Michtav M’Eliyahu (1:75): Our Sages have already told us to listen to the words of gedolim - “Even if they tell you that left is right.” Furthermore a person should not think, Gd forbid!, that they have certainly erred just because someone so insignificant as himself has perceived that they erred. In fact it is important to know that one’s perception of reality is totally null and void as the dust of the earth in comparison to the clarity of intellect and Divine assistance that they have. We have an important halachic principle that one beis din can not nullify the ruling of another beis din unless it is greater than the first in wisdom and number. Otherwise it is likely that that which he thought that he perceived is merely an illusion and distorted understanding of reality. This is what is meant by Daas Torah - which is an aspect of Emunas Chachomim (faith in the sages).
Thursday, May 14, 2026
Rav Dessler - Daas Torah means not only total obedience but an inability to judge gedolim
from Daas Torah - translation copyrighted
Rabbi Meiselman's Torah, Chazal & Science - Chazal are infallible even regarding Science
Jewish Press There is one area of agreement, though, between sophisticated scientists and Torah scholars: attempts to make “peace” between the two sides. As methodologies of both science and halacha demand precision in the formulation and application of their respective principles, Rabbi Meiselman writes that “Consequently, both scientists and Torah scholars bristle when amateurs make assertions about their areas of expertise based on superficial contact with the sources.” It is for this reason that Rabbi Meiselman, rosh yeshiva of the Yeshivas Toras Moshe in Jerusalem, has authored the book, Torah, Chazal & Science
Rabbi Meiselman is uniquely qualified to address the delicate topic of Torah and science. He was trained by outstanding academicians in a variety of disciplines – mathematics, philosophy and several of the natural sciences. Most importantly, however, he had unlimited access to his uncle and rebbe, Rav Yosef Dov HaLevi Soloveitchik, zt”l, who guided him in attaining a profound, thorough and Torah-true perspective on this topic. When reading this book, one will immediately notice the unique combination of vast Torah knowledge and extensive understanding of science from a sophisticated point of view. Those elements are brought to bear in this book.
One of the crucial aspects of the Jewish people’s belief, Rabbi Meiselman contends, is that the Torah was given by Hashem on Har Sinai and does not contain mistakes. The Torah is not a “primitive document,” and everything the Torah describes is absolutely truthful. Additionally, in this view, our mesorah of Torah She’be’al Peh is completely accurate. Therefore, to suggest that Chazal are full of mistakes has the potential to undermine our mesorah’s authenticity.
This new literature has disturbed many, who see it as radical. Conversely, many others oblivious to its danger warmly embraced its new ideas. Those concerned that this new thinking is dangerous have voiced their worries, while numerous others seem content with its unique approach. Torah, Chazal & Science was written for the benefit of both camps. Rabbi Meiselman satisfies both those who have been eagerly awaiting a proper response to the non-traditionalists as well as those unaware of the need for a response. Both can be satisfied with the sophisticated level of scientific expertise, coupled with a proficiency in Torah, which is apparent in this work. Thus, this book has the potential to unite Klal Yisrael pertaining to these issues.
Rabbi Meiselman begins Torah, Chazal & Science by explaining why it is that Chazal’s knowledge is superior to that of scientists – past, present and future. This is so because Chazal’s knowledge comes from the Torah. As Rabbi Meiselman writes: “The physical world is a manifestation of a completely separate underlying spiritual-metaphysical reality.” Everything occurring in our world, Rabbi Meiselman notes, is a reflection of realities and relationships existing there.This reality is not subject to change; accordingly all insights and conclusions derived from it are likewise immutable. Consequently, one who understands the spiritual world will also understand the resultant material world. [...]
Among the book’s goals is to demonstrate that there is no support in the classic sources for the approach that has recently surfaced, and to explain how it represents a deviation from the perspective that has been passed down throughout the centuries. In the book, Rabbi Meiselman examines many examples of how the chachmei hamesorah dealt with conflicts between Chazal and certain observable facts. His conclusion: Neither the integrity of the mesorah nor Chazal’s reliability was ever in question. One will come to the realization that Chazal’s mesorah and their definitive teachings represent absolute truth – even with respect to science.[...]
Maharal - Why a husband can go to Gehinom for listening to wife's advice about the world or spirituality
Without any doubt, this is the correct way of understanding the words of our Sages and not like those who explain the words of our Sages as being mere conjecture and guesses. That is because these things which we said are words of wisdom, we explain elsewhere concerning the words of our Sages. Bava Metzia (59a), “Whoever follows the advice of his wife will fall into Gehinom...But people say if your wife is short then bend down and hear her whisper? That is not a contradiction because the one that says not to listen to you wife is referring to worldly matters while the other is referring to household matters. Alternatively do not listen to your wife in spiritual matters but it is permitted concerning worldly matters.” Now I will explain with this the words of the Mishna which says that a man who follows the advice of his wife will fall into Gehinom.
The man who is compared to the Form, if he follows after his wife who is Substance and substance is inherently deficient and he obeys her advice then it is definitely fitting that he should fall into Gehinom. That is because as we explained before – Gehinom is complete deficiency – as the names of Gehinom teach... Therefore since the Form deviates from his proper level to be drawn after Substance he is attaching himself to deficit and falls into Gehinom as the Form is drawn to Substance.
The question was raised from, People say If your wife is short then bend down and hear her whisper. The answer was given that one should not listen to her for worldly matters only for household matters. The explanation of household matters is that the man is not deviating after his wife when he listens to her in thes matters since the wife is the foundation of the home. And that is the way it has been in the order of the world. And consequently if he follows the advice of his wife in household matters we don’t say that the man is like the Form following after Substance and thus deviating from his spiritual level. That is because in this that the wife is the foundation of the home, from that aspect he is not attaching himself to deficit. In fact the opposite is true since the wife is the basis of the existence of the home and therefore she should be listen to in household matters. However in all other matters in which the wife is not the prime figure, if the man follows after her advice then he will be in fact going after deficit and will fall into Gehinom.
And even according to the alternative answer of listening to worldly matters and not to spiritual matters – he should listen to her in worldly matters because that would not be deviating towards deficit. That is because this world is materialistic which is relevant to the woman who is Substance and therefore for advice in worldly matters he will not fall into Gehinom. In fact the opposite is true – he should follow her advice in worldly matters since that involves material things and that is the wife’s domain. It is only in spiritual matters that he should not listen to her because concerning spritual matters he is the Form and she is only Substance to which is associated the deficit. Consequently if he listens to her in spiritual matters he is deviating after the deficit and he will fall into Gehinom because he is being brought into a deficit and a state of lacking.
I am writing these things to explain to you that the words of the Mishna are clearly correct and are not mere conjecture.
Furthermore in Berachos (61a), They say that it is better to go behind a lion and not go behind a woman. In other words even though a lion can maul a person, nevertheless one who goes behind a lion is not in as much danger as one who goes behind a woman. That is because the lion is not deficit as is a woman. Because going after a woman is the Form following the Substance which causes completely loss to the Form when he deviates to follow after Substance. There is no question that it is worse for him then what the lion can do to him. Because even if the lion harms him, the lion’s main concern is to maul to eat and is nothing personal. But the deficit which is attached to Subtance - that involves his essence. Thus a lion will sometimes damage and sometimes not as is in all cases of accident which is not the case of following after a woman. I will offer addition explanations of this with G-d’s help.
Deja vu! - Conservative & Reform attack Israeli rabbinate for being more concerned with halacha than social reality
The following describes the problem from a different perspective. It is an exceprt of an article which appeared in The Associated of the Baltimore community. It is not a current article - but it does indicate clearly that the claims the RZ/MO have against the Chareidi view are exactly the claims of the Conservative movement against the RZ/MO view.
This illustrates that ultimately the issue is how to strike a proper balance between concern for halachic integrity and social needs/reality. What kind of consequences can we live with? What are our options?
This illustrates that ultimately the issue is how to strike a proper balance between concern for halachic integrity and social needs/reality. What kind of consequences can we live with? What are our options?
On Eve of Shavuot, Conversion Still is a Divisive Issue in Israel
Dina Kraft TEL AVIV, May 18 (JTA) — As Jews around the world prepare for Shavuot and its reading of the Book of Ruth — which features the Moabite woman's famous conversion with the words, "Your people shall be my people and your God my God" — Israel continues to grapple with the highly charged subject of conversion.
Long a battleground between Israel's Orthodox establishment and the Conservative and Reform movements, the issue took on urgency with the mass wave of immigration from the former Soviet Union in the 1990s. "I think Ruth and her conversion should indeed set the model for the current challenge of converting the Russians who live among us," said Rabbi Ehud Bandel, president of the Masorti-Conservative movement in Israel. "Once they identify with Israel and the Jewish people and society and accept the Jewish faith, they must be embraced exactly as Naomi embraced Ruth, who became the grandmother of King David." Bandel and others claim that Israel's chief rabbinate makes conversion especially difficult for those they suspect may not lead an Orthodox lifestyle. "The real challenge is that unfortunately, the Orthodox establishment does not convert for Judaism but for Orthodoxy," Bandel said. The rabbinate is "reluctant to open its arms to Russian converts because everyone knows they will not be Orthodox." Rabbi Eliyahu Ben-Dahan, general director of the rabbinical court of Israel — which oversees conversions — says there can be no shortcuts when it comes to following halachah, or Jewish law, with regard to conversions. Orthodox authorities say Jewish law requires that converts undergo traditional ritual conversion and commit to adhering to all the precepts of Jewish law, or halachah. Non-Orthodox streams contend that these authorities inevitably interpret halachah as Orthodox observance. "If they think we will give up on halachah, then of course we cannot," Ben-Dahan said. "At the end of the day, the ones who want to convert, do convert," he said. "We are doing all we can do." As many as 300,000 of the nearly 1 million immigrants who came to Israel in the 1990s from the former Soviet Union are not considered Jews under Jewish law. They pay taxes and serve in the army, but can't marry Jews in Israel or be buried in Jewish cemeteries. On their Israeli identity cards, the category for religion is left blank. It's a void that activists from the non-Orthodox streams of Judaism are trying to fill by lobbying for broader acceptance in conversion processes. "They live as Jews but are not considered Jews," Gilad Kariv, a lawyer and ordained Reform rabbi who works for the movement's lobbying arm, said of the Russian immigrants. Prevented from converting, the immigrants' level of identification with the Jewish state eventually goes down, he said. "They feel less Israeli, less Jewish, and this is a problem in Israel — this lack of accessibility to Judaism," he said. Kariv cites statistics from the Jewish Agency for Israel showing that close to half of the non-Jewish immigrants when asked before they moved to Israel said they wanted to convert. Asked after their move to Israel, only 10 percent to 20 percent said they still wanted to convert. Rabbi Chaim Druckman, who served in the Knesset as a member of the National Religious Party, has just taken up a new post as director of conversion affairs in the Prime Minister's Office. The position was established largely to deal with immigrants who may have Jewish ancestry but are not Jewish according to Jewish law, which accepts as Jews only those with Jewish mothers. "Those who want to convert need to be helped," Druckman told JTA. "We need to help these people and let them know we do want them." In 1998, a government commission on conversion, headed by then-Finance Minister Ya'acov Ne'eman, issued recommendations to the government. They included the establishment of a joint institute for conversion taught by a combination of Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform rabbis. The liberal streams agreed that those wishing to convert would then go to a Beit Din, or Jewish law court, for an Orthodox ceremony that would be universally recognized. Orthodox representatives did not sign on to the final recommendation, but the conversion institute has been established since, with branches across the country. Currently, it serves 2,500 students and is funded by the Jewish Agency and the government. Catering to immigrants, most classes are run in Russian. Some are conducted in Spanish for South American immigrants. The institute's executive director, Nehemia Citroen, said he thinks the government realizes how critical it is to facilitate the conversion process for new immigrants. "I believe the leadership here in this country in all realms understands the enormity of the problem, understands the situation by which hundreds of thousands of immigrants are brought here and told they are not Jewish," he said. "All those in leadership positions, including religious positions, have to see the reality of the situation today and allow for answers." In the four years since the institute was founded, 3,256 people have finished their conversion studies and 1,367 have been converted. But Bandel bemoaned the figure as "just a drop in the ocean." He and others say there's a backlog at the rabbinical courts for students from the institute. Critics also claim that those who study in Orthodox-run conversion classes have an easier time being converted by the rabbinical courts.[...]
Long a battleground between Israel's Orthodox establishment and the Conservative and Reform movements, the issue took on urgency with the mass wave of immigration from the former Soviet Union in the 1990s. "I think Ruth and her conversion should indeed set the model for the current challenge of converting the Russians who live among us," said Rabbi Ehud Bandel, president of the Masorti-Conservative movement in Israel. "Once they identify with Israel and the Jewish people and society and accept the Jewish faith, they must be embraced exactly as Naomi embraced Ruth, who became the grandmother of King David." Bandel and others claim that Israel's chief rabbinate makes conversion especially difficult for those they suspect may not lead an Orthodox lifestyle. "The real challenge is that unfortunately, the Orthodox establishment does not convert for Judaism but for Orthodoxy," Bandel said. The rabbinate is "reluctant to open its arms to Russian converts because everyone knows they will not be Orthodox." Rabbi Eliyahu Ben-Dahan, general director of the rabbinical court of Israel — which oversees conversions — says there can be no shortcuts when it comes to following halachah, or Jewish law, with regard to conversions. Orthodox authorities say Jewish law requires that converts undergo traditional ritual conversion and commit to adhering to all the precepts of Jewish law, or halachah. Non-Orthodox streams contend that these authorities inevitably interpret halachah as Orthodox observance. "If they think we will give up on halachah, then of course we cannot," Ben-Dahan said. "At the end of the day, the ones who want to convert, do convert," he said. "We are doing all we can do." As many as 300,000 of the nearly 1 million immigrants who came to Israel in the 1990s from the former Soviet Union are not considered Jews under Jewish law. They pay taxes and serve in the army, but can't marry Jews in Israel or be buried in Jewish cemeteries. On their Israeli identity cards, the category for religion is left blank. It's a void that activists from the non-Orthodox streams of Judaism are trying to fill by lobbying for broader acceptance in conversion processes. "They live as Jews but are not considered Jews," Gilad Kariv, a lawyer and ordained Reform rabbi who works for the movement's lobbying arm, said of the Russian immigrants. Prevented from converting, the immigrants' level of identification with the Jewish state eventually goes down, he said. "They feel less Israeli, less Jewish, and this is a problem in Israel — this lack of accessibility to Judaism," he said. Kariv cites statistics from the Jewish Agency for Israel showing that close to half of the non-Jewish immigrants when asked before they moved to Israel said they wanted to convert. Asked after their move to Israel, only 10 percent to 20 percent said they still wanted to convert. Rabbi Chaim Druckman, who served in the Knesset as a member of the National Religious Party, has just taken up a new post as director of conversion affairs in the Prime Minister's Office. The position was established largely to deal with immigrants who may have Jewish ancestry but are not Jewish according to Jewish law, which accepts as Jews only those with Jewish mothers. "Those who want to convert need to be helped," Druckman told JTA. "We need to help these people and let them know we do want them." In 1998, a government commission on conversion, headed by then-Finance Minister Ya'acov Ne'eman, issued recommendations to the government. They included the establishment of a joint institute for conversion taught by a combination of Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform rabbis. The liberal streams agreed that those wishing to convert would then go to a Beit Din, or Jewish law court, for an Orthodox ceremony that would be universally recognized. Orthodox representatives did not sign on to the final recommendation, but the conversion institute has been established since, with branches across the country. Currently, it serves 2,500 students and is funded by the Jewish Agency and the government. Catering to immigrants, most classes are run in Russian. Some are conducted in Spanish for South American immigrants. The institute's executive director, Nehemia Citroen, said he thinks the government realizes how critical it is to facilitate the conversion process for new immigrants. "I believe the leadership here in this country in all realms understands the enormity of the problem, understands the situation by which hundreds of thousands of immigrants are brought here and told they are not Jewish," he said. "All those in leadership positions, including religious positions, have to see the reality of the situation today and allow for answers." In the four years since the institute was founded, 3,256 people have finished their conversion studies and 1,367 have been converted. But Bandel bemoaned the figure as "just a drop in the ocean." He and others say there's a backlog at the rabbinical courts for students from the institute. Critics also claim that those who study in Orthodox-run conversion classes have an easier time being converted by the rabbinical courts.[...]
What is the justification for the Torah saying lashon harah about our deceased ancestors: Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky
The issue of speaking lashon harah about the deceased comes up over and over again. Recently I was challenged why I publicized the fact that Shlomo Carlebach sexually abused women. After all he was a great tzadik and even though he did disgusting things - why should his name be disgraced by telling people the bad things that he did. Why should people have their enjoyment of his music be interfered with by the disturbing reality of what he did?
There are a number of reasons for being concerned with the Truth. Of course if he were still alive - it would allow people to protect themselves so he would not molest them. But there is also a benefit for the victims - even after his passing. According to those who insist that rose colored glasses must always be worn and that we should not think bad thoughts about rabbis and tzadikim. According to those who insistent we should suppress all information about disgusting deeds so that rabbis and tzadikim are always perceived in a good light there is definitely a problem. But that suppression of the truth means that the victims need to suppress their humiliation and shame. They can not mention the outrage that was done to them. In fact if they say anything they would be told that they should shut their mouths - how dare they say anything about the Great Man. Therefore by telling the truth, it helps these victims to be able to talk about what happened and hopefully help them recover.
It also is important that the reality of the nature of abusers be publicized. People need to know that an abuser is not only the twisted sick monster of nightmares - but that they might not only be normal people but even tzadikim. That a distinguished rav or talmid chachom can be a molester. That a friend of the family, a neighbor or uncle or brother or even a father. By mentioning the names of those who have done disgusting things - even if they are deceased - it protects people from becoming additional victims. There is much to talk about the importance of knowing reality - but that will be for another time.
Here is a relevant comment made by Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky in Emes L'Yaakov (Bereishis 34:37):
I was asked by a student how to explain the fact that the Torah includes descriptions of what happened with Yosef and his brothers. Isn't this a violation of the prohibition of the laws of lashon harah? Initially I answered that in truth the prohibition of lashon harah only applies when mentioning the living. Talking lashon harah about the dead is permitted according to Torah law and is prohibited only by an ancient cherem [see Orech Chaim 606:3]. However the prohibition of the cherem is only against saying false slander (motzi shem rah) and doesn't apply to negative true statements (lashon harah). However in truth this question of lashon harah in the Torah simply isn't a question. That is because Yosef's brothers in fact judged Yosef and sentenced him to death following the correct legal procedure. They paskened this way because they thought that that in fact was the law of the Torah and not because they were perverting the law...The cherem is mentioned here:
Berachos(19a): R. Joshua b. Levi said: Whoever makes derogatory remarks about scholars after their death is cast into Gehinnom, as it says, But as for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the Lord will lead them away with the workers of iniquity. Peace be upon Israel: even at a time when there is peace upon Israel, the Lord will lead them away with the workers of iniquity. It was taught in the school of R. Ishmael: If you see a scholar who has committed an offence by night, do not cavil at him by day, for perhaps he has done penance. ‘Perhaps’, say you? — Nay, rather, he has certainly done penance. This applies only to bodily [sexual] offences, but if he has misappropriated money, [he may be criticised] until he restores it to its owner.
שו"ע אורח חיים סימן תרו:ג
תקנת קדמונינו וחרם, שלא להוציא שם רע על המתים
The Truth About Hamas
Reading “Silenced No More,” the new report by the Civil Commission on October 7th Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children, we were transported back to Oct. 27, 2023, and a screening of the raw footage of Hamas’s atrocities. The mouths of journalists were agape, but time dulls horrific reality.
The new report is a catalogue, for memory’s sake, of Hamas depravity. Testimony from site after site attests to rape and assault. Screams and pleas. Gunshots to the face and genitals. Mutilation. Burning. Bodies naked, legs spread. Grotesque scenes staged. All forming an evidentiary record, the result of more than 10,000 photos and video segments and more than 430 interviews, testimonies and meetings with survivors, witnesses and experts.
Protest NJ Bills S2260/A2218
BS"D
May 13, '26
NJ Legislative Alert
Rabbis, leaders, and all,
NJ Bill 2260, seeking to criminalize efforts to stop transing kids and abortion, is linked below.
An alternate variant of this predatory, antireligious persecutory bill stealthily passed the NJ Senate Health Committee Monday May 11, '26.
The next action is expected on the Assembly bill this Thursday, May 14, 10AM (room 16), in the Health Committee. NJ residents are urged to show up to expose and protest this anti-Jewish persecutory
Thank you!
Rabbi Noson Shmuel Leiter,
Executive Director,
Help Rescue Our Children
845.642.1679
Direct: 771.215.8892
Israeli Helpline: 03.721.3337
Tomim Tih'yeh [countering "New-Age" infiltration]:
Presentations on New-Age dangers: 605-313-6831 ext. 2
Heard weekly on New Jersey's WSNR Radio 620AM, co-hosting the renowned Levin At Eleven program, every Thursday evening, 11pm to midnight (ET).
Wednesday, May 13, 2026
Resurrection is a Miracle that we must Believe
Menoras HaMe’or (04:02:03:01) The matter of the resurrection of the dead is not like the reward of the world to come, which is a natural thing for the perfect soul, but it is a matter of miracle and a very wonderful one of the great miracles that G-d has done and will do, and since it is something outside of nature, like the pregnancy of a woman who is born to be barren, and also the rains that come as a reward for a mitzvah... And this is what they alluded to when they said, Rabbi Yochanan said, "Three keys were not delivered by the hand of a messenger, and these are the keys of life, of rains, and of the resurrection of the dead...". Therefore, we must believe that this is one of the great miracles written in the Torah, and that the souls of the righteous will return to their bodies and eat, drink, and beget children. This is a matter outside the nature of reality, and there is no proof for it from rational analysis, but is something miraculous. We must accept it by faith.
Menoras HaMeor (04:02:03:02) All those who deny the Resuerrection of Dead or anyone of the other miraculous matters which are written in the Torah is as if he denies the entire Torah and he has no portion in the World to Come.
Resurrection is Not only for Torah Scholars
Maharal (Be’er HaGolah 7:03) In Kesubos it says that the ignorant will not be resurrected. Some find this fact that only Torah scholars will be resurrected and the rest of mankind is lost forever to be very upsetting. They say it is too much that not only are Jews the only ones resurrected but only the elite are ultimately successful and thus the majority of mankind is no different than animals. In fact this gemora should not be understood this way. The gemora itself clarifies that Rav Yochanon was upset with this declaration until it was explained that what was meant was not only Torah scholars but also those closely associated with Torah scholars will be resurrected. Thus the solution is very simple. It is clear that when G-d gave the Torah to the Jews it was mainly in order that it should be beneficial. Therefore any person who is not a Torah scholar and can not become one, can at least be of assistance to a Torah scholar. This is a great kindness for them from G-d. In fact a careful search reveals that the ignorant are not actually prevented from acquiring this high level nor are non-Jews since they also can obtain a portion of Olam HaBah as is stated in that Gemora which states that the pious of the nations can acquire Olam HaBah. In fact it is known from the gemora of Avoda Zara in the discussion of Antoninos and Rebbe that also the descents of Eisav who are enemies of the Jews can acquire Olam HaBah if they behave properly. Thus ultimate it depends entirely on a person’s deeds.
Resurrection Purpose
Sefer HaIkkarim (04:35) Hence Maimonides agrees that the main reward that God bestows upon man is conferred upon the soul and not upon the body. It seems, therefore, that the purpose of resurrection is not in order to reward the body, but either to give the individual an opportunity to acquire greater perfection than he acquired before, prevented as he was by external hindrances, exile, poverty and the like, and not through evil choice or any condition in the individual himself; or to make known in the world the great power of God and to publish the true faith. In this case resurrection may be confined to the righteous alone, as the Rabbis say, and will take place in the Messianic age.
How the New York Times Laundered Dubious Sexual Abuse Claims Against Israel
The New York Times opinion piece alleging sexual abuse against Palestinian prisoners relied on sources with documented pro-terror sympathies and failed to disclose crucial background information that would have helped readers assess their credibility.
Several of the article’s central allegations appear to have evolved significantly over time, with major inconsistencies left unexplained or unchallenged by the paper.
The timing of the story’s publication immediately before a major report on Hamas’ October 7 sexual violence raises serious questions about narrative framing and editorial priorities.
The issue is not whether Israel should face scrutiny. Democracies should be scrutinized, especially during wartime. The issue is whether that scrutiny is applied consistently, fairly, and proportionally.
When the New York Times repeatedly amplifies the weakest allegations against Israel while approaching Hamas atrocities with hesitation and skepticism, it stops looking like rigorous journalism and starts looking like narrative activism.
‘Gang rape, forced stripping and humiliation’: New report documents 10,000 findings on Oct. 7 sexual crimes
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hyf00rqljmx
Spanning roughly 250 pages, with hundreds of footnotes and references to more than 10,000 documented items, a new report lays out what it describes as a systematic pattern of sexual violence, humiliation and abuse committed by terrorists and civilians who infiltrated from Gaza during the Oct. 7 massacre and throughout the captivity of hostages held in Gaza.
The report, the product of more than two years of work, was compiled by members of the Civil Commission on Oct. 7 Crimes by Hamas Against Women, Children and Families. The civil society organization was established shortly after the outbreak of the war.
Researchers identified 13 patterns of sexual and gender-based assault, including rape and gang rape, assault before and during murder, forced stripping, threats of forced marriage and assaults committed in front of victims’ relatives. According to the report, these patterns recurred across multiple locations, indicating that the use of such practices was intentional, widespread and systematic, “carried out with particular cruelty in order to maximize the pain, humiliation and suffering of the victims.”
Israel slams NYT opinion article on Palestinian abuse, ignoring Oct. 7 sexual violence
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-895908
The Foreign Ministry on Tuesday denounced the timing of an op-ed published in the New York Times, while the outlet decided not to publish the findings of Israel's Civil Commission into Hamas's systemic violence during, and since, the October 7 massacre.
The commission approached NYT "months ago" with the outlet saying it "was not interested" in reporting it, the ministry noted on X/Twitter.
The outlet posted the opinion piece on Monday, featuring it prominently on its homepage, along with an accompanying video, deciding to publish it the day before the Commission's findings were released.
"In an unfathomable inversion of reality, and through an endless stream of baseless lies, propagandist Nicholas Kristof turns the victim into the accused," the ministry wrote.
"Israel - whose citizens were the victims of the most horrific sexual crimes committed by Hamas on October 7, and whose hostages were later subjected to further sexual abuse - is portrayed as the guilty party," the ministry continued.
US intelligence showing Iran retains substantial missile capabilities
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/426980
Classified US intelligence regarding Iran's current military strength from earlier this month suggests that Tehran has successfully restored operational access to the vast majority of its strategic missile infrastructure, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.
Among other things, according to the report, the intelligence reveals that Iran has regained access to 30 of its 33 primary missile sites situated along the vital Strait of Hormuz. These facilities, equipped with mobile launchers, pose a direct threat to the more than 20 American warships currently enforcing the blockade in the waterway.
The classified data stands in direct contrast to assurances provided by President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. In March, the President claimed that Iran's military had "nothing left," while Hegseth asserted in April that Operation Epic Fury had rendered the regime "combat-ineffective for years."
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