“I don’t speak because I have the power to speak; I speak because I don’t have the power to remain silent.” Rav Kook z"l
Sunday, July 5, 2026
Far-Leftist Organizations collude to keep Ben-Gvir an elected Israeli Official out of the USA
Trump says Netanyahu ‘knows who the boss is’ ahead of planned White House meeting
President Donald Trump said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “knows who the boss is” ahead of their planned tete-a-tete in Washington, DC.
Trump told Axios Saturday that Netanyahu could visit as early as next week and said that the relationship between the two leaders is still strong.
“We get along very good,” the president noted.
U.S. President Trump points at Israeli PM Netanyahu as they shake hands.
Trump said Netanyahu “knows who the boss is.”
The pow wow could happen after Trump returns from the NATO summit in Turkey, which takes place July 7-8. Israeli officials, however, believe the two leaders won’t sit down face to face until the following week.
The pair spoke on the phone Friday and agreed to meet in “the near future,” according to a statement from the Israeli prime minister’s office.
“The Prime Minister said in the conversation that the US is a guarantor of global freedom, and Israel highly appreciates the close bond between the two nations,” the statement added.
Iranian security bars ‘probably gay’ disfigured supreme leader from his father’s funeral — fearing Israel would strike again
Trump says Iran gets ‘week off’ for lengthy funeral for former supreme leader: ‘Isn’t that nice?’
This will be Netanyahu’s first meeting with Trump since he pressed for war with Iran in a Situation Room meeting in February.
Though Trump maintains that he and Netanyahu have “a very good relationship,” tensions have risen between the two in recent months over the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran and Israel’s conduct in its war against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Trump called Netanyahu “f–king crazy” over his attacks in Lebanon on June 1.
”You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. I’m saving your ass. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this,” Trump confirmed to The Post he grilled the Israeli PM over airstrikes in Beirut.
Israel and Lebanon signed a tripartite agreement with the US on June 26 which called for a phased Israeli withdrawal for Southern Lebanon with the Lebanese Armed Forces assuming control of areas currently occupied by the Israel Defense Forces, as well as a demilitarization of Hezbollah.
Vice President JD Vance also slammed members of Netanyahu’s coalition for criticizing the emerging Iran deal in a June 18 press conference.
“Donald J. Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time, and he happens to be the head of state of the world’s superpower,” he said.
“The problem for Israel is not Donald J. Trump, and anybody in Israel who thinks their biggest problem is the president of the United States needs to wake up and smell the reality of the situation that country is in.”
Why the Torah forbids saying Yimach Shemo about a fellow Jew
In today’s climate of deep division and rising emotional intensity within the Jewish community, disagreements have not only sharpened-they have become corrosive. Lines are crossed in speech that would once have been unthinkable. When people are shocked or outraged by the actions of those on the other side of an ideological divide, language becomes a weapon.
Among the most severe expressions in the Hebrew language is the curse Yimach Shemo V’Zichro-“May his name and memory be blotted out."
For generations, these words were reserved for the enemies of Klal Yisrael-the Amaleks of history, the destroyers of our people. Today, tragically, they are sometimes directed at fellow Jews: political opponents, ideological rivals, or Jews who have strayed from Torah.
This is not a minor slip of language. It is a collapse of boundaries that the Torah itself draws with absolute clarity.
The Torah, Halakha, Chazal, and the conduct of our Gedolim all point in one direction with unmistakable force: no matter how sharp the disagreement, no matter how far another Jew may have fallen, this language does not belong anywhere near a fellow Jew.
The Torah draws a clear line: “You shall not curse the deaf" (Vayikra 19:14). Chazal explain in Sanhedrin 66a that the Torah is not speaking narrowly about a deaf person. It is setting the lowest possible threshold: even someone who will never hear the insult is protected. If that is true there, then all the more so when speaking about someone who hears, feels, and is wounded by every word.
The Holocaust Survivors that were Murdered in Poland in 1946
The people in these caskets survived the Holocaust—only to be murdered by an antisemitic mob just over a year later.
Police investigated, but the crowd grew restless. Eventually, shots were fired into the Jewish Committee building, and dozens of Jews were beaten to death in the streets.
When Polish photographer Julia Pirotte arrived in Kielce, the mob had murdered at least 42 Jews and wounded many others. She captured the heartbreak at the funeral in this scene and photographed survivors hospitalized from their injuries.
Although the Holocaust ended in 1945, hatred of Jews across Europe remained.
We were asked to re-post this public Alert- Re: all Strawberries of Bodek & B'gan
by Yudel Shain
Regarding Bodek and B'gan Frozen Strawberries
It has been noted that both Bodek and B'gan—two separate companies—market frozen strawberries produced in Peru. Under existing arrangements, the primary certifying authorities including Rabbi Shmuel Teitelbaum, Minchas Chinuch Hashgocha and the OU rely entirely on the insect-free certification of Rabbi Aharon Teitelbaum (the Nirbater Rav), who oversees the initial production for B’Gan etc. in Peru. Consequently, no independent, secondary reinspection of these products is conducted before they are marketed.
Recently, independent kashrus individuals not affiliated with Bodek or B’gan have reportedly discovered insect infestations in these imported frozen strawberries from Peru. These findings have called into serious question the reliability of the current certifications, particularly because the specific authorities being relied upon are widely known not to be specialized experts in insect infestation or entomological kashrus inspection protocols. This raises severe concerns within the community regarding whether the oversight is sufficient to guarantee that the strawberries are entirely insect-free.
The Halachic Context
From a halachic standpoint, strawberries are widely recognized as much’zak be’tolaim (substantiated and presumed to be infested). Due to the nature of their textured surface, many halachic authorities maintain that it is virtually impossible to ensure they are insect-free through standard commercial washing alone.
As a result, a growing consensus of halachic experts advises that consumers should not rely on pre-washed frozen strawberries—even those bearing multiple prominent certifications. Instead, strawberries should only be used if they are completely peeled, as this is the only definitive way to ensure they are free of insects.
Current Actions and Lack of Public Alerts
Reports indicate that the certifying Rabbonim have quietly directed companies to remove affected stocks from retail store shelves. However, no public alerts have been issued to warn families who may already have these products stored in their home freezers, or who may have already used them in prepared foods.
Saturday, July 4, 2026
Henya Fried of Monsey Wins $5,000 a Week for Life in Massive New York Millions Lottery
News of the win has spread quickly through Monsey, with friends and neighbors extending warm congratulations to the Fried family on their extraordinary and life-changing blessing.
New technology might finally solve one of the greatest mysteries known to man ...Lost Ark of the Covenant
US warns Poland of possible Russian invasion testing NATO's Unity
Poland has received multiple warnings from the United States about the possibility of Russian military provocations in the coming months, according to a report by Polish news outlet ONET.
Eli Levon an American Ben-Teirah charged with spying for Iran
A 21-year-old US citizen studying at a Haredi yeshiva in Jerusalem was indicted in the city’s District Court on Friday for allegedly sending information to Iranian intelligence in exchange for hundreds of dollars.
Eli Levon, then a student at the large Mir yeshiva in Mea She’arim, received $861.35 in cryptocurrency from a Telegram chat app account called “Sina” in December, and another $517.78 in cryptocurrency from an account called “Alecsander” in February, prosecutors said.
** Mir denies Levon learned there!
He was arrested on June 9 and is charged with contact with a foreign agent and providing information that could benefit an enemy, according to the indictment.
The tasks Levon performed allegedly included sending photographs of Jerusalem’s Central Bus Station; hiding a cigarette box with a note reading “the work is done” in the Hadar Mall; and buying a USB flash drive, wrapping it in a NIS 50 bill and planting it in a central Jerusalem eatery.
However, the indictment said that Levon refused a request by Alecsander in February to send a list of fellow Mir yeshiva students.
Levon performed the tasks despite having “reasonable basis” to assume the accounts acted on behalf of Iranian intelligence, prosecutors said.
Police had on Tuesday already announced that a US national arrested for spying for Iran was set to be charged, but the specifics of the case were under a gag order.
Levon is one of dozens of people, mostly Israeli citizens, who have been arrested in Israel in recent months for allegedly cooperating with Iran-linked agents via social media in exchange for money. Agents usually start out assigning Israeli recruits mundane tasks such as vandalism, but the requests often escalate into serious offenses like espionage and intelligence gathering.
The indictment against Levon said that while visiting family in the US in November, he used a pseudonymous Telegram account to respond to a wanted ad in a chat group called “Yeshivot Telegram.”
About a month later, while Levon was on the plane home, he was contacted by Sina, who offered money for pictures and videos from Israel, according to the indictment.
Levon allegedly took up the offer, sent videos from the plane and after landing to prove his identity and location, and received $30 from Sina via a digital wallet.
Later tasks from Sina included hiding the cigarette box and photographing the bus station, a grocery store and an abandoned building in Jerusalem’s Bukharan neighborhood, according to the indictment
In his final task from Sina, Levon was asked to send a picture of himself and his passport, prosecutors said. Levon performed the task, but, fearing his personal information would be abused, blocked Sina’s account soon afterward, they said.
Then, at or near the start of 2026, the Alecsander Telegram account made Levon a similar offer of money in exchange for footage from Jerusalem, which Levon again agreed to, the indictment said.
The tasks allegedly also included sending footage from inside a grocery store, as well as hiding the USB flash drive at the Jerusalem eatery on February 23, five days before the US and Israel launched the war against Iran in a bid to curtail its nuclear program.
The fighting with Iran entered a truce on April 8, and the US and Iran are engaged in peace talks based on a memorandum of understanding reached last month. Israel is not a party to the understanding or the negotiations, and Israeli officials have criticized the document for failing to secure a concrete concession from Iran on the nuclear program.
Charlie Summers contributed to this report.
Friday, July 3, 2026
Zera Shimshon Parshat Pinchas
140,000 people at the tomb of the ‘Or HaChaim’
More than 140,000 people visited Jerusalem's Mount of Olives over the weekend for the annual commemoration of Rabbi Chaim Ben Attar, the renowned 18th-century Torah scholar and mystic known as the Or HaChaim, making it one of the capital's largest public gatherings in recent months.
Officials hailed the event as a success after it concluded without any major safety incidents, crediting extensive planning and coordination among the Office of Religious Services, the Jerusalem Municipality, the Burial Grounds Council, Israel Police, and emergency services.
Given the Mount of Olives' steep terrain and limited access, police barred private vehicles from entering the area. Worshippers were transported to the site via a network of dedicated shuttle buses and public transportation that operated around the clock.
Preparations for the pilgrimage began weeks in advance and included expanding crowd areas, installing additional lighting and shade, setting up water distribution stations, and deploying hundreds of police officers, attendants, Magen David Adom personnel, and Fire and Rescue teams.
"This was one of the most complex logistical operations ever carried out on the Mount of Olives," said Tzuri'el Krisfel, CEO of the Burial Grounds Council in Jerusalem. He said organizers focused on managing crowd flow and coordinating security measures to prevent dangerous overcrowding and protect visitors.
Yehuda Avidan, CEO of the Office of Religious Services, praised the public for following the instructions of security personnel, saying their cooperation played a key role in ensuring the event passed safely. He noted that the ministry has developed extensive experience managing major religious gatherings in recent years, including commemorations for the Baba Sali and Rabbi Meir Baal HaNes, under strict safety protocols.
Although heavy traffic congestion was reported throughout the day and night on roads leading to the Old City and eastern Jerusalem, officials said the shuttle system successfully transported tens of thousands of participants without any unusual incidents.
Taking Apart The Mishpacha Magazine
It is always easier to invent an enemy than to look in the mirror.
Eli Paley’s latest article in the Mishpacha magazine begins with a painful truth. The cuts in yeshiva funding are real. The financial pressure now bearing down on thousands of Charedi families is real. So is the uncertainty surrounding the future of the Torah world. On this, there is little room for disagreement.
Where I part company with him is in the story he tells about how we got here. According to Paley, the present crisis is the product of a sophisticated ideological campaign. Progressive organizations, NGOs, think tanks, courts, bureaucrats, and government officials are all cast as parts of a single machine whose purpose is to dismantle the Torah world.
It is an attractive explanation, not because it is necessarily true, but because it demands nothing of us. History is filled with movements that explain every setback by pointing to a single villain. We Jews are intimately familiar with such tactics as they are used routinely by anti semites. Such stories are comforting. They relieve us of the burden of self-examination. If everything is the fault of our “enemies,” then nothing is ever our responsibility.
That is the real danger of Paley’s article. Not that ideological opponents do not exist; of course they do. The danger lies in convincing an entire community that those opponents explain everything.
There is a Simpler Explanation
Perhaps we should begin with the obvious. For nearly three years, Israel has been fighting the longest and most exhausting war in its history. Hundreds of thousands of reservists have left behind families, businesses, studies, and careers. Tens of thousands have been wounded, and thousands have been killed. An entire society has been carrying an extraordinary burden.
One may support the current Charedi draft policy or oppose it. One may believe deeply, as I do, in the centrality of Torah learning for the Jewish people. But one fact is difficult to ignore: many Israelis look at this reality and feel that the burden has not truly been shared by the Charedi community.
That feeling is not simply the creation of progressive think tanks. It is not merely the product of hostile NGOs or clever legal strategists. It is the product of lived experience. To acknowledge this would require real self-reflection and serious conversation. It would force us to ask hard questions about responsibility, solidarity, Torah, statehood, and the meaning of sharing a national destiny. It is far easier to blame a villain and ride the familiar waves of right-versus-left politics.
Perhaps the most troubling part of the article comes at its end. Paley argues that the coalition built around Keren Olam HaTorah should become a sophisticated international advocacy movement to proactively defend the Charedi world. In practical terms, this means using wealth and political access abroad to pressure foreign politicians, who in turn will pressure Israel.
This is quite a troubling proposal. At a time when Israel is already under extraordinary international pressure, encouraging Charedi Jews around the world to organize political pressure against Israel’s institutions is not what Am Yisrael needs. It may feel like strength, but it risks deepening the alienation between Charedi society and the broader Israeli public at precisely the moment when we most need responsibility, trust, and shared purpose.
US feared Israel would target Iranian negotiators during peace talks
The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel had placed Araghchi and Ghalibaf on a target list but temporarily removed them while the United States pursued negotiations with Iran.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
U.S. officials believed Israel could target two senior Iranian negotiators during ceasefire and peace negotiations with Tehran, prompting Washington to seek regional assistance in warning Iran out of concern that such an operation could jeopardize the diplomati process, The New York Times reported.
The officials said American concerns focused on Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf during negotiations that began in April.
While U.S. officials acknowledged the two men could have been considered legitimate military targets during the height of the conflict, they believed any attempt to kill them after negotiations were underway would likely end the talks and reignite fighting.
According to The New York Times, some current and former U.S. officials said Washington asked other countries in the region to warn Iran about the possibility that Israel could target the two officials.
The report said Israel concentrated early in the conflict on senior Iranian leaders, while U.S. military operations focused on Iran’s navy and missile forces.
Ali Larijani, Iran’s top national security official, and former Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi were killed in Israeli airstrikes while participating in negotiations with the United States.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported in March that Israel had placed Araghchi and Ghalibaf on a target list but temporarily removed them while the United States pursued negotiations with Iran.
The report said Iran adopted additional security measures during the talks.
Before an April meeting in Islamabad with Vice President JD Vance, Iranian officials sought assurances through Pakistani and Qatari intermediaries that Israel would not target the delegation.
Pakistani fighter jets escorted the Iranian aircraft to and from Islamabad, and on the return journey, the delegation diverted to Mashhad before traveling approximately eight hours overland to Tehran after receiving what Iranian officials described as intelligence of a possible Israeli threat.
New Times Hides the Fact That Israel has Rescue Workers in Venezuela
The NYT published an entire piece on the global response to Venezuela’s devastating earthquake.
JD Vance Leaked Entire Israeli Plan to topple Iranian Regime to Erdogan
According to the Jerusalem Post, a major plan to topple the Iranian regime using Kurdish forces, backed by Israeli air support was ready.
— Mosab Hassan Yousef (@MosabHasanYOSEF) July 2, 2026
Trump vetoed it at the last minute.
Israeli sources accuse JD Vance of leaking the entire operation to Erdogan.
A 41-year-old Vice… pic.twitter.com/311CZ5bArZ
Thursday, July 2, 2026
Kamala Harris holds talks with Mamdani and Pro-Palestinian activists ahead of potential 2028 bid
When My Son Was Rejected From A Lakewood Yeshiva, the Public School System Welcomed Him
So this is a pretty vulnerable post, and I am happy I can advocate for myself.
My 8-year-old was removed from his school for behavioral challenges (the principal said he was not following directions or was disruptive). In February, we had a face-to-face meeting, and the principal decided that my kid should be removed from the school until he is eligible for their ABA program.
I was devastated.
How can a school just reject a child like that?
We were proactive and did what needed to be done to start the process—insurance, get the diagnosis, evaluate, etc. Suffice it to say, the whole process was extremely tedious and took 3 months to complete.
In the meantime, this is happening, and my kid is becoming more and more disengaged and withdrawn.
6 months went by, and we had no idea what to do. As a licensed therapist, I could see the potential risks already being observed by my now 8-year-old, and certain symptoms were concerning to me.
I had people advocating for me and calling the school and pleading for my son to come back temporarily while everything is being completed.
The principal did not budge.
We were rejected and dismissed.
We needed to get an assessment to rule out anything we can. We contacted our local Board of Education, and they guided us by having our son enrolled in the system.
When asked why this assessment needed to be completed, we had to tell them the truth.
Well, fast forward to a few days before, and my husband got a call for confirmation, and the person said that if we don’t enroll our child, the DOE would send a summons.
We did not get in trouble legally.
My kid, as a young 7-year-old, was being enrolled in public school.
I had very mixed feelings, but we know what is best for our child.
He was lacking, for a few months, the structure and routine. He did not have the social and emotional piece that was missing from school.
I could not sit back and watch my child suffer.
The first day happened, and he was nervous, but by the end of the day, I saw that glow on his face and smile. I was beyond happy to see what I was missing.
He was there for a month.
He was treated with respect as far as his observances.
I was so happy to see that.
Fast forward, he has been rejected by a local Lakewood school that I will not mention.
I write this not to offend people but to advocate for the system in general.
Once we were rejected, someone said, “Do you have pull?”
Why should someone have to plead or bargain for a school to accept their child?
I am all for rules, but I believe in authenticity.
I do not believe “dressing the part” is authentic for an interview.
We gave it our authentic selves, and to see us being rejected as well as dismissed is a horrible feeling.
People are afraid my kid will lose his Yiddishkeit, but I believe quite the opposite, as the foundation is in our home.
I do believe his sense of loss for his Jewish values is because of how he has been treated by other schools.
Will this system change?
Timing is everything, and I believe it is time to say goodbye to Lakewood.
I loved some of the people, but my kid’s happiness and values are a much bigger priority, and I do not think he will find them here.
I want my family to be loved and recognized for their true and authentic selves.
I write this to give a voice to the people who were also rejected or dismissed.
Thank you.
Name withheld upon request.



