Finance Minister and member of the Security Cabinet Bezalel Smotrich opened the Religious Zionist Party’s weekly gathering with a dramatic declaration, describing the current period as a defining moment in Israel’s history.
“In 12 days, we eliminated the Iranian nuclear program. In a few weeks, [we eliminated] Nasrallah and Hezbollah’s 200 thousand missiles. In a week, the entire Syrian military. The region is undergoing a strategic upheaval in our favor,” Smotrich stressed.

The Trump administration has formally charged Harvard University with breaching civil rights laws by failing to adequately address antisemitism on its campus — a move that could see the elite institution stripped of federal funding.
In a sharply worded letter, the federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism accused Harvard of either turning a blind eye to or actively participating in the harassment of Jewish members of its community following Hamas’ brutal assault on Israel on October 7, 2023.
“Failure to institute adequate changes immediately will result in the loss of all federal financial resources and continue to affect Harvard’s relationship with the federal government,” officials warned Harvard President Alan Garber in the communication sent Monday.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is pressing Zohran Mamdani, the self-proclaimed socialist and presumed Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, to explain his stance on the controversial slogan “Globalize the intifada.”
Mamdani, who has been a vocal critic of Israel, sparked backlash earlier this month when he told The Bulwark that “Globalize the intifada” is a phrase that encapsulates a “desperate desire for equality and equal rights in standing up for Palestinian human rights.”
Jeffries, one of the top Democrats in Congress, is now demanding that Mamdani clarify why he refuses to disavow a slogan many view as inciting violence against Jews.

NYC mayoral candidate and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa on frontrunner Zohran Mamdani’s policies, his outlook on crime and the current state of the city following Democrat-led leadership.
WATCH:

Dear Matzav Inbox,
Every year, as sure as the traffic clogs Route 17, we get treated to the same tired charade: families pack up for the “summer in the country,” only for husbands to vanish back to the city by Monday morning, leaving behind wives to play single parent all week long. Then, come Thursday night, these husbands trickle back up for a quick 48-hour reunion, if that.
This bizarre ritual, so widely accepted in our frum community, is not cute. It’s not “reality.”
It’s dysfunction parading as normalcy, and it’s time someone said it out loud.

CNN host Michael Smerconish admitted on his program that President Donald Trump has experienced a notably successful stretch over the past week.
“I’m talking about offering an objective analysis in view of what’s transpired in the last two weeks that I’ve laid out substantively and with data. He’s been on a roll,” Smerconish said. “It might not be the roll that you desire, but I like the word that David [Urban] used and that Salena Zito used in her column this morning. Consequential. Who among us could deny how consequential Trump 2.0 is turning out to be? But in order for you to recognize that, you need to have an open mind about what’s transpiring.”

Iran’s most senior Shiite religious authority issued a fatwa on Sunday against President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, in a move analysts are calling a provocation that borders on incitement to terrorism.

After a quarter-century of absence, the IDF is now examining the feasibility of reestablishing a permanent Jewish presence at Kever Yosef in the heart of Shechem. The move comes in response to mounting public and political pressure to restore Israeli sovereignty and security at the site.
According to a report in Yediot Acharonot, a recent special session of the Knesset Subcommittee on Judea and Samaria Affairs—chaired by MK Tzvi Succot of the Religious Zionism party—marked the first time the possibility of permanent Israeli return to the site was officially debated.

The Israel-based Modern Orthodox network Ohr Torah Stone pushed back strongly against allegations made by conservative commentator Candace Owens, who claimed that the group’s founding rabbi tried to bribe Christian pastors to speak out against her during church sermons, JTA reports.
Owens, who has previously courted controversy with remarks widely regarded as antisemitic, repeated the claim both on her podcast and on her X account. She posted what she said was a copy of a letter from Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, allegedly sent to an unidentified pastor, suggesting the rabbi offered Bitcoin as an incentive for pastors to deliver anti-Owens and anti-Tucker Carlson messages.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister, Badr Abdelatty, said on Sunday that Cairo is actively pursuing a plan to establish a ceasefire in Gaza, floating the idea of a 60-day pause in fighting as a foundation for a more comprehensive resolution to the ongoing war.
Speaking during an interview on Egyptian television, Abdelatty cautioned, “If Israel resumes its aggression in Gaza after an agreement is reached, this will be the main source of instability in the region.”
He charged that Israel had breached the terms of the January 19 ceasefire agreement, suggesting the recent resurgence in hostilities lacked justification. Abdelatty added that Washington appears to accept the idea that any future deal must come with binding assurances to preserve a truce.