Rabbi Eliezer MelamedRevivim

Ma’aser Kesafim and a Fifth

Q: What is the status of the obligation to give ma’aser kesafim?

A: Ma’aser kesafim is the moderate equivalent of the tithes, priestly gifts, and gifts to the poor that were given from the produce of the fields and from livestock. It is a meritorious practice to give a fifth (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah 249:1). Some halakhic authorities say that it is required by Torah law (Tosafot, Ta’anit 9a), while many maintain that it is rabbinic in origin (Turei Zahav, Yoreh De’ah 331:32), and others say that it is a custom (Bayit Chadash). However, even according to this latter opinion, it is a custom that guides us in fulfilling the Torah commandments to support Torah, and to give charity.

The Purpose of Ma’aser Kesafim - Teachers of Torah, and the Poor

Since the mitzvah of ma’aser kesafim continues the practice of gifts that were given to the priests and Levites, its primary purpose is to support those who teach Torah in Israel. As our Sages said: “‘You shall surely tithe all’ (Deuteronomy 14:22). Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: This is a hint to merchants and seafarers that they should give one-tenth to those who labor in Torah" (Pesikta de-Rav Kahana 11; Tanchuma, Re’eh 17). The Jerusalem Talmud (Ma’aser Sheni 5:3) likewise relates that Rabbi Yonah would give his tithes to Rabbi Acha bar Ulla because he was engaged in Torah study. He based his practice on the verse: “And he commanded the people who dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and Levites, so that they might devote themselves to the Torah of the Lord" (II Chronicles 31:4).

One should make sure to donate to institutions that teach authentic Torah.

Another purpose of ma’aser kesafim is to support the poor, following the Torah’s command to set aside the tithe for the poor during two of the seven-year cycle’s years. Likewise, throughout all the years, provisions are to be left for the poor: leket (gleanings), shichchah (forgotten sheaves), and pe’ah (the corner of the field).

Who Comes First, Teachers of Torah or the Poor?

When there is a need to donate both to desperately poor people and to Torah scholars, the poor should be given priority, because Torah scholars can go out and earn a living.

In other words, under normal circumstances, most of one’s ma’aser should be directed toward supporting Torah students and teachers, who guide the people in the ways of Torah and mitzvot, morality, and proper conduct. This is analogous to the way that most of the tithes and other gifts were designated for priests and Levites. However, when there are many poor people, most of one’s ma’aser kesafim should be given to them. In that situation, it serves as a substitute for the tithe for the poor, leket, shichchah, pe’ah, and charity (see Ahavat Chesed, Part II, 19:1).

One could say that in an ideal situation, the primary function of ma’aser kesafim is as preventive medicine. Its purpose is to expand the ranks of Torah teachers, so that they can guide the people in Torah, and the proper way of earning a livelihood. In this way, the value of work and the importance of sound economic planning will become universally accepted. Young people will learn professions through which they can support themselves; people will work honestly, diligently, and professionally; and consequently, blessing will increase, and there will not be many poor people, so that relatively little charity will be sufficient for them.

However, when the preventive medicine has failed-that is, when Torah scholars have not properly educated the public to work diligently and develop the economy-poverty spreads throughout Israel, and most of the ma’aser must be given to the “patients" themselves: the poor, the sick, and other people in need.

Supporting Torah Scholars

Q: Is it permissible to donate ma’aser kesafim to support Torah scholars, given that we have learned that the great Torah scholars supported themselves through their own work?

A: Indeed, originally ma’aser kesafim was used only to support teachers of children, since their work occupied most of the day, and without receiving a salary, they would not have been able to teach the children.

However, the great rabbis, as long as they did not serve in a public leadership position, worked to support themselves. This was because their studies consisted of the Bible, Mishnah, baraitot, and statements of the Sages, and their work was simple, such as plowing and harvesting. Thus, while working in the fields or at a craft, they could review Mishnah and the teachings of our Sages and contemplate them, and after finishing their work they would teach their students.

Over the generations, however, the content of Torah study expanded enormously. Torah scholars must devote the entire day to studying the teachings of the Talmud, the Geonim, and the Rishonim, as well as matters of Aggadah and Jewish thought. Therefore, it became accepted that in order to have rabbis of an appropriate level in Israel, the public must support rabbis so that they can free themselves from their occupations, and devote themselves to studying and teaching.

Maimonides, however, strongly opposed this practice, writing that it constitutes a desecration of God’s name (Laws of Torah Study 3:10), and that the practice of the Tannaim and Amoraim should continue. Nevertheless, virtually all later rabbis wrote that it is impossible to maintain Torah scholars in Israel without the public supporting them (Tashbetz, cited by the Beit Yosef and Rema, Yoreh De’ah 246:21; Maharshal; Bayit Chadash; Shach, Yoreh De’ah 246:20).

Scholarships for Students Studying in Order to Teach

Q: Does the mitzvah of supporting rabbis with ma’aser kesafim also apply to avreichim who are not yet teaching Torah?

A: Maimonides strongly condemned Torah scholars who support themselves from the public. He gave two reasons for this:

1. Torah should be studied lishmah-for its own sake-in order to learn and teach God’s word, rather than in order to receive money or other benefits.

2. It constitutes a desecration of God’s name (Laws of Torah Study 3:10).

In practice, however, the great authorities of later generations ruled that those who study in order to teach-as educators and rabbis-may initially support themselves from the public. This is because the generations have declined, and the amount of material that must be studied has greatly increased. It is impossible to produce Torah scholars of a reasonable level without their devoting most of their day to Torah study. If the public does not finance their studies, there will be no Torah scholars in Israel to teach Torah and render halakhic decisions in the next generation.

Therefore, just as ma’aser kesafim is intended to support Torah teachers in yeshivot, it is also intended to support students who are studying in order to teach (Tashbetz I:142-148; Kesef Mishneh, Laws of Torah Study there; Maharshal and Shach, Yoreh De’ah 246:20; Rishon LeTziyon 21, and many others).

Supporting Yeshiva Students and Penitents as Preparation for Working Life

In our generation, another problem has arisen: many young people do not reach a sufficient level of Torah knowledge to guide their lives according to Torah. Since all Jews need to live a Torah life, there is a great need to enable young people to study for several years in a yeshiva before entering the workforce.

There are also ba’alei teshuvah-people who have returned to religious observance-who need to acquire basic Torah knowledge, and for this purpose, they need to devote a year or two to Torah study. They too may be permitted to receive a scholarship for this period, so that they can learn the foundations of faith and halakha. It is also appropriate to donate ma’aser kesafim for this purpose.

Those Who Will Not Become Rabbis or Teachers May Not Support Themselves Through Charity or Stipends

However, once a yeshiva student or ba’al teshuvah has acquired the necessary foundation, it is forbidden for them to support themselves through Torah study, in accordance with Maimonides and the consensus of the halakhic authorities. They must learn a profession through which they can support themselves.

Beyond acquiring the foundation necessary to observe Torah and mitzvot, only someone who is suited to become a teacher or rabbi may support himself through welfare or charitable funds in order to study for several additional years, so that he can properly prepare for his sacred mission. But other students are not permitted to support themselves through Torah study, and one should not donate ma’aser kesafim toward their studies.

The reality also demonstrates that the more Torah scholars there are whom the public does not actually need as teachers or rabbis, and who support themselves through stipends, donations, and charity, the greater the desecration of God’s name, as Maimonides stated.

Donating to Yeshivot That Teach Authentic Torah

One should make sure to donate to institutions that teach authentic Torah. This includes important mitzvot that are considered equivalent in importance to the entire Torah: the mitzvah of settling the Land of Israel; the mitzvah of serving in the army; the mitzvah of loving every Jew and all Jewish communities; and taking care to avoid the prohibitions against lashon hara and divisiveness.

Likewise, students should be educated to value work and science, and anyone who is not destined to become a teacher or rabbi, should be encouraged to learn a respectable profession in order to support his family and contribute to the constructive development of the world, each person in a field suited to him.

One should also donate to an institution that is known to operate honestly, where the majority of the donated money goes toward Torah study, rather than toward fundraisers and various officeholders.

Priorities

Q: When different yeshivot request donations, which should be given priority?

A: Each person should give priority to yeshivot that are closer to him. This follows the principle taught regarding all the laws of charity and kindness: “The poor person with you" (Exodus 22:24)-the person who is closer to you has greater priority.

There are several types of closeness.

First, personal closeness. Someone who studied at a particular yeshiva has a personal connection to that yeshiva, and it is appropriate for him to give it priority, at least to the extent of the amounts that the yeshiva invested in him.

Second, ideological closeness. Torah is broader than the sea, and each yeshiva has its own particular emphasis. Some emphasize joy, while others emphasize ethics. Some emphasize Talmud study, while others emphasize halakha or faith. Some emphasize the collective, while others emphasize the individual. Some emphasize abstract scholarship, while others emphasize preparation for life.

Each person should remain faithful to his worldview and, for the sake of Heaven, and out of love for Israel, support the yeshiva that corresponds to his worldview.

Third, geographical proximity. Someone choosing between two yeshivot, both of which are close to his outlook, but one of which is in another city, while the other is in his own city, should give priority to the yeshiva in his own city.

Institutions That Do Not Receive Government Funding

Q: Should one donate to support teachers?

A: In the State of Israel, the salaries of teachers who teach children are funded by the state. Therefore, the primary purpose of ma’aser kesafim is to support yeshivot, synagogue rabbis, and supplementary Torah education beyond the established educational frameworks.

However, it is not appropriate to donate ma’aser kesafim to educational institutions for children and teenagers that are not funded by the state, since they could arrange their education within the established system, and there is no reason to use charitable funds to maintain an unnecessary private system-especially when there are much more important needs.

Furthermore, if these institutions do not teach authentic Torah, there is certainly no reason to donate to them.

This article appears in the ‘Besheva’ newspaper and was translated from Hebrew.

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President Donald TrumpWhite House Photo by Molly Riley

US President Donald Trump and senior administration officials are considering limited strikes against Iran in the Strait of Hormuz aimed at preventing Tehran from rebuilding military capabilities used to threaten ships in the strategic waterway, Axios reported on Monday.

The report cited three US officials who said the proposal was developed by US Central Command (CENTCOM) over the past week and has the support of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Trump had not approved the proposal prior to the latest exchange of fire between the US and Iran, but the recent escalation could affect the administration's calculations.

One US official told Axios that the proposed strikes are intended to reduce the threat posed by Iran to oil tankers, US Navy vessels and US Air Force aircraft operating in the area.

A White House official told Axios that Trump "retains all options at his disposal," adding that Iran wants an agreement but has repeatedly failed to act in time.

The report said that during the past two months, the US military has increasingly established control over much of the Strait of Hormuz by weakening Iranian military capabilities, clearing mines and helping vessels navigate the waterway.

Those efforts have reduced Iran's ability to strike oil tankers while enabling additional maritime traffic and oil exports to pass through the strait, according to the report.

However, US officials told Axios that CENTCOM has become concerned by Iranian efforts to restore radar systems, air defenses and anti-ship missile capabilities that could allow Tehran to more accurately target vessels.

Those concerns increased following the recent launch of an Iranian anti-aircraft missile toward a US F-35 fighter jet providing cover for ships in the strait, according to a US official cited in the report. The missile did not come close enough to pose a danger, but US officials viewed the launch as an indication that Iran was attempting to rebuild its military capabilities.

CENTCOM subsequently informed Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, and the White House that periodic strikes against Iran could be necessary to allow dozens of oil tankers to leave the Gulf safely each day, Axios reported.

Hegseth backed the proposal and forwarded it to the White House several days ago. US officials said the White House had been leaning against approving additional strikes last week due to concerns that they could further escalate the conflict.

That calculation could change following Iran's ballistic missile attacks on US bases in Jordan on Sunday. The Iranian attacks followed a US strike on Iranian forces who were preparing to launch rockets carrying mines into the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump said Monday morning that the US would respond to the attack on American forces.

"We're going to hit them hard; there will be a response," Trump told Fox News, indicating that all but one of the Iranian missiles had been intercepted.

Earlier Monday, Trump declared Iran a "failed" and "dead" nation in a post on Truth Social, citing the condition of its military, economy and leadership.

The developments also come as the Trump administration continues its campaign of economic pressure on Tehran. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Sunday that the administration is preparing sanctions against another bank as part of efforts to further isolate Iran financially.

Last week, Bessent announced "Operation Economic Outcast," a campaign intended to restrict the flow of funds to the Iranian government. The US subsequently announced sanctions targeting UAE branches of Egypt's Banque Misr.

Smotrich and FeiglinYonatan Sindel/Flash90

A Midgam Institute poll published Monday evening by Channel 12 News shows that a joint run by the Religious Zionism and Zehut parties would currently win them a combined five Knesset seats.

According to the figures, before such a merger, the Yashar! party wins 24 seats, Likud 23, Bennett and Lapid’s “Together" party 15, and the Democrats 11.

Yisrael Beytenu receives nine seats, United Torah Judaism eight, Otzma Yehudit eight, the Joint List seven, Shas seven, Ra’am four, and Ofer Winter’s “Amcha Yisrael" four.

Under this scenario, the Religious Zionism party falls below the electoral threshold with 2.6% of the vote, as does the Reservists’ Zionist Home party of Chili Tropper and Yoaz Hendel, which also receives 2.6%. Zehut, led by Moshe Feiglin, receives 2.1%; Hatzibur HaHaredi, led by Moti Leitner, 1.2%; the New Economic Party, led by Yaron Zelekha, 1%; Benny Gantz’s Blue and White, 0.9%; and the Unity Party, led by Gilad Erdan, 0.5%.

The right-wing bloc wins 50 seats, while the anti-Netanyahu bloc receives 59.

In a scenario in which Smotrich and Feiglin join forces, while Benny Gantz’s Blue and White and Gilad Erdan’s Unity Party also run on a joint slate, Yashar! wins 24 seats, Likud 23, Together 15, the Democrats 11, Yisrael Beytenu nine, United Torah Judaism eight, Otzma Yehudit seven, the Joint List seven, Shas seven, the Smotrich-Feiglin alliance five, and Ra’am four.

Under this scenario, Ofer Winter’s party fails to cross the electoral threshold, while the balance between the blocs remains unchanged.

Demolition of illegal structuresSpokesperson

A wide-scale enforcement operation was conducted over the past two days in Judea and Samaria against illegal construction sites classified as security and environmental threats.

On Sunday, Efraim District Coordination and Liaison (DCL) forces raided the village of Shuweika, north of Tulkarm, accompanied by the Supervision Unit and under the protection of regional brigade soldiers,

The operation focused on demolishing unauthorized construction elements that were erected adjacent to the security fence near the Israeli communities of Bahan and Bat Hefer. The defense establishment noted that the construction was conducted in Area C in total violation of an existing construction prohibition order, creating an immediate safety and security hazard in the area.

The next day, the enforcement moved to the Binyamin region. Binyamin DCL forces, together with the Supervision Unit and forces from the regional brigade, operated near Birzeit. The forces destroyed illegal construction infrastructure erected in the Wadi Zeytun (Ein Obeid) archaeological zone in Area C, adjacent to the ancient road to Jerusalem and under the historical Khirbit Tarfon site, which dates to the First and Second Temple periods.

The IDF, Civil Administration, and security bodies clarified that the determined operations will continue as part of the effort to maintain law and order in the area, while focusing on construction hazards that threaten security and stability.

Ebola exercise at Ben Gurion AirportAirports authority

The Health Ministry announced Monday evening that it had received a report of another person suspected of having Ebola after returning from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“The individual, who returned to Israel several days ago, sought medical treatment after developing a fever and additional symptoms. At this stage, this is only a suspected case, and the necessary tests are currently being conducted. The test results are expected to be received in the coming days. The individual will be treated under isolation conditions in accordance with the professional protocols established for dealing with high-risk infectious diseases and will be transferred to Ichilov Medical Center, which has been designated as one of the centers equipped to receive suspected cases of this kind," the Ministry said.

In accordance with established procedures, the Health Ministry is completing an epidemiological investigation in order to identify relevant contacts.

Prinok baby foodArutz Sheva

There has been a significant development in the investigation into the tainting of “Prinok" brand baby food purees. Police on Monday arrested a resident of southern Israel in their 40s for their alleged involvement in injecting sedative anesthetics and sedatives into the purees.

Investigators from the Crime Fighting Unit arrested the suspect at his home and took him for further interrogation. Tomorrow, he is expected to appear at a hearing at the Jerusalem Magistrates' Court, where the police will seek to extend his detention.

At the same time, the police continue to study the evidence collected so far to find the source of the substances and the mechanism by which they were injected into the products, along with investigating additional individuals suspected of involvement in the act.

The drama began two months ago, after three infants from the Jerusalem area were hospitalized at Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center with severe fatigue and apathy symptoms. Blood tests found traces of substances from the benzodiazepine family, chemical substances that act as anti-anxiety agents and are found in sedatives and anesthetics for adults, including Valium and Clonax.

Inspections found that the infants consumed various fruit purées from the "Prinok" brand purchased from various branches of the “Zol U’Begadol" supermarket chain in Jerusalem. The infants were discharged from the hospital after a period of observation, and it was later discovered that the anesthetics were present in additional jars of the company's baby food.

Succos in Yerushalayimצילום: ללא

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‘Every Jew must feel committed’: French cousins enlist in the IDF

Gad's and Elior's draft day was full of excitement, as the two cousins who made Aliyah from France enlisted in the IDF's Hasmonean Brigade. For them, moving to Israel and joining the ranks of the Israeli military are more than just personal decisions; they are an expression of a deep sense of mission and commitment to the people of Israel.

Moments before bidding farewell to their families and donning the olive green uniform, the two spoke with Arutz Sheva-Israel National News about their emotions. "This is a very exciting moment," Elior says. "I am enlisting today, and my parents are returning to France. We are parting, but I know why I came."

Regarding the decision to leave their comfortable lives in France and join the IDF, they put it simply: "It's better to serve and defend our nation and our land. It's a mitzvah, it's an obligation. The fact that we were born in France does not matter. Every Jew must feel committed to his nation."

Karine, Elior's mother, could not hide her excitement as she accompanied her son to the induction center. "It is very moving to bring my son to the army and to know that with G-d's help he will be a fighter and defend our country," she says. "I am very proud of him. He has come a long way and put in a lot of effort to reach this moment."

According to Karine, love for Israel and connection with the country were integral to her children's education at home. "We always told them that we don't have another country. This is our place; here we have to be, to live and grow. When you plant this love in the hearts of your children, it only grows."

In conclusion, the mother asked to send a message of encouragement and blessing to her son and all IDF soldiers. "I pray that the Holy One, blessed be He, will protect them, grant them success in their path, and protect all our soldiers and the State of Israel."

Prime Minister Benjamin NetanyahuGPO

One of the most recurring refrains that resonates in the Bibiphobic echo chamber that overhangs much of the political debate in Israel is the allegation that “Bibi has ruined the country."

Indeed, the incessant repetition of the charge has given it almost axiomatic status for the anti-Netanyahu crowd- as if it were a self-evident truth requiring little substantiation on the part of its purveyors to establish its veracity.

Indeed, a wideranging array of achievements runs starkly counter to this grave accusation.

Impressive, if still incomplete, security accomplishments

In the realm of security, many of the facts are largely well established in the public domain, so I will not dwell on them in any great detail.

Virtually all of the pre-October enemy leadership, devoted openly to the destruction of the Jewish state, has been “dispatched into the hereafter", sending a clear message that following in their footsteps could be a risky path to tread. The array of those no longer with us includes the bloodthirsty Sinwar brothers, the once elusive Mohamed Deif, the hedonistic plutocrat Ismail Haniya, the boastful Hasan Nasrallah, and the brutal theocrat Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with a long entourage of cronies and henchmen. And the list gets longer daily.

On the battlefield, sustained IDF action has brought Syria to the brink of disintegration, but most importantly, has decoupled it from Hezbollah and Iran, effectively disrupting the longstanding Shi’a arc linking Iran to Lebanon.

In Lebanon itself, Hezbollah, although still a formidable force, is no longer viewed as the protector of Lebanon, but by many as the enemy of Lebanon.

In Gaza, much of the enclave lies in ruins, with 60-70% of it under the control of the IDF, and with the prospect of large-scale emigration of the inhabitants gaining momentum-albeit sluggishly.

In Iran, much of the infrastructure-physical and human-on which its nuclear program was based, has been eliminated and, at the very least, set back for years.

Emphasis on Economics

But a word of caution is called for here.

Initial operational successes, although necessary, can turn out to be fleeting and ephemeral. Perhaps the starkest example of that is the case of Nasrallah's predecessor, Abbas al-Musrawi, who was eliminated by the IDF in Lebanon in 1992, a measure that brought the arguably even more murderous Nasrallah to power, as well as resulting in a series of lethal terror attacks on Israeli personnel and installations - particularly in Buenos Aires.

However, for the remainder of the analysis, the focus will be on the economic performance of the country under the Netanyahu government-particularly in the post-October War period-which has received far less media attention than that allotted the security sphere.

Significantly, Israel’s overall economic performance has outstripped virtually all other leading Western economies across a wide range of major indicators.

GDP per capita:

Indeed, while traditional Western European economies have faced prolonged stagnation, Israel maintained a top-tier global position, with its GDP per capita rising to almost $70,000-surpassing major Western economies such as Germany, France, Japan, Canada and the UK-and even the petro-rich UAE.

The exchange rate:

The country’s economic robustness is reflected in the strength of its currency. Indeed, the demand for the shekel has propelled it to be one of the world’s strongest currencies in recent years. Moreover, despite the war and gloomy prospects that abounded in its immediate wake, the shekel has risen dramatically against the US dollar (around 36%) - from a low of just over 4 to under 3 to the dollar! Likewise. It has appreciated substantially against the Euro (over 18%) and Sterling (over 17%)

Direct foreign investment (FDI)

Direct foreign investment in the country has soared since the post-October War. Indeed, Israel has led the world in attracting foreign investments relative to GDP (which of course also contributed to the demand for the shekel and its high rate of exchange)

Moreover, cross-country comparison of FDI as a percentage of gross fixed capital formation shows that international investors see Israel as a distinctly profitable place in which to invest: Thus, in Israel, the rate of FDI in gross fixed capital formation is 13,7% over twice the overall World rate of 5,3% and three times that of the developed economies (4,7%) and of the US (4.4%).

The growth rate of GDP per capita:

In terms of the growth of GDP per capita (as distinct from the absolute levels discussed above), over the last three decades-for most of which Netanyahu was Prime Minister-in Israel this has been +275%, easily surpassing the US (215%) and almost doubling that of the UK and the EU (147% and 147% respectively)

Flawed but successful

Of course, none of this is to suggest that Netanyahu is above all reproach. Indeed, for all his manifest merits, he is a leader with undeniable faults, who has not done many things that he should have, and done many things that he shouldn’t have.

However, whatever those undeniable shortcomings are, they are apparently far fewer than any of his even remotely relevant rivals.

Accordingly, when coming to decide on how to cast one’s ballot in the upcoming elections, it would seem prudent to heed the well-known dictum: If it works, don’t fix it.

Martin Sherman spent seven years in operational capacities in the Israeli defense establishment. He is the founder of the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a member of the Habithonistim-Israel Defense & Security Forum (IDSF) research team, and a participant in the Israel Victory Project.

Prof. Ada YonathFlash 90

Prof. Ada Yonath, winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the Israel Prize, has died at the age of 87. Yonath, a senior researcher in the Department of Chemical and Structural Biology at the Weizmann Institute of Science, devoted her professional life to deciphering the structure and active mechanism of the ribosome - the cellular component responsible for producing proteins.

Her decades of research paved the way for understanding how antibiotic drugs bind to bacterial structures and for developing new medical treatments against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, one of the major challenges facing modern medicine.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog eulogized her and said: “I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Professor Ada Yonath, Nobel laureate in Chemistry, Wolf Prize laureate, Israel Prize laureate, and one of the leading researchers in the history of Israeli science."

“Anyone who followed Professor Yonath’s scientific journey knew that she was an international trailblazer, and a pioneer who proved that curiosity, dedication, and unwavering determination can push back the frontiers of human knowledge. Her groundbreaking discoveries changed the face of science and brought great honor to the State of Israel.

“Professor Yonath lived out that very aspiration, serving as an inspiration to countless women and men alike. We will remember her for her modesty, the originality of her thinking, and as a role model and inspiration to generations of scientists in Israel and around the world.

“I send my deepest condolences to her family, her colleagues at the Weizmann Institute of Science, her students, and the entire scientific community. May her memory be a blessing."

Weizmann Institute President Prof. Alon Chen eulogized her: “Ada was an extraordinary scientist who was not afraid to choose a path that others thought impossible and to pursue it with determination, curiosity and courage for decades. Her breakthrough in ribosome research transformed our understanding of one of the most fundamental processes of life and opened new possibilities in the fight against antibiotic resistance. But Ada’s legacy is even greater than her scientific achievements.

“She showed generations of female and male scientists what can be achieved when one dares to ask big questions and refuses to give up on the relentless search for answers. Ada was an ‘Institute Professor’ - the highest rank awarded by the Institute to a select group of distinguished scientists - and she continued researching and publishing, maintaining an active laboratory and conducting scientific collaborations right up until her final days," he added.

The beginning of Yonath’s academic journey in the late 1970s was met with considerable skepticism from the international scientific community. At the time, the prevailing assumption was that the complex ribosome system could not be crystallized for investigation using X-ray crystallography. Yonath later recalled the reaction she received at the time: “People called me a fantasist."

Despite repeated failed attempts around the world, Yonath and her team conducted some 25,000 experiments before succeeding in producing the first ribosome crystals in 1980. Over the following two decades, Yonath refined her methods, including developing cryo-bio-crystallography - a technique based on rapid freezing that prevents crystals from being destroyed during irradiation.

The research reached a milestone in 2000, when teams led by Yonath at the Weizmann Institute and the Max Planck Institute in Germany deciphered, for the first time, the complete three-dimensional structures of the subunits of the bacterial ribosome. The scientific journal Science named the discovery one of the ten leading scientific achievements of that year. A year later, her research demonstrated how antibiotics bind to the bacterial ribosome and inhibit protein production, an insight that helped reveal the mechanisms by which disease-causing bacteria develop resistance.

Yonath was born in Jerusalem in 1939 to a family of limited means. After her father died during her childhood, she worked from a young age to help support her family while completing her education. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and completed her doctorate at the Weizmann Institute in 1968. Following postdoctoral studies in the United States, she established Israel’s first protein crystallography laboratory at the Weizmann Institute in 1970.

Over the years, she headed scientific departments, directed research centers and was a member of numerous national and international academies, including the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences at the Vatican. In addition to the Nobel Prize, she received numerous prestigious honors, including the Israel Prize, the Wolf Prize, the EMET Prize and honorary doctorates from dozens of universities around the world.

Despite the extensive international recognition she received, Yonath once said that the title dearest to her heart was a “World’s Best Grandma" certificate given to her by her granddaughter, Noa.

Prof. Yonath is survived by her daughter, Dr. Hagit Yonath, director of an internal medicine department at Sheba Medical Center, and her granddaughter.

Nuclear armamentiStock

The world has never witnessed a nuclear war. Hiroshima and Nagasaki don’t “count." Strictly speaking, these examples of World War II destructiveness involved the one time use of nuclear weapons during an otherwise conventional war.

Before August 1945, nothing nuclear could have been expected. But today, eighty-one years later, a nuclear war is not merely possible. It is distinctly plausible. Though nothing can be predicted scientifically about such a conflict, we needn’t be logicians or mathematicians to reach the following conclusion: All decipherable nuclear war prospects would be intolerable.

To clarify, history warrants pride of place. To some discernible extent, each weapon system ever devised was eventually used. Realistically, therefore, some form of nuclear war will take place over time and produce variously unbearable outcomes.

There is more. In comparison to what happened at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, these once-preventable outcomes will be force-multiplying and effectively irreversible. They will also have transformative impacts on still-remaining human survival options. A nuclear war - any nuclear war - would resemble an incurable disease. Of necessity, all meaningful “therapies" must lie in prevention.

In identifying war-avoidance methodologies, gifted thinkers will need to seek science-based “cures." To meet this obligation, only “deep thinkers" should be granted eleventh-hour responsibilities. Under no circumstances should a survival-centered species place its collective fate in the tied hands of political leaders.

It’s high time for candor. Nuclear war is not a contrived peril. To be avoided, it will have to be studied dispassionately and with immediate reference to certain primary distinctions. The first such distinction centers on differences between an intentional nuclear war and a nuclear war that is unintentional. It may sound elementary, but these differences are staggeringly complex and potentially determinative.

Among other things, if the distinction between intentional and unintentional nuclear war is overlooked or undervalued, the United States, Israel and other major states will impair residual capacities to survive. Whether suddenly or incrementally, such an impairment could become existential and irremediable. Moreover, a nuclear war could take place even if only one belligerent was nuclear-capable. Technically, this would be called an “asymmetrical nuclear war."

For gifted strategic thinkers, seemingly self-contradictory assessments would be expected. Not every oxymoron would be unreasonable. In world politics, as in economics, good news can sometimes be bad news. Though humankind is obviously fortunate to have avoided nuclear conflict up until now, such good news could also signify something “bad" because a nuclear war would be unprecedented, so that scientific thinkers could predict little or nothing about the tangible likelihood of a nuclear war.

In Israel and the United States, “high thinkers" (a term first given to Americans by 19th century philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson) will need to decipher complex strategies for averting nuclear conflict and minimizing unpreventable harms. Such confounding calculations would vary according to presumed enemy intentions and the supposed prospects of accident, hacking intrusion or decisional miscalculation. Here, linguistic precision would be imperative. To wit, any instance of accidental nuclear war would be inadvertent, but not every inadvertent nuclear war would be the result of accident. All such examples would represent the interlocking elements of a single overriding problem - preventing a nuclear “final epidemic."

In the final analysis, these are not matters for educated laypersons or military professionals. Nuclear war prevention and mitigation ought never to be approached by national security thinkers as a political or tactical issue. Informed by serious historical understandings and by consciously-refined analytic capacities, US and Israeli strategists should continuously prepare for a large variety of intersecting factors. Though this variety would be multi-dimensional and daunting, it ought never to be considered insoluble.

The hazards of seat-of-the-pants nuclear warfare calculations can be understood only in light of their conceivable intersections. All such intersections would be more-or-less plausible, a conclusion based on scientific expectations of formal logic (there is no actual history here) and the knowledge that mutually-reinforcing intersections could become "synergistic." Accordingly, close attention to credible nuclear synergies - intersections in which a “whole" conflict outcome would be greater than the sum of its “parts" - would be necessary.

In dealing with nuclear war risks involving Iran, North Korea, Russia, China, India or Pakistan, no concept could prove more important than “synergy." Unless synergistic interactions were correctly anticipated, Israel and United States could underestimate the cumulative impact of any examined nuclear engagement. The flesh and blood consequences of such underestimations could defy dispassionate analytic assessments and pointless post-war justifications.

In America’s current war against Iran, even the non-nuclear combatant could launch a dedicated cyber campaign against enemy power plants, data centers and public water installations. To deliver major harms to Israel, Iran does not need its own nuclear weapons. Even while limited to asymmetrical warfare, it could rely on certain already-nuclear state allies (e.g., North Korea or Pakistan) and on its own cyber weapons.

Louis René Beres was educated at Princeton (Ph.D., 1971) and is Emeritus Professor of International Law at Purdue University. He is the author of many books, monographs and scholarly articles dealing with nuclear strategy and nuclear war. In Israel, he was Chair of Project Daniel (PM Sharon, 2003-2004). For more than fifty years he has published on nuclear warfare issues in the Harvard National Security Journal (Harvard Law School); Yale Global; Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists; International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence; Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs and other publications. His twelfth book, published in 2016 (2nd ed., 2018) is titled: Surviving Amid Chaos: Israel's Nuclear Strategy. https://paw.princeton.edu/new-books/surviving-amid-chaos-israels-nuclear-strategy. He was born in Zürich on August 31, 1945, a few weeks after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. (Happy birthday from Arutz Sheva)

Border Police officersPolice Spokesperson

Undercover officers from the Judea and Samaria Border Police Mista'arvim Unit conducted a targeted operation on Monday morning in the Balata "Refugee" Camp in Shechem (Nablus), under the jurisdiction of the Samaria Brigade, and arrested a terrorist suspected of terrorist activity.

The forces entered deep into the camp in broad daylight undercover and identified the wanted suspect sitting in a vehicle.

The moment the order was given to break cover, the officers charged the vehicle, quickly extracted the suspect from it, and arrested him without injury.

After concluding the arrest, the terrorist was taken for further questioning by the Shin Bet.

Judge Noam SohlbergChaim Goldberg/Flash90

Security arrangements around Central Elections Committee Chairman and Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg have been increased in recent days as part of preparations for Election Day.

The Central Elections Committee said, “Justice Sohlberg is being provided with security in accordance with security needs and the directives of the Israel Police."

The directive to bolster the security arrangements was issued by police during the past two weeks. The measure was decided upon following a dedicated situation assessment on the matter and in accordance with intelligence presented to the relevant authorities. Security was increased on the ground over the past several days.

Yesterday, the committee recommended providing security for Yashar! party chairman Gadi Eisenkot throughout the entire election period. By contrast, the committee decided not to recommend security for Democrats party chairman Yair Golan, despite a request on the matter submitted by Justice Sohlberg himself.

Netanyahu with the reservistsMa'ayan Toaf/GPO

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Sunday with reserve combat servicemen and women as part of a photo shoot for the "Combat soldiers for combat soldiers" exhibition, held by the Support Our Soldiers association in cooperation with the National Lottery.

The Prime Minister listened as they recounted their personal stories and battlefield experiences, and spoke about their path and the coping process they have been undergoing since then.

"There is immense fortitude here. You gave everything, and you are worthy of everything," Netanyahu stated.

At the conclusion of the meeting, a joint photograph was taken to be featured in the exhibition, which will tour Israel and worldwide and will continue carrying their stories forward.

MeronFlash 90

Breslov Hassidim are planning to significantly expand this year's Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) gathering at the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai in the northern Israeli town of Meron for Hassidim remaining in Israel instead of traveling to the gravesite of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov in Uman, Ukraine.

Behind the preparations is the issue of IDF conscription and the arrests of haredi draft dodgers, preventing hundreds of Hassidim from leaving the country.

In past years too, some Breslov Hassidim went to Meron for Rosh Hashanah as an alternative to Uman. This year, Breslov officials estimate that the number of Hassidim choosing this option will increase due to obstacles to leaving the country and concerns among some Hassidim.

In recent days, a special committee was formed to coordinate the central gathering in Meron during Rosh Hashanah. At the same time, an orderly sign-up has opened for lodging sites to adapt the infrastructure to the expected number of participants.

The preparations include establishing lodging complexes for pilgrims and a large tent for holiday meals. Additionally, large facilities are being planned for prayer services to fit the number of Hassidim who will visit the site.

Organizers are bracing for the possibility that thousands will spend Rosh Hashanah in Meron and wish to ensure orderly reception through early registration. The preparations are meant to provide solutions for Hassidim who are unable to travel to Uman this year and are instead choosing to spend the holiday in Meron.

Alongside preparations in Israel, the organizers emphasize that for the Hassidim, the goal remains to reach Rabbi Nachman's tomb in Uman. According to them, there is "a constant expectation and prayer among the public to be able to physically arrive in Uman," and they "hope for all obstacles to be removed."

military prisonIDF spokesperson

A well-known married yeshiva student from the Skverer Hasidic community in Jerusalem was arrested and transferred to military prison for draft evasion, just days before the celebration of his son’s brit milah (circumcision).

According to details published within the Hasidic community, the man had recently attempted to regularize his status with the military authorities, but due to technical and bureaucratic issues was unable to enter the IDF recruitment office.

After being told that he could stay in the Eilat area without concern, he traveled there, but was unexpectedly arrested by military authorities at Camp Yotam. He was tried and sentenced to ten days in military detention.

The arrest shocked his family, as the brit milah is scheduled to take place this coming Thursday. His family and friends are urgently appealing to military officials to allow him to leave prison and participate in the family celebration.

Those close to him stress that he is prepared to regularize his status in accordance with the law immediately upon his release. They added that resolving the matter is also urgent for him so that he will be able to travel to the United States ahead of the Tishrei holidays to spend time in the presence of his rabbi, the Skverer Rebbe.

מפעל התפלהצילום: Edi Israel /Flash90

Exceptional weather conditions caused severe turbidity in the seawater and led to the temporary shutdown of desalination plants located south of Hadera. As a result, residents in the Judaean Foothills and southern Israel were asked to prepare for the possibility of water outages.

In the community of Karmei Yosef, a notice has already been sent directly to residents: “Due to a nationwide malfunction in the water supply, a water outage is expected in the community. Please prepare accordingly and stock up on water in advance. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding and patience."

The Water Authority confirmed the details and said that the deterioration in seawater quality necessitated the temporary suspension of operations at some of the facilities. As an additional measure, it was decided to reduce the supply of fresh water designated for agriculture in the south.

The Ramat Negev Regional Council said that due to “serious malfunctions in the national desalination system," and following a situation assessment with the Mekorot water company and the Water Authority, all farmers in the region were instructed to completely cease irrigation for several hours. At the same time, private residents were also asked to refrain from watering private gardens and open green spaces during the coming hours.

The Water Authority reiterated that despite the severe turbidity in the sea, the national water system continues to operate normally, with Mekorot providing an immediate response by increasing the use of all available water-production resources.

Professional officials are continuously monitoring water-quality indicators with the aim of returning the facilities to full operation as soon as the clarity of the seawater improves.

The shutdown of the facilities prompted concerns about the possibility of a cyberattack, particularly in light of previous attempts to target water infrastructure in Israel and around the world.

However, an industry official clarified that “this is not a cyber incident." Earlier this month, following reports in the United States of a cyberattack attributed to Iran against water systems in seven states, Israel’s National Cyber Directorate said that numerous Iranian attempts to attack Israel’s water sector are recorded as part of the daily emergency routine, but stressed that “significant harm in the cyber domain" had been prevented.

Rabbi Dov LiorOlivier Fitoussi/Flash90

Against the backdrop of Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef's remarks against Rabbi Dov Lior, a letter written by Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook praising Rabbi Lior has resurfaced.

The letter was published in the book "Krozei Hatzvi," which was compiled by Rabbi Yosef Bedihi, Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda's assistant.

The letter was written when Rabbi Lior was a candidate for the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, and in it, Rabbi Kook expresses support for his candidacy. Along with the support, he describes at length his Torah knowledge, his reverence for G-d, and his work for the Torah, People, and Land of Israel.

"The genius Rabbi Dov Lior, a prince of Torah and pure reverence for G-d, sanctifies the name of G-d with his entire sublime character and all his actions for all of Israel and the holy Torah and Holy Land," Rabbi Kook wrote.

He continues by mentioning the period when Rabbi Lior served as rabbi of Kfar Haroeh, a village named after Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda's father, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook. "He was the rabbi of the holy congregation which is named after my father of blessed memory, Kfar Haroeh," he wrote.

Rabbi Kook continued praising Rabbi Lior's activies during that time: "He continued to grow in his Torah study and the loveliness of his sublime personality, and increased his activities and belovedness to all his surroundings, to increase Torah and to exalt it, and to increase love for it."

Later in the letter, Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda expressed his support for Rabbi Lior’s appointment to the Jerusalem rabbinate, writing in celebratory language: “He comes to the exalted rabbinate of Jerusalem, our holy and glorious city, with the blessing of the L-rd, blessed be He, ‘who chooses Jerusalem’ and ‘who chooses His people Israel with love’ and gives him His Torah, with the blessing of His peace and the strength of His might."

Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda addressed both the electoral body and Rabbi Lior himself: “May light, salvation and joy continue to shine upon the entire body of voters and upon our cherished and glorious chosen one."

He concluded with a call to work for Rabbi Lior’s election, “as our Sages taught, to establish and strengthen it with the assistance of Heaven," and expressed hope for redemption: “In anticipation of the complete fulfillment of our salvation, with a sincere blessing from all my heart and soul."

Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef sharply attacked Rabbi Dov Lior during remarks on Saturday night in which he addressed visits to the Temple Mount. According to him, many leading Torah scholars opposed ascending the Mount.

“All the leading rabbis of the generation said not to enter the Temple Mount. What chutzpah," Rabbi Yosef said, adding that he had spoken several times about Ben-Gvir ascending the Temple Mount.

He then referred to Ben-Gvir and his rabbi, Rabbi Dov Lior, saying: “What authority does your rabbi have? What rabbi does he have? His rabbi is from Hebron. I know his books. He does not come up to the ankles of any of the rabbis I mentioned, with all due respect."

President Donald Trump addresses the nationvia REUTERS

US President Donald Trump declared Iran a "failed" and "dead" nation in a social media post published today (Monday).

"Iran is officially a Failed Nation. IT IS DEAD! They have no Navy, they have no Air Force, they have no currency, they are not paying their soldiers or police, Inflation is at 300%, and their leadership is in total disarray and incapable of properly representing the country," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

"The only thing they have is FAKE NEWS from the USA, a willingness to kill their protesters (now over 100,000 people dead. They must be tried for war crimes against humanity!), and a good line of “BULLSH-." Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J.TRUMP," he added.

Separately, Trump told Fox News on Monday that the US will respond to the Iranian attack on US forces overnight in Jordan, saying: "We're going to hit them hard; there will be a response."

The President indicated that all except for one missile were intercepted.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Sunday that the Trump administration is preparing to sanction another bank this week as Washington steps up its campaign to isolate Iran financially.

"This is going to be financial violence if we have to," Bessent said in an interview with the Associated Press. "We are showing people that we know who you are, you know who you are, and this has got to stop."

Bessent made the comments ahead of Group of 20 meetings in Asheville, North Carolina, where he is scheduled to hold separate discussions with finance officials representing the world's major economies as well as developing nations. A key focus of his meetings will be securing international cooperation against Iran.

The administration has increasingly shifted its focus toward economic measures as the conflict with Iran enters its sixth month. Washington has described the effort as an "economic D-Day" against Tehran, which has already faced extensive US sanctions for decades.

Last week, Bessent announced "Operation Economic Outcast," a campaign designed to further isolate Iran and restrict the flow of money to its government. The United States subsequently announced new sanctions against UAE branches of Egypt's Banque Misr.

Under the Treasury Department's proposal, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) would block Banque Misr UAE from correspondent banking relationships with US financial institutions, limiting its ability to conduct dollar transactions involving Iran.

Force 100 solidersYonatan Sindel/Flash90

Three soldiers from Force 100, the IDF reserve unit accused of abusing an imprisoned terrorist, submitted an 18 million shekel lawsuit to the Jerusalem District Court against a long list of officials in the Military Advocate General's Corps, the State Prosecutor's Office, and the law enforcement system, as well as journalist Guy Peleg and Channel 12.

According to the soldiers, throughout the affair, a series of injustices were committed against them, from the suspicions and arrests to the leak of investigation materials and the manner in which the leak was investigated.

Attorney Menashe Yado from the Honenu legal advocacy organization and attorneys Dr. Itamar Meron and Elhanan Meron of the Law Offices of Meron, Fribas, Ben-Zion submitted the suits on behalf of the soldiers. It follows an initial civil proceeding in the Magistrate’s Court against Peleg and Channel 12. Due to the amount sought and the additional claims, the case is now being transferred to the District Court.

The list of defendants includes, among others, former Military Advocate General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, Matan Solomash, Lior Ayish, the spokesperson for the Military Advocate General’s Corps, the Military Police, the IDF, Guy Peleg, and the Israeli News Corporation.

Additional defendants include Guy Gofman, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, State Attorney Amit Aisman, Gal Asael, Alon Altman, the State Attorney’s Office, the Israel Police, and the State of Israel.

In their statement of claim, the soldiers detail the financial compensation they are seeking for the alleged wrongs. Among other damages, they are demanding 1.5 million shekels for being falsely suspected of a serious sexual offense, 450,000 shekels for 15 days of alleged false imprisonment, three million shekels for defamation, one million shekels over what they describe as a wrongful indictment, and half a million shekels for the alleged cover-up of the investigation into the leak, in addition to other categories of damages.

The lawsuit addresses a chain of events that the soldiers say began with the suspicions raised against them and their highly publicized arrests, continued with the leaking of investigative materials and the criminal proceedings, and later extended to the handling of the investigation into the leak. The plaintiffs claim that no effective investigation into the leak was opened for months and that the inquiry subsequently conducted was, in their view, incapable of uncovering the full picture.

Another allegation raised in the lawsuit concerns the conduct before the Supreme Court. The plaintiffs claim that misleading representations were made to the Court regarding the leak and the extent of exposure to the materials. They further allege that defendants, including senior officials in the prosecution and law enforcement systems, covered for those responsible for the leak.

The soldiers claim that this conduct subjected them to a prolonged miscarriage of justice, beginning with the leak of the investigative materials on August 6, 2024, and continuing until the indictment was withdrawn on March 12, 2026. They allege that State Attorney Amit Aisman and other officials responsible for handling the case failed for months to order the opening of a criminal investigation to identify those behind the leak and determine how the materials were transferred to the media.

The statement of claim also raises allegations regarding the manner in which the criminal proceedings against the soldiers were conducted. According to the lawsuit, the Military Advocate General and other officials held a hearing at the defense attorneys’ request and rejected their arguments concerning the leak. The plaintiffs claim this was done amid a serious conflict of interest.

An indictment was subsequently filed, which the soldiers claim was fundamentally flawed. The plaintiffs cite the decision by the current Military Advocate General, Itai Ofir, to withdraw the indictment following a second hearing and the acceptance of the defense’s arguments. They view this as supporting their claims that there were flaws in the original proceedings.

Attorney Yado described the proceeding as “a complex lawsuit against powerful entities." He said the lawsuit targets parties who allegedly “joined forces to severely harm the soldiers," as well as the heads of law enforcement bodies who, he claims, acted “while seriously undermining the rule of law and the individual’s right to equality before the law enforcement system."

stolen medicationsPolice spokesperson

Two veteran pharmacists were arrested on suspicion of stealing tens of thousands of medications intended for IDF soldiers and privately trafficking them on the black market.

The two, the supervising pharmacist at the Glilot base and another pharmacist, are employed as outside contractors by the Defense Ministry.

The arrests were made following an undercover investigation conducted over the past several months by the Arazim Central Investigations Unit of the Defense Ministry’s Security Authority and the Dan District unit of the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division. The investigation was also accompanied by the Health Ministry’s Enforcement Division.

According to the investigative materials, the two are suspected of fraudulently taking tens of thousands of medications intended for IDF soldiers, including prescription drugs. The medications were allegedly sold systematically on the black market, with the two pocketing tens of thousands of shekels.

A joint statement by the police, Defense Ministry and IDF emphasized that some of the medications the two allegedly trafficked cannot be used without a prescription and require accompanying medical tests before they are taken. Authorities warned that trafficking in such medications poses a danger to public health.

When the investigation became overt, the two pharmacists were arrested at the Glilot base and taken for questioning by the Arazim Central Investigations Unit. They are suspected of theft by an authorized person, obtaining something under aggravated circumstances, reckless and negligent acts, as well as additional offenses under the Pharmacists Ordinance.

Investigators also detained additional suspects connected to the case. Other individuals are being questioned by the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division on suspicion of theft by an authorized person, assisting in obtaining something by fraud under aggravated circumstances, and additional offenses. Their cases are being handled in coordination with the Military Prosecution.

Police are expected to ask the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court to extend the detention of the two pharmacists. The investigation into them and the other individuals involved is continuing.

התרופותצילום: דוברות המשטרה

Police cariStock

Shiran Shabtai Sofer, mother of 10-year-old Yaheli, who went missing from Petah Tikva on Sunday evening and was later found in Bnei Brak, said her son had been playing with friends at a field when the young man suspected of kidnapping him arrived.

"He was playing with friends at the playground when a young man came and threatened them, demanding that they give him money," she recounted. "The children were frightened and ran away, and one of them let him make a phone call."

According to his mother, Yaheli remained at the scene because he felt sorry for the young man.

"Of all the children, Yaheli, who felt sorry for him, stayed there, and he began manipulating him. He said that he had been thrown out of his home and had no money," she said.

The mother claimed that the young man subsequently used her son "to collect donations and took him on a bus to Bnei Brak," she said.

After the child failed to return home, police received a report that he was missing, and officers from the Petah Tikva police station in the Central District launched an extensive search.

"I know my child. If he had been in the neighborhood, he would have come home earlier," his mother said. According to her, after Yaheli was found, he began to understand the significance of what he had experienced. "Only now does he understand the magnitude of what happened."

During the search, and acting on information provided by Petah Tikva police, officers from the Bnei Brak police station located the child in the city. He was found together with the young Jerusalem resident, and both were taken to the Petah Tikva police station.

Investigators opened an investigation to determine the circumstances of the incident and what occurred after the boy disappeared. At this stage, no further details have been released regarding the relationship between the child and the suspect or the circumstances under which they arrived in Bnei Brak.

Following questioning, the suspect was jailed. Police are expected to bring him before a court later on Monday in accordance with the needs of the investigation.

Rabbi Pini DunnerCourtesy

For a good many haredim, the past three years have been deeply uncomfortable.

Since the horrors of October 7, much of the Jewish world has struggled to understand the response of our community. At a moment when many Israelis were burying their children, when reservists were leaving their families for months at a time and when Jewish communities everywhere felt under attack, too many of Israel’s elected haredi political representatives appeared incapable of speaking to the pain of the nation.

There is certainly a legitimate debate to be had about military service. There are fundamental disagreements over who should serve, how many haredim should enlist and how the State of Israel can protect those genuinely committed to full-time Torah study. These are complex questions touching the foundations of haredi life, Israel’s security and the Jewish People’s collective future.

They cannot be resolved through slogans or coercion.

Nonetheless, whatever position one takes on enlistment, the language and conduct of the established haredi political leadership has left many Jews with a sour taste in their mouths. To put it mildly, they have often been tone-deaf.

While soldiers and their families were carrying an extraordinary burden, haredi politicians were seen fighting over budgets, legislation, appointments and arrangements benefiting their institutions, associates and families. They acted as though the suffering and anger beyond their immediate political base were somebody else’s problem.

Many of us felt ashamed.

It was not only secular Israelis who were alienated. National-religious and traditional Jews, many of whom are becoming more observant and drawing closer to Torah, increasingly found themselves repelled by the behavior of politicians claiming to represent the Torah world.

Instead of bringing Jews closer to an appreciation of haredi life, these representatives were pushing them away.

They created the impression that haredim cared only about themselves.

This was always a distortion. haredi communities are filled with altruism (chesed), learning, generosity and responsibility. They include extraordinary volunteers, educators, healthcare workers, businesspeople and families who contribute enormously to Am Yisrael.

Yet those stories have been drowned out by political leaders whose confrontational rhetoric and narrow demands have come to define us in the public imagination.

Now, as Israel enters another election campaign, something remarkable is happening.

A new party, HaTzibur HaCharedi, has emerged to represent the hundreds of thousands of haredim who no longer feel seen or heard by Shas and United Torah Judaism. It also speaks to countless haredim abroad who love the Torah world but cannot understand why its political representatives appear so detached from the rest of the Jewish people.

At the center of this new movement is its chairman, Moti Leitner.

Leitner is saying something that should be obvious but has become almost revolutionary: the solutions to the challenges facing the haredi community must come from within the community, but they must be developed through conversation and cooperation with the rest of Am Yisrael.

External coercion will not work, and neither will internal denial.

Leitner does not pretend that everything is fine. He speaks openly about poverty, inadequate education, young people leaving the community and families struggling to earn a dignified living. He recognizes the need to find a responsible balance on enlistment, one that protects those sincerely learning Torah full-time while creating appropriate frameworks for those who can serve.

This is not an abandonment of haredi principles. It is an attempt to preserve the haredi world by confronting the challenges threatening it.

For the first time in generations, haredim are being offered a genuine political choice. They no longer have to choose between the same parties, personalities and failed approaches.

They can support a leadership that is proudly haredi, unwaveringly committed to Torah and nevertheless prepared to listen, cooperate and accept responsibility.

What is perhaps most striking, however, is the response outside the haredi community.

Leitner is attracting attention from journalists, analysts, influencers, decision-makers and opinion-shapers across Israeli society and the Jewish world.

Israelis from very different backgrounds are beginning to understand that the most unpopular figures in Shas and UTJ do not speak for every haredi Jew.

They are discovering that haredim can speak with the rest of Israel rather than past it. They are hearing a haredi leader acknowledge their sacrifices, respect their concerns and seek solutions that strengthen the entire country.

That change matters enormously.

The relationship between haredim and the rest of Israeli society has reached a dangerous point. Suspicion has hardened into resentment, while resentment is increasingly turning into outright hostility. If this continues, the consequences will be devastating not only for the haredi community but for the Jewish people as a whole.

We need leaders who can defend haredi interests without treating every other Jew as an enemy. We need representatives who understand that protecting Torah requires public trust, political wisdom and a sense of responsibility for all of Am Yisrael.

We need a politics that does not ask us to choose between remaining authentically haredi and caring about the wider Jewish nation.

Moti Leitner offers precisely that possibility.

His greatest achievement so far is not merely establishing another political party. It is demonstrating that haredi principles and national responsibility are not contradictions. He is helping Israelis see the haredi community not as a burden or an adversary, but once again as an essential and valued part of the Jewish people.

After years in which Israel’s haredi political representatives made too many Jews resent us, Moti Leitner may be achieving what once seemed impossible.

He is making the Jewish world like haredim again, without compromising one iota of what it means to be haredi.

Rabbi Pini Dunner is the senior rabbi of Beverly Hills Synagogue, an author and a recognised authority on rare Hebrew books and manuscripts. Originally from London, he studied at yeshivot in England, Israel and the United States, and holds a degree in Jewish History from University College London. A prominent advocate for Israel, Rabbi Dunner serves on the boards of the Israel Christian Nexus and the Rabbinical Council of America. He is the author of Mavericks, Mystics and False Messiahs and the forthcoming Paradise Cove: They Escaped the Cuckoo’s Nest.

Rescue workers in NepalSanjit Pariyar via Reuters Connect

The Foreign Ministry has confirmed that Katrina (Katya) Sakovich, a 41-year-old Israeli citizen, has been missing since the flood disaster which struck the Nepal-China border on August 26.

Six days after the disaster, efforts to locate her are continuing, alongside searches for another Israeli citizen who is missing in the area.

Sakovich holds both Israeli and Belarusian citizenship and had been living in Milan in recent years. She arrived in the area as part of a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in western Tibet and disappeared near the Rasuwagadhi-Gyirong border crossing, shortly after a massive flash flood struck the area.

Her family discovered that Nepal's official records list her only as a Belarusian citizen, with no mention of her Israeli citizenship. They subsequently contacted the Foreign Ministry, requesting that she be officially recognized as a missing Israeli citizen and that assistance be provided in coordinating search efforts with authorities in Nepal, China, and Belarus.

The Foreign Ministry says that the Israeli consulate in Kathmandu and the department responsible for assisting Israelis in distress abroad are handling the case. Both are in continuous contact with the family and are working with local authorities and organizations in an effort to locate Sakovich.

Meanwhile, Katya's sister, Darina Mikhnovich, is expected to leave for Nepal tomorrow and join the search efforts.

At the same time, searches are continuing for another Israeli, a man in his 60s, who also disappeared following the disaster. According to the information provided, he crossed from Tibet into Nepal on the morning of the flood, shortly before the waters reached the area.

Meir CohenYonatan Sindel/Flash90

MK and former minister Meir Cohen announced that he will not run on the "Together" slate in the next Knesset.

Instead, Cohen will be appointed chairman and president of the Yesh Atid Conference and will continue his activities within the party.

"Yair [Lapid] and I founded Yesh Atid together, and I have been a member since its first day," Cohen said. He noted that the decision came after 25 years in the education system and 23 years in politics.

Cohen served as a teacher and school principal, served two terms as mayor, and twice served as Welfare Minister.

"I am happily and proudly making way for the next generation of the party and for the people who will lead it into the future," he said, stressing that despite his decision not to run, he intends to continue working on behalf of the party.

"I believe in the party's values. I believe that we are the best team in Israeli politics," he said. "I will continue working so that Yesh Atid, with Yair at its head, will lead the State of Israel."

Opposition leader MK Yair Lapid responded Cohen's decision and stressed that he had asked him to run in the upcoming elections as well.

"This is not a farewell. Meir is my older brother. He has always been and will always be the person closest to me in Yesh Atid," Lapid said.

According to Lapid, Cohen "will continue to be one of the pillars and key figures in the party."

"I asked him to run in a high position this time as well, but Meir wanted to give the next generation of the party's Knesset members an opportunity," he added.

"It only proves, once again, what a rare person and rare politician he is," he concluded.

The confiscated bottlesצילום: רשות המעברים היבשתיים של משרד הביטחון

An attempt to smuggle approximately 100 bottles of liquid nicotine into the Gaza Strip was thwarted Sunday at the Kerem Shalom Crossing.

The 1.5-liter bottles were concealed inside beverage bottles and discovered during a security inspection.

The attempted smuggling was uncovered by security inspectors from the Defense Ministry's Land Crossings Authority. Following the discovery, the findings were transferred to representatives of the Gaza Coordination and Liaison Administration.

The truck was carrying a shipment purchased by an Israeli company that had been approved under the mechanism allowing humanitarian aid to enter Gaza through the private sector. The shipment was intended to reach the Kerem Shalom Crossing as part of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip.

Following the discovery of the bottles, the truck and its entire contents were confiscated. It was transferred to customs officials and other relevant authorities for further handling.

As a result of the incident, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) Maj. Gen. Yoram Halevi ordered the immediate suspension of the company's authorization to bring aid into the Gaza Strip. The suspension will remain in effect until further notice.

In a statement, COGAT warned that, together with the Defense Ministry's Land Crossings Authority, customs officials, and the relevant security agencies, it would continue working to thwart smuggling attempts and the misuse of mechanisms for bringing humanitarian aid into Gaza. These efforts will continue "with determination and zero tolerance," the officials said.

Police car (illustrative)Chaim Goldberg/Flash90

A 10-year-old boy from Petah Tikva was located late Sunday night in Bnei Brak after going missing on Sunday evening, as part of an investigation opened on suspicion of kidnapping.

A 20-year-old Jerusalem resident who was found with the child was arrested and later jailed.

Officers from the Petah Tikva police station launched a search after receiving a report that the boy was missing. Extensive searches were conducted, along with various investigative measures, including the use of technological means.

During the search, and acting on information provided by Petah Tikva police, officers from the Bnei Brak police station located the child in the city. He was found together with the young Jerusalem resident, and both were taken to the Petah Tikva police station.

Investigators opened an investigation to determine the circumstances of the incident and what occurred after the boy disappeared. At this stage, no further details have been released regarding the relationship between the child and the suspect or the circumstances under which they arrived in Bnei Brak.

Following questioning, the suspect was jailed. Police are expected to bring him before a court later on Monday in accordance with the needs of the investigation.

MDA to NepalMDA Spokesman

Leo Pearlman is a London based producer and a loud and proud Zionist. His most recent film about the Oct 7 Nova Music Festival massacre, ‘We Will Dance Again’ has won the 2025 Emmy of the 46th Annual News & Documentary Awards for most ‘Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary’.

As catastrophe strikes Nepal, Israelis have once again travelled thousands of miles to help strangers. Tikkun Olam demands that we try repair a broken world, even when parts of that world despise us.

Something terrible has happened in Nepal. A catastrophic collapse high in the Himalayas sent an enormous torrent of water, rock and debris crashing through the valleys below. Communities have been devastated, hundreds are dead and thousands remain missing across Nepal and Tibet.

Nearly 5,000 kilometres away, within hours of this tragedy striking, in Israel, people started packing their bags. IsraAID, Israel’s largest humanitarian NGO, announced almost immediately that it was deploying an emergency team to Nepal, providing urgent relief, mental-health support and protection for devastated communities.

There is another connection between Nepal and Israel that makes this week’s events particularly poignant.

On October 7th, 2023, 17 young Nepali agricultural students were living and working at Kibbutz Alumim, close to the Gaza border. Ten were murdered by Hamas, an eleventh, 23-year-old Bipin Joshi, was taken hostage. Before he was kidnapped, Bipin managed to throw away a grenade Hamas terrorists had tossed into the shelter where the students were hiding, helping save the lives of many others. For more than two years his family waited for him, eventually his body came home. Bipin had been murdered by Hamas terrorists while held in captivity.

But I want to be very clear about the significance of that connection. Israelis aren’t helping Nepal because Nepalis died alongside Israelis on October 7th.

Nobody from Venezuela was murdered at Nova before Israeli humanitarian organisations responded to earthquakes there.

Nobody from Jamaica was kidnapped from a kibbutz before Israelis responded to the devastation caused by hurricane Melissa.

Nobody from Papua New Guinea had to die on October 7th before Israeli aid workers decided their suffering mattered after a tragic landslide struck in May 2024.

There is no ledger, no debt being repaid, no calculation of who stood beside us before deciding who we will stand beside. The suffering itself creates the obligation.

There is a Jewish name for that idea.

Tikkun Olam - Repairing the world ruled by God.

It is an ancient concept whose meaning has evolved over centuries, but which today expresses something deeply embedded within Jewish life. Encountering a broken world places an obligation upon us to try to repair our little piece of it.

Perhaps nobody captured its spirit more beautifully than the great Rabbi Israel Salanter:

“The material needs of another are my spiritual needs."

The important word is another. Not another Jew, not another Israeli, not somebody who likes Jews, not somebody whose country voted the right way at the United Nations, not even somebody who would necessarily help us. Just another human being.

There is something about the period since October 7 that makes that principle particularly important. On that morning Hamas terrorists poured into Israel and committed the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. Families were murdered in their homes, young people slaughtered at a music festival, women raped, people burned alive. Children, grandparents, mothers and fathers were dragged into Gaza.

Before Israel had even counted its dead, parts of the world celebrated.

Not after Israel entered Gaza, not after months of war, not after images of Palestinian Arab suffering filled our television screens and useful idiots, celebrities and politicians rushed to condemn the Jews and contextualise our murder.

But on October 7th and 8th, while Israeli parents were still desperately calling the phones of children who would never answer. While bodies still lay where they had been murdered and nobody even knew how many hostages had been taken. People thousands of miles away celebrated the “resistance" and caused Jewish schools and places of worship to require additional security.

Think about the depravity of that paradox. Jews had been massacred in Israel and Jews elsewhere, across the world, needed protecting because of it. What followed was an explosion of antisemitism across the Jewish diaspora and an increasingly febrile hatred of Israel that frequently spilled over into hatred of Jews.

You could forgive Jews for concluding that enough was enough. Look after ourselves, let everyone else repair their own world, but that isn’t how Tikkun Olam works. It isn’t transactional. We don’t repair the world because the world repairs us. We don’t recognise somebody else’s humanity only if they recognise ours.

This is not an argument for Jewish moral superiority. Jews are not inherently better people and Israel is not an inherently better country. We fail, Israel fails, sometimes badly. Like every individual, religion, nation and people, we sometimes fall painfully short of the values we profess.

Tikkun Olam isn’t a certificate of Jewish moral perfection, it is an aspiration to Jewish moral responsibility and values matter most when living by them is difficult.

Which brings us back to Nepal, far from an isolated event, simply the most recent. When earthquakes devastated Venezuela this summer, Israeli humanitarian organisations deployed emergency specialists. When a massive landslide buried villages in Papua New Guinea in 2024, Israeli aid workers helped provide safe water and trauma support. Israeli organisations have worked throughout Ukraine, helping communities living through bombardment and displacement. After hurricanes devastated Caribbean communities, Israelis went there too.

Since its creation, IsraAID alone says it has responded to more than 110 emergencies in more than 65 countries. The world breaks, they go, people are in need, they go.

Then there is another, darker reality. Sometimes people desperately need help, Israeli doctors and rescuers are ready to provide it, and their governments would rather say no. There is nothing extraordinary about this, it is simply the world as it is. A world in which even earthquakes, floods and collapsed buildings cannot always overcome the politics of hatred towards Israel. A world in which the nationality of the person holding out a hand can matter more than the life of the person they are trying to pull from the rubble.

After the devastating Turkey-Syria earthquakes in February 2023, Israel offered to send hundreds of rescuers and medical personnel. People desperately needed help, but politics determined whether Israeli help was acceptable and to Damascus it was not.

Buildings collapsed, people buried alive, every minute beneath the rubble reducing someone’s chance of survival. Somewhere a parent waiting to discover whether the sound beneath several tonnes of concrete is their child and somebody is still asking who is offering the shovel.

There is a point at which politics becomes moral insanity driven by hate and idealogy. Yet Israeli humanitarian organisations have learnt to navigate precisely these sensitivities. That means working with local partners, alongside international organisations, finding ways to separate humanitarian assistance from diplomatic recognition.

Forget the flag, forget the photograph, forget the credit. You don’t have to thank us, you don’t have to praise Israel, you don’t even have to tell anybody who we helped.

Just let us help. Tikkun Olam.

Then there is perhaps the hardest test of this principle of all, Gaza. On September 1st, Israeli humanitarian organisation NATAN Worldwide Disaster Relief began supporting a medical clinic for Palestinian Arab children at the Gaza Children’s Village in Al-Mawasi.

Palestinian Arab doctors and nurses will provide the care, supported by NATAN through telemedicine and specialist assistance. The clinic is intended to provide vaccinations, preventative screening, consultations and rehabilitation, potentially reaching 10,000 Palestinian Arab children.

There is no contradiction between believing Israel has the right and responsibility to protect its citizens against Hamas and believing an innocent Palestinian Arab child deserves medical treatment. One is an obligation of statehood, the other is an obligation of humanity.

Judaism demands that we wrestle with both and again, that doesn’t make Jews better than anyone else. It doesn’t absolve Israel of its mistakes or mean we always meet the standards our faith demands. But it does mean that the failure of others to live by our values cannot become an excuse for abandoning them ourselves.

Hatred has the potential to do something dangerous to the person being hated. It tempts us to harden, to retreat, to stop caring. Eventually, perhaps, to allow those who deny our humanity to diminish our capacity to recognise theirs.

We cannot allow that to happen and our faith specifically forbids it. We cannot allow those who celebrated Jewish death to decide what Jewish life represents. We cannot allow governments that reject our help to determine whether we offer it and we cannot make another human being’s suffering contingent upon their opinion of us.

Rabbi Israel Salanter did not say:

The material needs of another are my spiritual needs, provided they like me.

He said another.

So when the earth shakes, the waters rise and buildings collapse, we go. When people who may never have met a Jew need clean water, we go. When governments don’t want our help, we try to find another way and when a Palestinian Arab child in Gaza needs a doctor, we help provide one.

Not because Jews are better, not because the world has earned our compassion, that was never the bargain. Their hatred belongs to them, our values belong to us.

Nobody in this story understood that more instinctively than Bipin Joshi.

On October 7th, 2023, on the worst day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust, a 23-year-old Nepali student found himself sheltering from Hamas terrorists thousands of miles from home. A grenade was thrown towards him and his friends, Bipin picked it up and threw it away. He helped save the lives of others, but when Bipin eventually came home to Nepal, it was in a coffin.

Almost three years later, catastrophe has struck his homeland and Israelis are travelling thousands of miles to Nepal to try to save the lives of people they have never met. Not because of Bipin, not because Nepal owes Israel something or Israel owes Nepal, not repayment, not reciprocity, just humanity

Bipin saw another human being in danger and acted. Israeli aid workers see other human beings in danger and act.

That is what repairing the world really means. You don’t ask who deserves your help, you don’t ask what they think of you, you don’t keep a ledger.

You see something broken.

And you try to repair it.

תיעוד: 18 שב"חים הוסלקו בדופן כפולה בגחון משאית

Jerusalem and Jerusalem Envelope Border Police officers on Sunday night discovered 18 illegal infiltrators concealed inside a false compartment underneath a truck.

The truck was located following a pursuit that began after the driver fled an inspection at the Mizmoria Crossing.

According to police, the truck arrived at the crossing during a Border Police operation and was stopped for inspection by forces at the scene. Shortly afterward, the driver began driving and fled the crossing.

Police said that during his escape, the suspect drove dangerously, damaged infrastructure at the crossing, and struck two civilian vehicles. Border Police officers launched a pursuit.

Following a short chase, the truck was located in the village of Al-Muntar, but the driver had already fled the scene. Forces began searching the area in an attempt to locate him.

During a search of the truck, officers discovered a false compartment underneath the vehicle. Inside, 18 illegal infiltrators had been concealed.

All 18 illegal infiltrators were arrested and transferred for further processing and questioning. Border Police said its officers would continue working to thwart attempts to illegally enter Israel and transport illegal infiltrators, and to protect public safety.

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef’s daughters, Rivka Chikotai and Adina Bar-Shalom, sharply criticized the Shas leadership in an interview with Channel 12 News, claiming that the party has abandoned their father’s path and legacy.

The interview came amid the Attorney General’s decision not to allow state funding for the memorial marking Rabbi Ovadia’s passing, citing its proximity to the elections and concerns that the event could become an election rally.

Chikotai said the decision does not prevent the family from holding the memorial, but only from having it funded by the state. “All that is happening is that they won’t fund, at the state’s expense, a memorial that will turn into an election rally," she said.

She argued that the issue could have been avoided if Shas had transferred control of the event to a member of the family. She pointed to her brother, Rabbi David Yosef, saying he could have invited the public and held “a proper memorial worthy of his name and spoken about our father."

Chikotai said Rabbi David Yosef could have organized the memorial as a family event, adding that her father “is much more loved by the public today." She accused Shas of abandoning his legacy.

“Shas is not following his path. It is not preserving his legacy," she said.

She also described what she said were difficulties faced by the rabbi’s daughters when visiting their father’s grave.

“We are daughters, so they put up a partition and keep the women far away. When we want to come and light a candle for our father, they don’t let us because we are women," she said.

Chikotai stressed that she grew up in a home where sons and daughters were treated equally. She recalled that family members drank from the Kiddush cup according to age, “not according to sons and daughters at all." When she encountered a different custom in her husband’s family, she said, she changed it.

Bar-Shalom claimed that Shas underwent a change following their father’s death.

“They changed the path," she said, arguing that the party now places greater emphasis on religious observance while neglecting “the mitzvah of treating one’s fellow man." She also accused the party of adopting characteristics associated with Ashkenazi, Lithuanian and Hasidic religious communities.

Chikotai said she believes the distancing from her father’s legacy began as early as the week he died. According to her, her husband, Yaakov, was not allowed to deliver a eulogy for Rabbi Ovadia because he wears a knitted kippah, despite being the rabbi’s son-in-law.

Chikotai said her children serve in the IDF and recalled her father’s pride in them.

“I even remember the pictures of Rabbi Ovadia, how he hugged the grandson who received an IDF award for excellence. How proud he was," she said.

The sisters also addressed Rabbi Ovadia’s position on military service. They said their father blessed Rivka’s children and sent them to hesder yeshivas. When they consulted him, he told them, “Go to hesder yeshivas. That is your path."

Bar-Shalom referred to a halachic ruling by her father in his book "Yechaveh Da’at," claiming that he addressed the question of hesder yeshivas and full-time yeshivas. According to her, his ruling was that during wartime, because of the principle of preserving human life, “everyone closes the Talmud and everyone goes out together to fight."

Asked whether Rabbi Ovadia’s position would have changed following October 7, the sisters said it would not have.

“If he were with us, he would send the young men to fight," Rivka said. Adina added, “Unequivocally," referring to what she said her father had written about going to war when lives are at stake.

Regarding Shas chairman Aryeh Deri, Adina said she no longer has a relationship with him. She said that since he closed the college founded by her father, she has not spoken to him, adding that the sisters had restrained themselves for years and refrained from speaking publicly about the matter.

Bar-Shalom said their mother, Rabbanit Margalit, also disliked Deri and would leave the room whenever he entered.

According to Bar-Shalom, her mother called Deri “a hypocrite" and “a swindler," and she claimed that their father had also used those descriptions in the past.

Chikotai was asked why, after years of remaining silent, the two sisters decided to speak publicly.

“They finally drove us crazy. We couldn't take it anymore," she said, adding that she had hesitated before agreeing to the interview.

At the end of the interview, Chikotai claimed that people she meets on the street tell her they know the Shas leadership is not good, but continue to vote for the party because of her father.

She said her father would not want them to vote for a party that does not follow his path.

Chikotai also claimed that core curriculum studies were important to Rabbi Ovadia and that he believed those who do not study Torah should enlist in the IDF.

“Core curriculum studies were very important to our father," she said. “It was important to him that anyone who does not study Torah enlist, and that is not happening."

If Rabbi Ovadia had heard people saying, “We will die rather than enlist," she claimed, “he would have been furious."

Signing the dealGuy Barlev

Director General of the Israel Ministry of Defense (IMOD), Maj. Gen. (Res.) Amir Baram, and his Greek counterpart, Ioannis Bouras, signed an approximately €3 billion defense export agreement on Monday in a ceremony at the IMOD's headquarters.

Under the deal, Israel will build Greece a comprehensive, multi-layered air defense array, drawing entirely on Israeli-made systems and on the extensive operational experience Israel's defense establishment has gained during the war.

The ceremony was attended by the Head of the Directorate of International Defense Cooperation (SIBAT), Brig. Gen. (Res.) Yair Kulas; the Head of the Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D), Brig. Gen. (Res.) Dr. Daniel Gold; the Head of the Israeli Missile Defense Organization within the DDR&D, Moshe Patel; Rafael CEO Yoav Tourgeman; IAI CEO Guy Barlev; and other senior officials.

The program, known in Greece as "Achilles Shield," is one of the largest defense deals in the country's history. This marks the first time the IMOD will supply a complete defense array against a wide range of threats - from ballistic missiles and aerial threats to hostile unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The "Achilles Shield" deal includes:

• The David's Sling system, developed by the Israeli Missile Defense Organization within the Ministry's DDR&D, with Rafael as prime developer
• The BARAK MX system, manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)
• The SPYDER system, manufactured by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems
• MMR multi-mission radars for air surveillance, manufactured by ELTA Systems, a subsidiary of IAI
• A new national command and control system, which will consolidate the full range of air defense capabilities, and will be developed by Rafael

In addition, a supplementary deal valued at €26 million was signed during the meeting for the sale of Rafael's Drone Dome systems, to defend strategic sites against UAVs and drones and to reinforce existing defenses.

Furthermore, as part of ongoing dialogue with the Hellenic Republic Ministry of National Defence, and as part of the Government-to-Government (G2G) activity between the two ministries, Israel will expand industrial defense cooperation with Greece, including the transfer of knowledge and technology to the local industry.

"This project marks another milestone in defense cooperation between Israel and Greece, a key strategic partner in the Eastern Mediterranean," the Ministry noted. "Greece's choice of Israeli technology as the backbone of its most ambitious air defense buildup program in the past decade reflects the depth of trust built between the two countries."

"This is yet another expression of the comprehensive reform within the Ministry of Defense's strategy, led by Minister of Defense Israel Katz and Director General of the Ministry of Defense, Maj. Gen. (Res.) Amir Baram, to expand defense exports as a central tool for strengthening the IDF's force buildup, influencing Israel's foreign policy standing worldwide, and bolstering the Israeli defense industry and economy."

Since the start of the war, the Ministry and the defense industries have been operating under an emergency framework that combines production for the IDF with continued supply to partner countries abroad. The operational successes of Israeli systems on the battlefield continue to reinforce global demand for Israeli defense tech.

Defense Minister Israel Katz responded, “My visit to Greece a few months ago, as the guest of Greek Defense Minister Dendias, was another expression of the depth of the strategic relationship between Israel and Greece and of our shared determination to keep strengthening it."

"In that meeting, we agreed to deepen defense cooperation between our two countries. Israel and Greece share common strategic interests and face shared regional challenges. At a time when actors with hegemonic ambitions are seeking to expand their influence and undermine stability in the region, Israel and Greece will continue to deepen their defense and strategic cooperation, and will act with determination to preserve stability and safeguard their security and shared interests."

Director General of the Israel Ministry of Defense, Maj. Gen. (Res.) Amir Baram added, "The 'Achilles Shield' deal is a strategic milestone in Israel's defense relationship with Greece, reflecting the deep trust our partners around the world place in Israel's technological edge and the proven track record of our defense systems in the field. It's a direct application of the Ministry's strategy: growing defense exports as a key driver of IDF force buildup, of Israel's foreign policy influence, and of a stronger national defense industry and economy. Government-to-government deals at this scale are more than diplomatic and economic wins - they drive the expansion of Israel's production lines, build up stockpiles, and strengthen the country's munitions independence. We remain committed to deepening our international partnerships and preserving the defense establishment's qualitative edge."

Israel and Greece sign major defense dealIsrael Ministry of Defense

Rafael chairman Prof. Yuval Steinitz said, "The deal under 'Achilles Shield' is a strategic milestone in defense relations between Israel and Greece, and in Rafael's standing as a key partner to friendly nations in building advanced national defense capabilities."

"Greece is the second European country to acquire the David's Sling system, the most advanced of its kind in the world. The choice of Rafael systems reflects deep trust in its capabilities, its innovation, and its ability to contribute to the security of countries facing complex security challenges. Beyond the technological aspect, this is a move that strengthens cooperation between the two countries and expresses Rafael's contribution to the stability, security, and resilience of its partners around the world."

Chairman of Israel Aerospace Industries, Boaz Levy noted, "Given the evolving threats in our region, IAI has spent recent years deepening its activity in Greece, working alongside local partners and deploying some of the most advanced technologies in the world. IAI’s operational air defense systems proved their capabilities in the recent fighting against Iran and its proxies, successfully intercepting a range of threats, chief among them exo-atmospheric ballistic missiles."

"Amid growing demand for advanced detection and interception capabilities, IAI’s groundbreaking systems stand out, directly contributing to the security of Israeli citizens and their allies. These include IAI’s air defense systems, such as the BARAK MX, and the company’s multi-mission radars, which already protect several countries across Europe. We are proud to take part in the important ‘Achilles Shield’ project, and will continue to be key partners in additional projects in Greece and around the world, as we develop and build the next generation of defense technologies."

Brig. Gen. (Res.) Yair Kulas, head of SIBAT at the Israel Ministry of Defense, said: "The 'Achilles Shield' deal is another milestone in the defense relationship between Israel and Greece. It reflects the deep trust our partners in Greece place in Israeli technology, the defense industry, and the government-to-government cooperation model led by the Israel Ministry of Defense through SIBAT. We will continue working to expand strategic cooperation with Greece and with additional countries, while strengthening Israel's defense industry and its standing in the world."

Head of DDR&D at the Israel Ministry of Defense, Brig. Gen. (Res.) Dr. Daniel Gold responded, "The 'Achilles Shield' deal is a badge of honor for Israeli technological power and for the joint work of the Ministry of Defense and the defense industries. The ability to field a multi-layered, comprehensive, and modern defense architecture - grounded in proven operational experience and at the forefront of global technology - is what contributed to Greece's choice of Israel as a key strategic partner. We will continue to develop and lead technological breakthroughs that will secure Israel's qualitative edge and strengthen its standing in the world."

Yoav Tourgeman, CEO of Rafael, said, "Rafael is proud to take a central role in building Greece's multi-layered air defense array and to provide another country in Europe with combat-proven, world-leading air defense solutions. The choice of Rafael systems, including David's Sling, SPYDER, and our command-and-control systems as part of the national infrastructure, reflects growing trust in Rafael's air defense capabilities and the unique operational experience accumulated in Israel."

"Rafael is a global leader in air defense systems that have proven their performance under the most demanding operational conditions. We are committed to continuing to provide our partners with advanced, reliable, and relevant solutions against a wide range of threats, and to continue contributing to strengthening Greece's security and the security of the entire region."

Guy Barlev, CEO of Israel Aerospace Industries, said, "Israel and Greece share common challenges and interests, and cooperation between them is an important pillar in strengthening defense capabilities and safeguarding the security of their citizens. The agreement signed today is a milestone in IAI’s many years of activity in Greece. We’re proud of the trust placed in us by the Greek Ministry of Defence in choosing MMR radar systems and BARAK MX systems as part of the ‘Achilles Shield’ project."

"BARAK MX is an advanced, combat-proven, multi-layered air defense system that addresses a wide range of aerial threats, including ballistic threats. Greece’s choice of IAI systems builds on the company’s activity across Europe, where it has supplied countries on the continent with advanced air defense solutions, including protection against ballistic missiles. This choice reflects the technological and operational capabilities developed by IAI’s employees for the security of Israel and its allies around the world."

The Yamam officersPolice spokesperson

Israel Police's National Counterterrorism Unit (Yamam) on Sunday night arrested a 37-year-old wanted terrorist in Shechem (Nablus).

The terrorist is suspected of involvement in terrorist activity and past membership in the Lions' Den terrorist organization. The operation was carried out based on intelligence provided by the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet).

According to a joint statement by the Israel Police and IDF, the suspect had been wanted for arrest since his previous activity with Lions' Den in Shechem. The terrorist organization was thwarted by Israeli security forces in 2022.

Security officials say that over the years, the suspect worked to advance terrorist activity and attempted to carry out terror attacks against Israeli civilians. Following the intelligence received, Yamam officers prepared an operation to arrest him.

Yamam officers covertly reached the suspect's home in Shechem and took him by surprise. He was arrested without any injuries to Israeli forces.

Following his arrest, the suspect was transferred to the Shin Bet for further questioning. Police and the IDF said there were no injuries among Israeli forces.

The Judea and Samaria police district commander with Itamar Ben Gvirspokesperson

Breaking: Arutz Sheva - Israel National News has learned that the Population and Immigration Authority is expected to hold a hearing for a foreign activist ahead of a decision on whether to deport him from Israel, after he was arrested on Shabbat in Har Hevron.

The arrest followed a riot and a complaint filed against him on suspicion of assaulting a minor in the town of Carmel's Barkai neighborhood, as well as additional offenses.

Footage from the scene shows the activist standing near a gate and preventing Jews from passing. The footage shows a child attempting to pass, with the activist rubbing his body against the child's. Civilians who witnessed the incident detained the activist until police arrived.

Officers from the Hevron police station in the Judea region were dispatched to the scene and conducted an initial examination of the circumstances. Police subsequently arrested the foreign national, who was taken for questioning.

The investigation was handled by the inter-agency task force in the Judea and Samaria District. According to police, after an evidentiary basis for criminal charges regarding his actions was established, the investigation materials were transferred on Sunday night to the Population and Immigration Authority for a hearing and a decision on whether he should be deported from Israel.

The case is being handled in accordance with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir's policy and as part of cooperation between the various authorities aimed at thwarting activities involving confrontations and disturbances in various locations throughout Judea and Samaria. According to police, incidents of this kind can lead to confrontations and harm Israel's image.

Police officials told Arutz Sheva - Israel National News that they they would not tolerate rioting by anarchist activists, stressing, "The Israel Police's Judea and Samaria District will continue to exercise all of its authority in cooperation with the various security agencies and law enforcement authorities."

According to the officials, the activity is intended "to thwart and prevent incidents of confrontation and violence which frequently occur amid incitement and provocation and create fertile ground for public disturbances, and to arrest those involved and bring them to justice."

Arutz Sheva with the haredi recruitsArutz Sheva

New haredi recruits arrived at the Tel Hashomer induction center accompanied by family members. Israel National News - Arutz Sheva spoke with them about their excitement and concerns, amid a small protest against enlistment by members of the Jerusalem Faction.

One recruit described his long journey toward enlistment: “I’m very excited. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time and worked very hard for it." He said the process required him to leave his comfort zone, but added, “I think this is where I belong. I think this is where I fit in."

Family members also expressed their excitement. One father said, “It’s a very moving morning. I was privileged to bring my firstborn son and entrust him to the IDF," noting that some haredim are enlisting and even choosing combat service.

Another recruit spoke about his friends who remained in yeshiva. “It varies. Some will enlist later, while others are continuing their studies in yeshiva." The sister of another recruit said there was natural anxiety alongside the excitement: “Like any new beginning, there’s some pressure and fear, but it’s a phase that you get through."

A father whose son enlisted in the haredi Hasmonean Brigade said he supports the decision. “Thank God, he enlisted in the Hasmonean Brigade. He’s serving in a combat role, in a haredi brigade, with the support of the rabbis." He added, “We believe in this path, that those who study less than full-time, and those who study less, should serve and enlist in the IDF."

One recruit stressed the importance of combining military service with his haredi lifestyle. “I want meaningful service, but at the same time I don’t want my spirituality to decline. I want to strengthen it and even increase it." Addressing those opposed to enlistment, he said, “I’m not against anyone. As far as I’m concerned, they’re also our brothers. If they have a problem with us, that’s fine. We accept their opinion."

Another father said he believes the haredi community wants to share the burden through a regulated legal framework. “The haredi community wants to be part of sharing the burden and serving, and of course we want this to be properly regulated by law," he said. In his view, those who are not studying should enlist.

A family member who said he serves in the reserves explained that military service does not conflict with his religious way of life. “Thank God, I will continue to pray, I will continue to study, I will continue my path in Torah while in the army." He added, “I came here willingly. I wanted to be a soldier, and I’m religious by choice. I know that in the end I’ll be religious in the army too, just as I’ll be religious outside the army."

He said his decision to choose combat service was deliberate. “I chose it. I chose the path of going to the army and a combat track. I’m happy about it. I want to do something for the country, for the army, for the land." He thanked those who worked to establish haredi military frameworks, including haredi Border Police units, the Hasmonean Brigade and Netzah Yehuda.

One parent said the Hasmonean Brigade allows soldiers to combine combat service with a haredi lifestyle. “We have a serious, meaningful haredi brigade, with Torah classes and rabbis." He added that the physical fitness requirements and operational demands remain unchanged.

One recruit also addressed concerns that his identity could be affected during his service, making clear that he has no intention of changing his way of life. Asked whether he would keep his sidelocks and black kippah, he replied, “Of course they’ll stay, because that’s who I am," adding that joining the army does not require him to change anything about his background or lifestyle.

Bezalel SmotrichYonatan Sindel/Flash90

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Monday morning expressed his support for the Givati Brigade hesder soldiers who were sentenced to military prison after refusing to enter a Namer armored personnel carrier in which a female paramedic was present - in violation of the Joint Service Order.

"I support the Givati soldiers who insisted on their right and obligation to serve in the IDF while maintaining their values and beliefs and adhering to the praiseworthy Joint Service Order," Smotrich said.

"The soldiers have the full backing of the rabbis and administrators of the Hesder Yeshivas Association, who examined the matter thoroughly and with appropriate caution and stand behind the decision."

He added: "I prayed and hoped with all my being that the IDF would come to its senses and avoid the need for my intervention, but since that did not happen, as the leader of the Religious Zionist movement, I cannot sit idly by, and I will demand answers from the IDF on this matter."

"It is very unfortunate that there are those in the IDF who, through poor judgment, choose to confront head-on the sector that serves and contributes the most, in a manner that will only cause damage and undermine public trust in the IDF."

On Sunday night, the IDF announced that five Givati Brigade soldiers, yeshiva students serving in the Rotem Battalion, who refused over the weekend to board a Namer armored personnel carrier carrying a female paramedic, were sentenced Sunday evening by the battalion commander to 10 days in military prison. Another 11 soldiers were sentenced to five days of confinement.

The IDF said that two of the soldiers sentenced to 10 days in prison will undergo an evaluation committee before being allowed to return to combat.

The incident occurred last week in the Givati Brigade's Rotem Battalion, currently operating in the Gaza Strip, after three soldiers refused to board a Namer armored personnel carrier because a female medic was inside, claiming they were acting on instructions from their rabbis

According to sources familiar with the incident, after the three soldiers said they would not board the Namer, the remaining members of the platoon were asked whether anyone was willing to board the vehicle with the female medic. The soldiers said that none of the platoon members agreed to do so.

Arutz Sheva-Israel National learned that the brigade's rabbi was involved in the matter and permitted the soldiers to conduct the operation in the presence of the female paramedic due to its importance and urgency.

Combat soldiers in GazaIDF spokesperson

The case involving the prosecution of soldiers from the Rotem Battalion continues to remain on the agenda, and now their fellow soldiers are revealing a troubling picture of ongoing tensions between the company commanders and soldiers in the Hesder platoon.

In conversations with Israel National News - Arutz Sheva, soldiers said that the incident for which 15 soldiers were sentenced to ten days in military prison was not an isolated case, but part of a series of confrontations that have intensified in recent weeks.

According to them, about ten days ago, the company commander decided to hold a training exercise on Shabbat involving the evacuation of wounded soldiers and the opening of an intravenous line, despite what they said was no operational urgency that justified holding the exercise specifically on Shabbat.

The Hesder soldiers approached their commanders and asked that the exercise be postponed to another time, they said.

"We asked why it was necessary to carry out such an exercise on Shabbat when there was no professional or operational necessity for it," they said. "We did not receive a substantive answer."

According to the soldiers, they approached the brigade rabbi after Shabbat, and after hearing the details of the incident, he said that there was no reason to conduct such an exercise on Shabbat when it did not stem from an operational need.

The soldiers' friends also claim that there was no operational activity surrounding the most recent incident, in which the soldiers were tried after refusing to board a Namer armored personnel carrier in which a female paramedic was present. According to them, the incident was presented to the brigade rabbi as an operational activity, when in practice it was not an operational mission but routine activity.

"We feel that there is a deliberate attempt here to clash with the religious soldiers and the Hesder yeshiva students," the soldiers said. "Instead of finding solutions and enabling joint service based on mutual respect, time and again they choose confrontation."

According to them, these confrontations also carry an operational cost.

"The battalion commander has now lost 15 soldiers who were sent to ten days in military prison," one of them said. "Ultimately, one has to ask who will go into battle with him. At a time when the IDF needs every soldier, it is unfortunate that energy is being invested in internal confrontations instead of strengthening unity."

The soldiers stressed that they are committed to their military service and to security missions, but expect their commanders to respect their way of life and their halachic commitments as well, particularly when, they say, there is no operational need that justifies compromising them.

הלינץ' בעיר העתיקה בשומר החומותצילום: ללא

Two terrorists convicted of taking part in a violent lynching of Jews near Jerusalem's Lions' Gate during 2021's Operation Guardian of the Walls have been ordered to pay their victims a total of NIS 180,000 in compensation, the Jerusalem Magistrates Court ruled at the conclusion of a civil lawsuit filed by the victims.

In addition, the defendants were ordered to pay NIS 36,000 in attorneys' fees and legal expenses, bringing the total amount imposed on them to more than NIS 220,000.

The attack occurred on Jerusalem Day in 2021, as the three victims were traveling by car toward the Western Wall. When they reached the area of Rockefeller Junction, an incited mob attacked them, hurling rocks at the vehicle, spraying pepper spray, and physically assaulting those inside the driver and its passengers. During the incident, one of the defendants kicked one of the passengers and hurled a large rock into the vehicle from point-blank range.

All three travelers were injured in the attack, suffering, among other things, cuts and severe pain in their sides and eyes.

In its detailed ruling, the court noted that the incident constituted an especially serious act of violence with nationalist characteristics. The court further emphasized that the victims were targeted solely because of their Jewish religious appearance, and that the moments of terror and fear they experienced were a central factor in assessing the damages they suffered.

Judge Eliad Winshall ruled that the two defendants bear joint and individual liability for all the damages, pain, and suffering suffered by the plaintiffs, regardless of the involvement of additional individuals who were not sued in the case.

He rejected outright one defendant's attempts to portray his role as minor, pointing to his active participation in several different stages of the attack. In light of the circumstances, the court accepted the plaintiffs' position and awarded NIS 60,000 in compensation to each of the three victims.

Attorney Haim Bleicher of the Honenu legal aid organization, who represented the plaintiffs, praised the ruling, saying, "We welcome the ruling, which imposes substantial compensation on the terrorists who participated in a serious terrorist lynching during the Guardian of the Walls war."

"We will continue working to ensure that every terrorist or terrorist rioter pays a heavy price for his actions, thereby increasing deterrence and helping eradicate terrorism."

A large and complex rescue operation is underway in Arizona following a powerful flash flood that struck the Grand Canyon National Park. Extensive damage was reported to the site’s infrastructure, and hiking trails along camping areas were closed entirely.

Emergency forces began airlift evacuations from the area, while concerns are growing for the lives of at least 15 people reported missing.

The US National Park Service turned to the public for help in locating dozens of campers and hikers who were in the area when the surge hit.

Spokesperson Joelle Byrd said the reports refer to people who were hiking in the inner canyon area or in the North Kaibab and Phantom Ranch zones. The park asked for information from anyone who knows of people who were present on August 29 along the Bright Angel Creek, or who had lodging reservations in the areas affected.

Meanwhile, search efforts continue around the clock. Two helicopters from the Parks Service and Arizona’s Department of Public Safety are scanning the area between the Bright Angel Creek entrance and the Deer Creek Narrows area, as well as along the Colorado River. As of now, the aerial patrols have not led to the location of any missing people.

The flooded incident occurred at around 14:30 on Saturday and centered on the Bright Angel Canyon and Phantom Ranch areas-among the most popular destinations for visitors. At least 62 people were evacuated by rescue flights due to the extensive damage and transferred to the Maswik Lodge facility in the South Rim, where they received assistance from the American Red Cross. No reports of physical injuries have been provided at this stage.

The physical destruction at the site is considered the most significant. Nearly all pedestrian bridges crossing Bright Angel Creek were completely destroyed, cutting off the possibility for hikers to cross.

Park management announced a complete closure until further notice from Phantom Ranch, Bright Angel campground and all the North Kaibab trails, with no expectation of reopening.

Erika Viola, who was there with her husband Scott, described moments of terror. "We only heard people screaming, 'Run, run.'" She said that dozens of hikers tried to make their way through deep, muddy water. She added that immediately after they reached the bridge, a water surge about 4.5 meters high swept through the area, washing away the bridges, and they saw buildings, facilities and large amounts of equipment being carried downstream.

Hamas press conferenceFlash 90

A friend who goes back with me to the days when I served as an American war correspondent in Israel, asks me if I changed anything.

Yes, I tried, but they left Israel the same way they came, with a chip on the shoulder. I tried reasoning with some of them.

Rashi talks about this, concerning 10 of those 12 Spies…that as they entered Canaan with evil in their hearts, so they left, unchanged.

The Evil Report was destined.

A few times I succeeded with my group of sour pusses. Mostly, though, it was a lost cause. Against their mendacity, my voice was a cry in the wilderness.

Hence, says my friend, we have a generation that buys what Mark Ruffalo is selling, allegedly accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.

So it is today, and so it was then. From so much misinformation, from Hamas to TikTok, we have indeed a Lost Generation.

They have been educated and conditioned to think the worst of the Jewish State, and even of more lies, they practice bigotry against Jews altogether.

We were The Boys on the Bus. About 50 of us, journalists, and we came from all over the United States and Canada.

We were supposed to be neutral observers, and that became a joke even before we landed, while still on the plane.

I noticed the hostility that began with whispers. I was being cornered. They had read my columns. No secret, then, that I was pro-Israel. Me, and me alone.

But, and I had let this be known, that I was coming and going as a novelist in search of material for both Indecent Proposal, and The Days of the Bitter End.

So already I was not one of them, and it kept getting worse. Our driver, Moshe, on the third day, he stopped driving the bus.

He refused to go on. I knew why. Anyway, after a stop for some coffee, near the border with Lebanon, known then as The Good Fence, he got us moving again

After another stop, I asked him why he was crying. He’d been sobbing, mostly when they stepped outside for interviews and photos.

Predictably at an Arab village. They refused the same stops for Jewish splendors.

“Can’t you see," he said. “It is hopeless."

“I know," I said. “What’s the use."

“How can we tell our story to these people, who refused to leave the bus even to visit Yad Vashem, or even the Western Wall."

True, they only wanted “Arab suffering."

Tell them how Israel faces Arab militancy on all sides, and they turn on their radios for rock and roll.

Moshe’s point was true then as it is today…what’s the use.

But we can’t ever give up. We must never give up. Our duty to speak up for Israel, against all odds, is holy;

Jack Engelhard writes a regular column for Arutz Sheva. Engelhard wrote the international bestselling novel “Indecent Proposal," today a classic for literature and film. His “Days of the Bitter End" is cited as the greatest work about the 1960s, comparable to Tolstoy’s War and Peace. His latest book, “Writings," offers a collection _of his varied and widely popular column_s. From John W. Cassel: “Jack Engelhard is a writer without peer, and the conscience of us all."

Engelhard booksJ.Engelhard

Arresting a suspect (illustrative)Police spokesperson

Israel Police officers and Border Police troops arrested seven suspects early Monday morning in a corruption case in southern Israel and detained six others for questioning.

Among the suspects arrested are the sitting head of a regional council in southern Israel, his relatives, and other senior officials in the local authority.

As part of the operation, forces raided the local authority's offices and conducted extensive searches. The investigation, which has been conducted in recent months by a Lahav 433 tender task force in cooperation with the Southern District, centers on suspicions of bribery, bid-rigging, fraud, and breach of trust.

Authorities are also investigating suspicions that fictitious employees were placed on the council payroll in order to fraudulently extract money from the local authority's coffers and transfer it into the suspects' private pockets.

The widescale investigation is being conducted by the Israel Tax Authority and the Israel Money Laundering and Terror Financing Prohibition Authority, with the State Attorney's Office Economic Department overseeing the case.

The suspects are expected to be brought before the Rishon Lezion Magistrates Court later Monday for a hearing on the police request to extend their detention.

"This is another significant governance operation in the series of actions carried out by the Israel Police against crime and criminals in the Bedouin sector in the Negev, who are attempting to turn official government institutions into criminal strongholds and platforms for criminal activity," Israel Police stated.

Stovepipe cartoonAI generated Winston

The word stovepipe entered public vocabulary after September 11, 2001, and it described something specific. A stovepipe is a vertical channel with no side branches. Information travels straight up inside one agency and never moves sideways to the other agencies that need it. The 9/11 Commission found that the American intelligence and law enforcement community had built dozens of them, each one defensible on its own terms, and that the cumulative effect was a government that theoretically knew a great deal while institutionally knew nothing. That blind spot was all the terrorists needed to murder close to 3000 Americans in one day.

The most consequential of these barriers had a name. Inside the Justice Department it was simply called the wall, a set of procedures separating intelligence collection from criminal investigation. It was not built by fools or by people indifferent to American lives. It was built by serious lawyers worried about a real problem, which was the possibility that foreign intelligence surveillance authorities might be misused to build ordinary criminal cases against Americans. The concern was legitimate. The people who raised it were sincere.

Consider what the wall actually produced. By early 2000, the Central Intelligence Agency knew that a man named Khalid al-Mihdhar held a valid American visa and that his associate Nawaf al-Hazmi had flown into Los Angeles. That information sat in one channel while the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which had the domestic authority and the manpower to find two men living openly in San Diego, sat in another. When the Bureau finally began looking in late August of 2001, a criminal investigator who wanted to join the search was told he could not, because the information had come from the intelligence side. He wrote back that people were going to die because of the line being drawn.

Two weeks later they did. Mihdhar and Hazmi boarded American Airlines Flight 77 and flew it into the Pentagon.

The bipartisan conclusion drawn from this catastrophe was that the operating principle of American security had to shift from need to know toward need to share. Congress passed the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, created the Director of National Intelligence and the National Counterterrorism Center, lowered the wall through the PATRIOT Act, and stood up Joint Terrorism Task Forces and fusion centers across the country whose entire purpose was to force federal, state, and local officials into the same room looking at the same information. The lesson was understood to be permanent.

Compartmentalization by default kills people. Sharing is not a bureaucratic nicety. It is the whole job.

Which brings us to the governors, mayors, county executives and state attorneys general who now hold celebratory press conferences to proudly announce that their jurisdictions will not share information with federal immigration authorities, will not honor detainer requests, and will not notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement when a foreign national in their custody is about to walk out the door. They have rebuilt the wall. They have rebuilt it deliberately, publicly, and with an air of moral achievement that the Justice Department lawyers of the 1990s never permitted themselves. Those lawyers at least understood they were making a tragic tradeoff. Today’s officials do not think they are trading anything at all. They remain astonishingly jubilant even if the illegal aliens pose severe clear and present danger to their own constituents.

Understand the mechanism, because the mechanism is where the harm lives. An ICE detainer is a request that a jail hold a removable alien for up to forty eight hours past the point of release so that federal officers can take custody inside a secure facility. That is the safest transfer imaginable. The subject is already in handcuffs, already searched, already accounted for, in a controlled environment, with no innocent bystanders. A sanctuary policy does not prevent that arrest. It relocates it. The alternative to a jailhouse transfer is not the absence of enforcement. It is officers going out to find the same man on a residential street, at his workplace, outside a school, in an apartment building full of neighbors and children. Every jurisdiction that refuses the transfer is choosing the second scenario over the first and then expressing the highest outrage when the second scenario looks the brutal way it inevitably looks on CNN.

And in the interval between release and rearrest, some number of these individuals commit new crimes. The ones who do are not statistical abstractions, and their victims are overwhelmingly the residents of the very neighborhoods these policies solemnly claim to protect. A man released from a county jail over a federal request does not travel to the mayor’s block.

Gad Saad has given a name to the mental operation that makes this possible. In The Parasitic Mind and in his subsequent work on what he calls suicidal empathy, Saad describes a pathology in which a genuine and admirable human capacity, the ability to feel another’s suffering, is decoupled from any capacity to reason about consequences.

Empathy without a governor does not stop being empathy. It becomes a mechanism that selects for whoever is most vividly present to the imagination and discards everyone who is merely statistically probable. The deportable defendant is vivid. He has a face, a family, an attorney, a press release, a group of enthusiastic and well organized protestors. His future victim is not vivid, because she does not exist yet. She is a probability distribution, and probability distributions do not generate feeling or breathless news coverage.

This is why the sanctuary official can glandularly experience refusal as compassion and justice. He is not weighing two groups of human beings and choosing one. He is seeing one group and failing to perceive that the other is there.

The 9/11 wall worked exactly the same way. The civil liberties concern was vivid, concrete, and articulable by name. The passengers of Flight 77 were an abstraction until the horrific moment they were not.

There is an argument on the other side, and it is the same argument that built the first wall. Defenders of these policies say that cooperation with federal immigration enforcement makes immigrant communities afraid of all police, which suppresses the reporting of domestic violence, wage theft, and worse.

Note the structure. A real and sympathetic harm is identified, a barrier is erected to prevent it, and the costs of the barrier are never counted because they land on people who cannot be named in advance. The Justice Department lawyers of the 1990s made this exact move and were sincere while making it.

The argument also does not reach the practice it is used to defend. A woman who calls 911 to report her husband is not in the custody pipeline. A detainer applies to someone already arrested, already booked, already charged. Nothing about honoring that request touches the witness, the victim, or the caller. The two situations have been fused rhetorically because the fusion is politically useful, not because the mechanism connects them in reality.

And the fear itself is substantially manufactured by the officials who then invoke it. When a mayor holds a press conference to announce that his city will resist federal immigration enforcement, he is broadcasting to every immigrant within earshot that contact with any government office carries deportation risk. He generates the chilling effect, measures it, and presents it as the justification for the policy that produced it.

The stovepipe is back and its heart is as black and vacuous as deep space. It has a communications office now, and a flag, and a theory of itself as holding a superordinate moral stand. The men who built the first one had the decency to know what they were doing was dangerous. Those who are operating version 2.0, are either clueless or couldn’t give a damn about how many Americans it kills. Either way, they should be seen as the danger they are to their constituents who should vote the rascals out of every office from which they perpetrate this unforgivable offense.

Stovepipe cartoonAI generated Winston

"Lake America" on LCBO websitevia REUTERS

Several Canadian websites, including government services, briefly displayed Lake Ontario under the name “Lake America" on Sunday, despite Google saying its decision to rename the lake would apply only to users in the United States, reported CBC News.

The issue emerged a day after Google Maps announced that it had adopted the new name in accordance with an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump. Google said the change was made because the US government's geographic names database had formally recorded the lake under the new designation.

However, maps operated by several Canadian organizations also began showing “Lake America." According to CBC News, the affected services included Hydro One's power outage map, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario's store locator, GO Transit's station finder and a federal government map covering housing and infrastructure.

Hydro One acknowledged the problem and said the incorrect name was caused by an outside mapping provider.

"We are aware that Lake Ontario is being incorrectly labeled on our outage map," a spokesperson told CBC News in an email, adding that Hydro One regrets the "error."

"The issue originates from a third-party mapping service," the utility said. "We are working with our vendor to correct the issue as quickly as possible and restore the proper geographic reference."

Metrolinx, the Ontario government agency responsible for GO Transit, also confirmed that it was addressing the problem.

"We are actively reviewing our websites to make sure they all identify Lake Ontario by its correct name: Lake Ontario," Metrolinx said.

"We are in the process of disabling the map function on the GO stations' page where this occurred."

Meanwhile, US mapping service MapQuest said on social media that it would not adopt Trump's preferred name. Apple has not publicly stated whether it will make any changes.

Trump announced Thursday that he intended for Lake Ontario to be called “Lake America" in the United States, amid escalating tensions between Washington and Ottawa over trade.

The president signed an executive order at the Resolute Desk directing the Interior Department to change the lake's name in the US geographic naming system. The order allows 30 days for the department to carry out the change, despite Trump's statement that it was “official, effective immediately."

Trump said he had “notified all of the various people that we have to notify. So, we’ve done everything that you have to do."

The naming dispute comes as the two countries impose retaliatory tariffs on each other's goods. Washington announced 50% tariffs covering $20 billion worth of Canadian products after trade talks broke down, while Canada responded with tariffs on $20 billion in US goods, including steel, dairy products, appliances and agricultural equipment.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney pushed back against the renaming effort, emphasizing the historical origins of the lake's name.

“The name Lake Ontario comes from the Wendat word Ontari’io, which, appropriately, means ‘the lake is beautiful, the lake is big"."

“The name is more than 400 years old, predating both the Confederation of Canada and the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America," added Carney.

“We know that America is changing. Their trading relationships, their foreign policies, their national monuments, their hydronyms. Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario - then, now and always," concluded the Prime Minister.

Gila GamlielChaim Goldberg/Flash 90

Two weeks after the Likud primary and amid serious allegations of voting irregularities, the Likud party announced Sunday evening that Innovation, Science and Technology Minister Gila Gamliel had fallen to 35th place on the party slate, outside the realistic slots.

MK Eti Atiya secured the 25th position, which is considered realistic and reserved for ensuring female representation.

The dramatic shift in the rankings followed a closely contested race for the women’s slot, which was ultimately decided after the party raised concerns over irregular results at two polling stations in Be’er Ya’akov.

Following those concerns, a decision was made last week to reopen the ballots and conduct a recount. The final results were released Sunday evening after the appeals review process was completed.

The recount in Be’er Ya’akov also triggered a bitter dispute between Gamliel and Minister Haim Katz, who is considered an ally of Atiya. As tensions escalated, Gamliel filed a police complaint against Katz and Likud Director-General David Sharan.

The disputed polling stations in Be’er Ya’akov were recounted at least three times last Tuesday, but the official announcement was delayed until Sunday evening. According to the updated results, MK Moshe Saada was ranked 10th on the list before the reserved slots are incorporated. Assuming all reserved positions are filled, he will ultimately be placed 17th.

Gamliel responded, "We have filed a petition with the court. I will not let Haim Katz steal my election for Eti Atiya."

Katz said, "Over the past week, I have been subjected to a barrage of lies and slander by Ms. Gamliel, her family members and her associates. The only reason I have exercised restraint is the good of the Likud on the eve of fateful elections for Israel's future."

Zohran MamdaniReuters/Anthony Behar/Sipa USA

Retired Port Authority police officers are calling on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to stay away from the upcoming 25th anniversary commemoration of the September 11 attacks at Ground Zero, warning that his presence could cause "deep pain" to survivors, first responders and victims' families.

In an Aug. 14 letter to Mamdani cited on the weekend by Fox News, John McDevitt, president of the Port Authority Retired Police Association, asked the mayor not to attend the Sept. 11 ceremony at the World Trade Center site.

"For us, September 11 is not a political occasion, a photo opportunity, or a platform for public officials," McDevitt wrote to Mamdani. "It is a solemn day of remembrance for those who were murdered, those who responded, those who survived, and the families who have carried these losses for twenty-five years."

The association emphasized the personal connection its members have to the World Trade Center, describing it as "our home." A total of 37 Port Authority police officers and 47 other members of the Port Authority family were killed in the attacks.

"Thirty-seven of our brothers and sisters made the ultimate sacrifice," McDevitt wrote. "Their memorial should not become the center of political controversy."

The retired officers said they have "profound concerns" about Mamdani's public comments, political affiliations and positions, arguing that they conflict with the sacrifices made by the victims and law enforcement personnel who responded to the attacks.

"We believe your presence at Ground Zero on this 25th anniversary would cause deep pain to many members of the 9/11 community," McDevitt wrote. "It also risks shifting attention away from the people whose lives, courage, and sacrifice the ceremony exists to honor."

McDevitt proposed that Mamdani mark the anniversary through a written statement, public remarks or a separate event rather than attending the Ground Zero ceremony.

"This is our day to remember," he wrote. "Please allow us to remember in peace."

Mamdani has previously said that he intends to attend the commemoration and "proudly honor" the families, survivors and first responders whose lives were forever changed by the attacks.

The officers' appeal comes after a petition seeking to prevent Mamdani from attending the ceremony surpassed 95,000 signatures. The petition was launched in July by Giovanni Galante, whose wife, Grace Catherine Galante, was killed in the Sept. 11 attacks.

The petition lists a series of objections to Mamdani, who became New York City's first Muslim mayor after taking office in January. Among them is his refusal to condemn the slogan "globalize the intifada."

It also cites his campaign appearance with Brooklyn Imam Siraj Wahhaj, described in the petition as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing who previously advocated for gun-free jihad.

Other grievances include Mamdani's appointment of Ramzi Kassem as the city's chief counsel. Kassem has represented Al-Qaeda convict Ahmed al-Darbi and radical organizer Mahmoud Khalil.

The petition also points to Mamdani's endorsement of state Senate candidate Aber Kawas, who previously referred to 9/11 as an event that “a couple of people did" and expressed support for convicted plot suspect Ahmed Ferhani.

It further cites Mamdani's political support for congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier, who previously called the United States “a f-ing disgrace" and described using an American flag as a napkin.

The petition also highlights social media posts from 2015 in which Mamdani defended Al-Qaeda figure Anwar al-Awlaki and blamed American policy for al-Awlaki's radicalization.

Additionally, it references statements by Mamdani's father, Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani, that have been described as sympathetic toward suicide bombers.

Judea Pearl, whose son, journalist Daniel Pearl, was kidnapped and murdered by terrorists in Pakistan in 2002, voiced support for the petition.

Pearl wrote on social media: "My late son, Daniel, is not a direct victim of 9/11, yet he was murdered by Khalid Sheik Mohammad (KSM), the 9/11 architect. I wish I could join the petition to bar Mayor Mamdani from the memorial -- his anti-American ideology differs little from that of KSM's."

Mojtaba KhameneiZUMA Press Wire via Reuters Connect

Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Sunday accused the United States and Israel of being the “sworn enemies" of Muslim unity, saying both countries are hostile toward Muslims more broadly.

“The criminal rulers of the US and the illegitimate Zionist regime are the sworn enemies of this unity and friendship," Khamenei said in a message marking Islamic Unity Week. He added that even leaders of Muslim countries regarded as allies of Washington and Jerusalem were subject to what he characterized as their hostility.

Khamenei also argued that stronger unity among Muslims could have provided greater support to the Palestinian Arabs, questioning whether they would have been left “so defenseless" had Muslims acted as “a single, united hand."

The message came two days after Khamenei urged Iranian officials to preserve national unity and avoid rhetoric that could damage public confidence.

In his Friday message for Government Week, he declared: “I firmly declare that committing anything that harms social cohesion is forbidden."

He further called on officials to avoid “discouraging statements that weaken national and public motivation" and warned against what he described as artificial political distinctions, including “war or negotiations," “consensus or extremism" and “compromise or warmongering."

Khamenei called on authorities to highlight Iran's “power and strength," arguing that drawing attention to the country's weaknesses could aid its enemies and weaken the morale of its supporters.

He also addressed Iran's economic difficulties, calling for greater focus on inflation, unemployment, prices, investment and domestic production. He additionally backed reducing the dollar's role in the Iranian economy.

Khamenei has not appeared publicly since the start of the 40-day war on February 28. His absence followed the death of his father, Ali Khamenei, in joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Mojtaba Khamenei's subsequent elevation to the Supreme Leader position.

His continued absence has prompted speculation about his health and whereabouts, including claims that he suffered serious injuries or may have died.

In July, Saudi broadcaster Al Hadath cited an Israeli defense source who alleged that Khamenei had left Iran. The source also claimed that statements issued in his name were being prepared by Ahmad Vahidi and IRGC leaders, and alleged that internal divisions within the Revolutionary Guards posed an existential threat to the organization as unrest grew inside Iran.

CNN reported in March that Khamenei was injured on the first day of the conflict, allegedly suffering a broken foot, injuries near his left eye and facial lacerations.

Earlier this month, a report attributed to Khamenei's office claimed that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had held a conference with the Supreme Leader. No visual evidence was provided to support the report.

US President Donald Trump addressed the speculation surrounding Khamenei's condition during an interview with The Glenn Beck Program last week. Trump said he did not believe the Iranian leader had died, but claimed he had been seriously injured.

“I don't think he's dead. He was very seriously wounded," Trump said. “The left side of his body, the arm, the leg, the whole thing, he was very seriously wounded. But I don't think he's dead."

Trump also said Iranian officials continue to behave as though they are consulting Khamenei and obtaining his approval for decisions.

“And if he is, they're putting on a pretty good show because they talk about, you know, going back to talk to him all the time, you know, to get a final blessing on things," the President said.

נתניהו תומך בתכנית סמוטריץ׳באדיבות ערוץ 14

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday publicly endorsed a plan presented by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to expand the model of farms and infrastructure from Judea and Samaria to Israel’s Negev and Galilee regions.

In an interview with Channel 14, Netanyahu addressed the development of Israel’s peripheral regions and said: "We are working to bring the farms into the Negev and Galilee. In other words, to strengthen the Jewish presence just as we did in Judea and Samaria, also in the Negev and Galilee. We are acting with the recognition that strengthening the Jewish presence in the Negev and Galilee is also of great importance."

Smotrich immediately welcomed the announcement, saying: "I welcome the Prime Minister's statement tonight that he supports my plan to bring the revolution from Judea and Samaria to the Negev and Galilee."

Smotrich emphasized what he described as the plan’s national security and strategic importance. The initiative, known as "Yes, Judaize," calls for the establishment of new communities, legislative changes and a broad policy shift.

According to Smotrich, "The reality in which Jews are a minority, alongside more than one million illegal weapons in the community, is a national security threat to the state. The time has now come to bring the settlement revolution from Judea and Samaria to the Negev and Galilee through the establishment of farms, legislative changes and a significant revolution that will correct decades of neglect."

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Iran cannot be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon, arguing that preventing Tehran from acquiring one justifies the US campaign against the Islamic Republic.

In an interview with Trey Gowdy on Fox News, Trump described Iran as the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism and said its nuclear ambitions pose an unacceptable threat.

"Iran is a number one leading state sponsor of terror, you've heard that many times, in the whole world. They cannot have a nuclear weapon," Trump said.

The President said he has repeatedly been challenged over whether military action against Iran was necessary, but argued that the answer becomes clear when the possibility of Tehran possessing a nuclear weapon is considered.

"I have numerous people say, ‘Well, did you have to do it?’ And then I say, ‘Do you think it's okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon?’ Nuclear weapon is massive destruction. You know, take what you see and multiply it times 100. And everybody says no."

Trump said the US campaign against Iran has been highly effective, pointing in particular to the naval blockade and economic measures imposed on Tehran.

"The blockade has been unbelievable. The financial hits that we're giving them, we're hitting them very hard. Never, nobody's ever been hit like this," he said.

Trump characterized Iran as "a failing nation" and said he was prepared to allow events to determine how the conflict ends rather than insisting on a formal agreement.

"And at the right point, we'll either win or they'll do something. But I don't mind winning, just winning. I don't need a signature on a piece of paper," Trump said.

The President also claimed that Iran's military capabilities had been severely degraded.

"But we're doing very well. Their Navy's gone. Their Air Force is gone. Their leaders are gone. All of their anti-aircraft, I mean, it's all wiped out."

Trump acknowledged that Iranians are "tough people" and "smart people," but sharply criticized the country's leadership. "But they're very evil," he said.

The President also accused Iranian authorities of carrying out widespread violence against protesters, saying, "They killed 52,000 protesters as of three months ago. And sadly, they've added very substantially to that list."

"Even people that aren't protesting, they go into the houses and they take them and they shoot them," Trump added.

He argued that Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon would have catastrophic consequences for Israel and the broader Middle East.

"These are very violent, evil people. And if they had a nuclear weapon, Israel would be gone. If I weren't president, Israel would be gone. There would be no Israel and there would probably be no Middle East," Trump stated.

He pointed to Iran's attacks against several Gulf countries after fighting began as evidence that Tehran had lost support from governments that had previously maintained neutral relations with it.

"And the way you know that is people that were sort of neutral got along with them for years. As soon as the shooting started, they started aiming at Saudi Arabia, at Qatar, at UAE, at Bahrain, at Kuwait. They were aiming. Everybody was shocked. I was surprised," he said.

Trump said he viewed Iran's loss of regional support as significant because countries that had previously remained neutral might otherwise have been threatened if Tehran had obtained nuclear weapons.

"I thought it was a very good thing because they lost all of the support that they had. They had a certain amount of support. They were, let's say, neutral, largely neutral. That means that if they would have had a nuclear weapon, they would have fired it," Trump said.

"So I think the Middle East would have essentially been gone. But Israel definitely would have been gone," added the President, who warned the threat could ultimately have extended beyond the region.

"And I guess we would be next or Europe or someplace. But no, you cannot let them have a nuclear weapon. And they won't have a nuclear weapon."

The interview with Trump aired hours after a US strike on Iranian military targets on Larak Island that reportedly killed two people and wounded two others.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened retaliation for the strike, and later fired missiles towards US bases in Jordan.

The US strikes marked the first such strikes inside Iran since late July, when Trump paused a two-week US military campaign in the strategic waterway.

Last week, Trump said that the US Navy had cleared all mines from the international waters of the Strait of Hormuz.

"I have just been informed by the United States Navy that all mines have been removed and/or detonated from within the International Waters of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has been notified that any ship or boat placing new mines will be immediately and systematically destroyed," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

He added, "Through Space Force, we are watching every square inch of the Strait, as we are, also, with Pickaxe Mountain and the already destroyed three other Nuclear sites. There is a Zero Tolerance policy on mine placement in full force and effect."

Later, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said that Tehran considers itself to still be at war and warned that the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until several conditions are met.

"We are still in a state of war, and the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed," Gharibabadi said, in comments quoted by Iranian media, while stressing that reopening the strategic waterway would require an end to the conflict on all fronts, the lifting of the blockade and a resolution of the situation in Yemen.

"The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz will only happen in exchange for ending the war on all fronts, lifting the blockade, and resolving the situation in Yemen."

Trophy defense systemRafael

Israel and Finland have secretly signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at expanding and strengthening defense cooperation between the two countries, with the agreement set to remain in effect through 2034.

The agreement was revealed by Finnish media following sharp criticism from local opposition figures.

The framework calls for closer coordination in the fields of research, development and the procurement of military equipment and systems.

According to Finland’s public broadcaster Yle, the original agreement was signed in 2013. The Finnish government initiated an extension in early 2024 and proposed an updated framework for the coming decade. Until now, the agreement had been renewed every five years, but this time the parties opted for a significantly longer term.

The closer ties come against the backdrop of a major procurement deal signed in November 2023, under which Finland purchased the David’s Sling missile defense system from Israeli defense contractor Rafael for approximately €317 million.

According to the report, the memorandum establishes a joint coordination group comprising representatives from both countries. The group will meet annually to discuss ways to advance bilateral defense ties.

Cooperation between the two countries’ defense industries also includes joint work between Finnish company Patria and Israel’s Rafael to integrate the Israeli Trophy active protection system onto Patria’s armored vehicles.

US Treasury Secretary Scott BessentREUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

The Trump administration is preparing to sanction another bank this week as Washington steps up its campaign to isolate Iran financially, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told The Associated Press on Sunday.

"This is going to be financial violence if we have to," Bessent said in the interview. "We are showing people that we know who you are, you know who you are, and this has got to stop."

Bessent made the comments ahead of Group of 20 meetings in Asheville, North Carolina, where he is scheduled to hold separate discussions with finance officials representing the world's major economies as well as developing nations. A key focus of his meetings will be securing international cooperation against Iran.

The administration has increasingly shifted its focus toward economic measures as the conflict with Iran enters its sixth month. Washington has described the effort as an "economic D-Day" against Tehran, which has already faced extensive US sanctions for decades.

Last week, Bessent announced "Operation Economic Outcast," a campaign designed to further isolate Iran and restrict the flow of money to its government. The United States subsequently announced new sanctions against UAE branches of Egypt's Banque Misr.

Under the Treasury Department's proposal, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) would block Banque Misr UAE from correspondent banking relationships with US financial institutions, limiting its ability to conduct dollar transactions involving Iran.

So far, however, the administration has primarily issued warnings to countries that continue trading with Tehran rather than imposing broad new penalties on those governments. One of the biggest challenges is China, Iran's largest trading partner and its main purchaser of oil.

Bessent told AP he plans to raise the issue with Chinese officials during the G20 meetings, adding that "all options are on the table" regarding potential sanctions against Beijing over its continued purchases of Iranian oil.

He rejected suggestions that Washington has been hesitant to confront China, describing such claims as "a completely false narrative that the media picked up on."

Bessent said Washington and Beijing share an interest in reopening the Strait of Hormuz and preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Chief Rabbi Ephraim MirvisChief Rabbi's office

Britain's Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, has urged Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband to reconsider planned British sanctions and trade restrictions targeting Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, warning that the measures could damage prospects for peace and harm British Jews.

Rabbi Mirvis said he raised his concerns during a meeting with Miliband on Friday, following reports that the UK is preparing measures in response to Israeli plans for residential construction in the E1 area between Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adumim.

"I welcomed the opportunity on Friday to meet with the Foreign Secretary, the Rt Hon. Ed Miliband. While we share fervent hopes for a future of peace and security in the Middle East, I explained why I believe the UK Government’s intended sanctions will be counter-productive and even endanger such a vision of peace," Rabbi Mirvis said in a post on social media.

"I told the Foreign Secretary that many within the UK Jewish community will view such measures with deep dismay, at a time when the vilification of Jews, Judaism and the Jewish State has already reached unprecedented levels," he added.

Rabbi Mirvis argued that the proposed measures would be unlikely to change Israeli policy and could instead have broader economic and diplomatic consequences.

"The intended policy will not influence Israeli decision-making in the way the Government intends. Instead, it risks inflicting real harm across the region. Given the obvious challenges of defining and implementing such measures, there is a clear danger that they will spiral into a de facto boycott of trade with Israel more broadly, damaging the long-term relationship between our two countries and threatening the livelihoods of tens of thousands of Palestinian workers," continued Rabbi Mirvis.

He also warned that British Jews could be disproportionately affected because of their longstanding connections with Israel.

"These measures will also disproportionately affect British Jews because of our close religious, family, charitable and educational ties to Israel. Over recent years, we have seen repeatedly that when rhetoric towards Israel escalates, hostility towards Jews is never far behind."

While condemning violence against Palestinians by Israeli extremists, Rabbi Mirvis said the proposed British response could have unintended consequences.

"I strongly condemn the reprehensible violence perpetrated against Palestinians by a small number of extremists, yet the UK Government’s proposals will only embolden the tiny minority who support such criminality, while penalizing countless others who abhor it."

He also challenged Britain's stated justification for the measures, pointing to past peace proposals that envisaged E1 remaining under Israeli sovereignty.

"The stated justification for punishing an ally in this way, is Israel’s long-planned construction of homes in the E1 area. Yet successive peace efforts, from Oslo to Camp David and beyond, have envisaged a final agreement in which this area would remain under Israeli sovereignty. It is therefore difficult to escape the painful conclusion that domestic political considerations are driving foreign policy, the impact of which is negative both for prospects for peace in the Middle East and for the UK Jewish community," concluded the Chief Rabbi.

The exchange comes after The Times reported that British Prime Minister Andy Burnham is preparing a package of measures following Israel's plans for construction in E1. Reported options include restrictions on trade involving goods connected to Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria and sanctions against individuals involved in advancing the construction.

Israel recently issued a tender covering seven residential compounds in E1, with a total of 1,234 housing units. The projects form part of roughly 3,400 units approved for the area last August.

Miliband condemned the tender and called for it to be withdrawn.

"This Israeli Government’s publication of a tender for the E1 settlement project is an unacceptable and destructive act. E1 would cut across the heart of Palestine and risks separating the West Bank from East Jerusalem, which would endanger the viability of a two-state solution," Miliband said.

"The UK has been clear privately and publicly in our opposition to E1 and our support for a two-state solution as the only way to ensure long-term security and peace for both Palestinians and Israelis. All settlements damage that prospect and are a flagrant breach of international law," he claimed.

Miliband said he had raised the issue with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and that Israel's Chargé d’Affaires had been summoned to Britain's Foreign Office.

"Today, I made clear to the Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar that the Israeli Government must halt E1 plans immediately, retract the tender and stop all settlement expansion. In addition, the Israeli Chargé d’Affaires has been summoned to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, where we set out the UK’s profound objection to this move by the Netanyahu government and demanded an immediate reversal," said Miliband.

He also indicated that Britain was preparing further action.

"Britain will not stand back and accept the destruction of the two-state solution. In the coming weeks we will set out a comprehensive set of measures to respond to Israeli government policies, protect the viability of the Palestinian state, target sanctions at those who participate in illegal settlement expansion and support a just and lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians," the UK Foreign Secretary declared.

Sa'ar rejected Britain's demands, criticizing both the substance and tone of Miliband's statement.

"I reject outright the statement of the UK Foreign Secretary and the patronizing tone of his words," Sa'ar wrote on social media.

"The Jewish people have the right to live throughout the Land of Israel, just as the British have the right to live in London and throughout the United Kingdom. More than a century ago, the Balfour Declaration formally recognized the historic right of the Jewish people to re-establish their national home in the Land of Israel - including in the area in question."

Sa'ar also accused Britain of hypocrisy in criticizing Israeli construction.

"Britain itself still controls colonial territories thousands of miles from its shores. It is absurd for Britain to lecture the Jewish people about where they may live in their historic tiny homeland, when the Jewish people’s connection and right to this land is the most extensively documented of any people in human history."

He further disputed Britain's portrayal of the E1 tender as a newly made decision.

"There have been no new decisions regarding development in E1. The decision was made in 2025. The tender process has been underway for several months, with certain tender documents published only in recent days. The British Foreign Secretary’s statement is entirely one-sided."

Ofer WinterChaim Goldberg/Flash 90

Amcha Yisrael chairman Ofer Winter responded Sunday evening to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that his party poses a threat to the right-wing bloc.

“I met with Winter and offered him, ‘Come join us and you will be welcomed.’ I’m concerned that this party could fall below the electoral threshold, so I offered him a reserved slot. He chose to go his own way, and therefore we are currently in danger," Netanyahu said in an interview on Channel 14’s “The Patriots."

“I heard that some people are saying that Amcha Yisrael is endangering the right-wing camp," Winter responded, arguing that “what endangers the right-wing camp and the entire people of Israel is kites from Gaza. What endangers the right-wing camp and the entire people of Israel is hundreds of aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip every day. What endangers the right-wing camp and the entire people of Israel is thousands of Nukhba terrorists right under our noses, in Gaza and Judea and Samaria. What endangers the right-wing camp is allowing people to evade military service instead of fighting for the integration of the haredim. What endangers the right-wing camp and the entire people of Israel is that those who give and fight are not receiving what they deserve and must receive. These things, and others, endanger the right-wing camp and the entire people of Israel."

“Do you want to change this? Do you really think you can choose the same thing and get something different?" Winter asked.

He added, “There is only one genuine way to bring about change in the right-wing camp and in Israel as a whole: new people who had no part in the failures of October 7. New people who will focus more on leadership and less on politics. We are part of the right-wing camp, but we work for no one, only for the people of Israel."

Explosions were heard and interceptions were recorded in Jordan early Monday morning, following a launch attributed to Iran.

The explosions came after Iranian media reported that missiles were launched from Iran towards US bases in the kingdom.

A US source told Fox News that “nearly all incoming missiles have been intercepted at this point."

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for the missile fire, announcing that it had targeted the US bases Al-Azraq and King Hussein in Jordan. According to the statement, the attacks were carried out using ballistic missiles.

The Jordanian military announced that it had intercepted eight missiles that entered the country's airspace.

On Sunday evening, the IRGC threatened retaliation following a US strike on Iranian military targets on Larak Island that reportedly killed two people and wounded two others.

A US official confirmed to Axios that American forces carried out the strike to prevent Iranian forces from deploying sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz. The operation marked the first known US strike inside Iran since late July, when President Donald Trump paused a two-week US military campaign in the strategic waterway.

"Earlier today US forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz," a US official told Axios.

The official added that US forces are "monitoring the area closely and remain prepared to protect the free flow of commerce" through the strait.

Tasnim, an Iranian news agency affiliated with the IRGC, reported that the attack was carried out by a drone and that two people were killed and two others wounded.

In a statement quoted by Iran's IRNA news agency, the IRGC vowed retaliation, saying, "The terrorist enemy's aggression on Larak Island will be met with punishment for the aggressor."

The IRGC further accused the United States and Israel of attempting to reassert their influence in the region.

"The American-Zionist adversary, once more acting out of frustration over its domestic challenges and waning influence in the region, aims to resurrect its malevolent presence and sway public perception. "In an act of aggression, it attacked Larak Island, resulting in the martyrdom and injury of several citizens."

The US strike comes amid heightened tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for international commercial shipping and energy supplies.

Last week, Trump said that the US Navy had cleared all mines from the international waters of the Strait of Hormuz.

"I have just been informed by the United States Navy that all mines have been removed and/or detonated from within the International Waters of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has been notified that any ship or boat placing new mines will be immediately and systematically destroyed," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

He added, "Through Space Force, we are watching every square inch of the Strait, as we are, also, with Pickaxe Mountain and the already destroyed three other Nuclear sites. There is a Zero Tolerance policy on mine placement in full force and effect."

Later, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said that Tehran considers itself to still be at war and warned that the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until several conditions are met.

"We are still in a state of war, and the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed," Gharibabadi said, in comments quoted by Iranian media, while stressing that reopening the strategic waterway would require an end to the conflict on all fronts, the lifting of the blockade and a resolution of the situation in Yemen.

"The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz will only happen in exchange for ending the war on all fronts, lifting the blockade, and resolving the situation in Yemen."

He also linked the reopening of the strait to commitments made by Washington under the memorandum of understanding signed by the sides in June.

"We told Pakistan's Army Chief that reopening the Strait of Hormuz depends on America fulfilling its commitments under the memorandum of understanding."

Gharibabadi further warned that Iran could take military action before being attacked.

"Why should we always wait for America to attack? We can take preemptive action."

Gadi EisenkotYoav Dudkevich/TPS

The Advisory Committee for Personal Security convened on Sunday and decided to recommend attaching security to the chairman of the "Yashar!" party, Gadi Eisenkot, until election day.

The latest development follows warnings and new findings presented by members of Eisenkot’s team to security officials.

Meanwhile, it was decided that the committee would convene separately at a later date to discuss the security arrangements for Democrats Party chairman Yair Golan, regarding whom similar information was submitted.

The move marks a reversal of a decision made a week earlier that sparked public controversy. At the time, Shin Bet Director David Zini determined that there was no need to assign security guards to Eisenkot.

Zini explained that the Shin Bet had not obtained intelligence indicating a concrete threat against Eisenkot. He stressed that his position was reached solely following professional consultations, including with Central Elections Committee chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg.

Zini’s initial decision prompted public intervention from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that same evening. Netanyahu instructed the Shin Bet director to review the matter and ensure that Eisenkot receives appropriate protection based on his security needs.

During the exerciseIsrael Dog Unit

The IDF’s Haruv reconnaissance unit conducted a joint overnight exercise with the Israel Dog Unit, a nonprofit specializing in working dogs, in difficult terrain in northern Israel. The exercise was part of Haruv's preparations for deployment to Lebanon. It continued throughout the night in challenging field conditions and focused on improving the units’ ability to respond to complex scenarios deep inside hostile territory.

IDU handlers participated with specialized search dogs, which were used to simulate an opposing force under difficult terrain conditions. The teams practiced responding to a range of scenarios that could develop during operations in complex environments.

The exercise was designed to strengthen cooperation between the two units and improve the ability of IDU teams and their dogs to operate alongside military forces in demanding conditions.

IDU director Yekutiel Ben- Yaakov commented: “Our exercise with the Haruv reconnaissance unit is critical for us and for the unit’s soldiers. Our dogs enter complex areas to locate missing people and those trapped. Working together with a professional unit like Haruv improves our readiness for a real incident and saves lives. It was a challenging exercise that provides a response to complex scenarios."

Rabbi Dov LiorYonatan Sindel/Flash90

The presidency and executive board of the rabbinic organization Torat Ha’Aretz HaTova issued a statement Monday strongly condemning what they described as an attack on the status and honor of Rabbi Dov Lior, following remarks directed against him by former Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef.

The protest, titled “Protest against the offense to the great sage," was signed by Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, Rabbi Issar Klonsky and Rabbi David Chai Hakohen, along with executive board members Rabbi Eitan Eizman, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu and Rabbi Yosef Artzi.

In their opening remarks, the rabbis expressed deep pain over the incident and cited statements from the Sages concerning the obligation to defend the honor of Torah scholars.

“One who hears insult directed at Torah scholars and remains silent is punished, as stated by Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi Shimon in the Gemara," they wrote. “And the words of the Sages are well known regarding one who disgraces a Torah scholar."

The signatories then addressed Rabbi Lior’s standing as a Torah scholar, emphasizing that they believe his stature is well established.

“The great Rabbi Dov Lior, does not require proof, consent, or approval of his greatness in Torah," they wrote. “Great ones have already testified to his greatness in Torah, his modesty, and his good character traits."

The rabbis also criticized the timing and public setting of the remarks.

“We are very pained by statements made in front of a large public, precisely before the High Holidays, at a time when everyone is careful in every word and deed," they wrote.

The organization stressed that its protest was focused solely on defending Rabbi Lior’s honor and was not intended to take a position on the separate dispute over entering the Temple Mount. “We sign our remarks with sorrow, without addressing the question of whether it is permitted or forbidden to enter the Temple Mount," the rabbis concluded.

הרב שמואל אליהוצילום: ללא

HaRav Shmuel Eliyahu is Chief Rabbi of Tzfat.

The Zohar says that the essence of Rosh Hashanah is specifically in the Land of Israel, as it is written: “The Lord shall reign forever, your God, O Zion, from generation to generation, Hallelujah" (Psalms 146:10). The Zohar’s intention is connected to what is written in Psalms (89): “Fortunate is the nation that knows the teruah; O Lord, in the light of Your countenance they shall walk."

The Zohar (III, 231b) points out that the verse does not say “those who hear the teruah" or “those who sound the teruah." It says, “those who know the teruah" - people who understand the meaning of the teruah. And who are those who know? The wise inhabitants of the Land of Israel: “Such as the wise ones who dwell in the atmosphere of the Holy Land - they are the ones who know the teruah."

And why specifically them? Because they heard the great shofar that releases us from the exile and brings us to the Land of Israel. They did not ignore the call of God as it transpired in many deaf ears during the Second Temple period. They did not doubt God’s Kingship in the world and did not come to weeping over the smallness of the Second Temple when compared to the First. Therefore, they merited to defeat all of their enemies, as it says: “Ask of Me, and I will give nations as your inheritance, and the ends of the earth as your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; like a potter’s vessel you shall shatter them" (Psalms 2).

“Fortunate is the Nation that Knows the Teruah; O Lord, in the Light of Your Countenance They Shall Walk."

Knowing the teruah brings one to the light of God’s countenance. “Who is a nation like Israel, who know the sublime secrets of their Master, to enter before Him and to bind themselves to Him? And all those who know the secret of the teruah will draw near to walk in the light of the countenance of the Holy One, Blessed be He. And this is the primordial light which the Holy One, Blessed be He, concealed for the righteous. Therefore, it is necessary to know it" (Zohar, ibid.).

Everyone who knows the secret of the teruah will draw near to walk in the light of the countenance of the Holy One, Blessed be He. This is the hidden light of the Creation of the world, which the Holy One, Blessed be He, concealed for the righteous. Therefore, it is important to know the secret of the teruah, for it brings life, as it is written: “In the light of the King’s countenance is life" (Proverbs 16:15). This exalted holy knowledge and blessing is available in the special Holy Land which Hashem created for the Jewish People.

Recognition of God - Sanctifying God’s Name Throughout the World

Therefore, from Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur we say “the Holy King" and “the King of Justice." The meaning of the words “the Holy King" is God’s Kingship being revealed and sanctified throughout the world. “Holy, holy, etc., the whole earth is filled with His glory."

This is the true Kingship, when “every created being will know that You created it, and every formed being will understand that You formed it." Therefore, we say in our prayers, “Reign over the entire world in Your glory." And this is the spiritual work that we perform within ourselves on Rosh Hashanah.

During the Ten Days of Repentance - The King of Justice

This is the reason why our Sages formulated the conclusion of the blessing with the words “the King of Justice" (HaMelech HaMishpat) and not “the King who Judges" (HaMelech HaShofet). The Sages wanted to hint that the King is revealed through justice - in its being different than the way human judges think. In this way, He reigns in a sophisticated manner over all of the judicial systems in the world.

Today, one who observes carefully can see that God’s Kingship is being revealed more and more through systems of justice throughout the world that continue to improve throughout the generations. The criticism we express over our present secular courts in Israel is also a part of this - in pointing out their shortcomings when compared to Torah law. We all pray that, with God’s help, the following will be fulfilled in us: “And I will restore your judges as at first, and your counselors as at the beginning; afterward you shall be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City" (Isaiah 1).

The Virtue of the Land

Our Rabbis explain an important principle: the fact that the Land of Israel did not reveal its goodness throughout our long exile does not indicate any deficiency in the Land. On the contrary, the Land faithfully preserves within itself the goodness and abundance that God deposited within it. It deliberately conceals its potential so that foreign empires will not benefit from its abundant riches. In the meantime, it waits for the Nation of Israel to return to it. Only as a result of the Nation’s return does the Land open its treasures and flourish once again as in days of yore.

Elite Tzaddikim always saw the hidden goodness of the Land of Israel. Not everyone saw the goodness as they did. Just a century or two ago the vast majority of all Jews who emigrated from their places of residence throughout the world went to the American continent. They saw with their eyes only the curtain of poverty that covered the Land of Israel and did not see its goodness. They preferred to establish their homes in the materially blessed lands of exile. In contrast, our Rabbi saw the goodness of the Land and sent all of his finest students there.

Let Him Not Utter Any Negative Word to Disparage the Land of Israel.

Our master teacher, Rabbeinu Yosef Chaim of Bagdad, Iraq, (the Ben Eish Chai), whose Hilulah (yahrtzeit) is celebrated on Elul 13, warned against uttering even one negative word about the Land of Israel, even in its state of destruction. This is because the Land’s great goodness is hidden within it.

He explains this in connection with the Gemara (Tractate Ketubot 112b), which relates that Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Asi sought to make dwelling in the Land of Israel beloved upon themselves and their students. Therefore, when the sun reached the place where they were studying during the hot season, they were careful to move from the sun into the shade. Likewise, during the rainy season, they would move from the shade into the sun, so that they would not suffer from either heat or cold and thus complain about the climate of the Land of Israel.

In his book Ben Yehoyada, the Ben Eish Chai explains that these righteous men were not themselves troubled by the heat or the cold. Rather, they were concerned for their students, lest they, God forbid, speak negatively about the good Land:

“They were concerned that perhaps some of the students would become weary of the heat of the sun and then say, ‘This place is not good; let us get up and sit in another place where there is shade.’ Therefore, Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Asi would take the initiative and rise from the place where the sun was about to reach and move to a shaded place, so that none of the students would come to say about that place, ‘It is not good,’ and thereby be found speaking disparagingly about a portion of the soil of the Land of Israel."

From this, Rabbeinu the Ben Ish Chai draws an important conclusion:

“From here a person should learn a moral lesson, to guard his mouth and his tongue, so that he does not utter any negative statement disparaging even one cubit of the Land of Israel! Whether regarding its climate, whether regarding its cold or heat, whether regarding its fruits, or regarding its buildings and the like. And even at the time of its destruction, when it is in the hands of the non-Jews and the houses belong to non-Jews, every Jew must guard his tongue so that he should not be included among those who speak disparagingly of the Land of Israel."

Our Rabbi’s efforts indeed bore great fruit. The overwhelming majority of the Jews exiled from Babylonia (Iraq) after the establishment of the State of Israel came to the Land of Israel and did not exchange the Babylonian exile for the exile of the United States or other lands.

May it be God’s will that we all merit to hear the sounding of the shofar that reveals the glory of God in the world, and that all of our brethren, the House of Israel, ascend to the Holy Mountain in Jerusalem. Amen and Amen.

ליאם גולןצילום: AVOXVISION

“take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind

Down the foggy ruins of time…

Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow.

Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky

With one hand waving free

Silhouetted by the sea…

Let me forget about today until tomorrow." (Bob Dylan, Mr Tambourine Man)

Early morning, or is it still night? Outside my window all is dark, the sky is a soft, deep gray, as dawn struggles to break through sky’s murkiness.

Street lamps cast a soft glow upon their dark surroundings. A lone runner passes by, footsteps echoing in the stillness, before all is once again quiet, still. The tranquility of early morn, in which the events of today are waiting to unfold. It is the Present which is here now in dark stillness, waiting for the soft light of the future.

When will the morning’s glow appear? There was a Before, and there was an After. And we, as if still caught in an upside-down aftermath, are waiting, waiting, for the world to right itself back up. For cruelty to disappear, and kindness take its place. For discord to disappear, and harmony take its place. For gray shock to dissipate and a clear view of life in all its glowing colors to appear, once again.

As if. As if it could. As if we could. Blur the edges of cruelty into kindness, add a touch of light to the grayness, which might hasten the coming of the morn.

But perhaps, we can. There is a vision within each of us of what Life could, should be like. Of the potential of Man for goodness, for kindness. Of the potential for realization of life’s full magical glory. Of the possibility of full expression of our Divine self, whose voice is never stilled. In the darkness of early morn, an incessant call summons us back to ourselves, to our potential, just a step above, a step beyond, almost, almost within reach.

A feeling of waiting, perhaps for a return to the Garden of Eden, where we knew not of the evil for there was only Good. For a return to our true, innermost nature, wherein lies the spark of the Divine.

Perhaps even just for a return to a time, three years before…

Life does not go backward. It goes only forward. As a flowing river, as a passing breeze, as a storm which clearly will end, and sunshine will burst through the clouds. As a long night which certainly will end, as rays of sunshine and hope glisten softly once again upon dew-covered leaves of the morn.

It is the month of Elul. The month in which we are called each morning anew, to return. The month in which our souls call to us each morning, with the sound of the shofar, the sound of repentance, to return. An inner voice speaks to us from a place of ancient longing. Will we answer the call? At once forward, at once backward. In the cyclical rhythm of life, which spirals us into our future.

It is the month of Elul. And we have a desire, to return. To return to a place of Oneness. Of oneness within ourselves, where a storm of despair and hope, tears and laughter, can be resolved into a unity of calm, of awarenesss of Your Divine Presence in our lives. Sometimes hidden behind the veil of tears, sometimes beckoning in the sparkling dew of a misty morning, but always present.

For a return to a palpable consciousness of the Divine, for a deep appreciation of the blessings bestowed upon us daily.

The sky has lightened a bit now. Before my eyes is the soft grayness of clouds floating on a sea of indistinct lightness. The dark-greenness of towering treetops, attempting to reach higher, to join their fate with a higher destiny.

We desire to return, or perhaps to rise, to a state of Oneness. Oneness within ourselves, oneness within our nation. From where we can view one another with understanding and compassion. Where the divisions between us melt into a handshake of understanding, where discord becomes dialogue and respect. For a return to a world as it was perhaps before the Tower of Babel, when men spoke only one tongue. Or perhaps to a place where speech is no longer necessary.

Hashivenu Hashem elecha venashuva. Chadesh yamenu kikeddem.

Return us O Lord to You, and we will return. Renew our days as of old.

(Lamentations 5:21)

What would that mean? What would our lives be like, if we walked each day in a supreme consciousness of the Divine nature of life? If we breathed each moment in awareness of our Divine essence, touched by the glow of Godliness which radiates within, as it radiates without. What would our days be like, what would our actions be like, what words would come forth from our lips?

It was just Parashat Ki Tavo. When we come into the Land. Of interest, is that in the word Tavo is included the entire alphabet, the first letter(aleph), the last letter (taf), and even the letter bet, with which begins the beginning our world (Bereisheet).

We do not only arrive in the promised land, we come here. In our entirety. In our complete being. In the fullness of our hearts, in the dedication of our souls.

When we come into the Land, when we come home. To our homeland, to the Divine Blessing which is our Nation, perhaps also to ourselves.

Can we move forward? There is a place where the forward motion is actually a return, a return to our inner selves, to our Divine nature, as a never-ending stream of Life, whose source, whose beginning and end are one and the same.

It is morning, and I hear the sound of passing cars, mingled with the singing of the birds. Where are they going? Where are we going? Toward a higher version of ourselves? Toward an unfolding of the Divine destiny for mankind? Toward a return to a place of divinity, of holiness, of an awareness of the sanctity which exists in each moment, as we breathe in once again the breath of the new morning?

I listen to the birds. To their incessant calling, toward Life, toward its joys and sorrows, to the doorway of today, which gives us once again a new beginning. Our hearts are joined together in morning’s praise of Life, of the opportunity given us again this morning, to return.

May we be blessed, as it is written in the Haftara of KiTavo “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has shone upon you." (Isaiah 60:1)

It is the month of Elul, and once again, as in a dream, I will walk the streets of Jerusalem. A guitar sounds, a voice is singing. Echoing off the stones. Merging with the prayers of generations who have walked here before me. Merging with a memory. Again I am 19 years old, and Reb Shlomo Carlebach (z’l) is singing.

The music lifts my soul, adrift on the words, on the melody. A reverence for the preciousness of the moment in time, in memory, in sanctity.

Once again, a voice is singing:

“Return again, return again

Return to the land of your soul…

Return to who you are, return to what you are

Return to where you were

Born and reborn again"

(Reb Shlomo Carlebach, z"l)

It is Elul. And the voice of prayer merges with the early morning sound of a shofar, echoes in the sound of the bird singing on my porch rail this morning.

May we be blessed with the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah: “Your sun shall no longer set, neither shall your moon wane, for the Lord will be to you for an everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be completed. And your people, all of them righteous, will inherit the land forever. They are the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, in which I will glory." (Isaiah 60:20-21)

Ofer Winter and Benjamin NetanyahuYonatan Sindel/Flash90

Amcha Yisrael party chairman Ofer Winter held a one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Minister's Office, Channel 12 reported.

During the meeting, Winter was offered a reserved slot on the Likud slate for the upcoming election, along with additional spots reserved for other candidates. However, Ofer rejected the offer and launched his own independent party.

Winter's acquiescence to the meeting surprised members of his inner circle, given that in recent months he had told his confidants that he had no intention of meeting or running with currently serving politicians. Winter's immediate refusal of a deal to join the party caused many in the Prime Minister's circle to worry that he was prepared to join an alternative coalition.

Two days after launching his party, Winter chose to clarify that he would only recommend Benjamin Netanyahu to form a government after the elections, emphasizing: "We do not work for anyone, only the people of Israel. We will not dance to anyone's flute."

The clarification followed pressure from the Prime Minister's circle and his son, Yair Netanyahu, who wrote in a social media post that "Winter will recommend Liberman as prime minister."

Despite Winter's public commitment, Likud sources said that they "are not calm. Winter left loose ends, and Bennett also said similar things at the time."

Ofer WinterChaim Goldberg/Flash90

A new poll conducted by Kantar Institute for Kan News finds that the Amcha Yisrael Party led by Ofir Winter would pass the electoral threshold with four seats in the Knesset, but would weaken the Likud and Otzma Yehudit parties.

According to the poll's findings, if the elections were held today, Yashar would win 24 seats, the Likud 21, and Bennett and Lapid's Together Party 14.

The Democrats would win nine seats, Yisrael Beytenu eight, United Torah Judaism eight, the Joint List eight, Otzma Yehudit seven, Shas seven, Religious Zionists five, United Arab List (Ra'am) four, and Amcha Yisrael four.

The Democrats' and Yisrael Beytenu's loss of seats since the previous poll weakened the anti-Netanyahu bloc, from 57 to 55. The Netanyahu bloc, on the other hand, gained a seat since the previous poll, going from 51 to 52, while the Arab parties rose to 13 seats thanks to gains by the Joint List.

On the question of suitability for the prime ministership, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to having a slight lead over Naftali Bennett, with 37% of the respondents compared to 36%. Gadi Eisenkot still leads Netanyahu on the same question, with 40%, compared to 37%.

The Kan News poll also found that a joint run by Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, supported by 57% of coalition voters, would weaken them to 10 seats, compared with a combined 12 seats if they ran separately. In that scenario, Winter’s party would rise to five seats.

If Smotrich were to join forces with Moshe Feiglin’s party, Religious Zionism would rise to seven seats, tying Ben-Gvir’s party. This would come at the expense of Winter, whose party would remain below the electoral threshold in that scenario.

In every scenario, the parties led by Benny Gantz, Gilad Erdan and Chili Tropper fail to cross the electoral threshold.

Givati soldiers. ArchiveIDF

Five Givati Brigade soldiers, yeshiva students serving in the Rotem Battalion, who refused over the weekend to board a Namer armored personnel carrier carrying a female paramedic, were sentenced Sunday evening by the battalion commander to 10 days in military prison. Another 11 soldiers were sentenced to five days of confinement.

The IDF said that two of the soldiers sentenced to 10 days in prison will undergo an evaluation committee before being allowed to return to combat.

The soldiers’ punishment sparked angry reactions from political and religious figures, who accused the IDF of failing to accommodate observant soldiers and acting contrary to Jewish law.

MK Avi Maoz, chairman of the Noam party, addressed the political and defense establishment directly. “Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, this is on your watch. You are turning your back on IDF soldiers," he said. “Givati soldiers, Rotem Battalion, you risked your lives with self-sacrifice in Lebanon, and today the army is turning its back on you. It is not acceptable that with one hand the army calls on the haredim to enlist, and with the other it harms outstanding soldiers who want to live according to their faith. Even if you are required to sit in prison, do it with your head held high and Jewish pride. Free to be a Jew."

Rabbi Dror Aryeh, one of the rabbis of the Hesder yeshiva in Sderot, also condemned the decision. “This is brazen arrogance without parallel," he said. “The Minister of Defense failed to protect dedicated soldiers from progressive theatrics. The soldiers are heroes; jail will not break them. They are the pillar of fire before the camp, and they will be remembered for generations as the true victors in this bizarre story. Their commanders acted contrary to Jewish law and contrary to orders. Those who should have been tried were the commanders who violated the procedures."

The organization Wives of Soldiers for the Sanctity of the Camp called for the soldiers’ immediate release and for disciplinary action against those responsible for their treatment.

“We demand that the soldiers be released immediately and that those who mistreat them be punished. The agenda of progressive coercion has reached the lowest moral low point and resulted in extreme, violent action. The IDF is a Jewish army; Jewish law, the mitzvah and sanctity are our guiding principles. Observant Jews should not be treated like a discarded object by commanders who are not worthy of that. This is a disgrace and a badge of shame for the IDF chief of staff and the Minister of Defense."

The organization added that the treatment of religious soldiers could undermine efforts to encourage haredi enlistment. “You will not be able to talk about drafting the haredim as long as observant Jews in the IDF are being persecuted for the existence of Torah and sanctity," it said.

Earlier, Rabbi Lundin, head of the Holon yeshiva, issued a message of support to the Rotem soldiers, connecting their decision to their religious convictions and the upcoming Jewish New Year.

“Dear friends, I want to remind you now, in the month of Elul ahead of Rosh Hashanah, of the things the rabbi writes in his introduction to the cycle," Lundin said. He explained that on Rosh Hashanah, prayer should not focus primarily on a person’s individual needs, but on the revelation of God’s kingdom.

“In other words, on Rosh Hashanah, it is a good day that a person must decide with whom he works. Does he work for his own interests, or does he work for Your blessed kingdom, with the Holy One, blessed be He? And you stood precisely in that test. You are not working for the media, nor with the progressive operation, nor for all kinds of people who think that the state belongs to them. You are working for the Master of the Universe, who goes through with Israel, through what the rabbis told you, through the IDF, which is the order to remain in the camp in the humility of purity and sanctity."

“Therefore, do not be afraid and do not be dismayed," he concluded. “You did what needed to be done, and the Holy One, blessed be He, will lead the events exactly where they need to go. We are all with you, and most importantly, our Father in Heaven is with you. Wishing you success and a good year."

The incident occurred in the Rotem Battalion of the Givati Brigade while the force operating in the Gaza Strip was preparing to carry out an operational activity that included a tour using a Namer vehicle with a female medic inside.

Three soldiers refused to board the vehicle. According to sources familiar with the incident, they were subsequently asked whether another soldier in the platoon was willing to take part in the activity, but they responded that none of the other soldiers agreed to do so.

A source familiar with the details said the company commander spoke with the soldiers and explained the importance and urgency of the operational activity, but they maintained their refusal. According to the source, the brigade rabbi was also involved and approved carrying out the activity with the medic present because of its operational importance and urgency.

It was also reported that Rabbi Tzvi Kostiner, head of the yeshiva in Mitzpeh Ramon, and Rabbi Shlomo Shushan, head of the yeshiva in Beit She’an, instructed their students serving in the company not to board a combat vehicle when a medic was present.

The Association of Hesder Yeshivas expressed support for the soldiers, arguing that they had acted in accordance with the joint service order and that there was no basis for punishing soldiers who followed the arrangement.

The IDF said that under the joint service order, soldiers who maintain a religious lifestyle are entitled to carry out operational activity in a gender-segregated framework, except in unusual circumstances. The military said that in this case, the force refused to carry out the operational activity and that, as a result, the activity was canceled.

The vehicle with the Turkish flagZvi Yehezkeli

Arab affairs pundit Zvi Yehezkeli described on his Telegram channel a site he witnessed while driving on Route 60 south of Jerusalem.

"A regular trip on Route 60 from Gush Etzion to Jerusalem, Palestinian cars pass me, and suddenly, I see a Turkish flag in front of me," Yehezkeli recounts.

He explained the significance of the site: "If you were looking for admiration for Turkey, for Sultan Erdogan, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, who promised to conquer Israel, it's all in this red and white flag, the likes of which we didn't see 10 or 20 years ago, and here, Turkey is the great savior of the Palestinians."

The vehicle with the Turkish flagPhoto: Zvi Yehezkeli

Yehezkeli wondered what would happen if it were the other way around: "What would happen if a car drove around Turkey with a little Israeli flag? Is it possible to wave the flag of Turkey, which has already become a strategic enemy?"

The pundit concluded his remarks with a strong warning about the operational significance of the photo: "A small flag and a big message. This is how jihad begins."

Pro-terror protesters at Tel Aviv UniversityIm Tirtzu

Robert Besser is a news editor who has worked in television and newspapers in the United States, Asia and the Middle East.

A damning report published August 17 by research and business-intelligence outlet The Olam documents how 50.4 percent of the 2,844 faculty members who were surveyed at Israel’s major universities signed petitions declaring that the Israel Defense Forces committed war crimes in Gaza since October 7, 2023.

The irony is that as Israeli society has become increasingly less ideological in past decades, the opposite has occurred within Israel’s universities.

And while there have always been radical leftists employed by the universities, never have there been so few moderate or conservative faculty members to provide balance. And of course, never have there been so few university instructors who are proud to say they are Zionists.

If a Christian cult had captured Israel’s universities and was indoctrinating our students in Christianity, would all Israel not rise up to demand their expulsion?

Similarly the question must be asked, are these leftist instructors who call Israeli soldiers war criminals spreading the same diseased ideas to our students that, say, a Christian cult might?

Simply put, should Jewish universities in the Jewish state, paid for by Jewish taxpayers, reflect the Zionist and Jewish beliefs of the Jews of Israel?

To no one’s surprise, the largest number of Israeli university faculty supporting the blood libels against the Jews come from the social sciences, the least academically rigorous university departments.

For instance, The Olam reports that humanities faculty members in Israel were about three-and-a-half to five times more likely to sign their names to antisemitic petitions claiming Jewish war crimes. Also in Israel, the Middle Eastern studies faculty signed at an 82 percent rate, sociology at 70 percent, philosophy at 66 percent, and political science at 59 percent of those asked.

It is most telling that a smaller number of instructors signed the petitions from the exact sciences, as opposed to the social sciences, including physics at 27 percent, chemistry at 23 percent, biology at 19 percent, and engineering at 15 percent.

Does calling Israeli soldiers war criminals, even as they fight to defend our lives, mean that the university faculties are anti-Israel? Or that they wish to see the end of the Jewish state?

Based upon my discussions with radical leftists among my acquaintances, I suspect that some of these university instructors would be only too happy to see Israel cease to be a Jewish state.

Now, if we were to say that university administrators have a responsibility to protect our students from the lethal pollution spewed from the self-hating Israeli faculty members, the instructors would scream that we are trying to deny their academic freedom to teach as they choose.

But at the end of the day, the faculty members are only employees of the universities and must behave as dictated by their employers……just as the rest of us must in the real world.

And suppose laws were passed requiring university instructors to only teach their assigned curriculums and banning any discussion of politics in the classrooms?

Also, universities might be required to order faculty members who need to behave like narcissistic children and spew politics to a captive audience to be free to do so outside of the university campus and only on their own time.

Further, it is time to end the practice of granting tenure to university instructors. They do not deserve life-time jobs any more than does the milkman, the carpenter or the baker.

Indeed, there are university instructors who act and speak in outrageous ways and then abuse their tenure to ensure they will not be held accountable for their actions and words.

And here is another idea. How about if parents seek to protect their children by refusing to send their students to universities that employ large numbers of anti-Zionist leftists.

Those self-hating leftist instructors believe in boycotting Israel? So let the Israelis who pay their salaries show the faculty members what real boycotts look like.

Additionally, we must consider that these instructors are destroying the reputations and integrity of excellent Israeli universities, which so many Jews committed their lives - and wealth - to build. Antisemites, however, love to quote them.

Indeed, Israeli anti-Zionist leftist “scholarship" has become so heavily indoctrinated as to be worthless. And wasting time during the school day with such instructors’ leftist nonsense is a misuse of students’ time.

If this anti-Zionist leftist indoctrination is allowed to continue, Israel will one day wake up to find that just as the leftists who engage in politics in the lecture room are not qualified instructors, so our universities will no longer be schools of higher learning. Rather, they will have become centers for the dissemination of woke religious dogmas which have captured every university department, as they have done in the West.

What is the bottom line? Radical leftist university faculties in Israel do not have the right to indoctrinate our students with their anti-Israel woke policies. And if these faculty members find their beliefs and values run contrary to those Israelis who pay their salaries, then they should quit and open falafel stands in Tel Aviv.

If we attempt to muzzle the anti-Israel left wing faculty members they will scream about their sacred academic freedoms being violated. However, these extraordinary hypocrites are not quite as concerned with academic freedoms when they automatically deny employment to any academic in Israel who does not goose step to their left wing opinions. Indeed, few moderate or conservative academics are today hired at left wing Israeli universities. Nor are very many Zionists.

And this they call academic freedom.

I confess to having a more painful personal insight into the motivations of radical eftist professors.

Two of Israel’s well known and more destructive and self-hating Jewish professors are cousins of mine. For 55 years my family has watched in dismay as they screamed insults about Israel and its leaders. And this madness has morphed into today’s younger professor having left the country and being given an international stage to libel Jews and Israel as racist, apartheid, genocidal….and you know the rest.

But what haunts me is that those in my family know that the screaming professor-cousins suffer from multi-generational out-of-the-pale behavior that we can trace back 120 years, characterized by wildly explosive rage, out of control anger, and horrifying abuses directed at many family members.

Indeed, those radical leftist Israeli professors in my family who love to bore us with monologues about their endless searches for truth, cannot face their own truth; that their self-hatred and rage has nothing to do with Israel, but everything to do with deep emotional problems, starting with hatred of their parents.

And although it is impossible to know for sure, one wonders how many other anti-Ziionist leftist university instructors in Israel spew their hatred due to their own problems?

Israel needs to restore academic legitimacy to its university faculties and demand an end to the discussion of all politics in classrooms.

Only the finest academic subject materials must be taught to our students by the best qualified instructors, regardless of their political beliefs.

And taxpayer funded universities must reflect the people of Israel’s principles of Zionism and Judaism, while their faculties must be required to teach our values.

Israeli sovereignty means not only controlling our borders....but also regaining control of our universities to ensure students receive a superior education that is free from the truly sick, self-hating indoctrination of anti-Zionist leftist university instructors.

Former US ambassador to Israel David Friedman tweeted in response to the reports of clashes between Israelis and Palestinians in the town of Qusra over Shabbat.

"Here’s the other side of the “settler violence" headlines from yesterda," he wrote, adding a video showing how the Israeli group was attacked during a Shabbat hike. "The Jews seem to have been attacked on Shabbat so the Palestinians could get ahead of the media. When the Jews push back, the cameras start to roll."

"If you think this was not encouraged, and even caused, by the 45 Democratic senators publicly condemning “settler violence," you don’t understand the Middle East. Again, political vacuums generally are not filled well. Time for One Jewish State," he concluded.

Golan Druze village leadersFlash 90

Ask Israelis about the Druze and the first thing they’ll refer to is the stellar performance of Druze soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces. Their role in the defense of Israel is known as “the covenant of blood," and is a point of pride in the Druze community. In towns and villages the Druze and Israeli flags fly side by side.

Moreover, at the behest of the Israeli and Golan Druze, the IDF entered Syria in 2025 and came to the Druze’s defense, despite an international outcry.

Many Israelis vacation in Druze towns and villages. These towns have all the culture and flavor (and bargains) of Muslim Israeli towns, without the hostility. Visitors see the difference between the two immediately; all street signs are in both Hebrew and Arabic. Unlike most Muslims living inside Israel, 94% of similar Druze identify as Israeli.

Who are the Druze? They are Arab in language, culture, and DNA, but It is their religion that is unique. Both the Druze and Muslims emphasize that the Druze religion, strictly monotheistic, is neither similar nor derived from Islam. What especially appeals to Jews is that the Druze claim descent from Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses. The most significant Druze celebration is the annual pilgrimage to Jethro’s tomb (in the Lower Galilee region of Israel west of Tiberias) -a national holiday in Israel.

In Jewish tradition Jethro’s descendants were the Kenites. Yael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, is a biblical heroine who cleverly executed Sisera, an oppressor of the Jews. The account highlights both the alliance of the Kenites with the Israelis and the assertive role of their women.

Of all sectors in today’s Israel, the Druze have among the highest percentage of enlistment in the IDF: over 80%. In the army many have advanced to senior ranks and have earned a reputation for courage under fire. At least 14 Druze IDF soldiers fell since October 7.

The Druze religion has few rituals, emphasizing moral behavior, temperance, and moderation, rather than rites. The Druze holy day is Thursday, separate from the Shabbat of Israelis, and the Friday of Muslims. They believe in reincarnation and a messianic Golden Age of justice and peace for all. Druze communities are very close-knit, since they accept no converts and cold-shoulder those who marry out.

In their youth Druze, both men and women are asked to decide whether they wish to become special initiates. This group, only 10% of their population, studies the secret texts and mysteries of the faith. These tenets are hidden, even from other Druze, however there is no stigma or lower status for those who choose not to join the initiates. The Druze have always prohibited polygamy and place women in a prominent, though not leadership, role.

Syria and Lebanon have larger Druze populations than Israel, but Druze presence in the Holy Land is ancient. Muslim generals enlisted Druze soldiers to fight the Crusaders. In 1165 the iconic Jewish traveler, Benjamin of Tudela, noted of the Druze “they love the Jews," a sentiment as rare in those times as it is today.

The relationship with Jews has not always been rosy. It is said that some of the secret texts are antisemitic. In the 18th and 19th centuries there were Druze riots in Israel in which Jewish homes were plundered and synagogues desecrated. But since before the establishment of the state, the Druze have proven themselves to be favorable to Israel. The feeling is mutual and the Druze have prospered as their numbers have increased ten times since 1948.

In the Six Day War of 1967, Israel conquered the Golan Heights, which has a large Druze population. Golan Druze were offered Israeli citizenship, but few signed up for it, remaining neutral in the complexity of loyalties to Syria. Israeli, Golan and Syrian Druze consider themselves all close relatives. Israel granted the Golan Druze special passports that allowed them to travel without declaring themselves citizens.

The balance changed in April of 2025 when the Druze in Syria were attacked by Sunni Bedouins who were soon joined by Syrian government forces and then by Islamists. There was a bloodbath. Israel was then seen as the only real defender of the Druze, wherever they lived, demonstrating that the covenant of blood exists on both sides.

On July 27, 2024, an Iranian-made rocket strike launched in Lebanon killed 12 Druze children and teenagers while they were playing soccer in the Druze town of Majdal Shams.

Of course, the Druze community wants the Israeli government to support it in other ways as well. The leadership has demonstrated and demanded that support for education, welfare, and employment opportunities should be increased. Of course, almost all other sub-communities in Israel (Kibbutzim, haredi Jews, Israeli Arabs, Bedouins) demand the same things. The difference is, the majority of Israelis support the Druze’s claim

The Qusra "Siege" Propaganda Exposed

In a video aimed at international audiences, Israeli public diplomacy advocate and Samaria resident Ezra Tubi challenges media reports about the village of Qusra, arguing that claims of a Jewish "siege" are false and part of a broader campaign to delegitimize Israel.

As international headlines continue to portray the events surrounding the Palestinian village of Qusra as another example of "settler violence" and a "siege" on Palestinian homes, Israeli spokesman and Samaria resident Ezra Tubi is presenting a very different narrative.

Standing on a strategic hill overlooking the area, Tubi opens his English-language video with a direct challenge to the international media.

"Behind me are the 'terrorist settlers' you've been reading about," he says. "But I'm about to show you a completely different story."

According to Tubi, the Jewish presence on the hill is not only rooted in historical and biblical ties to the land but is also driven by urgent security concerns.

"This is our ancestral homeland," he says. "But just as importantly, this location has enormous strategic significance for the safety of thousands of Israelis."

Tubi links the current tensions to the October 7 Hamas massacre, arguing that support for the attack was openly expressed in Qusra.

He points to an official statement issued by the village municipality one day after the massacre, announcing a general strike in honor of what it described as the "heroic martyrs of Gaza." For Tubi, this demonstrates that the security threat is far from theoretical.

"Based on our experience," he says, "we have every reason to believe that, given the opportunity, they would do exactly the same thing to their Jewish neighbors."

He goes on to argue that the struggle over the hill is not accidental but part of a much larger battle over strategic terrain.

"This is one of the highest points in Samaria," he explains. "Whoever controls this hill controls the surrounding area. The expansion of Arab construction here has not been random. It is part of a deliberate strategy, backed by funding and political support from hostile Arab countries and European governments."

According to Tubi, a group of young Jewish residents established a presence on the hill in an effort to prevent what they viewed as a strategic takeover.

"From the moment the Israeli flag was planted here," he says, "the entire world turned against them. Livestock was poisoned, explosive devices were planted, and young Jews were targeted in lynching attempts."

A central focus of Tubi's message is the widely reported claim that Jewish residents imposed a "siege" on Palestinian homes near Qusra.

He dismisses the allegation outright.

"The media keeps repeating the word 'siege,'" he says. "But where exactly is the siege? These are the two houses everyone is talking about. Where is the evidence? Where are the videos showing a siege? A group of Jews standing in an area during an active conflict is not a siege."

Tubi concludes by arguing that the controversy surrounding Qusra is merely one chapter in what he describes as a much broader information war against Israel.

"This is just another propaganda campaign," he says. "Yesterday it was allegations of deliberate starvation, genocide, or killing babies in Gaza. Today it's 'settler violence.' Don't be fooled. This is not a campaign against settlers. It is a campaign against the State of Israel and against Jews around the world."

Gas stationistock

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has ordered a reduction of the excise tax on fuel to offset the price increase planned to take effect this week.

Smotrich's office stated that "the Finance Ministry is holding professional discussions to formulate the exact discount threshold and mechanism. The Finance Minister intends to sign the order as soon as possible so that the price reduction goes into effect within the coming days."

Earlier, the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure Fuel and Gas Administration announced a 16 aguras-a-liter price increase, set to take effect overnight between Monday and Tuesday. 95-octane unleaded gasoline will rise to 8.25 NIS per liter (31.23 NIS per gallon) at self-service pumps. The additional full-service tariff will also increase by one agura, to 26 aguras per liter.

Bat Sheva Abuhatzera, head of the Fuel and Gas Administration at the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, detailed the reasons for the tariff changes. She explained that the increase resulted from several factors: an approximately 6% rise in global gasoline prices, partially offset by a roughly 3% weakening of the dollar.

Together, these two factors added approximately 10 agorot to the price per liter. In addition, the Israel Tax Authority’s index-linked adjustment to the excise tax added around five agorot, while the semiannual update to the marketing margin added another agora. Combined, these changes resulted in a total increase of 16 agorot for September.

Rain, illustrationFlash 90

After forecasts of unusually heavy rainfall over the past few days failed to materialize as expected in central Israel, Nachum Malek, chief forecaster at Meteo-Tech, explained to Arutz Sheva - Israel National News what caused the discrepancy between the forecasts and the weather that ultimately arrived. According to Malek, the weather system shifted farther north than initially expected, meaning its main effects were felt outside Israel and in the northern part of the country.

“We thought last week that the system would be closer," Malek said. “We thought the autumnal focus of the system would pass nearer to the country, but in the end the system was farther north and crossed into Lebanon. Since we are still not in the rainy season, the effect of the system was more concentrated in places closer to it."

“At first, it was forecast that the track would be more southern for the low-pressure system that caused the stormy weather, and indeed we saw images from Lebanon and Cyprus of heavy rain and strong winds," he added.

As a result, Israel experienced only the fringes of the system. Heavy rain fell in the north, but the rainfall did not extend southward into central Israel. “There are still leftovers with cooler air than we are used to during this period, so tonight and tomorrow morning there is a possibility of drizzle or light rain in the north or center, but nothing significant."

Regarding the widespread warnings that had prepared Israelis for what appeared to be an unusually powerful storm, Malek said that the way forecasts are communicated also played a role. “The terminology used to convey the information is also important. We passed it on in a certain way, and there were elements that conveyed it more publicly, but we also thought there was concern about flooding and heavy rains, and that is how a snowball developed, out of season, and gathered momentum."

“They told the media that there would be unprecedented events compared to this period and large amounts of rainfall, and since we do not experience much rain here, mainly in August, this caused very serious echoes and media coverage. We need to find that balance between alerts and warnings that are important for local authorities and the public, and to do it in a time frame closer to the event," he said. “Find the middle so that the situation is clarified without causing panic."

“Time beat the forecast," Malek said. “We are in August, and the fact is that in Lebanon we saw large amounts of rain that were unprecedented, and it was a hair’s breadth away from the chance that we would see it here as well. We are not prophets. We are forecasters. The word by its name is only a forecast, a prediction."

He explained that forecast accuracy increases as the predicted event draws closer. “As the forecast time approaches, accuracy increases, and the truth is that on Thursday afternoon we saw signs of weakening in the system, which had looked farther north and less severe than it seemed at first. Unfortunately, by the time we could see that, the predicitions had already been publicized."

Janez JansaAndrej Tarfila / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect

Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar and Prime Minister Janez Janša publicly clashed during the weekend over Israel and Slovenia's approach to European Union foreign policy, after Pirc Musar called on Slovenia to support a joint EU statement regarding further Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria.

Pirc Musar said that the same principles must be applied when assessing violations of international law, regardless of the country involved.

"The expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank is contrary to international law, undermines the two-state solution and reduces the prospects for lasting peace," the President's statement said. She therefore called for "a clear and unified European response" to such actions.

"International law is not a matter of political choice, and there must be no double standards in respecting it. It applies equally to everyone," Pirc Musar said.

She added, "Slovenia, from its own historical experience, understands well the importance of sovereignty and territorial integrity, and must therefore be particularly consistent in defending them. When these principles are violated, Slovenia must be among the countries that clearly defend them."

Janša responded with a four-point statement rejecting the President's position and emphasizing that Slovenia is a sovereign country with its own say over EU foreign policy.

"Yugoslavia no longer exists; this is Slovenia," Janša began.

He continued: "Swearing by international law while at the same time speaking about genocide in Gaza or in Judea and Samaria (aka the West Bank), which under international law has not been established by any competent institution, is a political choice of a special kind."

Janša also rejected the assertion that Slovenia is required to support a common European position.

"Slovenia is a sovereign state and an equal member of the EU, and without our consent - or the consent of any other member state - there is no 'European foreign policy position' that we must support," he said. "We are decision-makers, not servants."

Janša added that the Slovenian government "has a clear direction regarding the priorities of its work, which are focused on increasing the prosperity of the Slovenian people, and will therefore pursue a pragmatic policy in all areas of its constitutional competence."

"The same is expected from other holders of public office who, upon taking office, swore that they would work for the prosperity of Slovenia," he concluded.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu subsequently thanked Janša for his remarks, accusing the EU of hypocrisy in its treatment of Israel.

"Thank you PM Janša for your courage and clarity amidst EU hypocrisy," Netanyahu said.

"The EU remains silent when Turkey, a NATO member, illegally occupies half of Cyprus - an EU member! Yet when the Jewish people want to exercise their historic right to build and live in their ancestral homeland, the EU is outraged."

Netanyahu added: "You reminded everyone that Slovenia is a sovereign state and an equal member of the EU. That is not a provocation. It is a right that some wish to deny."

"Thank you, Janez, for your conviction and leadership," Netanyahu concluded.

Pete HegsethDoW / U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Eric Brann

Senior US military leaders have warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that continuing large-scale operations against Iran risks weakening the military's ability to respond to threats elsewhere, including threats to the US homeland, The Washington Post reported.

According to the report, the warnings were included in the August 14 edition of the Secretary of Defense Orders Book, a classified Pentagon document detailing the availability and allocation of US forces and military equipment around the world.

The assessment included input from the leadership of the Army, Navy and Air Force, as well as senior commanders responsible for US military operations in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

President Donald Trump has continued to press Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and accept US conditions for ending the conflict, while maintaining that further military action remains an option. US Central Command has consequently kept more than 50,000 troops on alert in case additional strikes are ordered.

The August 14 document calls for some US forces currently stationed in the Middle East to remain there through September, while other deployments are expected to continue into 2027.

According to people familiar with the assessment cited in the report, the heads of US European Command, US Pacific Command and US Southern Command, together with the Navy's senior leadership, formally disagreed with requirements to continue supplying forces for the Iran operation, while indicating that they would nevertheless carry out the orders.

Ships, aircraft and other military assets assigned to commands in Europe, Asia and Latin America have been redirected to support operations involving Iran, affecting those commands' ability to carry out missions and training.

Army and Air Force leaders agreed to continue their deployments but warned that doing so involved substantial risks, according to the report.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said decisions concerning the scale and duration of forces assigned to combatant commands are based on current threats, priorities established by the President and recommendations from senior military commanders.

Parnell added that the Pentagon does not discuss its internal operational procedures or the assessments provided during deliberations over the allocation of military forces.

The Navy has faced particularly heavy demands during the conflict, providing numerous vessels for operations against Iran, defense against Iranian attacks and the blockade of Iranian ports.

Adm. Daryl Caudle, the chief of Naval Operations, warned that the Navy could not indefinitely maintain its present contribution to the Iran operation without a defined end point, according to people familiar with the assessment.

Caudle also reportedly told Hegseth that only about one-quarter of the Navy's destroyer fleet was currently prepared for deployment. The assessment warned that continued demands could disrupt ship maintenance and reduce the fleet's readiness for other potential conflicts.

The Army's 82nd Airborne Division, which mobilized 2,000 soldiers in March in response to the war, is expected to remain in the Middle East at least through September. Units operating Patriot air-defense systems are also expected to have their deployments extended.

The report said the conflict has placed pressure on US stocks of Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptors and Tomahawk missiles. It also said approximately one-quarter of the Pentagon's Reaper drone fleet has been lost and US bases in the region have sustained billions of dollars in damage.

The Trump administration has disputed reports that the US is facing shortages of munitions.

Numerous Air Force units deployed to the Middle East for bombing missions and other operations are also expected to remain in the region into 2027, according to the report.

The concerns raised in the latest assessment follow earlier warnings from senior military officials regarding the resources required for an extended campaign.

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reportedly warned the White House before the fighting began that the US lacked sufficient munitions and allied support for a prolonged large-scale operation.

Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, commander of US European Command, has also warned that insufficient naval resources could affect the military's ability to protect Israel and the US homeland from missile attacks.

In the Pacific, US allies have raised concerns that the diversion of missiles and air-defense systems could leave the region more vulnerable to China. The Navy's dedicated Pacific aircraft carrier was also transferred to the Middle East to replace another carrier that had been deployed for more than 300 days.

אומרים סליחות בכותל המזרחיצילום: באדיבות המצלם

The phenomenon of renewed Jewish prayer at the eastern wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is taking hold with weekly Slichot services, the traditional forgiveness prayers recited leading up to Yom Kippur. The initiative was launched last weekend and is expected to continue this Thursday night as well.

According to those behind the initiative, the eastern wall is older than the more frequented Western Wall and, throughout most of Jewish history, held more importance. They explain that there is currently nothing preventing prayer at the site, which is only a few minutes' walk from the Western Wall.

Those behind the initiative quote the Mishnah: "One must not be lighthearted next to the eastern gate, when he is facing the Holy of Holies." The Temple's main entrance faced east.

The organizers explain that over the years, Jews have wanted to pray on the Temple Mount, but were not always able to do so. Therefore, Jews prayed at its walls in different directions.

Now they seek to renew the Jewish presence and prayer at the eastern wall. "The People of Israel are returning to the eastern wall, which is ancient and important," they say.

United AirlinesSpokesperson

United Airlines has announced that it will resume nonstop service between Tel Aviv and San Francisco in March 2027.

The year-round service from Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport to San Francisco International Airport will operate three times a week beginning March 30, 2027. According to United, the airline will offer more business class seats between the two cities than any other airline.

The San Francisco route will join several other United routes connecting Israel and the United States.

United's Tel Aviv-Newark/New York service is set to resume on September 9, 2026, operating twice daily. A third flight, operating four times weekly, is scheduled to begin on November 4.

Four-times-weekly flights between Tel Aviv and Chicago are scheduled to resume on October 26, while three-times-weekly service between Tel Aviv and Washington Dulles is scheduled to resume on October 28.

With these services, United said it will offer more flights from Tel Aviv than any other US airline.

United noted that its service to Tel Aviv always follows a detailed assessment of operational, safety, and security considerations in the region.

“We are pleased to announce the return of our service between Tel Aviv and San Francisco for summer 2027," said Yael Barzilay, Country Sales Manager Israel, United Airlines.

“This restores an important connection between two of the world’s leading technology hubs, and our customers in Israel will be able to benefit from greater travel choice and seamless connections via our US hubs in Chicago, Newark/New York, San Francisco, and Washington Dulles to over 225 destinations across the Americas."

The Tel Aviv-San Francisco route will be operated using a Boeing 787-9 aircraft with 257 seats, including 48 United Polaris business class flatbed seats with aisle access, 21 United Premium Plus seats and 188 United Economy seats. The economy cabin includes 39 Economy Plus seats offering additional legroom and personal space.

Flight UA955 will depart Tel Aviv at 12:55 a.m. on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays and arrive in San Francisco at 6:00 a.m. The year-round service is scheduled to resume on March 30, 2027.

In the opposite direction, flight UA954 will depart San Francisco at 7:40 p.m. on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays and arrive in Tel Aviv at 7:55 p.m. the following day. That service is scheduled to resume on March 28, 2027.

The resumption of the Tel Aviv-San Francisco route forms part of what United described as the largest international network expansion in the company's history, encompassing 10 new international cities and three new routes across Europe and Asia.

Beginning as early as March 2027, United plans to launch service to 10 new international cities, including eight which it said are not served by any other US airline.

The new services include San Francisco-Okinawa; Washington Dulles-Toulouse; and flights from Newark/New York to Luxembourg City, Marseille, Ibiza, Valencia, Terceira, Ljubljana, Olbia and Catania.

United's Airbus A321XLR aircraft will operate the new services to Ibiza, Luxembourg, Marseille, Toulouse and Valencia.

The airline also plans to add flights between Los Angeles and Osaka, Washington, DC and Milan, and Denver and Paris, in addition to resuming the San Francisco-Tel Aviv route.

United said it will also bring back destinations added for summer 2026 for the summer 2027 season, including flights from Newark/New York to Split, Bari, Glasgow and Santiago de Compostela.

According to the airline, it has added 58 international destinations to its route map since 2017 and currently flies to more than 160 international destinations.

All of the new flights are subject to government approval and are available for sale through United's website and app.

Donald TrumpWhite House Photo by Abe McNatt

A delegation of prominent Hasidic rabbis and yeshiva heads is reportedly scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday.

According to reports, those invited include the Satmar Rebbes, the Skverer Rebbe, the Bobover Rebbe, the Bobov-45 Rebbe, the Vizhnitzer Rebbe of Monsey, and Rabbi Aryeh Malkiel Kotler, a senior leader of Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, along with additional rabbis and communal representatives.

Some details surrounding the meeting, including the full list of participants, have not been independently confirmed, and no public announcement confirming the meeting has been issued by the White House.

The planned meeting was partially confirmed by Rabbi Aharon Teitelbaum, the Satmar Rebbe of Kiryas Joel, who told students on Friday night that he had received an invitation to meet Trump at the White House together with other rabbis and community representatives.

The Satmar Rebbe said that he had initially considered declining the invitation, citing the Jewish month of Elul and preparations for the High Holidays.

He also played down the significance of meeting the US president in itself, telling his students that Jewish religious study was of greater importance than the prestige surrounding a presidential meeting.

The Rebbe said he ultimately decided to accept the invitation after recalling a meeting with a US president approximately 30 years ago, during which he was able to assist a Jew facing difficulties.

He said he hopes the upcoming meeting could similarly be used to assist an individual currently in distress.

The Satmar Rebbe also said he intends to raise the controversy surrounding the enlistment of yeshiva students in Israel.

“Right now tens of thousands of Jews in Israel are suffering over this decree to draft yeshiva students," he said, expressing hope that he would be able to appeal to Trump for assistance on the issue.

Reports on the planned meeting have also said that members of the delegation are expected to express appreciation to Trump for his administration's support for the Orthodox Jewish community and its institutions and to discuss concerns affecting Orthodox Jewish education.

The Satmar Rebbe's decision to meet Trump comes despite his previous sharp criticism of the president and of support for him among Orthodox Jews.

In November 2022, Teitelbaum condemned what he called “Trumpism" within the Orthodox Jewish community, saying it had “infiltrated the Jewish camp" and accusing some Trump supporters of having been “brainwashed."

Speaking after the 2022 New York gubernatorial election, in which he supported Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul, the Satmar Rebbe said his political considerations were focused on protecting his community and its educational institutions.

“We are not going to fix America. It’s not our job to fix America. Our goal is to protect ourselves," he said at the time.

Addressing his students ahead of this week's reported White House meeting, the Rebbe again warned against becoming overly focused on Trump or the attention surrounding the visit.

“Don't get swept up in all this ‘Trumpism,’" he said, adding that a single Torah lesson in the yeshiva was worth more to him than the entire affair.

Buildings on their way to the new townYaakov and Linoy Benita

A new agricultural outpost, Bitaron, was established in the Jordan Valley on Sunday, with the first structures placed on the site under the jurisdiction of the Jordan Valley Regional Council.

The outpost is expected to be officially inaugurated next month, with approximately 20 families already preparing to move in and make it their home.

The Shomer Hadash organization describes Bitaron as the first step in a broader initiative called “A Wraparound for Israel," which aims to establish additional communities along Israel’s eastern border and in other border regions. The organization said the placement of the first structures represents only “the tip of the iceberg" of the wider initiative.

Yoel Silberman, founder and CEO of Shomer Hadash, described the establishment of the outpost as “a moment of restoration and hope" and said the October 7th massacre highlighted the need for a renewed approach to developing Israel’s border regions.

“After the massacre, it was clear that we needed to reorganize along the borders," Silberman wrote. “It is not reasonable that there be dozens of kilometers of emptiness, without a living soul. It was clear that we needed to return the pioneers’ enterprise with a 21st-century model."

Silberman said the initiative envisions transforming border areas into “green belts" combining young communities, innovative industries and the development of solutions in food and water. He said the plan would also create educational opportunities and strengthen communities living along Israel’s borders.

“To take the greatest dangers at the borders and turn them into a positive force for creation out of the war," he wrote. He described the initiative as “a deep change in the security concept, based on the simple understanding that strong communities along the borders are an engine of growth for our national security."

Silberman emphasized that Bitaron is only the beginning of the broader plan. “The agricultural outpost Bitaron, which is being brought to land today, is the ‘tip of the iceberg’ for a much broader initiative of ‘A Wraparound for Israel’," he wrote.

Israeli strike in Iranvia REUTERS

The Jewish People Policy Institute’s (JPPI) August 2026 Voice of the Jewish People Index found that just one-third of US Jews view the war with Iran as successful, while nearly two-thirds view it as a failure.

According to the survey, 33% of US respondents said the campaign succeeded, compared with 64% who said it failed and 4% who said they did not know. The share viewing the campaign as successful has declined from 66% in March to 56% in April, 48% in May, 28% in June, 36% in July and 33% in August.

The survey found a sharp political divide. Among strong liberals, 89% viewed the campaign as a failure, while 80% of strong conservatives viewed it as a success. Among those who voted in the 2024 US presidential election, 73% of Trump voters viewed the campaign as successful, while 84% of Harris voters viewed it as a failure.

Similar declines were recorded among respondents in Canada and the UK. In Canada, the share viewing the campaign as successful fell from 70% in March to 37% in August. In the UK, it fell from 75% to 31% over the same period.

Despite the declining assessment of the campaign’s outcome, 55% of connected US Jews said the US military action against Iran did not go far enough. Thirty percent said it went too far, 3% said it was about right, and 12% said they did not know.

Among strong liberals, 64% said the action went too far. By contrast, 96% of lean conservatives and 93% of strong conservatives said it did not go far enough. Among Trump voters, 94% said the action did not go far enough, while 45% of Harris voters said it went too far.

Ratings of the leaders who conducted the campaign also declined. Twenty-six percent of US respondents rated President Donald Trump’s leadership on Iran as good in August, compared with 46% in March. Sixty-seven percent rated his leadership as poor and 6% as neutral.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership rating on Iran declined from 53% rating it as good in March to 38% in August, while 52% rated it as poor. Among strong conservatives, 92% rated Netanyahu’s leadership positively, compared with 11% of strong liberals. Among centrists, 47% rated his leadership as good and 37% as poor.

The survey was conducted August 15-20, 2026, among 804 US respondents, 136 Canadian respondents and 68 UK respondents. JPPI said the survey primarily reflects the views of “connected" Jews with relatively strong ties to the Jewish community, Israel and/or Jewish identity, and that the sample is not representative of all US Jews. Canadian and UK findings were presented as indicative trends due to the small sample sizes.

Israeli ballotOlivier Fitoussi/Flash90

A majority of US Jews prefer the current opposition to win Israel’s upcoming election, according to the Jewish People Policy Institute’s (JPPI) August 2026 Voice of the Jewish People Index.

The survey found that 54% of US respondents prefer the current opposition to win, compared with 14% who prefer the current coalition. Eight percent said they have no preference, while 24% said it is not their place to say.

Preferences differed sharply according to political orientation. Among strong liberals, 78% preferred the opposition, as did 71% of those who lean liberal. Among strong conservatives, 56% preferred the coalition, while 8% preferred the opposition. Among Trump voters, 43% preferred the coalition and 13% the opposition, while 34% said it was not their place to say. Among Harris voters, 74% preferred the opposition and 1% preferred the coalition.

Among respondents eligible to vote in Israel, 55% preferred the opposition and 26% preferred the coalition. Among those not eligible to vote, 53% preferred the opposition and 14% preferred the coalition. Twenty-five percent of those not eligible to vote said it was not their place to say, compared with 15% of eligible voters.

The survey also found that 78% of US respondents follow news about the Israeli election very or somewhat closely, including 35% who follow it very closely and 43% somewhat closely. Only 8% of respondents hold Israeli citizenship and are eligible to vote.

Attention to the election was higher among those eligible to vote: 63% said they follow developments very closely and 29% somewhat closely. Among those not eligible to vote, 32% follow very closely and 45% somewhat closely.

Respondents were also asked about Israelis living abroad who travel to Israel to vote. Sixty-five percent said that if people care enough to invest the time and money required to travel back to Israel, their vote is legitimate. Seventeen percent said participation by people who do not live in Israel and do not bear the consequences of their vote is problematic, while 18% said they did not know.

Majorities of both Trump voters and Harris voters regarded such voting as legitimate, at 58% and 70% respectively. Twenty-seven percent of Trump voters said such voting is problematic, compared with 12% of Harris voters. Among respondents eligible to vote in Israel, 27% regarded such participation as problematic, compared with 16% of those not eligible to vote.

Most respondents said they did not know Israelis living outside Israel who plan to travel to Israel to vote. In the US, 63% said they knew no such Israelis, while 37% said they knew many, a few, or one or two.

The survey was conducted August 15-20, 2026, among 804 US respondents, 136 Canadian respondents and 68 UK respondents. JPPI said the survey primarily reflects the views of “connected" Jews with relatively strong ties to the Jewish community, Israel and/or Jewish identity, and that the sample is not representative of all US Jews. It does not differentiate Orthodox Jews from other groups, although most of the Orthodox back the coalition. Canadian and UK findings were presented as indicative trends due to the small sample sizes.

Passenger ferry sinks off the coast of the Girne Port #news #cyprus

A passenger ferry carrying about 270 people capsized today (Sunday) off the northern coast of Cyprus. Rescue services and the coast guard were dispatched to the area and are working to evacuate the passengers and crew.

According to reports, the ferry capsized off the coast of Kyrenia shortly after setting out. Its destination was Taşköprü in Turkey.

The mayor of Kyrenia said that the vessel had about 270 passengers and crew. Coast guard forces and additional vessels have arrived at the scene and are taking part in the rescue operation.

Medical graduate lead police on wild chase after ramming patrol car

A 29-year-old Rahat resident who recently completed his medical exams has been indicted after allegedly fleeing police on Route 77 in northern Israel and ramming a police vehicle.

An M16 rifle was also recovered during the investigation. Police said the weapon matched additional components found inside the defendant’s vehicle.

The incident took place on the evening of August 10, when Northern District police were operating on Route 77 near the Beit Rimon Interchange. Officers signaled the vehicle to pull over for a traffic violation, according to police.

Instead, the driver allegedly accelerated away, triggering a pursuit that continued for several kilometers. During the chase, officers fired precise shots at the vehicle’s tires. The suspect was eventually stopped after crashing into a police vehicle blocking his escape.

During the pursuit, officers noticed a bag being thrown from the vehicle. Police later recovered the bag and found various weapons and military equipment inside. Additional findings were discovered in the suspect’s vehicle.

Shortly afterward, police received a report from a woman who had been driving on the road and said she had run over a bag. When she arrived home, she noticed the bag had become lodged underneath her vehicle and was being dragged along the road. She alerted police.

Officers who arrived at her home examined the bag and found an M16 rifle inside. Police said the weapon matched additional parts found in the defendant’s vehicle.

The suspect was arrested and questioned by Northern District police. Following the investigation, prosecutors filed an indictment and requested that he be held in custody until the conclusion of the proceedings.

Police said that since the beginning of the year, Northern District officers and Border Police personnel have seized more than 610 lethal weapons in the district as part of efforts to combat illegal weapons trafficking and possession.

Authorities said operations to locate and seize illegal weapons will continue.

"מה זה? אימאל'ה": כך נחשפו 1.4 מיליון ש"ח שהוסלקו בדופן כפולה ברכב

Approximately NIS 1.4 million ($400,000) in cash, suspected of being terror funds, was seized over the weekend after being concealed inside a double wall in a vehicle attempting to enter Jerusalem from Judea and Samaria.

The vehicle's 29-year-old Jerusalem resident driver was arrested and transferred for a joint investigation by the Jerusalem District Police Central Unit and the Shin Bet.

The seizure took place during an operation by Border Police officers serving in the Jerusalem Envelope and personnel at the crossings at the Tunnels Checkpoint. The forces stopped the vehicle for inspection as it approached the checkpoint on its way toward Jerusalem.

In footage of the incident, one of the officers can be seen searching the vehicle, first checking the trunk and then moving to the passenger compartment. As he opens a rear door and continues his inspection, he is suddenly heard exclaiming in surprise, "What is this? Oh my God!"

The officer is then heard telling a colleague that the money was found inside a double wall in the vehicle. Immediately after discovering the cash, he orders the driver to turn off the engine and exit the vehicle.

A search by the forces uncovered two bags containing cash concealed inside the double wall. The total amount seized was approximately NIS 1.4 million, and police suspect the money was intended to finance terrorism.

Following the seizure, the driver, a 29-year-old Jerusalem resident, was arrested and transferred for further joint questioning by the Jerusalem District Police Central Unit and the Shin Bet. His detention was extended by the Magistrate's Court.

בועט בגור חתוליםדוברות המשטרה

A 15-year-old minor was arrested over the weekend on suspicion of beating and kicking a kitten near the Lions’ Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City. The incident was identified by operators at the Israel Police’s Mabat 2000 surveillance center.

According to police, the incident occurred on Bab al-Huta Street and was classified as animal abuse. Following the footage, officers from the David District and Jerusalem Border Police officers from the Old City Battalion began working to locate the suspect.

During the operation, conducted with the assistance of Mabat 2000 surveillance operators, police located a 15-year-old resident of the area suspected of beating and kicking the kitten. Officers arrested him, and he was taken to the David District for questioning.

At the conclusion of the investigation, the minor was brought before the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court. The court ordered that he be released to house arrest.

The investigation file was transferred to the Israel Police Prosecution Unit for review. The unit will consider further proceedings in the case and whether to prosecute the suspect to the fullest extent of the law.

Benny GantzYonatan Sindel/Flash90

MK Benny Gantz, chairman of the Blue and White-National Unity faction, has revealed details about American efforts to prevent Israel from taking military action in the Gaza Strip following the October 7, 2023 attack.

In an interview on Raz Shechnik’s podcast, Gantz said that the administration of then-President Joe Biden sent four senior officers to Israel in an effort to dissuade the Israeli leadership from launching a military operation in the Gaza Strip, arguing that such an operation could fail in a manner similar to the difficulties encountered by American forces in Fallujah, Iraq.

Gantz said that he rejected the position of the four American generals, stressing that Israel had no choice but to take forceful military action in the Gaza Strip in response to the attack and as part of the effort to free the hostages.

Two days after the October 7, 2023 attack, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken published a post on X in which he said that he had expressed support for Turkey’s position calling for a ceasefire and the immediate release of all the hostages.

The post was interpreted as indicating opposition by the U.S. administration to military action in the Gaza Strip and was deleted following public criticism.

Search underway in TekoaPolice Spokesperson

Two brothers, ages 3 and 7, from Tekoa in Gush Etzion, were found safe after leaving their home late in the evening and disappearing. Following an extensive search, the children were found many hours later asleep under a tree, covered with a tarp.

After receiving a report of the children's disappearance, volunteers from the Etzion-Yehuda Rescue Unit of the Judea and Samaria District and officers from the Etzion Police Station launched searches for the brothers. The community emergency response team and local security department also joined the effort.

Meanwhile, hundreds of local residents arrived at the search command post established by the rescue unit to assist in the search. Three deployment points were set up, and volunteers headed into the field after receiving instructions on how to conduct the search.

After an extended search, the brothers were located by a search team dispatched under the direction of the Etzion-Yehuda Rescue Unit's locating team. The children were found asleep beneath a tree and covered with a tarp.

According to police, both children are in good condition. After being found at the conclusion of the overnight search, the brothers returned home.

First graders start schoolFlash 90

Just before the start of the 2026-2027 school year, the Population and Immigration Authority has published the list of the most common names among new students who will begin first grade.

The data show that Mohammed tops the overall ranking for boys, while Tamar ranks first among girls.

In the overall boys’ ranking, Yosef is in second place and Adam in third. They are followed by David, Omer, Ariel, Daniel, Lavi, Eitan and Ahmad.

Among boys in the Jewish sector, the picture is different, with Ariel ranking first and David second. Lavi is third, followed by Uri, Daniel, Eitan, Noam, Itay, Rafael and Yehuda.

Tamar tops the overall list for girls, followed by Miriam and Avigail in second and third place. Rounding out the top ten are Adele, Sarah, Yael, Noa, Shira, Lia and Maya.

Tamar also ranks first among girls in the Jewish sector, with Avigail in second place and Yael in third. They are followed by Noa, Adele, Shira, Sarah, Ayala, Lia and Ella.

Memorial to 9/11ערוץ 7

Duvi Honig is Founder and CEO, Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce

Canada has just given the Western world a taste of what Jews have been warning about since October 7.

Its taxpayer-funded national broadcaster has instructed journalists not to describe September 11 itself as a “terrorist attack."

Think about that.

Terrorists hijacked passenger airplanes, flew them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, murdered nearly 3,000 people and dragged America into wars that cost thousands more lives.

Even 9/11 now requires linguistic caution.

If September 11 does not automatically qualify as terrorism, can anything be called by that name?

For Jews, this is painfully familiar. Since October 7, Hamas terrorists have become “militants," Jewish students intimidated on campuses are told it is merely “anti-Israel activism," and violence against Jewish institutions is explained through Middle East politics.

Now that same confusion is reaching September 11.

This week, four men pleaded guilty after four Hatzola ambulances were deliberately burned in Golders Green, London. These were emergency vehicles whose purpose is saving lives. All lives. British authorities have investigated possible links to pro-Iranian extremism.

Jewish ambulances burn in London while Britain increases political and economic pressure on Israel.

Britain is moving toward tougher restrictions connected to Israeli activity in Yehuda and Shomron, while voices in Europe push trade restrictions and boycotts. President Trump has pushed back against international efforts to punish Israel, including sanctions on ICC officials targeting Israeli leaders.

And look at UNRWA.

President Trump this week highlighted a report alleging that more than 100 UNRWA employees participated in the October 7 atrocities, including personnel accused of involvement in holding civilian hostages.

That raises the question of how deeply Hamas penetrated an organization the international community still expects Israel to trust.

Yet Canada joined Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Japan, Brazil and the European Union in condemning Israel over its actions against UNRWA facilities in Jerusalem.

Instead of asking how an international agency could allegedly have more than 100 employees involved in the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, these governments condemn Israel for removing that threat from the heart of Jerusalem.

What exactly is Israel expected to do? Allow an organization allegedly penetrated by terrorists to continue operating freely inside its capital and hope for the best?

Canada makes the contradiction especially clear:

At the same moment it joins European governments condemning Israel over UNRWA, its public broadcaster hesitates to call September 11 terrorism.

The word “terrorism" requires sensitivity. Condemning Israel apparently does not.

Lebanon exposes the same problem.

The ceasefire is supposed to lead to Hezbollah’s disarmament. The Lebanese Armed Forces are supposed to remove Hezbollah weapons and prevent it from rebuilding military infrastructure threatening Israel.

Israeli officials say that is not really happening. Even more serious are Israeli concerns that intelligence supplied to Lebanese authorities so Hezbollah positions can be dismantled may be compromised, allowing operatives to move or protect assets before enforcement.

If that is happening, the mechanism created to weaken Hezbollah could instead strengthen it.

And still the international question is: When will Israel withdraw?

Hamas keeps weapons. Hezbollah keeps weapons. Iranian-backed extremists target Jews abroad. International organizations face allegations of terrorist infiltration. Western democracies debate sanctions and boycotts against Israel.

Then comes the distinction between “antisemitism" and “anti-Israel."

An Australian court recently emphasized that criticism of Israel is not automatically antisemitism. That is correct. Anyone can criticize an Israeli government without hating Jews.

But that distinction cannot become a laundering machine for antisemitism.

If you attack a Jew in London because you hate Israel, you attacked a Jew. If Jewish students in New York are threatened because of Gaza, Jews are being threatened. If Jewish ambulances are burned because of Israel, calling the motive “anti-Israel" does not erase the antisemitism.

Freedom of speech protects criticism. It does not require blindness.

Perhaps Canada has unintentionally done America a favor.

Imagine telling a September 11 widow that describing her husband’s murder as terrorism requires journalistic neutrality. Imagine telling a firefighter who watched the towers collapse that calling al-Qaeda terrorists could compromise objectivity.

Now apply that same outrage to October 7, Hamas, Hezbollah, Jewish students being intimidated, Jewish ambulances burning in London, and international employees accused of helping terrorists hold hostages.

Suddenly the Jewish argument becomes easier to understand.

Jews are not asking for special terminology. We are asking for the same moral clarity everyone demands when the victim is someone else.

Criticize Israel. Debate Israeli policy. That is democracy.

-But when terrorists deliberately murder civilians, call them terrorists.

-When Jews are targeted, recognize antisemitism.

-When an international organization is penetrated by people accused of participating in massacres and hostage-taking, do not condemn Israel for protecting itself.

-And when a ceasefire requires Hamas or Hezbollah to disarm, pressure the terrorists to disarm before pressuring Israel to surrender its security.

For years, the West has taught Jews that terrorism can be softened by changing the vocabulary. Now Canada is applying that lesson to September 11.

Maybe this is the wake-up call the West needed.

Because once you become afraid to call September 11 terrorism, the problem is no longer Israel.

The problem is you.

Haredi recruitmentShomer Yisrael / Netzah Yehuda

A record number of haredi recruits arrived at the IDF induction center at Tel Hashomer on Sunday morning, with hundreds enlisting in the military. The latest wave of haredi enlistment is expected to continue over the next two weeks.

Hundreds of the new recruits are slated to serve in combat roles through specially adapted tracks, including the Netzah Yehuda Battalion, the Hasmonean Brigade, the Hatz Company of the Paratroopers Brigade, and the Negev Unit of the Israel Air Force.

The Shomer Yisrael Association, a national organization dedicated to integrating haredim into the IDF, welcomed the rise in enlistment numbers. The organization said its pre-military academies and haredi hesder yeshivas are helping drive the increase.

Lt. Col. (res.) Yossi Levy, CEO of Shomer Yisrael, said, “We are witnessing a significant leap forward today. The haredi young men arriving at the induction center this morning are proving that it is possible to maintain a strong Torah-based identity while making a direct contribution to Israel’s security on the front lines."

“Our mission is to continue building a framework that will allow them to perform meaningful military service while maintaining their haredi way of life," Levy added.

The induction center was filled with excitement as recruits and their families marked the occasion.

Itamar Reinhold, a graduate of the Nitzotz BaEmunah pre-military academy who is joining the Netzah Yehuda Battalion, explained why he chose a combat role.

“I simply wanted to be part of it," he said. “My brother served in Netzah Yehuda and fought throughout the war in Gaza, and that inspired me."

האח השכול אליסף פרץ עם המתגייסיםערוץ 7

Shmuel Cohen, who is also joining Netzah Yehuda, said, “It’s very important to me to contribute to the country and be part of the force that protects all of us."

Nachman, who is joining the Hasmonean Brigade, said, “This is what needs to be done now, regardless of whether you’re haredi or not. We all need to step up."

Parents accompanying their sons to the induction center also expressed their support.

Rachel Zeitoun of Petah Tikva, whose son is joining Netzah Yehuda, said, “He was in yeshiva but felt that it wasn’t the right place for him. Learning in yeshiva is difficult, and once he left, it was clear to all of us that he would enlist and contribute."

Rivka Yifrach of Bnei Brak, whose son is joining the Negev Unit of the Israel Air Force, said, “I’m proud of my son. I had some concerns about him joining the army, but we have accepted it with love."

The doctors and the hair tieZiv Medical Center

Two doctors at Ziv Medical Center in Safed saved the life of an 80-year-old woman in recent days after a large hair tie became lodged in her throat, blocking more than 80% of her airway.

The woman, who was hospitalized in the geriatric ward, suddenly began choking and experiencing difficulty swallowing and severe respiratory distress.

The patient, a resident of a Galilee village who suffers from advanced dementia, was rushed to the hospital's Ear, Nose and Throat and Head and Neck Surgery Department. Along with her breathing difficulties, doctors noted a significant drop in her blood oxygen levels.

Dr. Marwan Karem and Dr. Ala Safiya, specialists in the department, performed an examination using a fiber-optic scope equipped with a camera. The scope was inserted through the nasal passage toward the throat.

During the examination, the doctors discovered a large purple foreign object at the entrance to her esophagus measuring approximately 15 centimeters in length, with part of it resting on the epiglottis, the flap that protects the airway.

While one doctor continued using the scope to locate and monitor the foreign object, the second inserted forceps through the patient's mouth and successfully removed it.

Following the procedure, the woman was returned to the geriatric ward in good and stable condition.

"The hair tie was blocking more than 80% of the airway," Dr. Karem and Dr. Safiya said. "Had we not arrived in time, the patient could have died, as she did not complain or draw her family's attention to what was happening. Immediately after the foreign object was removed, she was able to breathe normally again."

Ziv Medical Center Director Prof. Salman Zarka praised the medical teams for their quick response.

"Thanks to the vigilance of the geriatric ward staff and the swift action of the two ENT specialists, the patient's life was saved," he said. "I would like to thank the teams who saved her life and continue to save lives every day through their professionalism and dedication."

Kiryat MotzkinAmos Ben-Gershom (GPO)

The State Attorney’s Office filed an indictment Sunday with the Haifa District Juvenile Court against two minors, aged 14 and 16, from Kiryat Motzkin, for carrying out tasks in exchange for payment from a foreign agent operating on behalf of Iran.

According to the indictment, the two continued some of their activities even after they suspected, and later knew, that they were dealing with an agent operating on behalf of Iran.

The indictment states that the contact began in June 2026, when one of the minors searched for work through a Telegram group. A person who introduced himself as “Daniel" contacted him and offered to pay him to carry out various tasks.

Police said that at the beginning of the relationship, the minor was asked to perform tasks that appeared innocent, including distributing flyers, and was later required to identify himself through photographs. The minor subsequently brought his friend into the operation, and the two cooperated in carrying out some of the tasks.

According to the indictment, one of the minors was sent to photograph various locations in Israel, including shopping malls in the Herzliya and Tel Aviv areas. During one of the assignments, he also provided the agent with information about the number of entrances and exits at a mall and the number of security guards there.

After one of the photography assignments, the minor deleted the videos he had sent to the agent because he feared they would be used to carry out a terrorist attack. Despite this, according to the indictment, his contact with the agent continued.

The two minors are also accused of jointly spraying graffiti in the Kiryat Motzkin area and sending documentation of the graffiti to the agent. At one point, one of them asked the agent whether he was Iranian. The agent replied that he was connected to Iran, but contact continued even after that.

According to prosecutors, the two later attempted to expand their activities. One of the minors used his friend’s Telegram account and posed as a soldier in IDF Unit 8200 in an effort to receive additional assignments.

Following the agent’s request to recruit additional people, one of the minors worked to establish a Telegram channel and asked his friend to add minors who would be willing to carry out “high-risk" assignments. The two received payments totaling hundreds of shekels for their activities, including through cryptocurrency.

Police said the covert investigation was conducted by the Asher District Central Unit, in cooperation with the “Barak" unit of Lahav 433 and security officials. The investigation began with the arrest of one of the minors at Ben Gurion Airport upon his arrival in Israel, on suspicion of espionage and contact with a foreign agent.

The indictment charges one of the minors with contact with a foreign agent, three counts of providing information for the benefit of the enemy, and one count of defacing property. The second minor is charged with assisting contact with a foreign agent and defacing property.

Police said they would act “against any attempt by enemy states and hostile elements to recruit Israeli citizens, particularly minors, while exploiting them to harm state security."

Police also called on parents to remain vigilant regarding their children’s activities on social media and to report any unusual or suspicious approaches.

Yehuda PolikerTomer Neubergr/Flash90

An unusual incident took place over the weekend in Tel Aviv, when a local resident climbed onto the roof of an apartment building and threatened to jump.

Police officers from the Lev Tel Aviv station arrived at the scene, cleared the area and began trying to establish contact with the man.

A police negotiating team spoke with him from a distance and attempted to persuade him to come down safely. According to a report by Channel 12 News, during the negotiations the man told officers that there was only one person he was willing to listen to: popular Israeli singer Yehuda Poliker.

"The only person who can make me not jump is Yehuda Poliker," he reportedly told the police.

As the incident continued, police realized they needed to act quickly. Late at night, officers went to Poliker's home, where he was asleep, and woke him to ask for his help.

Poliker agreed and spoke with the man by telephone. The conversation lasted several minutes and ended successfully, with the man agreeing to come down from the roof.

A police source involved in the incident told Channel 12 News: "I've been serving for many years, but I've never encountered such a strange incident. We understood that this was a matter of life and death, and we thank Yehuda Poliker for agreeing to help us during those dramatic moments."

Jews around the worldiStock

Rafael Castro is a Yale- and Hebrew University-educated independent political analyst. An Italian Noahide, Rafael can be reached at [email protected]

On LinkedIn, my profession is described as “independent political analyst and consultant". A nice title that means everything and, just as much, nothing.

Since I have no issues embellishing myself, yet hate to lie, I need to find evermore creative ways of making a good impression while being truthful.

When potential professional partners probe into my actual work and livelihood as an “independent political analyst and consultant," I state that, “I facilitate trustworthy connections between business and political leaders across cultures and continents."

And this is factually true, because telling Dummkopf Jo that Jimmy Jo in another country is the right person to talk to does indeed facilitate “trustworthy connections between business and political leaders across cultures and continents."

The problem is that business and political leaders aren't very impressed if your biggest success story involves sharing the email address or forwarding the Whatsapp number of Jimmy Jo to Dummkopf Jo.

One needs to be credibly concrete.

And this is where antisemitic canards are inordinately helpful.

Suppose I am asked who are the business and political leaders I know in, say, Italy.

If I am truthful, I can boast of the cappuccino I bought for the mayor of my grandma’s village in Piedmont, who then made sure that - contrary to normative procedures - I could speedily secure a second Italian passport unblemished by a Zionist stamp.

I could also take pride in Giovanni, my good friend and a great entrepreneur, who runs the best bakery in the same lovely corner of Piedmont - the village of Gavi Ligure.

But a former mayor, later indicted for embezzlement, and the village baker don’t yet cut it internationally.

Nor do all the German friends, or business, religious and political contacts who I involuntarily, yet very reliably, manage to annoy.

So, where does my salvation reside?

My salvation resides in mentioning to non-Jewish partners that I contribute columns to the most important religious Zionist news site (you are on it if you are reading this) and that this “opens doors in the Jewish world."

Once I say this, no one, literally no one, probes any further.

Note that two crucial elements are involved here:

1. I must say, “opens doors in the Jewish world", rather than “opens many doors." Why? Because if my journalism opened "many doors," this would imply that the Jewish world is like any other world. And while it would be amateurish to claim that one’s op-eds “open doors in Germany," or “open doors in Italy," it works wonderfully well when talking about "the Jewish world."

And this is so for exactly the same reasons that it would be amateurish to boast about the “many doors" one opens in the Freemasonry, Colombian cartels, at Davos, or in the Mafia.

"Many open doors" are prized in circles and environments that are not viewed as secretive. But the "Jewish world" is viewed, subconsciously by even the most philosemitic yet poorly-informed Gentile, as an entity close in essence to an invisible blend of the Freemasonry, the Catholic Church, and Cosa Nostra.

2. Note that only one Jewish term works: “Jewish world". Were I to state, “I open doors in Israel and among Israelis," concrete names and positions would be requested.

It would be foolish to vaunt about one’s ability to open doors in “the Christian world," “the Islamic world", or “the Chinese world." And numbers are not the issue. Stating that one "opens doors" in “the Bahai, Sikh or Allawite world" would also sound ludicrous.

But evidence of access to influential politicians and businesspeople is not expected from consultants with access to circles viewed as invisible, ethereal and wielding power and influence far above what nature and numbers alone justify: the Freemasonry, the Catholic Church, Cosa Nostra, the Bilderberg Forum, or the “Jewish world."

I don’t want this text to sound like another cri de coeur against antisemitism. Nor do I want to second or support claims that goyim are inherently antisemitic, and that efforts to communicate and explain reality to them are futile.

This attitude, albeit historically understandable, is counterproductive and incorrect.

My first years around Jews were not just motivated by love for bagels and affection for Jewish beauty and intelligence. They were also spurred by an immense thirst to understand how, as I had reasoned myself into assuming, 15 million people were able to run the world.

The more I learned and understood the riotous Jewish tribe, the more I realized that a nation that can barely run the so-called "West Bank" (or, for that matter, a heated Knesset session) is quite unlikely to deviously pull the strings behind everything happening between Anchorage, Denpasar and my next visit to the barber shop.

The main reason a shady Jewish cabal controlling everything is absurd is not lack of genius or excess of morals. It is that so much scheming, manipulation and colluding requires virtues and talents most Jews lack: the ability to keep quiet, never complain, and murder rather than fall out with friends, colleagues and partners over trivial differences.

A cabal needs not just smarts, international connections, and access to money. It demands members who love to kill rather than criticize and who’d rather work with people they can’t stand, and not jump the gun to start a crowdfunding campaign for the umpteenth new one-(wo)man NGO with the same mission and the same radically new approach peddled by 6-7 competing NGOs. Let alone political parties.

And in this regard, the best historical illustration of the unique political genius of Jews is documented in The Life of Brian, a movie worth more than a university seminary to understand the true conspiratorial talents of the Jewish people.

In addition to antisemitic propaganda and intergenerational cultural prejudice, the fearsome image of the “Jewish world" is fueled by:

a) Projection - people interpret dynamics and reality according to their own cultural canons and personal experience. When, say, an average Italian sees that 3 of the senior executives at a major investment bank have Jewish-sounding names, he assumes they scratched each other’s back and helped each other climb the greasy pole together. The reason he knows this is because this is what Italians would do under such circumstances. And by no means is it only Italians who do this!

Bernie Madoff could not have been Italian. Not because of financial acumen. But because Madoff primarily bankrupted fellow members of his Jewish club in Florida. An Italian-American banker named, say, Jimmy Malizia would never opt to chiefly cheat fellow Italian-Americans.

And I think the same is true about almost any other hyphenated American identity.

For analogous reasons, there is no Basque, Ukrainian, Kurdish, or Tibetan figure comparable to Israel-hating Peter Beinart, Gideon Levy, or Judith Butler.

Ditto, no German-American ever argued, “as a German" before and after World War II that “in light of Nazism and the Holocaust, the German people have forfeited their right to a sovereign homeland."

b) Cosmopolitan Accomplishments - in the developed world, out of 100 churchgoers not more than 20-30 hold academic degrees. The percentage among mosque-goers is probably lower.

In the case of non-Haredi synagogues inside and outside of Israel, at least 70% of under-50 congregants will hold academic degrees, and a high number of them will possess medical, legal, and accounting degrees.

The high concentration of highly-educated professionals coupled with the fact that most Jews have relatives and close friends residing abroad, transforms synagogues and Jewish community centers into natural hubs for after-prayer networking and business connections

These networks and connections create the impression that Jews have access to rich and influential people. This is true, yet it is also true and far more relevant to add that rich and influential Jews are only easy to come across twice a year at Reform temples.

And that even then, whether you are circumcised or not matters little: if your idea is bad and you’re dumb, it makes no difference whether your grandfather was a grand rabbi or whether he hated Jews and drank whiskey with Father Coughlin.

c) Religious Institutions and the Impact of Names on Public Relations - There appears to be an extremely high number of Jewish organizations aspiring to reach, impact, and influence the “world". When the two other Abrahamic religions have around one “world" organization for every 120-140 million followers, whereas the Jewish people have one for every 800,000 Jews, the impression made is not always that Jews (collectively) want to contribute goodness and light to the world. Unjustly and most unfortunately.

Religious organizations worldwideRafael Castro

scene of the incident in Bnei BrakHatzalah spokesperson

An 8-year-old boy was seriously injured Sunday morning after falling from a height on Emek Yizrael Street in Bnei Brak.

Magen David Adom paramedics and EMTs provided him with medical treatment and evacuated him to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva.

According to MDA, the boy fell from a height of approximately 12 meters. He was evacuated in serious condition, unconscious and suffering from a head injury.

Senior MDA EMT Yosef Pesach said: “We saw the boy lying on the ground unconscious with a severe head injury after falling from a great height. We provided him with lifesaving medical treatment and evacuated him in an MDA intensive care ambulance to the hospital in serious condition."

Hatzalah EMTs Yossi Pesach and Yaakov Tehrani said they found the boy with an impaired level of consciousness and suffering from multiple traumatic injuries after falling from a height of four stories.

“Together with Hatzalah and MDA EMTs, we provided him with initial medical treatment, including immobilization and bandaging, and evacuated him in serious condition for further medical treatment in the trauma room at Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva," they said.

According to initial suspicions, the boy was locked in his room on the fourth floor of the building and attempted to get out through the balcony. During the attempt, he fell into the building’s parking lot. The circumstances of the incident are under investigation.

Rabbi Yitzhak YosefChaim Goldberg/FLASH90

Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef sharply attacked Rabbi Dov Lior during remarks in which he addressed visits to the Temple Mount. According to him, many leading Torah scholars opposed ascending the Mount.

“All the leading rabbis of the generation said not to enter the Temple Mount. What chutzpah," Rabbi Yosef said, adding that he had spoken several times about Ben-Gvir ascending the Temple Mount.

Rabbi Yosef listed a series of rabbis who, he said, opposed ascending the Mount, including the Steipler, Rabbi Shach, Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Rabbi Ben Zion Abba Shaul and Rabbi Moshe Feinstein.

He then referred to Ben-Gvir and his rabbi, Rabbi Dov Lior, saying: “What authority does your rabbi have? What rabbi does he have? His rabbi is from Hebron. I know his books. He does not come up to the ankles of any of the rabbis I mentioned, with all due respect."

Rabbi Yosef added, “One must not be naive," and quoted the Chazon Ish regarding the need to know who the “true Torah giants" are. He then said: “Why are you talking like that about second-tier and third-tier rabbis? Ordinary people should not speak; rabbis can speak."

Rabbi Yosef subsequently reiterated his criticism of rabbis who permit Jews to ascend the Temple Mount. According to him, “All the rabbis who permit it do not come up to the ankles of any of the great rabbis of the generation who prohibited it, and yet they have the chutzpah."

Soldiers in GazaIDF Spokesperson

Nearly three years after the murderous October 7 terrorist attack, there is a growing assessment within Israel’s defense establishment that there will be no alternative but to resume the ground maneuver in the Gaza Strip - this time in the heart of Gaza City.

According to a report by Amir Bohbot on the Walla website, the IDF and defense establishment assess that despite diplomatic efforts to advance an agreement and the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, Hamas is continuing to rebuild its military strength, reconstruct terrorist infrastructure and work to preserve its rule.

According to the report, Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor presented IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir with a comprehensive operational plan as early as May that includes a return to fighting in Gaza City. The plan includes stages for the gradual conquest of the city, alongside the evacuation of the civilian population to designated humanitarian areas.

A defense official familiar with the details of the plan told Walla that the assessment is that most Hamas commanders, members of its military wing and personnel from the organization’s security apparatuses are currently hiding in Gaza City. Therefore, dismantling Hamas’ military capabilities requires taking control of the area.

The report further indicates that international efforts have been made in recent months to advance U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan, which includes the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip and the transfer of control to the Peace Council. However, the defense establishment has concluded that Hamas does not intend to comply with the conditions, but instead seeks to buy time, avoid disarming and continue rebuilding its military strength.

The defense establishment assesses that unless there is a significant change in Hamas’ conduct, the next ground maneuver in the Gaza Strip will be only a matter of time - with Gaza City at its center, as the city is currently considered the center of gravity of the organization’s leadership and infrastructure.

לוחמים חרדים בפלוגת ח"ץצילום: דובר צה"ל

As new recruitment cycles open for members of the Haredi community, the IDF is presenting the dedicated service tracks created specifically for Haredi recruits, with the goal of combining meaningful military service with the preservation of their way of life. All of the tracks are anchored in General Staff orders and tailored to the needs of those serving in them.

One of the prominent tracks is the Hetz Company, the Haredi combat company of the 202nd Battalion in the Paratroopers Brigade. Joining the company requires passing a dedicated selection process that includes physical and personality assessments. During the war, the company operated in four combat arenas - Judea and Samaria, the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Syria - becoming the first Haredi company to operate in all of these sectors. Its soldiers participated in offensive operations, arrests and the defense of Israel’s borders, and also took part in an operation to recover the bodies of hostages from the Jabalia refugee camp.

At the same time, the Hasmonean Brigade, the IDF’s first Haredi infantry brigade, continues to develop. The Yonatan Battalion, the brigade’s regular-service battalion, has been operating in southern Lebanon for more than six months, where it has participated in destroying terrorist infrastructure, locating weapons, neutralizing launchers and capturing a terrorist from Hezbollah’s Radwan Force. Alongside it, the Shimon reserve battalion has also been established, bringing together Haredim who previously received exemptions from military service and subsequently enlisted in the reserves, together with veterans of other Haredi frameworks in the IDF. The battalion is expected to begin operational activity in the northern sector as early as the holiday period.

The brigade also operates advanced training programs, including the fourth class of its brigade commanders’ course and the brigade’s first officers’ course, as part of the expansion of the Haredi command structure within the IDF.

The Netzah Yehuda Battalion, the IDF’s first Haredi battalion, is also continuing to expand its operational activity. Since the outbreak of the war, the battalion has operated in the Gaza Strip, Judea and Samaria, and Lebanon, eliminated hundreds of terrorists, located weapons and participated in counterterrorism operations. The IDF notes that in recent years the battalion has made a significant leap forward and become a maneuvering infantry battalion with independent operational capabilities. It is currently operating in the northern sector with the goal of ensuring the security of northern communities.

Alongside the combat tracks, technological service programs are also continuing to expand. Under the Ma’alot Tzur program, Haredim serve in technology and logistics positions in the Technology and Logistics Directorate after completing Level 00 basic training, while acquiring a profession that can benefit them after their military service as well. Another track is Project Yoav, which includes Level 02 basic training and enables professional service in technology and logistics while being fully adapted to the Haredi way of life.

The IDF emphasized that all of the tracks were created with the goal of enabling members of the Haredi community to contribute to Israel’s security in a wide range of positions - as frontline combat soldiers, commanders, intelligence researchers, and professionals in technology and logistics - without giving up the observance of their way of life and religious beliefs.

Man spying from his cariStock

Erfan Fard is a counterterrorism analyst and Middle East studies researcher based in Washington, with a particular focus on Iran, Islamic Terrorism, and ethnic conflicts in the region. His father, mother, and two brothers live in Iran. His latest book is The Black Shabbat , published in the US. You can follow him at erfanfard.com and on X @EQFARD or www.ErfanFard.com.

For decades, the Islamic Republic of Iran built its power abroad through recognizable instruments: the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Quds Force, Hezbollah, Shiite militias, intelligence officers, diplomatic cover, and well-financed proxy organizations. But one of the most disturbing revelations about Tehran’s contemporary security apparatus is that its next operative may look nothing like a terrorist. He may be an ordinary person sitting thousands of miles from Iran, communicating through Telegram, accepting a small cryptocurrency payment for an apparently trivial assignment, and having little idea where the relationship will ultimately lead.

That is what makes the reported activities of Unit 4000 so important. The unit, also described as the Special Operations Division within the IRGC Intelligence Organization, represents a more clandestine side of Iranian power projection. Unlike the Quds Force, whose relationships with established militias and armed proxies are widely known, Unit 4000 has been publicly identified by Israeli intelligence as an apparatus for covert operations abroad: recruiting and directing operatives, gathering intelligence, preparing attacks, moving weapons, and targeting Israeli, Jewish, and Western interests.

The significance of Unit 4000 is therefore larger than the existence of another secret department inside the IRGC. It represents an evolution in the economics and tradecraft of state-sponsored terrorism. Tehran no longer needs every operative to be an ideological revolutionary, trained intelligence officer, or committed member of an established terrorist organization. The reported model increasingly depends on distance, deniability, digital communications, local intermediaries, criminal contacts, and individuals who can be recruited where an operation is intended to occur.

The recruitment process is particularly disturbing because of its potential simplicity. According to reporting on Iranian intelligence activity, prospective recruits can be approached online, including through Telegram, and initially offered small cryptocurrency payments for seemingly limited tasks. The progression may begin with information gathering, photography, locating an address, verifying whether a person lives at a particular location, or observing a site. The recruit is paid. Trust is established.

The next assignment becomes more sensitive. Over time, what appeared to be easy money can evolve into surveillance, intelligence collection, logistical support, sabotage, or assistance to an operational network. This is recruitment by escalation.

Its effectiveness lies precisely in the fact that the recruit does not necessarily have to embrace the ideology of the Islamic Republic. Money can substitute for ideology. Criminality can substitute for loyalty. Digital communication can substitute for the traditional relationship between a case officer and an agent. Cryptocurrency can complicate the financial trail, while compartmentalized assignments can prevent a recruit from initially understanding the larger operation.

This model also creates layers of plausible deniability. An individual photographing a building does not look like an IRGC officer. A local criminal purchasing equipment does not look like an Iranian intelligence operative. A migrant recruited to conduct surveillance may not know the identity of the ultimate commander. Yet when those seemingly disconnected actions are coordinated from inside an intelligence structure, they can form pieces of a state-directed operation.

The public exposure of Unit 4000 in April 2026 offered an unusually detailed picture of that architecture. Mossad, Shin Bet, and the IDF identified the unit as part of the IRGC Intelligence Organization and described Rahman Moghadam as the head of its Special Operations Department. Mohsen Suri was identified as a senior operator who traveled abroad, met local cells, and directed missions. Majid Khademi, the head of IRGC Intelligence, stood above the apparatus. Israeli intelligence said these senior figures were killed during the military campaign against Iran.

But killing commanders does not automatically destroy a method.

The Azerbaijani case demonstrates why. Authorities disrupted a network reportedly preparing attacks against the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, the Israeli Embassy, a synagogue in Baku, and Jewish community figures. Investigators recovered explosive material, explosive drones, and fragmentation charges, while the cell had conducted surveillance and photography of potential targets. Israeli authorities subsequently linked the network to Unit 4000 and said its handlers operated from Iran.

The target selection reveals the breadth of the unit’s mission. This was not simply an assassination apparatus. Energy infrastructure, diplomatic facilities, religious institutions, community leaders, military installations, and strategic sites all fell within the reported operational universe. Other disclosed activity linked handlers associated with the network to Turkey and Cyprus, including the smuggling of explosive drones and intelligence collection involving Incirlik Air Base.

The deeper lesson for Western intelligence services is that countering Unit 4000 cannot mean searching only for Iranian intelligence officers. The operational perimeter is much wider. Investigators must examine the connective tissue between Iranian handlers and local facilitators: unusual cryptocurrency transfers, online recruitment, repeated surveillance of sensitive sites, criminal intermediaries suddenly performing intelligence-like tasks, attempts to acquire dual-use technology, unexplained photography of diplomatic or military facilities, and individuals receiving progressively more sensitive assignments from contacts whose identities they may not fully understand.

Analytical discipline remains essential. A Telegram conversation is not evidence of terrorism. A cryptocurrency payment does not prove Iranian direction. An Iranian contact is not automatically an intelligence officer, and a person performing a suspicious task is not necessarily a member of Unit 4000. Counterterrorism must distinguish allegation from attribution, recruitment from operational control, and suspicious behavior from evidence of a terrorist plot.

But the opposite mistake would be equally dangerous: assuming that because an individual is not a trained terrorist, he cannot become part of a terrorist operation.

That assumption belongs to an older era.

The genius-and danger-of this model is its ability to fragment an operation among people who may understand only a fraction of it. One person photographs. Another acquires equipment. Another transfers money. Another provides transportation. Another identifies vulnerabilities. A handler connects the fragments. Only at the upper levels does the entire operational picture become visible.

The structure also contains a weakness. The same handlers required to connect dispersed recruits can become points of exposure. Intelligence shared across Turkey, Cyprus, Azerbaijan and other jurisdictions can allow security services to reconstruct networks from seemingly isolated cases. The material provided on Unit 4000 suggests that the disruption of one operational thread contributed to the exposure of others, revealing vulnerabilities in compartmentalization and command.

That is why the destruction of Unit 4000’s senior leadership should be viewed as a major tactical achievement but not necessarily the end of the threat. Organizations can replace commanders. Tradecraft survives individuals. Recruitment methods can be copied, networks rebuilt, and digital platforms changed.

What cannot easily be restored is secrecy.

The greatest strategic damage inflicted on Unit 4000 may be its exposure.

A clandestine apparatus depends not merely on secrecy but on ambiguity: the ability to separate the local criminal from the Iranian handler, the surveillance assignment from the eventual attack, and the seemingly ordinary online transaction from the state directing it. Once intelligence and law-enforcement agencies understand the architecture, those fragments become easier to connect.

Unit 4000 consequently offers Western counterterrorism agencies a warning that extends far beyond Iran. State-sponsored terrorism is adapting to the digital age. The future operative may not arrive carrying an Iranian passport, receive years of ideological training, or even know at first that he has been recruited by an intelligence service. He may simply receive a Telegram message, complete a small assignment, collect a little cryptocurrency, and accept another task.

The distance between that first payment and an act of espionage or sabotage is precisely the space in which modern counterintelligence must operate.

Iran’s military infrastructure can be bombed. Its commanders can be killed. Its weapons can be intercepted. But the more difficult battlefield is the invisible one: the digital relationship through which a hostile state can turn an ordinary person abroad into a disposable instrument of espionage, sabotage, or terrorism.

Unit 4000 has been exposed. The method it represents, however, has not disappeared.

Rom BraslavskiCourtesy

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir toured one of the prisons where female terrorists belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization are incarcerated.

During the tour, several of the terrorists attempted to complain to the minister, claiming that their prison conditions had deteriorated significantly and had become “very bad."

Minister Ben-Gvir responded firmly, saying: “The days of summer camps in Israeli prisons are over."

Former hostage Rom Braslavski responded to a video of the tour that was posted on social media, writing: “I was held hostage by her organization, Islamic Jihad, and she’s allowing herself to talk way too much. You can be sure, Ben-Gvir, that they didn’t talk to us like that. God willing, the next time you speak with her, give her a slap in the face."

Abdul El-SayedAndrew Roth/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed is spending the weekend trying to ease concerns among Jewish Democrats, holding individual meetings and gatherings with Jewish party leaders while apologizing for controversial remarks, CNN reported.

El-Sayed narrowly won the Democratic Senate primary earlier this month over pro-Israel Rep. Haley Stevens, a moderate who benefited from tens of millions of dollars in spending linked to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). He now faces Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers in November and is working to unite Democrats ahead of the general election.

His positions on Israel have emerged as a major concern for some Jewish voters in Michigan, which also has a large Arab and Muslim population. In a recent MS NOW interview, El-Sayed described Israel's military actions in Gaza as "bloodthirsty" and accused Israeli leaders of genocide.

In a separate interview with journalist Jim Acosta, he acknowledged that Hamas had committed war crimes while maintaining his accusation against the Israeli government.

El-Sayed has opposed unconditional US military assistance to Israel and has repeatedly declined to directly say whether Israel has a right to exist. In one interview, he described Israel's leadership as "as evil as Hamas."

At the Michigan Democratic Party's state convention in Lansing on Saturday, however, the divisions that marked the primary were largely absent, according to CNN. Several hundred Democrats gave El-Sayed one of the loudest receptions of the day when he was introduced and applauded his criticism of Rogers and President Donald Trump during a nine-minute speech.

El-Sayed did not repeat one of his most common primary attacks on AIPAC. While referencing more than $60 million spent against him during the primary, he did not identify the organization by name.

The gathering was considerably smaller and calmer than the party's spring convention, where progressive activists who support the Palestinian Arabs booed Democrats they considered insufficiently critical of Israel's conduct in the war against Hamas.

State Attorney General Dana Nessel did not attend Saturday's convention, citing concerns that she could again be subjected to heckling and booing. Nessel has been among the Democratic Party's strongest critics of El-Sayed's response to a March attack on the Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield Township near Detroit.

Authorities said Ayman Ghazali, a naturalized US citizen from Lebanon, drove an explosives-laden vehicle into the synagogue, causing a fire. Ghazali died at the scene. His family had reportedly lost relatives in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon one week before the Michigan attack.

El-Sayed condemned the attack and antisemitism at the time, but also said that “violence is a cycle" and that “hurt people hurt people." Critics interpreted the remarks as potentially excusing the attack.

On Saturday, El-Sayed apologized to the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus for the comments.

“My comments might have been misconstrued to be justifying something I did not intend to justify," he told reporters afterward. “To anybody who feels like my comments might have been hurtful, I’m really sorry. That was not my intention."

“We condemned that terrorist attack. We condemned it outright. What I was trying to do is offer context for why it happened, but it wasn’t the time for context. And you don’t ever want to trample somebody’s pain," he said.

El-Sayed is scheduled to meet with members of the caucus again Sunday at the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus Summer Simcha celebration. The event is private.

Asked to preview his message, El-Sayed acknowledged that “we may not agree on everything."

“When it comes to foreign policy, I believe deeply in equal rights to peace, dignity and self-determination for Palestinian and Jewish Israelis alike. I’m not going to stop fighting for Palestinian self-determination because all of the money that we have spent to foreclose on it is money that should have been spent here, right?" El-Sayed said. “The question of where we spend our tax dollars - that should be a foregone conclusion. It should be spent here."

“And we can show here in Michigan how we can disagree agreeably on some of those issues having to do with what we do 6,000 miles away, and show that we can stand arm in arm to protect the well-being of all of us here at home," he added.

Hezbollah flagsiStock

The United States said Saturday that Hezbollah must surrender its weapons, accusing the Iran-backed terror group of refusing negotiations because it is acting on orders from Tehran.

In a post on social media, the US Embassy in Beirut said, “Hezbollah so far does not want to talk to the Lebanese state, nor talk to us, nor talk to Israel, because it is simply taking orders from Iran."

The embassy identified the Lebanese government as the “sole legitimate interlocutor" for negotiations concerning Lebanon’s future and said it represents the interests of the Lebanese people.

“The United States stands with the Lebanese people and wants Lebanon to be a safe and sovereign country. For that to happen, Hezbollah must disarm," the embassy stated.

“It’s time for Hezbollah to do what’s best for Lebanon and the Lebanese people," the embassy said.

The US statement comes amid a dispute over a framework agreement reached by Israel and Lebanon in June under American mediation. The deal provides for a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon in exchange for the complete disarmament of Hezbollah. It also calls for the Lebanese Armed Forces to deploy in designated "pilot zones" once Israeli troops withdraw.

Hezbollah was not a party to the agreement and has continued to reject direct negotiations with Israel as well as demands that it surrender its arsenal.

On Friday, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem reiterated the group's opposition to the framework.

"We reject the framework agreement with Israel and call for its cancellation. We do not agree to the pilot zones or their outcomes. The framework agreement is illegitimate, illegal, humiliating, and undermines Lebanese sovereignty," Qassem said in televised remarks.

"The Lebanese authorities have chosen a path that dishonors them, Lebanon, and the sacrifices of the Lebanese people. Say no for once. Try to show that you have what it takes to achieve something in the future," he added.

Qassem also claimed Hezbollah had prevented Israel from expanding its territorial ambitions.

"We have thwarted the so-called 'Greater Israel' project and prevented it from reaching Beirut and undermining Lebanon's power and capabilities."

"Today," he continued, "the enemy does not dare to build settlements in southern Lebanon because, due to the presence of the resistance, the situation there is unstable for them."

Masoud PezeshkianZUMA Press Wire via Reuters Connect

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has acknowledged that US sanctions are having a significant impact on Iran's economy, reversing comments he made earlier this week that dismissed their effectiveness.

Speaking to Iranian state television late Friday, Pezeshkian addressed claims that sanctions have no effect, saying, “Some say sanctions have no effect at all; to those people, I really don’t know what to say."

He added, “We are in a war situation, and we must accept these wartime conditions."

Pezeshkian said Iran's imports and exports have declined by between 25% and 35% in recent months as the United States maintains a naval blockade of Iranian ports. He also called for an increase in the price of petrol to reflect the decline in trade.

“We should raise the price of the third-tier quota... For example, from 5,000 tomans to 10,000 tomans," he said. The third-tier quota is one of several fuel consumption rates used to determine the price paid by Iranian consumers.

Iran is a major oil producer and has among the world's lowest petrol prices due to extensive government subsidies. Any increase in fuel prices is therefore politically sensitive.

Iranian Vice President Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah said Wednesday that the US blockade had prevented Tehran from importing sufficient petrol to compensate for a shortfall in domestic production. That same day, however, Pezeshkian had insisted that the latest US sanctions “will not achieve anything."

“We will stand firm against economic pressures, as we have done so far and will continue to do," he told Iranian state media at the time.

Pezeshkian's latest remarks came four days after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced plans for what he called the “economic asphyxiation" of Iran under "Operation Economic Outcast." Bessent warned that countries refusing to join the US campaign could face consequences.

Iranian officials have rejected the US pressure campaign. Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh said Tehran was prepared to withstand the sanctions and predicted Washington would suffer “another defeat". He also said the Iranian government had developed a two-year strategy to manage the economic pressure.

“They have done everything they could to test the determination of the Iranian people and the country's officials, but they have failed every time. It seems they wished to suffer yet another defeat," Madanizadeh told Iranian state television.

“We've been waiting for these plans for a long time, and the government is and was ready and has a two-year plan to manage these events," he added.

Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi likewise argued that the expanded US economic campaign demonstrated that Washington had failed to achieve its military objectives.

“If Washington has achieved its goals, why is there a need for ‘the largest financial invasion in history’?" he asked, portraying the measures as evidence of US failure.

Itamar Ben Gvir and Yair NetanyahuFlash 90

Yair Netanyahu, the son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, launched a scathing attack on National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Saturday night amid the dispute over a potential merger between right-wing parties.

Netanyahu said the sole reason for seeking to form a technical bloc between Ben Gvir, Bezalel Smotrich, Moshe Feiglin and Ofer Winter is “not to waste right-wing votes on parties that will fail to cross the electoral threshold."

He added: “The danger that the right-wing bloc will fail to secure 61 seats simply doesn’t interest you. You don’t care if a government led by Yair Golan, Eisenkot and the Muslim Brotherhood is formed. As far as you’re concerned, there’s no problem with sitting in the opposition. After all, the only thing you know how to do is make TikTok videos."

Netanyahu then turned to a personal attack on Ben Gvir, claiming that “under your tenure, and under the police commissioner you appointed, the Israel Police has definitively become Kaplan’s enforcement arm, with a policy of apartheid and persecution against the right."

He further alleged that during Ben Gvir’s four years in office, the police allowed left-wing protesters to block roads and engage in anarchy, continued to target right-wing figures, and “buried the military prosecutor affair and the allegations against Force 100."

Rabbi Yitzhak YosefChaim Goldberg/Flash 90

Former Sephardi Chief Rabbi Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef launched a scathing attack on Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara on Saturday night following her request to cancel or postpone a memorial rally for Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, arguing that holding the event during the election period could be considered election propaganda.

“At Maran’s seven-day mourning period, nearly one million people came - secular, religious, National Religious, Hasidic and Lithuanian Jews. The entire nation of Israel was there," Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef said. “When the anniversary comes, it is only right to hold a memorial gathering in his honor, and suddenly a legal opinion is issued. That crazy woman, Miara, issues a legal opinion saying that a memorial gathering in his honor cannot be held."

He went on to compare the decision concerning his father with memorial events for other national figures. “Rabin was assassinated shortly before an election, and they do not ban events in his memory. But Maran, the greatest Torah scholar of his generation, who was not a political figure but a man of Torah - they issue a legal opinion saying that a memorial gathering cannot be held before the elections."

He concluded with a sharply personal attack: “May the Almighty destroy her and strike her with His punishment. She is going after Maran, the greatest of the generations. This will not go unanswered."

Watch the Hebrew video:

הרב יצחק יוסף במתקפה על היועמ״שית | צילום: דר וסחרת