Rabbinate seeks retrial on ruling allowing women to take exams, blames 'halachic noncompliance'

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-871073

The Chief Rabbinate (of Israel) requested on Monday from the High Court of Justice for a retrial for broader legal consideration on a July judgement by Deputy Chief Justice Noam Sohlberg allowing women to sit Rabbinate exams. 

The Rabbinate's argument rested on what it presented as firm halachic noncompliance with women taking the exams, as certain topics covered therein are prohibited by nature. It also requested a delay in execution - meaning that the instruction to allow women to sit the exams should not come into effect right away, pending further action. 

Witkoff recounts personal bond with Hamas terrorist leader

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/416539

US Envoy for Peace Missions Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law and advisor Jared Kushner, in an interview with CBS News’ “60 Minutes” on Sunday night, shared how a personal bond grew between them and leader of the Hamas terrorist organization Khalil al-Hayya.

Witkoff shared how, during a meeting in Egypt, he and the terrorist leader bonded over the loss of their sons. While Wikoff's son died of an opioid overdose at the age of 22, al-Hayya's son was killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting the Hamas leader in Doha, Qatar.

“We expressed our condolences to him for the loss of his son. He mentioned it. And I told him that I had lost a son, and that we were both members of a really bad club, parents who have buried children,” said Witkoff.

"But when Steve and him spoke about their sons, it turned from a negotiation with a terrorist group to seeing two human beings kind of showing a vulnerability with each other.”

Trump says ‘rebels’ staged deadly attack on IDF troops in Gaza, echoing Hamas claim

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-says-rebels-staged-deadly-attack-on-idf-troops-in-gaza-echoing-hamas-claim/?utm_source=The+Daily+Edition&utm_campaign=daily-edition-2025-10-20&utm_medium=email

US President Donald Trump suggested on Sunday that the Hamas leadership was not involved in a deadly attack against IDF troops in the southern Gaza Strip, blaming it instead on “some rebels within.”

The Israel Defense Forces directly blamed Hamas for the attack, but Trump’s comment appeared to echo the assertion by the terror group that the incident occurred in an area under Israeli control, where they claim to have had no contact with their operatives for months.

Senators look to block Trump from engaging in ‘hostilities’ in Venezuela

 https://www.foxnews.com/world/senators-look-block-trump-from-engaging-hostilities-venezuela

Resolution comes after president authorized CIA operations and considered land strikes following drug cartel attacks

A bipartisan group of Senators on Friday took steps to block President Donald Trump from "engag[ing] in hostilities" in Venezuela under a War Powers Resolution following another strike off the coast of the South American nation this week.

The resolution looked to remind Trump that only Congress has the "sole power to declare war" after the president on Wednesday said he was considering land operations and had authorized CIA operations there. 

Rand Paul says Venezuela boat bombings are ‘inappropriate’ and ‘go against our tradition’

Rand Paul says Caribbean strikes ‘go against all of our tradition’

 https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5562496-rand-paul-criticizes-trump-caribbean-strikes/

“Killing cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military,” Vance wrote in an early September post on the social platform X, referencing a U.S. military strike on a boat in the Caribbean Sea that the Trump administration said killed 11 Venezuelan drug traffickers.

In response to the vice president’s post, Paul wrote in a post of his own later that day, “JD ‘I don’t give a s—‘ Vance says killing people he accuses of a crime is the ‘highest and best use of the military.'”

“Did he ever read To Kill a Mockingbird? Did he ever wonder what might happen if the accused were immediately executed without trial or representation?” the Kentucky senator added. “What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment it is to glorify killing someone without a trial.”

Trump's ceasefire holds, but Turkey and Qatar cast shadows over Israel's future

https://www.israelhayom.com/2025/10/20/trumps-ceasefire-holds-but-turkey-and-qatar-cast-shadows-over-israels-future

 Even as this immediate crisis eases, we must look ahead to the fragile days of the ceasefire and keep our eyes wide open. We cannot forget that the chaperones of this agreement, particularly Qatar and Turkey, do not have Israel's best interests at heart.

None of us are surprised by Hamas's actions and with the players overseeing this ceasefire, it would be a miracle if it does not completely collapse. We are only in the first phase of Trump's 20-point plan, and few believe there will ever be an actual phase two. There is still a massive question mark on what the future of Gaza (and Hamas's role in it) will look like. For now, Israelis are focused on the relief of having our living hostages returned, which marks the end of the darkest chapter in our history, and the public wants to focus on a nation beginning to heal. Yet even as this immediate crisis eases, we must look ahead to the fragile days of the ceasefire and keep our eyes wide open. We cannot forget that the chaperones of this agreement, particularly Qatar and Turkey, do not have Israel's best interests at heart.

Trump Administration Accused of ‘Propaganda’ for Shifting Story in Shooting Amid ICE Protests

 https://time.com/7326794/ice-protests-chicago-marimar-martinez/

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is facing questions from lawmakers over the shooting of a U.S. citizen by Border Patrol agents in Chicago after a criminal complaint filed against the victim differed from the agency's initial description of events.

Just hours after Martinez was shot, the DHS released a statement from Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin that said that federal agents were “rammed by vehicles and boxed in by 10 cars.” The statement also alleged that one of the people who “boxed” in the agents, who it later identified as Martinez, was armed with a “semi-automatic weapon.” After the collision of cars, agents exited the vehicle and fired five times at Martinez—shots that McLaughlin said were “defensive” shots.

Murphy noted, however, that the criminal complaint filed against Martinez the next day tells a different story. The complaint, written by FBI Special Agent Caitlin Malone, said that only two cars rammed federal agent vehicles, rather than the overwhelming 10. There is no mention of her brandishing a weapon, as the original DHS statement implied, nor any firearms at all on Martinez.

Trump, 79, Posts Menacing Video Threatening a Never-Ending Presidency

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-79-posts-menacing-video-of-never-ending-presidency-on-truth-social

Donald Trump has made no secret of the fact that he‘s threatening the idea of a third term, but he‘s now hinted that he might have something even more permanent in mind.

The president posted about his eternal leadership in a video on Truth Social Sunday, showing him ruling for thousands of years beyond the original 2028 cutoff.

The bizarre reposted clip came just hours after the president shared an AI video of himself dumping feces on ‘No Kings’ protesters, and seems to have been very well received by many of his MAGA devotees.

UN nuclear watchdog believes most of Iran’s enriched uranium unharmed by war with Israel

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/un-nuclear-watchdog-believes-most-of-irans-enriched-uranium-unharmed-by-war-with-israel

The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog revealed last week that the body believes that most of Iran’s supply of enriched uranium survived the country’s 12-day war with Israel back in June, and is still being kept inside the damaged nuclear facilities.

Rafael Grossi, the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung in an interview published on October 18 that the UN body’s findings suggest that “the majority” of Iran’s 60% enriched uranium “remains in the nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Fordo, and some in Natanz.”

He estimated that, in total, Iran has roughly 400 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium still in its possession.

Trump mocks 'No Kings' protests with shocking AI videos

This is how the Americans turned Israel into a banana republic

 https://www.ynetnews.com/opinions-analysis/article/hkx3thzrxg

So why did Netanyahu agree to everything he opposed? Why did he sign an agreement that includes, in Clause 19, recognition of the Palestinians’ right to self-determination and statehood? Because contrary to all the delusional statements, the American administration did not give Netanyahu a “free hand” to do as he pleased. On the contrary. They stopped him. They imposed their will. They turned Israel into a banana republic.

The problem isn’t that allied states, especially the U.S., exert pressure— that’s an inherent part of international relations. The problem is that Netanyahu created a dangerous precedent—a complete contradiction between his stated conditions for ending the war and what actually happened. A precedent of coercion met with full compliance. A precedent that has turned Israel into a banana republic.

Hamas isn’t acting like a defeated force, which puts the entire Gaza ceasefire at risk

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-isnt-acting-like-a-defeated-force-which-puts-the-entire-gaza-ceasefire-at-risk

No one seems to have informed Hamas that they have been defeated.

Trump’s 20-point plan, if fully implemented, would indeed spell an unmitigated victory for Israel and likely a fatal blow to any Hamas plans to rule Gaza in the foreseeable future.

Senior Israeli officials mince no words in their rejection of Hamas — and White House — excuses that the terror group is struggling to find or access the remaining bodies. “We know, as a matter of fact, they can easily bring back a significant number of dead hostages and give them back according to the agreement,” said Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar. Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the IDF to prepare plans to return to war if Hamas continues to avoid fulfilling its obligations.

Hamas politburo member Mohammed Nazzal told Reuters that Hamas would not commit to disarming, a central component of Trump’s plan. This despite Trump’s threat that the terror group could be dealt with “violently” if it refuses to give up its weapons.

Hamas is not trying to hide its weapons or its determination to violently eliminate any opposition in Gaza. It has carried out public executions, and its operatives have put uniforms back on, riding around Gaza in pickup trucks brandishing rifles.

IDF unleashes series of strikes on Hamas after terror group breaks ceasefire Anyone besides Trump and his Negotiators Surprised?

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-870957

The IDF began “a series of strikes” against Hamas targets in southern Gaza in response to the terror group violating the ceasefire agreement on Sunday, the military announced.

The military condemned Hamas’s “blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement,” which occurred when the terror group fired an anti-tank missile and opened fire on Israeli soldiers.