Monday, June 22, 2026
Israeli kinetic art pioneer Yaacov Agam dead at 98
Israeli artist Yaacov Agam, considered to be the father of the Kinetic Movement in modern art, died on Sunday at the age of 98, the Agam Museum announced.
Agam, who was awarded the Israel Prize for Visual Arts in April, was known for works that incorporated movement, light, color and viewer interaction.
A public memorial ceremony will be held on Monday at the Agam Museum in the central city of Rishon Letzion from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. local time, followed by the funeral, which is scheduled to depart from the plaza of the military cemetery in Rehovot.
“The art world in Israel and around the globe is bidding farewell to one of its great innovators,” the Agam Museum said in a statement. “Yaacov Agam dedicated his life to groundbreaking artistic creation that transformed modern art and influenced generations of artists worldwide.”
Born in Rishon Letzion in 1928, Agam studied at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem before continuing his education in Zürich, Switzerland. Over a career spanning more than seven decades, he created works exhibited at major institutions worldwide, including the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
Among his most notable works are the Fire and Water Fountain in Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Square, the kinetic fountain in Esplanade de La Défense in Paris and a giant Chanukah menorah displayed annually on New York’s Fifth Avenue.
Between Torah study and the responsibility to earn a living
The Value of Work
Many questions arose in response to my previous column, in which I explained the value of work and wrote that according to the Torah it is proper for a person to work and set fixed times for Torah study, rather than to learn all day as a kollel student and receive a living stipend. I explained that there is inherent value in a person working. In this column I will address some of those questions, and with God’s help, more in the next column.
Q: Is work not a curse imposed upon man as a result of Adam’s sin - so why did you write that it has value?
A: Before Adam’s sin, man was destined to be a worker and partner in the settlement of the world, as it is written: “And the Lord God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to guard it" (Genesis 2:15). Our Sages added that man was not given permission to eat from the fruits of the Garden of Eden “until he had done labor" (Avot de-Rabbi Natan 11). And this too is part of God’s kindness toward man - that God created the world incomplete, in order to give man a place to be His partner in building and repairing it.
After Adam’s sin, ordinary work was no longer sufficient. Man now needed to toil with great hardship to atone for his sin, as was decreed: “By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread" (Genesis 3:19). But even this labor is for man’s benefit - through his hard work to obtain bread, man atones for his sins and develops both himself and the world.
The Halakhic Ruling on the Debate Over Work
We further learn the value of work from the ruling of our Sages that even a wealthy woman who has servants and has no need to do household work should nevertheless work, because “idleness leads to boredom" - that is, to deterioration and distraction of the mind (Ketubot 59b). Admittedly, if she occupies herself with games such as chess or keeping pets, she will not be subject to boredom - yet there remains the concern that idleness will lead her to sin, as Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: “for idleness leads to licentiousness" (Ketubot 61b).
Therefore, if there is a dispute between husband and wife - the wife wishing to be exempt from all work while the husband wants her to work in some household or income-producing capacity - the wife is obligated to work. Conversely, if the husband wishes his wife to be exempt from all work while she wishes to work, the husband is forbidden to prevent her from doing so (Shulchan Aruch, Even HaEzer 80:2-3).
Those Who Are Idle Are Disqualified from Giving Testimony
Our Sages further stated (Sanhedrin 24b) that those who pass their time in idleness - such as dice players - are disqualified from giving testimony, “because they do not engage in the settlement of the world" (Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 34:16). The Rambam likewise wrote: “One who occupies himself neither with Scripture, nor with Mishnah, nor with a way of the land (i.e., work) - is presumed to be a wicked person and is rabbinically disqualified from testifying, for anyone who has sunk to such a level is presumed to transgress most transgressions that come his way" (Laws of Testimony 11:1).
WHAT IRAN IS REALLY TESTING AND WHY SO MANY ISRAELIS FEEL THE TABLE HAS SUDDENLY TURNED
For the past several days, I've been receiving variations of the same question from readers. Not about a specific Hezbollah attack. Not about a specific statement from Washington. Not even about the details of the latest U.S.-Iran negotiations.
The question is much simpler:
How did the pressure suddenly shift from Iran to Israel? It is a fair question.
Only a short time ago, Iran appeared to be on the defensive. Israel and the United States were closely coordinated. Tehran and its proxies were under pressure. Hezbollah was constrained. The strategic momentum appeared to be moving in one direction.
Today, many Israelis feel as though the entire table has somehow been turned.
Whether that perception is fully accurate or not, it is worth examining why so many people have reached that conclusion.
Sunday, June 21, 2026
Trump Shamelessly Taking Credit for What Israel Actually did, while throwing her under the bus
The man is shameless. He didn’t kill the Ayatollah, the Israeli Air Force did. He didn’t take out Iran’s anti-aircraft capabilities, the Israeli Air Force did. The man is taking credit for the operations of a country that he is now throwing under the bus. pic.twitter.com/t9jmsyiI2a
— Joseph Gelman (@JosephGelman) June 20, 2026
Mark Levin to Trump ... "Stop Trashing, Smearing, Bullying the State of Israel "
🚨 NOW: Mark Levin fumes and demands the Trump administration "stop trashing, smearing, bullying the little state of Israel!"
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) June 21, 2026
"Stop cozying up to and telling us that the enemy regime in Iran is now more rational, more moderate, and a regime that we can deal with!"
"I don't know… pic.twitter.com/GwhsyJhhE5
IDF Seizes Strategic Iranian-built Hezbollah Underground Command Center ..Hundreds of terrorists trapped
BREAKING: Israeli forces have seized a strategic Iranian-built Hezbollah underground command center on the Ali Taher Ridge in southern Lebanon.
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) June 21, 2026
Hundreds of Hezbollah terrorists are believed to be trapped inside as the IDF dismantles the site. pic.twitter.com/0HgESRDAVF
Miriam Adelson Turns on Trump
An Israeli newspaper owned and published by Donald Trump megadonor Miriam Adelson attacked the president on Friday in open letter about his Iran peace agreement, accusing him of “betraying” Israel and declaring that he has “failed.”
With the scathing headline, “You could have been the greatest president of all, but you failed,” Danny Zaken wrote directly to Trump in a letter published in Israel Hayom, Israel’s most widely distributed paper. Zaken argued to Trump that he “may be remembered forever as the president who brought about America’s humiliation.” He wrote:
“And from where I sit, near Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the people of Israel since the days of the kingdoms of David and Solomon, I say to you: You made a colossal mistake. You failed by signing a surrender agreement with a murderous and cruel terror regime. You severely harmed American interests and the democratic and human values of the enlightened world, and you turned over the hourglass toward the next war, which your successors will have to deal with in the years to come.”
Zaken also rebuked Trump over his use of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nickname.
“Two weeks ago, someone in your circle made sure to leak the sharp conversation you had with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” he wrote. “And I deliberately emphasize the full title. He is not ‘Bibi.’ He is the elected prime minister of the independent and sovereign State of Israel, as would be anyone else sitting in his chair.”
Zaken went on: “And I am trying, and failing, to understand what caused this absurd change of direction, so contrary to everything you have said and done until now. The midterm elections are a flimsy excuse. You are in your second term, and the surrender memorandum of understanding will hurt the Republicans more than it will help them.”
He concluded with “one last word”: “We feel betrayed, nothing less, because your heart was, it seemed, in the right place, with all your flaws. You acted against it. You lost your patience and your moral and leadership compass. Only if you walk this back and avoid reaching a final agreement with Iran might there be a correction.”
It’s not the first time Trump and the paper, which was started by the late casino magnate Sheldon Adelson in 2007, have been at odds, despite the over $300M the president received from the Adelson family during his three election campaigns.
In 2024, then-presidential candidate Trump lumped Israel Hayom with the “fake news” after two reporters wrote that Trump’s message to Israel left them both “shocked” as Trump urged Israel to end its war against Hamas.
Miriam Adelson, alongside her late husband, has historically been one of Trump’s largest campaign donors, for which Trump gave her a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018. In December, she said during a Hanukkah event at the White House that she would give Trump “another $250 million” if he ran for a third term.
Watch Danny Danon tell UN Special Rep Venessa Frazier to Shut Up!
Watch: During a UN discussion, an attempt was made by Special Representative @_VanessaFrazier to interrupt my remarks and shut down legitimate criticism. I refused to be silenced. pic.twitter.com/cF5F1sUSWw
— Danny Danon 🇮🇱 דני דנון (@dannydanon) June 20, 2026
Saturday, June 20, 2026
World’s oldest living land animal, a 194-year-old tortoise was born When Andrew Jackson was Elected President
He is slow and steady — and winning the race against time.
A 194-year-old tortoise was just honored with Guinness World Records’ prestigious ICON award.
Born around 1832, Jonathan, the world’s oldest living land animal, was given the title in the record book’s latest edition, alongside greats like John Cena and Shohei Ohtani.
The Seychelles giant tortoise, who lives in Saint Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic Ocean, is also the oldest turtle ever recorded.
The local legend has lived at the Plantation House, the official residence of the Governor of Saint Helena, since arriving there in 1882 at the age of 50.
The remarkable reptile was sent there from his native Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, as a gift for the incoming governor, and has since been there for 31 governors’ terms.
“Jonathan’s recognition as a Guinness World Records ICON is warmly welcomed by the people of St. Helena,” Nigel Phillips CBE, the current Governor of Saint Helena, said in a statement.
“For generations, he has been regarded as a local icon, deeply embedded in the island’s identity and collective memory. This global acknowledgement reflects what the community has long known, that Jonathan is not only remarkable in age, but truly special to St. Helena and its people.”
Phillips also held a press conference on June 17 in recognition of Jonathan’s impressive achievement.
In 2022, Phillips officially announced Jonathan’s birthday as Dec. 4, 1832.
Although he’s lost his senses of sight and smell, the elderly creature is healthy — so much so that his DNA is being analyzed for its secrets to longevity.
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