Agam Berger, who was held hostage by Hamas for over a year, met with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, expressing deep skepticism about the effectiveness of diplomatic efforts in dealing with Hamas, according to Israeli news outlets.
“If it were possible not to choose war, we wouldn’t choose it. But the moment there is a war for the survival of our land, that’s what we will do,” she said.
Berger emphasized that the ideological and operational goals of Hamas leave no room for peaceful coexistence. “They [Hamas] don’t want ‘togetherness.’ All the diplomatic solutions – I don’t know what to call it – it won’t work because it’s either us or them.”

Family getting up: Dr. David OgunSon

Speaker Johnson on the One, Big, Beautiful Bill: “This is the largest cut in spending in at least 30 years and arguably of all time. We’re cutting over $1.5 trillion in federal spending.”

PUTIN NEARLY KILLED: Russian officials confirm that a helicopter President Vladimir Putin was aboard was nearly downed by a swarm of Ukrainian drones last week.

Rabbi Yitzchok Minkowicz, director of Chabad of Southwest Florida, seen putting tefillin on Jews aboard a packed JetBlue flight from Florida to New York.

A box truck transporting propane exploded yesterday in Addison, Illinois. Damage was widespread, but miraculously, there were no serious injuries.

ELIMINATED: A Hamas terrorist who infiltrated Israel on October 7, 2023, was killed in a recent strike in the Gaza Strip, the military says. The IDF says Ahmad Osama Hassan Al-Lahouni, who served in Hamas’s naval commando unit, was killed in strike carried out jointly by the Southern Command, Israeli Air Force, Intelligence Directorate, Navy, and Shin Bet.

A firestorm of criticism has erupted over the 2025 Harvard Yearbook’s depiction of the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel, which it described simply as “War Breaks Out in Gaza.” The entry, part of a timeline for the 2023-2024 academic year, has been condemned by Harvard Chabad and alumnus Shabbos Kestenbaum as a gross misrepresentation of the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust. The yearbook page, appearing under the “Special Events” section on page 38, features a photo of a campus statue surrounded by anti-Israel protest paraphernalia alongside the caption: “October 2023: War Breaks Out in Gaza.” The description omits any mention of the Hamas-led assault that killed 1,200 Israeli civilians and soldiers and saw over 250 people, including 12 Americans, taken hostage.

The Trump administration last week asked Israel to postpone the full-scale ground operation in Gaza in order to exhaust negotiations for a hostage deal. According to the report, the request was twofold: to postpone the full operation in the Strip and to allow the continuation of negotiations that began in Qatar in parallel with the operation currently underway.

In a rare and serious incident, an IDF soldier from the Nahal Brigade’s 931st Battalion was seriously injured during a fight with another soldier in a compound in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, on Motzei Shabbos, when he was struck with a weapon and beaten with a hot water kettle, requiring immediate evacuation by helicopter to a hospital.

Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the special envoy appointed by President Donald Trump to spearhead the fight against antisemitism, received an extraordinary letter of endorsement this past week from senior gedolim in Israel, both Chassidic and Litvish.
The letter, written in both English and Hebrew, expresses profound gratitude to President Trump and extends heartfelt blessings to his newly designated representative. Among the prominent signatories are Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, Rav Meir Tzvi Bergman, Rav Berel Povarsky, the Rebbes of Belz, Sanz, and Seret-Vizhnitz, as well as Rav Shaul Alter.

Family getting up: Shacharis: 9:00 am R’ Avrohom Noyach BirzenFather Mrs. Yocheved BirzenMother

A devastating aerial barrage launched by Russia pounded Kyiv and multiple other Ukrainian locations for a second straight night, resulting in the deaths of at least 12 civilians and wounding dozens more, officials reported on Sunday morning.
The magnitude of the strike stunned Ukrainian defense forces, as Russia unleashed a combined total of 367 drones and missiles. According to Yuriy Ihnat, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Air Force, this marked the most extensive aerial offensive since the full-scale war began more than three years ago.
Ihnat told The Associated Press that the attack included 69 missiles and a staggering 298 drones, many of them Iranian-designed Shahed drones.

[COMMUNICATED]
B”hEvery parent dreams of watching their child grow up healthy and happy. For Racheli, that dream was shattered the moment her youngest daughter, Gitty, was born.
Three years ago, Gitty came into the world with a rare combination of severe heart defects. From her very first breath, she was in danger.
“She was so tiny,” recalls Racheli, her voice trembling. “We were told there was no option but to fly her to Boston immediately for surgery. She was just a month old.”

The political future of Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s government hangs in the balance this week, as Gedolei Yisroel issue a firm ultimatum: substantial progress must be made by Shavuos on the legislation of a new draft law and the formal recognition of yeshiva students’ status — or the coalition risks unraveling.
In a high-stakes gathering held in Bnei Brak ahead of the state budget vote, the Gerrer Rebbe raised the possibility of voting against the budget and toppling the coalition in protest over the stalled draft legislation. The emergency meeting took place at the home of Rav Dov Landau and was attended by Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch and other leading roshei yeshiva.

Democrat party chairman Yair Golan sought to further clarify and retract controversial comments he made earlier in the week that sparked fierce criticism across the political spectrum, insisting that he never accused the IDF of killing babies in Gaza for sport.
In a Channel 12 interview, Golan unequivocally rejected the idea that he believed Israel had intentionally targeted infants in Gaza. “Certainly not,” he said when asked directly. “I wasn’t speaking about the military at all. I didn’t say that.” The former IDF deputy chief of staff emphasized that his remarks were directed at extremist elements in Israel’s political leadership, not the army.

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