All About the Facts |
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God gives the 3rd Temple
Still remains the most iconic photo from this war. IDF Women in control-Muslims hate it
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![]() No more Israeli pussyfooting aroundBy Walter E. Block & Peloni 26January2025 https://www.israpundit.org/no-more-israeli-pussyfooting-around/
It is time for Israel to get serious. No, it is way past the time for the only Jewish state on the planet to flex its muscles, just a little bit.
How about this message to Hamas: take care of those hostages. For every one not returned at all, or only their dead bodies returned, we will execute 10 Hamas prisoners now in Israeli jails. Where did we get that 10 to 1 ratio? It is a nice round number. But this will not apply to any and all Hamas members who are now guests of the Israeli prison system: it will pertain only to those convicted of murder. We do not want to lower Israel standards to the barbaric level occupied by its enemies.
The Irgun was not afraid to execute two British soldiers. This heroic organization announced that hanging its fighters would result in the subsequent identical treatment of British soldiers. The Jews Avshalom Haviv, Yaakov Weiss, and Meir Nakar were executed on July 29, 1947 by the imperialist army of the United Kingdom. Subsequently, the British Sergeants Clifford Martin and Mervyn Paice were treated in the same manner.
But we need not wait for any hostages who would not be returned, alive. Six of them have already been brutally executed. RIP: Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino and Eden Yerushalmi, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov and Carmel Gat. Two of them were young women. We need more Irgun, Stern and Hagenah spirit to respond than has so far been forthcoming.
Should Israel respond to Hamas in kind? Of course not. It adheres to a higher, standard: do not kill, rape, innocent people, even though the enemy does just that. Is there nothing then that Israel can do in response to Arab atrocities such as Oct 7? There is indeed something. Israel has almost 10,000 prisoners. Many have already been convicted of crimes, most of them registering high up in the heinous scale. Israel could send out a message to Hamas: be very careful about those hostages you have seized. There will be serious repercussions.
If you kidnap someone, and he dies while under your custody, are you or are you not guilty of murder? Of course you are. That is just negligence. Putting bullets in the bodies of six hostages is far more serious than mere carelessness and neglect. It is much higher on the scale of despicability. It should be met with the utmost severity.
We need more Irgun, Stern (Lehi), Hagenah, and less Knesset.
But wait. If Israel engages in any such activity, it will be met by a harsh condemnation from the UN. The students at Harvard, Columbia, Stanford and other US universities will riot. Dearborn Michigan will be in a snit. The ICC will denounce the only civilized country in the Middle East. Fair weather friends of Israel the world over will deplore such action. And this is to say nothing of the Arab “street.” Those people will have apoplexy. Maybe an unforgiving reaction to the brutal murder of six hostages should not be undertaken?
Hogwash! Nonsense! Israel must recognize that in many regards, it is on its own. It is alone. It cannot rely on anyone else to save it. It must employ the stick, not the carrot.
On the other hand, the Knesset did just fine, very fine indeed, on June 7, 1981, in an operation called Operation Opera. That was the date upon which Israel bombed Iraq’s Osiraq nuclear reactors. It did so with sorties engaged in by F-15 and F-16 aircraft. Is Jerusalem to follow upon this important, no, magnificent initiative, with a complete absence of addressing Iran’s nuclear development? So far, no movement in this direction. Let’s get cracking!
Of course, President Biden (he is still the leader of the free world, God help us) has objected to Israeli destruction of Iranian nuclear facilities. He fears “escalation” if this occurs. Well, let me tell him a little secret: that “escalation” will be as nothing compared to the situation if and when Iran goes nuclear. They, probably, presumably, likely, God forbid, will be the second country in all of human history to use such a weapon in a war. Then, when Israel retaliates, there will be no more Iran. That is the type of escalation that can be avoided if Israel does to Iran what it did to Iraq, the views of Biden – Harris to the contrary notwithstanding.
And what’s with it that so many IDF soldiers have died, unnecessarily, while protecting Gazan civilians. No other army on the planet is so concerned with enemy civilians that they are willing to sacrifice their own soldiers. So far, 329 have perished. It is impossible to say how many have needlessly perished for this reason, but common sense would indicate that it is more than just a few. Let us be a little bit, ok, ok, a lot more, cautious about spilling IDF blood. Indeed, a policy of equitable remedy and retribution must be employed when dealing with the ongoing terror wars waged against an innocent Israeli public, and yet the question arises as to what sort of remedy might curb the murderous focus of the terror hordes such as Hamas.
“If we have to choose between being dead and pitied and being alive with a bad image, we’d rather be alive and have the bad image.” – Golda Meir
![]() “If we have to choose between being dead and pitied and being alive with a bad image, we’d rather be alive and have the bad image.” – Golda Meir “If we have to choose between being dead and pitied and being alive with a bad image, we’d rather be alive and have the bad image.” – Golda Meir
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There were huge miracles on Oct 7
Open your eyes. This war isn’t just politics. It’s spiritual.
It doesn’t make sense!
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JerusalemCats Comments: Israeli government to get $2.5–$4 billion in taxes. Google just paid for the War!Israel’s biggest ever exit: Google buying Wiz for $32b18March2025 15:28 https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-israels-biggest-ever-exit-google-buying-wiz-for-32b-1001505142 Google has confirmed that an agreement has been signed for an all-cash deal. Wiz will remain an independent company under Google.
Google is buying Israel cybersecurity company Wiz for $32 billion. In monetary terms, this is Google’s biggest ever acquisition, and the biggest ever acquisition of an Israeli company. Google has confirmed that an agreement has been signed, and states that the deal will be in cash. After the acquisition is completed, Wiz will become part of Google Cloud. “This acquisition represents an investment by Google Cloud to accelerate two large and growing trends in the AI era: improved cloud security and the ability to use multiple clouds (multicloud).” Google stresses that Wiz’s solutions will continue to work on all leading cloud platforms. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals.
Industry sources told “Globes” that Wiz co-founder and CEO Assaf Rappaport would in the future head what will become “Google Security”, an independent division that will focus on cybersecurity solutions, with Wiz becoming the basis of this activity. The sources also said that, unlike in Google’s previous bid for Wiz, this time it was agreed that Wiz would remain an independent company under Google, in a model similar to that of LinkedIn under Microsoft. This means that Wiz will be able to continue to serve all the major cloud computing companies, including Google competitors such as Microsoft and Amazon. The sources added that the current move indicated Google’s strategic intention of becoming a main player in the global cybersecurity market, a critical field given the growing threats in the digital space.
“Wiz is an innovative leader and continues to deliver new products with strong adoption, fueling rapid business growth, including over the last 12 months in which it has begun to deliver new categories of cybersecurity solutions. Google Cloud is a leader in cloud infrastructure, with deep AI expertise and a track record of industry-leading security innovation. Bringing all this to Wiz will help make their solutions even better and more scalable, benefiting customers and partners across all major clouds,” Google’s announcement states.
Wiz, which was founded in 2020 by Rappaport, Ami Luttwak, Yinon Costica, and Roy Reznik, has since grown meteorically. The company is the developer of a cloud security platform that enables enterprises to identify vulnerabilities in their systems without the need to install software or lengthy implementation. According to Wiz, its ability to provide a comprehensive, fast, and effective security solution has generated high demand among large enterprises that use many cloud platforms, and this has enabled it to reach annual revenue of some $500 million within just a few years, to raise $1 billion from investors at a valuation of $12 billion, and to build an impressive customer base that includes Fortune 500 companies.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on March 18, 2025. © Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2025.
Google buying Wiz, Israeli government to get $2.5–$4 billion in taxes
Google seals historic $30+ billion acquisition of cybersecurity startup Wiz—the largest deal in Israel’s history. The Israeli government is set to receive $2.5–$4 billion in taxes, Maariv Online reports. ![]() Open Source Intel-tweet-18March2025-Google buying Wiz-Israeli government to get $2.5–$4 billion in taxes
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Gaza goes BOOM
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BACKGROUND: What Israel has to deal with. Mein Kampf
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A Rabbi, a Priest and an Imam meet
![]() Hillel Fuld-tweet-22April2025-A Rabbi a Priest and an Imam meet
![]() So a Rabbi, a Priest and an Imam meet. The Priest accuses the Jews of killing Jesus. No, no says the Rabbi – it was the Muslims. The Imam replies, you fool, there were no Muslims 2000 years ago. The Rabbi responds, thank you, now let’s talk about Jerusalem!
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What Israel has to deal with. Hamas is worse than the Grim Reaper
[Artist: Shlomo Cohen]
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Future of JewishI can no longer forgive the Israeli Left.The Israeli Left’s unwillingness to face the truth is a betrayal that l cannot overlook anymore.
Joshua Hoffman
The grief of October 7th still haunts every Israeli soul.
It wasn’t just a failure of security or intelligence; it was a shattering of our national innocence, the brutal end of a belief that goodwill could protect us.
And yet, in the face of one of the worst atrocities in Jewish history, there are those among us — the Israeli leftist elite — who continue to point fingers not at the monsters who crossed the border with murder in their hearts, but at their own people.
I can’t forgive that.
The problem is not just Hamas. It is Israel’s own elites, the NGOs, the academic class, the so-called humanitarians — those who have spent decades undermining victory, pursuing policies of enriching and placating Palestinians based on “the hope that being nice will win reciprocal gestures.” Each has spectacularly failed. Instead of acknowledging this failure, they double down, desperate to preserve their moral vanity.
If you want to be taken seriously — truly, sincerely — then start here: No failure of the Israeli army (and yes, there was one) caused October 7th to happen. No single act of an Israeli politician caused October 7th to happen. No Israeli politician or citizen is responsible for the deaths, the suffering, the pain, the torture, the starvation, the beatings, the abuse of the hostages for every one of these last 511 days.
You’ve accused the wrong people, the wrong country. You’ve maligned the innocent, brought down generals, charged soldiers with impossible tasks, and judged our leaders as failures for not releasing hostages they aren’t holding.
There is one single entity responsible for everything: Hamas, the regime that rules Gaza with sadism and genocidal intent. The evil comes from there — and from Lebanon, Iran, Yemen, Iraq, Syria. That evil isn’t theoretical or political; it is operational, strategic, and relentless.
Could the IDF have responded faster? Probably. Did they just release detailed information about where the breakdowns were? Yes. But had there been a breakdown in communication with no attack, no one would have died. The existence of Hamas made the cost of that breakdown a massacre.
If you want to know who could have “brought them home” alive, look to the United Nations and every so-called human rights organization that sat in silence, complicit, while Israeli hostages suffered in darkness.
And if you insist on blaming the IDF and the Israeli government, then you must also hold accountable those who opened their homes to our enemy, those who lobbied for gestures of goodwill, who told the world — and our enemies — that Israel is a country of peace-loving weaklings. That we have no spine for war. That we’ll compromise endlessly, no matter how many of our children bleed.
Let’s not forget: The modern State of Israel was founded by the Left. From the Mapai Party to Labor Zionism, the Left dominated Israeli politics and society for the first three decades of the country’s existence. It built the kibbutzim, the Histadrut (Israel’s largest trade union and a powerful social movement), the socialist economy, the government-run monopolies. It laid the groundwork for the physical state — and for many of the long-term dysfunctions that would follow.
And while it deserves credit for nation-building under impossible odds, we must also be honest: the Israeli Left had no idea how to govern in the treacherous Middle East. Its view of geopolitics was naive. It believed that utopian ideals and collective farms could stand up to regional hostility, that moral posture could compensate for security vigilance, and that neighborly gestures could melt decades of genocidal intent. That illusion cost lives — then, and now.
Economically, its policies were equally disastrous. The command-and-control structure it imposed on Israel’s economy created inefficiency, corruption, and bloated bureaucracy. By the late 1970s and early 1980s, the country had been rocked by two bouts of massive inflation, culminating in a near-total economic collapse. At its worst, inflation reached over 400 percent annually. The shekel was worthless. The average Israeli couldn’t keep up with prices that changed weekly, sometimes daily.
It took a dramatic shift away from the leftist economic model — led ironically by coalitions the Left hated — to save the economy. Only when free-market principles were introduced did Israel begin its transformation into the start-up nation, a global leader in technology and innovation.
So when today’s Israeli Left speaks with such moral superiority — as if they alone understand the soul of the nation — we must remember: They have failed before, and they are failing again. They built the early state, yes, but they nearly buried it under ideological rigidity and economic mismanagement.
What’s more, the Israeli Left (a minority after all) has spent decades trying to convince the world, and the rest of Israel, that peace comes from surrender, that empathy will melt away hatred. That if we just humanize our enemy, they will stop trying to dehumanize us.
It was a beautiful dream. But October 7th killed that dream. And the Israeli Left’s unwillingness to face that truth — their insistence on mourning the collapse of their ideology more than the collapse of our safety — is a betrayal I cannot overlook.
On October 14, 2023 — exactly one week following October 7th — I said to my Israeli cousin: “Just watch, in a few weeks or months the Israeli Left will take to the streets, wailing and screaming about how the real crime isn’t what Hamas did to us, but how our own government responded. They’ll say the hostages are being forgotten, that the war is immoral, that Bibi is the devil, and that somehow, somehow, Israel is to blame for all of this.”
And sure enough — they did. Like clockwork. As if the bodies weren’t still being identified, as if the screams of that day had faded into background noise, they reemerged not with unity, but with slogans. Not with a vision for victory, but with recycled protests and righteous outrage aimed not at Gaza, but at Jerusalem.
The Israeli Left, in its current form, has not only failed to process the lessons of October 7th; it has exploited this war to reassert its own failed ideology. Every development in this war, every tragedy, every difficult decision has been twisted into another excuse to demonize the Israeli right.
The hostages — those we all pray for, cry for, march for — have become, for many on the left, not a symbol of our shared pain, but a political weapon. Instead of focusing solely on the inhumanity of those who hold them captive, they direct their fury inward, using the hostages as a bludgeon against the government, as if Israel is the jailer, not the victim.
They cheered the resignation of the Shin Bet chief not because it offered clarity or accountability, but because it gave them one more scalp in their campaign against a government they loathe — a loathing that runs deeper than policy differences. It’s not really about Netanyahu anymore. It hasn’t been for a while. It’s about the Israeli left’s total inability to reconcile with a nation that has, time and again, rejected its utopian vision in favor of realism and resilience.
In their worldview, the true enemy isn’t Hamas or Hezbollah or the Houthis — it’s the right. It’s the settlers. It’s the religious. It’s the Zionist who believes in Jewish power and defense and sovereignty. And that hatred has blinded them. It has made them incapable of unity, incapable of reflection, incapable of change.
This has nothing to do with holding leaders accountable and everything to do with salvaging a broken ideology. They do not oppose the war because they think it’s unjust. They oppose the war because it confirms what they most fear: that their decades-long program of appeasement, withdrawal, and moral relativism has utterly failed.
Ultimately, we gain nothing by blaming each other — nothing, that is, except offering our enemies a victory they could never achieve on the battlefield.
But blame is not the same as accountability. And if the Israeli Left wants to regain the moral high ground they so desperately cling to, they must start by acknowledging who attacked us, who raped, murdered, and kidnapped us — and who didn’t.
Forgiveness starts with truth. Until then, I can’t forgive you.
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To my fellow Jew on the Left – Wake up.
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Freed Hostage Eli Sharabi, Where was the Red Cross, The UN when we needed them?
![]() Im Tirtzu-tweet-20March2025-Freed Hostage Eli Sharabi-Where was the Red Cross-The UN when we needed them
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![]() How Hamas Can Be Destroyed With Military Force | OpinionPublished Mar 07, 2025 at 10:08 AM EST https://www.newsweek.com/how-hamas-can-destroyed-military-force-opinion-2041216
Recent events have reignited the debate over whether Hamas can be defeated militarily. Following President Donald Trump‘s meeting with freed Israeli hostages in the Oval Office, he warned Hamas to release all captives or face severe consequences.
He also promised to send Israel “everything it needs to finish the job.” This pledge likely includes military supplies that were previously withheld under the Biden administration—such as large-diameter bombs and bulldozer parts—items Trump promptly released after the elections. The implicit message is clear: renewed military operations aimed at dismantling Hamas are on the table.
Some argue that Hamas cannot be destroyed through military means. This assertion not only misrepresents history but also ignores the shifting political and military realities of the battlefield. Dismissing Israel’s ability to dismantle Hamas militarily fails to account for the constraints the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) faced in the past 16 months and the unprecedented opportunities it may have in the future. ![]() Israeli hostages Avera Mengistu (4th-R) and Tal Shoham (L) are flanked by Palestinian Hamas fighters as they stand on a stage during their release in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Feb. 22. OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty Images Israeli hostages Avera Mengistu (4th-R) and Tal Shoham (L) are flanked by Palestinian Hamas fighters as they stand on a stage during their release in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Feb. 22. OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty Images During the initial phase of the war, the IDF was forced to operate under significant restrictions not placed on militaries throughout history.
First, Arab nations—especially Egypt—pressured Israel to conduct military operations in a manner that left civilian populations in areas within Gaza rather than relocating them to safer zones outside the battlefield.
Hamas exploited this situation, using civilians and hostages as human shields and creating safe havens in areas the IDF was prevented from entering. Another of Trump’s proposals under consideration now is a temporary evacuation of civilians to neighboring nations, a move that could fundamentally alter the battlefield and remove one of Hamas’s key advantages.
Second, Israel faced external political constraints. The Biden administration and other international actors imposed severe limitations on IDF operations. These included withholding military aid, demands to not conduct operations in key Hamas strongholds like Rafah, unrealistic expectations of zero civilian casualties, and frequent pauses in combat due to humanitarian concerns based at times more on perception than verified data within Gaza. The IDF was even compelled to limit the scale of its operations from the beginning of the war, prolonging the conflict and allowing Hamas to regroup.
Third, the IDF’s operational focus was split. Israel had to divert substantial military resources to northern Israel to counter Hezbollah’s attacks and the persistent threats of a large-scale ground assault. Meanwhile, Israel also faced attacks from the extremist regime in Iran, as well as the Houthi insurgency in Yemen. These additional threats stretched IDF resources thin, preventing a fully concentrated effort against Hamas.
Should military operations resume, they will unfold under a vastly different set of conditions. The IDF is likely to receive increased U.S. political backing, ensuring fewer restrictions on military operations. There is a strong possibility that civilians in Gaza will be temporarily relocated, removing one of Hamas’s key defenses. Israel may also mobilize a greater number of forces than were used in the entirety of the war so far. Additionally, the IDF will benefit from battle-hardened troops, replenished supplies, and strategic adaptations made over the course of the war.
Just as importantly, Hamas is no longer the formidable force it was at the onset of the conflict. In October 2023, Hamas possessed five brigades, 24 battalions, tens of thousands of rockets, fortified defensive positions, and a well-trained leadership with decades of experience. Today, Hamas has been degraded into a guerrilla force with weakened leadership, reduced firepower, and limited capability to conduct large-scale operations. While still dangerous, Hamas lacks the centralized command structure, heavy weaponry, and defensive strongholds it once had.
To be sure, to decisively defeat Hamas, Israel will have to shift from its previous approach of raiding operations to a more methodical strategy. The IDF must fully seize and clear territory, rather than conducting short-term incursions. Notably, it was not until late 2024 that the IDF began systematically clearing portions of Northern Gaza, an approach that will need to be extended to the entire Strip. Once Hamas is militarily neutralized, Israel must ensure that the group cannot reconstitute itself, as it has in past conflicts.
This will likely require a temporary occupation of Gaza by the IDF or another security force to provide stability and prevent a resurgence of Hamas. While politically complex, securing and governing Gaza post-Hamas is essential to ensuring that a new militant force does not simply take its place.
Military success alone will not be enough. Hamas’s complete destruction—both militarily and politically—requires a clearly defined political end state. While Israel’s military actions can set the stage, Israel’s political leadership must outline a vision for a post-Hamas Gaza. Whether through direct Israeli administration, international oversight, or a Palestinian-led alternative government, the political future of Gaza must be determined to ensure that Hamas does not return under another name.
Yes, Hamas can be destroyed militarily. The constraints that once limited Israel’s ability to achieve this objective are changing, and with the right approach, Israel can dismantle Hamas’s military and political apparatus. However, victory requires not only battlefield success but also a long-term commitment to security and governance in Gaza. The opportunity is there—Israel and its allies must seize it.
John Spencer is chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute (MWI) at West Point, codirector of MWI’s Urban Warfare Project and host of the “Urban Warfare Project Podcast.” He served for 25 years as an infantry soldier, which included two combat tours in Iraq. He is the author of the book Connected Soldiers: Life, Leadership, and Social Connection in Modern War and co-author of Understanding Urban Warfare.
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![]() ![]() Nobel Laureate Yisrael (Robert J) Aumann in his office at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Feb. 23, 2025, Photo by David Isaac. Nobel laureate on terrorist release deal: ‘We’re killing ourselves’“The basis of Game Theory is to give incentives to the other side to do what’s good for you. And we keep doing the opposite. We are literally killing ourselves.”David Isaac27February2025 https://www.jns.org/nobel-laureate-on-terrorist-release-deal-were-killing-ourselves/
Yisrael (Robert J.) Aumann was awarded the 2005 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his contribution to Game Theory, a branch of applied mathematics that studies strategic interactions between individuals or groups.
Aumann has said that if he could describe Game Theory in one word, it would be “incentives.”
JNS caught up with Aumann on Feb. 23 at his offices in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he is a member of the Einstein Institute of Mathematics and The Federmann Center for the Study of Rationality, to ask what he thought of the current prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas.
The deal called for the release of 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for about 1,900 imprisoned terrorists, many of them murderers serving multiple life sentences.
In a word, said Aumann, “Crazy.”
“The basis of Game Theory is to give incentives to the other side to do what’s good for you,” Aumann told JNS. “And we keep doing the opposite. We are literally killing ourselves. We are killing our own children. It’s not only that they will kidnap more. We are incentivizing them to attack us again and again, to make war against us, to repeat Oct. 7,” he said, referring to the Hamas-led massacre of Oct. 7, 2023.
Q: Do we know the recidivism rates of these released prisoners who return to terror?
A: We don’t have the exact number. It’s important. Someone should pull together those numbers. It doesn’t even require any analysis. It’s just a matter of gathering the available data. There are a lot of sources.
When it comes to recidivism, not every terrorist attack is successful. In fact, my subjective impression is that most terrorist attacks are not successful. Most of the time, they kill the terrorist, or they stop him before he manages to kill someone.
Let’s say the number of unsuccessful attacks is somewhere between 50% to 75%. But that leaves successful ones between 25% and 50%, and if you talk about 1,000 terrorists released, we get maybe between 250 and 500 successful terrorist attacks where they manage to kill somebody, at least one person. That’s at least 250 dead for 33 live hostages.
Just on that basis alone, it’s obviously a terrible deal.
But that’s not the worst of it. The worst of it is that again and again we’re going to have people kidnapped. We’ve shown the enemy that it’s worth it, that we will completely give up and raise a white flag even if you abduct one, like with Gilad Shalit [an IDF soldier kidnapped by Hamas in June 2006 and exchanged five years later for 1,027 terrorist prisoners.]
We’ve given them incentives to go and kidnap more and more. And they’ve said they’re going to do it. They did it in the past. So we better believe them.
Q: Is Game Theory relevant to understanding this deal?
A: There’s a game that’s more or less relevant to the conflict, and that is the Blackmailer’s Game. I don’t even think that the Blackmailer’s Game is that relevant, but I’ll tell you what it is.
Anne and Bob are given $10,000 and told, “You get the $10,000 if you can agree how to split it.”
Anne is overjoyed. She says she doesn’t have that much money and $5,000 means a lot. She says, “Bob, we have $10,000— $5,000 to me, $5,000 to you.”
Bob says, “No way, I’m not leaving this room with less than $9,000.” Anne says, “Be reasonable.” He says, “I won’t go away with less than $9,000 and if you want, you don’t have to agree. We’ll both go away with nothing.” So Anne thinks it over for a while, and says, “Okay, $1,000 is better than nothing.”
And that’s how they split it. Now the trouble with that is that Anne is rational and Bob is the one who’s irrational, but the irrational guy comes out with a lot more than the rational one.
Q: If you were Israel’s chief negotiator, what would you tell the other side?
A: I would say one for one. One prisoner per hostage is the maximum. And if they say it’s out of the question, I would say, “Okay, now we wipe you out.” I would stop this hostage business. One for one, that’s my answer. And if it means that no hostages are released, so be it. Let the people in Kaplan do what they want. [The Israeli protesters calling for a hostage release deal gather near Kaplan Street in Tel Aviv.]
Q: How can Israel break this pattern of handing over enormous numbers of prisoners for a handful of captives?
A: You just change it. At the beginning, I guess they will just kill the kidnapped. Or they’ll keep them, hoping we relent. A specific part of the deal of this last exchange, stage one [of the ceasefire agreement], was that the released prisoners do not even have to sign a non-binding statement that they will not return to terrorism. That’s an explicit part of the agreement—that they don’t have to agree. So we are actually killing ourselves.
And the tremendous amount of fuss that’s made over bodies is absolutely terrible. We should give zero for bodies. Even people on the right make a big fuss about the bodies that are released. A body is a body. It’s not a person.
We should take a very tough stance, one that will probably simply be rejected by the other side. We should do this for the future. My children are no longer of army age. But I have grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and I want them to live. I’m almost 95, but I’m worried about them.
People wave these banners at the protests that say, “What would you say if it were your father?” If it was my father, maybe I’d say something different. I’m not sure. But our government has to worry not only about the people whose father is captive, but about the whole population. If we’re going to get 10 people killed for one captive released, then that’s bad.
Q: What do you think of the death penalty as a solution? If we kill all the terrorists, then there are none to exchange.
A: It’s something to consider. That’s a big step to take, and I’m not sure. The original law that there’s no death penalty in Israel except for Nazi [criminals]—in fact, it was only carried out for [Adolf] Eichmann—I think that that is good because it sets the Holocaust apart from everything else.
I’m also afraid of ourselves, of our judicial system, that this would lead to complications.
There’s something I want to say that I haven’t said before. The other side are idealists. Yes, they are terrorists and they want to kill me, but their motives are not low or degraded. They stick by their ideals, and they’re willing to give their lives for their ideals. I want to kill them, but I respect them.
Q: You have criticized the campaign of the hostages’ families as raising the price that Hamas demands for the hostages.
A: Let’s be honest. It’s not the hostages’ families. The handful of hostages’ families could never have raised the billions that this campaign cost. [There is a movement of] people who are opposed to the government. We know some of their names. [Former Israeli Prime Minister] Ehud Barak is prominent among them. This is an attempt to bring down the government, or to [force them] throw up their hands in the war, to give up. There are people here opposed to the Zionist enterprise. They want a country for all its citizens, one-state or something like that.
I would add that not all the Kaplan people are post-Zionists. But the leadership is, the people who drive it. And the others sort of go along. There are some very good Zionists there. Some of my own descendants are part of the Kaplan protests.
Q: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the Gilad Shalit deal and now he’s making another Shalit deal. How do you explain that? Why isn’t he putting a stop to it?
A: [U.S. President Donald] Trump threatened. He said before he was sworn in that there’s going to be hell to pay if there’s no deal. This was generally interpreted as a threat to Hamas, but actually it may also have been a threat to Netanyahu.
Also, one of the main people on the negotiating team was the head of the Shabak [the Israel Security Agency], who is left wing.
Now this is changing, but maybe part of the problem was that the negotiating team was no good. But it’s a small part of the problem.
Q: If we know where these deals lead, why do we keep doing them?
A: It’s a post-Zionist tendency. They actually control what’s being done. They can throw out cases; laws that are passed by the Knesset. They’re in charge of the army. They’re in charge of the police. I won’t say that they’re totally running the country. But they have tentacles and that has a lot of practical effects.
Earlier I said I respect our enemy. But I don’t respect—I won’t call them the enemy—but the other side, the post-Zionists. If they don’t like it here, they should leave.
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We lost 2,977 innocent Americans on 9/11. This is how Palestinians reacted!
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US Department of Justice Joint Task Force October 7
This isn’t just some bureaucratic memo. This is the United States Department of Justice officially launching a full-scale crackdown on Hamas and their enablers—here and abroad. The new Joint Task Force October 7 (JTF 10-7) has one mission: Hunt down, prosecute, and annihilate every piece of filth responsible for the October 7th massacre, their funders, and their counterparts. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? 🔥 Criminal charges, including capital punishment, for the October 7 terrorists Every single one of these sick freaks chanting for intifada, tearing down hostage posters, blocking Jewish students, and screaming for the annihilation of Israel? You’re not just protesting. You’re part of a terror network. And now, the U.S. government is treating you like it. The FBI, U.S. Attorneys, the Treasury, and Homeland Security are ALL mobilizing. The feds are going to go after foreign bank accounts, track every dollar funneled to Hamas, and legally obliterate the terror pipeline. If you thought you could openly call for another October 7th, fund Hamas, or harass Jews in broad daylight with zero consequences— The DOJ just put every last one of you on notice. YOU WILL BE INVESTIGATED. YOU WILL BE CHARGED. AND YOU WILL PAY.
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![]() At USAID, Funding for Terror-Tied Groups and Internal Hostility Toward Israel Goes Back YearsOne former State Department official described ‘a lack of embarrassment among some USAID staffers about being associated with terrorist organizations’![]() L:USAID Administrator Samantha Power (Alex Wong/Getty Images) R: Hamas militants (Chris McGrath/Getty Images) Adam Kredo
As the Trump administration works to shutter the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), current and former U.S. officials who worked closely with the embattled aid group say they watched for years as it funneled millions of dollars to anti-Israel advocacy groups and entities linked to terrorism.
That funding caused internal friction across multiple administrations, according to those who spoke with the Washington Free Beacon. In some cases, USAID fought to conceal how taxpayer funds were spent. And when it came to Israel, officials recalled battling USAID over funding for groups that worked to undermine the Jewish state or maintained ties to terror organizations.
“For those who believe in a strong U.S.-Israel relationship, elements of USAID have been problematic for years,” said one former State Department official who worked with USAID during the Biden administration. “There was even a lack of embarrassment among some USAID staffers about being associated with terrorist organizations.”
Some of the terror-tied funding initiatives are publicly known. In November 2022, for instance, USAID awarded $100,000 to a Palestinian activist group whose leaders hailed the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a designated terror group. Just six days before Hamas’s Oct. 7 assault on Israel, USAID handed $900,000 “to a terror charity in Gaza involved with the son of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.”
USAID’s hostilities toward the Jewish state, however, ran deeper than the agency’s grantmaking.
Under Samantha Power, former president Joe Biden’s pick to run USAID, agency officials fought pro-Israel policymaking at the State Department, often urging their colleagues at Foggy Bottom to pare down statements that praised the Jewish state, former officials said. In 2021, during a period of conflict with Hamas, Power herself refused to meet with Israel’s ambassador unless Israel reached a ceasefire with the Iran-backed terror group. The decision put Power at odds with the White House National Security Council, which had signed off on the meeting, emails obtained by the Free Beacon show.
Years later, in September, Power’s USAID accused Israel of deliberately blocking Gazan aid deliveries, which Hamas is known to steal for its own use and for black market sales that fund its terror activities. USAID staffers went as far as to urge the Biden State Department to end military aid to Israel. Former secretary of state Antony Blinken rejected the request.
“They weren’t even in line with some of the Biden administration’s policies,” the State Department official who worked under Biden and Blinken told the Free Beacon. “It’s more than just problematic grants to anti-Israel organizations. It’s also their role in the internal approval processes and statements within the administration. There’s an entire bureaucratic process they’re a part of. They carry out their obstructionist ideology on that front as well.”
The rogue nature of USAID under Power has motivated the Trump administration’s push to dismantle the agency. During his recent trip to El Salvador, Secretary of State Marco Rubio described a longstanding “frustration” with the agency, which he called “completely unresponsive.” The “level of insubordination,” Rubio said, “makes it impossible to conduct a sort of mature and serious review that I think foreign aid writ large should have.”
Federal investigations lend credence to that assessment. A January memo from inspector general Paul Martin, for example, noted that the agency “does not maintain a comprehensive internal database of subawardees.” In other words, the foreign entities that work with a primary grantee on a USAID project often go unreported, impeding the ability of agency investigators to vet “fraud allegations,” according to the memo.
Such allegations often include the diversion of taxpayer-funded aid to terrorist organizations. In a November report, for example, Martin “identified deliberate interference and efforts to divert humanitarian assistance” by foreign terrorist organizations, including “systemic coercion of aid workers by FTOs” and “FTO influence over beneficiary selection.”
Those diversion efforts are particularly pronounced in Hamas-controlled Gaza.
A February report from the Middle East Forum think tank found that USAID had awarded “millions of federal dollars” to “organizations directly in Gaza controlled by Hamas.” In one Biden-era case, USAID funded an “educational and community center in Gaza” controlled by a local group called the Unlimited Friends Association. The association openly collaborated with Hamas, inviting the terror group’s officials to its office and boasting of U.S.-funded projects in Hamas-controlled newspapers. In 2021, its director called for Jerusalem to be cleansed “from the impurity of the Jews.”
A separate report, released in January by Israeli research organization NGO Monitor, outlined millions in USAID funding for two nonprofits—Mercy Corps and American Near East Refugee Aid—that “have closely coordinated with a Gaza-based ministry, run by a senior Hamas official identified by the U.S. Treasury Department as previously responsible for part of Hamas’ smuggling operation.”
When it resumed funding for the Palestinians in 2021, the Biden State Department issued an internal warning that there was a “high risk” Hamas would steal U.S. aid. But information about terror-tied grant recipients in Gaza and elsewhere came mostly from watchdog groups. When members of Congress pressed USAID on those grants, they were often obstructed.
In a letter sent to Rubio last week, Sen. Joni Ernst (R., Iowa) detailed USAID’s “willful sabotage of congressional oversight.” The agency, she wrote, falsely claimed that certain grants were classified in a “desperate attempt to limit congressional oversight of public information.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) described similar interactions with USAID staffers. In some cases, he told the Free Beacon, USAID “refused to disclose what groups were getting money and gave tens of millions in American cash to be distributed without American supervision.”
“Before and after Oct. 7, USAID flowed uncountable hundreds of millions of dollars toward Hamas that enabled it to launch the attack and keep battling Israel afterwards,” Cruz said. “The full story of USAID funding Hamas is vast and much of it was done in secret.”
U.S. officials involved in foreign policy emphasized in interviews with the Free Beacon that, despite its many issues, USAID does fund essential work providing medicine and other lifesaving aid. Rubio has made similar statements, expressing his desire to continue funding programs “providing food or medicine or anything that is saving lives and is immediate and urgent.”
Over time, however, “more and more money flowed to groups and organizations whose work is contrary to the interests of the United States,” one official who has worked closely with USAID across multiple administrations told the Free Beacon. “How bad it got is finally coming to light and there is finally transparency.”
The Trump administration plans to scale back the agency by dissolving it and placing its core functions within the State Department, where roughly 600 current USAID staffers would work. The agency employed some 10,000 staffers when President Donald Trump took office last month.
The overwhelming majority of those staffers were set to go on leave by midnight Saturday. A federal judge blocked the action until Feb. 14, though the decision is temporary and the case is expected to go to the Supreme Court. Democratic lawmakers have vehemently opposed the cuts, arguing that they endanger millions of vulnerable people across the globe.
“People can quibble about this or that,” the current U.S. official said of the Democratic attention surrounding USAID. “But let’s not make the perfect the enemy of the good. This is long overdue.”
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Trump Vows to Deport Hamas-Supporting Students, Combat Antisemitism in America With Executive Order30January2025 | Flash Brief https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2025/01/30/trump-vows-to-deport-hamas-supporting-students-combat-antisemitism-in-america-with-executive-order/
Latest Developments
FDD Expert Response“Foreign supporters of Hamas and other designated foreign terrorist organizations do not have a right to a visa to enter the United States, and they should not be allowed to deprive the civil rights of Americans while they’re here. This is an important concrete step toward countering malign foreign influence in higher education, which should be followed with additional moves to investigate and disrupt Hamas front groups and networks providing material support to campus violence.” — Richard Goldberg, Senior Advisor
“Actions have consequences. The Trump administration is sending that message loud and clear to the disrupters who turned the quads on our nation’s university campuses into orgies of antisemitism. Jewish students are finally getting the protection they deserve.” — David May, Research Manager and Senior Research Analyst
“President Trump’s executive order is common sense policy. Those living on visas in America, taking advantage of its great education system while praising terrorists dedicated to the country’s destruction, must go. The Trump administration is taking a necessary step in combatting not only antisemitism but also foreign-inspired violent extremism.” — Aaron Goren, Research Analyst and Editor FDD Background and Analysis
“‘Student Intifada’: FBI Arrests George Mason Student Plotting Mass Casualty Attack on NYC Israeli Consulate,” FDD Flash Brief
“College Presidents Are Losing the Battle against Campus Antisemitism,” by Bonnie Glick
“Anti-Defamation League Report Card Grades 85 Universities’ Records on Antisemitism,” by Antonette Bowman<
“The Campus Antisemite’s Secret Weapon,” by Antonette Bowman |
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![]() New polling shows Britain’s failure to protect its Jews27January2025 https://antisemitism.org/new-polling-shows-britains-failure-to-protect-its-jews/ New polling of British Jews by Campaign Against Antisemitism has revealed a number of alarming insights.
The study covers how secure British Jews feel, their views on the criminal justice system and Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, where they believe threats are, their assessment of political parties and the Mayors of London and Manchester on antisemitism, their views on the BBC and universities, and more.
Being Jewish in Britain
Extremism
Policing and prosecutions
Politics
Arts and Media
Proscriptions
Universities and education
Rhetoric
Representation
Full results of the survey can be accessed here.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “As we reflect today on historic antisemitism, as a society we also have to ask ourselves: why are we doing so little about antisemitism right here, right now? The truth is that Britain and the authorities are failing the Jewish community. These figures paint a sobering picture of the lives of British Jews and their future.
“British Jews have lost trust in the criminal justice system in general, which they do not feel is protecting them, and in the Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley in particular, after he has presided over the worst surge in antisemitism in living memory, opting for excuses over action and gaslighting those who call him out. It is time for arrests and a ban on the anti-Israel marches.
“From politics to the BBC to universities, the Jewish community sees betrayal across our civil and cultural institutions. The cumulative result is that less than half of British Jews feel welcome in the UK. Antisemitism has become our nation’s great shame, and time is running out.” Fieldwork Fieldwork was conducted between 3rd and 11th June 2024. In total, 4,078 responses were obtained. Methodology Our surveys of British Jews were modelled on the National Jewish Community Survey (NJCS) conducted by the Institute for Jewish Policy research. In common with the NJCS, the samples were self-selecting, and respondents were required to self-identify as Jewish and confirm that they lived in the United Kingdom. Like the NJCS, they were contacted primarily through ‘seed’ organisations, including religious bodies, Jewish online networks (including targeted advertising on social networks), and community welfare organisations, among others. In common with the NJCS, the seed organisations were used to initiate a ‘snowballing’ process which, in effect, created a non-probability convenience sample. It was not possible to use a random probability sampling approach for this study because a suitable sampling frame for the Jewish population is not available in the UK. Fieldwork was conducted between 3rd and 11th June 2024. In total, 4,078 responses were obtained. As is the case with the NJCS, the number of unique respondents contacted cannot be determined due to the likely overlap between different ‘seed’ organisations’ supporter bases, thus we cannot estimate the survey response rate.
A key issue with an online survey is to ensure that respondents are not counted twice. To avoid this and other abuses that might affect the survey’s integrity, several measures were implemented. These included: carefully monitoring responses for unusual trends during the fieldwork phase, and assessing the completed dataset for the presence of extreme or unrealistic values (i.e. outlier diagnostics) and for the presence of unlikely combinations of values across variables (i.e. logical checks).Additionally, cookies were used to avoid respondents completing the survey more than once. Finally, respondents’ IP addresses were logged so that if a respondent deleted their cookies, multiple responses from the same IP address could still be identified. As a result, duplicate responses were kept to a minimum and ultimately, removed from the sample.
Our survey is modelled on best practice established by NJCS. All surveys have their shortcomings, and ours shares the shortcomings of NJCS. Even surveys that are based on probability sampling are typically affected by high levels of non- response. Surveys of populations lacking sampling frames, such as this one, are particularly challenging, as is establishing their representativeness. Nevertheless, because we have extremely high-quality baseline statistics available in the UK, it is possible to both accurately weight the data and make reasonable assumptions about where they may depart from the ‘true’ picture. In general, the survey samples reflect the diverse character of Jewish respondents in the UK across geographical, demographic and religious variables. Where the sample does depart from baseline characteristics, responses were weighted for location, gender, age and religious affiliation. Population estimates were based on responses to the 2021 Census in England and Wales and the 2022 Census in Scotland where that data is available, and otherwise on responses to the 2011 Census, and size estimates with regard to religious denominations were based on the NCJS 2013. The weights were calculated using random iterative method weighting by an external consultant.
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The Truth behind Gaza (Hamas) Ministry of Health Reports-October 2024
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Universities manufacture Woke Activists
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![]() Is Higher Education Redeemable?The incurable leftism of Western intellectuals who enjoy all the benefits of economic and political freedom yet dream about destroying it has been labeled “left caviar,” “champagne socialism,” or “useful idiocy.” The only viable way to cure this condition is to win the long-term cultural war.Posted by Nora Dimitrova Clinton 6April2025 https://legalinsurrection.com/2025/04/is-higher-education-redeemable/
In his incisive analysis of the three dominant ideologies in the world today, Dennis Prager remarks:
Most of our universities today favor two of these ideologies—leftism and Islamism. These two ideologies are philosophically incompatible; yet they are engaged in a nefarious collusion in order to destroy Western, and in particular, American, values.
This was a shock to me when I first arrived in the United States, after being fortunate to win a prestigious scholarship that allowed me to complete a Doctorate at an Ivy League school. I had grown up in a family of academics and felt immense admiration for the knowledge and wisdom that so many great scholars possessed.
As a Classicist, I was also somewhat sheltered from experiencing the aggressive Marxist takeover of the humanities and social sciences that currently plagues Western universities. Until recently at least, the field of Classics was dedicated to the good old traditions that shaped Western societies. It was largely spared from the pervasive leftist dogmatism that had become the norm elsewhere in higher education.
While the Classicists I was surrounded with had preserved a true academic spirit of free thought and dialogue, once I ventured into conversing with other scholars and scientists, I was astonished by their unquestioning support for anti-Americanism and Marxism—they considered such positions a matter of being enlightened and morally superior.
I debated many of them to the point of exhaustion—passionately, yet civilly, but to no avail. I couldn’t fathom how such highly intelligent and knowledgeable people could be so blind about the evil nature of socialism, leftism, and anti-Americanism. Then it dawned on me that this was the result of the confluence of several unfortunate factors.
One was undoubtedly the unrelenting communist and neo-communist propaganda that had infected our universities in a major way since at least the 1960s. The proponents of this propaganda were consciously, or unwittingly, doing the bidding of the Soviet Union and more recently China. Communists have termed this “the long march through the institutions,” which has advanced with slow, yet scary strides.
This propaganda cherry-picks and exaggerates isolated historical facts and preys on the naïve decency of many people in Western societies, who are eager to engage in a civilizational self-flagellation without realizing that the alternatives are infinitely worse.
Another factor is the narrow specialization of modern knowledge that has produced astounding expertise in extremely limited fields at the expense of general erudition and commonsense wisdom. This phenomenon has been compounded by the worshipping of technology and secular “experts” that characterizes progressivism.
The result is the proliferation of compartmentalized specialists who may know everything, for instance, about the human pinky toe, but are woefully ignorant of why America embodies the greatest principles of liberty and human governance. While the humanities and social sciences have largely replaced liberal arts education with leftist dogma and anti-American platitudes, even the STEM fields are not impervious to this ideology, reflected in blind acceptance of DEI propaganda or the cult of net zero emissions.
Another reason for the lack of wisdom and common sense that leftist intellectuals display is that many of them can afford to inhabit the ivory towers of academia and have never lived through socialist oppression, indigence, and tyranny. A number of French intellectuals who sympathized with the Soviet Union and had the foolishness to relocate there could not abandon their ideology swiftly enough after getting a sobering first-hand experience of communist reality.
The incurable leftism of Western intellectuals who enjoy all the benefits of economic and political freedom yet dream about destroying it has been labeled “left caviar,” “champagne socialism,” or “useful idiocy.”
The only viable way to cure this condition is to win the long-term cultural war—to keep educating our children, with facts and reason, to appreciate America’s ideals, to avoid the pitfalls of socialist utopias, and to understand what makes Western civilization, historically and philosophically, the best bet to ensure human flourishing.
This can be done by fostering school choice and alternatives to public schooling such as home schools, micro-schools, private, and charter schools as well as working with red states to implement a time-honored curriculum that educates children how to think independently, write well, and read the greatest works of our civilization.
At the university level, this could be achieved, as the process has partly begun, by defunding institutions that enable anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism and by encouraging students to attend traditional liberal arts colleges, which impart not only knowledge but also wisdom and virtue.
Most importantly, it is up to families and local communities to teach future generations why they should honor and preserve the great American experiment. Often simple people with good values and solid work ethic have more common sense and wisdom than sophisticated elites. As Einstein famously noted, “Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.”
Nora D. Clinton is a Research Scholar at the Legal Insurrection Foundation. She was born and raised in Sofia, Bulgaria. She holds a PhD in Classics and has published extensively on ancient documents on stone. In 2020, she authored the popular memoir Quarantine Reflections Across Two Worlds. Nora is a co-founder of two partner charities dedicated to academic cooperation and American values. She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and son.
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Masks no longer work!
@StopAntisemites
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![]() Newsweek’s Pseudo-Academic Analysis on Gaza Masks Disinformation and LiesWhen media outlets interview academic experts, news consumers deserve an in-depth analysis. But Newsweek’s attempt to do so this week, in a piece titled “Israel-Hamas war: What it Will Take to Rebuild Gaza,” is not…Rinat Harash
When media outlets interview academic experts, news consumers deserve an in-depth analysis. But Newsweek’s attempt to do so this week, in a piece titled “Israel-Hamas war: What it Will Take to Rebuild Gaza,” is not only intellectually shallow but also factually wrong and infected with personal animosity towards Israel.
Instead of asking serious questions and presenting various views, the magazine quoted biased experts whose level of analysis matched that of an average high school student on TikTok.
With subheaders that don’t require a Ph.D. — such as “Dr. Asher Kaufman: Rebuilding Gaza Will Take Years and Cost Billions, “Professor Best Dawn: Clearing the Rubble in Gaza Alone Will Take Years,” or “Professor Atalia Omer: There Is a Fear That Israel Has Rendered Gaza Uninhabitable” — the piece is an insult to common sense.
But perhaps more importantly, the magazine gave a platform to the historical revisionism of these so-called experts, who didn’t even bother doing their homework on the basic facts of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Take Oxford University anthropologist Professor Dawn Chatty, for example, who falsely claims in the article that Israel implemented military Plan Dalet in 1948 to “clear Palestine of Palestinians,” i.e. ethnic cleansing.
The deliberate misinterpretation of events in 1948 to delegitimize Israel and claim it was born in sin is not new. Historian Benny Morris has categorically debunked the claim that there was a Zionist “plan” to evict Palestinians during the War of Independence. Doesn’t Newsweek employ editors who either know a thing or two about the region’s history or are prepared to do some rudimentary fact-checking?
Take @nouraddouha who falsely claims Israel implemented Plan Dalet in 1948 to “clear Palestine of Palestinians,” i.e. ethnic cleansing. 🧵 And most Palestinian refugees weren’t forcibly expelled but fled to escape the war.
Related Reading: The Palestinian Refugees: 1948 to Today
When HonestReporting raised these questions on social media, Chatty replied by telling us to “Read Ilan Pappe,” a charlatan who admitted he didn’t care about the truth and whom Benny Morris called “at best… one of the world’s sloppiest historians; at worst, one of the most dishonest.”
Also in the Newsweek article, Chatty spread blatant disinformation by claiming that the Palestinians’ “right of return” is enshrined under international law. She conveniently ignored the fact that United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 of 1948 is not legally binding and there’s nothing in international law guaranteeing a Palestinian right to destroy Israel as a Jewish state demographically.
None of the above is surprising if one takes a quick look at Professor Chatty’s X account (formerly Twitter), which is almost exclusively full of anti-Israeli propaganda, including a post calling to suspend the Jewish state from the United Nations. She also reposted what bona fide antisemite Jake Shields — whom the ADL says “has a history of espousing a range of hateful tropes and narratives including antisemitism, anti-Zionism, the Great Replacement theory, anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and more — had to say against Israel in a tweet about the USS Liberty incident:
But Newsweek editors don’t seem to do any background checks on their experts.
They certainly didn’t do any due diligence on Professor Atalia Omer, who shared posts about “Israel’s state violence” and “apartheid.”
And Newsweek had no qualms about quoting her false claim that the ICJ deemed Israel’s actions in Gaza as “plausibly genocidal.”
Sadly, it seems no editor was able to remind her that the former ICJ president said that “[The court] did not decide that the claim of genocide was plausible.”
“The court decided that the Palestinians had a plausible right to be protected from genocide…It then looked at the facts but it did not decide that the claim of genocide was plausible.”
So what Newsweek gave its readers was nothing more than a superficial mix of biased pseudo-academic analysis and lies.
In fact, the once-respected magazine used the former to mask the latter.
Liked this article? Follow HonestReporting on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to see even more posts and videos debunking news bias and smears, as well as other content explaining what’s really going on in Israel and the region. Get updates direct to your phone. Join our WhatsApp and Telegram channels!
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Yuval Raphael – New Day Will Rise | Official Israeli entry | Eurovision Song Contest 2025
Yuval Raphael – New Day Will Rise | Official Israeli entry | Eurovision Song Contest 2025 ![]() kann-tweet-9March2025-Yuval Raphael-New Day Will Rise-Official Israeli entry-Eurovision Song Contest 2025
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![]() A better way to free the Israeli hostagesBy Madeline Brooks 20January2025 https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/01/a_better_way_to_free_the_israeli_hostages.html
There can be a moral perspective on how one deals with terrorists. Rabbi Manis Friedman says that negotiating with terrorists rewards and encourages them. According to him, it is wrong—indeed, it is definitely immoral—to reward terrorists with commuted prison sentences. Boldness, not bribes, is how one must deal with them, as the Bible instructed millennia ago.
He brings up the daring hostage rescue in 1976 in Entebbe, Uganda. Israeli commandos violated all sorts of international laws and killed the captors of the hostages—but the world celebrated the soldiers anyway because they did not negotiate with terrorists. They did the right thing, states the Rabbi. I would add that the world was also amazed by the boldness and skill of the rescue team. As for more raids in Gaza to free the captives in today’s war, since there were some successful raids, there are reports of suicide bombers surrounding the hostages, cutting short a direct approach.
Suppose your child was kidnapped, Rabbi Friedman ventures. Would you offer the criminals a reward or show them fake compassion to get your child back? No! You would have a right to be outraged. Period. The rabbi has moral clarity. He can call evil evil—and can tolerate knowing that evil exists—unlike many people who try to wish it away or explain it as a misperception or a mere reaction to a bad environment. Image: Exultant Gaza residents call for the slaughter of the Jews. X screen grab.
Ari Abramowitz, in the YouTube video The Israeli Guys, references the Bible on the current Israeli hostage problem. “Do not make covenants with evil people.” No deals, no negotiations. Exodus 23:32-33.
In the Biblical Messianic age, the hope is that all will live in peace and fellowship. But we are not there now, and it is a grave mistake for tender-hearted Jews, beleaguered as they are, to imagine otherwise. Acknowledging the bloodthirsty ways of Hamas, Abramowitz comes up with a novel way to get the hostages back home. Israel has hundreds of prisoners: murderers, rapists, beheaders, etc. All it has to do is make very public announcements in Gaza that every hour, a prisoner will be executed in a public and humiliating way until all the hostages are released. This makes sense to me because it plays to the fact that Israel has the upper hand by dint of its military might, even though, sadly, it is not using it.
And what can Israel do about changing the culture of violent Hamas? Forget curriculum changes in children’s textbooks. The problem is deep-rooted, even spiritual. It goes all the way back to warlike Ismael, Abraham’s illegitimate son.
Abromowitz states that Muslims must be proven wrong through military defeat. As Muslims expand their territory, their conviction grows that their god is strong and favors them. So they have to experience that their god is weaker than the Israeli God to accept defeat. That can happen if Jews totally crush Hamas and take Gaza back again. Here, too, Israel does have the upper hand, but it holds back out of a twisted sense of pity for the enemy.
I would add that the books of Deuteronomy and Joshua command the Israelites as they emerge from the desert to take the land of Canaan, which includes Gaza. The Lord ordered every single inhabitant killed to prevent His people from participating in the Canaanites’ “loathsome” customs. (If this sounds mean, you can argue with God, not me.)
Practically speaking, negotiating with terrorists who vow to return to jihad just as soon as they can makes Israel look dangerously weak, as if it devalues itself, inviting new attacks. The United States demanding negotiations looks weak, too. And for every Jew living in the diaspora, our lives are now even more devalued, more threatened. This can and should change.
Madeline Brooks, M.A., is the former head of the New York chapter of ActforAmerica and is a conservative and counter-jihad writer. Her articles have been published in AmericanThinker.com, CanadaFreePress.com, FamilySecurityMatters.org, and elsewhere. Her book, What You Need To Know About Islamic Jihad: Information The Main Stream Media Is Not Giving You, is available on Scribd. She can be reached at ResistJihad@aol.com.
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The world has failed… again.
The reckoning will come… it always does… but what then? If the Holocaust wasn’t enough to prevent the global ‘buy in’ to October 7 then how the hell will October 7 be enough to stop the next one? My take on the three hostages just released… and the sh_t show that got us here…
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People really need to understand the Palestinian honor/shame mentality
To Hamas, humiliation is worse than death. They project that mindset onto Israeils as well. To the Palestinian mind, humiliating Israel is what makes it a victory. Gaza could be a parking lot but they would still look at this as a win. The entire sham of swapping hostages for murderers is designed to humiliate Israel. Spreading out the releases, doing them on Shabbat, sending the wrong body insteasd of Shiri, the reprehensible festivals surrounding the release of hostages and bodies – all of it is designed to maximize humiliation of Israel. What people don’t get is that there is no ceasefire. The public shaming of the hostages on worldwide media is another phase of the war. It is a war only being fought by one side, so it is easy for Hamas to declare victory. The world media and human rights groups should shame Hamas, especially after Thursday’s stunt. But they won’t because most of them are on Hamas’ side.
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30April2025-Arab social media posts are calling Arson
Except they’re not wildfires. Arab social media posts are calling to “Make the settlers be ashes beneath your feet.” They’re BURNING THE COUNTRY DOWN. INDEPENDENCE. WAKE UP. 🇮🇱
30April2025-Three Israeli East Jerusalem Arab residents have been arrested
This is a “Regular civilian”. How would you deal?
Trees caught fire in Jerusalem, and soon after, the rain began to fall
God stands with Israel.
Israeli police officer rescues a father and child from the fires
An Israeli police officer rescues a father and child from the fires engulfing the outskirts of Jerusalem. The officer drives using one hand as he uses the other to keep the child safe. @Israel @IsraelMFA
Thank you to the countries sending firefighting planes to help Israel battle the wildfires
Regrowth begins today
📷 @AsrafEitan
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Arabs have been waging an “arson intifada” against Jews for 100 yearsElder of Ziyon 1May2025 https://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2025/05/arabs-have-been-waging-arson-intifada.html
The devastating wildfires in Israel appear to have been deliberately set.
This is hardly a surprise. Arabs have been setting fires in Israel and in Jewish areas for a hundred years.
During the 1936 Arab riots, setting fires was a popular method of attacking Jews.
Palestine Post, May 31, 1936:
Setting fires in forests became especially popular during the first intifada – you know, the one that was supposedly non-violent: From JTA, June 9, 1988:
One third of the forest fires in Israel in 1988 were deliberately set.
1989:
This pattern continued through the early 2000s and continuously to today. I reported on arson forest fires set by Arabs in 2011, 2012, 2016, and Hamas sending incendiary balloons into Israel through the late 2010s as well.
In 1936, the fires were so heartbreaking for the indigenous Jews of the Land of Israel that David Shambadal, a young electrician who was viciously murdered was found to have written a poem about the arsonists and the desire to replant all the trees that were destroyed only hours before his murder. I cannot find the original Hebrew version; it was translated into English this way:
Plant!
The vandal of the desert,
Onward, onward
Forests are falling,
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‘VonNaftali’ – Independent Pro-Israel Blog on Business&moreDefeating Hamas is not enoughNaftali Hirschl, Ph.D 20February2025 https://vonnaftali.com/2025/02/20/defeating-hamas-is-not-enough/
Israel is currently far from being able to militarily confront Hamas to the point where Hamas must surrender unconditionally. A defeat which can be called unconditional surrender aka ‘Just Victory’. But for which purpose? That Hamas will not rule anymore? No “Palestinian” state? That’s not enough.
Why is it that Hamas is not defeated? This is not only because of Biden’s and Obama’s obstruction, of the “surrender deal”, refusniks in all their shades, support by the global Left and Europe for Islamists, support by the Islamic world (from Egypt over Turkey to Iran and Qatar) for the terrorist cause, or technical incapacity (the IDF can win the war within days if the IDF is ordered and allowed to win the war), but as an additional important factor, we have to see that Israel’s elites do not have a clear strategic goal and are cum grano salis appeasers and believers of the “Connceeeeptia” and Disengagement/Containment/Oslo.
Israel’s elites do not want any fundamental change in Israel which will inevitably come when Israel wins the war. A change from a rather state-centred, socialist society – closely tied to the liberal and left circles – hijacked by the deep state and friends-bring-friends-networks to a society of more freedom (free market, freedom of speech), competition, and meritocracy. Israel urgently needs a DOGE and an Israeli version of Trump+Milei (after the war).
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![]() Massive attack averted: Bombs found on five buses in central IsraelThree empty buses explode and catch fire in a parking lot. Two additional bombs found on buses in Holon and Bat Yam.Ohevya Sharabi< Published: Feb 20, 2025, 9:23 PM (GMT+2) Updated: 11:17 PM https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/404249
Three empty buses exploded and caught fire on Thursday evening in three parking lots in Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv. Additional explosive devices were found on two buses in the nearby city of Holon.
One explosion occurred in a bus lot near the Bat Yam Stadium and the second in a lot 400 meters away.
Later a report was received about a bus that exploded in a lot near Wolfson Hospital in Holon, four kilometers away from the other two.
The words: “Revenge from Tulkarm” were found written on one of the devices.
After the explosions, bus drivers in Bat Yam received a voice message stating: “I ask all drivers who are currently on routes to stop at the nearest bus stop and search the bus. If you see a suspicious bag, please report it.”
An Israeli source said that Prime Minister Netanyahu views the incident of planting explosives on buses with great severity and will instruct the security forces to act more decisively against terrorist elements in Judea and Samaria.
Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the IDF to intensify its operations against refugee camps in Judea and Samaria in response to attempted attacks in the Gush Dan area.
“In light of the severe attempted attacks in Gush Dan by Palestinian terror organizations against Israel’s civilian population, I have instructed the IDF to increase the intensity of its operations to thwart terrorism in the Tulkarm refugee camp and in all refugee camps in Judea and Samaria. We will pursue the terrorists relentlessly and destroy the terror infrastructure in the camps, which serve as a forward outpost of the Iranian axis of evil,” Katz said.
The Bus Drivers Union published an order to all public transportation drivers to stop all operations across the country. “We call on all bus drivers in Israel to follow the directives of the security officials and the known procedures and to conduct thorough inspections of the buses while showing maximum vigilance. In case of any unusual incident report it immediately to the security forces.”
Minister of Transportation Miri Regev also ordered all trains in the country to cease operations.
Bat Yam Mayor Tzvika Brot stated: “A short time ago two explosions occurred on two buses that were in bus lots in the city, without passengers. No one was hurt in the incidents.”
The Mayor added: “The details of the incident are still unclear, and we are carrying out searches and taking precautions at this stage to ensure there are no additional threats.”
Brot later updated that three explosive devices detonated on buses in the city.
The police stated that “several reports were received regarding explosions at multiple scenes in Bat Yam involving several buses. Numerous police forces are at the scenes of the explosions, searching for suspects. Police bomb disposal experts are scanning for additional suspicious objects.”
Police Commissioner Daniel Levy arrived at the scene and was assessing the situation.
The Firefighting Service stated: “At 8:30 p.m. a report was received regarding a bus explosion in a bus lot on Amal Street in Bat Yam. Firefighting crews that arrived at the scene saw a bus completely engulfed in flames, no one was injured or trapped. The firefighters gained control of the fire quickly and without concern for the flames spreading. No one was injured in the incident.”
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20February2025-15 buses were scheduled to explode in the Tel Aviv area, along with five suicide bombers who planned to detonate themselves on the light rail
According to security sources, this terrorist infrastructure originated in Judea and Samaria. This is the consequence of releasing murderous predators into the area while confidently assuming, ‘We’ll be able to manage.’ Only God protects this country. Via @igal_malka I’m literally frozen at the moment. One of my worst fears is coming back and I’m numb
28 jihadist group operating in Judea and SamariaDeborah Corso-tweet-21February2025-28 jihadist group operating in Judea and Samaria
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Muslims Murdering Jews since 628 CE
It started in 628 CE. What do you think they mean when they chant “Khaybar Khaybar Ya Yahud?”
![]() “Khaybar Khaybar ya yahud” is the first verse of an antisemitic chant used to massacre the Jewish population in the Khaybar Oasis of modern-day Saudi Arabia in 628 CE. The full verse is: “Khaybar Khaybar ya yahud, jaish Muhammad soufa ya’oud.” It translates to “Khaybar Khaybar oh Jews, the army of Muhammad will return.”
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![]() The list of crimes committed by Muslims against Jews since the 7th centuryKsantini | 9october2023 https://medium.com/@Ksantini/the-list-of-crimes-committed-by-muslims-against-jews-since-the-7th-century-0ff1a8eb0ad0 ▪ 622–627: ethnic cleansing of Jews from Mecca and Medina, (Jewish boys were publicly inspected for pubic hair and executed if they had any) ▪ 624: after the victory of Badr, beginning of the elimination of the Jews ▪ 625: expulsion of the Jewish clan of Al Nadir ▪ 626: massacre of the Beni Khazradj Jews and division of families and loot ▪ 626? : expedition against the Jews beni Qoraizha, insulted by Mohammed: “O you, monkeys and pigs…” ▪ 626? : massacre of 700 Beni Qoraïzha Jews, bound for three days, then slaughtered above a ditch, with the young boys ▪ 626: murder of the Jew Kab, leader of the Beni Nadhir and satirist poet, and of his wife who had made fun of Mohammed ▪ 626: expedition against the Jews of Kaihbar ▪ 626: murder on the orders of Muhammad of the Jew Sallam abu Rafi ▪ 626: Mohammed had the palm trees of the Jewish oasis Beni Nadhir cut down ▪ 627: elimination of the Jewish Qurayza clan in Medina ▪ 627: massacre of the Jews of Medina; sharing of families and property ▪ 628? : attack on the Jews of Khaibar, and torture of prisoners ▪ 628? : taking of the Jewish oasis of Fadak as Mohammed’s personal property ▪ 628: submission of the Jews of Wadil Qora ▪ 628: Mohammed to the Jews beni Qainoqa: “if you do not embrace Islam, I declare war on you” ▪ 629: first massacres in Alexandria, Egypt ▪ 622–634: extermination of the 14 Arab Jewish tribes ▪ 630: submission of the Jews and Christians of Makna, Eilat, Jerba ▪ 638: expulsion of the Jews from Jerusalem ▪ 640: expulsion of Jews from Hedjez ▪ 643: expulsion of the Jews from Khaibar by Omar ▪ 822–861: the Islamic empire adopts a law requiring Jews to wear yellow stars (a bit like Nazi Germany), caliph al-Mutawakkil ▪ 940: beheading of the Jewish exilarch of Baghdad for having sullied the name of Mohammed ▪ 945: assassination by a crowd of fanatics of the last Jewish exilarch of Baghdad ▪ 948: closure of the Jewish theological school of Baghdad “Sora” ▪ 1004: Jews and Christians must wear a black turban and sash in Egypt ▪ 1009: Jews and Christians in Egypt must wear a cross or bells in the baths ▪ 1009: destruction of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem by the Fatimids ▪ 1010–1013: start of massacre of hundreds of Jews around Cordoba ▪ 1016: Jews are persecuted and driven out of Kairouan ▪ 1010: persecution of Christians, Jews and Sunnis by the Fatimid caliph Al Hakim ▪ 1032: 5 to 6,000 Jews killed in a riot in Fez and expulsion of survivors ▪ 1040: beheading of the Jewish theologian Gaon Chizkiya, head of a Talmudic school ▪ 1106: Ali Ibn Yousef Ibn Tashifin of Marrakech decrees the death penalty for any local Jew, including his Jewish doctor, and his military general. ▪ 1148: the Almohads of Morocco give Jews the choice of converting to Islam or being expelled ▪ 1057: capture and pillage of Kairouan by the Hilalian tribes; expulsion of Jews and certain Muslims ▪ 1066: Massacre of thousands of Jews in Granada in Muslim-occupied Spain ▪ 1073: start of persecution against Jews and Christians by the Turks in Jerusalem ▪ 1127: in Morocco, after the failure of the prophetic movement of the Jewish messiah Moshe Dhery, wave of persecutions and forced conversions ▪ 1142: start of persecution against the Jews by the Almohads; massacre in Tlemcen, Bougie, Oran ▪ 1145: the Jews of Tunis must choose between conversion and exile ▪ 1146: capture of Meknes by the Almohads; persecution of the Jews ▪ 1147: capture of Tlemcen by the Almohads; persecution of the Jews ▪ 1147: Almohad invasion of Spain: expulsion of Jews or forced conversions ▪ 1147: capture of Marrakech by the Almohads; persecution of the Jews ▪ 1147: start of Almohad persecutions against the Jews of North Africa ▪ 1148: start of the exodus of Maimonides fleeing the intolerance of the Almohads ▪ 1148: Almohadin of Morocco gives Jews the choice of converting to Islam or being expelled. ▪ 1152: advent of Abd el Moumin in Morocco; choice for Christians and Jews between conversion or death ▪ 1159: controversy between Maimonides and the rabbi of Fez on the attitude towards forcible converts ▪ 1160: capture of Ifriqiya by the Moroccans of Abd el Moumen; Jews and Christians must choose between death and conversion; Jews are converted by force and superficially. ▪ 1165–1178: Yemen: Jews throughout the country were given the choice (under the new constitution) to convert to Islam or die ▪ 1165: chief rabbi of the Maghreb burned alive. The Rambam fled to Egypt. ▪ 1165: flight of Maimonides to Egypt to escape the Almohads ▪ 1171: in Egypt, decree recalling obedience to ordinances concerning the submission of Jewish and Christian infidels under penalty of death ▪ 1184: the Almohads impose distinctive signs on Christians and Jews in Spain ▪ 1198: forced conversion of the Jews of Aden ▪ 1220: tens of thousands of Jews killed by Muslims after being blamed for the Mongol invasion, Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Egypt ▪ 1232: massacre of the Jews of Marrakech ▪ 1266: the tomb of the Patriarchs of Hebron is converted into a mosque and closed to Jews and Christians ▪ 1267: Mamluk Sultan Baybars forbids Jews from entering the vault of the Patriarchs in Hebron; the ban ended exactly five centuries later in 1967 ▪ 1270: Sultan Baibars of Egypt resolved to burn all the Jews, a ditch having been dug for this purpose; but at the last moment he repented and instead demanded a heavy tribute, in which many perished. ▪ 1270: widespread segregation of Jews in Andalusia ▪ 1276: 2nd pogrom of Fez, Morocco ▪ 1284: In Baghdad, the Jewish doctor Ibn Kammuna died locked in a trunk after writing “a book in which he showed irreverence towards the prophecies”; he escapes a lynching and is threatened with the stake ▪ 1291: death of the converted Jew Sad al Dawla, grand vizier of Argun Khan in Iran, a rank which provoked the anger of the Muslim court ▪ 1291: forced conversion of the Jews of Tabriz in Persia ▪ 1301: start of the persecution of the Jews in Egypt ▪ 1318: beheading of Rashid aldin Tabid, historian and Persian minister, Jewish convert who provoked the anger of Muslim elites ▪ 1318: forced conversion of the Jews of Tabriz in Persia ▪ 1333: forced conversion of the Jews of Baghdad ▪ 1333: the traveler Ibn Battuta complains that Djenkchi Khan djagataï allows Jews and Christians to repair their places of worship ▪ 1334: forced conversion of the Jews of Baghdad ▪ 1344: forced conversion of the Jews of Baghdad ▪ 1351: trial of Jews (in Cairo?) accused of desecration, who must choose between conversion or death ▪ 1385 : Massacres du Khorasan, Iran ▪ 1390: foundation of the first Jewish ghetto in Fez ▪ 1391: in Morocco, persecution of Jews from Spain ▪ 1438: creation of ghettos for Jews in the cities of Morocco, under the name “mellah” ▪ 1438: 1st massacres in the Mellah ghetto, North Africa ▪ 1448: in Egypt, decree recalling obedience to ordinances concerning the submission of Jewish and Christian infidels under penalty of death ▪ 1450: trial of Jews accused of having written the name of Mohammed in their synagogue in Fustat; they are converted by force ▪ 1465: In Fez, pogroms after the discovery in the Jewish quarter of the tomb of the city’s founder, a descendant of Mohammed…; Jews are forced to move to the ghetto (11 Jews left alive) ▪ 1492: Jewish community of Touat in Morocco is massacred; synagogues destroyed ▪ 1516: Algerian Jews receive the official status of dhimmi from the Ottomans; certain colors are forbidden to them (red and green); they are not allowed to ride horses or carry weapons; they must pay the discriminatory tax; their representative is ritually slapped during the delivery of tribute to the authorities ▪ 1517: 1st pogrom in Safed, Ottoman Palestine ▪ 1517: 1st pogrom of Hebron, Ottoman Palestine ▪ Massacre of Marsa ibn Ghazi, Ottoman Libya ▪ 1521: expulsion of Jews from Belgrade by the Ottomans ▪ 1524: expulsion of Jews from Buda in Hungary by the Ottomans ▪ 1535: pogrom then expulsion of Jews from Tunisia ▪ 1554: looting and persecution against the Jewish population of Marrakech by the Turks who took the city ▪ 1574: civil war in Morocco between three claimants; Jews are victims of all camps ▪ 1577: Passover massacre, Ottoman Empire ▪ 1588–1629 : pogroms of Mahalay, Iran ▪ 1604: start of a period of famine, violence and forced conversions of the Jewish population of Fez: 2000 conversions in 2 years ▪ 1608: persecution for two years of the Jews of Taroudat by the Berbers ▪ 1622: forced conversion of the Jews of Persia ▪ 1630–1700: Yemenite Jews were considered “impure” and therefore forbidden to touch a Muslim or a Muslim’s food. They were obliged to humble themselves before a Muslim, walk on the left side and greet him first. They could not build houses taller than those of a Muslim or ride a camel or horse, and when riding a mule or donkey, they had to sit on the side. When entering the Muslim quarter, a Jew had to take off his shoes and walk barefoot. If attacked with stones or fists by Muslim youths, a Jew was not allowed to defend himself. ▪ 1650: Jews from Tunisia are deported to special neighborhoods called “hara” ▪ 1650: forced conversion of the Jews of Persia, under Shah Abbas II ▪ 1656: Jews expelled from Isfahan in Iran ▪ 1660: 2 pogroms in Safed and Tiberias, Ottoman Palestine ▪ 1670: Expulsion of Mawza, Yemen ▪ 1676: expulsion of Jews from Sanaa in Yemen ▪ 1678: forced conversion of Jews in Yemen ▪ 1679–1680: Sanaa massacres, Yemen ▪ 1700: massacre of Jews in Yemen ▪ 1747 : Massacres de Mashhad, Iran ▪ 1758: executions of a Jew and an Armenian in Constantinople for violation of the legislation on the clothing of infidels ▪ 1770: expulsion of Jews from Jeddah in Arabia ▪ 1785 : Tripoli Porom, Libya ottomane ▪ 1790–92: Pogrom of Tetouan. Morocco (Jews of Tetouan undressed and lined up) ▪ 1790: destruction of most of the Jewish communities in Morocco ▪ 1800: new decree adopted in Yemen, prohibiting Jews from wearing new or good clothes. Jews were forbidden to ride mules or donkeys, and were sometimes rounded up for long, naked marches through the Roob al Khali desert. ▪ 1805: 1st pogrom in Ottoman Algeria against the Jews of Algiers after a famine. French consul Dubois-Thainville saves 200 Jews by sheltering them in his consulate. ▪ 1805: exile of Jews from Algiers to Tunis and Livorno ▪ 1805, the leader of the Jewish Nation of Algiers, Naphthalie Busnach, is killed while riots ravage the neighborhoods. ▪ 1806: expulsion by fatwa of the Jews of Sali in Morocco ▪ 1806: ban on Moroccan Jews wearing Western clothing ▪ 1806: the janissaries of the dey of Algiers massacre and pillage in the Jewish quarter ▪ 1807: expulsion of Jews from Tetouan ▪ 1808: 1st massacres in the Mellah ghetto, North Africa ▪ 1815, the chief rabbi of Algiers, Isaac Aboulker, is beheaded during a riot. ▪ 1815: the Jews of Algiers are forced to fight against an invasion of locusts ▪ 1815: 2nd pogrom of Algiers, Ottoman Algeria ▪ 1816: in Algeria, ban on carrying weapons for Jews and Christians ▪ 1820: Massacres of Sahalu Lobiant, Ottoman Syria ▪ 1828 : pogrom de Baghdad, Iraq ottoman ▪ 1830: 3rd pogrom of Algeria, Ottoman Algeria ▪ 1830: start of the persecution of Jews in Persia, caused by the Russian advance in the Caucasus ▪ 1830: ethnic cleansing of Jews in Tabriz, Iran ▪ 1834: 2nd pogrom of Hebron, Ottoman Palestine ▪ 1834 : Pogrom de Safed, Palestine ottomane ▪ 1838: Druze attack in Safed, Ottoman Palestine ▪ 1839: Massacre of the Mashadi Jews, Iran ▪ 1839: forced conversion of surviving Jews from Mashadi ▪ 1839: campaign of forced conversions of Iranian Jews ▪ 1840: persecution of the Jews of Damascus; ritual murder case ▪ 1840: forced conversion of the Jews of Mashadi ▪ 1841: massive murders of Jews in Morocco; the sultan is obliged to consider the Jews as his personal property, which helps to protect them ▪ 1840: Damascus, ritual murders (French Muslims and Christians kidnapped, tortured and killed Jewish children for entertainment), Ottoman Syria ▪ 1844: 1st Cairo massacre, Ottoman Egypt ▪ 1847: Dayr al-Qamar Pogrom, Liban ottoman ▪ 1847: ethnic cleansing of Jews in Jerusalem, Ottoman Palestine ▪ 1848: 1st pogrom of Damascus, Syria ▪ 1848: total disappearance of the Jews of Mashhad ▪ 1850: 1st pogrom of Aleppo, Ottoman Syria ▪ 1854: anti-Jewish pogrom in Demnate, Morocco ▪ 1857: beheading in Tunis of the Jewish coachman Batou Sfez, accused of blasphemy, while he was drunk ▪ 1860: 2nd pogrom of Damascus, Ottoman Syria ▪ 1862: 1st pogrom of Beirut, Ottoman Lebanon ▪ 1866 : pogrom at Kuzguncuk, Turquie Ottomane ▪ 1867: Barfurush massacre, Ottoman Türkiye ▪ 1868: Eyub Pogrom, Ottoman Türkiye ▪ 1869: Massacre of Tunis, Ottoman Tunisia ▪ 1869: Massacre of Sfax, Ottoman Tunisia ▪ 1864–1880: Marrakech massacre, Morocco ▪ 1870: 2nd Alexandria massacres, Ottoman Egypt ▪ 1870: 1st pogrom in Istanbul, Ottoman Türkiye ▪ 1871: 1st Damanhur massacres, Ottoman Egypt ▪ 1872: Massacres in Edirne, Ottoman Türkiye ▪ 1872: 1st pogrom of Izmir, Ottoman Türkiye ▪ 1873: 2nd massacre of Damanhur, Ottoman Egypt ▪ 1874: 2nd pogrom of Izmir, Ottoman Türkiye ▪ 1874: 2nd pogrom of Istanbul, Ottoman Türkiye ▪ 1874: 2nd pogrom of Beirut, Ottoman Lebanon ▪ 1875: 2 pogroms in Aleppo, Ottoman Syria ▪ 1875: Massacre on the island of Djerba, Ottoman Tunisia ▪ 1877 : 3e massacre de Damanhur, Egypte ottomane ▪ 1877: Pogrom of Mansura, Ottoman Egypt ▪ 1882: Massacre of Homs, Ottoman Syria ▪ 1882: 3rd massacre of Alexandria, Ottoman Egypt ▪ 1889: after the funeral of a rabbi, deemed too discreet, the Jewish cemetery of Baghdad was confiscated ▪ 1889: looting of the Jewish quarter of Baghdad ▪ 1890: 2nd Cairo massacre, Ottoman Egypt ▪ 1890, 3e pogrom de Damas, Syrie ottomane ▪ 1891: 4th massacre of Damanahur, Ottoman Egypt ▪ 1897: murders in Tripoli, Ottoman Libya ▪ 1903&1907: Taza & Settat, pogroms, Morocco ▪ 1890: Massacres of Tunis, Ottoman Tunisia ▪ 1901–1902: 3rd Cairo massacre, Ottoman Egypt ▪ 1901–1907: 4th Alexandria massacres, Ottoman Egypt ▪ 1903: 1st Port Said massacres, Ottoman Egypt ▪ 1903–1940: Pogroms of Taza and Settat, Morocco ▪ 1904: massacre of Jews in Yemen ▪ 1907: Casablanca, pogrom, Morocco ▪ 1908: 2nd Port Said massacre, Ottoman Egypt ▪ 1909: comment from the British vice-consul of Mosul: “The attitude of Muslims towards Christians and Jews is that of a master towards his slaves.” ▪ 1910: blood libel of Shiraz ▪ 1911: Shiraz pogrom ▪ 1912: 4th Fez, Pogrom, Morocco ▪ 1914: expulsion of Jews from Palestine old enough to bear arms by the Ottomans ▪ 1917: Jewish Inquisition of Baghdadi, Ottoman Empire ▪ 1918–1948: adoption of a law prohibiting the raising of a Jewish orphan, Yemen ▪ 1920: Irbid massacres: British mandate in Palestine ▪ 1920–1930: Arab riots, British Mandate Palestine ▪ 1921: 1st Jaffa riots, British Mandate Palestine ▪ 1922: Massacres of Djerba, Tunisia ▪ 1922: law of forced conversion of orphans in Yemen, concerning Jews including as adults ▪ 1927: 60 Jews killed by Arabs in the Mellah of Casablanca Morocco ▪ 1928: Massacres of Ikhwan, in Egypt and under British mandate in Palestine. ▪ 1928: Jewish orphans sold into slavery and forced to convert to Islam by the Muslim Brotherhood, Yemen ▪ 1929: anti-Jewish riots, British mandate: in August 1929, the Jews demanded the construction of the Western Wall; pogroms in Jerusalem, Hebron, Safed. To stop the violence, the British reject this request ▪ 1929: 3rd Hebron Pogrom under British Mandate Palestine. ▪ 1929 3e pogrom de Safed, mandate britannique Palestine. ▪ 1933: 2nd Jaffa riots, British mandate in Palestine. ▪ 1934: Anti-Jewish pogrom in Constantine Algeria. 200 Jewish stores were raided, the total material damage was estimated at more than 150 million francs. It also sent a quarter of Constantine’s Jewish population into poverty. ▪ 1934: Pogroms in Thrace, Türkiye ▪ 1934: 1st massacres in Farhud, Iraq ▪ 1936: 3rd Jaffa riots, British Mandate Palestine ▪ 1936: 2e massacre of Farhud, Irak ▪ 1938: boycott of Jews in Egypt ▪ 1939: discovery of 3 bombs in synagogues in Cairo ▪ 1941 : 3e massacre de Farhud, Iraq ▪ 1941: persecution of Jews in Libya ▪ 1941: massacre of Jews in Baghdad, with the support of the authorities: approx. 170 dead ▪ 1942: collaboration of the mufti with the Nazis. Plays a role in the final solution ▪ 1942: Struma disaster, Türkiye ▪ 1942: Nile Delta pogroms, Egypt ▪ 1938–1945: Arab collaboration with the Nazis ▪ 1942: discriminatory tax law of Varlik Vergisi in Turkey against Jews and Christians ▪ 1942: looting of Jewish property in Benghazi and deportation to the desert ▪ 1944: attack on the Jewish quarter of Damascus ▪ 1945: anti-Jewish and anti-Christian riots in Egypt; churches and synagogues destroyed ▪ 1945: 4th Cairo massacre, Egypt ▪ 1945: Pogrom of Tripoli, Libya ▪ 1947: segregation measures against Jews in Egypt ▪ 1947: pogrom in Libya; approx. 130 dead ▪ 1947 : Pogroms d’Aden au Yemen ▪ 1947: 3rd pogrom d’Alep, Syrie ▪ 1948: “emptying” of the Jewish quarter of Damascus, Syria ▪ 1948: 1st Arab-Israeli war (1 Jew killed in 100) ▪ 1948 : Oujda & Jerada Pogroms, Morocco ▪ 1948: 1st Libyan Inquisition of the Jews ▪ 1948: attacks by the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood against Jewish traders ▪ 1950: massive departure of Jews from Arab countries ▪ 1951: 2nd Libyan Inquisition of the Jews ▪ 1952: anti-Jewish and anti-Christian pogroms in Suez ▪ 1954: assassinations and attacks in Algeria affecting the Jewish community, the desecration and destruction of 30 synagogues are attributed to Muslim populations. ▪ The desecration in 1960 of the synagogue of Algiers as well as the cemetery of Oran, ▪ 1954: Massacre of Sidi Kacem. 6 Jews were beaten and then burned alive with their children. ▪ 1955: anti-Jewish and Christian riots in Türkiye; looting of churches and Jewish stores ▪ 1955: attack on the rabbi of Batna, ▪ 1956: fire in a synagogue in Oran, ▪ 1956: in response to the attack on Suez, Nasser expels almost all Jews from Egypt, around 90,000 people, and confiscates their property ▪ 1957: murder of the rabbi of Nedroma, ▪ 1957: murder of the rabbi of Médéa, ▪ 1957–1962: attacks in the Jewish neighborhoods of Oran and Constantine. ▪ 1961: grenade thrown into a synagogue in Boghari, Bousaada, ▪ 1961: ransacking of the Casbah synagogue in Algiers, ▪ September 2, 1961, the assassination of a Jewish hairdresser in Oran and anti-Jewish attacks ▪ 1955 : 3rd pogrom d’Istanbul, Turkey ▪ 1955: anti-Jewish riots in Izmir ▪ 1956: 1st Egyptian Inquisition of the Jews ▪ 1956: in response to the attack on Suez, Nasser expels tens of thousands of Jews and confiscates their property ▪ 1960: a Saudi newspaper describes Eichmann: “the man who can be proud of having killed five million Jews” ▪ 1961: in Algeria, assassination of Jewish musician Sheik Raymond ▪ 1962: desecration of the Jewish cemetery of Oran ▪ 1962 : pogrom d’Oran ▪ July 5, 1962, a few days after the independence of Algeria, between 900 and 1,300 Europeans, notably Jews, were massacred in Oran. ▪ 1964: the Egyptian army weekly notes: “In essence, the Jew has no qualifications to bear arms.” ▪ 1965: the Egyptian military manual presents the war against Israel as a jihad and quotes the Koran: “kill them wherever you reach them” ▪ 1965: wave of anti-Semitism in Algeria; flight of the Jewish community ▪ 1965: pogrom in Aden ▪ 1965: 5th pogrom in Fez, Morocco ▪ 1967: 2nd Egyptian Inquisition of the Jews ▪ 1967: Egyptian Jews are herded into camps during the Six Day War ▪ 1967: pogrom in Libya during the Six Day War ▪ 1967: pogroms in Tunisia ▪ 1967: the World Islamic Congress in Amman declares that Jews living in Arab countries must be considered “mortal enemies” ▪ 1967: pogrom in Aden ▪ 1967: arson of the great synagogue of Tunis ▪ 1967: riots in Tunis, Tunisia ▪ 1967: World Islamic Congress in Jordan; it was decided that all Muslim governments must treat Jews “as mortal enemies”. ▪ 1967: publication in Egypt of the anti-Semitic text “The Protocol of the Elders of Zion” ▪ 1967: pogrom and looting of Jewish stores in Tunisia ▪ 1969: Khomeini delivers thirteen speeches in Najaf which will be the basis of his book “The Islamic Government”; he develops the theme of hatred of Jews, accused of conspiring against Islam everywhere ▪ 1969: execution of Jews in Baghdad ▪ 1970: flight SR-330 Zurich — Tel Aviv crashes in a forest near Würenlingen, killing all 47 occupants. A bomb planted by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine exploded 9 minutes after takeoff ▪ 1979: start of the flight of 200,000 Iranian Jews after the Islamist revolution. Strangely, Palestinians have historically never been involved in any massacre of Jews — because they never existed before the 1960s. Research by JP Grumberg Originally published on June 30, 2022 & Updated on July 20, 2023 Translated to English by XR Ksantini
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Nakba of Germans in Prussia not just Palestinians.The Potsdam Conference Agreement. Where are the keys to houses in Breslau?
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![]() Potsdam ConferenceWorld War IIWritten and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Potsdam Conference, (July 17–August 2, 1945), Allied conference of World War II held at Potsdam, a suburb of Berlin. The chief participants were U.S. President Harry S. Truman, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (or Clement Attlee, who became prime minister during the conference), and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin.
The conferees discussed the substance and procedures of the peace settlements in Europe but did not attempt to write peace treaties. That task was left to a Council of Foreign Ministers. The chief concerns of the Big Three, their foreign ministers, and their staffs were the immediate administration of defeated Germany, the demarcation of the boundaries of Poland, the occupation of Austria, the definition of the Soviet Union’s role in eastern Europe, the determination of reparations, and the further prosecution of the war against Japan. The amity and good will that had largely characterized former wartime conferences was missing at Potsdam, for each nation was most concerned with its own self-interest, and Churchill particularly was suspicious of Stalin’s motives and unyielding position.
The Potsdam Conference’s Declaration on Germany stated, “It is the intention of the Allies that the German people be given the opportunity to prepare for the eventual reconstruction of their life on a democratic and peaceful basis.” The four occupation zones of Germany conceived at the Yalta Conference were set up, each to be administered by the commander-in-chief of the Soviet, British, U.S., or French army of occupation. Berlin, Vienna, and Austria were also each divided into four occupation zones. An Allied Control Council made up of representatives of the four Allies was to deal with matters affecting Germany and Austria as a whole. Its policies were dictated by the “five Ds” decided upon at Yalta: demilitarization, denazification, democratization, decentralization, and deindustrialization. Each Allied power was to seize reparations from its own occupation zones, although the Soviet Union was permitted 10–15 percent of the industrial equipment in the western zones of Germany in exchange for agricultural and other natural products from its zone.
Poland’s boundary became the Oder and Neisse rivers in the west, and the country received part of former East Prussia. This necessitated moving millions of Germans in those areas to Germany. The governments of Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria were already controlled by communists, and Stalin was adamant in refusing to let the Allies interfere in eastern Europe. While in Potsdam, Truman told Stalin about the United States’ “new weapon” (the atomic bomb) that it intended to use against Japan. On July 26 an ultimatum was issued from the conference to Japan demanding unconditional surrender and threatening heavier air attacks otherwise. After Japan had rejected this ultimatum, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The protocols of the Potsdam Conference suggested continued harmony among the Allies, but the deeply conflicting aims of the Western democracies on the one hand and the Soviet Union on the other in fact meant that Potsdam was to be the last Allied summit conference.
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2March2025-Israel is halting humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip
Everyone is going to go crazy, and a lot of so-called “experts” will claim that this is a war crime. Here is a US Department of Defense Laws of War manual, quoting the Geneva Conventions Article 23, that says that sieges are legal even if they affect the civilian population when the enemy diverts the aid or when it helps the economy of the enemy. International law allows Israel to cut off everything to Gaza when Hamas acts the way it has for the past 16 months, diverting and reselling aid to pay for its operations.
Go to page 354 of the Manual: DoD Law of War Manual – June 2015 Updated Dec 2016
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9March2025-Israel stopped the transmission of electricity to Gaza
Israel just stopped the transmission of electricity to Gaza! About time!! 💪
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Happy Women’s Day to Iranian women.Imtiaz Madmood-tweet-8March2025-Happy Women’s Day to Iranian women.
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UPDATE: March2025 Hamas War18March2025-Israeli Air Force took out hundreds of Hamas terrorists
Sound on. Enjoy the show.
19March2025-The IDF ground operation in Gaza has just begun
The IDF ground operation in Gaza has just begun. The IDF confirms it has launched “pinpoint” ground operations in the central and southern Gaza Strip, which it says is aimed at expanding its buffer zone. Troops of the 252nd Division entered the Netzarim Corridor area, capturing around half of it, up to the Salah a-Din road. At the same time, the IDF says it deployed the Golani Brigade to the southern part of the Gaza border, readying themselves for future actions in the Strip. Please say this prayer for our warriors! He Who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — may He bless the fighters of the Israel Defense Forces, who stand guard over our land and the cities of our God, from the border of the Lebanon to the desert of Egypt, and from the Great Sea unto the approach of the Aravah, on the land, in the air, and on the sea. May the Almighty cause the enemies who rise up against us to be struck down before them. May the Holy One, Blessed is He, preserve and rescue our fighters from every trouble and distress and from every plague and illness, and may He send blessing and success in their every endeavor. May He lead our enemies under our soldiers’ sway and may He grant them salvation and crown them with victory. And may there be fulfilled for them the verse: For it is the Lord your God, Who goes with you to battle your enemies for you to save you.
20March2025-ELIMINATED: Hamas’ General Security Forces
This unit was responsible for exposing “collaborators”, safeguarding senior Hamas members and assets within Gaza and abroad, and suppressing opposition to Hamas’ rule. Additionally, it operates to produce intelligence assessments that enable senior Hamas officials to plan and execute terror attacks against the State of Israel. In addition to his role, Jahjuh also oversaw Hamas’ propaganda efforts aimed at shaping public opinion in Gaza.
IDF intends to evacuate all residents of the Gaza Strip
This time, the IDF intends to evacuate all residents of the Gaza Strip to a newly established humanitarian zone designated for long-term stay. The area will be enclosed, and anyone entering will be screened to ensure they are not terrorists. The IDF will not allow the population to refuse evacuation this time—anyone remaining outside the humanitarian zone will be considered a combatant. The plan has U.S. backing. The IDF has deployed ground forces to block the Salah al-Din route and has begun retaking control of the Netzarim corridor. I would dare to say that these are early signs of a ground maneuver.
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UPDATE: June2025 Hamas War
Deep concern, bordering on panic, has spread through Hamas’ upper ranks, according to senior Israeli officials, after the extent of the damage to Iran became clear. The organization’s strategic rear, its training base and source of power, has been significantly weakened at a critical moment. The fear preventing significant Israeli action against Iran has been shattered, just as the population’s fear of Hamas has significantly cracked. Of course, as is typical in Gaza, this doesn’t necessarily indicate impending flexibility or surrender on Hamas’ part. Indeed, Israel’s mission to destroy terror infrastructure has continued even as Iranian missile interceptions were visible up above. The main shift in the Gaza operation, under the current command, is in the emphasis within the IDF’s framework of infrastructure-territory-terrorists. Under the previous IDF General Staff, due to manpower limitations, the focus was on the terrorists, around 20,000 of whom were eliminated in raids. The problem was that, in the territory cleared by Israel’s military, new terrorists returned—even if less trained—while the terror infrastructure was barely affected. This time, the emphasis is on territory and infrastructure. The IDF is staying in every area it conquers, destroying the tunnels underneath and all houses above. The rationale is this: Gaza will never lack young men filled with hate, nor will it lack Kalashnikovs. But if the Philadelphi Corridor remains blocked, a destroyed tunnel can’t be rebuilt, and a demolished house will no longer serve as a hideout for a Hamas cell. Such operations necessarily move at a much slower pace, but the claim is that afterward, terrorists will have nowhere to return to. Strategic tunnels that had survived the entire war are now being destroyed. According to IDF Southern Command, they are north-south and east-west arteries through which the terrorists moved. On top of that, 75% of Gaza’s population is now concentrated in 25% of the strip’s territory, and the operation is not even halfway complete. Three things are deeply worrying Hamas’ leadership—or at least what’s left of it—these days. First, the distribution of aid by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Unlike the original plan, it’s not being carried out via registration or in sterile, Hamas-free zones. But the fact that a million meals a day are being distributed—meals that the GHF does not store in warehouses and does not tax—weakens Hamas’ iron grip over the population. Second, Palestinian clans have begun approaching the IDF to discuss local governance. Not thousands, not even hundreds—but the early signs are visible. Hamas’ final worry is the IDF’s intelligence breakthrough, as demonstrated by the retrieval of eight hostages’ bodies in recent weeks. Evidently, Israel has uncovered crucial information—and the results are tangible. Hamas’ hope is that the price in blood—20 IDF soldiers have been killed since the beginning of June—will sour the Israeli public on the operation and force a hostage release deal on Hamas’ terms. Some in Hamas have even concluded from the war with Iran that now, of all times, Trump will pressure Israel to end the fighting in Gaza. Either way, Hamas’ time is running out—as is Israel’s time to complete the operation. We’ll see which clock runs out first. And don’t forget: we haven’t even begun to talk about the hostages’ time.
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Israel will execute Hamas prisoners
Rumors say Hamas threatened to execute hostages. And the formula? It’s not 1 for 1. Insiders say this message is mild. This is a new era. The rules have changed. In the past, Israel avoided the death penalty for terrorists—but after October 7, the rules have changed. 🔹 Military tribunals – Israeli military courts now have the authority to impose the death penalty for severe terrorism and war crimes. The message is clear: Those who once acted without consequence now face an unprecedented response.
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![]() Israeli Cabinet votes to stop Palestinian takeover of Judea and SamariaIsraeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the decision was part of his “normalization and de facto sovereignty revolution” in Judea and Samaria.Akiva Van Koningsveld https://www.jns.org/israeli-cabinet-votes-to-stop-palestinian-takeover-of-judea-and-samaria/
(12May2025 / JNS) The Israeli Cabinet voted on Sunday to back a series of “revolutionary” measures aimed at stopping what it said was the Palestinian Authority-led takeover of lands in Judea and Samaria, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced.
Sunday night’s vote “nullifies the P.A.’s attempts to seize land in Area C and, under the leadership of the Ministry of Defense, will lead to an arrangement for registering land in Judea and Samaria,” stated Katz.
The move “will lead to the strengthening, consolidation and expansion” of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, he continued, adding that the current war proves that “settlement in Judea and Samaria is a defensive shield for population centers in the center of Israel.”
Jerusalem “must do everything to protect and strengthen those who defend Israel’s communities and citizens,” said Katz.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the government’s latest decision was part of his “normalization and de facto sovereignty revolution.”
“For the first time, the State of Israel is taking responsibility for the territory as a permanent sovereign, and is beginning the implementation of land registration in Judea and Samaria,” he said.
“Land registration will create legal certainty, enable land reserves for the development of settlements, and prevent P.A. efforts to take control of open areas,” concluded Smotrich, who also holds a post in the Defense Ministry with responsibility for civilian matters in Judea and Samaria.
The Cabinet resolution declares that Ramallah’s attempts to create a land registry in Area C, which according to the Oslo Accords is under Jerusalem’s exclusive control, will no longer hold any legal standing.
Accordingly, P.A. documents—including maps and approvals—will no longer be used in any Israeli legal or administrative processes.
The Jewish state’s defense establishment will also be instructed to take other measures to prevent the continuation of the P.A. land registration campaign, including by blocking Ramallah’s staff from accessing areas, obstructing European Union and other foreign support and issuing a direct demand that Ramallah halt its activities in this regard.
Israel’s Regavim movement, co-founded by Smotrich and which has been at the forefront of the fight against illegal construction in Judea and Samaria, hailed the move as “a pivotal advancement in addressing a longstanding challenge.”
“For years, Israel stood idle while the Palestinian Authority aggressively pursued land registration, deploying hundreds of workers and funneling millions of dollars from international sources,” it charged in a statement.
On April 1, Katz and Smotrich vowed to put an end to what they said was the Palestinians’ scheme to seize land across Judea and Samaria.
“The State of Israel will not abandon the security of the residents and will not allow Abu Mazen and the Palestinian Authority to use illegal construction as a tool to create a strategic threat to the communities,” declared Katz, referring to P.A. chief Mahmoud Abbas.
Smotrich noted that in the past year, a record number of illegal structures put up by the P.A. were demolished.
“However, we understand that in order to win this battle, additional strategic measures must be employed to bring about the desired transformation,” added the Religious Zionism Party leader.
Smotrich during his tenure has sought to foil the realization of the P.A.’s Fayyad Plan—named after former P.A. prime minister Salam Fayyad—that seeks to establish a de facto Palestinian state.
A report published by Regavim in December, two years after the finance minister took control of the Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration, showed an unprecedented decline in illegal construction in Area C.
This marked the first time in a decade that illegal construction had dropped, accompanied by increased enforcement by the Civil Administration, according to the Israeli NGO.
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![]() Dramatic drop in illegal Palestinian construction in Area CThis marks the first time in a decade that illegal construction has dropped, accompanied by increased enforcement by Israel’s Civil Administration.Josh Hasten
![]() The demolition of an illegally built structure in the Judea city of Hebron, Dec. 28, 2021. Photo by Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90.
(13December2024 / JNS) The Regavim movement, an organization dedicated to the protection of Israel’s national lands and resources, released a comprehensive report this week showing an unprecedented decline in illegal Palestinian construction in Area C of Judea and Samaria.
This marks the first time in a decade that illegal construction has dropped, accompanied by increased enforcement by Israel’s Civil Administration.
Regavim’s research division recently completed its analysis of a full aerial survey, comparing photographs taken in May 2024 to those from June 2023. After anchoring each structure to precise GPS coordinates and creating a layered map of all structures in the region, Regavim’s analysts computed the differential. The results show an overall increase of 2,868 illegal structures over the 11-month period between the surveys, but the monthly average of construction starts—260—represents a significant decline from the previous years (2018–2023), marking a drastic drop in the pace of construction.
Regavim credits this reduction in construction to a shift in the Civil Administration’s enforcement strategy, which now targets larger, permanent structures in key locations, such as highways and strategic points along the seam-line buffer zone, rather than smaller, temporary ones. According to Regavim, “A plausible explanation for the significant reduction in new illegal constructions can largely be attributed to the strategic selection of enforcement cases by the Civil Administration.”
This shift in strategy signifies a new approach compared to previous years, with a clear focus on demolishing high-impact structures.
The report states that in the first 10 months of 2024, the Civil Administration demolished 602 illegal Arab-built structures in Area C, compared to only 306 in all of 2023.
![]() The ancient Tel Aroma fortress in Samaria is the northernmost of eight fortresses established by the Hasmonean Kingdom to protect Israel’s eastern border. Credit: Regavim.
Naomi Kahn, director of Regavim’s international division, told JNS, “These high-profile demolitions have had a deterrent effect, signaling to the Palestinian Authority and its international supporters that Israel now views illegal construction as a clear and imminent security threat. This contrasts with previous years, when demolitions focused on pre-fabricated and low-cost structures, such as animal pens and other less significant types of construction.”
Kahn added, “This change in policy, long advocated by Regavim, has gained increasing support from Israeli legislators since the October 7 attack, which was facilitated by similar dual-use illegal structures near the Gaza border.”
Echoing this sentiment, Bezalel Smotrich, the head of the Religious Zionism Party and finance minister, who also oversees the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria, commented on the efforts to curb illegal construction: “Monitoring the open areas in Judea and Samaria is a task of national importance. I am proud of the reform led by my staff in the Settlement Administration at the Defense Ministry, as well as the Civil Administration members who work week after week to monitor the open areas, including tracking and demolishing illegal construction.”
Smotrich added, “Arab illegal construction has become systematic and serves as a tool to promote the Fayyad Plan—named after former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad—that aims to establish a de facto Palestinian state.”
He continued, “On the other hand, the supervision and enforcement unit operates according to an organized and strategic work plan, and has exercised enforcement against hundreds of agricultural infiltrations and illegal buildings in recent months in order to halt their progress and prevent the illegal takeover. The work is arduous and ongoing, but it has yielded excellent achievements over the past year. We continue these efforts with even more vigor to ensure that the results will be even more powerful.”
![]() The E.U.-funded illegal Palestinian outpost of Khan al-Ahmar, in the E1 area east of Jerusalem, with Israel Route 1 in the background. Credit: Regavim.
Maurice Hirsch, director of the Initiative for Palestinian Authority Accountability and Reform at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs and former director of the Military Prosecution for Judea and Samaria, told JNS: “Since the Palestinian Authority began implementing the plan of former Prime Minister Salam Fayyad to promote intentional land grabs in Area C, Palestinians have built tens of thousands of structures without receiving building permits. Shamefully, this illegal activity has been supported not only by the PA, but also by U.N. organizations and the European Union.”
Hirsch added, “While Israeli authorities consistently failed to combat this phenomenon, the problem was not a lack of legal justification but a lack of desire. If Israel seeks to prevent this situation from repeating itself long term, it must implement effective and consistent law enforcement, along with a zero-tolerance policy towards foreign actors aiding and abetting the lawlessness.”
Regavim Director General Meir Deutsch said, “The data confirms what had been a general impression among people who know the terrain well: there has been a refreshing shift in the battle for land.”
Deutsch added, “Just as the State of Israel was essentially established long before 1948 and simply declared on Independence Day, the ‘State of Palestine’—although never declared or legally recognized—is being established on the ground daily.”
He continued: “Over the years, Israeli governments have ignored this fact, allowing the Palestinian Authority to create facts on the ground through massive construction, agricultural projects, and roadworks. The new data prove that, at last, the Israeli government is taking the action that the majority of Israeli voters have mandated and is systematically addressing this threat. We hope to see this trend continue and even intensify.”
![]() The demolition of illegal buildings in the village of Al-Walaja near Bethlehem in Judea, Dec. 9, 2024. Photo by Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90.
While this year’s figures show a decrease in the pace of land takeovers, Regavim says the long-term trend continues to rise. According to the report, “The Palestinian Authority has now constructed 97,581 illegal structures in Area C of Judea and Samaria, an area fully governed by Israeli civil and security forces. Aerial imagery clearly shows that the PA has prioritized building, agricultural, and infrastructure projects in Area C instead of developing Areas A and B, aligning with the 2009 Fayyad Plan’s aim to establish a Palestinian state across all of Judea and Samaria.”
Kahn responded to this trend, telling JNS, “The drastic drop in the rate of construction, though most welcome, is not enough: illegal Arab construction in strategic locations continues, albeit at a slower pace, and there are currently more than 97,500 illegal Arab structures that serve as the front lines in the Palestinian Authority’s war of attrition—a war to establish a de facto Palestinian state in the heart of the Land of Israel, which poses an existential danger to every man, woman, and child in the region.”
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![]() The spies among us: processing the incomprehensible7July2025 https://www.israpundit.org/the-spies-among-us-processing-the-incomprehensible/
A spate of cases of has Israelis shaking their heads with disbelief and disgust. What should we do?’ Douglas Altabef | July 5, 2025 The poster was used during World War I by authorities to remind people to be on their guard and to stay vigilant and report anything suspicious. The poster is from our Army Department archive collection. Archives New Zealand Reference: AD1 44/283. (Photo by Archives New Zealand from New Zealand – ‘Beware of Spies’ World War I propaganda poster, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikipedia)
Since October 7th we have seen Israel at its best: thousands upon thousands of heroic soldiers engaged in breathtaking, unprecedented military heroism and success, supported by a resolute, resilient and in its way no less heroic homefront. We will look back on this period much as Americans and Brits regarded their greatest generation of WWII heroism.
Yet, there is, as there always must be, a rub. In the midst of this heroism we have also shockingly experienced the polar opposite: high treason. There is no other way to depict the workings of dozens of young Israelis who have chosen to work on behalf of Iran.
Such work has included gathering intelligence, sending in photos of sites requested by their handlers, or worse, passing along materials. In one case, Israelis were preparing and detonating an explosive device. Most recently, two young Haifa area residents were accused of working on an assassination plot.
As difficult as it is to say, these Israelis have knowingly been giving aid and comfort to the enemy.
Before focusing on what should be done about it, it behooves us to try to understand what this phenomenon represents, and why there have been geometrically if not exponentially more cases of Israelis working for the enemy than we have ever seen in our history.
The commonalities seem to be age – most all have been under 40 – and time here in Israel. Most are relatively recent olim coming from Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Russia. (How many of them are Jewish is a moot point, since Israel’s Law of Return grandfather clause allows immigration for anyone with a Jewish grandfather, ed.)
Perhaps the most common element is the lure of money. Regardless of whether the accused are from poor families, they individually have needed/wanted money and that has attracted them to social media offers that might initially sound innocuous, but which quickly morph to more aggressive and invasive missions.
All of this sounds bizarre to most all Jewish Israelis. How could any considerations, excuses or aspirations trump the love and support of our country, particularly as it has been engaged in an existential battle with Israel’s implacable enemy?
How could anyone betray his country, and how could material considerations ever outweigh the concern for our country’s safety? As many of the neighbors of the arrested suspects have said, they just could not believe their neighbor could possibly be capable of what he has been accused of.
Besides dealing with the shock of the actions themselves, we have to grapple with why seemingly so suddenly we are faced with these horrific crimes. One thing to ask ourselves is whether this kind of willingness to take the fast buck for a betrayal of country has always been prevalent among some but has become more actionable because of social media and a concerted effort by Iran to find extraneous elements to help the regime.
We have had olim coming from Russia, Ukraine and Azjerbaijan for many years. We have always had people with gambling debts, and other induced financial woes. None of the impetus forces seem new nor particularly unique to this moment in time. (There is speculation that some are foreign agents fwho came to Israel already prepared to damage the country and that Iran gave them the opportunity, ed.)
So, why now, and why so many? Many young people use social media as their primary means of interacting and communicating with the world. The idea of someone reaching out with a “job opportunity,” particularly when it seems like easy money for doing something relatively innocuous is attractive.
I suspect that for many or most there was no correlation between what they were asked to do and something that could harm Israel. At least not at first. But as the intensity of the required actions increased, there was likely an onset of denial.
I apologize if these rationales same lame and contrived, as I too can not conceive how any Jew in Israel could do what they have done. So, I definitionally have a hard time trying to see it from their perspective.
The Iranians likely believe that they have found the soft underbelly of Israeli society, and, for little money, they can simultaneously obtain useful information and demoralize Israeli society by the reality of their recruiting.
The real question is what do we do about it, how do we respond? The question is twofold: it concerns not only the appropriate punishment for these traitors, but the appropriate reaction for the rest of us.
Images of the historical treatment of such traitors conjures up hangings and firing squads. As emotionally satisfying as this might be, we know that the Supreme Court will never allow it, as of course we don’t do such things (unless of course it was the Prime Minister considered for such treatment…).
But I think that we can hearken back to a quasi-Biblical solution. We should gather around these low lifes and “stone” them. Not with actual rocks, but with words. We need to shame them and do so in a way that excoriates the evil from amongst us.
They should know that were we so able, we would in fact stone them to death. Failing that, however, we can still show them, ourselves, and the world the complete revulsion that we have for them.
After that, well prison is too good for them. Why should we spend millions of shekels maintaining this pox among us? We need to be more creative about the punishment.
As part of their shaming, they should be required to do teshuva, to make amends, to repent. They should be forced to confront every returning hostage and the families of the hostages that were killed.
Let them be spat upon, physically and/or metaphorically.
Then they should be part of a work gang that would be rebuilding destroyed communities or working in their fields. They should be sentenced to a lifetime of extirpating the great crime that they committed.
If they actually do repent and understand the magnitude of their wrongdoing, then great. I am more concerned about our own need to condemn, to remove this toxicity from ourselves.
As Jews, we believe that there might be hope for these traitors, that they can be made to see the evil of their ways. Perhaps. In the meantime however, we need to make sure that the traitors know that the fact that they aren’t being executed is because the people that they were willing to sell out are humane.
The spies among us deserve nothing but contempt and condemnation. We need this for ourselves, to make sure that we understand that those among us who would betray us should be massively, thoroughly and sincerely punished. And that we act on that understanding.
Douglas Altabef is the Chairman of the Board of Im Tirtzu and a Director of the Israel Independence Fund
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ISRAEL AT WAR 5785: Iran: Operation Rising Lion
Rabbi Shalom Arush-English-tweet-13June2025-Hope to God strengthen your heart
Hope to God, strengthen your heart, and Hope to God!
Do not be afraid for God goes before you, to smite your enemies
Repeat Psalm 121 “A Song of Ascents” over and over until you’re not afraid
Repeat Psalm 100 A Psalm of Thanks for how He has protected us with miracles until now!
Rabbi Shalom Arush-English-tweet-14June2025-Also Psalm 100
HERE IS ANOTHER ONE!
KEEP IT GOING!!!
Singing and dancing and thanking Hashem!
Also Psalm 100 “Psalm of Thanksgiving” for Hashem protecting us until now!
BETTER AND BETTER!
“and we’ll be safer and safer, safer and safer!”
Mossad Commentary-tweet-14June2025-What do Israelis do when they’re in the shelter while sirens are blaring
What do Israelis do when they’re in the shelter while sirens are blaring
Documenting Israel-tweet-14June2025-Israelis all singing Tamid Ohev Oti together
Amazing video of loads of people who took shelter from missiles in a tunnel in northern Israel all singing “Tamid Ohev Oti” together 💙🇮🇱
Rabbi Shalom Arush-English-tweet-13June2025-Hope to God strengthen your heart
Rabbi Shalom Arush-English-tweet-14June2025-Also Psalm 100
Mossad Commentary-tweet-14June2025-What do Israelis do when they’re in the shelter while sirens are blaring
Documenting Israel-tweet-14June2025-Israelis all singing Tamid Ohev Oti together
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Israel’s Operation Rising Lion
USMC Lady Vet-tweet-13June2025-Israel’s Operation Rising Lion
Israel’s Operation Rising Lion
Numbers 23:24 in the Bible reads, in the context of Balaam’s oracle about Israel: “Behold, a people! As a lioness it rises up and as a lion it lifts itself; it does not lie down until it has devoured the prey and drunk the blood of the slain.”
USMC Lady Vet-tweet-13June2025-Israel’s Operation Rising Lion
Helping Iranians reclaim their flag — and their country
Mark Dubowitz-tweet-13June2025-helping Iranians reclaim their flag — and their country
Israel’s campaign is called Operation Rising Lion — a nod to the lion on Iran’s pre-1979 flag, before the mullahs hijacked the country.
The message is clear: this isn’t just about stopping nukes. It’s about helping Iranians reclaim their flag — and their country.
Mark Dubowitz-tweet-13June2025-helping Iranians reclaim their flag-and their country
Defender of the Holy Land
Uri Kurlianchik-tweet-11June2025-Defender of the Holy Land
Defender of the Holy Land
Nethanel-tweet-11June2025
Uri Kurlianchik-tweet-11June2025-Defender of the Holy Land
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Nefesh B’Nefesh Important Safety Guidance, Informational & Emotional Support Resources
Nefesh B’Nefesh-tweet-15June2025-Important Safety Guidance-Informational-Emotional Support Resources
We’re here for you! ❤
In light of the current situation, we are sharing updated resources to help you stay informed, protected, and supported – physically, emotionally, and digitally.
Please note: the Homefront Command (Pikud HaOref) has updated its alert system. For the latest instructions, including shelter times by region, visit https://oref.org.il/eng or call 104 (24/7, multilingual assistance available). The Homefront Command is the official IDF authority for emergency preparedness. Their guidelines should be your first point of reference during this time.
If you hear a siren or receive an alert, use the designated time for your area to reach a protected space. The Homefront Command website outlines what to do before, during, and after alerts, and can help you prepare based on your location.
Given the current conflict with Iran, the risk of cyber attacks is also significantly elevated. Please be especially cautious online – including via email, WhatsApp, and social media. A few critical reminders from our IT team:
Don’t click on suspicious links or open unknown attachments – even if they appear to come from someone you know.
Don’t enter your password after clicking a link in an email – go directly to the official site instead.
Don’t approve two-factor authentication (MFA) prompts unless you personally initiated them. If unsure, deny and report.
Don’t trust emails or messages that urge urgent action.
Don’t plug in unknown USBs or devices – they may contain malware.
If something feels off, report it right away. Better safe than sorry.
You can also find a full roundup of safety, preparedness, emotional support, and cybersecurity resources at:
https://nbn.org.il/information/emergency-preparedness/emergency-resources/
For emotional and psychological support, English-language resources include:
• Natal – Israel Trauma & Resiliency Center: 1-800-363-363
• ERAN – Emotional First Aid: Dial *3201
• Talking to Kids About Terror: https://nbn.org.il/…/talking-to-kids-about-terror
Our thoughts and prayers remain with the entire nation – especially those protecting us and all affected across the country.
B’Sorot Tovot,
The NBN Answers and Advocacy Team
answers@nbn.org.il / *3680 (hotline available 9-5, Sunday-Thursday)
Nefesh B’Nefesh-tweet-15June2025-Important Safety Guidance-Informational-Emotional Support Resources
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Important Emergency Phone Numbers
List of Municipal Support for English Speakers
Following the American attack on Iran, the Home Front Command has changed the defense guidelines to Level 4 – the highest level.
Jerusalem en/residents/security/ messeges/situation-assessment_ 22_6/
https://www.jerusalem.muni.il/
For JLM’s English-language Emergency Portal, go to: en/residents/emergency/
https://www.jerusalem.muni.il/
To join the Municipality’s Telegram channel, go to:
https://t.me/jerusalemtelgram
To join the Jerusalem Municipality’s official WhatsApp group for English speakers, go to: G6IFeVwCCdB0sqYH7v8rUP
https://chat.whatsapp.com/
Zichron Yaakov
Heidi Goldsmith, the Liaison from the Zichron Yaakov Municipality to English-Speaking Olim has been sending out information about Zichron’s emergency situation via WhatsApp groups. If you want to be added to the “Emergency Zichron” WhatsApp group, please email Heidi at heidig.zichron@gmail.com and include your phone number.
Haifa
The Haifa Municipality website: https://www.haifa.muni.il/ has a section in English “War with Iran” with all the up to date information. Go to the left side of the screen and click on the arrow next to עברית and then click on English.
Haifa Aliya – https://www.facebook.com/ groups/280775821996057/ is a facebook group for English speaking Haifa residents, monitored by Smadar Porat, the Haifa Municipality Coordinator of English Speakers.
Tel Aviv en/Pages/HomePage.aspx has security updates and guidelines. A municipal support and gathering point has been opened at Alliance School, 26 Reading Street.
The Tel Aviv Municipality English website: https://www.tel-aviv.gov.il/
Netanya en/Pages/Emergency.aspx has emergency information i.e. the location of public shelters.
The Netanya Municipality English website: https://www.netanya.muni.il/
Rishon Lezion il/Eng/muni/Pages/Emergency. aspx has basic emergency information.
The Rishon Lezion Municipality English website: https://www.rishonlezion.muni.
Ra’anana SafetyAndEmergency/Pages/ default.aspx has general emergency information.
The Ra’anana Municipality English website: https://www.raanana.muni.il/
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National Emergency Portal https://www.oref.org.il/eng
Attention!
Civilians located in areas where a guideline was issued to stay near protected spaces are requested to avoid being outdoors.
Those who have not yet chosen their “best” protected space are asked to do so now and ensure they can reach it within the time available to reach shelter.
Unnecessary travel should be avoided.
We urge citizens not to spread messages received via Telegram, WhatsApp, or social media unless they have been published directly by the official Home Front Command channels!
Immediate Guidelines:
Please note:
On Shabbat, it is especially important to leave the radio on ‘Silent Wave’. If during Shabbat there is a need to provide life-saving guidelines, Dani, the Home Front Command spokesperson, will go on air and explain the guidelines to the religious-Haredi community.
This is your responsibility – and it saves lives.
HOMEFRONT GUIDELINES (ISRAEL’S PIKUD HAOREF)
Ensure that you and your family know what to do if an alert is received, whether you’re at home, in the car, on public transport, or outdoors etc. Also, make sure your designated safe space is prepared and ready for use:
Defensive Policy
Home Front Command Guidelines
In order to protect the lives of the residents on the one hand and enable an emergency life routine on the other hand, the Home Front Command has the legal authority to establish and disseminate daily guidelines, which outline the mode of activity in the various areas of life. The guidelines are based on a daily assessment of the situation in the Home Front Command, which takes into account the danger to the population in a particular geographical area.
Full Activity
Gathering and Services – can be held without restrictions.
Workplaces – can be held without restrictions.
Educational Activities – educational activities can be held without restrictions.
Partial Activity
Gatherings and services: Outdoors – up to 30 people, Indoors – up to 300 people.
Workplaces – can be held in a building or in a place from which a standard protected space can be reached within the time available to reach shelter.
Educational Activities – educational activities can be held provided that there is a standard protected space that can be reached within the time available to reach shelter.
Limited Activity
Gatherings and services: Outdoors – up to 10 people, Indoors – up to 100 people.
Workplaces – activities can be held provided that there is a standard protected space that can be reached within the time available to reach shelter.
Educational Activities – educational activities are prohibited.
Essential Activity
Gathering and Services – are prohibited indoors and outdoors.
Workplaces – workplace activities are prohibited.
Educational Activities – educational activities are prohibited.
The Home Front Command’s guidelines save lives
After receiving an alert, enter a protected space according to the time available to reach shelter, and remain there for 10 minutes.
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https://www.oref.org.il/en
Israel Home Front Command (Pikud HaOref)
https://www.oref.org.il/en
Rocket and Missile Attacks
https://www.oref.org.il/12410-en/Pakar.aspx?tab=12487&parentCategory=12486
Supplies for Emergencies
https://www.oref.org.il/12490-15903-en/pakar.aspx
In light of the development of fighting in the various sectors, you must prepare equipment that will allow you and your family to stay in the protected area for up to 72 hours:
Water supply of 3 liters per person per day, for 72 hours
Stock of dry and canned food
Battery operated lighting or flashlight
Means for receiving alerts and updates – a radio that runs on batteries and portable batteries for mobile phones
Medicines
First aid kit
Personal documents, certificates and cash
Equipment for babies or animals, depending on the needs of the family members.
Israel Home Front Command (Pikud HaOref) is the official address for Israeli citizens during these times Pikud HaOref / Phone: 104
Help Line for Holocaust Survivors
The Government has also opened a help line for Holocaust survivors to help with ANY NEED. For example, medical, social , psychological etc.. The number to call is *5105 or 03 5682651
Home Front Command: Life Saving Guidelines-1
Home Front Command: Life Saving Guidelines-2
click to Enlarge
Choosing a Protected Space
https://www.oref.org.il/12487-15895-en/Pakar.aspx
The order of priority for choosing a protected space:
1. The residential protected room (MAMAD) or communal protected space (MAMAK) are the preferred option.
2. Shelters:
An apartment building shelter – provided it can be reached within the time to reach shelter and in addition, if it can be reached by an internal stairway.
A public shelter (miklat) – provided that it can be reached within the time available to reach shelter.
3. An internal stairwell – with no windows, openings and external wall:
In a building with more than three floors, which has no residential protected rooms, floor protected spaces or a public shelter – stay in a stairwell with at least two floors above it. Do not stay in the ground floor. In buildings with more than three floors, the stairwells of each floor, other than the top two floors and the ground floor, are protected.
In a three-story building with no residential protected rooms, floor protected spaces or a public shelter – stay in a stairwell of the middle floor. In such a building, the most protected floor is the middle (second) floor.
4. An inner room – if there are no residential protected rooms, floor protected spaces, a public shelter or an internal stairwell, choose an inner room with as few external walls, windows and openings as possible. Do not choose kitchens, bathrooms or toilets and keep away from ceramics, porcelain and glass that might shatter. When recieving an alert, sit in an inner corner, below the window line and not facing the door.
The following cannot be used as protected spaces
Kitchens, toilets and bathrooms cannot be used as protected spaces; stay away from ceramics, porcelains and glass that may shatter.
Important Highlights
• If there is no access to a protected room, an internal stairwell or an inner room, lie on the ground and protect your head with your hands.
• If an alert is received while you are inside a prefabricated structure, leave the building and go into the protected space in the time available to reach shelter. If entering a protected space within the time available to reach shelter
is not possible, leave the building, lie on the ground and protect your head with the hands. Read here why it is important to lie on the ground
.
• Stay away from the building entrance area because of the danger of rocket fragments and blast waves due to impact near buildings.
• Building doors should be kept open, for those who are outdoors when the alert sounds.
• For a large portion of the population, the stairwell is the most protected space available. If possible, place chairs for elderly persons.
Remember: Choosing a protected space according to these guidelines significantly reduces the risk of injury from rockets and fragments, and can save lives.
Maintaining the integrity of the protected space
For the protected space to fill its role in an emergency, it must be regularly maintained and the routes leading to it must be clear, in accordance with the following highlights:
• Plan your route to the protected space in advance, make sure it is cleared of obstacles and obstructing items to prevent possible falls and injuries. Ensure that all passageways and stairwells are not blocked.
• In our protected space is the residental protected room – you must maintain its integrity and refrain from making changes that are not authorized. Read about the permitted and prohibited uses of the protected room
(MAMAD), including which changes may not be made to it, and how to maintain it regularly.
• If our protected space is the common shelter – you must maintain its integrity and refrain from making changes that are not authorized. Read about how to maintain the integrity of the common shelter
.
• It is advised to prepare emergency supplies
and a list of contact information for emergency services
, family members and neighbors, and keep it in the protected space.
• In an emergency situation – the outer steel window and the inner glass window must be closed and locked at the beginning of the emergency situation until it ends. If a double-wing glass window is installed, it must be removed and placed outside the residential protected room.
Secure space for everybody
The do’s and dont’s of the mamad
2024 ביולי 27 https://derorit.co.il/the-dos-and-donts-of-the-mamad/
What is the MAMAD?
MAMAD is an acronym for merkhav mugan dirati, or apartment-protected space.
There are also buildings in which you have a MAMAK which is a merkhav mugan komati meaning a protected space belonging to a floor in the building. These will come in buildings where there are no mamads in the individual apartments.
Any apartment built in Israel after the gulf war (1993) must have a mamad. The idea is that the mamad is conveniently located inside your home so you could reach it quickly and can also be considered as normal living space.
The mamad is a reinforced security room meant to offer protection against high impact projectiles and chemical weapons. Its walls are built out of reinforced concrete and it has airtight steel doors and windows. The room has 2 openings, usually one window and one door, never on the same wall. The minimal net area of the room is 9 square meters (In places where this is not possible a 5 square meter room may be approved).
The door to the mamad is a heavy iron door which will always open outwards. There must be a concrete wall protecting the door when opened.
The window consists of two parts; an outer iron cover, and an airtight sealed interior window. The iron cover slides into the wall or opens outwards, so it is not noticeable when not in use. The window will always open inwards into the room. The size of the window is no more than 1.21 square meters, where the width is between 60 to 100 centimeters. Usually, the window will be 100-110 centimeters wide.
There must be at least 3 electric sockets, one phone socket and one tv/radio socket in the room (this is especially important to realize when planning ultra orthodox homes where tv outlets are not installed in other rooms).
Another important component is the ventilation system (added to the regulations in 2010). This is a pretty big, clumsy looking piece.
MAMAD ventilation system
In the past years they have designed some sleeker ones, looking more like an AC unit on the wall.
mazganit MAMAD ventilation system
Ask your builder what model he is supplying. Take this element in account when planning the room and the closets as it does not show clearly on the floor plans.
How do I make use of this room?
Since Israelis typically don’t have an entire room in their homes to leave empty in anticipation of a possible rocket attack, the mamad often has other uses as well: as an unofficial machsan (storeroom), or a playroom, study or bedroom.
Here are some useful guidelines and tips:
Viking_tilt_turn_windows
I will admit that in certain areas of the country we treated these rules and regulations with a certain level of disrespect. In most cases the mamad was planned as to maximize its use in days of peace- which are plenty- without adequately considering days of war. I hope this post will serve as a Tikun (correction) and a reminder to its important role in securing our homes and families.
Shalom Al Yisrael!
Why is it Important to Wait 10 Minutes in the Protected Space?
https://www.oref.org.il/12487-16151-en/Pakar.aspx
Why we Wait in the Protected Space for 10 Minutes?
Lying down on the ground can save lives
https://www.oref.org.il/12487-15965-en/Pakar.aspx
Rockets and Missile Attack – Why is it important to lie on the ground
During an alert – move away from the car
https://www.oref.org.il/12487-16149-en/Pakar.aspx
Why should I get away from my vehicle during a siren.
Unexploded and Unidentified Objects
https://www.oref.org.il/12487-17793-en/Pakar.aspx
Watch Out! Staying near fallen projectiles endangers lives
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Was your property damaged during the conflict with Iran? Here’s what you need to know:
🔹 Compensation from the Property Tax Authority is available for direct damage to property (buildings, vehicles, home contents).
🔹 Damage must be documented immediately after impact: photos, videos — before any repair or cleanup.
🔹 Do not move or repair anything without prior approval from a Property Tax Authority appraiser.
🔹 Claims must be submitted within 14 days to 3 months from the date of the damage.
🔹 Injuries (physical or emotional) – compensation may be available from the National Insurance Institute, depending on medical documentation.
📌 Guide for civilians whose property was damaged in acts of war or hostility:
https://www.gov.il/en/pages/guide-for-civilians-property-damaged-in-hostilitiesTOP
Chief Rabbis and Torah sages urge prayer, Torah study amid security emergency
Israel’s Chief Rabbis and senior rabbinic councils have called for synagogue closures this Shabbat and instructed the public to pray at home, in full compliance with Home Front Command directives.
Israel National News Published: 13June2025, 2:59 PM (GMT+3) https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/409943
In light of the current security situation, Israel’s Chief Rabbis and the Council of Torah Sages have issued a special call to the haredi public, instructing them on appropriate conduct during the emergency and emphasizing full compliance with security directives.
In their letter, the rabbis ruled that synagogue prayers must be canceled. Under the heading “It is a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved from it,” and referencing the verse, “When you go to war in your land against an enemy who oppresses you… you shall sound the trumpets and be saved from your enemies,” they urged the public to increase prayer this Shabbat. Specific Psalms were recommended: 20, 121, and 130, along with the prayer “Avinu Malkeinu.”
The halachic ruling’s central emphasis is the necessity “to uphold and follow Home Front Command instructions everywhere.” The letter clearly states: “No gatherings may be held in open areas or buildings.” This directly implies that synagogues across Israel will remain closed this Shabbat, and the public is asked to pray at home.
The Shas Council of Torah Sages called “to increase prayer and supplication to our Father in Heaven, that He have mercy on His people and inheritance, and that the security forces succeed in their mission and return home safely.”
They added, “It is self-evident that all government instructions and guidelines must be followed,” explicitly stating not to hold prayers in synagogues in accordance with Home Front Command directives.
The rabbis also emphasized the paramount importance of Torah study, urging yeshiva students “to strengthen themselves in Torah learning, day and night without interruption — for it is Torah that upholds us in battle.”
In addition to study guidelines, the rabbis called for increased private prayers, particularly at the opening of the Ark, with recitation of Psalms and “Avinu Malkeinu” following the Chazzan’s repetition of the Amidah.
Rabbi Dov Lando, a leading figure in the Lithuanian haredi community, upon being briefed on the security situation, stated, “We are in a time of danger and must intensify Torah study and prayer for the protection of the People of Israel.” He canceled a planned gathering of yeshiva heads and immediately took a Book of Psalms and began praying for the entire nation.
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No school or work nationwide on Sunday as emergency measures remain in effect
IDF lifts directive to remain near shelters for now, but extends state of special emergency protection measures through Sunday at 8:00 p.m.
Israel National News 14June2025 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/409970
In the wake of Operation Rising Lion and the Israeli strike in Iran, a special state of emergency has been declared across the entire country.
According to the latest directive issued at 20:25, shortly before the end of Shabbat, all schools will remain closed nationwide on Sunday, and non-essential workplaces will not operate. The guidelines are in effect until Sunday at 20:00.
Earlier, the Home Front Command stated that there is no immediate need to remain near protected spaces. However, the IDF noted that 10-minute alerts will precede any anticipated impact, and this time there is an emphasis on using reinforced security rooms or bomb shelters rather than stairwells. In the event of a significant Iranian strike, residents may be required to stay in protected areas for extended periods.
Home Front Command Chief, Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo, emphasized: “In this campaign, broad alerts are expected. It is critical to seek optimal protection—whether in private or public spaces. The preferred options are fortified rooms, shelters, protected spaces in schools, or approved public shelters. If none are nearby, one should use stairwells or inner rooms.”
“Every citizen must know the best protected area in their vicinity,” Milo added. “Upon receiving an alert, enter the safe zone and remain there until officially cleared to exit. Minimize travel and movement. We are entering intense and complex days. We are strong and prepared — together we will protect the State of Israel.”
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🚨 The Wartime Censorship Law 📵
Israel News Pulse-tweet-19June2025-The Wartime Censorship Law
🚨 The Wartime Censorship Law 📵
Due to the filming taking place across the country during wartime (regarding interceptions and missile impacts), and the enemy being given access to everything that’s happening, the time has come to pass the law — and fortunately, it was passed during the night.
After a broad vote in the Knesset, the law was submitted to the Attorney General and approved.
All members of the opposition voted in favor, as did all members of the coalition — it’s time to put an end to this.
1. The law prohibits filming interceptions and missile impacts.
2. The law prohibits uploading photos and videos to social media.
3. The law will ban all foreign media outlets that act against the state from filming within Israel during wartime.
4. The law prohibits filming sensitive and strategic locations within the country.
5. The new regulation replaces monetary fines with actual prison time — between 20 and 30 months.
We reiterate: anyone who endangers national security and disobeys the law will pay a very heavy price.
Stay safe and obey the law.
Israel News Pulse-tweet-19June2025-The Wartime Censorship Law
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Information that leaks from missile impact footage
Footage of missile impact sites serves the enemy — but not only them. How does this happen, and who else receives the information? Dr. Zimmerman, an AI expert, explains.
Shimon Cohen Published: 24June2025, 9:02 PM (GMT+3) https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/410596
Dr. Alexander Zimmerman, Head of the Innovation Department at Ramat Gan Academic College and an expert in AI, spoke with Israel National News – Arutz Sheva about the questionable contribution that videos of rocket barrages and impacts provide to the enemy who launches them.
Dr. Zimmerman begins by noting that identifying a location based on such footage does not necessarily require artificial intelligence. In fact, this is a technological capability that existed beforehand, where a computer can analyze two images and identify different features between them using mathematical and statistical data.
“The real breakthrough,” he says, “is that if we want to achieve greater accuracy, we can run the data multiple times through various algorithms and try to predict what might happen next. For example, if a missile is launched at us, based on previously received data and additional information, it’s easier for the machine to predict how it will behave in the air under certain weather conditions. However, even a light gust of wind, an unexpected object in its path, or remote guidance of the missile can render such predictions useless.”
The set of data collected to predict a missile’s trajectory has led to an 80% accuracy rate, “but of course, human lives don’t operate according to statistics, and we’ve seen that these predictions are not always accurate enough to prevent casualties.”
Regarding civilian phone footage, Dr. Zimmerman explains that current systems can precisely determine the location from which a video was sent. This is the reason for repeated warnings to the public not to record or share such footage on social media. “Every device that records, even if location services are disabled, leaves software traces that interact with multiple cell towers, which can pinpoint the device’s location. The video or photo sent includes all the geographic metadata necessary to identify the exact location of the recording.”
The accumulated knowledge allows experts to determine which tower transmitted the data, the distance of the mobile device from it, and many other details. This is precisely why soldiers are required to leave their phones behind — to prevent location detection in the field. “A cellphone transmits a tremendous amount of data, and we have the capability to analyze it quickly. Once such a video is uploaded to the web, it’s very easy to retrieve that information.”
Dr. Zimmerman adds that the very information we want to prevent from reaching the enemy — to avoid enabling accurate targeting of future strikes — is also what directs emergency services like MDA quickly to the impact site. “We are in the age of machines,” he notes, emphasizing the need to balance benefit against risk. In his opinion, if the benefit outweighs the risk by even one percent, it is worth taking — as long as it does not endanger lives but only raises issues of privacy and similar concerns.
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During the attacks in Iran: Shofar blasts at the Western Wall
Watch: Shofar blasts at the Western Wall
Worshippers who were at the Western Wall plaza when news of the Israeli attack on Iran was made public recited Psalms and blew the shofar.
Israel National News 13June2025, 5:26 AM (GMT+3) https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/409911
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IRAN WAR UPDATE missile strikes
Avi Abelow-tweet-20June2025-IRAN WAR UPDATE missile strikes
IRAN WAR UPDATE
Another quiet night for the overwhelming majority of Israelis. Yes, Baruch Hashem, very few missiles were shot. And of those, even fewer actually landed and did any damage.
There wasone building in Be’er Sheva that was hit this morning, still waiting for any official update on casualties, but as of now, no confirmed serious injuries. We’re praying that stays the case.
Take a look at this graph, it tells the unbelievable story of this war and our amazing air force and defense systems.
A miraculous downward trajectory of missile attacks on Israel. Day after day, the number of launches is dropping. The number of impacts is plummeting. These are not statistics, these are miracles that we have an active role in as well.
We are literally living through open miracles, and I can’t say that enough!
But here’s what’s even more important for us to internalize right now:
We are not the same Israel of 1948 or 1967 or even 2024, where we were constantly fighting just to exist. This is not little Israel anymore.
We are now BIG ISRAEL, regional superpower Israel.
We are finally taking on the most evil regime on the planet, the Islamic Republic of Iran. A regime that the so-called “enlightened” West was too afraid to confront. A regime that the West actually empowered through appeasement and horrific business deals. But we’re not afraid. We are standing up when others cowered and appeased.
And we’re not just surviving—we are shaping the future.
We are not just surging, or ignoring, we are leading!
The message is clear: The future of the Jewish state of Israel is bright. Am Yisrael is strong, physically and spiritually. We have clarity, we have courage, and we are connected to Hashem, with deep appreciation for the miracles he is doing for us. We have God on our side.
These are geulah/redemption times!
I just feel bad for those Jews still not here with us during these transformative times.
Am Yisrael Chai!!!
Iran’s missile strike 13-6-2025 – 19-6-2025
Avi Abelow-tweet-20June2025-IRAN WAR UPDATE missile strikes
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Israeli scientist rescues vital samples after missile strike–publishes cancer breakthrough days later
Weizmann Wonder Wander-A New Blood Test May Detect Leukemia Risk and Replace Bone Marrow Sampling
A New Blood Test May Detect Leukemia Risk and Replace Bone Marrow Sampling
Just days after their labs were damaged in the Iranian attack, Profs. Liran Shlush and Amos Tanay publish a study expected to advance the field of blood cell medicine
27.06.2025 https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/new-blood-test-may-detect-leukemia-risk-and-replace-bone-marrow-sampling
What if a blood test could reveal the pace of our aging – and the diseases that may lie ahead? The labs of Profs. Liran Shlush and Amos Tanay at the Weizmann Institute of Science have been conducting in-depth studies into the biology of blood to better understand the aging process and why some people become more susceptible to disease over the years. Their research teams, made up of physicians, biologists and data scientists, have been tracking changes in the blood-forming stem cells, including the emergence of genetic changes in these cells in about one-third of people over the age of 40. These changes not only increase the risk of blood cancers such as leukemia, but have also been linked to heart disease, diabetes and other age-related conditions.
(l-r) Profs. Amos Tanay and Liran Shlush
In a new study published today in Nature Medicine – just days after their labs were severely damaged in an Iranian missile attack – Shlush and Tanay present findings that may lead to an innovative blood test for detecting a person’s risk of developing leukemia. This test may potentially replace the invasive diagnostic procedure of bone marrow sampling.
The study focused on myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), an age-related condition in which blood stem cells fail to properly mature into functional blood cells. Diagnosing MDS and assessing its severity is crucial, as it can lead to severe anemia and may progress to acute myeloid leukemia, one of the most common blood cancers in adults. Until now, diagnosis has relied on bone marrow sampling, a procedure that requires local anesthesia and can cause discomfort or pain.
The findings are already being tested in a large-scale clinical trial at several medical centers around the world
In the new study, a research team led by Dr. Nili Furer, Nimrod Rappoport and Oren Milman, in collaboration with physicians and researchers in Israel and the United States, showed that rare blood stem cells – which occasionally exit the bone marrow and enter the bloodstream – carry diagnostic information about MDS. The researchers demonstrated that with a simple blood test and advanced single-cell genetic sequencing, it is possible to identify early signs of the syndrome and even assess a person’s risk of developing blood cancer.
(l-r) Oren Milman, Dr. Nili Furer and Nimrod Rappoport
The researchers also discovered that the migrating stem cells can serve as a clock for our chronological age, and that in males, their population changes earlier than in women in a way that increases the risk of cancer. This finding may explain the higher prevalence of blood cancers among men. The scientists believe that using the test to diagnose MDS and leukemia is only the beginning, and that in the future it could be applied to a range of other blood-related disorders. The current findings are already being tested in a large-scale clinical trial at several medical centers around the world.
In addition to his laboratory research, Shlush is also a senior physician at Assuta Medical Center in Ashdod and at Maccabi Healthcare Services, and he heads the newly established Miriam and Aaron Gutwirth Medical School at the Weizmann Institute. The school was founded to address the emerging needs and challenges of the worlds of medicine and research and to bridge, as much as possible, the gap between today’s science and tomorrow’s medicine. Unlike existing programs around the world that combine medicine with research, the new program is expected to unify and intertwine the clinical and research components. The school is scheduled to open its doors for the first time this coming October and aims to train the next generation of physician-scientists.
Prof. Amos Tanay’s research is supported by the Adelis Foundation; the Laura and Anthony Beck and Family Fund for Research in a Data-Driven Approach to Fighting Blood Cancer; and the Moross Integrated Cancer Center.
Israeli scientist rescues vital samples after missile strike–publishes cancer breakthrough days later
Weizmann’s Prof. Liran Shlush tells Jewish News how his team rescued critical samples hours after a Iranian strike and then published a life-changing blood cancer study
By Annabel Sinclair 3July2025, 4:01 pm https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/israeli-scientist-rescues-vital-samples-after-missile-strike-publishes-cancer-breakthrough-days-later/
Prof. Liran Shlush. Photo Credit: AML Hub
When an Iranian ballistic missile tore through the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Professor Liran Shlush feared everything he had worked towards for the past five years had been obliterated.
His team’s lab, one of around 45 affected in the 15 June attack, was based in a building that was “badly damaged, but not destroyed,” he said. The other half, he added, was “completely destroyed”.
“We lost around one quarter of what I define as irreplaceable,” Shlush told Jewish News. “But the rest – we were able to rescue.”
His voice was calm, but the reality was anything but. “We came very early after the missile – about an hour later – and saved everything we could,” he said. “Some of the freezers were buried under the ruin, so we couldn’t reach those. But the rest – the samples from patients we’d collected, that were frozen – we managed to recover.”
Firefighters douse the remains of Prof. Eldad Tzahor’s lab at the Weizmann Institute, destroyed in an Iranian missile strike. Photo: Prof. Eldad Tzahor/X
Among them were vials of material intended for a large-scale, international clinical trial – part of the next phase of a study that may now help revolutionise blood cancer diagnosis.
Just one week after the strike, Nature Medicine published the results of that research: a study showing that rare stem cells which occasionally migrate from bone marrow into the bloodstream can be used to detect myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a condition that can progress into acute leukaemia.
Crucially, the test – developed in collaboration with Prof. Amos Tanay and a wider team – could eliminate the need for painful bone marrow biopsies, offering instead a simple blood test with potentially global diagnostic value.
“We show that we can diagnose the disease without the bone marrow,” said Shlush. “Whether it will allow early diagnosis, the future will tell – but for now, we can say, at least for one disease, we can diagnose it without the need for [a biopsy].”
The paper, years in the making, was completed before the attack – but the symbolism of its publication date wasn’t lost on him. “We knew it was accepted before,” he said, “but the date that it was meant to be published became symbolic. It was a very nice day to see it finally out.”
“Israel is a depressed country right now. So, after those bad days, this gave us a reason to smile.”
The research itself involved extensive single-cell RNA sequencing – a technique allowing scientists to study individual blood stem cells at the highest level of detail available. “We built something like a blood count,” said Shlush. “But at the stem level – cells that were inaccessible in normal blood tests.”
Rather than simply measure cell numbers, his team analysed the genetic profiles and characteristics of those cells, drawing samples from hundreds of healthy individuals to create a detailed “reference map”. They then compared this to samples from patients with MDS.
The results were compelling – and far-reaching.
Researchers like Prof. Liran Shlush are studying how rare blood stem cells signal early signs of disease. Credit: Weizmann Institute.
“We were able to extract information that no one else was able to do before,” said Shlush. “We studied the ageing of the blood system, discovered novel mechanisms, and found the ability to compare patients to healthy individuals.”
Even among healthy people, they found the number of stem cells varied significantly. “Unless you capture this variability in the healthy population,” he explained, “you cannot define what is unhealthy.”
The team is now preparing the follow-up: an international trial involving hospitals in Japan, Taiwan, Canada, the United States and across Israel. “Those samples were kept frozen,” he said. “We saved the samples of the next clinical trial – and that is heavily built on the results of the first.”
Feedback from the medical community has been swift and enthusiastic. “All over the world, people are thrilled,” he said. “My student presented it at the European Haematology Association meeting. It was selected as the main plenary talk. Physicians are joining us – and patients come to say, ‘I think it will be soon in the clinic.’”
Still, Shlush is careful not to overplay the backdrop to their achievement.
“I must say, the science is so important – and we are so proud of it,” he said.
“But I hope the tragedy won’t somehow distract from the importance of the finding. It could be an excellent discovery regardless of the situation.”
Exterior view of the Weizmann Institute building housing Prof. Eldad Tzahor’s lab, showing missile damage and burned-out upper floors. Photo: Prof. Eldad Tzahor/X
A physician-scientist by training, Shlush describes the study as a defining moment in his career. “It’s probably one of the highlights in my research career,” he said. “I really want to advance medicine for my patients – and this is a really big step.”
Despite the destruction around him – with nearly half the campus buildings damaged and others, like cardiac biologist Prof. Eldad Tzahor’s lab, completely levelled – he’s determined not to be derailed.
“We will stand up from this stronger and better,” he said. “Buildings will be built. This is a place for science – and I see a good future.”
His hope now is that clinicians around the world will join the effort and help validate the test on a global scale. “I hope this will reach as many people in position as possible,” he said. “So, they will participate in our trials – and this thing will essentially become a common, trusted clinical tool.”
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Why Russia does not attack Israel
Dr. Eli David-tweet-21June2025-Why Russia does not attack Israel
Putin was asked why he is not assisting Iran.
His response: “Israel today is almost a Russian-speaking country, two million people from the Soviet Union and Russia live there. We take that into account.” 👇
Dr. Eli David-tweet-21June2025-Why Russia does not attack Israel
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Deputy Mayor of Beer Sheva: ‘We could have seen a tragedy, instead we saw a miracle’
Oshri Avichzer, Deputy Mayor of Be’er Sheva, responded to the Iranian missile strike that hit Soroka Medical Center earlier this morning.
Israel National News 19June2025, 2:34 PM (GMT+3) https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/410305
In a statement to Arutz Sheva – Israel National News, Oshri Avichzer, Deputy Mayor of Be’er Sheva, responded to the Iranian missile strike that hit Soroka Medical Center earlier this morning.
“It’s a very stormy morning here in Be’er Sheva,” Avichzer began. “A rocket hit Soroka Hospital—this is a hospital, a place with sick people who can’t run, who can’t do anything. It’s a red alert, not just for us, but for the entire world.”
The attack on Soroka Medical Center, the main hospital serving the southern region of Israel, occurred amid the ongoing Operation Rising Lion. No casualties were reported, as authorities had ordered an evacuation of parts of the hospital building the previous night—an action Avichzer called a “big miracle.”
“We thank God for the miracle that happened here last night. We were ordered to evacuate all the people from the building that was hit this morning. It could have been a horrible morning,” he said.
Avichzer called on the international community to take note of Iran’s role in the escalation. “We call on the world to see—to see what Iran is doing. To see the cruelty and evil of a country that targets hospitals.”
Despite the severity of the attack, the deputy mayor affirmed the city’s preparedness and resilience. “Here in Be’er Sheva, we are ready for any kind of event that may come. We pray to God that it doesn’t—but we are ready.”
He concluded by thanking emergency responders, security forces, and the citizens of Be’er Sheva for their swift and coordinated response. “We say thank you to all the authorities and everyone who came here. This could have been a tragedy. Instead, it was a miracle.”
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Military Rabbinate updates guidelines for soldiers
Following Israel’s attack on Iran, Military Rabbinate updates guidelines for soldiers.
Military Rabbinate 13June2025 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/409948
Following the Israeli military operation in Iran, the IDF’s Military Rabbinate has issued detailed guidelines for soldiers and commanders regarding conduct on Shabbat during emergency situations.
The purpose of the guidelines is to ensure adherence to Jewish law while fully addressing operational security needs.
At the outset, the directive states: “The State of Israel has launched an offensive in Iran – all necessary actions for the success of the operation must be carried out on Shabbat, even until its conclusion.”
Key points from the guidelines include:
1. Air Force units and supporting systems will continue normal operations throughout Shabbat.
2. In the event of civilian or military casualties, full rescue and evacuation operations should proceed as they would during any Shabbat emergency.
3. Combat forces in all active sectors, including Gaza, will continue their missions as required operationally.
4. Soldiers must adhere to all defense directives, including the cancellation of prayers or gatherings as necessary.
5. Training activities on Shabbat require approval from the command’s rabbi and must be justified by urgent operational needs.
6. Construction and logistical preparations are permitted for combat purposes, preferably completed before Shabbat begins.
7. Soldiers must remain on-call throughout Shabbat; commanders will initiate contact only if operationally necessary.
8. Emergency mobilization kits should be prepared in advance, including items classified as muktzeh. If not, handling is permitted with a modification in manner.
9. No updates to military records should be made on Shabbat unless operationally essential; reports should be pre-prepared.
10. Equipment should not be removed without an eruv unless there is no risk involved. Essential items such as weapons and vests may be carried.
11. Food and drink preparations must be made ahead of time. Cooking on Shabbat is prohibited except in emergencies with approval; boiling is allowed only by a non-Jew or with a halachic modification.
12. Transporting cold water and ice on Shabbat is permitted in enemy territory to prevent dehydration.
13. In cases of doubt, soldiers should consult their unit rabbi, command rabbi, or the Military Rabbinate hotline.
The Rabbinate stressed that in any situation involving potential danger to life, action must be taken immediately without delay.
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Nefesh B’Nefesh-Individuals and families who chose faith over fear
Nefesh-B’Nefesh-tweet-26June2025-Individuals and families who chose faith over fear
Last night marked one of the most inspiring moments at @NefeshBNefesh.
On Monday, every single person scheduled to make Aliyah in the first two weeks of July was personally contacted. Despite ongoing missile fire from Iran, nearly every single Oleh and Olah said they still wanted to come and many even said, “the earlier the better.”
As soon as Israel reopened its airspace, the NBN Flights Team sprang into action. Late into the night, calls were coming in non-stop, the inbox was overflowing, and the team worked hand-in-hand with @ELALUSA
to rebook every single flight. Staff from both the Aliyah Guidance Division and the Flights team coordinated tirelessly to ensure that no dream was delayed.
The result? In 14 hours, 90 Olim were successfully rebooked and will be landing in Israel throughout the first weeks of July. These are individuals and families who chose faith over fear – even in the midst of a war.
This is what Aliyah looks like. This is what it means to come home.
Welcome to Israel. We can’t wait to greet you.
🇮🇱
Nefesh-B’Nefesh-tweet-26June2025-Individuals and families who chose faith over fear
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The Real War
Despite a ceasefire with Iran, we are still at war! Rabbi Shalom Arush teaches us what each and every one of us needs to do in order to WIN!
Rabbi Shalom Arush | Posted on 27June2025 https://breslev.com/5155003/
The Real War by Rabbi Shalom Arush
This is a direct translation of a class given by Rabbi Shalom Arush on the 24th of Sivan, 5785 (June 19, Thursday night, 2025).
The truth is that we need to thank Hashem because we’ve had so many miracles every day, every second. You don’t understand what kind of miracles! We must sing the song: To Him who does great wonders alone, for His kindness is eternal.1 That’s just like we say in Hallel: Praise Hashem, all nations; praise Him, all the states! For His kindness has overwhelmed us.2
Praise Hashem, G-d, all other nations (the non-Jews) and praise Him all the nations because His mercy has overcome them. We don’t know what kind of miracles Hashem is doing for us, but our non-Jewish enemies do know. Their own missiles are falling on them. They see how many miracles Hashem is doing for us. And therefore, we say, “Praise Hashem, all nations”, that all the non-Jews should praise Hashem.
Precision-guided Missiles
Hashem is guiding all of the wars. But in all of the other wars we thought it was the army, the cannons, or the tanks; but here we can see that it’s really only Hashem. From thousands of kilometers away they’re shooting missiles at us — not on soldiers, but on civilians. Hashem, May His Name be blessed, is guiding every single missile to exactly where it should fall. Everything is exact.
Hashem decides where everyone is going to be and where every missile is going to fall. Therefore, this war is only about emunah – not logic, rational thinking, or reasoning. Only emunah!
Our Secret Weapon
We need to bring merit to the Jewish people. In Eretz Yisrael, go building by building and apartment by apartment to put in a Likutei Moharan to protect the residents from missiles. [Note: Outside of Israel, it is also a segula to have Likutei Moharan in your home, office, and car.] Rabbi Nachman says that the moment that Likutei Moharan is in most Jewish homes, Mashiach comes. Every book that you put into a house helps to bring Mashiach. We need to distribute the Likutei Moharan – it is a secret weapon of protection.
Sirens and Songs
What do we need to do when there’s an air raid siren? In Torah portion Beshalach, Moshe Rabbeinu is praying to Hashem at the Yam Suf while the Egyptian army races toward them. “And Hashem says to Moshe Rabbeinu, ‘Why are you crying out to Me?’ ”3
The Tanna Yossi HaGalili says that Hashem replied, “Moshe, My children are suffering. The sea is in front of them. The enemy is chasing after them. And you’re standing here and praying?” Moshe said, “I’m standing here and praying. And you’re telling me not to pray? What am I supposed to do?” The Tanna tells us: You need to raise up and give songs and praises and thanks to the One Whose wars are His, meaning Hashem.
Hashem Fights the War
It’s written “The Lord will fight for you.”3 The Midrash says, not only at this hour will God fight for you, but forever. God is always fighting for you against your enemies. Even more so if you praise God, meaning He’ll fight for you even more.
At that moment, Am Israel opened their mouths and started singing Shir shel Yam (Song of the Sea)4, “I shall sing to Hashem for He is exalted above the arrogant, having hurled horse with its rider into the sea”.
We need to sing songs and especially to say lots and lots of Mizmor L’Todah, which is Psalm100 – Song of Thanksgiving.
And through this, we give a garment to the splendor of God. And now, Hashem will get up and He will have vengeance against the enemies of Israel. And He will do all sorts of miracles and wonders for us. That’s what it’s written – to sing and thank Hashem.
We must strengthen ourselves so that we trust only in Hashem and we believe that we are only in God’s hands.
We must understand that this is a war in emuna. The most important thing to do is to say “Thank You”. Say “Give thanks to Hashem for He is good, because His kindness endures forever“5. Say it again with a tune. Sing! Praise Hashem! If you know Hallel by heart, say Hallel.
Always remember – THIS IS A WAR OF EMUNA. Be strong in emuna and give Likutei Moharan to as many people as possible.
In the Torah portion, Baha’alotcha, it’s written that the day they erected the Mishkan, the Cloud of Glory came and covered it. The Cloud provided shade. At night, there was the Cloud of Fire until the morning. So, during the day the entire area was covered with shade, but at night the area was lit by fire.6
Every time the Cloud moved forward, the Kohanim would disassemble the Mishkan and pack up the various pieces. Only then would the camp move forward. The Jews would come to a nice place where it’s comfortable. “What a great place!”, they’d say. But in the morning, the Cloud would start moving to indicate that the Jews were not to stay in that wonderful spot. So, the Jews moved on with the Cloud. Eventually, the Cloud stops at a terrible-looking, burnt-out, and destroyed place. The Jews stopped there and remained at the spot for as long as Hashem wanted.
The Ramban, the Sforno, and the Ohr HaChaim expound on this. Not once did the Jews complain about this [staying in terrible locations]. Think about that! The Cloud stops at some place. Everyone starts to assemble things to set up the camp. In the morning, the Cloud moves on, and everyone needs to disassemble what they assembled only the night before.
What suffering! Yet, we never hear – not once – that the Jewish people complained. Why not?! My son, Natan Arush, brought me an idea from the Midrashim of the Chumash. Everyone said that this lack of complaining shows the greatness of the Jewish people because they saw Hashem. The moment that we see Hashem—this is what He wants? Hashem wants us to move onward? OK, we’ll move on. He wants us to camp here in this “not good” place? OK, we’ll camp here. The Jews saw Hashem. The Cloud is Hashem. The Cloud parks, then the camp stays. The Cloud moves forward, then the camp moves forward.
When did the Jews cry and complain? When they didn’t see Hashem! They blamed Moshe Rabbeinu, “You took us out of Egypt!”. When we don’t see Hashem, that’s when we complain. This is an important lesson for all of us. When we see Hashem, then we’re singing and thanking Him even for the difficulties. We sing and say, “Thank You”. But when we don’t see Hashem, we start complaining and crying.
I want you to be very strong on this idea: WE ARE ONLY IN HASHEM’S HANDS – ONLY IN HIS HANDS. He will fight for us.
Some non-Jew said to a Jew, “What a fool! You don’t see that Hashem is fighting for you? You don’t see? You should be happy!” A non-Jew said this to a Jew!
We remember to sing often to Hashem; we sing a lot to Hashem. Do you want to help Am Yisrael, the Jewish people? We’re not better than Moshe Rabbeinu, so what are we doing? We’re singing, we’re praising Hashem, we’re thanking Him. Gd willing, Hashem will make us victorious in all of the wars.
Ashreinu (Happy are we)! How fortunate we are! Always remember – THIS IS A WAR OF EMUNA. Be strong in emuna and give Likutei Moharan to as many people as possible.
Editor’s Notes:
1 Tehillim (Psalms) 136:4
2 Tehillim 117
3 Shemot (Exodus)14:14-15
4 Shemot 14:30-15:19
5 Tehillim 118:1
6 Bamidbar (Numbers) 9:15-23
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Mossad established explosive drone base — in the heart of Iran
Israeli security source reveals: How the IDF and Mossad carried out an operation deep inside Iran.
Israel National News 13Jnue2025 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/409930
An Israeli security source revealed dramatic new details on Friday morning regarding the extensive Israeli strike against strategic infrastructure deep within Iran. According to the source, the operation – codenamed “Am KeLavi” (literally “Lion’s Might,” but codenamed in English “Rising Lion”) – was years in the making and executed through close cooperation between the IDF, the Mossad, and Israel’s defense industries.
In preparation for the operation, the IDF and Mossad worked side by side to assemble detailed intelligence dossiers on senior Iranian defense officials and nuclear scientists, enabling precise targeted assassinations. Concurrently, a covert campaign was launched to neutralize Iran’s strategic missile array through a combination of airstrikes and deep-cover operations on the ground.
According to the source, in recent years, the Mossad, in conjunction with the IDF and leveraging advanced technologies from Israel’s defense sector, carried out a series of covert sabotage missions within the heart of Iran. These actions directly degraded Iran’s air defense capabilities and strategic missile systems.
The covert campaign involved the activation of three distinct and complex operational systems:
1. Commando Teams Inside Iran:
Special Mossad units infiltrated central Iran and pre-positioned precision-guided weapon systems near Iranian surface-to-air missile (SAM) batteries. As the Israeli Air Force launched its aerial assault, these systems were activated and launched precision strikes simultaneously, striking key targets with exceptional accuracy.
2. Vehicle-Based Strike Systems:
To further neutralize Iran’s air defense systems – which posed a threat to Israeli aircraft – the Mossad covertly deployed attack technologies embedded within civilian vehicles across Iran. When the operation commenced, these concealed platforms launched powerful munitions that destroyed their assigned targets: Iran’s air defense infrastructure.
3. Covert Drone Bases:
The Mossad established a secret base of explosive-laden drones, smuggled into Iran long before the strike. During the Israeli offensive, these drones were launched toward Iranian surface-to-surface missile launchers located at the Esfajabad base near Tehran – a strategic site posing one of the greatest threats to both Israeli military and civilian targets – and successfully destroyed them.
The senior source emphasized that the operation “required bold and sophisticated planning, groundbreaking strategic thinking, and intricate deception.” He added: “This mission – made possible by accurate intelligence, cutting-edge technology, and the brave execution by operatives on the ground – delivered a painful blow to Iran’s strategic capabilities and a clear message: Israel will not allow its enemies to acquire weapons of mass destruction.”
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IDF strikes Iranian nuclear facility in Isafahan
IDF Spokesperson Effie Defrin confirms that Israel struck Iran’s nuclear facility in Isfahan, part of “Operation Rising Lion.” The strike targeted a uranium “reconversion” site.
Israel National News 13June2025, 8:49 PM (GMT+3) https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/409958
Nuclear site in Isfahan IDF Spokesperson’s Unit
IDF Spokesperson Effie Defrin confirmed on Friday evening that Israel struck the nuclear facility in Isfahan, Iran, as part of Operation Rising Lion.
His statement followed reports of explosions in Isfahan earlier in the day.
“It can now be revealed that we struck the nuclear facility in Isfahan earlier today, in addition to the attack in Natanz,” Defrin said during a press briefing.
The IDF later said in a statement, “A short while ago, IAF fighter jets completed a strike on the Iranian regime’s nuclear site in the Isfahan area, guided by precise intelligence from the Intelligence Directorate. At the site, a process of ‘reconversion’ of enriched uranium takes place. This is the stage after uranium enrichment in the nuclear weapons production process.”
According to the IDF, the strike dismantled a facility for producing metallic uranium, infrastructure for reconverting enriched uranium, laboratories, and additional infrastructure.
Defrin in his remarks reiterated calls for the Israeli public to follow Home Front Command guidelines and cautioned that, despite the damage inflicted, Iran still possesses the capability to harm Israel.
“The strikes we carried out in Iran throughout the day have had an impact on Iranian operations. That said, the Iranians still retain significant capabilities to harm Israel’s home front,” he stated.
Defrin emphasized that “the operation is still ongoing. We are acting according to a structured plan and continue to strike.”
(Israel National News’ North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)
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Watch: IAF strikes Iranian nuclear reactor in Arak
The IDF released footage of the airstrike on the inactive nuclear reactor near Arak in Iran.
Yoni Kempinski
Published: 19June2025, 3:30 PM (GMT+3) https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/410309
The IDF on Thursday published footage of the IAF airstrike on the inactive nuclear reactor in the Arak area of Iran earlier in the day.
As part of the broad effort to prevent the Iranian regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon, strikes targeted the nuclear reactor, including the structure of the reactor’s core seal, which is a key component in plutonium production.
Construction of the reactor began in 1997 but was not completed due to the international community’s intervention.
The reactor was originally intended for the production of weapons-grade plutonium, capable of enabling the development of nuclear weapons. In light of various agreements, in recent years the Iranian regime advanced its conversion to produce low-grade plutonium, which is not suitable for the production of nuclear weapons. However, the regime deliberately ordered not to complete the conversion that would have prevented its use for nuclear weapons — in order to exert pressure on the West.
The strike targeted the component intended for plutonium production, in order to prevent the reactor from being restored and used for nuclear weapons development.
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Pager operation #2? Reports of sabotage among Iran’s missiles
Beni Sabti, an expert on Iran, describes a new sign of sabotage among Iran’s missiles.
Israel National News Published: 21June2025, 10:53 PM (GMT+3) https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/410406
Beni Sabti, an Iran expert at the Institute for National Security Studies, spoke in the Channel 12 News studio about an unusual series of incidents reported in Iran’s missile corps.
“Something strange is happening to Iranian technology,” he stated. It is so far only a few Iranian citizens reporting this, and they have not been able to film it happening.”
“From their descriptions, missiles fired from western Tehran are detonating just a few dozen meters out of the launchers,” he described. “This has happened more than a few times
“It is like the Hezbollah pager explosions, but with different technology,” he added.
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U.S. strikes three Iranian nuclear sites
Operation Midnight Hammer: The US attack on Iran step-by-step
Gen. Dan Caine hails Operation Midnight Hammer as largest-ever B-2 strike, targeting key Iranian nuclear sites with unprecedented precision.
Israel National News 22June2025, 4:21 PM (GMT+3) https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/410462
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, in a briefing to the press at the Pentagon on Sunday, went into detail about the successful covert military operation targeting Iranian nuclear infrastructure.
Dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, the mission struck three nuclear facilities inside Iran. Gen. Caine described the strike as “deliberate and precise,” emphasizing the exceptional coordination and professionalism exhibited by US joint forces in what he characterized as a “complex and high-risk mission.”
The objective, according to Caine, was to severely degrade Iran’s nuclear weapons infrastructure. He noted that the operation was planned and carried out across multiple domains and theaters, showcasing the US military’s global reach and precision.
“Very few people in Washington knew about the timing and nature of the plan,” Caine stated.
The operation commenced at midnight on Friday into Saturday morning, with a large B-2 bomber strike package departing from the continental United States. A portion of the formation flew westward toward the Pacific as a decoy, a deception maneuver known only to a select group of planners and key officials in Washington and Tampa.
The main strike force, consisting of seven B-2 Spirit Bombers, flew eastward under radio silence, conducting several in-flight refuelings over the course of the 18-hour journey to the target area.
Once in proximity to Iranian airspace, the bombers joined with escort and support aircraft in a meticulously coordinated air maneuver. Minimal communication and exact timing were critical in this synchronized effort across a confined airspace.
At approximately 5:00 p.m. EST, a US submarine in the Central Command’s area of responsibility launched over two dozen Tomahawk missiles at strategic infrastructure in Esfahan. As the strike package entered Iranian territory, additional deception tactics were employed. Fourth and fifth-generation aircraft flew ahead of the bombers to counter aerial and surface missile threats.
Multiple US commands supported the operation, including US Strategic Command, US Transportation Command, US Cyber Command, US Space Command, US Space Force, and US European Command.
As the aircraft approached their targets at Fordow and Natanz, protection assets deployed high-speed suppression weapons and pre-emptive fire to neutralize surface-to-air threats. According to Gen. Caine, no shots were fired at the strike package during ingress.
At around 6:40 p.m. EST (2:10 a.m. local time), the lead B-2 bomber dropped two GBU-57 massive ordnance penetrators on targets at Fordow. In total, 14 such weapons were used across two nuclear sites.
All designated targets were hit between 6:40 p.m. and 7:05 p.m. EST. The Tomahawk missiles struck Esfahan last to preserve the element of surprise throughout the mission.
Following weapons release, the strike package exited Iranian airspace without incident. Caine confirmed there was no engagement from Iranian air defenses, and Iranian fighter aircraft did not respond.
The operation employed approximately 75 precision-guided munitions, including the first operational use of the 4,000-pound GBU-57. More than 125 US aircraft participated, supported by extensive aerial refueling, reconnaissance, and maintenance operations.
Gen. Caine noted that this mission represented the largest operational use of B-2 bombers in US history and the second-longest B-2 mission ever flown.
While force protection levels were raised across US positions in Iraq, Syria, and the Gulf, US forces remain on high alert. Caine issued a warning against Iranian retaliation, stating that the US is fully prepared to defend its personnel and interests.
“This mission demonstrates the unmatched reach, coordination, and capability of the US military,” he concluded. “In just a matter of weeks, this went from strategic planning to global execution.”
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Ethnic Groups in Iran
Iranian ethnic areas (Image by Mapper 01 – Own work, Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0)
Iran: State disintegration, not regime change
Israel must aim at dismantling Iran into separate ethnic entities to ensure that, in the future, it will not become the grave menace that it was in the past.
Martin Sherman
Martin Sherman spent seven years in operational capacities in the Israeli defense establishment. He is the founder of the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a member of the Habithonistim-Israel Defense & Security Forum (IDSF) research team, and a participant in the Israel Victory Project.
https://www.jns.org/iran-state-disintegration-not-regime-change/
(26June2025 / JNS) Despite the uneasy and artificial “peace” agreement, imposed recently (and arguably prematurely) by U.S. President Donald Trump, the debate still rages and speculation still swirls around the Iran-Israel conflict, particularly over the irksome question as to how it will play out in the long run.
A war concluded, not resolved
In this regard, it should be clear to any sober observer that the current Iranian regime cannot ever agree to genuinely forgo its pursuit of nuclear weapons—even if it does so temporarily, in the short run, as a survival tactic. After all, for the last quarter century, it has been the flagship enterprise of the regime.
Accordingly, abandoning its nuclear ambitions now, under duress, will be indelible proof of error, failure, and worse, of weakness. Clearly, for a regime that rules solely on the basis of might, this is an unacceptable situation, tolerable only as a transitory deception.
Indeed, in a recent paper entitled “The Israel–Iran War: Concluded but not Resolved,” a well-known research institute cautioned: “Iran is expected to portray the battle as a success, regardless of its military outcomes” and pondered “whether Israel’s gains can be preserved through diplomatic arrangements, or whether it will need to enforce them militarily.”
Adding to this concern are numerous reports that the aerial bombardment of Tehran’s nuclear installations may have been less devastating than originally thought, raising the specter of a resurgent Iranian nuclear program.
A tapestry of ethnicities
This is the reason that regime change must be a minimal imperative for Israel at the end of the hostilities, which are likely only to delay, not eradicate, the perils that precipitated the recent conflict.
It is because of this that, to ensure the permanent defanging of Iran, Israel must aspire to a goal beyond regime change. It must focus its efforts on inducing the disintegration of the country in its present configuration into several self-governing ethnic entities, principally non-Persian ones.
It is important to note that Iran’s population is far from monolithic. To the contrary, it is a heterogeneous mixture of diverse ethnicities, almost equally divided between Persians (50-60%) and non-Persians.
Thus, as a recent publication by the MEMRI research institute points out, the overall population comprises, among others, Kurds in the west, Baloch in the southeast, Ahwazi Arabs in the south, Azeris in the northwest and Turkmen in the northeast. Other groups include the Lurs and the Lak people.
Conditions ripe for secession?
As the MEMRI document points out, there have been tensions between Tehran and the more remote ethnicities, who have suffered varying degrees of oppression for decades. Among their grievances are: Having no rights to speak their language, no political power, and often being targeted with violence by the central regime.
All this enhances their motivation for resistance. Moreover, as they typically live in the border regions, this makes it easier for them to conduct contacts with neighboring countries and challenge Tehran’s control. Harboring a sense of betrayal at the hands of both the Ayatollahs and the Shah, they have a deep distrust of central authority emanating from Tehran.
These are conditions ripe not only for insurrection but for possible secession, particularly as the Iranian military has been significantly weakened.
This is something Israel—and hopefully the US—must seize on, employing covert subversive tactics, presumably via the Mossad, CIA and perhaps other Western intelligence agencies.
Israel cannot rely solely on regime change to ensure its post-war security, for at least two reasons.
The first relates to what the successor regime might be, with no guarantee that it will be at all amicable towards the Jewish state, particularly given the widespread negative view of Israel prevailing in large segments of the Iranian public.
The second relates to the uncertainty of the fate of any successor regime, no matter how benign and the possibility of itself being overthrown by some other regime, which might well be far more malevolent than its deposed predecessor.
Accordingly, in order to address these unknowns, Israel must go beyond the goal of regime change. Instead, it must aspire for Iran to be dismantled into separate self-governing ethnic entities to ensure that, in the future, it will not become the grave menace that it was in the past.
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Israel ‘Achieved Its Objectives’ in Iran Operation, Says Leading War Studies Think Tank
by Jack Elbaum
26June2025 2:07 pm https://www.algemeiner.com/2025/06/26/israel-achieved-objectives-iran-operation-says-leading-war-studies-think-tank/
A leading war studies think tank has assessed that Israel “achieved its objectives” in its recent operation against Iran’s nuclear program.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) released a report on Tuesday explaining that, in the 12-day operation, “Israel achieved its objectives vis-a-vis the nuclear program by destroying nuclear facilities and enrichment capacity with US support and killing key nuclear scientists who were instrumental in the development and weaponization of the program.”
ISW, in conjunction with the American Enterprise Institute’s Critical Threats Project (CTP), explained the details and implications of the conflict in their daily Iran Update, “which provides insights into Iranian and Iranian-sponsored activities that undermine regional stability and threaten US forces and interests.”
Israel launched a broad preemptive attack on Iran earlier this month, targeting military installations and nuclear sites across the country in what officials described as an effort to neutralize an imminent nuclear threat. Over the next several days, Israeli forces systematically dismantled Iran’s nuclear and ballistic-missile capabilities, destroying much of the infrastructure and killing top military leaders and nuclear scientists.
The US on Saturday night joined Israel’s campaign by bombing three key Iranian nuclear sites, before President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire to the conflict between the two Middle Eastern adversaries that went into effect on Tuesday.
Debate has raged this week over how extensive the damage was to Iran’s nuclear facilities, especially in the wake of the US bombings.
In the immediate aftermath of the strike, Trump declared that the Iranian nuclear facilities were completely destroyed. However, CNN and other media outlets subsequently reported on a leaked preliminary assessment from the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the Pentagon’s intelligence arm, which found that key elements of the nuclear program were not destroyed and that the strikes only set the program back a few months.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth lambasted the fact that the “top secret report” was leaked, adding that “it was preliminary; it was low confidence.” Trump and other senior administration officials have similarly dismissed the findings of the DIA report, saying that the Iranian nuclear program has been decimated.
ISW indicated it believes the US and Israeli strikes against Iran’s nuclear sites were successful.
“The destruction of the centrifuges and equipment inside does not necessarily require the collapse of the facility itself,” the think tank wrote in its Iran Update published on Wednesday. “The Institute of Science and International Security, a nuclear nonproliferation think tank that has long studied the Iranian nuclear program, assessed that it was very likely the strikes destroyed or damaged most of the centrifuges at Fordow on the basis of the impact locations and the effects of the blast waves.”
The Institute of Science and International Security said in its own report that although there are “non-destroyed parts [of the Iranian nuclear program] … [that] can be used in the future to produce weapon-grade uranium,” the US and Israeli attacks “have effectively destroyed Iran’s centrifuge enrichment program. It will be a long time before Iran comes anywhere near the capability it had before the attack.”
Meanwhile, Israeli assessments found that “significant damage” was done to the nuclear sites. Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said that based on the assessments of senior military intelligence officers, the damage “is … systemic … severe, broad and deep, and pushed back by years.”
The Israeli Atomic Energy Commission added that “the devastating US strike on [the Iranian nuclear site Fordow] destroyed the site’s critical infrastructure and rendered the enrichment facility inoperable. We assess that the American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, combined with Israeli strikes … have set back Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons by many years.”
Axios reporter Barak Ravid noted that Israeli officials were reportedly “perplexed by a leaked US intelligence report that suggested otherwise.”
Ravid also reported that an Israeli official with direct knowledge of intelligence on Iran told Axios that “intercepted communications suggest Iranian military officials have been giving false situation reports to the country’s political leadership — downplaying the extent of the damage.”
Then, in a new assessment on Wednesday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the strikes had “severely damaged” Iran’s nuclear program. He explained that they had gained additional intelligence since the initial DIA report. “This includes new intelligence from a historically reliable and accurate source/method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years,” Ratcliffe wrote.
The central goal of the Israeli campaign, known as Operation Rising Lion, was to disable Iran’s nuclear program, ISW explained. And this main effort was supported “by conducting a campaign designed to prevent Iran from conducting effective retaliatory strikes on Israel by degrading its ballistic missile capabilities.”
“The IDF sought to limit Iran’s ability to respond to Israel at the start of its campaign and continued to destroy Iranian missile launchers and stockpiles throughout the air campaign,” ISW wrote. “Iranian leaders originally planned to launch up to one thousand ballistic missiles at Israel in the immediate aftermath of an Israeli strike, presumably in multiple barrages. The first Iranian missile barrage included about 30 missiles, and Iran never managed to launch over 40 ballistic missiles in a single barrage throughout the 12 days of attacks.”
This aspect of the operation, likewise, was a success. ISW reported that over the entire two-week operation, Iran fired a total of only 543 missiles, of which 89 percent were intercepted (and many that were not intercepted hit open, not residential, areas).
Still, “Iranian ballistic missiles did penetrate Israeli air defenses striking populated areas in some instances, however. Air defense systems are not perfect, and some projectiles will penetrate the system.”
Additionally, the missiles Iran used were not particularly helpful in a military sense. “The relatively poor accuracy of these missiles compared to a precision-guided munition means that even in instances when Iranian missiles struck military targets, they were largely ineffective and caused no casualties and limited damage,” ISW noted.
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IDF Summarizes War Against Iran – Operation “Rising Lion”
Cheryl E-tweet-27June2025-IDF Summarizes War Against Iran
IDF Summarizes War Against Iran – Operation “Rising Lion”: “The Most Complex Operation in IDF History”
The IDF states that the operation fully achieved its objectives, yielding the following results:
1. Iran’s Nuclear Program Significantly Damaged: Iran currently lacks the capability to enrich uranium to 90%, which has been neutralized for an extended period. The regime’s ability to produce the core of a nuclear weapon was eliminated. Thousands of centrifuges were destroyed, exceeding the original plan.
2. Iran’s Missile Production Capabilities Severely Impaired: Iran will be unable to produce thousands of missiles as planned in the coming years, with its missile production capacity currently neutralized. A significant reduction in missile production is expected, and rebuilding capabilities will require a lengthy process. Approximately 200 missile launchers, about 50% of Iran’s arsenal, were destroyed.
3. IDF Achieved Air Superiority Over Iran: 80% of Iran’s air defense systems in the operational areas were destroyed, equating to roughly 80 out of 100 air defense batteries. Additionally, about 70 Iranian radars were destroyed. In the opening strike, 60% of Iran’s strategic air defense batteries were eliminated, a key enabler for the operation’s continuation.
Additional Data:
– Interception Rates: 86% of Iranian ballistic missiles and 99% of drones were intercepted by air defense systems.
– Air Force Operations: The Israeli Air Force conducted over 1,500 sorties, striking more than 900 targets across Iran.
– Tehran Strikes: In the final 24 hours of the operation, widespread attacks on Revolutionary Guard Corps headquarters in Tehran resulted in an estimated 200–300 Revolutionary Guards and Basij fighters killed.
– Limited Involvement of Pro-Iranian Militias: Shiite militias in Iraq participated minimally, launching about 40 drones toward Israel. The Iranian axis did not fully engage—Hezbollah did not fire at all, and Houthi attacks were limited to 2–3 missiles.
– Disruption of Iranian Missile Launches: The IDF estimates Iran launched only 60% of the planned missile barrages, meaning 40% of the missiles intended for Israel were not fired.
– Damage to Israeli Home Front: 2,305 apartments in 240 buildings were damaged, leaving 13,197 Israelis homeless.
The IDF concludes that while the Iranian threat persists and Iran will not disappear, Israel is now entering a phase of force buildup, prepared for future confrontations. The IDF is ready to approach the next round of conflict with Iran better equipped and more prepared.
Cheryl E-tweet-27June2025-IDF Summarizes War Against Iran
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THE OPEN MIRACLES FOR ISRAEL CONTINUE
Dov Lipman-tweet-4July2025-THE OPEN MIRACLES FOR ISRAEL CONTINUE
THE OPEN MIRACLES FOR ISRAEL CONTINUE
An engineer in the Israeli Air Force relates the following:
“It doesn’t make any sense.
I’ve worked with engines my whole life.
Every flights caused wear and tear.
A round trip flight to Iran – 3,000 kilometers – should exhaust the engine.
But I saw it with my own eyes.
The engines looked as if they had just come out of maintenance.
And the computerized diagnostic systems confirmed it – almost no wear.
One by one the planes were inspected and to everyone’s amazement 70 percent of them didn’t require any serious maintenance.
Only routine servicing.”
Behold, the Protector of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep – Psalms 121:4
Dov Lipman-tweet-4July2025-THE OPEN MIRACLES FOR ISRAEL CONTINUE
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How to preserve the gains of the Iran War
The Lebanese model should be applied to Iran. Israel has redrawn the map of the Middle East, emerging as the region’s top military power, cornering Iran and outpacing Turkey.
by Prof. Eyal Zisser – Published on 06-29-2025 13:22 – Last modified: 06-29-2025 13:22 – https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/how-to-preserve-the-gains-of-the-iran-war/
The announcement of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran, coming just as Iran appeared to be buckling under the weight of the blows it had suffered, has taken many back to November 2024. That was when, under US pressure, a ceasefire was declared to end the war against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Back then, too, the ceasefire came as a surprise and even carried a bitter aftertaste, as it was seen as a lifeline to Hezbollah, which had been brought to its knees by Israel’s assault. There were widespread concerns the ceasefire would enable the terrorist group to regroup and eventually return to threaten Israel once more.
And yet, surprisingly, the Lebanese ceasefire model, with its conditional terms allowing Israel full freedom of action against any threats or violations, has thus far proven effective. Israel kept up the pressure on Hezbollah, with full American backing, and struck the group whenever it tried to smuggle weapons into Lebanon or rebuild its capabilities. The outcome was clear in the war with Iran: Hezbollah refrained from breaching the quiet along the border, even under Iranian pressure and temptation to join the fight.
This Lebanese model must now be replicated in Iran. Only such an approach can ensure the war’s gains are preserved, gains that are not only substantial but historic. Over the 12-day First Iran War, Israel redrew the regional landscape and became the dominant military power in the Middle East, sidelining Iran and leaving Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Turkey trailing behind.
Since the ayatollahs seized power in Tehran 46 years ago, their regime has relentlessly pursued a sphere of influence stretching from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean. Iran established proxies and bases across the Arab world, in Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Gaza and Lebanon. To cement this control, it worked to develop nuclear capabilities and an arsenal of missiles capable of striking anywhere in the Middle East, and potentially Europe.
The destruction of Israel was viewed as a necessary step toward Iran’s vision of regional hegemony and aligned with the ideological aims of the ayatollahs’ regime. Iran invested hundreds of billions of dollars into this campaign, known as the “Axis of Resistance”, or as Israelis call it, the “Axis of Evil”, making it the regime’s central, and perhaps sole, strategic objective.
All of this now lies in ruins. Over the past two years, Iran’s strongholds in Gaza, Beirut and Damascus have been dismantled. Its nuclear program has been eliminated, and its long-range missile project has been severely damaged. The war has rolled back the ayatollahs to where they began nearly 50 years ago, stripping them of the vast resources that could have been used to build the country and improve the lives of its people. Every Iranian now sees this failure, and one day, inevitably, the regime will face a reckoning.
Yet the Iranian regime remains determined to rebuild and resume its campaign. It makes no effort to conceal these intentions, as its very identity and raison d’être are rooted in the struggle to destroy Israel and impose its will on the region.
It is therefore essential to reach an understanding with the US, similar to the Lebanese case. Despite the differences between the two theaters, Israel, and the US, must retain the freedom to act whenever they detect a growing threat or any attempt by Iran to revive its nuclear or missile projects.
Otherwise, the countdown to the next round of conflict with Iran will begin, and the hard-won achievements of this war will be lost.
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THE ISLAMIC CHRONICLES PT I: WHAT NOW?
THEY HAVE FLED. WE ARE STILL HERE. WE WIN, THEY LOSE!
Andrew Benjamin
29June2025
Khamenei hiding in bunker-Bibi said Hello
IRANIAN AUTHOR AMIL IMANI: ”The ayatollahs, cloaked in false piety, have looted Iran’s wealth to build missiles and militias, leaving millions in poverty while their Revolutionary Guards crush skulls and break spirits. This is not governance—it is slavery. The regime’s nuclear ambitions, a dagger aimed at the world, have only tightened the noose around Iran’s neck, chaining its people to a future of isolation and fear.
Iranians support the Shah and Israel
But the chains are breaking. Israel’s Operation Rising Lion, a relentless storm of precision strikes, has smashed the regime’s nuclear facilities, obliterated its military command, and gutted its ballistic missile arsenal. Over 200 targets— command centers, enrichment sites, fuel depots—lie in ruins, their ashes a testament to Israel’s resolve.
Netanyahu, a warrior-king in the mold of ancient heroes, has not merely attacked; he has unleashed a reckoning. “We will hit every site, every target of the ayatollah regime,” he declared, his words a clarion call to a people yearning for liberation. The regime’s leaders, from Khamenei to his bloodthirsty generals, are not just shaken; they are packing their bags, their grip on power crumbling as Israel’s jets roar over Tehran.” – AMERICAN THINKER
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HOW DONALD TRUMP AND BIBI NETANYAHU, TWO CHURCHILLIAN STATESMEN, CHANGED THE WORLD!
THEY FLED TEHRAN – NOW WHAT?
Israel’s lightning campaign has shattered Iran’s air defences, decapitated its military command, and sent members of the regime’s leadership fleeing to Russia.
Several senior Iranian political and religious leaders have reportedly fled to safe havens in Russia: a dramatic signal of collapsing confidence. This exodus of the ruling elite, if accurate, delivers a decisive psychological blow. We are not there yet, but Khamenei himself fleeing would be comparable to the Shah of Iran boarding a plane in 1979 or Afghanistan’s president fleeing Kabul in 2021. It telegraphs to both regime loyalists and the public that the ship of state is sinking, potentially eroding any remaining will to resist.
Israel’s offensive seems aimed beyond just neutralising nuclear threats. It is “clearing the path” for Iranians to reclaim their freedom, as Prime Minister Netanyahu put it in a direct appeal to Iran’s people. In other words, regime change is an implicit objective of this campaign.
AGB, my own take:
The Ayatollahs will dig their heels in and it will take another war to dislodge them.
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MESSAGE FROM IRAN
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THE PLANET’S ANTISEMITES, NOTE FOR FUTURE REFERENCE:
There are 200,000 Americans in Israel, and tens of thousands of American troops throughout the mideast, being bombed by the Iranian regime that has murdered thousands of Americans already. Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Col. Doug MacGregor, Senator Ron Paul, convicted pedophile Scott Ritter, and far leftist former SALON writer Dan Greenwald, are unaware of this fact.
“According to Grok, Iran (which has officially been at war against the U.S. since the 1979 hostage crisis) is known or is believed to have been responsible for the following terrorist attacks:
In addition, Iran funded and often controlled the insurgency in Iraq that killed and wounded thousands of Americans, and, as noted, it’s the actual power behind Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, which have been responsible for worldwide terrorist attacks. There’s also reason to believe that Iran has been relentlessly trying to assassinate President Trump.” – Andrea Widburg, AMERICAN THINKER
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IS THERE A LESSON TO BE LEARNED HERE?
IT IS THIS: AM YISRAEL CHAI!
We. Are. Here. And We. Will. Never. Leave.
We are not going anywhere.
We are not folding.
We are not bowing.
We are not trembling before death cults and fanatics who chant for blood and scream for annihilation.
We are the people of Israel, and we are alive — bruised but unbreakable, crying but undefeated.
We fear God.
Not missiles. Not monsters. Not madmen in turbans playing God from bunkers.
Right now, as you read this, the people of Israel — from Efrat to Sderot, from Jerusalem to the Galil — are standing together. Not hiding. Standing.
ELIMINATED AS OF THREE DAYS AGO. MANY MORE WERE ADDED SINCE.
The Iranian regime’s security chain of command-ELIMINATED
And they, our enemies, and not us, are fleeing! The rest, decomposing.
IDF spokesman says Al Jazeera covering up Hamas activity in targeted
We, the People of the United States, Israel and Iran, are celebrating victory together!
the People of the United States, Israel and Iran, are celebrating victory together
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JEWS, DON’T GO EAST, DON’T GO WEST!
Mordy’s _Law_Australia-tweet-26June2025-JEWS, DON’T GO EAST, DON’T GO WEST-Aliyah ONLY
JEWS, DON’T GO EAST, DON’T GO WEST!
Often reminded of this scene from Schindlers List. Feels like nothing much has changed! 🇮🇱✡️
#NYCMayor
#NewYorkCity
#antisemitism
#Israel
Mordy’s _Law_Australia-tweet-26June2025-JEWS, DON’T GO EAST, DON’T GO WEST-Aliyah ONLY
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The first Olim since the war ended just landed in Israel
Hillel Fuld-tweet-25June2025-The first Olim since the war ended just landed in Israel
The first Olim since the war ended just landed in Israel!
100 new immigrants from France, Spain, the U.K., and Holland arrived home today. Some of them intend on drafting to the IDF.
Who is like our nation, the nation of Israel?
Hillel Fuld-tweet-25June2025-The first Olim since the war ended just landed in Israel
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