonstrates that the Shin Bet chief was preparing for the possibility of terrorists infiltrating Israeli territory.

According to the lawsuit, Bar “did not provide a complete report to Southern Command,” and Federman argues that had the full intelligence picture been conveyed, the IDF would have prepared differently and the Nova festival would have received different treatment from security officials.

The lawsuit further alleges that Bar should have directly warned the police responsible for securing the festival about the possibility of an infiltration or kidnapping attempt, but that “through his negligence, he did not lift a finger to protect the festival participants, including the plaintiff.”

The filing also recounts Federman’s actions as the Hamas attack unfolded on the morning of Oct. 7.

When the rocket barrage began, Federman and the security personnel under his command began helping thousands of festivalgoers evacuate the site. According to the lawsuit, the security team operated according to the principle that “we do not leave the event until the last participant has left.”

When Hamas terrorists reached the area near the festival exit and began shooting fleeing participants, Federman and several other security personnel drove ATVs toward the gunfire and began bringing wounded victims back toward the festival grounds.

At one point, a damaged tank arrived carrying two soldiers, including Ofir Testa, who was critically wounded and later died. According to the lawsuit, after Testa climbed out of the tank, Federman asked him for his weapon and then joined police officer Andrey Pushibay, who was later killed, in fighting the terrorists.

Federman continued firing at the attackers until his magazine was empty. After Pushibay was shot and killed, Federman took the officer’s handgun, which had six bullets remaining, and continued advancing toward the terrorists.

It was during that confrontation that Federman was shot.

Despite being wounded and still under fire, Federman managed to run several hundred meters toward the Gerar Stream area, where he concealed himself inside a bush for hours.

The lawsuit describes him lying there with “one hand pointing the handgun in his possession upward in case the murderers reached him, and the other hand on the wound trying to stop the bleeding.”

Federman was eventually discovered by other people who had escaped the festival together with soldiers. He was evacuated to Soroka Medical Center and later transferred to Shaare Zedek Medical Center, where he underwent two surgeries.

At the heart of Federman’s lawsuit is his contention that none of this would have happened to him had the intelligence warnings been properly communicated before the attack.

He argues that with an appropriate warning, “the party would have been stopped and the compound would have been evacuated hours before the rocket fire and the infiltration began,” thereby preventing him from being wounded.

{Matzav.com}

President Trump says the troubled renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is finally nearing completion, predicting that the iconic Washington landmark will be refilled with water this week following months of repairs, repeated drainage and controversy over what caused its new lining to fail.

Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Tuesday, Trump said work on the pool itself was essentially finished and that crews had also replaced aging pipes as part of the project.

“I think they’re going to fill it up this week,” Trump said.

“The Reflecting Pool is totally complete, and we changed the old pipes we wanted to get open for July 4,” he said, later adding that “I think it’s almost complete, from what I understand.”

Trump also said restoration work was nearly finished on the grounds between the Reflecting Pool and the National World War II Memorial, where new grass had previously been installed as part of his broader effort to renovate and beautify Washington’s monumental core.

That lawn was damaged in June when enormous numbers reading “86 47” appeared in the grass. The numbers were widely interpreted as an anti-Trump message — “47” referring to Trump as the 47th president — while the White House argued that “86 47” amounted to a threat of political violence against him.

Trump referred to that episode Tuesday while discussing the restoration work.

The new grass, he said, had been “destroyed with the letters, the famous letters.”

“And that’s been just about completed,” Trump added.

The president also continued to attribute at least some of the problems at the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, despite court filings and evidence that have raised serious questions about whether the most significant damage was instead caused by faulty installation during the rushed renovation.

“Well, we had vandalism there and we have it about as vandal-proof as you can get. But only sick people do that, and we have their pictures.”

The Reflecting Pool has become an unexpectedly contentious issue in Washington since Trump ordered a major renovation of the landmark earlier this year ahead of celebrations marking America’s 250th anniversary.

The more than 2,000-foot-long pool, which stretches between the Lincoln Memorial and World War II Memorial, underwent an extensive makeover that included coating its bottom in a dark shade Trump called “American flag blue.” The work was performed under no-bid contracting arrangements that later became a focus of scrutiny.

The project was intended to dramatically improve the appearance of a landmark that had long suffered from algae, leaks and maintenance problems. The pool had previously undergone a major reconstruction costing approximately $34 million between 2010 and 2012.

But trouble emerged almost immediately after the newly renovated pool was filled. Algae proliferated in the water, turning portions of the pool green, while pieces of the newly installed coating began separating from the bottom and floating to the surface.

Trump and Interior Department officials initially blamed vandals for deliberately damaging the pool. The president said people had cut or pulled up sections of the new surface, and several individuals were investigated or arrested.

Trump continued making that allegation as recently as late August, when he predicted that the landmark would soon reopen.

The pool would “be opening in a few weeks. Will be a beauty. NO VANDALS PLEASE.”

At other points, however, Trump acknowledged that construction problems contributed to the damage. Earlier in August, he referred to “some contractor error” and described the resulting damage as “relatively inconsequential.”

The government’s own criminal case against former U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn ultimately produced evidence sharply undermining the original vandalism explanation.

Hearn, who represented the United States in canoe slalom at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, was arrested after being accused of pulling at a detached section of the Reflecting Pool liner. He was subsequently indicted on a felony charge of destruction of government property, exposing him to the possibility of a lengthy prison sentence.

But documents obtained after the indictment showed that problems with the pool’s surface existed before Hearn’s encounter with it. Investigators ultimately found widespread defects, including damage in areas of the pool where prosecutors concluded a vandal would have been unlikely to reach or attempt to peel away the lining.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office eventually moved to dismiss the case after receiving additional information from the Interior Department showing that the damage resulted from problems with the installation and the rush to finish the project before the July 4 celebrations.

In the government’s own filing, prosecutors said the damage was caused by the contractor’s “botched” installation “and not vandalism as initially represented” by the Interior Department.

Pirro’s filing also stated that the Interior Department had provided “less than fulsome information at the outset of the case.”

“Given all of this newly discovered information, it is difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt,” Pirro wrote.

The filing further said that had “DOI been forthcoming with the information clearly in its possession, the government would not have sought a grand jury indictment.”

The reversal was particularly notable because Pirro had previously described the prosecution as supported by “tremendous evidence.”

Last week, D.C. Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman went further, permanently dismissing the case with prejudice. The ruling prevents prosecutors from bringing the same charge against Hearn again.

“The Court respects the authority of the Office of the United States Attorney to decide which cases to prosecute and which to dismiss,” Edelman wrote. “However, in the exceptional circumstances posed by this case, the government has no right to retain the ability to compound the errors it has already made, or even to threaten to do so, at Mr. Hearn’s expense.”

The controversy is continuing even as repairs to the pool near completion. Hearn’s attorneys on Tuesday called on the inspectors general of both the Justice and Interior departments to investigate the renovation and the criminal case brought against him.

His lawyers contend that government officials rushed a defective renovation, failed to disclose evidence showing that the pool was already deteriorating, wrongly portrayed Hearn as a vandal and pursued a criminal prosecution despite evidence pointing toward construction problems.

They are asking for separate investigations into both the Interior Department’s management of the renovation and the Justice Department’s handling of Hearn’s prosecution.

The Interior Department has continued to maintain that Hearn interfered with the pool’s lining, while his attorneys dispute the government’s characterization of what he did.

The controversy surrounding Hearn is separate from the “86 47” markings cut into the nearby National Mall lawn. Those markings were real and were documented in photographs in June, although authorities did not initially identify who created them or precisely how they were made.

Trump has repeatedly linked both episodes to what he describes as vandalism targeting his effort to restore Washington’s monuments and public spaces. The evidence that emerged in Hearn’s case, however, indicates that the widespread failure of the Reflecting Pool’s new surface cannot be attributed to vandalism.

{Matzav.com}

Russia is offering to send specialists, laboratory equipment and medical resources to help the United States battle infectious diseases, an unusual proposal that comes as Moscow faces intense scrutiny over the mysterious death of a young scientist at a Siberian anti-plague laboratory and persistent, though still unconfirmed, reports that she contracted pneumonic plague.

Russia’s consumer health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, announced the offer Tuesday, pointing to measles outbreaks in several American states as well as recent U.S. cases of other infectious diseases.

“The Russian Federation is ready to assist the United States in combating outbreaks of infectious diseases,” Rospotrebnadzor said.

The agency cited outbreaks of measles, typhoid fever and legionellosis in the United States. It also made a pointed reference to an unrelated American plague death, saying, “The first fatal case of plague in 2026 was reported in New Mexico.”

That New Mexico case has no established connection to the unfolding situation in Siberia. Plague occurs naturally in parts of the western United States, including New Mexico, where the bacterium can circulate among rodents and fleas. More importantly, Russian authorities have yet to establish publicly that plague caused the death now at the center of the Irkutsk controversy.

The Russian offer comes as international attention remains focused on the death of Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old laboratory employee at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East. Shipilova died Oct. 2 after developing severe pneumonia of unexplained origin.

The institute where Shipilova worked specializes in plague and other highly dangerous infectious diseases. Her employment there, coupled with the unusual precautions taken after she became ill, rapidly fueled fears that her death could have resulted from occupational exposure to a dangerous pathogen.

Russian officials maintain that there is no confirmed plague outbreak and say investigators have found no evidence tying Shipilova’s illness to the organisms she handled professionally. The World Health Organization has likewise said that, based on the information currently available, there are no confirmed plague cases in Irkutsk and that the risk to the broader population appears very low.

Rumors surrounding Shipilova’s death, however, have been widespread. One unverified account alleges that she accidentally dropped and shattered a test tube containing plague bacteria while working at the institute. Another suggests she may have been exposed during field work or travel in Buryatia, an area where plague can occur naturally among wild animals.

Neither scenario has been substantiated by Russian authorities, and there is currently no verified evidence supporting more dramatic speculation that Shipilova was exposed to an artificially enhanced or weaponized strain of plague.

What is confirmed is that Russian authorities mounted an extensive epidemiological response after Shipilova became ill. Nearly 200 people who had contact with her were initially placed under medical observation, and the hospital where she was treated imposed infection-control measures while officials conducted testing and contact tracing.

Rospotrebnadzor says testing of those contacts has produced no additional plague cases. Several people developed illnesses, but the agency said those infections were attributable to common respiratory viruses rather than plague.

“Laboratory tests have confirmed two Covid-19 and two rhinovirus infection cases,” the agency said.

Russian authorities have continued to describe Shipilova’s fatal illness as a “pneumonia of unknown etiology,” while rejecting reports that a dangerous pathogen escaped from the institute. Rospotrebnadzor insists that “no emergency or security breach occurred” at the laboratory.

The lack of a definitive public explanation for the 28-year-old scientist’s death has nevertheless fueled skepticism inside and outside Russia. Conflicting statements from regional officials and the disappearance or revision of some early reports about a possible plague infection have contributed to suspicions that Moscow has not disclosed the complete picture.

The precautions being taken elsewhere in Irkutsk have added to those questions. The Irkutsk City Perinatal Center began screening pregnant patients for possible plague exposure and instituted strict visitor restrictions following Shipilova’s death.

Patients arriving at the maternity facility were reportedly given a “Checklist for Suspected Plague” asking about symptoms, contact with ill people and recent travel. Staff also conducted temperature checks and required masks.

The center temporarily barred virtually everyone other than pregnant patients from entering, meaning husbands and other partners were unable to attend births. Staff reportedly attributed the measures to concerns surrounding an unidentified infection.

Russian officials have emphasized that such precautions do not establish that plague is circulating in the city. Health authorities say the measures were preventative and that the epidemiological situation remains stable.

The World Health Organization said Russian authorities had traced and tested Shipilova’s contacts and reported no confirmed additional plague infections. The WHO has requested further information concerning her death while assessing the international public-health risk as very low.

Plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which naturally circulates among certain rodents and their fleas. Bubonic plague generally infects the lymphatic system, while pneumonic plague affects the lungs and can spread between people through respiratory droplets during close contact. Modern antibiotics are highly effective when treatment begins promptly.

Rospotrebnadzor, meanwhile, used its offer to Washington to emphasize Russia’s own expertise in dealing with dangerous infectious diseases.

“Russia has extensive practical and scientific experience in ensuring epidemiological well-being both at home and abroad,” the Rospotrebnadzor statement on Tuesday insisted.

“To help prevent and control outbreaks of infections, Russia is ready to provide the US side with specialists, laboratory equipment, and highly effective diagnostic and preventive tools,” the statement said, “which can help resume joint work between Russia and the United States in protecting public health from infectious threats.”

The offer followed comments from President Trump a day earlier saying that the United States was prepared to assist Russia if necessary as American officials monitor the Irkutsk situation.

“We are looking at it very strongly. We just heard about it,” Trump said.

Trump said the United States would be prepared to provide assistance to any country confronting a dangerous infectious-disease problem.

“Anybody that has that kind of a problem, we’re always willing to help,” the president said.

“It’s a disease we used to be able to control,” Trump said. “Even with great advancement, the germs have really become relatively stronger than they were, and things that used to work on pneumonia don’t work anymore … anyone that has that kind of problem, we will help.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also urged vigilance without suggesting that Americans should panic over the reports emerging from Siberia.

“I don’t think it’s cause for alarm, but it is cause for focus and a cause to just keep an eye on it,” Rubio said.

American officials have called on Moscow to provide timely and accurate information about the case, while several countries neighboring Russia have increased health precautions in response to the reports.

President Trump said Tuesday that he expects to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the situation, as U.S. intelligence and health officials continue trying to determine exactly what occurred in Irkutsk.

{Matzav.com}

“לא התאים לי לגדל את הילדים בצפיפות כמו שאני גדלתי”

תוכן מקודם

06:03

The White House is pushing back forcefully against claims that President Trump suggested Iran should attack Los Angeles or San Diego, saying his controversial remarks at a Nebraska campaign rally were being stripped of their broader context and that Trump was actually arguing that the war had prevented a nuclear-armed Iran from gaining the ability to destroy an American city.

The controversy erupted after Trump addressed supporters Monday in Grand Island, Nebraska, while defending the ongoing war with Iran and acknowledging the economic pain Americans have experienced, particularly from higher fuel prices. The president argued that those costs were comparatively minor if the conflict prevents Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and threatening the United States.

“We want to see a tremendous victory. You want to see a tremendous victory because it verifies all the things we did. And again, remember, with the war, it’s just artificial. It’s a little bit high. It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe.”

Trump then delivered the comments that quickly ignited a political firestorm.

“They can take out a city. Let them take — let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay, and it’s going to be over with very soon. It’s essentially almost over with, and they might keep going a little long,” he continued.

“You know, they always say they have a big threshold for pain. They need it. Let me tell you, they need it. But it’s going to end very soon, and it’ll end one way or the other,” Trump added.

The wording immediately drew condemnation from California officials, who interpreted the remarks literally as Trump saying the destruction of Los Angeles or San Diego would constitute an acceptable price for the war.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom accused Trump of effectively inviting an enemy nation to attack two major American cities.

“After sending the National Guard and Marines to occupy California, Donald Trump is now saying our foreign enemies should ‘take out’ Los Angeles and San Diego,” Newsom claimed. “He is deranged and dangerous.”

Newsom subsequently announced that he was “directing the State Threat Assessment Center to actively monitor the situation in the event that foreign actors interpret the President’s remarks as an invitation to target California,” while suggesting that Trump’s comments could potentially be “treasonous.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass similarly condemned the president, arguing that his language could have real-world security consequences.

“The President of the United States suggested that a foreign government attack Los Angeles. His statements against our city are dangerous and could potentially compromise our safety.”

“The role of a president is to protect the country, not to actively threaten it and encourage attacks on American lives,” she added. “In the face of irresponsible threats, as Angelenos, we know how to stand together and protect our city.”

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria also joined the criticism, declaring that his city could never be treated as expendable in a military conflict.

“San Diego is not collateral damage,” Gloria said. “We are not expendable. And we are never a ‘small price to pay.’ Keep our city out of your reckless war talk.”

The White House, however, says that interpretation badly misrepresents Trump’s point. Administration officials said the president was discussing the potential consequences of allowing Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon and was arguing that the temporary economic costs associated with preventing that outcome are a small price compared with the destruction that a nuclear Iran could eventually inflict.

The White House’s Rapid Response account issued an unusually blunt response after a Los Angeles Times headline characterized Trump as suggesting that Iran be allowed to attack the California cities.

“No, he didn’t, you buffoons,” Rapid Response said.

“He was saying the U.S. is fighting to STOP Iran from having the ability to take out LA and San Diego with a nuclear weapon — which they would if they had the chance,” it continued.

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung offered the same explanation, saying the uproar surrounding the remarks is “not rooted in reality”.

“He was clearly stating US cities would have been threatened if a nuclear Iran hadn’t been stopped,” Cheung said. “America is safer because of the President. Iran has no nuclear, no navy, no air force, and no money”.

A review of Trump’s broader comments during the Nebraska appearance shows that the remarks came during an extended discussion of the economic consequences of the Iran war, particularly gasoline prices, and his contention that Americans were paying a relatively modest price to eliminate a far greater potential threat.

Trump had made that argument more explicitly earlier, telling a Nebraska news outlet that the higher cost of fuel would subside once the conflict ended and directly linking the economic sacrifice to preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

“We’re going to get [the cost of fuel] down,” Trump said. “But it’s all going to come pouring down as soon as the war’s over, which will be very soon. And we will not have Iran having a nuclear weapon. And that’s going to be — and I say it and I say it proudly — a relatively small price to pay for keeping nuclear weapons out of the hands of a lunatic nation.”

Trump has repeatedly argued that Iran’s nuclear ambitions ultimately posed a threat beyond Israel and the Middle East. In his February State of the Union address, shortly before the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran began, Trump warned that Tehran was “working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America.”

Iran, however, is not currently known to possess a nuclear weapon or an operational ballistic missile capable of striking the continental United States directly from Iranian territory. Its longest-range operational ballistic missiles fall far short of the distance required to reach California, although U.S. officials have long warned that technologies developed through Iran’s space-launch program could contribute to a future intercontinental ballistic missile capability.

That distinction has become part of the broader argument over Trump’s remarks. Critics contend that regardless of his intended point, a president should not use language that can be heard as suggesting an enemy could be permitted to destroy American cities. The White House counters that Trump’s meaning becomes apparent when the comments are viewed alongside his repeated warnings about what Iran could eventually do if permitted to acquire nuclear weapons and long-range delivery systems.

{Matzav.com}

New satellite imagery indicates that Iran has resumed substantial activity at Minzadayi, a secret nuclear weapons development compound northeast of Tehran that was heavily bombed by Israel in March, raising concerns that Tehran may be attempting to rebuild capabilities destroyed during Operation Roaring Lion.

High-resolution images taken by VANTOR Technologies during September and early October show renewed vehicle traffic throughout the compound, extensive cleanup work and fresh earthmoving at an area struck during the Israeli attack, according to an analysis released this week by the Institute for Science and International Security.

The institute warned that the activity could represent considerably more than an effort to clean up the damage left by Israeli airstrikes, saying the work may signal an attempt to restore the site’s previous capabilities.

“Given what is known about this compound, this activity may be indicative of an effort by Iran to reestablish a nuclear weapons development capability and to reconstitute what was lost in the attack on the compound,” the institute said.

Israel attacked Minzadayi on March 3, after identifying the heavily secured facility as a clandestine nuclear weapons development center. The strike destroyed several above-ground buildings and apparently damaged underground portions of the complex as well.

At the time of the attack, the IDF said the previously undisclosed compound was a secret “nuclear headquarters” where Iranian scientists had been working covertly on the development of a critical component for a nuclear weapon.

The site is situated off Sohanak Road northeast of Tehran in an area containing parkland and recreational facilities. Analysts who examined the location described a heavily protected compound surrounded by a high wall and guard towers, with two clusters of buildings above ground and additional structures built into the surrounding hillside.

Satellite photographs taken immediately after the March attack showed extensive destruction inside the compound. Multiple buildings had been demolished, while craters and other evidence suggested that Israel had also targeted areas believed to conceal underground facilities.

In the months that followed, Iran launched an extensive cleanup operation at Minzadayi. Rubble and other debris were hauled away, while damage to the hillside caused by the Israeli strikes was repaired.

The latest imagery, however, shows that activity has continued beyond the initial removal of debris. A substantial number of vehicles were visible across the facility during September and early October, suggesting that regular access to the compound has resumed.

Analysts also identified continuing earthmoving in an area that was directly struck in March. The work is taking place at what appears from above to be a courtyard, but side-view imagery indicates that the area contains an underground section. Numerous impact craters had been visible there following the Israeli attack.

The renewed work at Minzadayi is particularly significant because the compound has been linked to Iranian research involving nuclear warhead development rather than merely the civilian components of Tehran’s nuclear program.

The facility was among a series of sensitive nuclear and weapons-related locations attacked during Operation Roaring Lion as Israel sought to cripple Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon and destroy infrastructure that could allow Tehran to rebuild the program.

Minzadayi is not the only nuclear-related facility where Iran has recently undertaken significant reconstruction. Satellite imagery released in September showed Tehran rapidly rebuilding the Taleghan 2 facility at the Parchin military complex, approximately 20 miles southeast of Tehran.

Taleghan 2 has long been associated with research relevant to nuclear weapons. Western intelligence assessments have linked the site to experiments conducted more than two decades ago involving explosives and technologies that could be used in the development of a nuclear warhead.

Recent imagery showed heavy construction equipment at Taleghan 2, including bulldozers, dump trucks, cranes, concrete mixers and concrete pumping vehicles. Iran also erected a large tarp over the destroyed hardened structure, obstructing satellite and aerial observation of some of the reconstruction underneath.

Iran has additionally reinforced parts of Taleghan 2 with new concrete intended to provide greater protection against future aerial attacks. Repair work there began in June, including the placement of concrete caps over penetration holes created by bunker-busting weapons.

“What is clear is that Iran remains committed to rebuilding this facility, a deeply concerning development considering the long history of nuclear weapons research and development activities that occurred there,” the institute said in its assessment of the Taleghan 2 reconstruction.

Iran has also taken steps to protect other sensitive nuclear locations. At Natanz and the facility known as Pickaxe Mountain, satellite imagery has shown new measures intended to restrict or harden access to underground areas containing potentially valuable nuclear equipment or material.

President Trump has publicly warned Tehran that the United States is closely watching Pickaxe Mountain, a deeply buried facility that has drawn growing attention over concerns about Iran’s nuclear activities.

“We have eyes on it and Pickaxe mountain is a possible target for a nice big fat shot right in the front door…We’re watching Pickaxe Mountain very closely. We don’t see any activity there.”

Trump subsequently issued an even more explicit warning: “We’re going to take out Pickaxe Mountain. Tell the Iranians to be ​ready.”

Iran has demonstrated a broader ability to repair military infrastructure damaged during the war faster than some Western analysts initially expected. By May, reports indicated that Iranian crews had already reopened 50 of 69 entrances to underground missile facilities that had been blocked during the fighting.

Satellite imagery from that period also showed reconstruction underway at ballistic missile production facilities, reinforcing concerns that Tehran was working rapidly to restore strategic capabilities degraded by the Israeli and American air campaign.

During Operation Roaring Lion, Israel carried out more than 10,800 strikes across Iran, dropping over 18,000 munitions. Approximately 4,000 targets and more than 6,700 individual components were struck during the campaign.

By the time the ceasefire took effect, the IDF assessed that nearly every facility identified before the campaign as a “vital and strategic” target had been rendered inoperable.

{Matzav.com}

Vice President JD Vance says the United States will not agree to end its seven-month war with Iran unless Tehran takes concrete action to significantly reduce its uranium-enrichment capabilities, insisting that Washington will accept neither promises nor vague commitments in place of actual nuclear concessions.

Vance laid out the administration’s position in an interview following a campaign trip to Alaska, where he said any agreement with Tehran would have to include a meaningful reduction in Iran’s ability to produce highly enriched uranium.

“If you don’t want a nuclear weapon, then why do you need 60% enriched fuel? And if you want to show commitment to not building a nuclear ⁠weapon, don’t build highly enriched fuel. That’s a very basic threshold issue,” Vance said.

“I think if they want to show a commitment to not building a nuclear weapon, they would do something meaningful on their enrichment capacity.”

The remarks provide one of the clearest indications yet of what the Trump administration would require from Iran as part of an agreement to halt the fighting. Vance, who has long expressed skepticism about prolonged American involvement in overseas wars, has emerged as a major figure in the administration’s efforts to negotiate an end to the conflict.

Vance previously helped broker a provisional peace agreement in September, but the arrangement quickly collapsed. Washington and Tehran have continued exchanging proposals in recent weeks as mediators seek a formula that could end the war and normalize commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

President Trump rejected Iran’s latest proposal, which included demands connected to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, sanctions relief, access to blocked ports and the release of frozen Iranian assets. Iranian officials subsequently said Tehran had received an official American response to its proposal, while Qatar and Pakistan have continued mediation efforts between the two sides.

Vance made clear that Washington remains prepared to negotiate, but said Tehran will have to demonstrate through its conduct that it is prepared to move away from the possibility of developing a nuclear weapon.

“We’re not going to trade words for actions,” Vance said.

The vice president’s comments come as the Trump administration continues to insist that preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon remains a central American objective, even as the conflict has expanded far beyond Iran’s nuclear facilities and caused major disruptions to global energy markets and shipping.

Iran’s enrichment of uranium to 60% purity has long been a central concern for Washington and Israel. That level is far beyond what is ordinarily required for civilian nuclear power and represents a relatively short technical step from weapons-grade material, although Iran has repeatedly denied that it intends to build a nuclear weapon.

Another major obstacle facing American negotiators, Vance said, is uncertainty over who actually has the authority to make binding decisions inside Iran following the upheaval caused by the war.

Washington has been negotiating with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, but Vance said American officials remain uncertain about how much authority the two men possess within Iran’s fractured wartime power structure.

“One of the things we picked up on is it’s not totally clear how their country makes decisions,” Vance said.

The question has become particularly acute since joint U.S.-Israeli strikes at the beginning of the war killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, leaving Washington attempting to determine where ultimate decision-making authority now rests inside the Islamic Republic.

Iran has pushed back against that characterization. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said American officials know precisely who their Iranian counterparts are and understand Tehran’s decision-making structure.

“The problem is actually the opposite: it lies in the contradictory positions and mixed messaging from US officials,” Baghaei said.

President Trump raised the same concern Tuesday during an appearance in Maryland, saying the uncertainty surrounding Iran’s leadership has become one of the biggest obstacles to resolving the conflict.

Trump said his “biggest problem” is that no one knows who is running Iran.

At the same event, Trump suggested that the war could be approaching its conclusion but warned that Tehran’s decisions will determine whether it ends through negotiations or through additional American military action.

“We’re doing extremely well in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Very well. The whole place is shot. They were the bully of the Middle East. They’re not so much the bully anymore. But we have to finish up, and it’s only a question of which way we want to do it: the nice way or the not-so-nice way. And pretty soon you’ll find out,” Trump said.

Vance, meanwhile, said he has personally spoken with American field commanders to obtain a direct assessment of battlefield conditions. He dismissed concerns that the United States is running dangerously short of critical munitions as a result of the prolonged conflict.

The vice president also said Iranian forces remain capable of periodically attacking commercial vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz but have largely failed to prevent energy shipments from moving through the strategically vital waterway.

Oil exports through the strait have recovered significantly from earlier wartime disruptions, although shipping costs, insurance rates and damage to regional energy infrastructure have continued to keep pressure on global energy prices. The economic consequences of the conflict have increasingly become a domestic political issue in the United States ahead of November’s midterm elections.

The war is costing the United States approximately $3 billion per month, while higher fuel and energy costs have provided Democrats with an issue to use against Trump and Republican candidates in closely contested races that could determine control of Congress.

Vance has been campaigning on behalf of Republican candidates and has urged voters not to allow dissatisfaction over the war to drive them away from the GOP. His Alaska trip included a rally for Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, who is facing a competitive reelection challenge from Democrat Mary Peltola.

Vance spent much of his appearance in Alaska discussing affordability and energy costs, particularly significant issues in a state where geographic isolation raises consumer prices and oil and gas production remain major components of the economy.

During the rally, Sullivan nearly introduced Vance as president rather than vice president, drawing cheers from the crowd. Vance is widely viewed as a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2028, although he said he has made no decision about seeking the White House.

“I’m inherently a procrastinator,” he said. “I really haven’t thought about it much.”

Trump has separately argued that Iran is already close to capitulating under the combined pressure of American military operations, economic isolation and severe damage to its military capabilities.

Last week, Trump described Iran as “ready to fold up” and predicted that the United States could secure victory shortly after the November midterm elections — or potentially even before Election Day.

Speaking in Texas, Trump said, “We have a war going on with a country that will never have a nuclear weapon and is ready to fold up. We’ll win very easily right now. I believe right after the election we’ll win, but maybe before the election.”

Trump has repeatedly maintained that Iran was on the verge of acquiring a nuclear weapon when hostilities began in late February, arguing that military action was necessary to prevent Tehran from crossing that threshold.

According to Trump, Iran was “three to four weeks away, maybe sooner” from obtaining a nuclear weapon when the war began.

“And if they have a nuclear weapon, the whole game is over..” he said.

The president has warned that Tehran now faces a stark choice as negotiations continue, saying the conflict will end “one way or the other…either they’ll do something very proper and smart or they won’t be around very long, which is, you know, frankly, I hate to see that, but they won’t be around very long.”

{Matzav.com}

Lt. Col. Aryeh Amidror, the Gaza Division’s intelligence officer at the time of the Oct. 7 massacre, is denying that he bears professional or command responsibility for the failure to warn of Hamas’s impending invasion, arguing in newly released court documents that providing strategic warning of war was not the responsibility of divisional intelligence.

Amidror’s defense comes amid a bitter battle over the IDF’s decision to end his military career following investigations into the catastrophic intelligence and command failures preceding Oct. 7. His identity was kept from the public for nearly three years before Israel’s Supreme Court ruled last week that his name could be published.

The newly disclosed documents stem from a petition Amidror filed in March 2026 challenging the process to terminate his career service. The proceedings initially remained confidential, and even after his arguments were rejected, the filings continued to be covered by a gag order. Their release now provides the fullest picture yet of Amidror’s effort to contest the conclusions reached by the military about his conduct.

Amidror, the son of Maj. Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror, a former Israeli national security adviser, served as the Gaza Division intelligence officer during the period leading up to the Hamas invasion and on the morning of Oct. 7 itself. He had also previously served as head of the division’s targets branch, giving him years of experience with Gaza and its intelligence picture.

One of the central issues in the case concerns the warnings of a female noncommissioned officer in the IDF’s elite Unit 8200, identified publicly only as “Vav,” who studied Hamas training exercises in the months before the massacre and warned that they could reflect preparations for an actual invasion.

Amidror argues that far from ignoring the issue, it was he who directed that Hamas’s exercises be studied in the first place.

“Upon assuming my position as Gaza Division intelligence officer, I instructed a certain body within Unit 8200 to find Hamas training exercises in order to assess the enemy’s tactical capabilities,” the documents state. According to Amidror, “following an instruction given by the petitioner and at the direction of her commanders, the NCO found the exercise.”

The court papers include correspondence between Amidror and the NCO as their disagreement over the meaning of the Hamas exercises developed.

“To be clear, the purpose of my email was not to bring the assessment down but to raise it. In any event, I don’t think this is a point of ‘absolute and unequivocal disagreement,’ because clearly, as more material is distributed, the area of agreement will grow. We are at the beginning of the process.”

Amidror points to that correspondence as evidence that he did not simply dismiss the NCO’s work. He also says he initiated a discussion “with the aim of challenging the prevailing concept and examining the division’s underlying assumptions regarding the possibility that Hamas had the capability and intention to carry out a single or large-scale raid.”

According to Amidror, a summary of that discussion was circulated as high as the office of the IDF chief of staff, showing that he was actively attempting “to undermine and challenge the underlying assumptions.” He contends that those efforts were not properly considered when military leaders decided to remove him from service.

Other evidence presented in the investigations, however, has painted a sharply different picture of his handling of the warnings. Amidror has previously been reported to have dismissed the Hamas mass-invasion scenario contained in the so-called “Jericho Wall” plan as a “completely imaginary scenario,” despite warnings from Unit 8200 and Gaza border observers.

The Jericho Wall document described with remarkable detail a Hamas assault involving rocket fire, drones, the breaching of Israel’s border defenses and large numbers of terrorists pouring into Israeli communities and military bases — elements that would ultimately materialize on the morning of Oct. 7.

The newly released court material also exposes what the IDF views as significant weaknesses in Amidror’s argument that he meaningfully challenged the prevailing conception. The Unit 8200 NCO whose work was at the center of the issue was not invited to the discussion and was not given the opportunity to personally present her assessment.

The Gaza Division commander was also not immediately briefed about the intelligence developments, while the discussion on the issue was scheduled for after the holidays. Amidror himself acknowledges the timing in his petition, and the delay has become a key point in the dispute over whether his actions amounted to a meaningful real-time challenge to the prevailing assessment of Hamas’s intentions.

The most consequential argument in Amidror’s filing goes considerably further. He rejects the IDF’s contention that the failure to provide adequate warning falls within his professional responsibility at all.

“The petitioner denies the claim that he failed professionally or bears command or professional responsibility for the failure to provide a warning of war,” the filing states.

It then declares: “The mission of providing a warning of war is not the responsibility of division intelligence.”

The IDF emphatically rejects that interpretation of the job Amidror held.

In its response to his petition, the military describes the Gaza Division intelligence officer’s responsibilities in broad terms: “The Gaza Division intelligence officer leads all intelligence collection, analysis and dissemination efforts in the sector – management of the intelligence picture, warning, collection and research, and command advisory.”

The IDF’s assessment of Amidror’s performance is severe. Military investigators concluded that the failures were not limited to a single judgment made in the hours immediately before the massacre, but included his handling of intelligence during the period leading up to the attack.

The military states that it identified “a series of professional errors and failures in the petitioner’s conduct on the night preceding October 7, as well as beforehand, in assessing the security risk posed by the Hamas terrorist organization.”

The IDF further rejected Amidror’s attempt to separate his personal conduct from his command responsibility for the intelligence apparatus operating beneath him.

“The petitioner bears personal responsibility for the failures identified in his conduct – in the manner in which he exercised his judgment, the degree of oversight he maintained, and the level of professionalism he demonstrated in his position. Command responsibility means the commander’s responsibility for what occurs in the unit under his authority.”

The disciplinary process against Amidror followed a broader examination of the IDF’s internal Oct. 7 investigations by an expert team headed by Maj. Gen. (res.) Sami Turgeman. The review concluded, among other things, that the Gaza Division had failed to sufficiently engage with the Jericho Wall invasion plan from both an intelligence and operational standpoint.

On Nov. 23, 2025, the IDF chief of staff determined that a series of senior commanders bore command responsibility for failures connected to Oct. 7 and ordered command measures against several officers, including Amidror. A subsequent recommendation from the deputy chief of staff called for ending Amidror’s career-service commitment.

Amidror challenged that process in court, describing his treatment as discriminatory, selective and arbitrary. The administrative court ultimately rejected his petition and allowed the IDF process to proceed. In September, the military formally announced that his career service would be terminated.

The IDF also argued that Amidror’s legal theory could have ramifications far beyond his individual case. Military commanders, it said, must retain the ability to impose command consequences even when an officer’s actions do not necessarily amount to individual legal wrongdoing.

If courts were to restrict command sanctions solely to questions of individual legal liability, the IDF warned, it could severely constrain the chief of staff’s authority to hold commanders accountable for failures occurring under their leadership.

“This result must not be permitted,” the military wrote.

Amidror, meanwhile, maintains that he has been singled out to bear consequences for a failure that extended throughout Israel’s intelligence and military leadership.

“The petitioner is the only commander in the IDF who is paying a real price, in the form of the loss of his rights, for the failures of the military and the state concerning intelligence and warnings about the intentions of the Hamas terrorist organization,” he argued.

His filing points to senior figures who held key positions on Oct. 7, including commanders in Southern Command, the Operations Directorate, the Gaza Division and Unit 8200. Amidror argues that those officers were able to complete their service and leave the IDF while preserving their pension and other benefits, while the termination of his career service leaves him facing a different financial and professional outcome.

Amidror also fought to keep his identity from being made public, but that battle ended last week when the Supreme Court lifted the publication restriction. The court cited the absence of a security reason to continue concealing his name, the fact that his identity had already circulated publicly and the strong public interest in identifying a senior intelligence officer whom the IDF had held responsible for failures connected to Oct. 7.

With the gag order lifted, Amidror’s defense is now playing out publicly for the first time, exposing a fundamental clash over one of the central questions left by the Oct. 7 catastrophe: where responsibility for recognizing Hamas’s intentions and providing a warning ultimately rested — and who should personally pay the price for failing to do so.

{Matzav.com}

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The Omani co-pilot accused of launching a jihadist attack aboard an Israel-bound Flydubai flight received professional aviation training in Britain and New Zealand before beginning his commercial flying career, according to a new report revealing additional details about the background of the man who allegedly tried to bring down the passenger jet.

Hamam al-Hammami, 29, is being held in Abu Dhabi following the dramatic Sept. 30 attack aboard Flydubai Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv. Authorities say Hammami attacked the captain inside the cockpit with a crash axe in what has been described as an attempted terrorist hijacking.

Hammami has reportedly admitted that the attack was motivated by the war in Gaza and that he intended to die during the assault.

“I did it as revenge for Gaza. I wanted to die as a shahid,” al-Hammami told investigators.

New information about Hammami’s background indicates that years before the attack, he received flight training through L3 Airline Academy, then one of Britain’s largest professional pilot-training organizations. He reportedly trained with the academy between 2018 and 2019.

L3 operated several major aviation-training facilities in England, including centers in Southampton and Bournemouth and a simulator facility near Gatwick Airport. The company has since become part of Acron Aviation.

There has been no allegation that L3 Airline Academy, Acron Aviation or any related company had knowledge of extremist views on Hammami’s part or engaged in wrongdoing connected to the attack. Acron has said it is prepared to cooperate with authorities investigating the incident.

Hammami’s training was not limited to Britain. Authorities in New Zealand confirmed that he received a six-month student visa for aviation training there from November 2018 until May 2019 “for a UK-based company no longer operating in New Zealand”.

At the time, L3 operated an international pilot-training program that allowed cadets to divide their studies between Britain and New Zealand. Trainees could complete classroom and theoretical instruction in Southampton before traveling to Hamilton, New Zealand, for practical flight training and then returning to Britain for more advanced instruction.

Hammami subsequently worked for Oman Air, where he remained employed until February 2025. L3 also had ties to the Omani carrier, which had previously included the aviation school among five internationally recognized institutions whose graduates were eligible for consideration in its pilot recruitment program.

Acron Aviation has declined to say publicly whether Hammami was one of its students, citing its policy of not identifying present or past trainees.

“We were saddened to hear of this incident, and our thoughts are with everyone affected. As a matter of policy, we do not publicly comment on whether any individual is or has been a student with us.”

“We will, of course, assist the relevant authorities, if necessary, in any way we can as they investigate this incident.”

Hammami eventually joined Flydubai as a relatively new pilot before being assigned to the carrier’s route to Israel. Reports since the attack have raised questions about his behavior and views before the incident and whether any warning signs were missed before he was permitted to operate flights to Tel Aviv.

The attack unfolded after Flight FZ1073 departed Dubai for Tel Aviv with approximately 160 people aboard. Investigators believe Hammami waited until the aircraft was airborne before attacking the captain inside the cockpit with a crash axe.

Despite suffering serious injuries, the captain managed to resist Hammami and open the cockpit door, allowing others aboard the aircraft to intervene. Hammami was overpowered, and the damaged flight was diverted away from Israel before landing safely in Saudi Arabia.

The episode triggered an extraordinary security response in Israel. With authorities initially uncertain about what was occurring aboard the aircraft or whether the attack was part of a larger terrorist operation, Israeli defense officials prepared for the possibility that the plane itself could be used as a weapon.

Two Israeli officials subsequently said that Israel was prepared to shoot down the Flydubai aircraft if it continued toward Israeli airspace after Hammami attacked the captain. Fighter jets were prepared to intercept the aircraft if necessary as officials monitored its movements.

The United Arab Emirates also provided Israeli authorities with information about the flight crew as officials in both countries worked to establish what had happened and determine whether Hammami had acted alone.

The investigation has since expanded beyond the immediate circumstances aboard the aircraft. Israeli authorities are attempting to determine whether Hammami independently decided to carry out the attack because of the Gaza war or whether another individual, organization or foreign actor played a role in planning or encouraging it.

The Shin Bet is participating in the investigation, a fact that was cleared for publication this week by Israel’s military censor. Israeli investigators are examining Hammami’s background, contacts and activities in an effort to determine whether there was any connection to a terrorist organization or outside handler.

So far, no conclusive evidence has been publicly disclosed establishing that Hammami acted on instructions from another party. His reported statement to investigators points to Gaza as his stated motivation, but Israeli officials have not ruled out other possibilities as the investigation continues.

The attack has also prompted broader scrutiny of airline security procedures involving pilots and other crew members flying to Israel. Reports have revealed that approximately 1,200 crew members from countries whose citizens are generally barred from entering Israel had nevertheless entered the country as airline personnel, raising questions about the security screening applied to foreign flight crews.

Israeli authorities have been reviewing those procedures in the aftermath of the Flydubai attack, including the process by which pilots and crew members assigned to Israel-bound flights are vetted.

The six people credited with helping prevent the attack from ending in catastrophe are also set to receive recognition from Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Their intervention, together with the wounded captain’s actions, prevented Hammami from gaining control of the aircraft and allowed the plane to land safely.

The revelation that Hammami received professional aviation training in Britain and New Zealand now adds another element to the international investigation into his background, as authorities seek to reconstruct the path that took him from flight schools in the West to the cockpit of an Israel-bound passenger jet — and ultimately to an alleged attempt to turn that aircraft into the instrument of a jihadist attack.

{Matzav.com}

United Airlines has once again removed Capt. Ibrahim R. Mossallam from flying duties after renewed scrutiny revealed that the pilot, who defended the Hamas-led Oct. 7 massacre as “resistance by a brave people,” had returned to flying passengers following a brief suspension nearly three years ago.

The airline confirmed Tuesday that Mossallam is currently being kept out of the cockpit while another review is underway. “We have withheld this pilot from service pending an ongoing review,” United said.

The new action follows reports this week that Mossallam, a Newark-based United pilot who flies Boeing 757 and 767 aircraft, had continued operating passenger flights despite the controversy that erupted over comments he posted on Oct. 7, 2023, as the Hamas massacre was unfolding in southern Israel.

In the Facebook post that originally sparked outrage, Mossallam wrote, “For all my friends here in FB land with Questions / Thoughts / Assumptions / Critique about whats [sic] transpiring in Palestine currently in response to the Zionist occupation, please work on expanding your media literacy. Know that mass media here in America is heavily politicized and skewed to show a non-occupying narrative of Palestine. This is a resistance by a brave people who have endured decades of occupation, oppression, humiliation, apartheid, and straight up murder. This was not an unprovoked attack, but a response to this past years attacks by the Zionist regime. Don’t take my word, do your due diligence in acquiring your information.”

The comments drew widespread condemnation after they came to public attention in November 2023, with critics questioning how passengers — particularly Jewish and Israeli travelers — could feel comfortable knowing that a pilot entrusted with their safety had publicly characterized the Oct. 7 assault in those terms.

United responded at the time by removing Mossallam from active duty while investigating. “This pilot has been removed from service, with pay, while we look into this matter,” the airline said in November 2023.

What happened after that, however, remained largely out of public view. United did not announce the findings of its investigation or explain whether Mossallam had been cleared to return to the cockpit.

A federal court order issued in June 2025 later provided an important clue. The order, in an unrelated lawsuit filed against United and a union, recounted an allegation that Mossallam had been suspended with pay following his Oct. 7 comments but returned to flying approximately one month later. The court itself was not making a finding about Mossallam’s conduct or United’s investigation; it was recounting allegations in the litigation.

Additional reporting in 2025 indicated that Mossallam remained employed by United, while reports this year said that he was continuing to fly Boeing 757 and 767 aircraft for the carrier. United does not operate those aircraft on its Israel routes.

Mossallam also serves as vice president of the board of CAIR-New York, the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

The controversy erupted anew this week when Israeli journalist Libby Blanca Alon reported that Mossallam was still actively flying for United and publicly pressed the airline to explain why he had been permitted to return to the cockpit.

Alon subsequently reported an even more striking allegation: two United pilots who were deadheading on a flight operated by Mossallam after his return to duty reportedly gave up their first-class seats and remained in the cockpit for the entire flight because they did not trust him and wanted to keep an eye on him.

That allegation is based on sources cited by Alon and has not been independently confirmed by United. The airline has not publicly addressed the claim involving the two pilots.

Alon also reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, that United had wanted to terminate Mossallam but was prevented from doing so by the pilots’ union. That allegation likewise has not been publicly confirmed by United or the union.

The renewed scrutiny comes at an especially sensitive moment for airline security following the Sept. 30 attack aboard flydubai Flight FZ1073, which was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv when its co-pilot allegedly attacked the captain with a cockpit crash axe and attempted to take control of the aircraft. The wounded captain was able to open the cockpit door, and others aboard intervened before the aircraft ultimately landed safely in Saudi Arabia.

Authorities have characterized the flydubai incident as a terrorist act, and investigators have been examining reports that the co-pilot had previously raised concerns over extremist material and had allegedly planned his attack before joining an airline that operated flights to Israel.

There is no evidence that Mossallam was involved in the flydubai incident, and the two cases are entirely separate. There is also no public evidence that Mossallam has threatened passengers, attempted to interfere with an aircraft or planned any act of violence. The controversy surrounding him concerns his public statements about the Oct. 7 massacre and United’s handling of his employment and return to flying.

Still, the flydubai attack has intensified questions about how airlines evaluate warning signs involving flight crews and what standards should apply when a pilot makes public statements appearing to endorse or rationalize mass violence.

Nearly three years after Mossallam’s original suspension, United has never publicly disclosed what its first investigation determined, why he was returned to flying duties or what standards were used in reaching that decision.

Now, following the renewed attention, Mossallam is once again out of the cockpit — at least while United conducts its latest review. “We have withheld this pilot from service pending an ongoing review,” the airline said.

Wikipedia is facing renewed accusations of anti-Israel bias over the opening sentence of its main article on the Oct. 7 massacre, which describes the Hamas-led assault as “a series of coordinated armed incursions from the blockaded Gaza Strip” — language critics say inserts an implied justification for the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust before even describing what occurred.

The controversy is the latest flashpoint in a much broader battle over Wikipedia’s treatment of Israel, Zionism, Hamas and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Jewish and pro-Israel organizations have repeatedly accused activist editors of manipulating articles to advance an anti-Israel narrative, an issue that has become increasingly significant as Wikipedia material is also used by search engines and artificial-intelligence systems.

“It’s yet another example of the Wikipedia editors’ anti-Israel bias,” Alyza Lewin, president of U.S. affairs at the Combat Antisemitism Movement, said. “They modify entries to support a distorted narrative that erases Jewish history and the Jewish experience. This time they added the word ‘blockaded’ to try and justify Hamas’s barbaric Oct. 7 massacre.”

Lewin said the wording echoes rhetoric that has repeatedly surfaced among anti-Israel activists since the massacre, including claims that “resistance is justified” and U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres’s controversial statement that Oct. 7 “did not happen in a vacuum.”

The disputed word did not appear in the article’s opening sentence from the beginning. “Blockaded” was added in February, setting off what initially was only limited opposition on the article’s Wikipedia “talk” page, where editors debate proposed changes and disagreements over content.

The dispute gained new life in August as additional editors challenged the wording. On Sept. 11, a formal discussion was launched to determine whether there was sufficient consensus among Wikipedia editors to retain “blockaded” in the article’s first sentence.

Under Wikipedia rules governing highly contentious Israel-Palestinian articles, participation in such discussions is restricted to established editors who have been active for at least 30 days and have made at least 500 edits.

“The edit ignores Hamas’s history of diverting humanitarian aid intended for Gaza’s civilian population,” Lewin said. “Indeed, Hamas used pre-Oct. 7 aid to build a massive terror tunnel network under homes, schools and mosques from which it launched its attacks, cynically exploiting civilians as a human shield and then crying ‘genocide’ when Israel defended itself.”

The argument over the word carries particular significance because of the enormous reach of Wikipedia. The online encyclopedia is among the world’s most heavily visited websites, and its material frequently surfaces prominently in internet searches and can influence the information used by artificial-intelligence systems.

Criticism of the phrase also comes against the backdrop of Guterres’s remarks shortly after the massacre. Speaking at the U.N. Security Council, the secretary-general said the attacks “did not happen in a vacuum” and that “the Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation.”

The remarks provoked an angry response from Israel. Gilad Erdan, then Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, said Guterres’s comments “expressed an understanding for terrorism and murder.”

The Wikipedia editor who initiated the formal debate over retaining “blockaded” defended the terminology, writing that “Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip is a defining feature of this topic and necessary context for a non-specialist reader.” The editor argued that high-quality sources supported describing Gaza that way in the article’s opening sentence and maintained that doing so was consistent with Wikipedia’s requirement for neutral language.

In making the case, the editor cited Palestinian-American historian Rashid Khalidi, describing him as the “preeminent expert in modern Palestinian history.” Khalidi’s background has itself been the subject of controversy. Jonathan Schanzer, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, has said that Khalidi served as a spokesman for the Palestine Liberation Organization during a period when the PLO was designated by the United States as a terrorist organization. Khalidi has denied that characterization.

The Wikipedia editor defending the wording went still further, comparing the inclusion of Gaza’s “blockaded” status to providing context about the Warsaw Ghetto uprising against an oppressive regime.

“We must not create an exception to obfuscate through omission here,” the editor wrote.

Opponents of the wording argued that placing “blockaded” in the opening sentence does more than provide geographical or historical context. They said its placement before a description of the massacre risks suggesting a causal or moral explanation for Hamas’s actions.

A different Wikipedia editor wrote Tuesday that “blockaded” should be removed because “the word suggests justification.”

“To the unedified reader, it may well connote the most extreme version of what ‘blockade’ might mean, like the complete stoppage of all food and supply into a territory,” the editor wrote.

The debate remained unresolved, with editors continuing to argue over whether the word constitutes necessary context or injects a political interpretation into the opening description of the massacre.

The controversy is hardly the first involving Wikipedia’s coverage of Israel. Critics have accused groups of highly active editors of working together to reshape articles dealing with Israel, Zionism, Palestinian terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Wikipedia’s own arbitration process has previously taken disciplinary action against several editors involved in the contentious subject area.

Outside investigations have also alleged coordinated editing campaigns aimed at changing the framing of Israel-related articles, including efforts to emphasize criticism of Israel while minimizing or removing material concerning Palestinian terrorism, antisemitism and violence. The accusations have intensified since Oct. 7, as battles over individual words, descriptions and sources have played out across numerous Wikipedia entries.

The consequences, critics argue, extend far beyond people who deliberately visit Wikipedia. Material from the encyclopedia is frequently reproduced or summarized elsewhere online, meaning editorial decisions made by a relatively small number of volunteer contributors can potentially influence how millions of people encounter information about Israel and the Middle East.

Max Abrahms, an associate professor of political science at Northeastern University who studies terrorism and the Middle East, said the problem is connected to a broader ideological imbalance in academia.

“The removal of pro-Israel scholars and even Israel-neutral ones” from academia has impacted “Wikipedia and many other forms of discourse influencing the public,” Abrahms said.

“Zionist-free higher education reduces balanced scholarship and contributes to Wikipedia’s bias,” he said. “The same is true of podcasts and social media, where almost no pro-Israel scholars can be found.”

Abrahms argued that those concerned about the trend should focus on strengthening intellectual diversity within universities rather than treating individual Wikipedia disputes in isolation.

“Philanthropists who care about Israel and intellectual pluralism must make targeted investments to ensure there are faculty to teach the younger generation, which will also have all sorts of additional benefits like objectively correct entries on Wikipedia,” he said.

Eliya Cohen, who survived 505 days in Hamas captivity after being abducted from the Nova music festival, delivered a simple and defiant message to his former captors and terrorists around the world Tuesday at the United Nations: “I won.”

Cohen spoke before roughly 400 people at U.N. headquarters in New York as Israel’s mission to the United Nations marked three years since the Oct. 7 massacre. The gathering brought together survivors, senior diplomats, government officials and community leaders to remember those murdered and abducted and to focus on the resilience of those who survived.

Television host and psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw moderated an emotional conversation with Cohen and his wife, Ziv Abud, both of whom survived the Hamas attack on the Nova festival on Oct. 7, 2023, before being separated for 505 days.

Abud recounted how she and others attempted to flee the festival by car as rockets filled the sky and the music abruptly stopped. They eventually took refuge in a roadside bomb shelter that became packed with 29 people.

Hamas terrorists attacked the shelter, repeatedly throwing grenades inside and opening fire before eventually entering. Abud was shot in the leg and lost consciousness. When she awoke, she found herself beneath a pile of bodies.

She had no idea what had happened to Cohen. He had been taken alive to Gaza, while Cohen, for his part, spent his captivity believing that Abud had been murdered in the shelter.

“I fought for them for 505 days without knowing anything,” Abud said, of those she lost. “It will stay with me for the rest of my life.”

Cohen was ultimately freed in February 2025 after 505 days in Gaza, much of that time spent deep underground in Hamas tunnels. He has described enduring severe hunger, beatings, isolation and psychological torment during his captivity.

His reunion with Abud brought an extraordinary conclusion to their 505-day separation. The couple subsequently became engaged and married in Israel in August, surrounded by approximately 1,000 guests, while also remembering the friends and relatives they lost on Oct. 7.

“We are here, and we survive,” Abud told those gathered at the United Nations. “We need to live a normal life.”

Dr. Phil asked Cohen what emotion now defines him after everything he endured during his 505 days as a hostage. Cohen said he has made a conscious decision not to allow anger or bitterness to determine who he is, and he rejected the suggestion that his ordeal makes him fundamentally different from other Israelis.

“I don’t count myself as special or something,” he said.

Cohen noted that Israelis throughout the country continue to live under the threat of terrorism, making the trauma of Oct. 7 something that cannot simply be relegated to the past.

Dr. Phil made a similar point, telling the audience that the psychological impact of the massacre remains ongoing rather than being confined to a single traumatic event three years ago.

“This isn’t Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,” he said. “This is something that is ongoing.”

Dr. Phil reflected on Abud’s experience of spending hours beneath the bodies of murdered victims, saying that the reality of what she endured is almost impossible to comprehend while sitting comfortably inside an air-conditioned room at the United Nations. The physical attack may end, he said, but its psychological consequences can remain long afterward.

During his remarks, Dr. Phil also described his own journey toward learning about Israel and the Jewish people. Growing up in Texas and Oklahoma, he said, he had never met a Jew as a child and knew little about Israel.

As an adult, Dr. Phil has traveled to Israel and met with hostage families, released hostages, Holocaust survivors and rabbis, seeking to learn firsthand about Israel and its people. He said his faith has played an important role in that process.

“Faith, for me, is a foundation,” Dr. Phil said. “I think it’s the foundation for your family, and I think it’s a foundation and a moral compass of how you live your life.”

He said that reliance on faith becomes particularly important during periods of suffering and uncertainty.

Faith is “the one thing that never varies,” and a person can “lean on” it every day, he said.

Dr. Phil told the gathering that the Hamas attack created a permanent dividing line in the lives of Israelis and Jews around the world, with people increasingly viewing events through the prism of what happened before and after that day.

“Oct. 7 will never be just another date,” he said.

At the same time, Dr. Phil said his encounters with Israelis have left him struck by their determination to continue living despite the enormous suffering they have experienced.

“The one thing that struck me is their extraordinary ability to carry the memory of this immense loss, suffering and pain but at the same time live beautiful lives,” he told attendees.

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon also addressed the commemoration, telling the audience that Hamas failed in its attempt to destroy Israel’s spirit.

“Oct. 7, Hamas tried to break us. They did not,” the envoy said. “They changed us. They wounded us. They left a scar that will never fully heal, but they did not break us.”

Danon pointed to Cohen and Abud as living examples of that resilience. The two entered the Nova festival together, survived different horrors after the attack began, were torn apart for 505 days and ultimately found their way back to each other and married.

Abud also spoke about the people she lost at Nova and the challenge of returning to an ordinary life after surviving the massacre. She said she continues to struggle with “survivor’s guilt,” questioning why she was able to return home while so many others were murdered.

Among those killed was her nephew, Amit, who was inside the same shelter. During the attack, Amit repeatedly threw grenades back outside after Hamas terrorists hurled them into the shelter, an effort that helped save lives before he himself was murdered.

When Dr. Phil asked Cohen what message he wanted to give the Jews and Israelis who supported him throughout his captivity, Cohen answered with an appeal to Jewish pride.

“Stay proud to be Jewish,” he said. “Stay proud to be Israeli.”

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz also addressed the gathering, highlighting Cohen’s refusal to cooperate with Hamas propaganda efforts while he was a hostage.

Waltz said Hamas tried to force Cohen to record a propaganda video before his release in which he would claim that his captors had treated him well. Cohen refused to do it.

“He refused. He held firm,” Waltz said. “He said, ‘No.’”

Hamas again attempted to turn Cohen’s eventual release into a propaganda spectacle, Waltz said, but Cohen once more refused to play along.

“You are a proud, strong Jew. You’re undefeated,” Waltz told Cohen.

Waltz also praised Abud for surviving the Nova massacre and then enduring more than a year of uncertainty over whether Cohen was alive. He recalled the heroism of her nephew Amit, who repeatedly threw Hamas grenades back out of the shelter before he was killed.

The U.S. ambassador said the broader strategy pursued by Hamas and Iran to isolate Israel has also failed, pointing to the continued expansion of the Abraham Accords as evidence that the region is moving in another direction.

“Oct. 7 completely, and I think irreversibly, has backfired on Iran and all of their terrorist proxies,” he told attendees. “Peace is possible. America will stand with the Jewish people.”

“The terrorists are on their back foot,” he added.

President Trump has approved the execution by U.S. Army firing squad of Nidal Malik Hasan, the radicalized Army psychiatrist who murdered 13 people and wounded 32 others in the 2009 Fort Hood massacre, setting the stage for the first U.S. military execution in 65 years and the first Army firing-squad execution since World War II.

Hasan, now 56, is scheduled to be executed on Dec. 3, 2026, at Fort Hood — the same Texas military installation where he carried out his deadly attack nearly 17 years ago — according to an email sent to families of the victims. The execution date was set after President Trump approved the death sentence and the method of execution following a recommendation from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced the decision, describing Hasan as a “convicted terrorist” and “the jihadist who opened fire on unarmed American soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009.”

“He killed 13 people and wounded 32 others while shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ during the attack,” Parnell said.

“The Secretary of the Army will set the time and place of the execution,” he continued. “Judgement day for Hasan has finally come.”

Hasan was an Army major and psychiatrist when, on Nov. 5, 2009, he entered the Soldier Readiness Processing Center at Fort Hood, where military personnel were preparing for deployments overseas. Armed with a semiautomatic handgun equipped with laser sights, Hasan opened fire on the unarmed people inside.

Witnesses said Hasan shouted “Allahu Akbar” immediately before beginning his rampage. Over the course of approximately 10 minutes, he fired 146 rounds, killing 13 people and wounding 32 others. Twelve of those killed were soldiers, and one of the victims was pregnant.

Among the severely wounded was Staff Sgt. Patrick Zeigler, a two-time combat veteran who was shot four times and spent nearly a year recovering in hospitals.

“He looked me straight in the eyes as he pointed the gun at me, and a split second later, I’m on the floor with a hole in my head,” Zeigler later recalled.

The massacre ended when civilian police officers confronted Hasan. He was shot multiple times and left paralyzed from the waist down.

Investigators subsequently uncovered extensive evidence of Hasan’s radicalization before the attack. He had repeatedly expressed opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and exchanged communications with Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born Al Qaeda cleric and propagandist who was later killed in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen.

Hasan had himself been scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan later in November 2009. During subsequent court proceedings, he made clear that he viewed his attack through the prism of what he considered a war against Islam.

At one stage, Hasan sought permission to pursue a legal strategy arguing that he had acted in defense of others. When the military judge asked whom he claimed to have been defending, Hasan replied, “The leadership of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the Taliban.”

Hasan ultimately represented himself at his 2013 court-martial. He admitted that he was the gunman, mounted virtually no defense, called no witnesses and offered little resistance to the prosecution’s case. He told the court that he had come to believe he was fighting on the wrong side of a war and had “switched sides.”

A military jury convicted Hasan in August 2013 on 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. The panel unanimously sentenced him to death.

Hasan was then transferred to the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he has remained on military death row as the case proceeded through the lengthy appeals process required in military capital cases.

The Army Court of Criminal Appeals upheld his conviction and death sentence in 2020. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces subsequently affirmed the sentence, and in March 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review his case, removing another major legal obstacle to carrying out the execution.

Hegseth announced in September 2025 that he was moving to obtain presidential authorization for Hasan’s execution. Because military death sentences cannot be carried out without presidential approval, the case remained pending until Trump gave his authorization.

The decision to use a firing squad adds an extraordinary historical dimension to the case. The United States military has not executed anyone since April 13, 1961, when Army Pvt. John Bennett was hanged at Fort Leavenworth after being convicted of rape and attempted murder of an 11-year-old girl.

The last known U.S. military execution by firing squad occurred during World War II. Pvt. Eddie Slovik was shot by an Army firing squad in France on Jan. 31, 1945, after being convicted of desertion. He was the only American soldier executed for desertion during World War II.

Under current Army regulations, a military execution requires approval from the president. Regulations were revised in 2019 to remove language specifying lethal injection as the required method, leaving greater flexibility over how a military death sentence can be carried out.

Even with Trump’s approval and a Dec. 3 execution date, Hasan could still seek to delay the sentence through litigation in the civilian federal courts, including a petition for habeas corpus. Military death sentences have historically generated years — and sometimes decades — of additional legal proceedings.

Hasan is one of only a handful of prisoners on U.S. military death row. Others include Hasan Akbar, convicted of murdering two fellow soldiers in Kuwait in 2003; Ronald Gray, convicted of multiple murders and rapes; and Timothy Hennis, convicted of murdering a woman and two of her children.

Hasan’s case, however, stands apart because of the scale of the Fort Hood massacre and his own statements concerning his motives. The attack was among the deadliest acts of violence ever carried out on a U.S. military installation.

If the execution proceeds as scheduled on Dec. 3, Hasan will be put to death at the military base where he carried out the massacre — ending a capital case that has stretched from the Fort Hood killings in 2009 through nearly 17 years of court proceedings and appeals.

{Matzav.com}

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Jewish New Yorkers have been targeted in more than half of all confirmed hate crimes recorded across New York City this year, with newly released NYPD statistics showing 245 anti-Jewish incidents through the end of September — an extraordinary share for a community that represents roughly 10% of the city’s population.

The 245 confirmed anti-Jewish hate crimes account for 52.9% of the 463 confirmed hate crimes recorded citywide during the first nine months of 2026. The number of anti-Jewish incidents is also slightly higher than during the same period last year, when 242 were recorded, representing an increase of 1.2%.

“The most striking trend continues to be antisemitic hate crimes,” Jessica Tisch, commissioner of the New York City Police Department, said at a press conference on Tuesday.

“So far this year, 53% of all confirmed hate crimes have targeted Jewish New Yorkers, despite Jews making up only roughly 10% of the city’s population,” she said. “Those numbers are deeply concerning.”

The numbers stand in particularly stark contrast to the city’s broader crime picture. Overall major crime fell 6.6% during the first nine months of the year, while New York recorded the fewest murders, shooting incidents and shooting victims for that period in recorded history. Confirmed hate crimes, however, moved in the opposite direction, rising 12.9%, from 410 during the first nine months of 2025 to 463 this year.

“On the eve of the third anniversary of Oct. 7, we renew our pledge to Jewish institutions that they will not be left to protect themselves without a strong partner in the NYPD,” Tisch added.

The third-quarter figures offered a somewhat more encouraging picture for the Jewish community. Between July 1 and Sept. 30, the NYPD confirmed 59 anti-Jewish hate crimes, representing 47.2% of the 125 confirmed hate crimes citywide. That was a 13.2% decline from the 68 anti-Jewish incidents recorded during the same three-month period in 2025.

But Jewish leaders cautioned against interpreting the quarterly decline as evidence that the broader antisemitism problem has subsided.

Evan R. Bernstein, CEO of B’nai B’rith International, said that “the most alarming thing in these numbers is how unremarkable they have become.”

“Jews are about 10% of New Yorkers and the targets of 53% of the city’s confirmed hate crimes—245 of 463 through September,” he said. “A quieter month does not make that normal. It means the largest Jewish city in the world has learned to live with antisemitic hate crime as the baseline three years after Oct. 7.”

The figures show that anti-Jewish incidents vastly outnumber every other hate-crime category tracked by the NYPD. The next-largest category was crimes motivated by sexual orientation, with 52 confirmed incidents during the first nine months of the year, meaning there were nearly five times as many confirmed anti-Jewish hate crimes.

Anti-Muslim hate crimes also increased sharply. The NYPD recorded 32 confirmed incidents targeting Muslims through September, compared with 18 during the same period in 2025, an increase of 77.8%. During the third quarter alone, 11 anti-Muslim hate crimes were confirmed, compared with four during the corresponding period last year.

The NYPD additionally recorded 52 confirmed hate crimes based on sexual orientation, 37 targeting religion more broadly, 31 targeting Black New Yorkers, 20 based on gender, 16 targeting Asians, 13 based on ethnicity, 11 targeting Hispanics and five targeting white New Yorkers during the first nine months of 2026.

The department also distinguishes between hate crimes that are initially “reported” and those that are ultimately “confirmed.” During the third quarter, 181 incidents were reported as possible hate crimes, of which 85 — roughly 47% — were reported as anti-Jewish. Fourteen reported incidents targeted Muslims.

The distinction became significant earlier this year after the city changed the way it publicly presented its hate-crime statistics. Beginning in February, the city initially published confirmed incidents rather than reported incidents, making direct comparisons with some earlier figures difficult. In March, officials said both categories would be released separately.

Under the NYPD’s system, an incident reported as a potential hate crime is investigated by the department’s Hate Crime Task Force. Investigators, working with the NYPD Legal Bureau, determine whether the case meets the definition of a hate crime under New York State law. Incidents that meet that legal standard are then classified as confirmed hate crimes.

The NYPD has said that presenting both figures “enhances transparency and reflects best practices in hate crime reporting.”

The latest figures continue a pattern that has persisted since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack in Israel and the subsequent explosion of antisemitic incidents in New York and elsewhere.

The NYPD had already warned ahead of the recent High Holy Days that antisemitism remained the dominant category of hate crime in the city. At a security briefing last month, Tisch said the department had tracked threats against Jewish institutions since Oct. 7, including alleged plots targeting a Manhattan synagogue and a Jewish center in Brooklyn.

“Our Hate Crime Task Force continues to aggressively investigate these incidents, while we deploy additional resources to protect Jewish communities,” Tisch said at Tuesday’s press conference.

“This year, during the High Holy Days, we deployed an unprecedented number of officers to cover virtually every synagogue across the city,” she said.

The statistics were released one week after Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled New York City’s first municipal strategy specifically aimed at combating antisemitism. The plan includes $6.4 million for hate-crime prevention and survivor support, $1 million to strengthen security at synagogues and other houses of worship, expanded Holocaust education and additional investments in Jewish cultural and historical institutions.

The latest figures also show that the share of all hate crimes targeting Jews has declined slightly from last year, even as the actual number of anti-Jewish incidents has risen. During the first nine months of 2025, 242 confirmed anti-Jewish hate crimes were recorded, compared with 245 during the same period this year.

The overall numbers nevertheless leave anti-Jewish hate crimes in a category of their own: through September, more than one out of every two confirmed hate crimes in New York City targeted Jews.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that his administration is considering suspending the federal gasoline tax as part of a widening effort to bring down sharply elevated fuel prices, potentially putting another 18.4 cents per gallon back in motorists’ pockets.

“We’re thinking about that,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked whether he would support suspending the federal gas tax.

Any nationwide gas-tax holiday would require congressional action, meaning Trump cannot simply eliminate the levy through an executive order. That presents an immediate obstacle: neither the House nor Senate is currently scheduled to return to Washington until after the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

The federal government currently collects an excise tax of 18.4 cents on each gallon of gasoline and 24.4 cents on each gallon of diesel. The revenue is primarily directed toward the Highway Trust Fund, which finances highway, bridge and public-transit projects around the country.

Trump did not say Tuesday how long a federal gas-tax suspension might last or provide details about legislation he would support. But the idea comes as the administration faces growing pressure to reduce energy costs following months of steep increases at the pump.

The national average for regular gasoline stood at roughly $4.37 per gallon Tuesday, up from about $3.13 a year earlier. Diesel remained even more expensive, averaging approximately $6.32 per gallon — nearly twice the $3.68 motorists were paying at the same point last year.

The current diesel average is down somewhat from the record $6.53 reached on Sept. 22, but the extraordinarily high cost continues to reverberate throughout the economy. Because diesel powers much of the nation’s trucking, agricultural and freight industries, increases in diesel prices can ultimately work their way into the prices consumers pay for food and other goods.

Energy prices have risen amid severe disruptions to global fuel supplies, including the war with Iran and Ukrainian strikes against Russian oil refineries. Tight refining capacity and constrained global diesel supplies have added further pressure.

Trump has repeatedly said he expects fuel prices to decline as his administration takes additional steps to increase supplies and reduce costs. Speaking Tuesday, he said, “Prices are now coming way down.”

“And oil, as soon as the war is over, which will be soon, will be coming way down,” Trump said.

The possible federal gas-tax holiday follows a separate action Trump took Monday targeting diesel prices. The president signed an executive order temporarily expanding highway access to red-dyed diesel, fuel that ordinarily is restricted to off-road uses such as farming and construction and therefore is not subject to the same federal excise tax at the point of sale.

“Today, I am announcing another unprecedented step to bring down costs. For many years, farm vehicles, construction equipment, and other off-road vehicles have used what is known as ‘red dye’ diesel… which is exactly the same as normal diesel, but is sold tax-free for off-road vehicles and big trucks… Tonight, I am going to sign a historic Executive Order to officially waive the off-road requirement and allow anyone to purchase tax-free red dye diesel for any reason,” Trump said while announcing the action in Nebraska.

The order applies from Oct. 5 through Dec. 31 and directs the Treasury Department to determine how it can defer federal excise-tax payments associated with the highway use of dyed diesel without penalties or interest. It also directs Treasury to explore ways, including legislation, to ultimately eliminate the obligation to pay those deferred taxes.

The administration says eliminating the 24.4-cent federal diesel tax from a 250-gallon fill could save roughly $60. If states take corresponding action on their own taxes, the White House says savings could exceed $100 on a large fill-up.

The order also directs federal officials to work with states, fuel distributors, agricultural cooperatives and industry groups to expand access to dyed diesel, particularly in areas experiencing heavy demand. The Department of Agriculture was instructed to work specifically on ensuring supplies are available to farmers.

Trump’s moves come alongside an international effort to increase fuel supplies. G-7 countries — including the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan — agreed last week to release a combined 100 million barrels of oil and diesel from strategic reserves in an effort to push prices downward.

At the same time, states have increasingly begun acting on their own rather than waiting for Washington, with both Republican and Democratic officials taking steps to soften the impact of higher fuel costs.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed legislation temporarily eliminating the state’s 38.5-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax and 47-cent diesel tax through Dec. 31. The measure won bipartisan support after high fuel prices became a major concern across the state.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox moved to reduce his state’s fuel taxes by 6 cents per gallon through the end of the year.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp suspended the state’s gasoline tax of roughly 33 cents per gallon and its diesel tax of roughly 37 cents, with the current suspension scheduled to continue through at least Oct. 29.

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun has also taken aggressive action, suspending the state’s 7% gasoline use tax along with its 37-cent-per-gallon gasoline excise tax. The combined move is estimated to save Indiana drivers roughly 59 to 61 cents per gallon at current prices.

Indiana’s 63-cent-per-gallon diesel tax remains in place, although Braun has expanded access to red-dyed diesel in an effort to provide relief to farmers and other eligible users.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, took a different approach, pausing automatic inflation-based adjustments that otherwise would have increased the state’s fuel taxes.

The growing state-level movement has added pressure on Washington to consider similar relief. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri has proposed legislation that would suspend the federal gasoline tax and the underground-storage-tank fee for 90 days, with authority for the president to extend the suspension for an additional 90 days if economic conditions warrant it.

Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio has likewise called for federal action following his state’s decision to suspend its own fuel taxes.

A federal gas-tax holiday, however, would raise questions about how to replace revenue normally deposited into the Highway Trust Fund. The gasoline and diesel excise taxes together generate tens of billions of dollars annually for transportation infrastructure, meaning Congress would have to decide whether to replace the lost revenue from another source or allow the fund to absorb the reduction.

There is also debate over how much of a tax reduction would ultimately reach motorists. Supporters argue that eliminating the tax would provide immediate relief at the pump, while critics contend that during periods of tight fuel supply, some portion of the savings could be absorbed elsewhere in the supply chain rather than passed entirely to consumers.

For now, Trump has stopped short of formally endorsing a specific federal gas-tax holiday proposal. But his acknowledgement Tuesday that the administration is actively considering the idea represents the latest step in an increasingly broad campaign — from strategic-reserve releases and expanded dyed-diesel access to state tax holidays and potentially a nationwide federal tax suspension — aimed at bringing fuel prices down.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump has turned the long-running battle over daylight saving time into an extraordinary public feud with Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, publishing what he said was the Arkansas senator’s personal cellphone number and urging voters to call him directly and demand that he stop blocking legislation to end the twice-a-year changing of the clocks.

Trump’s move came as he intensified his push for the Sunshine Protection Act, legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent across most of the United States. The bill passed the House in July by a lopsided 308-117 vote but has since run into resistance in the Senate, with Cotton emerging as one of its most vocal Republican opponents.

“Everybody in Arkansas, Tom Cotton, a friend of mine, is holding up a very important Bill,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, accusing Cotton of standing in the way of what the president argues is an overwhelmingly popular change.

Trump then took the highly unusual step of posting Cotton’s cellphone number.

“To the Great People of Arkansas, please let your Senator know it would be a GREAT Bipartisan WIN for the United States Senate, and for America, itself,” Trump wrote. “Call Tom on his cellphone.”

Reporters who called the number reached either voicemail or a message indicating that the recipient was unavailable, with the voicemail box at one point becoming full.

Trump argues that Americans are fed up with moving their clocks forward and backward every year and that keeping daylight saving time permanently would provide an additional hour of afternoon and evening sunlight during the winter.

“We want to get away from this ridiculous way and custom of — every twice a year, turning your clocks back, turning your clocks forward, being late to dinner, being late for very important meetings, it’s ridiculous,” Trump told reporters.

“It discombobulates everybody,” the president said.

Trump has also argued that permanent daylight saving time would benefit sports and recreation by keeping daylight later into the afternoon and evening.

“You know who wants it? The farmers want it. You know who wants it? Sports want it,” Trump said. “Professional sports and amateurs that would like to play tennis at night, would like to play golf a little bit without having to run home after 14 holes.”

The president also shared a letter from PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp backing the legislation and arguing that additional evening daylight would allow Americans to play millions of additional rounds of golf each year.

Trump has framed the issue as more than a matter of convenience. He has argued that later sunsets could also reduce crime by allowing people to return home from work and other activities while it is still light outside.

“A table full of very distinguished people just told me that they HATE, immediately after a mandatory time change, going home at night – and it’s DARK,” Trump wrote.

“It’s depressing!” he added. “One of the gentleman stated that, ‘I just hate going home in darkness.’ It’s also, in Crime Ridden Blue States, a lot more dangerous to be walking home in the dark!”

Cotton, however, has refused to budge.

“No one likes changing the clock, me included, but Congress has enacted permanent Daylight Savings Time multiple times before and repealed it each time once Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises in the winter,” Cotton wrote. “Arkansans don’t want their kids going to school in the pitch dark, and I’ll always put Arkansas first.”

Cotton’s central argument is that permanent daylight saving time simply transfers the problem from the evening to the morning. During the darkest weeks of winter, sunrise would come considerably later in many parts of the country, meaning children could be waiting for school buses and commuters could be traveling to work before sunrise.

The United States has tried year-round daylight saving time before. Congress instituted it during the energy crisis in the 1970s, but public support quickly deteriorated as Americans experienced dark winter mornings, and the experiment was cut short.

Trump responded to Cotton’s argument by accusing him of getting the issue exactly backward.

“If Tom Cotton were putting Arkansas first, he would give them an extra hour of daylight and, more importantly, they wouldn’t have to run all over their houses, farms, work places, and everywhere else, twice a year, having to change their Clocks, and often forgetting to do so,” Trump wrote.

The president then turned up the political pressure, arguing that Republicans should seize what he sees as an easy bipartisan legislative victory.

“Give the Republican Party a Senatorial WIN, for a change!” Trump wrote. “TAKE THE WIN TOM, JUST TAKE THE WIN! YOU NEED IT, AND SO DOES OUR BELOVED REPUBLICAN PARTY!”

Cotton is seeking reelection in Arkansas this November, although his race is not considered competitive. Trump carried Arkansas with more than 64% of the vote in the 2024 presidential election.

Cotton is also not the only Republican senator skeptical of the legislation. Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana has called the Sunshine Protection Act “dead as disco” and expressed doubt that Senate Majority Leader John Thune will bring it to the floor.

The dispute comes just weeks before Americans are scheduled to change their clocks again. On Nov. 1, most of the country is due to “fall back” one hour and return to standard time for the winter. The Sunshine Protection Act would eventually eliminate that ritual by keeping most of the country on daylight saving time year-round.

Polling has shown widespread dissatisfaction with the current system, although Americans remain divided over what should replace it. A 2025 AP-NORC poll found that only 12% of U.S. adults favored continuing to change the clocks twice a year, while 47% opposed the practice and 40% were neutral.

Trump’s decision to publicize Cotton’s number also recalled a similar episode during his first presidential campaign. In 2015, after then-Sen. Lindsey Graham criticized him, Trump publicly read Graham’s cellphone number during a campaign appearance and encouraged people to call him.

Now, more than a decade later, Trump has revived the tactic against another Republican senator — this time over what might ordinarily seem like one of Washington’s least dramatic policy disputes: what time Americans should see when they look at the clock.

{Matzav.com}

Delta Air Lines and United Airlines were recovering Tuesday from separate technology problems that disrupted websites, apps and other systems, creating headaches for travelers at airports across the United States and beyond.

The problems surfaced Tuesday morning, with passengers reporting difficulty accessing airline apps, checking flight information and, in some cases, completing parts of the boarding process. Outage reports for both airlines spiked around midday Eastern Time.

Delta confirmed that it was dealing with what it described as a “limited global technology issue” affecting data connectivity within some of its systems.

“Delta systems are stabilizing after a limited global technology issue that affected data connectivity to some of our systems behind-the-scenes,” the airline said.

“Delta teams are working to keep our operation moving safely as systems return to normal. We appreciate our customers’ patience and understanding.”

Delta advised passengers to continue checking its app and website for the latest information about individual flights.

United was dealing with a separate technology problem that affected its website and mobile app. Customers attempting to use United’s digital services encountered a notice saying the airline was “working to fix a temporary technical issue affecting united.com and the United app.”

United later said the problem was tied to an outside vendor and primarily prevented customers from accessing their MileagePlus accounts.

“United encountered a brief technology issue connected to a vendor that prevented customers from logging into their MileagePlus accounts,” the airline said. “The issue has been resolved and there was no impact to our flight operations.”

That distinction is significant: while travelers around the country were experiencing flight delays Tuesday, United said its particular technology failure did not cause operational disruptions to its flights.

Delta did not immediately provide a specific number of delays or cancellations attributable directly to its technology problem, and there was no indication of a nationwide Delta ground stop.

Nearly 1,000 flights nationwide had been reported delayed by Tuesday afternoon, along with dozens of cancellations, but not all of those disruptions could be blamed on the airline technology problems.

A number of unrelated issues were simultaneously affecting the nation’s aviation system Tuesday, including weather and airport-specific restrictions.

The FAA warned that thunderstorms could cause delays at Orlando, Tampa, Miami and Fort Lauderdale, while winds were creating potential problems at airports in New York and Boston. Low clouds were also expected to affect Seattle.

Boston Logan was dealing with delays related to runway construction, while LaGuardia experienced air-traffic restrictions related to airport volume and wind.

That meant a passenger experiencing a delayed Delta or United flight Tuesday could not necessarily assume that the airline’s computer trouble was responsible. Weather, air-traffic-control restrictions and airport congestion were also contributing to delays.

The technology problems nevertheless caused considerable frustration because modern airline operations rely heavily on digital systems for everything from reservations and boarding passes to passenger accounts, upgrades, baggage information and flight status.

Travelers took to social media to report being unable to sign into their accounts or properly use airline apps.

There were also reports of problems involving American Airlines’ website and app Tuesday, although American did not immediately confirm that it was experiencing the same type of outage.

The precise relationship, if any, between the problems experienced by the different airlines was not immediately clear. Major carriers use complicated technology networks combining their own systems with services provided by outside technology companies, meaning trouble at a third-party vendor can sometimes affect multiple companies simultaneously.

Tuesday’s incident follows a series of high-profile technology failures that have demonstrated how quickly computer problems can ripple through the airline industry.

In July, American Airlines temporarily halted flights for less than an hour after an information-technology outage affected connectivity.

United suffered a much more serious technology breakdown in August 2025, when problems forced the airline to ground aircraft and ultimately contributed to more than 1,000 delays and dozens of cancellations.

The most dramatic recent example came in 2024, when a faulty CrowdStrike software update crippled Windows computers around the world. Delta, United, American and several other U.S. carriers were among the airlines affected, with the disruption triggering widespread cancellations and delays.

By Tuesday afternoon, both Delta and United indicated that their latest technology problems were either stabilizing or resolved, although passengers were advised to continue checking their individual flight status before heading to the airport.

A chareidi initiative designed to provide financial support to yeshiva bochurim imprisoned over their military draft status has made its first major payout, with a draft evader who spent 12 days in military prison receiving 12,000 shekels in cash.

The payment was revealed Tuesday night by Channel 13, which aired footage showing Avraham Engel receiving the money through the initiative, known as “Kele Elef” — literally, “Prison 1,000.”

The concept is straightforward: an eligible chareidi draft evader who is imprisoned by the military receives 1,000 shekels for each day he spends behind bars.

The initiative was launched approximately a month ago amid the growing wave of arrests of yeshiva bochurim over their draft status. Channel 13 reported that nearly 10,000 people have already joined the program, with participants contributing relatively small amounts that are pooled to fund payments to those who are imprisoned.

Engel, who spent 12 days in military prison, became a prominent example of the program in action when he was handed 12,000 shekels in cash following his release.

The initiative has received the backing of leading rabbonim, including Rav Dov Landau and Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, as well as Rav Yitzchak Yosef.

Organizers have described the program as a financial safety net intended to lessen the burden on yeshiva bochurim and their families when they are imprisoned because of their refusal to enlist.

Sinai Greenboim, a member of the initiative’s leadership, previously explained that the model relies on a large pool of participants, each contributing a small amount when arrests occur. He said the arrangement is designed to spread the financial burden across thousands of people rather than requiring large donations from individual contributors.

Greenboim has also rejected claims that the initiative is intended to encourage people to violate the law, saying, “We are not calling on people to break the law.”

At the same time, he acknowledged that one of the program’s objectives is to reduce the deterrent effect of military imprisonment by providing financial protection to those who are jailed.

The initiative’s rules reportedly contain restrictions intended to prevent participants from deliberately seeking arrest in order to collect money. According to Greenboim, eligibility is intended for someone who is arrested without deliberately bringing about his own detention and who had no reasonable opportunity to avoid it.

As an example, someone who intentionally turns himself in or knowingly travels to Ben Gurion Airport despite expecting to be arrested may not necessarily qualify for the payment.

The program has nevertheless drawn fierce criticism from political figures who argue that payments of 1,000 shekels per day effectively transform military imprisonment from a punishment into a financially rewarding experience.

Yashar! with Eisenkot issued a lengthy statement accusing the government and chareidi political establishment of rewarding those who do not serve while soldiers are risking their lives.

“We heard the partners of the draft-dodging government attacking those who serve, and tonight it was revealed that someone who evades service and goes to prison also receives a financial prize of thousands of shekels. This is not an isolated case. It is a worldview that has turned draft evasion into an ideology and those who serve into suckers — and it receives political backing from the government.

“While the best of our sons and daughters serve, fight and risk their lives, we cannot accept a reality in which someone who refuses to serve is rewarded for it. And in the Netanyahu government — silence. No one condemns it, no one stands alongside IDF soldiers and servicemembers, everything is for the sake of the chair. The coming elections are between Netanyahu’s non-Zionist draft-dodging government and Eisenkot’s Zionist conscription government. We will establish a Zionist government in which everyone shares the burden and everyone serves the state. We pledge: conscription and service for all,” the party said.

Naftali Bennett, chairman of the Beyachad party, also attacked the program following the Channel 13 report.

“Shame and disgrace. This Deri-Goldknopf-Bibi-Smotrich government transfers 1,000 shekels a day to a chareidi draft evader in prison. We will dry them out, shut down all their pipelines and dismantle this chareidi state,” Bennett said.

Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman similarly condemned the payments.

“This madness must stop. The chareidi community cannot turn draft evaders into heroes — heroes who receive the support of the rabbis and the political establishment and receive tens of thousands of shekels in cash, which is already a violation of the law. We will put an end to it. With us, you will not receive a single shekel. All the money we take from the draft evaders will be transferred to the soldiers!” Liberman said.

{Matzav.com}

An unexpected recognition during a video call between a Namibian pathologist and a ZAKA official in Israel led authorities to cancel a planned autopsy on an Israeli tourist who died suddenly while vacationing in the African country during Sukkos, Matzav.com has learned.

The Israeli man had been traveling in Namibia with his wife when he suffered cardiac arrest and passed away. Local authorities subsequently informed those assisting the family that an autopsy would be required.

Efforts to prevent the procedure were launched by Chabad shliach Rav Yosef Rahimi, working together with Israel’s Foreign Ministry and ZAKA’s international unit, because of the serious halachic concerns surrounding an autopsy and the importance of preserving the dignity and integrity of the deceased.

As part of those efforts, Rav Rahimi arranged a video conversation between the local pathologist and Yossi Landau, the operations officer for ZAKA’s Lachish region, who sought to explain the religious sensitivity involved and ask that any medical examination be kept to the absolute minimum necessary.

But as the conversation began, the pathologist looked closely at Landau on the screen and suddenly realized that the Israeli standing before him was familiar.

“You look familiar to me. I know you from somewhere,” the pathologist told him.

It soon emerged that the two men had indeed met — nearly two decades earlier, under tragic circumstances in Namibia.

Approximately 19 years ago, five Israelis were killed in a plane crash in the country. ZAKA volunteers traveled to the scene to assist with identifying the victims and ensuring that the remains were handled with appropriate respect. Landau was among the ZAKA personnel who participated in that operation.

The Namibian doctor had been involved in the aftermath of that crash and remembered Landau and the ZAKA team. In particular, he recalled the extraordinary importance the volunteers placed on kavod hameis and their efforts to ensure that the victims were treated in accordance with Jewish law.

That encounter from nearly 20 years earlier suddenly became decisive in the present case.

After Landau explained the halachic significance of avoiding an autopsy and the importance of returning the deceased for burial with his body intact, the pathologist agreed to waive the procedure entirely and authorize the release of the body.

“He remembered our work and our struggle for the dignity of the deceased,” Landau recalled. “I explained to him how important it was for us to prevent the autopsy and to bring the deceased for burial intact. He understood the significance and agreed to our request to release the deceased without any autopsy at all.”

The remarkable resolution brought together two men who had last encountered one another at the scene of a tragedy nearly two decades ago — with the impression left by ZAKA’s work at that time ultimately helping preserve kavod hameis for another Israeli family 19 years later.

{Matzav.com}

FlyDubai has fired a “significant number” of employees following an internal investigation into the security failures surrounding the attempted attack aboard one of its flights to Israel, while Israeli authorities are simultaneously moving to establish tougher screening procedures for foreign passengers and airline crews.

The developments mark the latest fallout from the extraordinary incident aboard the FlyDubai flight, in which the Omani co-pilot attacked the captain while the aircraft was en route to Tel Aviv, triggering a struggle for control of the plane before passengers intervened and the aircraft was ultimately landed safely in Saudi Arabia.

According to a Channel 13 report, FlyDubai’s CEO and senior officials in the United Arab Emirates have informed Israeli authorities that the airline has completed its internal investigation into the incident.

The investigation reportedly uncovered a series of failures in the airline’s security and personnel-screening systems. As a result, FlyDubai dismissed a “significant number” of employees who were involved in the areas where the failures occurred.

The findings have taken on particular significance amid reports that the Omani co-pilot had previously raised security concerns while employed by Oman Air. He had reportedly been removed from flying duties there amid concerns over his conduct and interest in radical ideology, yet was subsequently hired by FlyDubai and allowed to operate flights to Israel.

Following completion of the investigation and the disciplinary measures taken by the airline, FlyDubai asked Transportation Minister Miri Regev to authorize the resumption of its flights to Israel.

Israeli officials, however, are moving beyond the measures taken internally by FlyDubai and are working on a broader overhaul of the security-screening system for foreign airline personnel flying into the country.

According to a Channel 12 report, proposed changes were presented during a classified meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee’s intelligence subcommittee, headed by MK Boaz Bismuth.

One of the central proposals calls for Israel to establish a list of countries considered to pose an elevated security threat. The National Security Council is expected to work with the Mossad and Shin Bet in determining which countries will be included.

Under the proposed system, when airline crew members from one of those countries are scheduled to fly to Israel, their identifying information would have to be submitted to Israeli authorities 48 hours before the flight.

That advance notice would give Israeli intelligence and security agencies time to examine the crew members’ backgrounds and determine whether they should be permitted to operate a flight entering Israeli airspace.

Israel is also preparing to change the way it handles passengers and crew members carrying passports from countries that do not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel.

At the request of the Transportation Ministry, the Population and Immigration Authority is expected to provide lists of those individuals to the ministry’s security division so that their information can undergo additional review.

Officials also clarified the division of responsibility for screening foreign travelers. The Population and Immigration Authority, working through the National Security Council, is responsible for examining the passports of passengers and airline crew members and transmitting relevant information to the appropriate security agencies.

The changes come after revelations that more than 1,200 airline crew members holding passports from countries without diplomatic relations with Israel — including Syria, Lebanon and Oman — entered Israel during 2026.

The FlyDubai incident exposed potentially serious gaps in that system, particularly because the Omani co-pilot had reportedly flown to Israel on previous occasions despite the concerns that had surfaced during his earlier employment.

Israeli officials are now seeking to create a system in which potentially sensitive information reaches security agencies before an aircraft departs for Israel rather than relying on checks conducted after foreign crew members have already been assigned to the flight.

The proposed 48-hour advance screening mechanism, combined with the identification of high-risk countries and closer scrutiny of passports from states without diplomatic ties to Israel, is intended to prevent a repeat of the failures exposed by the FlyDubai attack.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli authorities have uncovered an apparent loophole at Ben Gurion Airport that allowed dozens of chareidi draft avoiders who were barred from leaving the country to travel to Uman, Ukraine, before being caught when they returned to Israel.

A total of 64 draft avoiders were stopped at border control upon their return from Uman, according to a report by Kan News. A subsequent examination produced a startling finding: the men had no official record of ever leaving Israel.

That indicated that despite being subject to orders prohibiting them from leaving the country, they had managed to depart without properly passing through border control.

The men had traveled to Uman, where tens of thousands of Jews gather annually around Rosh Hashanah at the kever of Rav Nachman of Breslov.

All 64 men apprehended upon their return were transferred to the Ben Gurion Airport Police for further handling. Some have already been questioned under caution on suspicion of violating Israel’s Entry Law, while others are expected to be questioned in the coming days.

Investigators examining how the men managed to leave the country discovered what authorities believe was the primary method used to circumvent the restrictions.

According to the investigation, some of the suspects allegedly passed through the gate located after passport control by closely following another passenger, effectively slipping through without registering their own departure in the border-control system.

Police reviewing surveillance footage from Ben Gurion Airport have reportedly already identified some of the suspects on camera using the method.

The discovery is particularly significant because the problem extends well beyond the current dispute over chareidi military conscription. The apparent security gap could potentially be exploited by anyone prohibited from leaving Israel, including individuals facing criminal proceedings, debt-enforcement restrictions or other court-imposed travel bans.

The cases have therefore raised broader questions about how passengers subject to exit restrictions could physically leave the country without their departure being recorded by Israel’s border-control system.

The Population and Immigration Authority has responded by implementing a series of measures at Ben Gurion Airport aimed at closing the loophole. Among the immediate steps taken is an increase in the number of inspectors stationed at the airport.

{Matzav.com}

Israel’s National Security Council is warning Israelis traveling or living abroad to exercise heightened caution on Wednesday, the third anniversary of the October 7 massacre, amid concerns that Iran, Hamas and other terrorist organizations could attempt attacks against Israeli or Jewish targets around the world.

The warning, issued Tuesday ahead of the anniversary, also cites the possibility of demonstrations, violent disturbances and other incidents in locations frequented by Israelis and Jews. Travelers are being urged to remain vigilant and avoid situations that could expose them unnecessarily.

According to the National Security Council, terrorist organizations view the October 7 anniversary as a significant symbolic date that could provide an opportunity for attacks. Officials specifically pointed to Iran and its proxies, Hamas and global jihadist organizations as sources of concern.

The council said the heightened threat could take the form of attempted terrorist attacks against Israelis and Jews overseas, while anti-Israel demonstrations and public disturbances surrounding the anniversary could create additional security risks.

Israelis abroad are being advised to stay away from demonstrations and large gatherings, particularly events connected to Israel or the Gaza war, where tensions could escalate.

Travelers are also being urged not to post their locations, itineraries or travel plans on social media in advance. Such information, security officials warn, can reveal an individual’s movements and make it easier for hostile actors to identify or track potential targets.

The National Security Council is additionally urging Israelis to avoid destinations currently under a Level 4 travel warning, the highest warning level. Those destinations include Jordan, Qatar, Somaliland and Egypt, including the Sinai Peninsula.

For countries and destinations subject to a Level 3 warning, Israelis are being advised to take additional precautions, including limiting the use of Hebrew in crowded public areas and avoiding unnecessary displays that could identify them as Israeli.

The public is also being cautioned against posting material on social media that reveals past or present service in the IDF or other Israeli security forces, information that could potentially draw unwanted attention or be exploited by hostile elements.

The warning comes amid continuing concern over Iranian efforts to target Israelis and Jewish communities outside Israel. Israeli security authorities have repeatedly warned that Iran and organizations linked to Tehran seek opportunities to carry out attacks overseas, while Hamas and global jihadist groups have also called for attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets since October 7.

Officials are urging travelers to familiarize themselves with the current warning level for their destination, maintain awareness of their surroundings and reconsider unnecessary travel to locations where the threat level is particularly high.

In the event of an emergency abroad, Israelis are instructed to contact local law-enforcement and security authorities first. Israel’s National Security Council travel-warning center will remain operational around the clock at 02-6667444.

{Matzav.com}

Tensions over the arrests of chareidi military draft evaders intensified Tuesday after a yeshiva bochur was detained in Eilat and transferred to the Military Police, with activists warning that major demonstrations could erupt Wednesday — the third anniversary of the October 7 massacre — if he is not released.

The detainee was identified as Yakir Ralbag, a bochur currently learning at Yeshivas Beis Meir Sosnovsky who previously learned at Yeshivas Chevron Knesses Yisroel. According to reports from the Peleg Yerushalmi, Ralbag was arrested Tuesday in Eilat and subsequently handed over to the Military Police.

His arrest came one day after another young avreich, who married only several months ago, was detained in Eilat after being stopped for a check by traffic police and was also transferred to the Military Police.

Both men are awaiting hearings in their cases. They and their families are being represented by attorneys affiliated with the Notnim Gav organization, which is also providing assistance and support.

Activists are now preparing for the possibility of widespread protests if Ralbag remains in custody. Any demonstrations Wednesday would coincide with Israel’s commemoration of three years since the October 7 massacre, potentially adding another volatile element to an already sensitive day.

The arrest also came just hours after Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara demanded an urgent increase in enforcement against chareidi draft evaders, including the resumption of proactive arrests rather than relying primarily on encounters with wanted individuals at airports, border crossings and during unrelated police activity.

“Proactive enforcement efforts and field arrests must be urgently improved,” the attorney general said. “The absence of proactive enforcement is inconsistent with security needs, the principle of equality, and the state’s commitments to the High Court.”

Figures presented during the discussion underscored what officials described as gaps in the existing enforcement system. Authorities disclosed that 64 draft evaders had succeeded in leaving Israel without being apprehended and were arrested only when they returned to the country.

Additional figures indicated that 163 chareidi draft evaders were detained at border crossings during September, with the Taba crossing becoming a significant enforcement point and accounting for 20 apprehensions. Of 188 individuals apprehended at Ben Gurion Airport during the relevant period, 64 were reportedly caught only upon returning to Israel, indicating that they had managed to leave despite being wanted by military authorities.

Following the disclosure, the Population and Immigration Authority said it would investigate whether loopholes exist that are allowing draft evaders to depart Israel despite their status.

At a meeting held under the deputy attorney general, officials decided that the Military Police should resume proactive enforcement operations as soon as possible, working in coordination with Israel Police. Military officials said those operations are expected to restart during October.

At the same time, the existing joint procedure between the military and Israel Police will remain in effect for draft evaders and deserters who are encountered incidentally by police officers and subsequently identified as wanted by military authorities.

Officials also determined that the Military Advocate General’s Office should quickly complete steps toward lowering the threshold for prosecuting draft evasion cases, including cases involving individuals who failed to report to the IDF induction center, and move ahead with changes to the military’s disciplinary regulations.

The developments follow a dramatic confrontation overnight in Modiin, where an attempt by Military Police officers to arrest another yeshiva bochur ended with the arrest being abandoned after large numbers of protesters descended on the scene.

Shortly after midnight, a small Military Police force arrived at a residence on Yaar Yerushalayim Street in Modiin to arrest a young man classified by the military as a draft evader. The young man, who comes from a non-chareidi family and became religious, learns at Yeshivas Ohr Hachaim in Yerushalayim, headed by Rav Reuven Elbaz.

Word of the attempted arrest quickly reached Tzeva Shachor, an alert network established to notify the chareidi community about attempts to arrest yeshiva bochurim over their draft status. An alert was circulated, and within a short time bochurim and avreichim began arriving from chareidi communities, including large numbers from nearby Modiin Illit.

As the crowd grew, confrontations broke out with police. Protesters pushed toward the residential building where the Military Police officers and the wanted man were located, while additional Israel Police forces were summoned to the scene.

The standoff continued for more than an hour and a half before the Military Police ultimately left without taking the young man into custody. He remained at home, and the protesters dispersed.

The episode subsequently produced sharply conflicting accounts from the IDF and Israel Police over who made the decision to abandon the arrest.

The IDF said: “In light of the situation, during the arrest it was decided to send the deserter an order to regularize his status and release him, in order to disperse the demonstration.”

Military officials maintained that Israel Police made the decision and that the IDF merely implemented it.

Israel Police offered the opposite account. According to the police review of the incident, a small Military Police force arrived to make the arrest but, contrary to established procedures, failed to immediately remove the wanted man from the location after taking control of the situation and instead allowed him an extended period to prepare.

Police said they were called for assistance only after dozens of protesters had already gathered around the building, forcing a substantial deployment to help extract the Military Police personnel and restore order.

Israel Police insisted that the decision to release the draft evader and instead issue him an order directing him to regularize his military status was made by IDF officials, not by the police. Police said their officers responded at the military’s request, deployed substantial forces and assisted in carrying out the decision and restoring public order.

With the government’s legal authorities now pressing for intensified enforcement and chareidi activists mobilizing rapidly in response to arrests, Ralbag’s detention in Eilat could become the next flashpoint in the escalating confrontation over the draft — particularly if he remains in military custody when Wednesday’s October 7 commemorations begin.

{Matzav.com}

Aviva and Keith Siegel have revealed harrowing new details of their captivity in Gaza, describing the violence of their abduction from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, their repeated transfers between homes and tunnels, desperate shortages of oxygen and water, and moments when they became convinced they would not survive.

The couple recounted their ordeal in a special interview for the IDF’s international podcast marking three years since the October 7 massacre. Aviva was freed in November 2023 after 51 days in captivity, while Keith remained a hostage for 484 days before being released in February 2025.

The Siegels described the morning of October 7, when they were inside their home as the sounds of gunfire drew increasingly closer. After terrorists broke into the house, Keith said their small living room quickly filled with approximately 15 armed men, some wearing uniforms and others dressed in civilian clothing. They were carrying Kalashnikov rifles and knives.

Keith said that even as the attack unfolded, he initially could not comprehend the scale of what was happening or imagine that terrorists would actually reach their home. “I thought in terms of a handful of terrorists who somehow managed to breach the border fence,” he recalled, explaining that residents had been led to believe that the border barrier was extraordinarily difficult to penetrate.

The terrorists eventually forced Keith and Aviva out of their home through a rear window. Aviva injured her knee while being taken out, while Keith suffered broken ribs.

As they were marched toward a vehicle, Keith deliberately tried to slow the process. He walked slowly and pretended to be confused, hoping that every additional moment they remained inside the kibbutz might give Israeli forces enough time to arrive and rescue them.

“The more time I can buy before we get to the car, that’s the time that will allow the IDF to rescue us,” he explained.

His attempt to stall came at a cost. At one point, the terrorists opened fire again, and Keith was struck by a bullet in his hand.

Even after reaching the vehicle, Keith continued searching for ways to prevent their abduction. He knew the car required a security code to start and that entering the wrong code three times would disable the vehicle for approximately 20 to 30 minutes.

“That was my plan,” Keith recalled. Aviva remembered desperately trying to stop him: “Keith, are you crazy? They’re going to kill us.” Keith ultimately entered the correct code.

As they were driven toward Gaza, Keith saw thick black smoke rising over Kfar Aza. When they reached the border, he was stunned by what he saw: Rather than finding a section of fence that had simply been cut open, he said an enormous gate itself was standing wide open.

“In my imagination, I thought they had cut a section of the fence and entered through it. But they managed to open a gate, a huge gate,” he said.

“Is this real? Is this really happening?” Keith remembered thinking. He said that sense of disbelief stayed with him from the moment terrorists entered his home until the end of his 484 days as a hostage.

During the period in which Keith and Aviva remained together, Aviva said their captors moved them 12 times from one location to another. After she and Keith were separated, she was moved once more.

Their places of captivity included underground tunnels and civilian homes. At one stage, Aviva said, they were held in what she believed was a large United Nations school. She recalled seeing a vehicle marked “UN” at the entrance to the facility.

Among the most terrifying locations was the second tunnel into which the hostages were taken. Aviva said conditions deteriorated to the point where she and Keith believed death was imminent.

“Keith and I touched death. And when I say that, it’s not just a sentence. We touched death with our bodies, with our souls, with our emotions, with everything,” Aviva said.

The lack of oxygen became so severe, she recalled, that even basic movement became almost impossible. “We couldn’t breathe. We had no oxygen. The lack of oxygen was at a level where all we could do was lie down and just try to get a little air into our bodies.”

Aviva described overwhelming heaviness, headaches and extreme weakness. Then she realized that Keith was also struggling for air.

“I just looked at the ceiling and told myself: Don’t look at Keith, don’t look at Keith. And I kept telling myself: Just let me die before Keith,” she recalled.

Throughout her captivity, Aviva said, she had been convinced that their son, Shai, had been killed. As she lay in the tunnel believing that she, too, was about to die, she began thinking about saying goodbye to the rest of her family and to Keith.

“It sounds like somebody else’s story, but I was there,” she said.

According to the Siegels, their captors would enter the tunnel briefly in the morning and return again during the afternoon, leaving the hostages alone for much of the remaining time. Food and drinking water were severely limited, and eventually their supply of water ran out entirely.

When only a tiny amount remained in one bottle, Aviva divided it among herself, Keith and another hostage being held with them. “I said: Anyone who needs a sip of water, take only one. And everyone has to take a sip,” she recalled.

Their dehydration became so severe that Aviva began preparing for the possibility that they would have to take extraordinary measures simply to stay alive. She spotted a plastic bag and told the others that she intended to keep it in case she needed to urinate into it.

“I was sure we would reach the point where we’d have to drink it to survive. And I really meant it,” Aviva said.

She was so badly dehydrated that she did not need to use the bathroom at all. More than 12 hours passed before their captors finally returned with water. Aviva remembered the overwhelming relief of seeing the bottle: “We’ll have water. We’re going to survive.”

The Siegels also described being held inside civilian homes during their captivity. In one house, Aviva recalled seeing young children, including a girl approximately three or three-and-a-half years old. One of their Hamas captors told the hostages that the little girl was his daughter.

Their account adds to other testimony from released hostages describing captivity in Gaza’s extensive tunnel network and in civilian locations. Israeli forces have also documented Hamas tunnels, weapons and other terrorist infrastructure in or near civilian facilities, including schools, mosques and hospitals.

Keith said the circumstances in which hostages were held are something he believes the international community needs to understand. “It’s very important that everyone knows that Hamas uses hospitals, schools, mosques and private homes to hide.”

Aviva ended with an appeal that the suffering they endured not be ignored. “This world needs to wake up. No one should suffer the way we suffered, and no one should go through what we went through. And Hamas must not be allowed to behave this way.”

{Matzav.com}

An Israir rescue flight scheduled to bring Israelis from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Thursday, Oct. 8, has been canceled after authorities in the United Arab Emirates abruptly withdrew the approval previously granted for the flight, throwing renewed uncertainty over the final stage of Israel’s operation to bring stranded travelers home.

Israeli passengers who had been scheduled to travel on Israir Flight 6H662 were informed Tuesday that the flight would not operate as planned. Although the cancellation currently applies to that flight, questions remain over whether additional rescue flights scheduled from Dubai will be affected.

Israir notified passengers: “Dear passengers, unfortunately, the approvals granted to Israir to operate rescue flight 6H662 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, scheduled for 08.10.26, have now been unilaterally canceled by the authorities in the United Arab Emirates.”

The airline said it is working with the relevant authorities in an effort to restore the flight or arrange another solution for affected passengers. Israir told travelers that it expects to provide another update by 10 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7.

The latest cancellation comes after several days of shifting approvals and logistical complications surrounding flights from Dubai. Israeli carriers had initially sought permission to operate special rescue services after FlyDubai suspended its Israel operations following the attempted terrorist attack aboard Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv.

Israir announced last Friday that it had received the necessary authorization from Dubai airport authorities for rescue operations, although at that stage it was still waiting for final clearance from all Israeli security authorities involved. The airline subsequently began operating flights, with its first rescue flight carrying approximately 180 Israelis arriving in Israel late Friday.

El Al and Arkia have also been operating limited rescue services from Dubai, while Etihad has continued flying between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv. Regular service by Israeli airlines to the UAE has not yet returned to its pre-crisis schedule.

The rescue operation itself has already encountered repeated obstacles. On Oct. 2, El Al was forced to cancel planned rescue flights after approval for Israeli carriers to land in Dubai was withdrawn. The situation shifted again later that day, with Arkia and Israir obtaining approvals that allowed rescue flights to begin.

Another complication arose over baggage and security arrangements in Dubai. Because of disagreements surrounding security procedures, some passenger flights were required to operate separately from aircraft carrying travelers’ luggage, adding another layer of complexity to the effort.

Despite those difficulties, thousands of Israelis have already returned from the UAE since the operation began. According to Transportation Ministry figures released Tuesday, 941 passengers had returned aboard special flights operated by Israeli carriers from Dubai, while another 2,102 had flown home aboard Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi — more than 3,000 passengers altogether.

Earlier Tuesday, before the latest Israir cancellation became known, the Transportation Ministry said the special repatriation operation was expected to conclude Thursday after the remaining scheduled flights were completed.

The ministry said the first flights had already landed in Israel on Friday and that efforts were continuing to return Israelis “quickly and safely.”

The Transportation Ministry added: “The Transportation Ministry continues to monitor passengers’ needs and is working to adapt the transportation response in accordance with developments and demand.”

The fresh withdrawal of Israir’s Oct. 8 authorization now raises questions about whether the rescue operation will be able to conclude Thursday as planned, with the airline awaiting either renewed Emirati approval or an alternative arrangement for passengers booked on Flight 6H662.

{Matzav.com}

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is casting Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign for U.S. Senate in Michigan as far more than a single election, telling supporters that a victory by the progressive Democrat could demonstrate that candidates from the party’s left wing can win well beyond their traditional political strongholds and potentially reshape the landscape heading into 2028.

Speaking Monday at a private fundraiser in New York for El-Sayed, Ocasio-Cortez described his campaign as part of a “generational project” and argued that winning a statewide contest in battleground Michigan could upend assumptions about where candidates aligned with the progressive movement can succeed.

“What we do is that we break open the entire political calculus in America — period,” Ocasio-Cortez said, according to a recording of her remarks. “Because if you can win, if Abdul can win in Michigan, anybody can win anywhere.”

“Anywhere,” she added.

Ocasio-Cortez has become one of El-Sayed’s most prominent supporters. She endorsed him during the Democratic primary and traveled to Michigan to campaign alongside him and Sen. Bernie Sanders. Her support for El-Sayed stretches back even further: She also endorsed his unsuccessful campaign for governor of Michigan in 2018.

El-Sayed, a physician and former Detroit health director, won the Democratic Senate nomination in August after defeating Rep. Haley Stevens in a closely watched primary that became a major battle between the party’s progressive and establishment wings. He is now facing Republican Mike Rogers for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Gary Peters.

“We are in a long-term — I’m being very open right now, right? — about our generational project that we have ahead of us,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “Generational. We are here to break the map.”

The New York congresswoman pointed not only to Michigan but also to Florida, where state Rep. Angie Nixon, a democratic socialist, is challenging Republican Sen. Ashley Moody. Ocasio-Cortez suggested that campaigns in states traditionally regarded as difficult terrain for the progressive left could change perceptions about the movement’s electoral limits.

“We are up against not just an ascendant and fascist right wing in this country,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “But we are also up against people with extremely small imaginations about what is possible in America.”

El-Sayed similarly told the New York gathering that the significance of his campaign extends beyond who occupies Michigan’s Senate seat next year. He portrayed a victory as a potential demonstration that the political assumptions of national strategists and pundits are wrong.

“What does it say about what America really wants, needs, and deserves if our state bucks all of the pundits and all of the pontificators who think that this is not possible?” El-Sayed said. “What does it tell them?

“It tells them just how big America is and exactly what we want.”

El-Sayed later said that “this one is for all the marbles” while emphasizing “the ripple effect that this race will have.”

The Michigan contest has emerged as one of the most closely watched Senate races of the 2026 midterms. El-Sayed entered the general election after a bitter Democratic primary in which outside groups spent tens of millions of dollars attempting to defeat him, with his positions on Israel and the Gaza war among the major flashpoints.

El-Sayed has been a sharp critic of U.S. military assistance to Israel and backed Michigan’s “uncommitted” effort during the 2024 Democratic presidential primary as a protest against the Biden administration’s handling of the Gaza war. Those positions have generated significant concern among pro-Israel Democrats and some Jewish voters in Michigan.

Since securing the nomination, however, El-Sayed has also consolidated support from major Democratic figures who were not originally aligned with his campaign. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who had supported Stevens during the primary, are now backing El-Sayed in the general election.

Barack Obama is also scheduled to campaign with El-Sayed at an Oct. 24 rally in Detroit alongside Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson, timed to coincide with the beginning of early in-person voting in Michigan. Ocasio-Cortez and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani are also among the prominent Democrats appearing with El-Sayed during the campaign’s closing stretch.

The broader political implications of the race are particularly significant for Ocasio-Cortez as she considers her own future. The 36-year-old congresswoman, who turns 37 this month, has left open the possibility of seeking higher office in 2028, including either a presidential campaign or a run for U.S. Senate in New York.

Ocasio-Cortez acknowledged recently that one consideration is whether a particular political moment offers an opportunity that may not come again.

“There’s an argument that some make that this is a very unique political window and, oftentimes in politics, you do only get one shot,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

She has also recently traveled through upstate New York, making stops in Buffalo, Syracuse and Ithaca, appearances that have drawn additional attention because Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s seat will be on the ballot in 2028.

Schumer, who would be 77 at the time of that election, has not announced whether he intends to seek another term. Ocasio-Cortez has likewise made no announcement about whether she would challenge him, seek the presidency or remain in the House.

Against that backdrop, the Michigan contest has become something of a real-world test for the political movement Ocasio-Cortez has helped build. A victory by El-Sayed in a presidential battleground state would provide progressives with evidence for their argument that their candidates can compete outside heavily Democratic districts, while a defeat would provide fresh ammunition to Democrats who argue that the party risks losing winnable races by nominating candidates too far to the left.

For Ocasio-Cortez, however, her message to supporters Monday was that the ambitions behind El-Sayed’s campaign extend well beyond Election Day in Michigan: “Generational. We are here to break the map.”

{Matzav.com}

More than 1,200 foreign airline crew members from countries that do not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel have been permitted to enter the country since the beginning of 2026, including citizens of Syria, Lebanon and Oman, according to newly revealed figures that are raising fresh questions about Israel’s screening of foreign aviation personnel.

The number, reported Tuesday by Kan News, has taken on particular significance following the attempted hijacking of a FlyDubai flight bound for Tel Aviv, after it emerged that the Omani co-pilot accused of carrying out the attack had previously drawn the attention of authorities in his own country over concerns about extremist activity.

The figure does not mean that the 1,200 crew members were suspected of terrorism or other wrongdoing. Rather, it highlights the extent to which foreign airline personnel from countries ordinarily subject to heightened Israeli entry restrictions routinely arrive as part of international flight crews — and has fueled questions about exactly how those individuals are vetted before being permitted to fly into Israel.

The Omani co-pilot at the center of the FlyDubai attack, Imam Al-Hamami, had not previously escaped the notice of authorities. According to reports that emerged following the attack, Omani officials had become concerned about his online activity and what they regarded as an excessive interest in radical ideology.

Those concerns were serious enough that Al-Hamami was reportedly removed from flying duties at Oman Air, the country’s national carrier. He was transferred to an office position and sent through an anti-extremism program.

But the information apparently stopped there. The Wall Street Journal reported that the concerns surrounding Al-Hamami were not transmitted to other relevant authorities or entered into a system that would have prevented him from obtaining another aviation job abroad.

Al-Hamami subsequently secured employment with FlyDubai. According to information published since the attack, the airline did not approach Omani authorities for a detailed account of his previous employment or the reasons he had stopped flying for Oman Air. Instead, the hiring process reportedly relied on a criminal-background check that did not reveal the earlier security concerns.

The apparent gap proved particularly consequential because Al-Hamami was not merely hired as a commercial pilot. He was assigned to routes serving Israel and had reportedly flown into the country several times before the attempted hijacking without being identified as a potential security threat.

Only after the attack did investigators begin piecing together the history of warnings surrounding him. Reuters reported that Al-Hamami subsequently told investigators in the United Arab Emirates that he had planned the attack even before FlyDubai hired him, a revelation that has intensified scrutiny of how he was able to secure the position and repeatedly operate flights to Israel.

Authorities in the UAE are now examining the conduct of FlyDubai personnel involved in hiring Al-Hamami and whether proper procedures were followed before he was permitted to fly for the carrier.

Investigators in Abu Dhabi and Yerushalayim are also reportedly examining whether Al-Hamami’s radicalization may have begun earlier, including during a period in which he lived in Australia. Authorities are seeking to reconstruct his activities and determine when warning signs first appeared and whether information existed that could have prevented him from gaining access to an Israel-bound cockpit.

The attempted attack has now expanded into a broader examination of the system governing foreign airline crews entering Israel. Unlike ordinary travelers, airline personnel operate under specialized aviation procedures, raising questions about which Israeli agency is ultimately responsible for ensuring that potentially dangerous crew members are identified before they reach the country.

Transportation Minister Miri Regev said over the weekend that the responsibility for intelligence screening and security vetting of foreign flight crews does not rest with the Transportation Ministry. She said those duties belong to Israel’s security authorities.

The Wall Street Journal, however, has reported that the failures were not confined to FlyDubai or Oman. Its reporting also pointed to shortcomings on the Israeli side, including within the mechanisms overseen by Israeli authorities and the Transportation Ministry for screening foreign airline crews entering the country.

The disclosure that more than 1,200 crew members from countries without diplomatic relations with Israel have entered since January is now adding urgency to that dispute. Among those personnel were citizens of countries that remain formally hostile to Israel, including Syria and Lebanon, as well as Oman, which has no diplomatic relations with Israel.

The central question facing investigators is no longer only how Al-Hamami was hired by FlyDubai, but how information about a pilot who had reportedly already been flagged for extremist concerns failed to follow him through the international aviation system — and how he was subsequently able to fly repeatedly into Israel before allegedly attempting to bring down a passenger aircraft bound for Tel Aviv.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli President Isaac Herzog will present Israel’s highest civilian award for heroism on Thursday to six Israelis whose actions helped avert catastrophe aboard the FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv after the co-pilot attacked the captain and the aircraft plunged thousands of feet.

The six recipients of the President’s Award for Civilian Heroism are Or Bardilov, Yaniv Hayun, Dr. Shota Musayev, Tali Manes, Zvika Manes and Assaf Rajuan. The awards will be presented at a ceremony at the President’s Residence in Yerushalayim.

The six played different roles during the dramatic events aboard FlyDubai Flight FZ1073, which was carrying more than 170 people when the co-pilot attacked Indian Captain Smit Machchhar inside the cockpit as the aircraft was en route to Israel.

Despite suffering serious wounds, Machchhar fought with the attacker and managed to open the cockpit door, a move that ultimately allowed passengers to reach the cockpit and intervene.

Tali Manes, who was near the cockpit with her young daughter, heard the sounds of a violent struggle coming from inside and was the first to raise the alarm, calling on other passengers to help.

Yaniv Hayun, Zvika Manes and Assaf Rajuan responded and rushed toward the cockpit, where they confronted the attacker and managed to overpower and restrain him while placing themselves in serious danger.

During the struggle, with the aircraft rapidly losing altitude, Hayun also grabbed the controls and pulled back on them in an effort to stabilize the plane. Hayun, a plumber with no formal aviation training, later said that his limited understanding of what to do came from watching the television program “Air Crash Investigation.”

The passengers ultimately restrained the attacker with materials available aboard the aircraft, including headphone cables, while others guarded him as efforts shifted toward saving the wounded captain and getting the plane safely onto the ground.

Tali Manes continued taking action even after the immediate threat had been brought under control. According to the President’s Residence, she called for qualified pilots who were traveling as passengers in the rear of the aircraft to come forward and assist in regaining control of the plane.

Dr. Shota Musayev, a dentist, turned his attention to Machchhar, who was suffering from severe wounds and substantial blood loss. Musayev treated the captain for an extended period, working to stop the bleeding, monitoring his condition and keeping him conscious until the aircraft could make its emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

The plane ultimately landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where the attacker was taken into custody. The captain was transported for emergency medical treatment.

In the days following the incident, the actions of the passengers and Machchhar drew widespread praise in Israel and abroad, with government leaders saying their intervention had prevented what could have become one of the deadliest aviation terror attacks in years.

Last week, Herzog personally contacted four of the passengers to tell them that he intended to recommend them to the advisory committee responsible for the civilian heroism award. As additional testimony about the incident emerged, the full extent of Tali Manes’ role became clearer, and Herzog subsequently spoke with her as well.

“Tali, the more we learn about what happened during those dramatic moments, the clearer it becomes just how significant a role you played in saving the lives of the passengers on the plane,” Herzog told her. “You heard that something terrible was happening, immediately understood the magnitude of the danger, raised the alarm, called for help, and did not stop taking action even after the attacker had been neutralized.”

Herzog praised Manes for continuing to think and act during the emergency even after the assailant had been restrained.

“The resourcefulness, sense of responsibility, and composure you displayed in moments of life-threatening danger are civilian heroism in the fullest sense of the word. You are a hero, Tali, and I am proud of you and thank you on behalf of the State of Israel.”

Herzog has also singled out Machchhar for praise, saying the Indian captain’s determination despite his grave injuries made it possible for the passengers to intervene and ultimately helped save those aboard the aircraft.

The President’s Award for Civilian Heroism is Israel’s highest civilian decoration recognizing acts of heroism. Herzog established the award following the October 7 massacre to formally recognize civilians who knowingly put their own lives in genuine danger to save others.

Recipients are selected after their actions are examined and an advisory committee submits its recommendations to the president. Previous honorees have included civilians whose extraordinary actions saved lives during the October 7 attacks and other life-threatening incidents.

Thursday’s ceremony will now recognize the six Israelis whose actions, together with those of Machchhar and others aboard the flight, turned what appeared to be a rapidly unfolding disaster in the skies into an extraordinary rescue in which the passengers were brought safely to the ground.

{Matzav.com}

Sen. Ted Cruz launched an extraordinary broadside against Tucker Carlson, accusing the conservative commentator of defending Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany after Carlson repeatedly questioned whether Britain benefited from defeating Hitler in World War II during a contentious interview with former British Cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Cruz devoted a significant portion of Monday’s “Verdict with Ted Cruz” podcast to Carlson’s interview, joining co-host Ben Ferguson in dissecting Carlson’s statements about Hitler, Britain, World War II and Russia. Cruz argued that the comments were part of what he sees as a broader shift in Carlson’s politics and worldview.

“Come on, Tucker didn’t go full Nazi, did he?” Cruz said sarcastically before playing audio from Carlson’s interview. “I want you to give a listen to Tucker saying that he really wishes Hitler had won World War II.”

Carlson did not, however, explicitly state during the exchange that he wished Hitler had won the war. Rather, Carlson repeatedly pressed Rees-Mogg on whether Britain was ultimately better off because it fought and defeated Nazi Germany.

“We did the right thing,” Rees-Mogg said.

“Is it a better country than it was? To have defeated Hitler, yes. So the U.K. is a better country now? It’s a healthier country now?” Carlson responded.

“Otherwise, we’d be speaking German,” Rees-Mogg replied.

“Who cares?” Carlson said. “There are a lot of people in Britain who can’t speak English. So it would be nice to have at least a European language spoken in your country.”

Rees-Mogg immediately rejected that reasoning. “We want to speak English. Thanks so much.”

Ferguson said he was “truly shocked” by the exchange, while Cruz pointed to his own public response to Carlson’s remarks.

“Yes, Tucker. The U.K. is better off for winning World War II. America is better off for winning World War II. And the world would be much worse off if the Nazis had won World War II. This is not complicated.”

The Carlson-Rees-Mogg interview, released Friday, was originally framed largely around Britain’s approach to Russia and the war in Ukraine. But the discussion expanded into an extended debate about Britain’s role in World War II, including whether Hitler actually intended to wage war against Britain.

“Hitler did not want to go to war with the U.K.,” Carlson said, later stressing that Hitler had “repeatedly” said publicly and through diplomatic channels that he did not want war with Britain.

Rees-Mogg challenged Carlson’s reliance on Hitler’s stated intentions, pointing to the Nazi leader’s record of violating agreements and breaking promises as Germany expanded across Europe.

“You seem to be putting more trust in Hitler than I would,” he told Carlson, pointing to Hitler’s broken agreements and adding, “I’m very surprised you’re verging on defending Hitler.”

“Yeah, I guess I’m just a secret Nazi,” Carlson responded. “I’m actually not a secret Nazi.”

“I’m reassured,” Rees-Mogg dryly replied.

“And hardly a public Nazi,” Carlson added.

Cruz seized on that portion of the interview, describing Carlson as “blazingly naive and willfully naive” in his approach to dictators and authoritarian governments.

“We’re now less than a month away from Election Day, and Tucker Carlson decided, what do you want to do right before Election Day?” Cruz asked rhetorically.

Cruz then delivered his most blistering attack of the podcast, tying the World War II controversy to his longstanding disputes with Carlson over President Trump, Israel, antisemitism and foreign policy.

“I know, become a full-on Nazi. Embrace Adolf Hitler, defend the Nazis, argue America should have been standing with the Nazis. You know, poor Adolf was just misunderstood. We’re going to come with the receipts of even for Tucker, long after he’s gone down the road of hating Donald Trump, long after he’s gone down the road of hating Israel and Jews, long after he’s gone down the road of hating Christian Zionists, and becoming a full-on jihadist, long after he has embraced Abdul El-Sayed, Tucker decided, you know, I don’t have enough Nazi love on my show, and this past week he sought to correct that. You can hear and judge for yourself.”

The episode marked another escalation in an increasingly bitter feud between two highly influential figures on the American right. Cruz has become one of Carlson’s most vocal conservative critics, particularly over Carlson’s treatment of Israel, Jews and figures accused of promoting antisemitism.

The dispute intensified after Carlson interviewed Nick Fuentes last year. Cruz subsequently called Carlson “the single-most dangerous demagogue in this country” and warned about what he sees as the increasing acceptance of antisemitism within portions of the political right.

Cruz’s latest criticism was not limited to Carlson’s discussion of Hitler. He also targeted Carlson over another exchange with Rees-Mogg concerning the relative economic strength of Russia and Britain.

Carlson asserted that Russia has a “much larger economy” than Britain, pointing to the country’s natural resources, manufacturing capacity and size.

Rees-Mogg challenged him, noting that Russia’s nominal gross domestic product is smaller than that of the United Kingdom despite Russia possessing a substantially larger population and enormous natural resources. Carlson countered that GDP was not the only measure of a country’s economic strength and pointed instead to Russia’s underlying resources and industrial capacity.

“Tucker has an ideological mission,” Cruz charged. “It is a mission to tear down America, to tear down free enterprise, to tear down the Constitution.”

Cruz went further, accusing Carlson’s rhetoric of working to “build up the Nazis” as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The two conservatives have also diverged sharply over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Carlson has repeatedly questioned Washington’s support for Kyiv and argued that U.S. leaders exaggerate the threat posed by Moscow, while Cruz has taken a far more hawkish approach toward Russia.

Another portion of Carlson’s interview focused on Britain’s treatment during World War II of Oswald Mosley, the leader of the British Union of Fascists, who was detained by the British government along with hundreds of other suspected fascist sympathizers under wartime emergency regulations.

Cruz interpreted Carlson’s criticism of those actions as another example of the same pattern he saw throughout the interview.

“Tucker is all in on defending the Nazis against the West.”

The uproar over Carlson’s interview has extended beyond Cruz. Rees-Mogg subsequently said he could not understand Carlson’s increasingly extreme positions and suggested that the incentives of online media and the pursuit of audience engagement could be contributing to Carlson’s provocative rhetoric.

Poland’s government has also entered the controversy after Carlson discussed Hitler’s grievances against Poland and questioned the circumstances that led Britain to declare war on Germany following the Nazi invasion of Poland in September 1939. Bogdan Klich, Poland’s top diplomat in Washington, demanded that Carlson retract his remarks and apologize, accusing him of becoming “an apologist for Adolf Hitler.”

Cruz ended his discussion by describing Carlson’s rhetoric as “profoundly dangerous” and telling listeners that they did not need to rely on his characterization of Carlson’s views because the underlying interview was available for them to hear themselves.

“You don’t have to take my word for it,” Cruz said, “because you can listen in his own words as we played today.”

{Matzav.com}

Poland’s top diplomat in Washington has demanded that Tucker Carlson publicly retract and apologize for his remarks about Nazi Germany’s 1939 invasion of Poland, accusing the prominent commentator of advancing a false version of history and becoming “an apologist for Adolf Hitler.”

Bogdan Klich, chargé d’affaires at the Polish Embassy in Washington, issued the extraordinary rebuke after Carlson questioned Britain’s decision to enter World War II and argued during an interview with former British Cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg that Adolf Hitler had legitimate grievances against Poland over German territory lost following World War I.

Klich said Carlson’s portrayal of the events leading to World War II was “false and deeply troubling,” describing his treatment of Hitler’s invasion as a “colossal insult” to the millions of victims of Nazism, including American servicemen killed or wounded in the fight to liberate Europe.

“Nazi propaganda cannot be rehabilitated under the guise of free speech,” Klich wrote, demanding an immediate public retraction and apology.

The clash erupted following Carlson’s lengthy conversation with Rees-Mogg, during which Carlson challenged the conventional understanding of Britain’s entry into World War II and questioned whether the United Kingdom ultimately benefited from fighting Nazi Germany.

Carlson argued that Germany had lost territory populated by Germans to Poland following World War I and disputed the characterization of Hitler’s Sept. 1, 1939, invasion as an unprovoked act of aggression. Rees-Mogg repeatedly pushed back, at one point accusing Carlson of “verging on defending Hitler.”

Carlson also questioned why Britain had declared war on Germany when Hitler had publicly claimed that he did not intend to attack Britain. Britain and France declared war on Germany on Sept. 3, 1939, two days after German forces invaded Poland.

Polish officials responded that Hitler’s assurances about his territorial ambitions cannot be separated from his repeated pattern of making commitments and subsequently violating them.

At Munich in September 1938, Britain and France agreed to Germany’s annexation of the predominantly German-speaking Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia after Hitler pledged that the territorial settlement would satisfy Germany’s demands and that future disputes would be handled peacefully.

Within six months, Hitler violated that understanding. German forces entered the Czech lands in March 1939, dismantling what remained of Czechoslovakia and placing Bohemia and Moravia under German occupation.

Germany had similarly signed a nonaggression pact with Poland in 1934, ostensibly committing the two countries to resolve disputes without military force. Hitler renounced the agreement in April 1939, and Germany invaded Poland just over four months later.

The invasion was also preceded by the secret Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between Nazi Germany and Joseph Stalin’s Soviet Union. Under a secret protocol attached to the agreement, the two totalitarian powers divided Poland and other parts of Eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence.

Germany attacked Poland from the west on Sept. 1, while Soviet forces invaded from the east on Sept. 17. Poland was subsequently partitioned between the two regimes.

While Germany’s public demands before the war centered heavily on the Free City of Danzig and transportation access across the Polish Corridor, diplomatic records from the period indicate that Hitler’s demands expanded as the crisis intensified.

A U.S. diplomatic report produced shortly before the invasion described Hitler as demanding Danzig, the Corridor and Polish provinces including Pomerania and Silesia while threatening to “crush Poland.”

Klich said Carlson’s presentation ignored the broader historical record of Nazi Germany’s plans for Poland and Europe. He argued that the Sept. 1 invasion was a deliberately planned war of aggression intended to destroy the Polish state and ultimately facilitate further German conquest.

Poland suffered catastrophic losses under Nazi occupation. Approximately six million Polish citizens were killed during World War II, roughly half of them Jews murdered as part of the Holocaust. Poland was also the site of Nazi extermination camps where millions of Jews from across Europe were murdered.

Rees-Mogg continued challenging Carlson throughout their exchange, rejecting Carlson’s contention that Britain’s decision to confront Nazi Germany had been a mistake.

Following the interview, Rees-Mogg suggested that Carlson’s increasingly provocative positions could be influenced in part by the incentives of the online media environment and the audiences generated by controversial material.

The controversy also drew a sharp response from Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who has become one of Carlson’s most outspoken Republican critics.

“Yes, Tucker, the UK is better off for winning WWII,” Cruz wrote. “America is better off for winning World War II. And the world would be much worse off if the Nazis had won WWII. This is not complicated.”

Cruz has previously called Carlson “the single-most dangerous demagogue in this country” while warning about the growth of antisemitism on the political right.

The Texas senator has been particularly critical of Carlson’s decision to conduct a friendly interview with Nick Fuentes, who has openly expressed antisemitic views and praised Hitler. Cruz has accused Carlson and others in his orbit of attempting to move parts of the conservative movement toward hostility to Israel and greater tolerance of antisemitism.

Carlson, meanwhile, has become increasingly outspoken in his opposition to U.S. support for Israel and has repeatedly clashed with prominent Republicans and pro-Israel conservatives over the issue. His critics have accused him of amplifying antisemitic figures and conspiracy theories, accusations Carlson and his supporters have pushed back against.

In February, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee challenged Carlson directly over several of his claims during a contentious interview between the two men.

For Polish officials, however, the latest confrontation is centered squarely on World War II and what they view as an attempt to rewrite the circumstances surrounding the Nazi invasion that devastated their country.

“History must not be distorted,” Klich wrote. “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

{Matzav.com}

A seemingly ordinary photograph of an Israeli boy posing with Flydubai Captain Smit Machchhar has taken on extraordinary significance after the veteran pilot was critically wounded while battling to save Flight FZ1073 from an attempted takeover.

The photograph was shared by Mor Levy Aharoni, a Dubai-based real estate attorney, who said her son Ariel had insisted on taking a picture with Machchhar approximately one month before the terrifying incident aboard the Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv.

At the time, it was simply a photograph with a pilot. After what happened aboard FZ1073, Aharoni said she sees the picture very differently.

“Apparently he felt that he was taking a picture with a hero, and we didn’t even know it. If not for this hero, only God knows where we would be today,” she wrote.

Aharoni said the remarkable coincidence generated an emotional response online, as people reacted to the image of the young Israeli standing beside the man who, just weeks later, would play a critical role in preventing a potentially catastrophic attack involving a plane filled with Israeli passengers.

Machchhar was critically wounded during the attack inside the cockpit when the Omani co-pilot allegedly assaulted him and attempted to seize control of the Boeing 737.

During the struggle, the aircraft plunged nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds before control was restored, as passengers and crew members fought to restrain the alleged attacker.

Speaking from his hospital bed with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Machchhar later described how, despite his serious wounds, he understood that he had to act immediately.

The captain managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and other crew members to intervene and overpower the attacker. Two additional pilots who happened to be traveling aboard the flight subsequently helped stabilize the aircraft and safely divert it to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

Machchhar brought extensive experience to the cockpit that day. He has accumulated approximately 9,750 flight hours aboard Boeing 737 aircraft and joined Flydubai as a captain in 2022 following many years with Indian carrier SpiceJet.

For Aharoni and her son, however, the story now has an intensely personal dimension: a photograph taken on an ordinary day in Dubai, weeks before anyone knew the captain’s name, captured Ariel smiling alongside the pilot who would soon be hailed for helping save the lives of those aboard Flight FZ1073.

{Matzav.com}

Rep. Rashida Tlaib is demanding that Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer stop an Israeli defense technology company from establishing a new manufacturing operation in the state, attacking a project expected to bring at least $5 million in investment and 125 jobs to the Detroit area.

The Michigan Democrat is targeting Capture Group Inc., the newly established American arm of Israel-based Capture Systems Ltd., which plans to open a manufacturing and engineering hub in Sterling Heights, a major center of Michigan’s defense industry in Macomb County.

The project was publicly celebrated by Whitmer’s administration just last month. The state approved a $936,000 performance-based grant through the Michigan Business Development Program to support the expansion, which is expected to generate at least 125 new jobs over five years.

The jobs are slated to begin at $25 an hour plus benefits, according to state officials. Capture Group has committed to investing at least $5 million in the facility.

Tlaib, however, is urging Whitmer, a fellow Democrat, to reverse course and prevent state taxpayer money from going toward the Israeli-owned company.

In comments Sunday, Tlaib accused Michigan of directing public funds toward “bombs that kill children” while “small businesses, many of them black- and women-owned” are struggling for support.

She further charged that Capture Systems manufactures weapons “used to commit genocide.”

Calling Michigan an “anti-war and anti-genocide state,” Tlaib declared that Capture Systems has “no place in our state and should not be receiving a dime of public funds.”

Capture Systems specializes in defense and homeland-security technology, with a particular emphasis on counter-drone systems designed to detect, identify and neutralize unmanned aerial threats. The Israeli company created Capture Group Inc. this year as part of its effort to establish a permanent American presence and expand its access to the U.S. defense market.

Once operational, the Sterling Heights facility is expected to manufacture counter-UAS platforms, optical surveillance equipment and mobile defense systems. It will also serve as a center for developing, integrating and testing advanced counter-drone technology and remote-controlled weapon stations.

The company had considered locating the operation in Florida or Virginia before selecting Michigan, according to state officials.

When Whitmer announced the investment in September, she portrayed the project as a significant addition to Michigan’s growing defense industry.

“Michigan is on the move and open for business, competing for and winning big projects in next-generation industries from aviation to defense,” Whitmer said. “Today’s announcement will create 125 new good-paying jobs and help cement Michigan as the best place for cutting-edge research and development that moves our nation forward. Let’s keep working together to show the world that Michigan is the best place to build the future.”

Capture Systems Group Chief Operating Officer Avi Braun similarly described the decision to build in Michigan as part of the company’s broader expansion into the American market.

“We are honored to partner with the State of Michigan as we establish Capture Systems’ U.S. manufacturing and engineering hub,” Braun said. “This investment represents a major milestone in our global expansion strategy and reflects our long-term commitment to creating high-value jobs, investing in advanced manufacturing, and strengthening America’s defense industrial base. Michigan offers an exceptional combination of engineering talent, manufacturing excellence, and a business-friendly environment, making it the ideal location for our next phase of growth. We look forward to becoming a long-term member of Michigan’s defense and aerospace ecosystem while delivering innovative technologies that help protect critical infrastructure, law enforcement, and military personnel.”

Tlaib’s effort to derail the project has also drawn opposition from within her own party.

Michigan state Rep. Noah Arbit, a Democrat representing the state’s 20th District, defended Capture Systems and argued that the technologies it produces are important to American national security.

Arbit said the company develops “the kinds of systems that the U.S. needs to compete with China, Russia and other adversaries.”

The dispute pits Tlaib against an economic-development project championed by Whitmer’s administration at a time when Michigan has been working to expand its defense and advanced-manufacturing footprint. Sterling Heights already forms a major part of the state’s defense corridor, and local officials welcomed Capture Group’s decision to establish its U.S. operations there.

Tlaib, a member of the progressive congressional faction known as “The Squad,” has been one of Israel’s most outspoken opponents in Congress and has repeatedly sought to curtail American military assistance to the Jewish state.

Following the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023, Tlaib continued accusing Israel of maintaining an “apartheid system” and criticized American funding “to support the apartheid government”.

She has also repeatedly defended her use of the slogan “from the river to the sea,” describing it as an expression of support for Palestinian Arab freedom despite widespread criticism that the phrase calls for eliminating Israel as a Jewish state.

Tlaib also came under intense criticism after initially blaming Israel for the October 2023 explosion at Gaza’s Al-Ahli Hospital. Subsequent U.S. and Israeli assessments determined that the blast was caused by a failed rocket fired from Gaza by Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Whitmer’s administration has not indicated that it intends to withdraw the grant or abandon the Capture Group project in response to Tlaib’s demand.

{Matzav.com}

Some 1,400 chareidi men already serving in Israel’s civilian national service program could see their monthly stipends reduced by thousands of shekels after the Supreme Court declined to dismiss a petition challenging the substantially higher payments they receive compared with participants in the general national service program.

The law governing civilian service for chareidim expired at the end of August, preventing new candidates from entering the program. However, approximately 1,400 chareidi participants who began their service while the law was still in effect are continuing under a provision protecting their existing rights until they complete their service.

The legal battle over how much those participants should receive is now continuing despite the law’s expiration.

Supreme Court Justice David Mintz ordered the state to submit an updated response by October 13 addressing whether proceedings over the monthly stipends should continue. The state had argued that the petition became moot once the civilian service law expired, but the organization Israel Hofsheet countered that the dispute remains relevant because approximately 1,400 chareidim are still actively serving under the program.

The controversy traces back to 2014, when legislation established a national civilian service framework for individuals who had previously held Toraso umnaso status. At the same time, provisions of Israel’s military service law allowed yeshiva bochurim to receive military-service deferments.

The legal arrangement governing Toraso umnaso expired in June 2023. The civilian service law was subsequently extended periodically through temporary provisions.

In late 2025, Israel Hofsheet petitioned the Supreme Court, arguing that in the absence of a valid military draft arrangement, chareidi candidates should no longer be referred to or funded through the civilian service program.

The petition also challenged what it described as a significant disparity between the monthly stipends provided to chareidi civilian-service participants and those received by people serving through the general national service framework.

On June 11, the Supreme Court issued an order to show cause directing the state and Knesset to explain, among other issues, why the stipends received by chareidi participants should not be equalized with those provided to participants in the general national service program.

When the law expired on August 31, the state informed the court that new candidates could no longer enter the chareidi civilian service track and argued that the petition therefore no longer had practical relevance.

At the same time, however, the state said that under Section 36(b) of the law, approximately 1,400 people who had already begun their service could continue and would retain their existing rights through the completion of their service.

Israel Hofsheet responded that this was precisely why the case was not moot: the disputed payment arrangement remains in effect for those 1,400 active participants.

The Supreme Court has now declined to dismiss the petition at this stage, leaving the stipend issue open for further consideration.

The financial difference is substantial. According to figures presented in the proceedings, payments under the chareidi civilian-service track can reach approximately 4,580 shekels per month, compared with approximately 1,305 shekels under the parallel general national service arrangement — a difference of as much as 3,275 shekels each month.

If the Supreme Court ultimately orders the payments to be equalized at the lower level, some chareidi participants could therefore lose thousands of shekels in monthly support even though they entered the program while the existing payment structure was in force.

No such reduction has been ordered at this point. The court has only allowed the legal challenge to remain active while it considers whether the payment disparity should continue for the approximately 1,400 chareidim already serving.

The state must now submit its updated position by October 13, after which the Supreme Court could determine whether the current stipend arrangement for those already enrolled in civilian service may remain in place.

{Matzav.com}

The Brisker Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Velvel Soloveitchik, delivered an unusually sharp attack over Sukkos against prominent chareidi institutions that hosted Israeli President Isaac Herzog, accusing them of compromising longstanding principles for government funding and declaring that “the Chazon Ish must be trembling in his grave over what they did to his home.”

Rav Soloveitchik, son and successor of Rav Meshulam Dovid Soloveitchik, made the remarks during a lengthy address at a Simchas Bais Hashoeivah attended by hundreds of talmidim at the Brisker Yeshiva in Yerushalayim.

His criticism focused on Herzog’s recent appearances at two institutions: a visit to a cheder affiliated with Ateres Shlomo in Telz Stone at the beginning of Elul zman, and a visit connected with the Tashbar institutions in Bnei Brak.

Before addressing the controversy directly, Rav Soloveitchik spent approximately an hour discussing the halachos surrounding chibut aravah in the Bais Hamikdash. He then drew a comparison between Chazal’s struggle against the Tzedukim and what he described as the obligation to maintain separation from Zionism today.

“We are in a year when the shofar was not blown on Shabbos and the Daled Minim were not taken on Shabbos,” he said. “Chazal canceled chiyuvim de’Oraisa out of concern that one might come to violate the prohibition of carrying in a reshus harabim on Shabbos. But the Gemara explains that aravah could not be canceled, and therefore they arranged that Hoshana Rabbah would never fall on Shabbos, so that it would not be canceled.”

He continued by citing the Ran’s question as to why Torah obligations such as shofar and lulav could be suspended on Shabbos, while the practice of chibut aravah was protected from ever being canceled.

“The Ran explains that the reason is because the Tzedukim wanted to abolish this practice, as is explained in the Gemara,” Rav Soloveitchik said. “Therefore, they were particular that specifically this matter should never be canceled, even though there is no mitzvah involved. We see that Chazal agreed to cancel mitzvos de’Oraisa, but a practice that the Tzedukim wanted to abolish would never be canceled and was treated even more stringently than shofar and the Daled Minim.”

Rav Soloveitchik then cited the incident described in the Gemara in which esrogim were thrown during a confrontation with the Tzedukim in the Bais Hamikdash.

“We see in the Gemara that when they fought the Tzedukim, they threw esrogim at them in the Bais Hamikdash,” he said. “The question is why they were not concerned about disgracing the mitzvah of the esrogim, which are cheftzei mitzvah. But it is explained in the Rishonim that because it was necessary to fight the Tzedukim, they permitted even disgracing the mitzvah of the Daled Minim and throwing esrogim. The main thing was to disgrace the Tzedukim.”

After citing additional sources regarding Chazal’s battles with the Tzedukim, the Brisker Rosh Yeshiva turned directly to the present day.

“Today, in our generation, when it comes to the battle against the Tzedukim of our generation, the Zionists, there are those who have forgotten Chazal’s battle against them,” he said.

Rav Soloveitchik cited a story about the Chazon Ish, saying that even when he served as sandek on the fifth of Iyar, the date marking the establishment of the State of Israel, he instructed that Tachanun be recited.

“It was all in order to reject the position of the Tzedukim, so that they should not say that the Chazon Ish did not say Tachanun because of the establishment of the state,” he said. “We see how much the Gedolei Yisroel were prepared to set aside halachos so that there should not be even the slightest suggestion of a connection with the Zionists.”

Rav Soloveitchik then turned his criticism toward the Tashbar institutions in Bnei Brak, referring to the historic association of the institution with the Chazon Ish.

“And who could believe,” he said, “that we are standing decades later, and in the home of that very Chazon Ish, where they established Tashbar on taharas hakodesh, in Yiddish, without taking any government funding until a few years ago — and recently they switched to Hebrew and began taking funding — they have now turned the place into a museum in order to receive a little money from the government.”

“And more than that, they dared to bring President Isaac Herzog to affix a mezuzah in that very museum,” he continued. “Someone brought me pictures of it, so it is clear that it actually happened. Have the people of Bnei Brak gone crazy? How can they sink to such a level? Have a little respect for the Chazon Ish! Instead of throwing his budgets back in his face, instead of throwing esrogim at him, they let him affix a mezuzah and even appear before hundreds of children. How can this be?!”

The Brisker Rosh Yeshiva then referred to another rosh yeshiva whom he did not name, but whom he said had previously spent time at the Brisker Yeshiva and had also hosted Herzog before talmidim at the beginning of Elul zman.

“Recently, I was also told about a rosh yeshiva who used to come around here in our yeshiva, someone who also knows how to sing ‘Beshilton Hakofrim,’ and he too dared to do this and brought the president of the state to appear before the students at the beginning of Elul zman,” Rav Soloveitchik said.

“I sent for him to come speak with me about the matter, but he doesn’t respond. He claims that he is busy establishing Torah. How is it that someone wears the hat of kana’us and sings ‘Beshilton Hakofrim,’ and afterward honors the Zionist president in front of hundreds of students, all for a little money?!”

Rav Soloveitchik said his grandfather, the Brisker Rav, would certainly have cried out against such conduct, and invoked the Chazon Ish as well.

“My grandfather, the Brisker Rav, certainly would have cried out over such a thing, and even the Chazon Ish. Apparently, the Chazon Ish is trembling in his grave over what they did to him in his own home,” he said.

“Today, everything is done for money. Soon we will hear the loudspeakers in the streets screaming, ‘Hatzilu! We must have an eighth seat in the Knesset in order to save the yeshivos!’ If they would not honor and flatter the resha’im this way, and if they would not take all their money from them, they would not need to scream ‘Hatzilu!’”

Rav Soloveitchik went on to recount an episode involving Rav Chaim Mann and the maskil Yechiel Michel Pines. According to the story, Pines encountered Rav Mann at the Kosel and asked where he was going. When Rav Mann replied that he was going to Rav Yehoshua Leib Diskin, Pines remarked that he presumably already knew what Rav Yehoshua Leib would tell him — that he should merit sitting in the sukkah made from the skin of the Livyasan — because that was the bracha he routinely gave people.

Rav Mann nevertheless continued, and Pines accompanied him. When they arrived and knocked on Rav Yehoshua Leib’s door, Rav Yehoshua Leib saw them and told Rav Mann, “You should merit sitting in the sukkah of the Livyasan — and whoever does not want to sit there does not have to.”

Rav Soloveitchik applied the story to the roshei yeshiva he had been criticizing.

“I am certain that those roshei yeshiva with the beautiful beards who do everything for a little money are declaring that they do not want to sit in the sukkah of the Livyasan, and indeed they will not merit it,” he said.

The Brisker Rosh Yeshiva concluded with another story about Rav Yehoshua Leib Diskin, recounting how he was imprisoned following accusations made against him by maskilim. Community activists sent an attorney to speak with him, but Rav Yehoshua Leib refused even to look at the lawyer’s face because, he maintained, the man was a rasha.

When the case reached court, Rav Soloveitchik related, the attorney used Rav Yehoshua Leib’s refusal as part of his defense, arguing to the judges that a man so uncompromising in his religious principles that he would not even look at the lawyer who had come to save him could hardly be suspected of acting contrary to his Torah convictions. Rav Yehoshua Leib was subsequently released from prison.

“The Torah tells us, ‘Mesanecha Hashem esna.’ Where is the Jewish feeling for that?” Rav Soloveitchik asked in conclusion.

{Matzav.com}

Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs pushed back Monday against claims by senior Israeli security officials that all of the hostages could have been brought home much earlier in the Gaza war, arguing that such an agreement would have required Israel to completely withdraw from Gaza, abandon the Philadelphi Corridor and guarantee that it would not resume the war.

Fuchs, who also serves as secretary of the Security Cabinet, said he had participated in the most restricted hostage-negotiation discussions since the Oct. 7 massacre and was therefore personally familiar with the proposals and conditions that were considered behind closed doors.

“As Cabinet Secretary and Secretary of the Security Cabinet, I participated in all of the most restricted hostage negotiations since October 7 and assisted in the ongoing effort led by the prime minister, with the help of President Trump, until the return of all the hostages,” Fuchs wrote.

His remarks came amid renewed debate over whether Israel passed up opportunities during the war to secure the release of all the captives. The controversy has resurfaced during Israel’s national remembrance period, with former senior defense officials criticizing decisions made by the political leadership during the hostage negotiations.

Fuchs said he was particularly disturbed to hear such claims coming from security officials who had themselves been present for the sensitive discussions.

“It greatly disturbed me to hear, in the midst of the days of remembrance, claims from senior security officials who were in those discussions that it was possible to return all of the hostages at an earlier stage of the war,” Fuchs wrote.

According to Fuchs, those officials were fully aware that Hamas’s terms for a comprehensive agreement at that stage went far beyond a hostage-prisoner exchange. He said bringing everyone home would have required Israel to end its military campaign and relinquish positions that the government considered essential to preventing Hamas from rebuilding its military capabilities.

“Those senior officials know very well that the return of all the hostages at an earlier stage was conditioned on a complete IDF withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, including from the Philadelphi Corridor, with international guarantees not to return to the war, and the significance would have been victory for Hamas and defeat for Israel after the October 7 massacre,” Fuchs wrote.

The statement amounted to a direct rebuttal of arguments made by former defense officials, including former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, that opportunities existed earlier in the war to secure the release of additional hostages and that decisions by the government delayed a broader agreement.

The dispute over the Philadelphi Corridor — the narrow strip along the Gaza-Egypt border — became one of the most contentious issues in the negotiations. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly argued that maintaining Israeli control there was essential to preventing Hamas from rearming through smuggling routes from Egypt.

Critics of the government countered that the insistence on retaining forces along the corridor complicated negotiations at crucial moments and placed the hostages at additional risk. The government maintained that abandoning the area without adequate security arrangements could allow Hamas to rebuild and eventually recreate the conditions that led to Oct. 7.

Fuchs himself publicly addressed the issue during the January 2025 hostage agreement. At the time, he said the framework included continued Israeli deployment along the Philadelphi Corridor during its initial phase and preserved Israel’s ability to return to fighting if negotiations over subsequent stages failed to produce terms consistent with Israel’s war objectives.

Monday’s statement, however, focused on earlier proposals for the release of all the hostages, which Fuchs said came with substantially different conditions: complete Israeli withdrawal and guarantees that the war would permanently end.

Fuchs argued that accepting those conditions would have allowed Hamas to survive the war while presenting the Oct. 7 attack as having forced Israel to withdraw from Gaza in exchange for the people abducted during the massacre.

He contrasted that scenario with what he described as the results ultimately achieved under Netanyahu’s strategy.

“Thanks to the proper management of the campaign by the prime minister, Israel is in a deep security zone in Gaza, with dozens of outposts in enemy territory, including the Philadelphi Corridor,” Fuchs wrote.

He also pointed to the eventual return of the hostages and the changed security situation along the Gaza border as evidence supporting the government’s approach.

“The living hostages returned to their homes and the fallen were brought to Jewish burial,” Fuchs said, adding that the Gaza border communities — now referred to as the Tekuma region — have returned to working their fields, “with IDF outposts behind the fence instead of Hamas tunnels.”

The competing accounts reflect one of the most bitter debates to emerge from the war: whether Israel could have brought the hostages home sooner by accepting an earlier agreement, or whether doing so would have required ending the campaign on terms that left Hamas in power and Israel without the ability to resume military operations.

{Matzav.com}

An Israeli medical student who helped subdue and handcuff the Omani terrorist who allegedly tried to crash a Flydubai passenger jet into Israel has revealed new details of the extraordinary struggle aboard the aircraft, including a moment when passengers debated whether they needed to kill the attacker because they feared he remained armed with a knife.

Adar Hayot, who was aboard Flydubai Flight 1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, was among the passengers who rushed into the cockpit after Captain Smit Machchhar, despite suffering severe injuries, managed to open the cockpit door during the Sept. 30 attack.

Hayot described the enormity of what happened — and how narrowly the passengers escaped death.

“It is very difficult to process, as a passenger who was on the plane, that in the situation where I was lucky, I am alive — and in any other situation, I am dead,” Hayot said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 13.

Inside the cockpit, Hayot found Machchhar badly wounded after being attacked by co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami, an Omani national who investigators say struck the captain repeatedly with the cockpit’s emergency crash axe while attempting to seize control of the Boeing 737 MAX.

“There was a pool of blood around his head, and I turned him over, but it was impossible to do that because the terrorist was still on his feet,” Hayot recalled. “In order to turn Smit over, we had to move the terrorist — and he still had not been neutralized.”

With al-Hammami still posing a potential threat, another passenger produced plastic zip ties. Hayot used them to restrain the attacker tightly enough that he would be unable to break free.

“Then I saw that he didn’t have a knife. I tightened the zip ties so that no matter how much he resisted — he would not be able to free himself,” Hayot said.

But before the passengers were certain that al-Hammami had been disarmed, Hayot said they faced a chilling question: whether they might have to kill him to protect themselves and everyone else aboard the aircraft.

“We were afraid he had a knife. We debated whether we needed to kill him — but we didn’t really have a way to do it,” he said.

Other passengers have described the confusion that erupted after the cockpit was breached, saying they initially did not know whether additional members of the Flydubai crew might be involved in the attack. At one point, a confrontation reportedly broke out when crew members objected to the way passengers were handling the subdued al-Hammami.

“You are not God, you cannot kill him,” flight attendants told the Israeli passengers, according to passenger testimony.

“We just wanted him not to kill us,” one of the passengers responded.

Despite the passengers’ fears, they ultimately took steps to keep al-Hammami alive, including placing an oxygen mask over his face so that he could survive and later be questioned by investigators.

The UAE investigation has since determined that the other foreign pilots aboard the aircraft did not cooperate with al-Hammami at any stage of the attack. Two off-duty pilots who were traveling aboard the flight ultimately took control of the aircraft and safely diverted it to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

Investigators now believe al-Hammami’s plot was planned long before he boarded Flight 1073. According to officials familiar with his interrogation, he specifically sought employment with an airline that operated flights to Israel.

“I checked which of them flew to Tel Aviv. That’s why I chose Flydubai. I planned it even before I was hired,” al-Hammami reportedly told investigators.

Investigators have also learned that al-Hammami allegedly contemplated carrying out an attack aboard an earlier flight to Tel Aviv but backed out of that plan. Authorities are examining reports that he abandoned the earlier attempt because someone he knew was aboard that flight.

An Israeli investigative team traveled to the United Arab Emirates over the weekend to participate in the interrogation and investigation alongside Emirati authorities and security personnel from other countries. Investigators are examining whether al-Hammami had previously flown into Israel as a crew member and whether he had conducted reconnaissance ahead of the attack.

The current assessment among Israeli investigators is that al-Hammami likely acted alone, although authorities continue examining whether he received assistance, direction or encouragement from another party. No conclusive evidence has been publicly presented tying him to Iran or another foreign government or terrorist organization.

The investigation has simultaneously exposed troubling questions about the procedures that allowed Omani nationals — including aviation personnel — to enter Israel despite Oman having no diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.

Official figures presented in Israel show that at least 10 Omani citizens entered the country in 2022, followed by 29 in 2023, nine in 2024 and 11 in 2025, with additional Omani nationals entering during 2026.

Separate reporting has indicated that dozens of Omani pilots and crew members have landed at Ben Gurion Airport aboard Flydubai flights in recent years, prompting an examination of whether the arrangements governing those flights were properly followed.

Under the aviation arrangements in question, aircrew members from countries without diplomatic relations with Israel were reportedly supposed to possess diplomatic passports issued by a country that does maintain relations with Israel. The repeated arrival of Omani personnel has therefore raised questions about whether that requirement was enforced and which Israeli authority was responsible for verifying compliance.

Israeli officials have acknowledged that they cannot currently state with certainty that the required procedure was followed in every case.

“The working assumption is that it did not happen, but we cannot say that with certainty,” the Transportation Ministry acknowledged.

The controversy has deepened amid revelations that Israel received information about the Flydubai flight’s crew, including names and nationalities, yet al-Hammami was not flagged before the aircraft departed Dubai. Conflicting accounts have emerged over which Israeli government or security body was responsible for checking that information and when the relevant lists were received.

The security questions are particularly serious because al-Hammami had reportedly already been identified as a concern while working for Oman Air. Authorities say he was removed from flying duties for a period after extremist material was discovered in his possession, yet he was subsequently able to obtain employment with Flydubai and fly the route to Israel.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump said that he personally believes Iran was responsible for the attempted terror attack aboard Flydubai Flight 1073, going further than both Israeli investigators and senior U.S. officials, who say they have not yet found conclusive evidence tying Tehran to the plot.

Asked by a reporter outside the White House whether he believes Iran was responsible for the Sept. 30 attack, Trump gave an unequivocal response.

“I do. I personally do,” Trump said.

The president did not elaborate on what information led him to that conclusion. His comments came just hours after Vice President JD Vance said U.S. intelligence officials had yet to establish an Iranian connection.

“That’s something that I defer to (CIA Director) John Ratcliffe and some of the intelligence folks on,” Vance said. “I don’t want to get ahead of any announcements there, but it’s certainly something that we’re looking at. But I wouldn’t say I’ve seen anything conclusively just yet.”

Trump’s assessment also differs from the preliminary conclusion reached by Israeli investigators, who currently believe that 29-year-old Omani national Hamam al-Hammami likely acted as a lone wolf. Israeli officials have stressed that the investigation remains active and that all possibilities, including potential assistance or direction from Iran or another outside organization, are still being examined.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has likewise repeatedly declined to attribute the attack to Iran, saying investigators need additional evidence before determining whether al-Hammami had accomplices or was operating on behalf of Tehran.

“We will get to the bottom of this. We will investigate whether the pilot had accomplices and whether Iran was behind him. I think we will know very soon,” Netanyahu said last week.

The investigation, led by the United Arab Emirates with participation from Israeli and other international authorities, has expanded considerably as officials reconstruct al-Hammami’s background, travel, employment history and apparent radicalization.

Al-Hammami is accused of attacking Captain Smit Machchhar with an emergency crash axe while the Flydubai aircraft was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv with more than 170 passengers and crew aboard, most of them Israelis. Investigators believe his objective was to seize control of the Boeing 737 MAX and deliberately crash it into Israel.

The aircraft plunged thousands of feet during the struggle in the cockpit before the badly wounded Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door. Passengers and Flydubai personnel rushed inside and overpowered al-Hammami, while two off-duty pilots aboard the flight subsequently took control and made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

Investigators now believe al-Hammami had planned the attack well before the Sept. 30 flight. Officials familiar with the investigation say he intended to crash the aircraft into Ben Gurion Airport or another major target in the Tel Aviv area.

Authorities are also examining evidence that al-Hammami had contemplated attacking another Israel-bound flight earlier in the year but abandoned that plan, reportedly because someone he knew was aboard the aircraft.

The suspect’s background has raised serious questions about how he was permitted to serve as a Flydubai co-pilot on a flight to Israel. Al-Hammami had previously worked as a trainee pilot for Oman Air, where he was reportedly identified as a security concern after extremist material was discovered in his possession. He was removed from flying duties for approximately a year but was permitted to continue working in an administrative capacity.

Investigators have since uncovered a broader trail of extremist material and online activity, including reported expressions of support for Al Qaeda figures. Authorities in several countries where al-Hammami previously lived, studied or trained are now examining whether he developed extremist contacts during those periods.

Despite those findings, investigators have not publicly produced evidence showing that al-Hammami received orders, money, training or operational assistance from Iran. Israeli investigators’ preliminary assessment remains that he probably acted independently, although officials have cautioned that the probe is far from complete.

Trump had already raised the possibility of Iranian involvement shortly after the attack. Asked on Oct. 1 whether he had been briefed about a possible link between al-Hammami and Iran, the president suggested that information reaching him pointed in that direction.

“I would say the answer, based on what I’m hearing, is yes, but we’re working on it right now,” Trump said.

Asked at the time whether al-Hammami might have been trained by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Trump replied, “Could have been.”

Trump also warned Tehran that the consequences would be severe if investigators ultimately determine that Iran directed or assisted the attack.

“They’ll be hit very hard. Don’t worry about it, you just ask them.”

The president’s latest comments Monday were more definitive than those earlier remarks. Instead of saying merely that investigators were examining a possible Iranian connection, Trump stated that he personally believes Tehran was responsible, even as the official investigations have yet to establish such a link.

The question of Iranian involvement carries particularly high stakes because the United States and Iran remain at war more than seven months after Trump ordered the opening round of U.S. strikes against Iran as part of an effort to eliminate Tehran’s nuclear program.

Trump has repeatedly said Iran will never be permitted to obtain a nuclear weapon and has predicted that Tehran will ultimately agree to terms ending the conflict, possibly following the Nov. 3 U.S. midterm elections.

For now, however, the Flydubai investigation presents an unusual divergence: Trump says he personally believes Iran was behind the attempted attack, while Israeli investigators currently lean toward the conclusion that al-Hammami acted alone and Vance says U.S. intelligence has not yet shown him anything conclusive.

{Matzav.com}

Americans are virtually certain to turn their clocks back again on Nov. 1, with legislation to make daylight saving time permanent stalled in the Senate despite overwhelming House approval and an increasingly aggressive campaign by President Donald Trump to get the measure passed.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has expressed serious doubts that the Sunshine Protection Act can attract the 60 votes necessary to advance through the Senate, leaving the bipartisan measure without a clear path forward before this year’s return to standard time.

The timing alone effectively guarantees another clock change. The Senate adjourned last week ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections and is holding only pro forma sessions during the recess. Senators are not expected to resume their regular legislative schedule until the week of Nov. 9 — more than a week after daylight saving time ends.

Under current federal law, daylight saving time will end at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1. In most of the country, clocks will move back one hour, giving Americans the familiar extra hour of sleep while bringing sunset an hour earlier.

The House overwhelmingly approved the Sunshine Protection Act in July by a bipartisan 308-117 vote, with 193 Republicans and 114 Democrats supporting the measure. The legislation would end the twice-a-year clock changes and establish daylight saving time as the year-round standard for most of the country.

States that already remain on standard time throughout the year would not be forced to adopt daylight saving time, and the legislation provides a mechanism for states to choose permanent standard time instead.

Trump has thrown his weight behind the effort, repeatedly pressing Senate Republicans to act and portraying the issue as a simple quality-of-life change that enjoys broad public support. He has argued that additional evening daylight would benefit families, businesses, sports and recreation while also improving public safety.

The president’s campaign for permanent daylight saving time has become unusually intense in recent days, particularly because of opposition from Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, a Republican who is ordinarily a close Trump ally.

“Everybody in Arkansas, Tom Cotton, a friend of mine, is holding up a very important Bill. It’s called, ‘The Sunshine Protection Act’ or, ‘We Don’t Want to Change Our Clocks Twice a Year Act,’” Trump wrote on Truth Social over the weekend.

Trump subsequently urged Arkansas residents to contact Cotton and publicly posted what he identified as the senator’s personal cellphone number.

“To the Great People of Arkansas, please let your Senator know it would be a GREAT Bipartisan WIN for the United States Senate, and for America, itself,” Trump said.

The pressure campaign quickly attracted widespread attention, and Cotton’s voicemail was reportedly full after Trump posted the number. Cotton, however, has shown no indication that he intends to change his position.

Cotton agrees that changing clocks twice each year is unpopular, but he strongly opposes making daylight saving time permanent. His principal concern is that doing so would push sunrise much later during winter, forcing many children to travel to school before daylight and requiring workers to commute in darkness.

“No one likes changing the clock, me included, but Congress has enacted permanent Daylight Savings Time multiple times before and repealed it each time once Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises in the winter. Arkansans don’t want their kids going to school in the pitch dark, and I’ll always put Arkansas first.”

The disagreement reflects the larger obstacle that has repeatedly prevented Congress from settling the daylight saving time debate: while there is substantial support for ending the twice-yearly clock changes, lawmakers remain divided over which time should become permanent.

Supporters of permanent daylight saving time favor keeping more sunlight in the afternoon and evening, arguing that later sunsets encourage outdoor activity, recreation and consumer spending. Businesses connected to golf and other outdoor activities have been among the proposal’s supporters.

Opponents argue that standard time more closely follows the body’s natural circadian rhythm and avoids exceptionally late winter sunrises, particularly in northern parts of the country. Parents and school-safety advocates have also raised concerns about children waiting for buses or walking to school in darkness.

Those geographical differences have complicated the politics of the bill. Senators representing southern and coastal states have generally shown greater enthusiasm for permanent daylight saving time, while some lawmakers from northern states have been more skeptical because winter sunrise already comes relatively late in their communities.

Thune, whose home state of South Dakota would experience particularly late winter sunrises under permanent daylight saving time, has acknowledged that concern. He previously voted against the proposal in committee and has questioned whether supporters can assemble the 60 Senate votes needed to overcome procedural hurdles.

Other Republican senators have also voiced reservations, while Democrats are divided as well, making the dispute considerably less partisan than many other issues currently before Congress.

Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri said Monday that he favors having more daylight later in the day but remains uncertain that Congress can reach an agreement on the legislation. Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana has also expressed opposition to the permanent daylight saving time approach.

The United States has tried permanent daylight saving time before. Congress enacted year-round daylight saving time during the 1970s energy crisis, but the experiment quickly became unpopular, particularly as Americans encountered dark winter mornings. Congress ultimately reversed course.

Advocates say circumstances have changed considerably since then and argue that Americans increasingly organize work, school, shopping and recreation around evening hours. Critics contend that the basic problem of winter darkness in the morning has not changed at all.

The current legislation has been championed in the House by Florida Republicans Vern Buchanan and Greg Steube and in the Senate by Sen. Rick Scott of Florida. Florida lawmakers have pursued the change for years; the state approved its own Sunshine Protection Act in 2018, but federal law prevents Florida from implementing permanent daylight saving time without congressional action.

Steube celebrated the House vote in July as the culmination of an effort he began while serving in the Florida Legislature, recalling that frustration over the clock change first caught his attention during a conversation in a barbershop years ago.

Trump has continued to insist that the Senate should finish the job, presenting permanent daylight saving time as a broadly popular accomplishment Congress could deliver before the midterms. The White House has described the proposal as a bipartisan reform that would preserve evening daylight when Americans are most likely to be awake and active.

But barring an unexpected development while the Senate is away, the immediate question has effectively been settled for this year. Most Americans will once again move their clocks back one hour at 2 a.m. on Nov. 1, while the larger battle over whether the country should ever have to do it again remains unresolved.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump has approved the execution by U.S. Army firing squad of Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist who murdered 13 people and wounded 32 others in the 2009 terrorist attack at Fort Hood, clearing a major legal hurdle toward what would be the first U.S. military execution in more than 65 years.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced the decision Monday night, saying Secretary of War Pete Hegseth recommended that Hasan be put to death by firing squad and Trump gave his approval. The secretary of the Army will now determine the date and location of the execution.

“Judgment day for Hasan has finally come,” Parnell wrote.

Hasan, now 56, has been on military death row at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, since being convicted and sentenced to death by a court-martial in 2013. He was found guilty of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder.

The massacre unfolded on November 5, 2009, at Fort Hood, the sprawling Army installation in Texas now known as Fort Cavazos. Hasan, then an Army major and psychiatrist, entered the Soldier Readiness Processing Center, where troops were preparing for deployment, and began firing on the unarmed soldiers and others inside.

Witnesses said Hasan shouted “Allahu Akbar” as he opened fire. Twelve active-duty soldiers and retired Chief Warrant Officer Michael Cahill were killed, while dozens of others were wounded.

Investigators determined that before the attack, Hasan had attended noon prayers at a mosque and then traveled to the processing center armed with a pistol and a .357 revolver. He deliberately went to an area where he knew large numbers of soldiers would be gathered and unarmed.

Hasan later made his intent unmistakable in a sanity board report.

“I shot to kill,” Hasan stated.

The shooting ended when Hasan exchanged gunfire with law enforcement officers. He was struck multiple times and left paralyzed from the chest down.

The investigation into Hasan also uncovered contacts with Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born radical Islamic cleric who became a senior al-Qaeda figure in Yemen and was later killed in a U.S. drone strike. Hasan had communicated with al-Awlaki before the massacre, and evidence presented in connection with the case documented his increasingly radical views.

During his 2013 court-martial, Hasan represented himself and made little effort to contest that he had carried out the killings. At one point, he said his actions were intended to protect “the Taliban, the leaders of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.”

His court-appointed standby attorneys became so concerned about his approach to the case that they argued he appeared to be deliberately seeking a death sentence. Hasan called no witnesses during the guilt phase and did not testify in his own defense.

A military jury convicted him in August 2013 and sentenced him to death. Under the military justice system, the sentence automatically triggered an extensive appeals process.

The U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals upheld Hasan’s conviction and death sentence in 2020, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces upheld the sentence again in 2023.

Hasan subsequently asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review his case, raising procedural objections involving the conduct of his trial, including the handling of disputes between Hasan and the attorneys assigned to assist him. On March 31, 2025, the Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal.

Hegseth later moved to bring the lengthy case to an end. In September 2025, he publicly made clear that he wanted Hasan’s execution carried out.

“I am 100 percent committed to ensuring Nidal Hassan’s execution.”

“This brutal terrorist deserves the harshest legal punishment for the 2009 Fort Hood shooting,” Hegseth said at the time. “The victims and survivors deserve justice without delay.”

Trump’s approval is required under military law before a military death sentence can be carried out. The Pentagon said Monday that Hegseth recommended an Army firing squad as the method of execution and that Trump approved the recommendation.

Hasan is one of only a handful of prisoners currently under military death sentences. No member of the U.S. military has been executed since Army Pvt. John Bennett was hanged at Fort Leavenworth on April 13, 1961, following his conviction for the rape and attempted murder of an 11-year-old girl in Austria.

A military execution by firing squad would be even more historically unusual. The U.S. military has not carried out an execution by firing squad since 1945.

President George W. Bush approved another military death sentence during his presidency, but the planned execution was blocked by a federal court in 2008 and never carried out.

Hasan may still attempt additional litigation in federal court challenging the implementation of his death sentence, meaning Trump’s authorization does not necessarily guarantee that the execution will take place immediately.

For now, however, the final scheduling authority shifts to the Army, with the secretary of the Army responsible for setting the time and place of Hasan’s execution.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump escalated his criticism of Fox News on Sunday, accusing the network of failing to adequately cover his recent campaign rallies and warning that MAGA viewers could abandon the channel if it continues to give what he considers insufficient attention to his events.

Trump’s broadside followed a rapid series of campaign appearances in Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama and Ohio as Republicans step up their efforts ahead of the November midterm elections. The president has been using the rallies to promote Republican candidates and his administration’s record while also offering praise for television personalities and outlets whose coverage he views favorably.

His immediate complaint Sunday centered on Fox & Friends and its coverage — or lack of coverage — of his Saturday night rally in Vandalia, Ohio.

“Sad to see that Fox & Friends is not covering our packed house and incredibly enthusiastic (beyond!) Rally that took place in Ohio last night, or the ones in Alabama, Texas, or Oklahoma over the past two days,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump argued that the rallies provided a more accurate picture of enthusiasm among Republican voters than viewers would receive from watching Fox’s programming.

“These Election Rallies were representative of what is really happening with our great Republican Party,” Trump continued, saying the events were sold out with thousands more supporters seeking admission.

Trump then directly warned Fox that viewers loyal to his political movement may simply stop tuning in if they believe the network is ignoring events they want to see.

“Our people want to see our Rallies, and reports on our Rallies, on FoxNews, or they will very quickly stop watching (like I am doing right now!),” Trump wrote.

A review of Fox’s recent coverage found a more complicated picture than a complete blackout of Trump’s campaign appearances. Fox & Friends Weekend did not report on the Ohio rally Sunday morning, the specific omission that triggered Trump’s criticism, but Fox has carried or covered some of his other recent rallies. Hannity, for example, aired coverage of Trump’s Oklahoma appearance last Thursday.

Trump has nevertheless been voicing growing dissatisfaction with the network, arguing that Fox gives too much airtime to Democrats and commentators critical of his administration while failing to adequately showcase the support he receives at rallies.

“Fox spends more time talking to Communists, Socialists, and Dumocrats, often without rebuttal, and MAGA is not, to put it mildly, happy,” he wrote on Truth Social. “We don’t like stupid [Democrat co-host] Jessica Tarlov, and all of the others, that are forced down MAGA’S throats.”

Trump’s criticism of Fox comes despite the network’s continued close relationship with numerous figures in his administration and political orbit. Several prominent Fox personalities have attended administration events, and multiple people who previously worked at the network have gone on to serve in senior positions in Trump’s second administration.

At the same time, Trump has repeatedly praised Newsmax and some of its personalities. During his Oklahoma rally Thursday, he specifically mentioned several of the network’s primetime hosts.

“Greg Kelly. Rob … We have, I mean, you take a look at Finnerty. You take a look at Schmitt,” Trump said at the rally.

“There are a lot of great shows,” he said of Newsmax. “We have more support than you think.”

“We have such great support and support based on pure common sense,” Trump added.

Trump’s latest clash with Fox also comes amid lingering controversy surrounding the September departure of longtime Fox News and Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo, who left the company after more than 12 years.

Fox announced on September 3 that Bartiromo was no longer with Fox News Media, thanking her for her years at the network and wishing her well. The company did not initially provide a reason for the sudden departure and subsequently described it as a “business decision.”

Reports at the time claimed that the dispute involved Bartiromo sharing internal Fox guidance concerning the network’s treatment of Trump-related coverage with members of the White House. Bartiromo’s attorney disputed reports that she had been fired, while Fox declined to elaborate beyond describing the separation as a business decision.

White House senior counselor Peter Navarro later said Bartiromo had sent him information concerning Fox’s internal guidance and that he forwarded it because he believed he had an obligation to do so.

Trump on Sunday explicitly tied Bartiromo’s departure to his complaints about the network’s treatment of him.

“Who makes these decisions at FoxNews?” Trump wrote. “Probably the same loser that fired the great Maria Bartiromo because she complained about not being allowed to cover ‘TRUMP.’ She’ll end up bigger and better than ever – watch!”

Navarro has separately urged Trump administration officials to stop appearing on Fox News until he believes the network changes its approach.

“Fox News is much more dangerous to MAGA, much more dangerous to the Republican Party because they wear our colors when they’re in fact helping the other side undermine the president,” Navarro said on RAV.

Navarro has specifically argued that prominent administration officials — including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — should refrain from appearing on Fox. He has simultaneously praised Newsmax’s treatment of the administration and encouraged viewers to watch the network.

The tensions have not prevented Fox from continuing to bring Trump allies into its lineup. On Monday, the network announced that Karoline Leavitt, who stepped down as White House press secretary in August, will become a Fox News contributor beginning November 1, an indication that the relationship between Fox and Trump’s political orbit remains substantial despite the president’s public attacks on the network.

Trump, however, made clear Sunday that he believes Fox risks alienating the conservative audience that helped make it the dominant cable-news network if its editorial decisions continue to anger MAGA viewers.

“Cover our ‘happenings,’ and not the opposition to Greatness for America,” Trump wrote, “or FoxNews will soon have the ratings of FAKE NEWS CNN or MSNOW (MSDNC).”

{Matzav.com}

The United States abruptly withdrew all 12 B-1 bombers stationed at RAF Fairford in Britain after receiving intelligence that Iran may have been preparing a drone attack against the aircraft and hundreds of American personnel at the base, according to a new report detailing the threat that prompted the extraordinary weekend evacuation.

The suspected operation was believed to involve Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and may have included several methods of attack against RAF Fairford, the strategically important base in southern England that has been used by American bombers during the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.

The new details provide the clearest explanation yet for the sudden decision to return the entire B-1 contingent to the United States over the weekend. American officials had previously acknowledged a threat to the base but had stopped short of publicly describing its precise nature.

Vice President JD Vance said Monday that the Pentagon moved the aircraft “out of an abundance of caution trying to protect our guys.”

“We do feel with some confidence that the Iranians are trying to do what the Iranian state has done for 49 years, which is engage in acts of terrorism against the United States and against a lot of other people as well,” Vance told reporters at Joint Base Andrews. “We are being extremely cautious.”

President Donald Trump also confirmed that the bombers were removed because of threats against them.

“There were some threats,” Trump told reporters. “Why should we leave them there?”

The suspected Iranian operation was reportedly more extensive than a simple attempt to fly drones directly from Iran toward the British base. Intelligence examined by Western officials raised concerns about an attack launched from much closer to Fairford, potentially involving operatives or recruits inside Britain.

Officials reportedly feared a complex, multipronged operation intended to destroy American aircraft and inflict casualties on U.S. personnel. One possibility under examination was an attack involving drones launched from relatively close range, potentially accompanied by a diversion or other form of assault.

The concept bore similarities to Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb in June 2025, when drones concealed and transported inside Russia were launched near military airfields and struck Russian strategic bombers. The operation demonstrated how comparatively small drones positioned close to their targets could threaten valuable aircraft located thousands of miles from the country directing the attack.

The Fairford threat emerged against the backdrop of a dramatic counterterrorism operation near the base on September 27.

Five British men were arrested after three suspicious white vans were spotted near RAF Fairford in the middle of the night. Police were called shortly after 12:45 a.m., and armed officers descended on the area. Approximately 85 nearby homes were evacuated as bomb-disposal specialists examined the vehicles.

The men were initially detained on suspicion of explosives offenses and preparing terrorist acts. Although investigators ultimately found no viable explosive devices in the vans, petrol and other accelerants were reportedly discovered. The five suspects were released on bail the following day while the investigation continued.

A British-Iranian dual national was subsequently arrested on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts. He, too, was later released as investigators continued examining possible connections among the suspects and any potential involvement by Tehran.

Investigators have reportedly considered whether the activity involving the vans could have served as a diversion connected to a larger operation against the base, although British authorities have not publicly established that such a coordinated plot existed.

U.S., British, German and Israeli officials have been examining whether the suspected operation was connected to the IRGC or another Iranian military command. Iran has denied involvement.

RAF Fairford had already been considered a potential Iranian target because of its role in American military operations against Tehran. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards previously warned that bases used to facilitate attacks against Iran could be considered legitimate targets.

The American response to the intelligence was dramatic. The B-1s were rapidly flown out of Britain and returned to their home stations in the United States, temporarily removing the large concentration of American strategic bombers from Fairford.

The sudden withdrawal came despite British assurances that the installation remains secure. British officials have emphasized that the country maintains established procedures for protecting military facilities and that the investigation into the September 27 incident remains active.

British Defense Secretary Wes Streeting said Britain has “tried and tested approaches to defend our bases around the country and throughout the world.”

American officials, however, determined that leaving a dozen highly valuable bombers concentrated at one location while intelligence agencies investigated a possible Iranian attack presented an unnecessary risk.

Trump indicated that Washington had information about those behind the threat, telling reporters, “We actually know the people who made the threat.”

Asked whether the aircraft had specifically been moved because of the threat, Trump responded: “Yeah, I think we can say that. They didn’t fly out by accident.”

The investigation is continuing into whether Tehran or Iranian-linked operatives were preparing an attack on RAF Fairford and whether the suspicious activity near the base was connected to the broader threat that ultimately prompted Washington to pull the bombers out of Britain.

{Matzav.com}

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Israel was prepared to shoot down Flydubai Flight 1073 — despite more than 150 Israelis being aboard — if the hijacked passenger jet had continued toward the country and was determined to be heading for Ben Gurion Airport, the Azrieli towers or another major target, according to Israeli officials with direct knowledge of the dramatic military response to last week’s attempted terror attack.

The extraordinary details reveal how close the September 30 incident came to forcing Israel’s leadership to confront one of the most agonizing decisions imaginable: destroy an airliner filled largely with Israeli passengers or risk allowing terrorists to use it as a weapon in a 9/11-style attack that could kill hundreds or thousands more on the ground.

Two Israeli sources familiar with the response said Israel has long maintained and rehearsed procedures for precisely such a scenario. Those protocols were activated within minutes after Flydubai Flight FZ1073, traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, suddenly plunged thousands of feet and stopped responding to Israeli Air Force attempts to contact the cockpit.

The Boeing 737 MAX was carrying more than 170 passengers, most of them Israelis, when co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami allegedly attacked Captain Smit Machchhar in the cockpit with an emergency crash axe and attempted to seize control of the aircraft. Investigators now believe al-Hammami had planned the attack before he was even hired by Flydubai and intended to crash the jet into Ben Gurion Airport.

Flight-tracking information and accounts from officials indicate that the aircraft lost more than 14,000 feet in a matter of seconds during the struggle in the cockpit. Some flight-tracking data showed an even larger plunge of more than 16,000 feet. Israeli officials said the Air Force detected that the plane had deviated from its expected course and was descending at an alarming rate.

Israeli controllers attempted to establish communications with the cockpit but received no response. An emergency alert subsequently indicated that the aircraft was facing a hijacking rather than an ordinary mechanical problem.

The Israeli response was almost immediate. A previously designated emergency committee was activated, a command center was established, Israeli airspace was closed and fighter aircraft were scrambled. Officials involved in the response were already considering the possibility that Israel was facing an attempted repeat of the September 11 attacks in the United States.

According to Israeli officials, the decision to close Israeli airspace came roughly 90 seconds after the seriousness of the incident became apparent. Fighter jets were ordered into the air seconds later, with the critical sequence unfolding in only two to three minutes.

The Israeli fighters ultimately did not have to intercept the aircraft. While still roughly 400 miles from Israel, Flight 1073 turned toward Saudi Arabia, and Saudi fighter aircraft were scrambled to respond. Once Israeli officials understood that the plane was moving away from Israel and that Saudi forces were taking action, the Israeli jets were recalled.

Had the Flydubai aircraft continued toward Israel and crossed a predetermined threshold, however, Israeli fighter jets would have been dispatched into Jordanian airspace to intercept and investigate it, according to officials familiar with the protocol.

The Israeli pilots would first have approached the airliner as closely as possible and attempted to visually inspect the cockpit, including trying to establish visual contact with whoever was at the controls. They would then have examined the passenger cabin for indications of panic, violence or other evidence that the aircraft had been hijacked.

Their observations would have been transmitted back to the Air Force and the emergency committee. If authorities concluded that the aircraft had indeed been seized and those controlling it remained radio-silent and made no demands, the situation would have been escalated directly to Israel’s defense minister and prime minister.

Under Israel’s established protocol, an unresponsive rogue aircraft determined to be approaching Israel as a weapon can ultimately be shot down. The authority to give that final order, however, rests with the prime minister.

Israeli officials said that in such a nightmare scenario, destroying an aircraft containing more than 150 Israelis could be considered necessary if the alternative were allowing the plane to strike Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv’s Azrieli towers or another “high-value target.”

The disclosure adds a new dimension to the extraordinary events aboard Flight 1073, where the passengers had no idea that Israeli military authorities were simultaneously preparing for the possibility that the aircraft itself might have to be destroyed.

The catastrophe was averted largely because Machchhar, despite suffering severe injuries in the cockpit attack, managed to fight back long enough to unlock the cockpit door. His action allowed Flydubai personnel and Israeli passengers to enter the cockpit and overpower al-Hammami.

Machchhar has since described how the attack began after his co-pilot asked for permission to pray. Several minutes later, while the captain was looking away, al-Hammami allegedly struck him repeatedly from behind with the cockpit’s emergency axe.

“But then, after that, the blows kept coming, one after the other,” Machchhar later recalled. “That’s when I realized that it’s not the aircraft, it’s the other guy who was in the cockpit with me.”

Although badly wounded and struggling to see, Machchhar succeeded in opening the reinforced cockpit door. Passengers and crew then rushed in and subdued the alleged attacker. Two off-duty pilots traveling aboard the flight subsequently took control of the aircraft and diverted it to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely.

The entire airborne emergency lasted roughly 15 minutes, according to officials familiar with the response.

The investigation has since produced increasingly disturbing evidence suggesting that the incident was a premeditated terror plot rather than a spontaneous attack.

An Israeli official said al-Hammami told interrogators in the United Arab Emirates that he had conceived of the attack before joining Flydubai. Investigators believe his objective was to seize an aircraft bound for Israel and crash it into Ben Gurion Airport.

Investigators are also examining reports that al-Hammami had previously considered carrying out an attack on another flight but abandoned the plan because someone he knew was aboard. Authorities are reviewing his previous trips, contacts and travel to determine whether he was recruited, assisted or directed by a terrorist organization.

The current Israeli assessment is that al-Hammami probably acted as a lone wolf, but officials have stressed that the investigation remains active and that other possibilities have not been eliminated.

Al-Hammami was initially taken into custody in Saudi Arabia following the emergency landing and was subsequently transferred to the United Arab Emirates. Israeli Shin Bet personnel have traveled to the UAE and are participating in the investigation alongside Emirati authorities.

The investigation is also focusing heavily on how al-Hammami was permitted to become a Flydubai pilot despite apparent warning signs in his background.

According to officials familiar with his history, al-Hammami had previously worked as a co-pilot trainee with Oman Air and was identified as a security concern in 2024 after extremist material was allegedly discovered in his possession. He was grounded from flying for approximately a year but was permitted to remain with the airline in an administrative position before later leaving Oman Air.

Al-Hammami subsequently moved to Dubai and was hired by Flydubai. Officials familiar with the case have said Flydubai did not obtain sufficient information from the Omani government about his previous security concerns before placing him in the cockpit.

Investigators have also uncovered social-media material that has added to concerns about his radicalization. At one point, al-Hammami reportedly posted footage of El Al aircraft in Dubai together with an image of slain Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

The case has triggered investigations and reviews beyond Israel and the UAE because al-Hammami had studied or spent time in several countries. Authorities are examining his history to determine when his alleged radicalization occurred and whether anyone assisted him in preparing the attack.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered a broad review of security procedures involving foreign airlines flying into Israel, particularly the vetting of foreign pilots and other crew members who are permitted to enter Israeli airspace and land at Ben Gurion Airport.

The episode has raised serious questions about how an individual previously identified as a potential security risk could pass through multiple layers of airline, government and Israeli aviation screening and ultimately serve as co-pilot on a passenger aircraft bound directly for Israel.

Flydubai has said that “an altercation occurred in the flight deck” and that the aircraft “was successfully secured by on-duty FlyDubai crew traveling on the flight, who diverted and landed the aircraft safely” in Saudi Arabia.

The airline has also said that “all passengers and crew are safe and accounted for,” while cautioning that “at this early stage, the underlying reasons and motives behind this event are unknown and remain subject to a formal investigation.”

{Matzav.com}

A prominent posek in Yerushalayim’s Minchas Yitzchok neighborhood has issued an unusually sharp public warning after what was presented to local families as a children’s Nisuch Hamayim gathering allegedly became a forum promoting aliyah to Har Habayis, prompting him to instruct parents to make clear to their children that ascending the site is completely contrary to the position of the gedolei haposkim.

Rav Chaim Aharon Bleier, author of Chukei Chaim and a longtime moreh hora’ah in the Minchas Yitzchok neighborhood, released the letter under the heading “Hishamru Lachem Alos Bahar — Beware of ascending the mountain.”

The letter, dated Hoshana Rabbah 5787, says that Rav Bleier was deeply disturbed after learning that hundreds of children from Minchas Yitzchok had attended a gathering in the neighborhood auditorium that was ostensibly connected to the avodah of Nisuch Hamayim in the Bais Hamikdash.

According to Rav Bleier, those responsible for the gathering presented it as an innocent educational program connected to the Bais Hamikdash and did not disclose what he says was another purpose of the event.

“Painful news has reached us that unscrupulous people held a gathering of hundreds of children from our holy neighborhood in the auditorium located on Rechov Minchas Yitzchok, and those people hid under the guise of an institution for strengthening the holy work performed in the Bais Hamikdash, and advertised that they would hold a gathering presenting the avodah of Nisuch Hamayim in the Bais Hamikdash, without writing what they had concealed in their net,” Rav Bleier wrote.

The letter does not identify the organizers by name, and Rav Bleier does not state in the letter itself which municipal body financed the gathering. Claims circulating with the letter say that the event was funded by the Yerushalayim municipality; that detail has not yet been independently confirmed.

What Rav Bleier says happened during the program, however, is the reason for his extraordinary warning to parents.

According to the posek, a speaker appeared in the middle of the gathering dressed in traditional chareidi clothing and identified himself as belonging to a chassidic family. Rav Bleier writes that the speaker began discussing aliyah to Har Habayis and presented what Rav Bleier describes as “a foreign spirit” that directly contradicts the position of the leading poskim.

“We were horrified to hear that in the middle of the gathering, one person dressed in chassidic clothing from a well-known chassidic family stood up and began speaking about the matter and instilling a foreign spirit contrary to the opinion of the great poskim,” Rav Bleier wrote.

The letter says the remarks were delivered before hundreds of children and bochurim from Yerushalayim, and that the speaker openly encouraged interest in ascending Har Habayis.

Rav Bleier writes that this was done “in front of hundreds of children and bochurim of Yerushalayim” and says the message ran contrary to “the words of the great poskim of the generation zt”l and yblch”t from all the eidot and chugim.”

The speaker was the chairman of the Har Habayis Administration, who used his appearance to discuss the subject of Jews ascending Har Habayis. The letter itself does not name the speaker or identify his organizational title, so that specific identification remains an allegation accompanying the document rather than something stated by Rav Bleier in the letter.

Rav Bleier writes that the speaker ultimately “spoke to the hearts of the participants regarding the importance of ascending Har Habayis in our time,” thereby, in Rav Bleier’s words, “spreading the impurity of Har Habayis in this time, when we do not have a Bais Hamikdash, while presenting it as though this is the opinion of the gedolei Yisroel.”

The issue of aliyah to Har Habayis has long been the subject of significant halachic discussion. The longstanding position of the Chief Rabbinate and leading poskim has been to prohibit Jews from ascending Har Habayis because of the severe issurei kareis associated with entering areas of the site while tamei.

Rav Bleier issued a direct instruction to parents: “Because of the seriousness of the matter and the things that occurred in our holy neighborhood, I hereby strongly protest against those unscrupulous people, and I hereby issue an urgent call to the dear parents whose children participated in this gathering to speak to their children and correct the distortion, and tell them the true path that the gedolei Yisroel zt”l and yblch”t transmitted to us, that the matter is prohibited with the utmost severity,” Rav Bleier wrote.

He added that parents should explain to their children that what they heard at the gathering was directly contrary to the accepted daas Torah of the community.

Rav Bleier wrote that parents must explain “that what they heard was in complete contradiction to the opinion and instruction of our holy rabbonim, so that the evil words should not influence them.”

The posek said similar incidents have taken place several times in the Minchas Yitzchok neighborhood during the past two years, each time through a different organization or framework.

“We hereby call upon anyone who has the ability to act to ensure that such things do not occur again within our camp,” Rav Bleier wrote, adding that “this has already happened several times in our neighborhood during the last two years, each time under a different guise.”

Rav Bleier warned parents “to check every gathering and place to which they send their precious children, to see who stands behind the organizers, because we are promised that they will not cease attempting to influence innocent and holy children with their false ideas.”

{Matzav.com}

Avinatan Or, who survived 738 days as a hostage of Hamas in Gaza, has revealed that even while enduring captivity himself, he opposed an agreement to secure his freedom if the price would encourage Hamas to carry out future kidnappings, saying he believed Israel had to emerge from the war victorious.

In his first extensive television interview since returning home, Or spoke with Ilana Dayan on Keshet 12’s “Uvda” about his more than two years in Hamas captivity, the calculations he made about his own possible release, his relationship with his parents, and a deeply personal prayer he made after 70 days as a hostage.

Or was abducted from the Nova music festival near Re’im during the Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023, together with his partner, Noa Argamani. Footage of their abduction became one of the most recognizable images of the attack, showing Argamani being taken away on a motorcycle while reaching toward Or as terrorists marched him away.

Argamani was dramatically rescued by Israeli forces from Nuseirat in June 2024, together with Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv. Or remained in Gaza for another 16 months before finally being released on October 13, 2025, after 738 days in captivity.

During his captivity, Or said, he was able at times to see television coverage from Israel, including demonstrations demanding an agreement to bring the hostages home. Despite knowing that such an agreement could mean his own freedom, he said he was convinced that his parents were not participating in those protests.

“The debate was over matters of life and death, whether you save lives now or protect lives in the future,” he explained. “It was clear to me that if we made a deal then, I would be released, but later, someone else would be sitting in my place.”

Or said his position was not an abstract view developed after his return to Israel. It was what he believed while he himself remained in Hamas hands and had no assurance that he would survive long enough to come home.

“It was clear to me that we shouldn’t make a deal at any cost. Israel needed to emerge victorious from this war,” he said.

Or described conveying essentially the same message directly to one of the terrorists guarding him. Rather than allowing his captors to believe that the passage of time would eventually break him or force Israel to meet their demands, he told the terrorist that he was prepared for the possibility of remaining there for years.

“I told my captor: I’ll stay here for a day, two days, a year, two years, even ten years. Eventually, you’ll understand that I’m not worth holding, and that will be the victory.”

Or’s ordeal lasted more than two years. He was held largely alone, and in portions of his captivity was confined underground in darkness. In another portion of the interview, he revealed that he had attempted to devise a way to escape, drawing on lessons he remembered from his military service about the impossibility of creating a completely impenetrable defensive system.

“In the army they always told us, there’s no such thing as a 100% perfect defense, there will always be some weak point,” he explained.

While confined in an underground cell, Or felt his way around his surroundings and discovered a section constructed with sandbags. He could feel air moving through the area, leading him to conclude that there might be a route toward the outside.

“That doesn’t happen in a tunnel,” Or said.

His captivity also included severe physical deprivation. By the time he returned to Israel, Or appeared gaunt after spending more than two years cut off from his family and Argamani, who had spent much of that period publicly campaigning for his return after her own rescue.

One of the most personal moments Or described involved neither his captors nor the political argument surrounding a hostage agreement, but a conversation he said he had with God on his 70th day in Gaza.

“On the 70th day, I spoke to God and said: ‘Listen, I know I haven’t spoken to You in seven years, and it’s hypocritical of me to ask You for something now, especially when there’s a good chance I’ll forget You once I get out. So I’ll speak to You frankly: the Torah commands us to honor our parents, and I tried to do that even before October 7. Now it’s Your turn to fulfill the part that promises long life in the land.’”

Or’s comments about the hostage negotiations also shed new light on the approach taken publicly by his parents, Yaron and Ditza Or, during the long campaign to bring him home. Unlike some hostage families who became prominent participants in demonstrations demanding an immediate deal, his family generally advocated continued pressure on Hamas and resisted calls for Israel to accept an agreement at any price.

When Or finally returned to Israel in October 2025, one of his first reunions was with his parents. He said their initial words to him reflected the burden they had carried while making decisions about how best to fight for their son without knowing what he himself wanted them to do.

“When they saw me, they said, ‘We hope you’re not angry with us.’ I answered them, ‘I’m not angry with you. I’m proud of you.’ My parents fought for me like crazy.”

Or was also reunited with Argamani after more than two years apart. The couple had been violently separated during their abduction on October 7 and followed radically different paths through captivity: Argamani was held with other hostages before being rescued after approximately eight months, while Or remained in Hamas captivity until the hostage agreement of October 2025.

{Matzav.com}

A Brooklyn public-school teacher who allegedly declared “Long live Yahya Al-Sinwar” in a private group chat returned to his Park Slope school on Monday with his face covered, even as outraged parents demanded that the city remove him from the classroom and education officials launched an investigation into his conduct. Pasted markdown

Damien Neva, 48, began working this school year at PS 77 in Park Slope, where he teaches special education. Before entering education, Neva worked in the fashion industry as a photographer, videographer and social-media director, including positions with major modeling agencies.

The controversy erupted after a recently filed lawsuit involving the Park Slope Food Coop revealed messages Neva allegedly posted in a Signal chat used by members advocating a boycott of Israeli products.

According to the lawsuit, Neva posted his tribute to Yahya al-Sinwar in November 2024, several weeks after the Hamas leader was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza.

“Long live Yahya Al-Sinwar,” Neva wrote, according to the lawsuit.

Sinwar was the Hamas leader who played a central role in planning the October 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel, when Hamas-led terrorists murdered approximately 1,200 people and abducted 251 others into Gaza.

Neva was back at PS 77 on Monday as the controversy surrounding the comments intensified. Photographs showed him covering his face while leaving his Brooklyn home and again while walking to the school.

Parents interviewed outside PS 77 expressed anger that Neva remained in the classroom while the allegations were being investigated.

“It’s disgusting,” one fifth-grade father said.

“If he’s still teaching here, it’s disgusting, both on him and on the school that’s holding on to him. No one who praises terrorists deserves to be a teacher,” the furious father raged.

“If you praise a guy like [Sinwar], that means that some part of you believes that murdering innocent people is morally justifiable.”

Another relative of children attending the school, a grandmother, said she distinguishes between support for Palestinian statehood and glorification of the Hamas leader responsible for the October 7 attack.

“I believe the Palestinian people deserve statehood, but Sinwar was a terrorist,” she said.

“He killed for the sake of killing, and to speak of him like he did something good – that’s not okay, and [Neva] is not someone I want near my grandchildren.

“They should fire him. I’m surprised they haven’t fired him already.”

The controversy surrounding Neva reaches beyond the single message praising Sinwar. The lawsuit that brought the comment to public attention stems from the bitter, years-long fight over Israel inside the Park Slope Food Coop, the prominent member-owned grocery cooperative on Union Street in Brooklyn.

The coop, which has more than 16,000 members, voted in May to boycott Israeli products following years of internal battles between pro-Israel members and activists seeking to remove Israeli goods from its shelves.

Neva is described in the lawsuit as one of the organizers of the boycott effort. The complaint was filed on September 28 in Kings County Supreme Court by five Jewish members challenging both the boycott and the process by which it was adopted.

The plaintiffs allege that the campaign was accompanied by hostility and discrimination against Jewish and pro-Israel members and that coop leaders failed to adequately address the conduct. The coop itself is not accused of endorsing Neva’s statement praising Sinwar.

According to the lawsuit, shortly before writing his message about Sinwar, Neva was discussing the political strength of opponents of the Israel boycott.

“That lot does not have the votes to block our campaign,” Neva allegedly wrote, referring to pro-Israel and Jewish members of the coop.

He then posted, “Long live Yahya Al-Sinwar,” with at least one other participant reportedly reacting approvingly to the message.

The lawsuit also alleges other episodes of hostility toward Jewish members during the boycott battle. In one incident cited in the complaint, a coop member wearing a “Peace, Love, Israel” shirt was allegedly confronted and called “disgusting,” “a racist and a genocide supporter,” and told to leave the coop.

The controversy over Neva has intensified because he subsequently became responsible for teaching children in New York City’s public-school system.

Before beginning his teaching career, Neva worked for years in fashion photography and social media. His previous professional experience included work with Next Management, Ford Models and Calvin Klein. He described his move into education in a since-deleted social-media post as an “enforced career change.”

Other material attributed to Neva on social media has also drawn scrutiny. His accounts reportedly included an image depicting an Israel sticker being shredded, another showing a Star of David painted over the Statue of Liberty, and a comparison between Warsaw in 1944 and “Palestine” in 2024.

The New York City public-school system has confirmed that the allegations concerning Neva have been referred for investigation.

“Antisemitism and support for terrorist organizations have absolutely no place in our school system,” a Department of Education spokesperson said in response to the allegations.

“This allegation has been reported and referred for investigation, in accordance with Chancellor’s Regulations.”

The controversy has also drawn condemnation from elected officials.

State Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, a Bronx Democrat and longtime member of the Assembly, described the allegations as “appalling.”

“Hamas is a terrorist organization that has killed countless people, including Americans,” Dinowitz said.

“I don’t think someone like that should be teaching our kids.”

Dov Hikind, the former New York state assemblyman and founder of Americans Against Antisemitism, has also called for Neva to be removed from his teaching position.

The pressure is also coming from within New York’s education community.

Karen Feldman, a New York City teacher and founder of The NYC Public School Alliance, said the episode raises broader questions about the standards the school system applies to educators entrusted with children.

“This is not about one offensive post or one teacher’s political views. It is about who NYCPS [New York City Public Schools] is allowing to stand in front of our children. This teacher publicly praised Yahya al-Sinwar, the Hamas leader and murder mastermind responsible for the October 7 massacre,” Feldman said.

“And he is not an isolated case,” she continued.

“This is not about policing political beliefs. It is about professional judgment, student safety and the basic responsibility of a school system to know who it is putting in front of children. Our classrooms should be safe places for all children.”

The revelations come amid continued controversy over antisemitism and anti-Israel activism within New York City schools since the October 7 massacre and the subsequent war in Gaza. Jewish parents and educators have repeatedly raised concerns about political activism entering classrooms and about whether existing disciplinary procedures adequately address antisemitic conduct by school employees.

Neva has not publicly responded in detail to the allegations. When a reporter attempted to approach him at his Brooklyn home on Sunday, he reportedly contacted police rather than answer questions.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump offered a stark assessment Monday of the suspected pneumonic plague incident unfolding in Siberia, calling the situation a “big problem for Russia” and saying the United States is prepared to help Moscow as nearly 200 people remain under medical observation following the unexplained death of a 28-year-old employee at a Russian anti-plague research institute.

Trump’s comments came as the United States, European officials and international health experts closely monitored developments surrounding the death of Daria Shipilova, a laboratory technician at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East. Russian authorities have not confirmed that Shipilova contracted plague and insist that tests have so far found no microorganisms associated with her work.

Speaking to reporters Monday afternoon as he left the White House for a campaign rally in Nebraska, Trump described plague as a dangerous disease that he suggested has become more difficult to combat.

“It’s a rough disease. You know, that’s a disease we used to be able to control, but somehow those microbes have got stronger and smarter, they’re like an army,” Trump told reporters.

“The germs have really become relatively stronger than they were, and things that used to work on pneumonia don’t work as well anymore. So we’ll help.”

Trump said he had not yet spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the situation but indicated that Washington would be willing to provide assistance if needed.

The president’s remarks followed growing international attention to Shipilova’s death and conflicting accounts emerging from Russia about exactly what happened inside the Siberian research facility.

According to independent Russian media reports, Shipilova accidentally broke a test tube containing the bacterium responsible for pneumonic plague on September 25 while working at the institute. She became seriously ill several days later, was hospitalized on September 29 with severe pneumonia and died during the night of October 1-2.

Russian authorities have not confirmed the account involving the broken test tube. Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s federal public-health agency, said Shipilova suffered from “pneumonia of unknown etiology” and that additional testing prompted by the nature of her work did not detect microorganisms connected to her professional activities.

The agency has also said that no accident involving pathogenic microorganisms was officially recorded at the institute.

Despite those assurances, authorities have undertaken extensive precautionary measures. Nearly 200 people who had direct or indirect contact with Shipilova have reportedly been placed under medical observation or isolation, with more than 100 monitored in hospitals.

More than 60 employees of the anti-plague institute were reportedly confined inside the facility beginning October 2 while awaiting test results. Relatives told independent Russian media that some employees were sleeping on floors and chairs because the facility was not equipped to house them overnight.

Several medical facilities in the Irkutsk region have also imposed quarantine restrictions, while an aluminum plant in nearby Shelekhov introduced mask requirements. Public events have reportedly been restricted in some areas, and authorities have taken additional precautions involving travelers.

Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev has sought to reassure residents, saying that the sanitary and epidemiological situation remains stable and that those identified as close contacts have shown no signs of the suspected disease and tested negative.

There is currently no publicly confirmed evidence that pneumonic plague is spreading among residents of Irkutsk or that Shipilova transmitted the disease to another person.

The Trump administration nevertheless began publicly pressing Moscow for greater transparency as reports of the possible laboratory exposure circulated internationally.

Earlier Monday, the State Department urged Russian authorities to “share accurate information quickly and openly” about what occurred.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington is working with federal health officials to follow the situation and cautioned that an infectious disease outbreak cannot be viewed as purely a domestic Russian matter.

“There’s very limited travel between the US and Russia, obviously. But like anything else, something like that gets out, it could certainly spread,” Rubio told reporters as he departed Washington for Europe.

“So we’re watching and monitoring it closely. I don’t think it’s cause for alarm but it is cause for focus and a cause just to keep an eye on it.”

The White House had already confirmed Sunday that the administration “is aware, monitoring the outbreak, and assessing options.”

European officials are also watching developments. The European Commission said Monday that it was following the suspected incident “very closely” and was prepared to coordinate with member states if circumstances required a broader public-health response.

Pneumonic plague is caused by Yersinia pestis, the same bacterium responsible for other forms of plague. Unlike bubonic plague, which is most commonly transmitted through infected fleas or contact with infected animals, pneumonic plague affects the lungs and can spread directly between people through respiratory droplets during close contact.

The disease can progress rapidly and can be fatal without prompt treatment. Modern antibiotics, however, are generally effective when administered early, which is one reason public-health experts have cautioned against assuming that the suspected Russian incident represents the beginning of a major international outbreak.

Some infectious-disease specialists have said that even if Shipilova’s death is ultimately confirmed as pneumonic plague, the combination of antibiotics, contact tracing, isolation and modern infection-control procedures makes a large outbreak far less likely than during earlier periods of history.

Questions have nevertheless been raised about the precise circumstances of Shipilova’s reported exposure. Russian epidemiologist Mikhail Favorov publicly questioned the broken-test-tube explanation, noting that workers handling plague pathogens would ordinarily be wearing specialized protective equipment.

“It’s laughable,” Favorov said. “Someone working at the Anti-Plague Institute in Irkutsk wears a protective anti-plague suit.

“If you break a test tube, the likelihood of infection is actually very low. In short, it doesn’t matter to the general public – they’ll believe the ‘broken test tube’ story. It’s absolutely hair-raising. We will not be told what really happened.”

The Irkutsk institute operates as a high-containment research facility dealing with dangerous infectious diseases. Public reporting has described it as a Biosafety Level 3 facility, a classification used for laboratories working with pathogens capable of causing serious or potentially lethal disease through respiratory transmission.

The incident has also renewed attention on the Soviet Union’s extensive biological-weapons program during the Cold War. Soviet scientists conducted research involving Yersinia pestis and reportedly developed antibiotic-resistant strains of plague bacteria as part of an offensive biological-weapons effort.

There is no public evidence, however, that Shipilova was working on a biological weapon, that the Irkutsk institute is currently conducting offensive plague-weapons research or that the suspected incident involved an engineered strain of Yersinia pestis.

The U.S. government has separately maintained that Russia continues activities inconsistent with its obligations under the Biological Weapons Convention. Moscow denies maintaining an offensive biological-weapons program and says its work involving dangerous pathogens is defensive and public-health related.

The questions surrounding the Siberian incident have inevitably revived memories of the bitter international debate over the origins of COVID-19 and whether the virus emerged naturally or through a laboratory-related incident in China. The origin of COVID-19 remains unresolved, in part because of continuing disputes over access to information and data from China.

Trump’s comments about microbes becoming “stronger and smarter” also come amid the broader global problem of antimicrobial resistance, in which bacteria can evolve resistance to drugs used to treat infections. There is currently no confirmed evidence that the suspected Irkutsk case involved an antibiotic-resistant strain of plague.

Historically, pneumonic plague has produced devastating outbreaks. An epidemic in Manchuria beginning in 1910 killed roughly 60,000 people before being brought under control. Los Angeles experienced an outbreak in 1924 that killed approximately 30 people, the last major urban plague epidemic in the United States.

Bubonic plague was responsible for the Black Death that devastated Europe in the 14th century, killing tens of millions of people and, by some estimates, eliminating a massive share of the continent’s population.

Plague has not disappeared. Human cases continue to occur each year, particularly in parts of Africa, Asia and the Americas, although cases are now rare in developed countries and are generally treatable with antibiotics when recognized promptly.

For now, the central question in Siberia remains unanswered: Russian officials have acknowledged Shipilova’s death from severe pneumonia and implemented significant containment measures, but they have not confirmed that she was infected with plague at all.

Rubio said that uncertainty is precisely why Washington wants Moscow to provide reliable information rather than allow speculation to fill the vacuum.

“So we’re watching and monitoring it closely. I don’t think it’s cause for alarm but it is cause for focus and a cause just to keep an eye on it.”

{Matzav.com}

Newly declassified documents are revealing an even broader picture of the surveillance carried out during the federal investigation of President Donald Trump, showing that FBI agents tracked the travel of Melania Trump and Barron Trump while preparing to search Mar-a-Lago and later monitored the phone activity of Susie Wiles, including her contacts with Trump, his attorneys, campaign advisers and journalists.

The records, released Monday by the White House Government Transparency Task Force, shed new light on the investigation internally known as “Plasmic Echo,” the classified-documents probe that ultimately came under the direction of special counsel Jack Smith.

The newly disclosed material follows earlier revelations about surveillance techniques used in investigations involving Trump and his associates. But the latest documents provide new details about the extent to which investigators were monitoring people in Trump’s immediate family and political orbit while building the Mar-a-Lago case.

As FBI officials prepared in 2022 to obtain and execute a search warrant at Trump’s Palm Beach estate, internal communications show that investigators were specifically determining the movements of Melania and Barron Trump, apparently as part of their effort to decide when the search could be conducted.

One FBI planning document listed among the bureau’s tasks: “Finalize FBI understanding of FPOTUS/FLOTUS/minor son’s travel (type of aircraft and specific timeline),”

The same list included final preparations for obtaining the search warrant and coordinating the operation among the FBI, Justice Department and Secret Service in West Palm Beach.

Another document made the intended timing explicit: “Any search warrants would be served after the former President departs Mar a Lago,”

The documents indicate that the sensitive investigation was approved at the highest levels of the Justice Department during the Biden administration.

Then-Attorney General Merrick Garland authorized the investigation following recommendations from senior Justice Department and FBI officials. Then-FBI Director Christopher Wray warned in a May 2022 memorandum that the investigation could reach senior figures connected to Trump and could have significant political consequences if it became public before an election.

According to the memo, the investigation “could potentially be disruptive to the democratic process if publicly disclosed prior to an election.”

Wray nevertheless recommended that Garland authorize the investigation, adding a handwritten message at the bottom of the document: “Merrick, I recomend you approve. CW.”

The newly released records also show that before the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago, at least one agent questioned whether investigators possessed sufficient legal authority to search Trump’s personal office and bedroom and suggested that further discussions with Trump’s attorneys might provide a less intrusive path forward.

The bureau nevertheless proceeded with the search on August 8, 2022. Agents searched numerous areas of the Palm Beach estate, including Trump’s office as well as the bedrooms used by Trump and Melania.

The investigation did not end with the Mar-a-Lago search. The newly released documents reveal extensive monitoring in 2023 of Susie Wiles, who was then helping direct Trump’s political operation as he sought to return to the White House.

Investigators used a pen register and trap-and-trace process connected to Wiles’ cellphone. Such surveillance records metadata — including numbers involved in calls, when calls occurred and their duration — rather than the actual contents of the conversations.

That distinction is significant: the newly released material does not establish that investigators were listening to Wiles’ conversations. Instead, it shows that agents were systematically documenting whom she communicated with and when.

The monitoring reportedly captured Wiles’ contacts with at least 21 attorneys associated with Trump, along with campaign officials, political advisers and at least five journalists. The records also identified communications involving Kash Patel, who was outside government at the time and is now FBI director.

The surveillance ran at least from February through May 2023, according to the documents, with FBI memoranda recording individual calls in striking detail.

Investigators also tracked Wiles’ communications with Trump himself. Bureau records referred to one of Trump’s telephone numbers as the “FPOTUS Vanity Number,” apparently because it was a vanity number spelling a memorable word.

One May 19, 2023, entry recorded: “2:05 pm The FPOTUS Vanity Number called WILES for 16 minutes and 11 seconds.”

The records show that Wiles’ phone was extraordinarily active, with calls sometimes arriving or being placed only minutes apart. On March 9, 2023, investigators recorded 39 calls involving Wiles over the course of the day.

Among the entries from that day were contacts identified only by categories because the names remain redacted.

“6:00pm – Campaign 9 called Wiles, and they spoke for 39 seconds.”

“6:10pm – Lawyer 10 called Wiles for 49 seconds.”

“6:22pm – Wiles attempted to call Campaign 4”

“6:22pm – Wiles called Campaign 8 and they spoke for 56 seconds.”

“6:27pm – Campaign 4 called Wiles.”

“6:39pm – Lawyer 12 alled Wiles for 6 minutes and 50 seconds.”

“8:10pm – The FPOTUS Vanity Number called Wiles for 4 minutes and 1 second.”

Other FBI communications reveal agents following specific interactions between Wiles and Trump’s lawyers.

The bureau’s Washington Field Office noted “that [Lawyer 7] called Wiles at 2:04pm this afternoon for 41 seconds,” according to one March 24, 2023, email.

Another agent documented previous contacts involving the same attorney: “[Lawyer 7] first called Wiles at 2:10pm EST on March 21, and Wiles returned his call for 1 minute and 34 seconds later that day at 2:59pm,” the agent wrote. “These are the only contacts we have observed between the two of them since the PR/TT’s inception.”

Journalists communicating with Wiles also appeared in the surveillance records. The newly disclosed documents indicate that reporters associated with outlets including ABC News, The Washington Post, Politico and Just the News were among those whose contacts with Wiles were recorded.

One February communication from an FBI intelligence analyst specifically noted that “an ABC News reporter called her at 8:48 AM for 2 minutes and 36 seconds.”

The documents suggest that investigators were particularly interested in whom Wiles contacted immediately before and after interactions with the FBI itself.

Wiles sat for an FBI interview in Jacksonville, Florida, in April 2023. Investigators subsequently examined her telephone activity surrounding that interview to determine whom she had contacted.

“On 10 April 2023, WFO [redacted] reviewed WILES’s telephonic activity to determine contacts of interest on the date of her FBI interview,” another memo noted.

On that date, records showed Wiles communicating with Trump and several of his attorneys. She also received calls from journalists with The Washington Post and Politico.

The tactic has drawn attention because law-enforcement officials can use communications metadata to map relationships among individuals even without obtaining the contents of their conversations. A pen register can reveal who is communicating, how frequently and at what times, potentially allowing investigators to reconstruct patterns of contact among attorneys, political advisers and others.

The White House has portrayed the documents as evidence that federal law enforcement crossed the line from legitimate investigation into improper surveillance of Trump’s political operation. Critics of the investigation have also raised concerns about the collection of information involving defense lawyers and journalists.

Sen. Mike Lee of Utah reacted to the latest disclosures by calling the surveillance “objectively a bigger scandal than Watergate.”

Smith, however, has consistently denied that his investigations of Trump were motivated by politics. Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, he defended his conduct and rejected accusations that he had acted as a partisan prosecutor.

“I am not a politician and I have no partisan loyalty,” Smith said. “My career has been dedicated to serving our country by upholding the rule of law and the core principles upon which our country was founded.”

At the time investigators were monitoring Wiles, the classified-documents inquiry was examining whether Trump had unlawfully retained national-security material after leaving the White House and whether there had been obstruction of government efforts to recover documents from Mar-a-Lago.

The case ultimately resulted in federal charges against Trump, but it never went to trial.

In July 2024, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the classified-documents prosecution after concluding that Smith had been unlawfully appointed as special counsel by Garland because his appointment violated the Constitution’s Appointments Clause.

The newly released Plasmic Echo records have now placed the investigative methods used to build that case under renewed scrutiny, particularly because they involved Trump’s family, his lawyers, his campaign operation and journalists during a period when Trump was preparing his campaign to return to the presidency.

The White House sharply condemned the surveillance following Monday’s document release.

“Jack Smith’s surveillance operation was a disgraceful abuse of government power,” White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said in a statement. “Spying on political opponents is weaponization of law enforcement, plain and simple. Those responsible must be held accountable.”

{Matzav.com}

Urban warfare expert John Spencer delivered a scathing assessment of the controversial documentary NAZA after watching the film in full, accusing it of spreading falsehoods and distortions about Israel’s conduct in Gaza and singling out its assertion that Israel killed more than 73,000 Palestinians as particularly egregious.

Spencer, who serves as Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point and has extensively studied Israel’s military operations in Gaza, said the documentary crosses a line even beyond the claims made by Hamas itself.

“Worse than Hamas propaganda,” Spencer wrote in a post on X after watching the documentary in its entirety. “Over three years, I’ve tried not to be surprised by ignorance, disinformation, and distortions relating to war, but this is at the top for many reasons.”

NAZA, directed by Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, has become the focus of an escalating international controversy since its premiere at the Venice Film Festival last month. The approximately 80-minute film features testimony from 24 anonymous Israeli military and intelligence personnel and purports to expose the systems used by Israel to select and strike targets in Gaza.

The documentary was produced by The Guardian together with producer James Wilson, while Jonathan Glazer, the director of The Zone of Interest, served as an executive producer. Abraham and Szor previously worked on the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land.

The film takes its name from what its creators describe as an Israeli military acronym referring to the anticipated number of civilians who could be killed in a strike. Its subjects were filmed largely at night on rooftops in Tel Aviv, with their identities concealed and their appearances and voices digitally altered.

NAZA won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival after receiving a lengthy standing ovation and has since begun screening internationally, including at the New York Film Festival and the Hamptons International Film Festival. A wider theatrical rollout is underway, with the film expected eventually to be made available online.

The film has simultaneously drawn fierce condemnation in Israel. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has described it as being based on “blood libels, deliberate distortions of reality and grave, false accusations against IDF soldiers and commanders”. The IDF has disputed major allegations presented in the documentary and questioned the reliability and level of knowledge of some of its anonymous sources.

The filmmakers have rejected those criticisms, saying their work was based on interviews with more than 100 sources in addition to the 24 people who appear in the film. They have said their reporting included senior officers and personnel involved at different levels of the targeting process and was corroborated through documents and additional reporting.

Spencer said he intends to issue a much more extensive examination of the documentary and its claims. For now, however, he focused on a declaration displayed prominently during the film: “Israel has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians in Gaza.”

“Not even Hamas says this,” Spencer wrote.

His objection centers on the difference between a reported total number of deaths in Gaza and the claim that every one of those deaths was caused by Israel. Spencer argued that the documentary effectively takes the overall reported death toll and assigns responsibility for all of it to Israeli military action.

Spencer noted that Hamas itself has killed Palestinians in Gaza, including in efforts to suppress opponents and maintain its grip over the territory. Armed confrontations have also erupted between Hamas terrorists and anti-Hamas clans and other Palestinian groups, producing additional Palestinian casualties unrelated to Israeli strikes.

He also pointed to the thousands of rockets launched toward Israel by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad that failed to reach their intended targets and instead landed inside Gaza. Spencer said that as many as 20% of the roughly 12,000 rockets fired toward Israel by the terrorist groups fell short inside the Gaza Strip.

Such failed launches have repeatedly endangered Gaza residents, he argued, making it impossible to simply attribute every Palestinian death during the war to Israeli military action.

Spencer additionally challenged the way casualty figures originating with Hamas-controlled authorities have been presented. He said more recent Hamas reporting has included natural deaths among the overall lists of people who died during the war period, another factor that he said undermines any blanket claim that the entire reported toll consists of Palestinians killed by Israel.

“To say every person that died in Gaza was killed by Israel is a vulgar lie,” he charged.

The casualty figure is particularly significant because the film presents itself as an investigative documentary and has received extensive international media attention and major film-industry recognition. Spencer argued that presenting a disputed aggregate death figure as a count of people specifically killed by Israel fundamentally changes its meaning.