Trump: Hamas could be taken care of in two minutes

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/416607

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Hamas could be “taken care of very quickly”, but stressed he would rather give the terrorist organization a chance to honor the ceasefire deal.

“They're pretty violent people, I would say, that we could put that out in two minutes. We're giving them a chance,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

He added, “You know, they agreed that they'd be very good, very straight. They wouldn't be killing people, and they have killed people. That wasn't the deal we made.”

If they don't honor the deal, they'll be taken care of very quickly, but I'd rather not have to do that,” said Trump. “But we have total peace in the Middle East. We have levels of friendship with everybody, and countries that hated each other now love each other.”

Donald Trump Reacts to Report He’s Seeking $230 Million from DOJ

 https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-doj-230-million-settlement-investigation-government-10916432

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the federal government owes him “a lot of money” for past Justice Department investigations and declared that he would ultimately decide whether to award himself compensation because “that decision would have to go across my desk.”

Trump’s remarks at the White House came in response to a New York Times report that he had filed administrative claims before his reelection, seeking about $230 million in damages.

Although the Justice Department follows an established process for reviewing such administrative claims, Trump asserted that he, as president, would have the final say. “It’s interesting, ’cause I’m the one that makes the decision, right?” he told reporters. “That decision would have to go across my desk.”

Trump Pick for Special Counsel Pulls Out Amid Racist Text Scandal

 https://www.newsweek.com/ingrassia-withdraws-trump-special-counsel-racist-text-scandal-10916824

President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead a federal watchdog agency withdrew from consideration Tuesday after a series of racist and inflammatory text messages attributed to him became public, prompting a backlash from Senate Republicans.

Paul Ingrassia, nominated to head the Office of Special Counsel, had been scheduled to appear before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee later this week. But his confirmation bid unraveled after Politico reported on messages in which he described the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday as belonging in “the seventh circle of hell” and referred to himself as having “a Nazi streak.”

Witches are dangerous

 Netziv (Shemos 22:17) A witch should not remain alive According to the simple meaning that means even a non Jewish one even according to the view that goyim were not prohibited from witvchcraft. Nevertheless because they are considered.life threatening they are to be killed like  a rodef 

Argentina Beef: Trump’s New Plan Sparks Fury After Bailout

 https://www.newsweek.com/argentina-beef-trump-plan-sparks-fury-bailout-10908176

President Donald Trump's new plan to purchase additional beef from Argentina to lower prices for consumers in the United States has sparked backlash from critics and alarm from some American producers—as the administration already faces questions and criticism for its recent $20 billion bailout of the South American nation.

Meriwether Farms, a beef producer based in Wyoming that said it supports and loves Trump, described the plan as an "absolute betrayal to the American cattle rancher" in an X post Monday. "The continued manipulation and betrayal by the very people who claim to support them [cattle ranchers], needs to end immediately," the producer said.

Meriwether Farms on X: "Why is it that members of Congress, Cabinet Secretaries, and other senior government officials continue to call farmers and ranchers the 'backbone of the country' while simultaneously screwing them with disastrous policy decisions? Do they even believe what they are saying or do they think we are stupid?"

Vance visits Israel as Trump administration officials worry ceasefire could fall apart

 https://edition.cnn.com/2025/10/21/politics/israel-vance-trump-administration-ceasefire

Vice President JD Vance’s arrival in Israel on Tuesday comes as some Trump administration officials are concerned that the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas could fall apart, sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

Vance’s presence in the region is meant, at least in part, to ensure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains committed to the US-negotiated deal as some Trump administration officials worry he could work to thwart it.

One US official characterized it as “Bibisitting.” Another framed it as a “show of force from the highest-ranking person after the president himself” to make the administration’s view clear that the ceasefire needs to be durable enough to “outlast inevitable skirmishes.”

All of this comes as Trump himself has argued both privately and publicly that Sunday’s attack on IDF soldiers wasn’t the work of Hamas leaders but part of a “rebellion.” He has said that some members of Hamas “got very rambunctious,” but he believes the group is still committed to the truce and negotiations, the sources said.

Vance lands in Israel as US said to fear Netanyahu could collapse Gaza ceasefire

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/vance-lands-in-israel-as-us-said-to-fear-netanyahu-could-collapse-gaza-ceasefire/

US Vice President JD Vance arrived in Israel on Tuesday as part of efforts to advance and bolster the Gaza ceasefire, amid reports that Washington is concerned that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could collapse the truce and return to war.

Officials in Washington fear Netanyahu could end the Gaza ceasefire and return to the war against Hamas, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

There is growing worry in the administration that Netanyahu could actively work against the deal, the report said, citing several unnamed US officials. Vance, Witkoff, and Kushner are planning to pressure Israel not to undermine the accord as they visit the country, it said.

White House Secret Group Targeting Donald Trump’s Enemies

 https://www.newsweek.com/white-house-secret-group-targeting-donald-trumps-enemies-report-10910951

The Trump administration has created a new multiagency body to investigate President Donald Trump’s perceived enemies, according to an investigation by Reuters.

During the 2024 presidential election campaign, Trump told his supporters “I am your retribution.” In recent weeks, criminal charges have been filed against former national security adviser John Bolton, former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. All three have either been involved in investigations of Trump or been highly critical of him.

According to Reuters, the new body—called the Interagency Weaponization Working Group—has been active since at least May and includes dozens of personnel from the White House, FBI, CIA, Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Justice, Defense and Homeland Security departments.

Fox News Digital confirmed the group’s existence, quoting Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard as saying, “I stood up this working group to start the important work of interagency coordination under President Trump’s leadership to deliver accountability.”

Citing officials, Fox reported that the group had been meeting twice a week since April to “share information, coordinate, and execute.”

Trump's plan: Deja vu all over again

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/416567

On its face, the Trump plan is a caricature. Israelis should finally learn that the core requirements of a genuine peace must always be analytic and intellectual. Simplistic remedies concocted by well-meaning but unrealistic politicos can never rise above parody.

“It’s like déjà vu all over again.” - Yogi Berra.

New York Yankee philosopher Yogi Berra, the creator of the tautology quoted above, would have understood. Long after Israel’s grievously failed Oslo agreements with Palestinian authorities and recent US disclosures of a Qatari military facility going up at an Air Force base in Idaho, American president Donald Trump added a special enhancement to his “20-Point Plan for Peace in the Middle East.”

This addendum orders the US Department of State to provide SWAT training of “Palestinian security forces.” More precisely, the American objective is to provide “advanced tactical courses” - including “live-fire and urban combat simulations” - for these "peacekeepers" in Judea/Samaria (aka "West Bank").

There is more. Reassuringly, the State Department solicitation includes the following specific demand: “Proposals must include a work plan, liability insurance, team details, prior project experience, and a plan for compliance with anti-human trafficking regulations.”

Credo quia absurdum said the ancient philosopher Tertullian: “I believe it because it is absurd.” How comforting it must be for Israelis to know that the next batch of US-trained Palestinian Arab terrorists will be properly insured and also opposed to human trafficking.

Israeli Military Says Gaza Ceasefire is Back On

 https://www.newsweek.com/israeli-military-says-gaza-ceasefire-back-on-10903919

Israel’s military has resumed a ceasefire in Gaza following a collapse of the truce on the weekend when Israel said it launched a series of attacks on Hamas in response to a ceasefire violation by the Palestinian militant group in which two Israeli soldiers were killed, news agencies reported.

"In accordance with the directive of the political echelon, and following a series of significant strikes in response to Hamas’ violations, the IDF has begun the renewed enforcement of the ceasefire, in line with the terms of the agreement," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter. "The IDF will continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement and will respond firmly to any violation of it."

Korbanot: The Biblical Temple Sacrifices

 https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4440323/jewish/Korbanot-The-Biblical-Temple-Sacrifices.htm

Sacrifices Today?

With the absence of a Temple and altar today, it is forbidden to offer sacrifices (see links below). However, our sages tell us that our prayers today are in place of the sacrifices.25 In addition to asking G‑d for our needs, prayer is a time to focus on self-improvement. It is a time when we “offer” our animal soul to G‑d, refining our animalistic tendencies and submitting them to His will.26

We pray for the time when the Third Temple will be rebuilt, where the sacrifices will be offered once more.

Links:
Can We Sacrifice a Paschal Lamb Nowadays?
Why Haven’t Jews Rebuilt the Temple Yet?
What Is Jewish Prayer?

Hamas directing Al Jazeera Gaza coverage, suppressing Palestinian dissent, research center finds

 https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-871118

Documents uncovered in Gaza have revealed that Hamas has been issuing instructions to the Qatari state-run media outlet Al Jazeera, according to the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center.

From the documents, the research center found that Hamas’s information officers directed coordinated terminology and stories with Al Jazeera to formulate coverage that would not "harm the image of the resistance."

One of the documents recovered in 2022 stated that Al Jazeera should avoid using terms such as “massacre” to describe a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket strike in Jabalya as Hamas acknowledged the attacks were not he result of attacks by "the occupation.”

Vance Heads to Israel as U.S. Tries to Shore Up Gaza Truce

 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/world/middleeast/jd-vance-israel-gaza-ceasefire.html

Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to arrive in Israel on Tuesday morning for meetings with the country’s leaders, as the Trump administration rushes to shore up the hard-won, fragile cease-fire deal in Gaza.

But the cease-fire is under strain as Mr. Vance starts his trip to Israel, which is set to last until Thursday. On Sunday, Palestinian militants fired on Israeli soldiers in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, killing two. In response, Israel launched a wave of strikes that left a total of 45 Palestinians dead, according to Gaza health officials. The round of violence was short-lived, but analysts have warned that the truce is likely to be tested again.

Hamas has expressed serious reservations about that plan, particularly about disarming its fighters. And both sides have yet to carry out significant parts of the initial cease-fire agreement, much less reach a broader deal on Gaza’s future.

The bodies of 15 hostages, which Hamas is obligated to return to Israel under the cease-fire deal, are still in Gaza. Hamas officials have said that they are doing the best they can, but that the sheer devastation left by two years of war has made it difficult to recover the bodies.

Israeli leaders, including Mr. Netanyahu, have accused Hamas of violating the deal by not immediately returning more hostages’ remains. Israel has retaliated by keeping the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt closed until further notice. The cease-fire calls for that crossing to be opened, allowing civilians to enter and leave Gaza for the first time in months.

White House begins demolishing East Wing facade to build Trump’s ballroom

 White House begins demolishing East Wing facade to build Trump’s ballroom

Demolition crews on Monday began tearing down part of the White House to build President Donald Trump’s long-desired ballroom despite his pledge that construction of the $250 million addition wouldn’t “interfere” with the existing building.

Construction teams were demolishing a portion of the East Wing, with a backhoe ripping through the structure, according to a photo shared with The Washington Post and two people who witnessed the activity and spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe it.

Democrats panned the project, with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other lawmakers arguing that Trump’s priorities and preferences were not aligned with average Americans.

“Trump’s billionaire ballroom. This is a disgrace. Welcome to the Second Gilded Age,” Rep. Darren Soto (D-Florida) wrote on social media.