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.

US VP Vance set to land in Israel as White House fears Netanyahu may scrap Gaza deal

 https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rjforu40lg#autoplay

According to officials close to Trump, the current strategy is for Vance, along with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, to prevent Netanyahu from resuming a full-scale assault on Hamas in Gaza

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance is on his way to Israel for the first time since taking office and will visit, among other stops, the American command center established to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

Meanwhile, officials in the Trump administration have expressed concern that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may dismantle the deal, telling The New York Times they are “increasingly worried.” According to those officials, Vance’s visit is also intended to supervise Netanyahu’s actions.

US concerned Netanyahu may abandon Gaza plan

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/416558

The White House is working urgently to preserve the fragile Gaza peace agreement brokered by President Donald Trump, amid growing concern that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may abandon the deal following Hamas’s violations of it, The New York Times reported.

Vice President JD Vance is en route to Israel to join Trump’s Middle East peace envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential adviser Jared Kushner, both of whom played key roles in negotiating the ceasefire. Officials quoted in the report said their mission is to stabilize the situation and try to keep. Netanyahu from resuming an all-out assault against Hamas.

No More Cease-Fire Excuses for Hamas

 https://www.wsj.com/opinion/hamas-cease-fire-gaza-israel-hostages-donald-trump-be380f6c?mod=hp_opin_pos_2

Of course Hamas violated the cease-fire. Breaking up peace processes is what Hamas does, from its suicide bombings of the 1990s and early 2000s through its Oct. 7, 2023, massacre designed to thwart the expansion of the Abraham Accords to Saudi Arabia. You can count on it.

Hamas leaders continue to say they won’t disarm, and their actions since they agreed to the Trump peace plan tell the same story. First a wave of Hamas terror against rival Palestinians, then Hamas attacks on Israeli troops on Sunday, killing two. Whatever the terrorist group agreed to on paper, it is working hard to reassert its control in Gaza.

When you need nothing more than the relationship itself

 BS"D

Erev Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan, Parshas Noach, 5786

When You Need Nothing More Than The Relationship Itself

As we enter the month of Mar-Cheshvan, in which there are no holidays, or even fast days, we can more easily endeavor to incrementally internalize one potent lesson from Shmini Atzeres, namely that when the relationship with HaShem is close enough, nothing else is truly needed.

Rav Dovid Soloveichik ZY"A explains (in Droshos) the Gemara about R' Chanina needing only a kav measure of carobs every week, as follows: it's not that he lacked in material needs, but rather that his relationship with HaShem was so close that he needed nothing else.

Of course, such a relationship is not at all easy to attain. Perhaps small exercises in selflessness may help us gradually approach  such a lofty goal, freeing us from some of our material dependencies, measure for measure.  In these trying times, we're often called on the rise above our habitual approach to life, and do things beyond of our comfort threshold.

As we enter the new year, after having pleaded with HaShem to forgive us and grant us all of our needs, and beyond that, "LeMa'anchah," "For Your Sake," perhaps it would behoove us to more often place Kovod Shomayim ahead of our own personal desires, in a manner meaningful for those who need our help the most.

Although this suggestion could apply to many issues, I'll take the liberty to apply it to one  burning issue I've been personally involved with, as a She'luchah D'Rabbanan, for years.

As the end of the secular year approaches, the danger that NY Gov. Kathy Hochul may allow "Assisted Suicide" (A136/ S138) to pass into law grows every week. This bill would allow doctors to actively help poison any patient they deem "terminally ill," and that "witnesses" claim expressed the will to die.  As terrible as that shefichus domim bill is on its' face - do we realize how much more catastrophic it will be in actual practice? Thousands will be killed - including many who never wanted to die, if not vetoed, R"L. Both the poor and wealthy are at elevated risk. 

The NY voters who can most influence the Governor to veto this bill are those from Democratic-voting communities, including both large Satmar factions, New-Square, and  democratic-leaning sectors of the Modern Orthodox community. 

Do not rely on the public opposition of various Orthodox organizations, such as the Queens Board of Rabbis and the OU - or on any other communal leadership - alone.  It's not been sufficient; the grass-roots must heed the call of leading Rabbonim and get directly involved. We must make it unmistakably clear that stopping state-mandated murder matters to us far more than government funding. 

Please call Gov. Hochul today at 518-474-8390 and respectfully urge her actively veto S138/A136, regardless of its' much-hyped "safeguards," which are even more worthlessly weak than they are temporary; see: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/413502; https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2025/08/introduction-article-vs-assisted.html.

Alternatively, contact her online: https://@governor.ny.gov/content/governor-contact-form.

Also consider who you know who had influence, social media access, or can help in other ways.  For more information, and to partner in this holy work, please email TorahJewsForDecency@gmail.com.

The first day of Rosh Chodesh falls out on the day corresponding to Reviyi in Parshas Noach, containing the universal prohibition of murder, as well as the prohibition of suicide. Perhaps we should take that as a message to us, here in the largest Orthodox community in the Diaspora. By taking a simple stand against institutionalized murder, may we merit to avoid the tragic deaths unrelentingly plaguing our communities.

Thank you and Good Chodesh,

Rabbi Noson Shmuel Leiter,

Executive Director,

Help Rescue Our Children

Monsey, NY

771-215-8892

Trump says inflation is dead. Most data says: Not quite.

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/10/20/trump-inflation-elevated/

President Donald Trump says he beat inflation. But several conventional measures of rising prices paint a different picture.

Most experts agree inflation has picked up in recent months, in part because of Trump’s tariffs. Economists expect more tariff-driven price increases in the months to come.

When Trump took office in January, the consumer price index had increased to 3 percent over the previous year. In August, that same index showed inflation has barely budged, remaining at 2.9 percent, the most recent available data.

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.”