Rav Zilberstein Backtracks: I did not say to leave Israel on Shabbat

 

Rabbi Yitzhak Zilberstein, a leading Lithuanian-haredi rabbi and a member of the Council of Torah Sages, responded to questions from followers following reports attributing to him a halachic ruling permitting the desecration of Shabbat to avoid military service, Lechatchila newspaper reported.

Asked during a Torah class about his statement, Rabbi Zilberstein said, "Whoever publicized that does not know his right hand from his left hand. One didn't hear what I said, and publicized it. It's all a tale."

He explained that he had asked hypothetically what a Jew should do in a place where the government bans Torah study. In such a case, it would be permitted to leave the country on Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath, when travel is prohibited - ed.) in order to escape.

"But where is that happening here in the Land of Israel? Do the authorities prevent Torah study? Of course not! If when they do their army service, they want to learn Torah - will someone oppose that? G-d forbid!" he continued. "This was said only about a scenario where the nations of the world ban Torah study."

When one of the listeners said his son is desecrating Shabbat "because Rabbi Zilberstein said to desecrate Shabbat and not to enlist," the rabbi responded, "Maybe he had a dream. Maybe he dreamed a dream! I did not say that."

Regarding young men who are not dedicated to Torah study and instead spend their time in the streets, Rabbi Zilberstein responded that such a young man should "enlist where Rabbi Shteinman said - of course. What's the question? Of course he should."

The unit in question is the IDF's Netzach Yehuda battalion, created specifically for soldiers from haredi backgrounds, and intended for those who cannot study all day. Netzach Yehuda soldiers combine military service with Torah study.

Trans Shooter Who Killed 2 Children and Injured 17 Hated Jews but Killed Catholics

 

Minneapolis school shooter Robin Westman is a transgender woman whose mother worked at the school where two children were slaughtered.

In a deranged video posted on YouTube, the shooter explained how he was 'feeling good' about committing a 'devastating tragedy' at Annunciation Catholic School.

Westman also showed a rifle magazine labeled 'For the children, hahahahahahaha.' 

Court records seen by the Daily Mail indicate that Westman had previously been known as Robert, having petitioned to have his name changed in 2019. 

According to court papers filed in Dakota County, Minnesota, Westman asked the court to change his name to Robin. 

Westman's mother Mary sign the application for a name change as he was still a minor at the time. 

Biblical mystery solved as 5,500-year-old factory is discovered in Israel

 

The ruins of an ancient blade factory unearthed in Israel may offer the clearest evidence yet of the Canaanites, a people long described in the Bible. 

 Archaeologists in Kiryat Gat, about 40 miles south of Tel Aviv, uncovered the first-ever Canaanite workshop in the region. The factory contained long flint blades and massive stones used to shape and mold weapons with precision.

Researchers also discovered hundreds of underground pits, some lined with mud bricks, that served as storage areas, dwellings, workshops and even ritual spaces.

The scale and sophistication of the site reveal that the Canaanites had organized settlements, specialized crafts and thriving trade networks.

This glimpse into their daily lives offers a tangible link between the archaeological record and the society described in the Old Testament.

The Bible portrays the Canaanites as the original inhabitants of the Promised Land before the Israelites arrived and conquered the territory.

Experts with the Israel Antiquities Authority said the discovery sheds light on the

beginnings of urbanization and professional specialization in the ancient land.

'The most impressive findings discovered at the site are large flint cores, from which extremely sharp, uniformly shaped blades were produced,' IAA shared in a Facebook post.

'The blades themselves were used as knives for cutting and butchering, and as harvesting tools, like sickle blades. 

'The production technology was extremely advanced and included the use of a kind of crane to exert precise pressure on the flint.'

The team noted that this also marked the discovery of a never-before-seen technology during that time period. 

IAA's prehistorians Dr Jacob Vardi said: This is a sophisticated industry, not only because of the tools themselves, but also because of what is not found.

'The waste fragments, the debitage, were not scattered outside the site, perhaps to better protect and preserve the professional knowledge within the group of experts. 

'Today, we understand that this site served as a center, from which Canaanite blades were distributed across broad regions in the Levant.' 

In the Early Bronze Age, humans used tools made from natural raw materials: flint, bone, stone and ceramics. 

However, in this period, the Canaanite blades were the main cutting tools. 

'An advanced industry was revealed at the site, requiring an extremely high level of expertise,' Dr Vardi said.

Only exceptional individuals knew how to produce the Canaanite blades. 

'This is clear evidence that already at the onset of the Bronze Age, the local society here was organized and complex, and had professional specialization.' 

Archaeologists explained that the ancient tools aligned with the material culture of Canaan during Abraham's era, referring to the time period known as the Middle Bronze Age (roughly 2100-1900 BC), when the biblical patriarch Abraham is said to have lived and migrated to Canaan.

Abraham, the revered ancestor of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, is known in the Bible for his unwavering faith in God and the covenant to establish a new nation in the land of Canaan.

Moses, described in Scripture as a descendant of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob, later led the Israelites out of Egypt toward the Promised Land that was originally home to the Canaanites.

The Canaanites are mentioned several times in the Old Testament, including the books of Genesis, Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Joshua.

In the book of Joshua 3:10, God tells the Israelites that he will drive out the Canaanites before they arrive in the Promised Land.

The Israelites fought a series of wars against the Canaanites and ultimately took over most of their land - this conquest took place in the second half of the 13th century BC.

Trump Going After George Soros and His ‘Wonderful Radical Left Son’:

 

President Donald Trump threatened George Soros and his “wonderful Radical Left son” with RICO charges in a Wednesday Truth Social post that saw him warn the duo that his administration is “watching” them.

“George Soros, and his wonderful Radical Left son, should be charged with RICO because of their support of Violent Protests, and much more, all throughout the United States of America,” began Trump. “We’re not going to allow these lunatics to rip apart America any more, never giving it so much as a chance to ‘BREATHE,’ and be FREE. Soros, and his group of psychopaths, have caused great damage to our Country! That includes his Crazy, West Coast friends.”

“Be careful, we’re watching you! Thank you for your attention to this matter!” added the president for good measure.

George Soros is a billionaire and longtime funder of progressive causes and candidates. His son, Alex Soros, took over his father’s Soros Open Society Foundation in 2023

Trump’s threat comes less than a week after his FBI raided his foreign policy adviser-turned-critic John Bolton’s home and office as part of what many consider to be a politically motivated investigation.

Both The Wall Street Journal and National Review have editorialized against investigation of Bolton, with the former observing that “vengeance is a large part, maybe the largest part, of how he [Trump] will define success in his second term,” and the latter submitting that the investigation “sounds more like a personalized grievance against a fierce Trump critic rather than a dispassionate probe of a particular violation of the law.”

Breslov Mashpia Rav Sholom Arush "Protests Not the Jewish Way"

After some groups in Breslov threatened to hold mass protests at Ben Gurion Airport if they were not allowed to travel to Uman, citing concerns that many could be arrested for being draft dodgers, 

Harav Shalom Arush issued the following statement.

Demonstrations are not the Jewish way, saying: “It is forbidden to demonstrate — that is not our path. We do not act with force, only with prayer.”

Rabbi Arush added that efforts are being made with the Prime Minister and ministers through respectful and peaceful means. “We are trying to work with the government in a good way. Chas Vesholam to protest — we follow the way of the Torah.

 

Monsey podiatrist Ira Bernstein hired hit man to kill his wife — just months after prison release for first failed $100K plot to have her murdered

 

Ira Bernstein pleading guilty

Susan Bernstein 

An unhinged Rockland County podiatrist is facing down another prison stint after a second failed attempt to kill his estranged wife — who is now a certified divorce coach, prosecutors announced Monday.

Ira Bernstein, of Montebello, plotted to kill the mother of his children twice in five years, most recently in 2022, according to the Rockland County District Attorney’s office.

That attempt came after Bernstein, 51, spent nearly four years behind bars on an earlier murder-for-hire scheme targeting Susan Bernstein, who eventually divorced the creepy foot doctor, records show.

In 2017, Bernstein conspired with his then-lover, mother of three Kelly Gribeluk, to offer a car salesman about $100,000 to fatally mow down Susan in what would look like an accident, Lohud.com reported.

But the salesman instead alerted Ramapo police about the offer, leading to the pair’s arrests.

Bernstein pleaded guilty in 2017 to second-degree conspiracy and other counts, and was sentenced to a prison term between five and 15 years.  Gribeluk was hit with at least four years in jail.

Bernstein was cut loose on merit on July 1, 2021 — and again looked into having his other-half killed, according to prosecutors.

During that conspiracy, Bernstein was recorded asking a landscaper to kill his estranged wife, and then tried to get the file destroyed after realizing it existed, prosecutors said.

“This is the kind of conduct where we have victims, victims of domestic violence, that we will prosecute fully,” Rockland DA Thomas Walsh said, according to News 12. “We in Rockland County want to stand for protection of innocent victims in all walks of life.”

During the second plot, the doctor and his sister, attorney Jaclyn Goldberg, attempted to destroy an audio recording in August or September 2022 that had him on tape asking a landscaper to murder Susan, according to prosecutors.

The siblings would agree to give the landscaper back control of his business that was at the center of a dispute if he handed over the audio, prosecutors said, according to Lohud.com.

Bernstein was originally indicted on criminal solicitation and tampering with evidence while his sibling, Goldberg was charged with tampering with evidence, hindering prosecutors and conspiracy in the fifth degree.

Bernstein could spend between a year-and a-half and three years behind bars in exchange for the guilty plea. His sentencing is scheduled for December.

Goldberg is expected to plead guilty in September, but will likely avoid jail time, Lohud.com reported.

Susan Bernstein could not be reached for comment, but called her husband “evil” at his first sentencing.

Court records indicate the two divorced in 2023. It’s not clear how long they were married or how many children they have.

Susan has been a divorce coach for at least several years, promising to help clients thrive following nasty break-ups.

“She helps clients achieve their goals and get to where they want to be,” according to her website.

“Susan helps many clients who want to get out of toxic relationships get what they need and deserve related to their children and finances.”

90th Yurzeit of Harav Avraham Yitzchok Hakohein Kook z"l

 It was the first of Elul when Rabbi David Cohen, the Rav HaNazir, arrived at the guest house where Rav Avraham Yizchak HaCoehn Kook was staying in Kiryat Moshe. Exactly twenty years had passed since that first transformative encounter in Switzerland. (Read the fascinating story of that meeting here and of the Nazir's life here.)

For twelve years, the Rav HaNazir had labored to organize Rav Kook’s writings into a systematic, comprehensive work. As his revered master lay on his death bed, he showed him the beginning fruits of his labor — the title page of the first volume of Orot HaKodesh.

Rav Kook rejoiced; and he shed tears.

On the day of his death, the third of Elul, Rav Kook motioned to his son, Rav Tzvi Yehudah, to come close. “Please pay off any outstanding debts. I do not want to owe anyone, not even the smallest amount.”

He then made a second request: “Please prepare my writings for publication. But take care that the only title given to me is ‘rabbi.'”

With great effort, Rav Kook turned his face towards the scholars in the room. When it became clear that his soul would soon depart, the people cried out, “Shema Yisrael!”

Rav Kook whispered after them, “Shema Yisrael,” breathing his final breath with the word echad — one. “The Eternal is one.”

The Rav HaNazir wrote:

“When the Rav passed away, we heard a heavenly voice. The voice called out, “Haim, ad olam!” ‘Life, forever!’

Even after completing life in this world, the soul continues; and it grows even stronger, with blessing, in eternal life.” The Rav HaNazir passed away on the 28th of Av, 5770.

(Stories from the Land of Israel. Adapted from Malachim Kivnei Adam, p. 420; preface to Orot HaKodesh, pp. 24, 30.)

This time he held in his hands a special document to show his dying master.

Trump Ends Duty-Free Status for Low-Value Imports, Raising Costs for Shoppers and Small Businesses

 

Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the United States this week as part of President Donald Trump’s agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods and resetting global trade with tariffs.

An executive order signed last month eliminates a widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less starting Friday, nearly two years earlier than the deadline set in the tax cuts and spending bill approved by Congress.

Although the president previously ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers.

Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will require vetting and be subject to their origin country’s applicable tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%. For the next six months, carriers handling orders sent through the global mail network also can choose a flat duty of $80 to $200 per package instead of the value-based rate.

In response, the national postal services of more than a dozen countries said they would temporarily suspend sending some or most U.S.-bound packages due to confusion over processing and payment requirements. Japan and Switzerland on Monday joined Australia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Thailand, the U.K. and New Zealand in saying they would pause shipments.

Harav Hagoen Ariel Katzenberg from Bnei-Brak Believes in Jesus

 

Shimon Abargil, a field coordinator for the organization Yad L’Achim, revealed disturbing details in a radio interview on Wednesday about a man named Ariel Katzenberg, who posed as a charedi rabbi but was actually a Christian missionary who believes in Jesus.

The impostor lived in the heart of Bnei Brak and later in Tiberias, leading a double life: outwardly, he conducted conversion and wedding ceremonies, taught Torah, and even wrote and sold mezuzahs. But behind his charedi appearance hid a Christian missionary who forged official documents and led unsuspecting people into Christian baptism ceremonies.

The organization obtained surveillance footage from cameras that Katzenberg himself had operated. These videos, along with forged documents he used and presented to recognized rabbinical courts in Israel, led to the exposure of the case and a demand to open a police investigation.

The missionary managed to infiltrate the official rabbinical systems using forged documents claiming Jewish identity. “We went to those rabbinical courts and told them he had forged their documents, and they were simply in shock,” described Abargil.

As a result of the exposure, the official rabbinical courts whose documents had been forged were forced to take a dramatic step: in order to combat the phenomenon, they began issuing new certificates protected by unique identification markers, aimed at ensuring the Interior Ministry and authorities that the documents are genuine and valid.

This case highlights the serious danger posed by missionary impersonation and the vulnerability of even official institutions to sophisticated fraud.

הזוי: מיסיונר מחופש לחרדי עורך גיורים וחופות, אך בפועל מאמין בישו ומטביל אנשים לנצרות#האולפן_הפתוח@BoazGolan pic.twitter.com/CG3zj2P5KP

— C14 (@C14_news) August 20, 2025

My Family’s Reaction to My Conversion

 

Rabbi Yosef Blau a Modern Say "Merageil"

 by Rabbi Eliezer Simcha Weiss

I would not normally respond to Rabbi Yosef Blau. Yet because of his past importance and influence, I feel a duty to do so — especially now, in Elul, as we prepare to stand before the Almighty in judgment. My intent is not to insult, but to ensure he is not mistaken, to encourage a return to the right path, and to mollify some of the damage his blog post may cause.

Rabbi Blau raises legitimate concerns regarding settler violence in Judea and Samaria and the need for moral clarity. Indeed, extremist acts by a minority of settlers are troubling, and their consequences for Palestinian civilians cannot be ignored. Recognizing these concerns is vital; Israel, like any society, must confront lawlessness and extremism wherever it appears.

Iran Was Behind Firebombing Of Melbourne’s Historic Adass Shul, Authorities Reveal; Ambassador Expelled From Australia

Australia is expelling Iran’s ambassador after intelligence agencies confirmed Tehran’s direct role in the firebombing of Melbourne’s Adass Israel shul last December. The shul was severely damaged in the attack, and is still undergoing repair work.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the unprecedented move alongside ASIO Director Mike Burgess. Ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi will be removed from the country after investigators found “credible evidence” he orchestrated the attack on the shul as well as other plots targeting Jewish Australians.

“ASIO assesses it is likely Iran directed further attacks as well. These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil,” Albanese said.

“They were attempts to undermine social cohesion and sow discord in our community. It is totally unacceptable, and the Australian government is taking strong and decisive action in response,” Albanese added. 

Burgess said: “This was directed by the IRGC through a series of overseas cut-outs, facilitators, to coordinators that found their way to tasking Australians.”

He added that while it’s unlikely that all recent antisemitic incidents and attacks in Australia were orchestrated by Iran, intelligence services are looking into the possibility that the regime was behind many of them.

The attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue shocked Melbourne’s Jewish community and reignited concerns about growing antisemitism worldwide. While no fatalities occurred, the firebombing left congregants shaken and exposed alarming gaps in Australia’s counterterrorism posture.

On Tuesday, Albanese personally phoned the Rav of the Adass Shul to inform him of Iran’s role in the plot.

In a parallel move, the Albanese government is set to formally designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation. If confirmed, Australia would join the United States, Canada, and several European nations in banning the IRGC.

The dual measures signal a sharp break in Australia’s policy toward Iran. Canberra has long maintained diplomatic ties even as allies downgraded or severed relations, making it one of the few Western democracies with an active Iranian mission.

Senior Shas rabbi appears to backtrack, says Charedim who don’t study full-time can serve in the IDF

In what appears to be a dramatic reversal of his position, one of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party’s senior spiritual leaders states that Haredim who are not enrolled full-time in yeshiva can serve in the IDF on condition that the military obligates itself to allow them to observe their way of life.

Speaking with Radio Kol Hai, Rabbi Moshe Maya, a member of Shas’ ruling Council of Torah Sages, states that “if there is an arrangement whereby someone who enlists would not come to desecrate the Sabbath and would preserve his holiness and purity — why shouldn’t he enlist? But there is one condition: that it be an official IDF General Staff order. As long as it’s just declarations, it’s worthless.”

Last summer, following the High Court of Justice’s ruling ending service exemptions for yeshiva students, Maya took a very different tone, telling Kol Barama Radio that it was “forbidden for those who don’t study to go to the army,” arguing that “those who do will end up violating the Shabbat.”

This June, the rabbi was one of several senior Shas rabbis who signed an open letter expressing opposition to any enlistment compromise that would lead to the conscription of yeshiva students. In the letter, the rabbis declared that it was forbidden for those not in yeshiva to enlist, even into “the so-called ‘ultra-Orthodox’ tracks.”

However, he started softening his position not long after, stating several weeks later that while at the moment no Haredim at all may enlist, “if military frameworks are established with the approval of the rabbis, which will certainly safeguard every Haredi—and we know that this will have legal validity—then only those who do not study at all should be drafted.”

The IDF currently maintains several service tracks for ultra-Orthodox soldiers, including the Netzach Yehuda battalion (also known as Nahal Haredi) and the recently-established Hasmonean Brigade.

The post Senior Shas rabbi appears to backtrack, says Haredim who don’t study full-time can serve in the IDF appeared first on The Times of Israel.

 

Thank you for standing with Israel ..Queen Katrina

 

Thank you for standing with Israel 🙏🇮🇱

How amazing is she? pic.twitter.com/sCtDqWkScD

— Vivid.🇮🇱 (@VividProwess) August 23, 2025

 The brave German woman ,Karolion Preisler,was attacked today for standing against anti Israel protest in Germany!

the bravest woman in Germany. She has been attacked todayhttps://t.co/zWFicLDuEv

— aufdiezwölf (@aufdiezwolf) August 23, 2025

An Answer to the Modern Ortodox Rabbis who called for "Moral Clarity" in Gaza

by Avi Abelow

To say that this headline infuriates me is an understatement. This is an embarrassment for the Jewish people and the whole freedom loving world.

I want to speak honestly but gently, not out of anger, but out of deep sorrow.

Recently, a group of rabbis signed a letter criticizing the conduct of Israel's war in Gaza. The letter calls for more humanitarian restraint and suggests Israel is responsible for a moral failing in the war’s execution. On the surface, it speaks in the language of Jewish values, compassion, justice, and dignity.

But with all due respect, and with a heavy heart, I must say: this letter is a painful and dangerous mistake.

If they weren’t Rabbis, my response would be much more forceful.

It causes real damage, not just to Israel’s image, but to Am Yisrael itself, especially as we remain in the middle of a multi-front war for our survival.

Let’s be clear: this war is not over. Not even close.

Gaza is only one front.

- In the north, Hezbollah continues to exist as an Iranian proxy to infiltrate Israel and massacre more Jews.

- In Judea and Samaria, armed attacks on Jews are a weekly reality, that Jews have to defend themselves from then erroneously called “settler violence” by anti-Israel voices

- Globally, Jews are under siege, on college campuses, in the streets, even in synagogues.

- Iran is watching and preparing for its moment to attack again

- And Hamas still holds Israeli hostages , torturing and starving them underground, in inhumane conditions.

And into this painful and urgent moment, a group of rabbis, many or all of whom were raised or educated in the Diaspora, issued a public letter that parrots the exact accusations used by those who seek to delegitimize and destroy Israel.

They repeat phrases like “collective punishment,” and “blockaded aid,” without any reference to the reality of the enemy we are fighting, or the context of a war forced upon us by genocidal terrorists that we have to win to protect 10 million Israeli citizens.

Moreover, their inclusion of 'settler violence' in their letter underscores a deeply flawed perspective, one that reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of our reality and a troubling inability to discern truth from the falsehoods promoted by the anti-Israel agenda, that they as well believe.

It reflects a mindset deeply shaped by Galut (exile) thinking, a psychological residue of Jewish life in the Diaspora. A life where we survived by keeping our heads down, by appeasing those around us, by proving over and over again how moral we were, often at the cost of our own ability to defend ourselves. That might have helped us survive in exile. But it’s dangerous now, when we are defending Jewish sovereignty in Eretz Yisrael, as the frontline for Jews work wide and the freedom-loving world.

But it goes deeper.

These rabbis speak of justice and ethics, yet completely ignore the origins of this conflict.

They ignore the fact that we experienced an Oct 7th massacre in Hebron 1929, when the term “Palestinians” referred to Jews; they ignore the Palestinian national identity itself was then manufactured in the 1960s by the Soviet Union, further weaponizing Islamic jihad as a political weapon to undermine Israel’s legitimacy and cloak terrorism in the language of “liberation.” It was never about building a nation, it was always about destroying ours.

They ignore how this conflict is not just political, it's ideological. It's religious.

Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Islamic Republic of Iran are all part of a 1,400+ year religious movement rooted in conquest and domination. They see Israel as an outpost to be removed, not because of settlements or borders, but because of what we are: a sovereign Jewish state in the heart of the Middle East.

And we see the consequences of this every day. At anti-Israel protests in the West, people chant: “Khaybar, Khaybar, ya Yahud” — a chilling reference to the massacre of Jews in the 7th century by Muhammad’s army in Khaybar.

This is not about justice. This is not about human rights. This is about celebrating Jewish bloodshed, and too many turn a blind eye, including these Modern Oftgodox Rabbis who prefer to virtue signal with this letter.

And yet these rabbis, in their letter, say nothing of this. Nothing of the enemy’s goals. Nothing of the ideological war we’re in.

Nothing of Egypt’s responsibility in forcing Gazans to remain in Gaza instead of abiding by international asylum law to allow them to escape a dangerous war zone, forcing Israel to act as no other in a war, and provide aid to an enemy population.

Nothing.

They speak as though this is merely another political conflict, revealing their personal discomfort with confronting Jewish power acting to protect global Jewry in a morally complex reality, made harder with deadly libelous media campaigns.

As if both sides just need to be more careful.

As if this is a time for “balance.”

But this isn’t balance. This is blindness.

It ignores the reality of this war and who started this war.

It ignores what our enemies say, in Arabic, in Persian, and on the streets of Europe and America.

And it ignores the devastating consequences this kind of letter has, not just morally, but practically.

Because when spiritual leaders issue public rebukes of Israel in the middle of a war, they embolden the very people trying to destroy us.

They validate the lies being told about us.

They embolden our allies. And they demoralize our own people, soldiers, survivors, and families of hostages, who so desperately need strength, not sermons.

Some of the signatories have said, “If you’re hurt by the letter, it wasn’t meant for you.”

But that’s not how it works.

When you speak in the name of Torah and Jewish morality, every Jew is your audience.

And when your words bring confusion, division, and grief to your own people, it’s not “divisive” to push back. It’s a moral responsibility.

Once again, I write this with deep sorrow.

Because I believe these rabbis are sincere, while very wrong and doing tremendous damage and a true chillul Hashem.

But sincerity is not enough when the result of your words weakens and endangers your own people, at our most vulnerable hour.

We need leaders who understand that compassion begins with our own nation.

We need leaders who see through the fog of propaganda and remember the real roots of this conflict.

We need leaders who speak from strength, not guilt. From truth, not fear.

We are still in the fire. This war is not over.

Now is the time for clarity. For courage. And for a return to leadership that doesn’t speak from exile, but from Totah, not an exile mentality.

May we all merit the strength to stand with our people, unapologetically, and to rise above the confusion of our times, with truth, unity, and unshakable love for Am Yisrael.

How disappointing that instead of using their Rabbinic voices to strengthen Am Yisrael all over the world in this multi-front war, they preferred legitimizing the uncomfortable feelings of Jews uncomfortable with us doing what we have to do against a barbaric enemy. We will overcome this internal weakness as well.

Am Yisrael Chai!!!

Israeli transportation minister Regev against El Al: 'We must allow the public to fly at reasonable prices

 

Transportation Minister Miri Regev said in a press briefing, "Wizz Air will come to Israel.

 Prices are too high; 

it can not be that Israeli citizens are captive customers in the hands of Israeli companies."

 She said, "The reports that El Al will close do not intimidate me. The Israeli public is important; we must allow them to travel abroad at reasonable prices. I have full backing from the Prime Minister to advance this issue; I don't intend to blink for a moment. No one can come and threaten."

Heiress to $31B Hedge Fund Fortune Gives $250K to Zohran Says “Billionaires Shouldn’t Exist”

 The collision of wealth and ideology in New York City’s turbulent mayoral race reached a new pitch this week after Elizabeth Simons, daughter of the late hedge fund titan James Simons, made a $250,000 contribution to the pro-Zohran Mamdani super PAC New Yorkers for Lower Costs.

The gift, revealed in campaign finance disclosures, represents the single largest donation received by the socialist nominee’s outside support group, which has already amassed close to $2 million from nearly 300 contributions. As The New York Post reported on Wednesday, the Simons gift not only bolsters Mamdani’s longshot mayoral bid but also underscores the paradox of billionaires’ heirs fueling the campaign of a candidate who has openly called for the abolition of billionaires altogether.

Elizabeth Simons serves as chairwoman of the board of directors of the Heising-Simons Foundation, the philanthropic vehicle she co-founded with her husband, Mark Heising. The foundation, headquartered in California, has poured hundreds of millions into progressive causes ranging from climate research to criminal justice reform.

The fortune behind that largesse traces directly back to her late father, James Simons, founder of the hedge fund Renaissance Technologies and one of the most successful investors in modern history. With a net worth estimated at $31.4 billion at the time of his death last year, Simons was as celebrated in philanthropy as he was in finance.

He and his wife Marilyn gave more than $1 billion to Stony Brook University, part of the SUNY system and the school where he had once been a mathematics professor. That landmark donation—the largest ever to an American public university—cemented the Simons name as a philanthropic powerhouse.