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Clarification on Rocket Location and Chazon Ish Tradition Thank you for your excellent publication, which I look forward to reading every day. I just wanted to point out that before publicizing letters, it is important to verify their accuracy, as there have been instances of incorrect or misleading information in the past. The same applies to today’s letter. As an Israeli resident with an apartment in the area where the rocket fell, I can confirm that it is considered part of Bnei Brak—not the city center, but still within its boundaries. Additionally, regarding what the Chazon Ish said, there was a disagreement between two great Gedolim of the previous generation, Rav Chaim Greineman zt”l and Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l, both of whom are no longer alive, about what would or would not happen in Bnei Brak. For this reason, it is best not to quote such matters lightly or rely on second-hand information. Thank you again for your hard work in producing such an informative and engaging publication every day. Besoros Tovos sr |
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| Community News |
| Chabad rabbi Zvi Kogan Hy”d murdered in UAE laid to rest in Israel |
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| A man walks past Rimon Market, a Kosher grocery store managed by the late Rabbi Zvi Kogan, H’yd, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell) |
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Hundreds of Yiden on Monday evening attended an emotional Levyah for rabbi Zvi Kogan murdered in a terror attack in the United Arab Emirates, after Emirati authorities said three suspects from Uzbekistan were in custody over his murder. Zvi Kogan, a 28-year-old UAE-rabbi, was found dead by security services last week, following what Israeli officials and the Chabad-Lubavitch which was called an antisemitic attack. “How can you already be gone?” his father, Alexander Kogan, said during the Levayah in Kfar Chabad. “The whole world is shaken by your murder – they hate us around the world because we are Jews,” Sephardic Chief Rabbi David Yosef told mourners. Kogan’s death was a blow to the tiny Jewish and Israeli communities in the Muslim-majority UAE, which has kept a lower profile since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in October 2023. The three suspects were arrested on Sunday, and after “preliminary investigations” the interior ministry identified them in a statement. “The authorities revealed the identities of the three perpetrators, all of whom are Uzbek nationals,” said the statement published on Monday by the official WAM news agency. It named them as Olimboy Tohirovich, 28, Makhmudjon Abdurakhim, 28, and Azizbek Kamilovich, 33. The ministry said authorities were taking “the necessary actions to uncover the details, circumstances and motives of the crime.” Kogan was in the UAE as a Chabad Sheliach, he worked to expand Jewish life in the UAE alongside Chief Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Duchman, including ensuring the wide availability of kosher food and opening the first Jewish education center in the country. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday condemned “the murder of an Israeli citizen and a Chabad emissary,” calling it “an abhorrent antisemitic terrorist attack.” In Washington, the White House urged accountability for the “horrific crime.” Moldova’s President Maia Sandu said on X that “we mourn the tragic loss” of Kogan and “strongly condemn this hateful act.” “Our thoughts are with his family, the Jewish community, and all who grieve,” she said. “Zvi Kogan’s murder was more than a crime in the UAE — it was a crime against the UAE. It was an attack on our homeland, on our values and on our vision,” wrote Yousef Al Oitaba, the UAE ambassador to the United States, in a series of tweets on Sunday. “In the UAE, we welcome everyone. We embrace peaceful coexistence. We reject extremism and fanaticism of every kind. We honor Zvi Kogan’s memory by recommitting ourselves to these values.” Neither Emirati nor Israeli officials provided any details about the circumstances of Kogan’s murder. |
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| British News |
| Starmer pledges ‘crack down’ on benefits Britain as ‘bulging’ DWP bill skyrockets to £137billion |
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Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised to “crack down” on benefit claimants who are “gaming the system” when it comes to accessing support through the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Earlier this morning, the Labour leader pledged to bring down the “bulging benefits bill blighting our society”, which is estimated to cost the taxpayer around £137billion. As it stands, Universal Credit remains the primary benefit for job-seekers while Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is taken by those on sickness This is the toughest intervention yet from Starmer when it comes to tackling benefit fraud with Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall set to put forward legislation in Parliament next week to “get Britain working”. Notably, the majority of claims are due to an increase in mental health-related claims, which make up around a third of all disability benefit claims. Taxpayers are forking out £292million annually on claims for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) alone, a staggering jump from the £700,000 a year spent in 2013. |
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| World News |
| Trump vows day-one tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China |
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Donald Trump says he will hit China, Mexico and Canada with new tariffs on day one of his presidency, in an effort to force them to crack down on illegal immigration and drug smuggling into the US. The president-elect said that immediately after his inauguration on 20 January he will sign an executive order imposing a 25% tariff on all goods coming from Mexico and Canada. He also said an additional 10% tariff will be levied on China until the government there blocks smuggling of the synthetic opioid fentanyl from the country. If Trump follows through with the threats it will mark a major escalation in tensions with America’s three biggest trading partners. |
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| Israel News |
| Northern officials angry over expected Hezbollah truce: ‘The threat hasn’t been removed’ |
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Local council leaders in the north express anger over the expected truce between Israel and Hezbollah, saying that the safety of residents is not guaranteed. “Do not surrender to terrorism. Do not make this shameful agreement. This is a sad arrangement, an agreement of surrender by the Israeli government to Hezbollah, an arm of Iran,” Metula Mayor David Azoulay tells Channel 13. “The threat has not been removed. We will not agree to return to the reality of October 7 in the north,” he says. Azoulay says that 70 percent of homes in Metula have been damaged and that residents should not agree to return. “The reconstruction will take at least two years. For as long as there is no real security here, not just a ‘sense of security,’ we will do everything to not return,” he says. Moshav Margaliot Chairman Eitan Davidi tells Channel 12 that it is inconceivable “we will be relying on Lebanon to guarantee our safety,” referring to the fact that the agreement will not include a buffer zone secured by the IDF. “Northern residents didn’t leave their homes for over a year, just to return to having Hezbollah as neighbors,” Davidi says. The military has reportedly told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that it has broadly achieved its aims in Lebanon against the Hezbollah terror group. Netanyahu is expected to convene the high-level security cabinet in Tel Aviv later today to approve a 60-day ceasefire with the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon after more than a year of war. |
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| Israeli right-wing politicians express opposition to emerging Israel-Lebanon agreement |
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Amid internal and international pressure to end the conflict in Israel’s North and the emerging settlement between Israel and Lebanon, some Israeli political leaders expressed their opposition to the upcoming agreement, which, among other things, strives to pressure Hamas to return the remaining 101 hostages still held in the Gaza Strip by the Gaza-based terrorist organization. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir opposed the move on Monday, calling it a “grave mistake” and a “historic missed opportunity” to eliminate the terrorist organization Hezbollah. Ben-Gvir stressed that “we need to listen to field commanders and local leaders” and added that at this stage, “with Hezbollah battered and eager for a ceasefire, we must not stop.” According to him, the anticipated measures regarding Lebanon will harm efforts to fight the terrorist organization. |
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| How does Hamas keep its grip on Gaza’s aid? |
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While fierce battles between IDF and Hamas terrorists have become routine in Gaza, a different kind of conflict has emerged within the Gaza Strip in recent weeks. The terrorist organization is now fighting crime families and mobs who dare to interfere with what has become Gaza’s primary source of power and revenue – international humanitarian aid. For this battle, crucial to Hamas’ survival in Gaza, the organization is willing to divert weapons and fighters, despite their severe shortage in the war against the IDF. For this purpose, Hamas established a special unit called “Saham” (arrow in Arabic), whose formation received favorable coverage in Arab media outlets last week. According to the Palestinian news site Shahab, the Saham unit was created by Hamas’ Interior Ministry, which oversees the terrorist organization’s police forces. The unit consists mainly of former police officers and “volunteers,” presumably terrorists whom the organization has pulled from combat duties. However, Gaza bloggers assert this is merely a rebranding of a force established by eliminated Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, consisting of “thugs” from Jabalia recruited to eliminate the organization’s opponents. Palestinian media sources state that the unit’s mission is to “confront merchants who inflate prices, swindlers, thugs, and armed criminal gangs.” The unit has been operating for several weeks and has reportedly killed dozens of gang members. This morning alone, two unit members were killed during a raid on a Jargoun area gang compound in Khan Younis, where the gang was trading in smuggled cigarettes. Five gang members were killed in the raid, with footage of the confrontation spreading across social media. Saham unit operatives employ all the terrorist organization’s characteristic methods. They move in civilian clothes to avoid IDF detection, wearing masks. Unit members have been documented executing civilians, beating them with iron rods, and even firing RPG rockets at smugglers’ vehicles. For many Gaza residents suffering from dramatic price increases, the unit’s actions serve as a release valve for anger and helplessness, but for many others, it represents outright terror. The attention given to the Saham unit also underscores the central struggle for control over Gaza – it appears that even Hamas recognizes that whoever controls the flow of aid to Gaza’s residents will control the Gaza Strip when the fighting subsides. |
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