Civil War Between Charedie Parties as Tensions rise in United Torah Judaism over draft law

 The draft law currently being debated in the Knesset is deepening tensions within the factions of United Torah Judaism. A source in Agudat Israel accused Degel HaTorah of promoting legislation that, according to him, would impose sanctions on Torah students.

“Where have we seen a haredi party advocating a law that imposes draft quotas on young haredim while punishing Torah students?” he asked in an interview with Israel National News - Arutz Sheva. “At the crucial moment, I want them to refrain from raising their hand in support of this law in the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee,” he added.

Degel HaTorah responded sharply, pointing to the growing number of arrests of yeshiva students, which he said is creating chaos within the haredi community.

“I am surprised at Agudat Israel for burying their heads in the sand and ignoring their constituents,” a Degel HaTorah source told Arutz Sheva. “Yeshiva students are being arrested almost every night. This will continue until a conscription law is passed.”

He added, “If they have another solution to stop these arrests, they are more than welcome to propose it. But since they do not, there is nothing left but to criticize.”

The source emphasized that Degel HaTorah’s actions are guided by religious authority: “Every step we take is in consultation with the leadership of the Degel HaTorah Council of Torah Scholars. They instructed us to resign from coalition positions and are actively overseeing the enactment of this law.

“Criticizing the decisions of the Degel HaTorah Torah Scholars is, at best, naïve and, at worst, brazen. At the very least, they should remain silent,” he concluded

Bereaved Israeli Father Condemns Anti-army Chants at at the Tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai

 

Jonathan Luber HY"D

Hagai Luber, whose son was killed fighting in Gaza, condemned chants against Israel’s military and state after witnessing them during a religious gathering at the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.

Luber, chief executive of the Aspeklaria Theater and the father of Jonathan Luber, an Israeli soldier killed in combat in the Gaza Strip in late 2023, described the episode in a social media post published Monday night.

He said he traveled to the Meron shrine to observe the Zot Hanukkah pilgrimage, a tradition his son loved, and joined thousands of worshippers in song and dance.

“I imagined your face in every bearded countenance,” Luber wrote, addressing his son. “I danced with joy, and you were with me.”

The atmosphere shifted suddenly, he said, when a speaker called for blessings for those imprisoned for refusing military service and denounced the army. Dancers then chanted slogans rejecting Israel’s government and the military draft.

Luber said he withdrew from the crowd, overcome with pain.

“My son, whom they call ‘impure,’ would have stood with his body to protect them,” he wrote. “Because he reported for duty, he took the bullet — instead of their wives and children.”

Jonathan Luber was killed while serving in the Israel Defense Forces during the war triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.

Despite his grief, Luber said he remained to pray with the crowd.

“I mourned among them,” he wrote. “And I knew that in his righteousness, he would ask for mercy even for those who rejected him.”

As worshippers recited the Shema Yisrael prayer, Luber said he nearly collapsed while declaring the final word.

“I was there,” he wrote, “alone.”

US refuses to approve Israeli strike as Iran missile threat grows

 As rumors and intelligence warnings about a growing Iranian missile threat continue to mount, concern is rising across the region.

At the same time, senior U.S. officials are signaling that the Trump administration is not, at this stage, inclined to approve direct Israeli military action against Iran’s ballistic missile program, despite heightened tensions and intensified Iranian military activity.

A senior U.S. State Department official told Israel’s Wallah News that while Washington continues to view Iran as a destabilizing force in the Middle East and beyond, President Donald Trump’s current approach relies on diplomatic and economic pressure rather than immediate military action.

The official said the administration has reinstated its “maximum pressure” policy, aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions, scaling back its ballistic missile program, and limiting its support for terror groups.

The U.S. stance comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing to raise renewed military options against Iran in a planned meeting with Trump at the president’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on December 29.

According to U.S. and Israeli sources cited by NBC News, Israeli assessments indicate that Iran is accelerating efforts to rebuild and expand its ballistic missile capabilities following strikes earlier this year.

Israeli officials quoted in the report said they now view Iran’s missile production and recovery of air defense systems as a more immediate threat than its nuclear program, which they believe was significantly damaged during U.S. and Israeli operations in June.

Netanyahu is expected to argue that Iran’s expanding missile arsenal threatens not only Israel but also regional stability and U.S. interests, and to present a range of options that could include Israeli action alone or varying levels of American involvement.

The debate is unfolding amid growing alarm over recent Iranian military activity.

According to U.S. and Israeli sources, Western intelligence has detected unusual air activity in Iranian airspace over the past several days involving drones and missiles, appearing to be part of a large-scale missile exercise.

A report published by Axios said Israel’s security establishment is increasingly concerned that the drills, following similar recent activity, could serve as cover for a planned surprise attack on Israel.

Lebanon Suspects Israel Kidnapped Senior Military Figure Linked to Ron Arad

Ron Arad

 Lebanon suspects that Israel abducted a senior retired Lebanese military officer who may have information related to the fate of missing Israeli airman Ron Arad, according to a report by Saudi outlet Al Arabiya.

The report claims the missing officer is a relative of former Hezbollah chief of staff Fuad Shukr, who was killed by Israel in 2024.

Lebanese judicial sources said investigators are examining the possibility that the officer was lured by Israel in an intelligence operation. He reportedly met with two Swedish nationals at Beirut’s airport just two days before his disappearance, which occurred five days ago.

Lebanese authorities are investigating the disappearance of former security officer Ahmad Shukr amid claims he may have been taken in a foreign intelligence operation tied to the long-unresolved case of missing Israeli airman Ron Arad, regional media reported. A senior Lebanese legal source said Shukr vanished days ago after visiting the town of Nabi Sheet in the Bekaa Valley. Investigators reportedly believe he may have been lured into an intelligence entrapment and removed from Lebanon, citing the absence of evidence indicating he remains inside the country.

Yoeli Landau The Satmar Billionaire that Tried to Convince the Gerer Rebbe Not to take Money from the Medina is going Bankrupt

 Chasidic billionaire Yoeli Landau is in trouble: 

A company he controls has gone into bankruptcy with debts of more than $1.6 billion, the company sought to grant Landau immunity from lawsuits, but the court ruled that this could not be approved – especially when Landau did not appear for the hearing.

Now, the lawyers are turning on him  and intend to sue him personally. 

It turns out that Landau tried to use the familiar trick: 

declare bankruptcy, get immunity from personal lawsuits, and then buy back the company's "assets" through another company under his control.

However, the court canceled the tender for the sale of the company's assets, after the judge ruled that there were irregularities in the tender and ordered a new tender to be held under government supervision. 

Turns Out Trump Was Correct About How the DemonRats Stole the Election!

 Reminder — they demanded you ignore what happened in Fulton County, Georgia, where the room was cleared at 10:30 p.m. due to a supposed “water main break.” Then people stayed behind as thousands of ballots were pulled from under tables in suitcases and scanned!

🚨 Reminder — they demanded you ignore what happened in Fulton County, Georgia, where the room was cleared at 10:30 p.m. due to a supposed “water main break.” Then people stayed behind as thousands of ballots were pulled from under tables in suitcases and scanned! pic.twitter.com/OEbz5bfJV0

— 🔥🇺🇸 KC 🇺🇸🔥 (@KCPayTreeIt) December 21, 2025

Megyn Kelly is a disgusting fraud... Mark Levin

 

Megyn Kelly is a disgusting fraud and hateful propagandist. She need not condemn Candace Owens. She is Candace Owens.

More to come.https://t.co/iV1Owmnope

— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) December 23, 2025

So weird how Kelly has landed on blaming Jews for anti-Semitism and saying the dude buying a house in Qatar, sides with Iran, plays footsie with a neo-Nazi, platforms folks who say America should have sided with Nazi Germany, etc. is just fine. Note, I don’t think Kelly really… https://t.co/NO1niifhnW

— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahDispatch) December 22, 2025

Sometimes you have to draw a line in the sand and say “No, the person on stage who is telling Americans we are disgusting for not wanting to embrace Islam” is not someone I want to unite with.

No, I don’t want to giggle with @megynkelly in a fire side chat about how Candace… https://t.co/qVwIUsuJq3

— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) December 23, 2025

Judge orders JPMorgan to keep paying Charlie Javice’s $74M legal bills — including $530 in gummy bears

 A Delaware judge on Monday denied a bid from JPMorgan to wiggle out of $74 million in legal bills from convicted fraudster Charlie Javice — even as fresh details of lavish, bizarre spending emerged in court papers.

Javice and her lawyers spent $530 on gummy bears, more than $3,000 on first-class airline tickets, a $581 dinner that included a $161 seafood tower and $25,800 on hotel upgrades — then billed the costs as part of the staggering legal tab she wants JPMorgan Chase to pay, the bank alleged in court filings.

According to the filings, the expenses included a $284 car ride covering just half a mile. Lawyers also billed “copious amounts of alcohol,” including cocktails and wine, as well as personal care items such as cellulite butter.

The bank also flagged expenses incurred by attorneys themselves. In one instance, a law firm partner expensed a hotel stay in New York City to JPMorgan despite listing New York as his home office.

In November 2024, a Quinn Emanuel attorney based in Miami billed a two-day stay at a Florida hotel located roughly 20 minutes from her own office. Defense attorney José Baez sought reimbursement for a $13.57 Spotify charge and a $75 suitcase purchased at City Souvenirs USA.

Charedi Protest Erupts Into Major Route 4 Blockade, Paralyzing Central Israel

Making a Siyum on Route 4 while thousands in cars and buses cannot move an inch!

זו תורה וזו שכרה

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by יוסי ריינר (@yossi_rainer)

 

It's now totally out of hand, causing hate! 

Their "Gedoilim" offer no outlet to these boys with raging hormones and they are bored out of their minds! It was Zos Chanuka, and while IDF Soldiers were on the front being Moiser Nefesh for Klall Yisrael these "Torah" gangsters were out blocking innocent people from going on with their lives! This will not end well as the typical Israeli is getting very frustrated with these Charedie shenanigans and will take the law into their own hands! 

Extremist ultra-Orthodox protesters blocked Route 4 in both directions near the Geha Interchange by Bnei Brak and Givat Shmuel, choking one of central Israel’s busiest corridors and triggering heavy gridlock. 

Police declared the demonstration illegal and moved in to clear the roadway while diverting traffic, with closures reported along stretches of Route 4 and nearby access points as officers worked to restore flow. 

The protest is tied to anger over enforcement against draft evasion

Start making your wishlist: Personal import VAT exemption to increase to $150 on Wednesday

 

Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich is expected to sign an order on Tuesday expanding the VAT exemption on personal imports from $75 to $150.

The order will be published in the official registry and is set to take effect overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday.

The higher exemption is expected to significantly broaden the range of products Israelis can order from abroad, particularly through international e-commerce platforms such as Amazon.

Raising the threshold is also expected to reduce the overall cost of purchases, as consumers will be able to include more items in a single shipment without incurring VAT.

The measure is expected to boost competition in the local market, expand consumer choice, and help lower prices for competing products already sold in Israel.