Dramatic economic sanctions: A-G cancels tax benefits for donations to yeshivas

 

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara delivered a major economic blow to the yeshiva world today (Wednesday), ruling that Torah institutions attended by draft-eligible students who fail to report for military service will no longer qualify for tax benefits for donors.

According to her decision, yeshivas in which draft-age students evade enlistment in the Israel Defense Forces will no longer be able to grant donors income tax credits under Section 46 of Israeli law.

The Charedi response was swift, led by Degel HaTorah chairman MK Moshe Gafni, who launched a harsh attack against the attorney general.

“This is an open declaration of war against the Torah world and Judaism in the State of Israel," Gafni declared. “This is no longer a legal question - it is a systematic and obsessive ideological persecution against the haredi community and against everything that represents the Jewish identity of the state."

He added that, in his view, the attorney general is abusing her authority and “using her powers to harm Torah scholars and their institutions in an unacceptable manner."

Gafni continued: “I call on the public not to surrender to improper dictates and not to accept a reality in which a legal official runs the country and decides against its most basic values."

Toward the end of his remarks, Gafni directly blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for allowing Baharav-Miara to remain in office.

“It is inconceivable that such a severe move should pass in silence," he said. “I do not understand how Prime Minister Netanyahu continues to keep her in her position. This is a grave failure, and I call on him to put an immediate end to this situation. It is unacceptable for the State of Israel to be led by someone who consistently acts against Judaism and against its Torah-observant citizens."

United Torah Judaism chairman MK Yitzhak Goldknopf also condemned the decision.

“It appears that the attorney general has lost all restraint and boundaries in her war against Torah scholars in the Holy Land," Goldknopf said. “The request submitted to the court is a serious attempt to carry out a maneuver against the Torah world and harm the ability of donors to assist Torah students, instead of the state funding the yeshivas as it was supposed to do."

He argued that Section 46 was intended to encourage donations to public institutions, “not to serve as a punitive tool or become an enforcement mechanism for the draft law."

“Revoking the benefit is collective punishment - disproportionate and immoral," he added.

Goldknopf concluded by comparing the situation to organizations that encouraged military refusal during protests.

Hatzala in London Treats the Stabber of Jews

 

BREAKING: The suspect is being treated by Hatzola paramedics.

He just tried to cut the throats of two Jews people.

Remember last month when the internet said Hatzola only treats jews? Well they’re currently treating a man who attempted to stab jews. pic.twitter.com/S319GfOhYN

— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) April 29, 2026

Watch Chardeim "Learning" while Blocking a Bus Filled with Women and toddlers for hours!

 זו תורה וזו שכרה

Many of those sitting on the buses and in the cars, are pregnant women, mothers with children trying to get home in time for their other children, many elderly people that need the bathroom, but they the protestors don't care they are stopping traffic Leshem Shamyim, and learning , look at the big jlub, a grown man leaning against the bus "arein-getun" in a sigyeh! 

They tied up Yerushlayim, Bnei-Brak and Beit Shemesh! 

All benefits have to be taken away from them! 

Not one peep, from the "gedoilim" 

הפרגוד: חוסם ולומד pic.twitter.com/OayTBmtjT3

— הפרגוד (@moshepargod) April 29, 2026

 

Harav Avishai David of Beit Shemesh "The Establishment of the Jewish State is the Most Magnificent Event in Jewish History !!

 

Harav David Shlitah is a very well-respected Rav and Posik in Beit Shemesh. Finally a prominent Rav in a major Jewish Charedie City, not afraid to tell the truth!

 I see a slow change in the Chardeie culture finally speaking out and refuting the lies and propaganda of Yeshivishe R"Y! 

Listen to his lecture:

The Complexity of   יום הזיכרון and יום העצמות

YUTorah Online

Charedie Rabbis Quiet as their Students disrupt Israeli lives

 Police report an illegal protest is blocking Route 4 near Bnei Brak, with clashes between demonstrators and officers. 

The highway is closed from Aluf Sadeh to Em  HaMoshavot in both directions, with traffic diverted to alternate routes.

Similar protests blocked traffic in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh where people were stuck in buses and cars for hours! 

Qatar behind ICC Arrest Warrant for Netanyahu .... Wall Street Journal

 

Testimony cited in a Wall Street Journal editorial raises suspicions that Qatar allegedly promised to “take care of” International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Karim Khan if he advanced an arrest warrant against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

According to the report, the claims are based on an affidavit submitted to the FBI, supported by audio recordings. The affidavit was provided by a person familiar with a private intelligence operation linked to the case, who requested anonymity. It has been shared with several members of the U.S. Congress.

The Smash House Story

 

The story has been spreading across WhatsApp groups and frum news sites for the past several days. The details vary depending on which version one encountered. A family in the Lakewood area was without parents at home one evening. Dinner was ordered through Uber Eats. The intended restaurant was Smash House Burgers — a kosher establishment with locations in several cities, well known to many. The actual restaurant the order went to was Smashburger, the national chain that serves bacon, cheeseburgers, and milkshakes.

In one version, the family caught the mistake when the packaging looked unfamiliar and the food was not eaten. 

In another, three children sat down and ate before anyone realized what had happened. The differences matters, and should not be glossed over, but for what needs to be said now, the discrepancy is almost beside the point. Because in either version of the story, the same critical safeguard was missing.

There was no kosher seal – or rather: there was no checking for one.

Other conversations abound:   

“Kosher restaurant shouldn’t use a confusing name!”  

“Why do we need to follow goyisha names for restaurants?”

“Uber Eats should label kosher establishments more clearly!”

“Hashgachos shouldn’t permit menu items that resemble cheeseburgers!”

 And more.

But maybe, in this modern era, we should retool our Chinuch.  Maybe we should create a curriculum that addresses the underlying issue – something that Chazal had addressed long, long ago – The concept of Chosamos.

Zelensky the Ukrainian Threatens Israel over grain shipment from Russia that he claims are "stolen"

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday issued a sharp criticism of Israel over what he described as the arrival of a vessel carrying “stolen" Ukrainian grain to an Israeli port.

“In any normal country, purchasing stolen goods is an act that entails legal liability. This applies, in particular, to grain stolen by Russia," Zelenskyy said in a statement. “Another vessel carrying such grain has arrived at a port in Israel and is preparing to unload. This is not - and cannot be - legitimate business."

Zelenskyy added that Israeli authorities “cannot be unaware of which ships are arriving at the country’s ports and what cargo they are carrying."

According to the Ukrainian president, Russia has been “systematically seizing grain on temporarily occupied Ukrainian land and organizing its export through individuals linked to the occupiers," describing such actions as violations of Israeli law.

“Ukraine has taken all necessary steps through diplomatic channels to prevent such incidents. However, we see that yet another such vessel has not been stopped," he stated.

Police Arrest Chareidie Hoodlooms that attacked Charedi soldier and his friends in Beit Shemesh

 

The police announced today (Tuesday) the arrest of three suspects, residents of Beit Shemesh aged 32 and 41, on suspicion of involvement in the severe assault of a Charedi soldier and his friends during last Shabbat.

The arrests were carried out following an intensive investigation that began immediately after the end of Shabbat.

The incident began on Friday night, when a group of dozens of youths affiliated with an extremist sect in the city arrived at the home of a Charedi soldier. According to the complaint filed by the soldier, the extremists began to threaten him and his family, while shouting, "we will burn down your house."

A violent confrontation developed on the scene between the extremists and a group of worshippers from a nearby synagogue who came to defend the soldier. During the disturbance, the soldier and his friends were attacked. One of the soldier's friends sustained significant facial injuries.

The three detainees are currently under investigation at the Beit Shemesh station, and the police will seek today from the Magistrate's Court to extend their detention.

Crazy Chassidim Use a "Graphologist" , in order to analyze personality traits and determine compatibility.

It is no secret that the shidduchim world within the Hasidic community has been experiencing a serious crisis in recent years. Many older bachelors remain unmarried for long periods, while their peers have already built families, raising children and guiding them in a life of Torah and Mitzvos.

The situation in which one young man remains single from an entire class is heartbreaking. Beyond the personal pain of the unmarried individual, his friends also face a difficult reality. On the one hand, they want to maintain their relationship with him; on the other, it’s hard to ignore the feelings of jealousy that may arise when meeting or speaking with someone who has not yet had the chance to establish a home.

While there is no single explanation for why some individuals do not become engaged even after dozens or hundreds of dates, recent accounts suggest an interesting phenomenon that may be contributing significantly to the crisis.

From conversations with older singles and parents, a concerning picture emerges, as reported on the Emess (Kol Chai) site. In some Hasidic circles, it has become common to send the handwriting of a prospective couple to a graphologist before finalizing a match, in order to analyze personality traits and determine compatibility.

This practice is especially widespread in one of the larger chasidic groups in Israel. In many cases, families consult well-known graphologists, sometimes considered among the best in the country, to decide whether to proceed with a proposed match.

“What’s holding the sector back in recent years is this issue of graphology. Ninety percent [of matches] are rejected,” says “A,” who has experienced the crisis firsthand and asked to remain anonymous. “I understand that in Gur Hasidic dynasty they’ve only recently begun to scale this back.”

He adds: “This has led to a large number of unmarried young men within the community. People have become almost addicted to it. It’s a miracle it hasn’t spread to the Lithuanian or Sephardi sectors. I personally had several good matches this past year that could have progressed, but the graphologist said they weren’t suitable.”

Another individual, “T,” shared a similar experience: “I once dated a girl who wouldn’t move forward in any match without approval from a certain graphologist. Eventually she got fed up and switched to someone else, because the first one rejected all her matches.”

He added: “At one point I met that graphologist and told him: ‘Stop destroying homes that could be built in Israel. Even if it’s your livelihood, there are other ways to make a living without harming people like this.’”

“B,” a parent of two older sons navigating the matchmaking system, offered further insight: “A very senior graphologist told me that those who say whether to go ahead with a match or not are charlatans motivated by money. A graphologist can analyze personality, but should never determine compatibility.”

He continued: “He even told me that if he had analyzed his own handwriting and that of his wife, he would have concluded they were completely incompatible, yet thank G-d they’ve been happily married for 40 years.”

These testimonies come from people directly affected by the matchmaking crisis, who have chosen to speak out in hopes of raising awareness and perhaps contributing to at least a partial solution.

Ha Ha!! Ilhan Omar thinks we were in Eleven World Wars! Reads World War II as ‘World War Eleven’

 

Online reaction was swift and intense. Avi Glaserman questioned, “How the hell was she elected into office if she thinks (II) in Roman numerals equals 11?”

Others piled on. A commenter identified as Melissa Rubin from Pennsylvania wrote, “How can she think there have been 11 world wars? She obviously misread Roman numeral II from a speech a staffer wrote for her: Perhaps because she graduated from Quality Learning Center.”

Another user, Michael Sternstein, posted: “I am embarrassed she is my congresswoman but then again what can I expect? She graduated from Quality Learing Center and her family tree is a circle since she married her own brother.”

The moment also revived past criticism from Donald Trump, who previously referred to Omar as a “low IQ individual” countless times.

JBN has verified the authenticity of the clip, with C-SPAN footage confirming Omar’s remarks.

Rabbi Yechiel Farkash, Facing Extradition to Israel for Alleged Sexual Abuse of Students at Bnei Brak Yeshiva Denied Bond Ahead of Extradition Hearing

WARNING! TERRIBLE REPORT! 

Explicit Language

 Lakewood Resident, Rabbi Yechiel Farkash, Facing Extradition to Israel for Alleged Sexual Abuse of Students at Bnei Brak Yeshiva Where He Taught, Denied Bond Ahead of Extradition Hearing

According to a complaint filed in New Jersey Federal Court, Rabbi Yechiel Farkash, 43, was working as a rebbi, menahel, and remedial teacher at Yeshiva Toras Hachayim in Bnei Brak between 2020 and 2023. During that time, the complaint alleges, he began giving Victim 1 extra attention relative to other students, summoning him to Farkash's office often, buying him clothing, and giving him money for that purpose. According to the complaint Victim 1 was living at Keren Hayeled, a boarding house in Bnei Brak that caters to orphans, children with mental illness, and children who have experienced abuse or neglect.

On multiple occasions between June 2021 and October 2023, according to the complaint, Farkash called Victim 1, who was a teenager, to his office, where he would hug Victim 1 from the front or back, and occasionally press his erect genitalia against Victim 1's body. In June of 2022, according to the complaint, Farkash and Victim 1 visited the Knesset in honor of Victim 1's birthday. During the drive, the complaint alleges, Farkash touched Victim 1 near his lower abdomen and genitalia, and reminded Victim 1 of everything Farkash had bought him when Victim 1 resisted, which made Victim 1 stop resisting. The complaint alleges that while in a Knesset elevator Farkash hugged Victim 1 and pressed his genitalia into Victim 1's body.

Aliyah continues: Nearly 19,000 Jews move to Israel amid war....UK Aliya hits 40 year High

 

Nearly 19,000 Jews immigrated to Israel over the past year, arriving from 103 countries despite ongoing war and regional tensions.

Russia, the US, and France led in numbers, with rising immigration from Western countries linked to growing antisemitism.

Most newcomers settled in central Israel and Jerusalem

Leaving Britain? UK aliyah hits 40-year high as antisemitism rises fast

According to a new report from the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, 742 Jews from the United Kingdom made aliyah in 2025, the highest annual total since the mid-1980s.

Over the past two decades, aliyah from the UK has remained stable, typically ranging between 400 and 740 people per year, with a long-term average of about 566 annually.

In practical terms, that means roughly 2 out of every 1,000 British Jews make aliyah each year, higher than other countries like Canada but still far below places like France, where migration levels are significantly higher.

So this is not, at least yet, a mass exodus. But something is changing.

Firstly, this marks two consecutive years of growth, rising from 561 immigrants in 2024 to 742 in 2025.

Secondly, since October 7, studies show British Jews are more likely than before to consider aliyah, even if many have not yet acted on it.

That change is especially pronounced among younger Jews, Orthodox communities, and those who have personally experienced antisemitism.

Many British Jews find that there are many factors to consider regarding aliyah. Economic opportunities, family, and connection to Israel all play a role.

Antisemitism in the UK has surged in recent years, which reshapes how many Jews view their place in British society.

Cute 12 year-old Cancer Victim Tells her Story of her fear of losing her hair

 

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Chassidic sect in northern Israel churns out child brides and conceals sex abuse

The late Cult leader Eliezer Shlomo Schick.

 Hundreds of families from an insular Chasidic sect in northern Israel are systematically marrying off girls as young as 12 to husbands who are not much older, as welfare services fail them and community members fear speaking out, Haaretz reported Thursday.

The report cited current and former members of the Bratslav community in Yavne’el, officials with knowledge of the matter, and the previously unpublished findings of a government panel established in 2023 to look into the closed community.

The panel that looked into the community reportedly found “cases that give rise to suspected crime,” “multiple cases of dysfunctional parenting,” and “sexual abuse, part of which goes unreported.”

“It’s straight-up rape,” said a current community member . “Nobody asks a 14-year-old girl if she wants to get married. A year later she’s taking a baby to the playground.”

According to the government panel, the weddings are mainly between children aged 15-17, who are taught from an early age to get married young

“The community perpetuates and is permeated by a religious and cultural outlook that says early marriages of minors are desirable and, among other things, help keep youth away from various dangers,” said the government report, without elaborating, 

The newspaper cited current and former community members as saying the “dangers” that the community fears are non-procreative seminal emissions, which are prohibited in halacha, or Jewish ritual law.

Current community members agreed to speak only on the side of the road, far away from the town, and were wary of approaching cars, Haaretz said. 

It quoted one female community member as saying, “Whoever talks risks ruining their and their family’s lives.”

The government panel that looked into the Yavne’el community was established by the Welfare Ministry with representatives of the police and of the justice, education, and health ministries following an interview by the Kan public broadcaster with a woman who escaped abuse in the sect.

The woman, Mika Maimoni, was wed at 14 to a 19-year-old husband and got pregnant in three months. Maimoni was sent to give birth in Bnei Brak and was instructed on the way there to memorize a cover story to explain her pregnancy, she told Kan. She escaped the sect in 2015 when it was grieving the death of its spiritual leader Eliezer Shlomo Schick.

Marriages like Maimoni’s are common in the Yavne’el Bratslav community, according to Haaretz. Community members cited by the newspaper said the weddings take place at a rate of one or two a month.

In 2003, Tiberias police uncovered about 20 cases of marriages arranged by Schick of young girls, some of them aged 12, to grooms as young as 15.

And in its report, the panel established in 2023 found child marriages to be “very widespread” in the community of roughly 500 families, which accounts for over half the residents in the 5,000-odd town, according to Haaretz.

But the panel reportedly said it could not give exact figures because of conspirators’ “synchronized and systematic cover-up technique and subterfuge.”

Those were said to include holding weddings in secret, changing child spouses’ addresses, giving authorities false information, appointing loyalists as teachers and counselors, and getting doctors to register adult mothers as the patients of fertility treatments performed on young girls.

Belz Chasid from New York abducted, brutally murdered in Colombia

 

Nachum Yisrael Eber, a 51-year-old Belz Hasid from the Borough Park neighborhood of New York, was murdered during a trip to Colombia after being abducted by a local criminal gang.

According to initial reports from Colombian authorities, Eber was kidnapped in an attempted robbery and was later killed by his assailants, who fled the scene.

His body was found in a remote area bearing signs of severe violence, days after contact with him was lost and he was reported missing.

Family members, concerned for his safety, appealed to community activists and authorities for assistance in locating him. Following intensive searches conducted in cooperation with local officials, his body was located.

Eber is survived by an extended family, including 16 siblings, who are part of the Belz Hasidic community in the United States, Canada and Israel.

At the same time, leaders of the Jewish community in Colombia, along with international aid organizations and community activists from the United States, are working to ensure proper respect for the deceased and to arrange for his burial as soon as possible.

Colombian authorities have opened a murder investigation, while community representatives are applying diplomatic pressure to expedite the transfer of his body for burial in Israel

240 of India's Bnei Menashe Make Aliyah

 

Over the weekend 240 members of India’s Bnei Menashe community arrived in Israel, marking the latest convoy of immigrants brought as part of a government-backed effort to relocate the entire community. 

The flight, which landed at Ben Gurion Airport, was welcomed by a delegation including Israel’s Aliyah minister and the chairman of The Jewish Agency for Israel.

 It was the first of three flights expected over the next two weeks that will bring roughly 600 members of the Bnei Menashe community.

Shai Goldstein of Boca Raton Accused of being a pedophile

 

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Calls for firing Kimmel after saying that Melania is "an expectant widow"

 

First lady Melania Trump called for ABC to "take a stand" against Jimmy Kimmel and his "hateful" language on Monday after the liberal late-night host referred to her as "an expectant widow" days before the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was interrupted by a suspected attempted assassin.  

"Kimmel’s hateful and violent rhetoric is intended to divide our country. His monologue about my family isn’t comedy- his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America," Melania Trump posted on X. 

"People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate. A coward, Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him. Enough is enough," the first lady continued. "It is time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community." 

Kimmel had mocked President Donald Trump and his wife in a White House Correspondents' Dinner parody last week, calling her "an expectant widow" and joking about her marriage. 

"Our first lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow," Kimmel said in his parody of the event on Thursday. 

The joke didn't age well after authorities say 31-year-old Cole Allen of Torrance, Calif., rushed a Secret Service checkpoint at the Washington Hilton on Saturday, armed with multiple weapons, and opened fire, striking a Secret Service agent. The officer survived and Allen was taken into custody.  

Will Bashar al-Assad be extradited to Syria?

After 14 years of bloodshed, tears, mass graves, and detention centers, the official legal process began today with the trial of Bashar Hafez al-Assad and several figures from the former regime in Damascus.

The main charges relate to the Syrian people, including:

1. Murder  

2. Torture  

3. Arbitrary arrests  

4. Extortion  

5. Drug trafficking  

6. Atrocities committed during the suppression of protests  

Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia after the fall of Damascus in December 2014, following the capture of the city by forces led by Ahmed al-Sharaa in an operation called “Deterrence of Aggression.”

The next hearing is scheduled for May 10, 2016.

Despite calls for his extradition, the practical possibility remains highly complex under current circumstances due to his  refuge in Russia, the lack of an extradition agreement between Syria and Russia, and certain political considerations.