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This ‘Jewish Matchmaking’ star just got engaged

A version of this article was published on Hey Alma. Light spoilers for “Jewish Matchmaking” ahead.
For Cindy Seni, the idea of getting engaged was surreal. “You go to all these weddings, you hear about all these things, but it happens to other people,” the star of “Jewish Matchmaking” told Hey Alma. “You never really feel like it’s gonna happen to you. Or at least I never felt that way.”
Well, it’s happening for her: This past July 3, her birthday, Cindy and boyfriend Eldad Cohen got engaged at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. (She is now the second cast member of “Jewish Matchmaking” to become engaged.)
Fans of Netflix’s “Jewish Matchmaking” will recall the 29-year-old Jerusalemite for her intelligence, independence and zingy one-liners like, “No abs, no Cindy” and “Putting on tefillin is hot.” Her journey on the show didn’t include finding her partner. After two dates with Daniel, a 34-year-old tech engineer from Tel Aviv, she and matchmaker Aleeza Ben Shalom had a frank conversation about emotional baggage. Together, they concluded that Cindy hadn’t completely processed a breakup from her past, and that is the last viewers see of her.
Behind the scenes, however, a different story was playing out. In May 2022, while still filming for “Jewish Matchmaking,” Cindy met Eldad through her job. (Cindy works for Brothers for Life, an Israeli organization which supports injured veterans, and Eldad is a “Brother.”) At first, the pair chatted on WhatsApp, but when Eldad was slow to ask her out, Cindy “blew him off.”
Then one day, Eldad happened to come into the Brothers for Life office.
“And I’m like, ‘Oh damn. Oh, no. What have I done? He’s so good looking,’” Cindy recalled. Later, she and Eldad more fully reconnected during a Brothers for Life retreat in Eilat, where they talked the entire night. That wasn’t their first date, though.
“Our first official date was at the Kotel [Western Wall] at Selichot,” Cindy explained, adding, “It’s just the most Jewish thing I can think of. It was really special.”
Flash-forward to last week, and Cindy had an inkling that a proposal might be coming. “I had no idea but I kind of had an idea so I did my nails,” she said.
After a birthday spa day for Cindy, arranged by Eldad, he suggested they head to the Kotel. Wanting to get out of the heat, Cindy declined and the couple went back to her apartment where he popped the question.
“I just looked at him, blank faced. And I said, ‘Why didn’t we go to the Kotel?’ And he’s like, ‘That’s your yes?’ And I was like, ‘I have nothing to say right now.’ So we ended up going to the Kotel and he did the official thing. So it was nice and I got two proposals,” she explained.
Though Aleeza didn’t set the pair up, Cindy said that the Jewish matchmaker still had an impact. At the beginning of their relationship, Cindy was nervous that her boisterous personality was too different from Eldad’s, who is more easygoing. So she called up Aleeza.
“I told her that I didn’t know if I could speak to him about philosophy or French art and literature. He’s an Israeli and I’m a woman of the world, you know? And I love going to museums, and he hates museums,” Cindy said.
She went on, “Aleeza said, ‘Do you absolutely need that in a partner? Or can you find that in someone else?’ Meaning, can you be fulfilled with going to a museum or talking about Baudelaire with like someone else? I thought about it for a second and was like, you know, I guess I don’t need it in a partner, it’s OK if I can speak with it [sic] with my sister or my friends. And she said, ‘There’s some beauty about sitting in silence with him and being OK and feeling calm.’”
From then on, the relationship was smooth sailing.
Now, Cindy and Eldad will begin actually planning the wedding. For the bride-to-be’s part, she’s hoping to have a very small wedding, around 50 people, either on a beach or somewhere in Jerusalem. What’s definite, however, is that the couple wants to have a short engagement, with the wedding likely coming in the winter. (If Cindy’s parents have anything to do with it, however, the wedding might happen even sooner, after the High Holidays.)
And if you’re wondering whether or not Eldad prays with tefillin, don’t worry, we made sure to ask that, too. Cindy smiled, laughing, before responding, “Absolutely.”
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The post This ‘Jewish Matchmaking’ star just got engaged appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Trump Hosts Qatari Prime Minister After Israeli Attack in Doha

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
US President Donald Trump held dinner with the Qatari prime minister in New York on Friday, days after US ally Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an attack in Qatar on Tuesday, a strike that risked derailing US-backed efforts to broker a truce in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-old conflict. The attack was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond as an act that could escalate tensions in a region already on edge.
Trump expressed annoyance about the strike in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sought to assure the Qataris that such attacks would not happen again.
Trump and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani were joined by a top Trump adviser, US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“Great dinner with POTUS. Just ended,” Qatar’s deputy chief of mission, Hamah Al-Muftah, said on X.
The White House confirmed the dinner had taken place but offered no details.
The session followed an hour-long meeting that al-Thani had at the White House on Friday with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
A source briefed on the meeting said they discussed Qatar’s future as a mediator in the region and defense cooperation in the wake of the Israeli strikes against Hamas in Doha.
Trump said he was unhappy with Israel’s strike, which he described as a unilateral action that did not advance US or Israeli interests.
Washington counts Qatar as a strong Gulf ally. Qatar has been a main mediator in long-running negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and for a post-conflict plan for the territory.
Al-Thani blamed Israel on Tuesday for trying to sabotage chances for peace but said Qatar would not be deterred from its role as mediator.
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Trump Urges NATO Countries to Halt Russian Oil Purchases

US President Donald Trump gestures during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, Aug. 26, 2025. Photo: Jonathan Ernst via Reuters Connect
i24 News – US President Donald Trump issued a letter to NATO nations on Saturday, impressing upon them to stop purchasing Russian oil and impose major sanctions on the regime of Vladimir Putin to end its war in Ukraine.
“I am ready to do major Sanctions on Russia when all NATO Nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO Nations STOP BUYING OIL FROM RUSSIA. As you know, NATO’S commitment to WIN has been far less than 100%, and the purchase of Russian Oil, by some, has been shocking! It greatly weakens your negotiating position, and bargaining power, over Russia,” the message read.
“Anyway, I am ready to ‘go’ when you are. Just say when? I believe that this, plus NATO, as a group, placing 50% to 100% TARIFFS ON CHINA, to be fully withdrawn after the WAR with Russia and Ukraine is ended, will also be of great help in ENDING this deadly, but RIDICULOUS, WAR. China has a strong control, and even grip, over Russia, and these powerful Tariffs will break that grip.”
Trump’s post comes after the recent flight of multiple Russian drones into Poland, widely perceived an escalatory move by Russia as it was entering the airspace of a NATO ally. Poland intercepted the drones, yet Trump played down the severity of the incident and Russia’s motives by saying it “could have been a mistake.”
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Netanyahu Says Getting Rid of Hamas Chiefs in Qatar Would Remove Main Obstacle to Gaza Deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the US Independence Day reception, known as the annual “Fourth of July” celebration, hosted by Newsmax, in Jerusalem, Aug. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that getting rid of Hamas chiefs living in Qatar would remove the main obstacle to releasing all hostages and ending the war in Gaza.
Israel on Tuesday targeted the Hamas leadership in Doha.