Trump ready to end Iran war even if Hormuz stays closed

 

 President Donald Trump told aides his willing to end the military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing administration officials.

In recent days, Trump and his aides assessed that a mission to pry open the chokepoint would push the conflict beyond his timeline of four to six weeks, according to the report. He decided that the US should achieve its main goals of hobbling Iran’s navy and its missile stocks and wind down current hostilities while pressuring Tehran diplomatically to resume the free flow of trade.

If that fails, Washington would press allies in Europe and the Gulf to take the lead on reopening the strait, the officials said.

Trump last Saturday gave Iran an ultimatum of 48 hours to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face strikes on its power plants.

He has since extended that ultimatum twice to allow for negotiations with Iran, most recently on Thursday, when he gave Iran ten additional days.

On Monday, Trump claimed that the US is in "serious discussions" with a new regime in Tehran to end the war in Iran.

"The United States of America is in serious discussions with A NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME to end our Military Operations in Iran," he wrote on Truth Social.

"Great progress has been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately 'Open for Business,' we will conclude our lovely 'stay' in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet 'touched.'"

He added, "This will be in retribution for our many soldiers, and others, that Iran has butchered and killed over the old Regime’s 47 year 'Reign of Terror.' Thank you for your attention to this matter."

Comedian Modi Won't attend Downtown Seer because the Satmar Mayor Will take part in the event

 Jewish comedian Mordechai Rosenfeld, known as Modi, announced on Monday that he will not attend the annual “Downtown Seder" event in Lower Manhattan, after Jewish Insider revealed that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani will take part in the event.

The event is a Passover-themed benefit for a nonprofit focused on peacebuilding. Israeli musician David Broza is also scheduled to appear at the event.

In a post on Instagram on Monday, Modi’s representatives wrote, “We were not aware Mamdani was participating until today. Modi will not be attending this evening."

Mamdani, who was already under fire during his mayoral campaign for his anti-Israel views, caused an uproar on his first day in office when he cancelled executive orders related to Israel, which were issued by his predecessor, Eric Adams.

The move cancelled an order signed by Adams in June of 2025 formally recognizing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism.

Another executive order which was cancelled prohibited mayoral appointees and agency staff from boycotting and disinvesting from Israel.

Mamdani has faced multiple antisemitism controversies since taking office. A recent report indicated that Mamdani's wife, Rama Dawaji, liked several social media posts that praised or appeared supportive of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre.

Earlier this month, Mamdani was introduced at a Ramadan event by a man who called for Hamas to bomb Tel Aviv.

Ghosts of A Holy War Parallels between Hebron 1929 and October 7, 2023

 

In this episode, author and journalist Yardena Schwartz dives deep into the history of Hebron, revealing the often overlooked truths about the 1929 massacre, religious incitement, and the long-standing narratives shaping Israeli and Palestinian societies.

Gain insights into the parallels with recent events, the importance of humanizing all sides, and hopes for future peace.

Attorney General Goes Against Knesset and freezes hundreds of millions approved for Charedi sector

 

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara announced today (Monday) the immediate suspension of funds amounting to hundreds of millions of shekels designated for Torah institutions and at-risk haredi youth. The funds had been approved overnight during a marathon voting session on the 2026 state budget.

Baharav-Miara described the coalition’s move as an unlawful attempt to circumvent Supreme Court rulings regarding military conscription.

During the night, haredi factions succeeded in passing a series of reservations (amendments) to the budget law, intended to ensure that coalition funds allocated to the haredi sector would be transferred directly to relevant programs within the Ministry of Education, instead of remaining in a “reserve" subject to legal approval and the Finance Committee.

In a strongly worded letter, the Attorney General clarified that the move is procedurally invalid. “Approving these reservations without legal and professional opinions constitutes an attempt to override steps taken to implement the court’s ruling on conscription, as well as rulings concerning benefits granted to draft evaders," she wrote.

She added that she had instructed professional officials in government ministries not to carry out the budget transfers in practice. According to her, the government is bound by Directive 1.1801, which requires a thorough legal review of any political agreement with budgetary implications-a requirement that was not met in this case.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid responded: “The overnight maneuver by the haredi parties has been invalidated-the money has been stopped. Following Yesh Atid’s appeal to the Attorney General, she ordered the halt of all the illegal funds approved overnight and is demanding further action against draft evaders. As I promised, you can rely on us. The celebrations of Aryeh Deri, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Bezalel Smotrich were premature. We will continue to fight for you. This money will not pass."

Chairman of Degel HaTorah, MK Moshe Gafni, responded: “The budget was lawfully approved last night with an unprecedented majority. Gali Baharav-Miara has no authority to intervene-this is criminal by any standard, and her hostility toward the haredi public is evident to all. Of the ten measures of hatred that descended upon the world, she took nine."

Britain is finished US is Next! Very Soon!

 

Rabbi Shaul David Buchko responds to a stringent "ama-ratzeshe" halakhic ruling that asked elderly women to move before Shabbat to a home with a protected space by elevator.

 Rabbi Shaul David Buchko, head of Yeshivat Kochav Yaakov, has published a new article responding to a recent stringent halakhic ruling that prohibits an elderly woman living on an upper floor from using an elevator to reach a shelter during an alarm. The ruling argued that she should have left her home before the onset of Shabbat.

Rabbi Buchko firmly rejects this position, opposing any expectation that elderly individuals must evacuate their homes in advance. Drawing on the Shulchan Aruch, he explains that Jewish law does not require a person to alter their lifestyle or relocate simply to avoid a potential future situation involving danger to life on Shabbat.

He emphasizes that real-life circumstances must be taken into account, writing that it is impossible to address matters of life-threatening risk through purely theoretical arguments that ignore the realities of wartime conditions, including logistical and family challenges.

At the heart of his argument, Rabbi Buchko examines the status of electricity use and elevators. While the stricter opinion views such use as a full desecration of Shabbat, he aligns with authorities such as Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, who maintain that using electricity without ignition, such as LED lighting or modern elevator, constitutes a rabbinic, rather than Torah-level, prohibition.

According to Rabbi Buchko, in the context of rocket fire, the situation qualifies as a case of life-threatening danger combined with a secondary rabbinic restriction, allowing for leniency. He therefore rules that elderly, ill, or physically limited individuals may use an elevator to reach a protected space during an alarm and may also return home afterward, preferably operating the button in an indirect manner, such as with the back of the hand.

“In a time of great need, such actions are not considered prohibited labor," he concludes, adding that in clear cases of significant necessity, there is ample basis for a lenient ruling.

Levaya of the fallen Chabadzker Katz hy"d

 

Israel Approves Largest Budget In History, NIS 850.6B ...800 Million go to Torah Moisdois

 

The Knesset passed an NIS 850.6B  ($271B) budget in a 62-55 vote, averting early elections. 

The vote followed over 14 hours of opposition filibustering and interruptions from Iranian missile sirens.

Finance Minister Smotrich said it “takes care of everyone,” 

Opposition leader Yair Lapid blasted the move, saying: “There has never been anything like this in the history of the Knesset. At this moment, the coalition has added hundreds of millions of shekels to the chareidi parties beyond the framework of the budget! This is a group of pathetic thieves, disconnected from the public, looting Israeli citizens while they are in shelters.”

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett also sharply criticized the move, stating: “A nighttime looting maneuver. Right now, literally like thieves in the night, the government is carrying out a grab and adding hundreds of millions of shekels to chareidi education that encourages draft evasion… At this very moment, while IDF soldiers are fighting in the Litani, government ministers are looting us all.”

Israel caves from EU pressure and Pulls an Entire Battalion from Judea & Samaria because a couple of CNN Bastards were "assaulted

 This is unprecedented: 

An entire IDF reserve battalion has been pulled Sunday night from duty following last week's incident in which a CNN crew was detained and a photographer assaulted in the West Bank.

Rav Moshe Sternbuch Declares: “We Are Not Afraid of Iran but of Israel's Government Policies"

The article on Matzav only reinforces my belief that certain Gedolei Yisrael today are completely disconnected from the lived reality of the rest of Klal Yisrael. This Shabbos, we spent hours running to shelters, and a cluster bomb even struck Eshtaol near Beit Shemesh, right across Highway 38, injuring nineteen people.

Yet Rav Sternbuch declared that “the greatest danger facing Klal Yisrael is not external enemies, but internal spiritual decline and government policies.”

Anyone actually living in Israel knows that this statement does not reflect reality. It is a narrative fed to him by those around him. Rav Sternbuch does not follow the news, has no TV or radio, and relies entirely on the people who surround him—people who benefit financially from maintaining a particular anti‑Medina agenda and who rely on naive American donors who are unaware of what is really happening here.

The truth is that since October 7, Israel has experienced a remarkable spiritual awakening. Entire communities have become shomrei Torah u’mitzvos, and the change is visible to anyone who opens their eyes.

Rav Sternbuch then quoted the Chazon Ish:

“The chazon Ish said: I am not afraid of the bombs; I am afraid of the desecration of Shabbos, because that is what causes the bombs. And today as well, we say: we are not afraid of the missiles from Iran—we are afraid only of the leaders here who are defiling the people of Hashem and trying to take yeshiva bochurim into an army that is entirely heresy and apostasy.”

But now that bombs actually did fall in Bnei Brak—injuring people and destroying buildings—a new version of the Chazon Ish’s words suddenly appears.

For years, many in Bnei Brak insisted that the Chazon Ish promised the city would never be bombed. When that proved false, the claim shifted to “no one will be injured.” And now that injuries did occur, the narrative has changed again: “The Chazon Ish said he is not afraid of bombs.” The inconsistency speaks for itself.

Even more troubling is the statement that the Jewish army—whose soldiers protect every one of us—is “entirely heresy and apostasy.”

Anyone living in Israel knows this is simply untrue. My own neighborhood is filled with hundreds of IDF soldiers, and they are shomrei Torah u’mitzvos. To label these young men and fathers as heretics is a baseless accusation against Jewish children in uniform and must be rejected forcefully.

For a Rav to make such claims in a Shabbos Hagadol drasha is deeply painful and, frankly, a Chillul Hashem. Of course, he was speaking to an audience predisposed to accept these messages, surrounded by the most extreme elements.

Rav Sternbuch also claimed that the government is closing yeshivas and cutting funding. This is demonstrably false. Not a single yeshiva has been closed, and no funding cuts have taken effect. In fact, just last month, the Zionist government transferred 800,000 million shekels to mosdos haTorah. Yes, there is debate about future cuts—but that debate exists because certain leaders refuse any form of enlistment, even for those who are not learning and who spend their days loitering and harassing girls in the streets.

Rav Sternbuch's last statement totally refutes the entire premise that "We are not Afraid of Iran"

He "sharply criticized those who ascend the Har Habayis against halachic guidance, warning that such actions provoke danger."

"There are those who provoke the nations and ignite a fire of hatred. About this it is said: ‘Who asked this of you, to trample My courtyards?’ This is unnecessary and dangerous provocation, and it must be protested with full force.”"

Setting aside the halachic issues about ascending the Har Habayis, Rav Sternbuch calls this ascension as "provoking danger" well I thought that we are not "afraid of danger?"  I thought we are not afraid of Ballistic missiles?

What really irks me is that this garbage was the headline on Matzav.com on Motzei Shabbos!

Israel is at war and millions running to shelters at all times and this self righteous news site makes this their headline without even mentioning that 19 were hurt in Beit Shemesh! This website represents the American Yeshivishe mentality, that really have no empathy for the majority of the Jewish people living in the Jewish State!

So what was their headline you naively ask?

"Jordan Border Route Effectively Shut to Private Vehicles Ahead of Pesach, Causing Chaos for Travelers"

The headline was that some Americans "stuck" in Israel couldn't get the hell out fast enough and tried going through an Arab Country and so they shut the border!

Nebech!!! They will now have to spend Pesach in "galus" in the Zionist State! 

I cry crocodile tears!

 In a dramatic and forceful drashah delivered for Shabbos Hagadol, Rav Moshe Sternbuch warned that the greatest danger facing Klal Yisroel is not external enemies, but internal spiritual decline and government policies.

Thousands streamed Thursday night to the main beis medrash of the Dushinsky chassidus in Yerushalayim to hear divrei Torah from the senior posek. As is customary each year before Pesach, Rav Sternbuch addressed a packed crowd that included senior rabbonim, members of the Badatz Eidah Hachareidis, admorim, and prominent Torah figures, all seated without ceremony as they listened intently.

Opening with profound Torah insights, Rav Sternbuch soon turned to urgent issues confronting the community. Speaking with deep emotion, he addressed the security situation and the broader challenges facing the Torah world.

He said, “The Chazon Ish already said: I am not afraid of the bombs; I am afraid of the desecration of Shabbos, because that is what causes the bombs. And today as well, we say: we are not afraid of the missiles from Iran—we are afraid only of the leaders here who are defiling the people of Hashem and trying to take yeshiva bochurim into an army that is entirely heresy and apostasy.”

Rav Sternbuch also spoke strongly against efforts impacting the yeshivos, including closures and funding cuts, emphasizing the foundational role of Torah learning.

He said, “These criminals here do not understand that the entire world stands on the Torah of tinokos shel beis rabban. This is literally the destruction of the world.”

In another part of the address, Rav Sternbuch sharply criticized those who ascend the Har Habayis against halachic guidance, warning that such actions provoke danger.

He said, “There are those who provoke the nations and ignite a fire of hatred. About this it is said: ‘Who asked this of you, to trample My courtyards?’ This is unnecessary and dangerous provocation, and it must be protested with full force.”

Following the drashah, a rare and notable moment took place in the beis medrash, as Rav Sternbuch personally distributed financial assistance to rabbonim of the Eidah Hachareidis through his private fund, Kupas Tamchin D’Oraisa.

Amid financial strain and delayed salaries within the Eidah, Rav Sternbuch organized a group of donors—including supporters connected to Satmar and benefactors of his yeshiva in Beit Shemesh and the well-known kollelim of Teshuvos V’Hanhagos—to provide relief ahead of Yom Tov.

He reviewed the checks and personally handed envelopes containing $1,000 grants to each rov and moreh horaah. In total, more than $100,000 was distributed to dayanim and members of the Badatz, in coordination with the leadership of the kollelim and the Vaad Hapoel of the Eidah Hachareidis.