Brad Lander, the Democratic candidate for the seat to represent New York’s 10th Congressional District, emerged undaunted from a protest where he was heckled and forced out for being a Zionist despite his extreme criticism of Israel, including labeling Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide.

“I want to address what happened over the weekend outside Madison Square Garden, where a few loudmouths heckled me. To be clear, I’m just fine, and I’m glad I attended,” he said in a video recording he posted to his X account, explaining that he attended to protest the treatment of minorities in India.

“I won’t stop joining rallies against hate in India, in Israel, and Palestine, or in New York City because of a couple of loud numbskulls,” he added.

He then doubled down on his harsh stance on Israel, saying his position has earned him criticism from both sides.

“I protest when I believe people are perverting Judaism to justify ethnic cleansing and exclusion, and I feel solidarity for Muslims who are doing the same,” he said. “Now, it’s no secret that some people disagree strongly with some of my views, as someone who objects vehemently to what Israel is doing to Palestinians in Gaza, which I do believe meets the definition of genocide, and in the West Bank and in Lebanon.”

“I get criticized frequently by centrist and right-wing Jews,” he said. “And as someone who nonetheless believes in the vision and the possibility of a Jewish and democratic Israel alongside a free Palestine, once decades of occupation and apartheid end, I get criticized frequently by left wingers who oppose Zionism.”

“Those conversations aren’t always easy, but I try to take them seriously, to listen in good faith, and to build coalitions with people who don’t always agree on everything, and I have no plan to stop,” he added.

“Of course, it’s not great when a couple of fringe assholes with drums and bullhorns take over a rally and try to bully people,” he said. “So, I calmly stood my ground and I remained at the protest against the RSS. No one’s going to tell me where I can stand or what positions I can take.”

At first, Lander did stand his ground, but omitted the fact that he was forced to move to a different area of the protest for his own safety.

Lander thanked those who spoke out against the behavior of the hecklers, including Yaakov Berman, a Chabad liaison, who he said rebuked people online who “took delight” in what happened.

Critics have said that Jewish anti-Zionists who try to prove their anti-Zionist bona fides eventually fail because anti-Zionism is not about Israel; it’s about hating Jews. They add that no rhetoric against Israel, no matter how extreme, will be enough for the Jew haters, citing Scott Wiener as a case in point.

Observers have said that Brad Lander has yet to learn this lesson, despite a hard one being administered already.

Speaking to the Republican Jewish Coalition via video from Washington, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson expressed confidence that the war with Iran would be over by the time Americans headed to the polls for the midterm elections in November.

Johnson told those assembled at the group’s annual leadership summit in Las Vegas that the war must be resolved, but the United States also must finish the job.

“We’ve got to resolve this,” he said. “We have to bring it to a resolution, but we can’t leave without having this completely finished.”

“A nuclear armed Iran is a threat to freedom everywhere,” he said. “So this was an important objective. We got it done.”

Former Israeli ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer, center. (Credit: Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“Now we’re in the process of winding this down,” he said. “I think we can get this done. So, if we wrap it up in the next 64 days, that’d be great as we go into the midterm election.”

“But even if not, I think we can explain why that was necessary,” Johnson said.

Ron Dermer, formerly Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., delivered remarks to the coalition in which he also said that Iran must be defeated.

“Iran was beaten pretty badly and now they’re on their way into the dustbin of history,” he said, noting the severe degradation of Iran’s military capabilities and its current economic pain inflicted upon it by the United States. He also called on President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance to topple the Iranian regime.

“The greatest vulnerability of Iran is that its own people hate it and those people want to be free and they will be free,” he said. “The United States has to have a policy, whether they declare it publicly or not— what I would suggest humbly to the president, and I know the vice president is going to be later here today — that they have a policy that by the time Trump leaves office, Iran is free.”

The Israeli Foreign Ministry dropped a bombshell revelation Monday: Palestinians in need receive more than 10 times as much United Nations aid per person as people in need in the Congo and Sudan.

A person in Sudan receives $86 in aid. A person in the Congo receives $95 in aid.

An Arab in Gaza, Judea, or Samaria receives a whopping $1,100.

The funds disbursed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs go disproportionately to Palestinians compared with other groups.

“Follow the money,” the ministry said, alongside a video it posted about the statistics.

In the video, the narrator began by asking, “Where does U.N. bias show up?”

“Follow the sources, then follow the money,” the video advised, saying that the U.N. gets its information from Hamas, then repackages it as official U.N. reports.

“U.N. agencies, committees, and commissions cite data from Hamas’s health ministry. When those assertions travel the U.N. system, they emerge as official U.N. reports,” the narrator said.

“Now follow the money,” it continued. “The U.N.’s humanitarian affairs office designates $86 per person of need in Sudan. In Congo, it’s $95. For Gaza and Judea and Samaria, over $1,100 per person. Same humanitarian system? More than 10 times the funding per person. It’s about where the information comes from and where the resources go to. Biased reporting, biased priorities, biased budgeting.”

The video ended with a call to action.

“Unmask the UN,” it declared.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sat down on the floor yesterday with reserve combat servicemen and women, immediately dropping to their level, during a photo shoot for the Combat Soldiers for Combat Soldiers exhibition organized by the Support Our Soldiers association.

Netanyahu did not stand above them. He sat with them.

He called them heroes and listened as they told their personal stories, battlefield experiences, and the long road they have walked since returning from war.

“There is immense fortitude here,” Netanyahu said. “You gave everything and you are worthy of everything.”

Among those in the room, the prime minister highlighted fighters involved in the operation that eliminated Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas terror chief and architect of the October 7 massacre.

The meeting was not a staged handshake line. Netanyahu heard how they fought, how they were wounded, and how they have been coping since then. At the end of the session, they took a joint photograph that will appear in the exhibition as it tours Israel and the world, carrying their stories with it.

The exhibition, initiated by Support Our Soldiers, is built around combat veterans photographed alongside public figures so the country, and audiences abroad, will see the faces of the men and women who carried the war.

Netanyahu’s message was simple: these reservists gave everything. Israel owes them everything.

Israel and Greece signed the biggest defense deal in the history of Israel-Greece relations Monday, as well as the biggest defense export deal in Israeli history.

“An approximately €3 billion deal: Israel and Greece have signed the massive ‘Achilles Shield’ agreement, under which Israel will build Greece a multi-layered air defense array based on Israeli systems architecture,” Israel’s Ministry of Defense stated.

“This is the largest defense export deal in the history of Israel-Greece relations, and one of the largest in the history of the State of Israel,” the ministry added, going on to name the Israeli and Greek signatories to the deal, the directors general of each country’s defense ministry, Maj. Gen. (Res.) Amir Baram and Ioannis Bouras.

The ministry included a bulleted list of all the defense systems Greece is purchasing from Israel:

Credit: Israeli Defense Ministry

• The David’s Sling system, developed by the Israeli Missile Defense Organization within the Ministry’s DDR&D, with Rafael as prime developer
• The BARAK MX system, manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)
• The SPYDER system, manufactured by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems
• MMR multi-mission radars for air surveillance, manufactured by ELTA Systems, a subsidiary of IAI
• A new national command and control system, which will consolidate the full range of air defense capabilities and will be developed by Rafael

The air defense system is called “Achilles Shield,” named for the hero in Greek mythology who was immortal and could not be killed save through his one vulnerability, his heel.

The deal comes amid growing fears of Turkish and Iranian threats to the region. Cyprus has also purchased defense systems from Israel, and the three countries have been working to strengthen ties to counteract the increasing threats.

“Under the deal, Israel will build Greece a comprehensive, multi-layered air defense array, drawing entirely on Israeli-made systems and on the extensive operational experience Israel’s defense establishment has gained during the war,” the ministry said.

“This project marks another milestone in defense cooperation between Israel and Greece, a key strategic partner in the Eastern Mediterranean. Greece’s choice of Israeli technology as the backbone of its most ambitious air defense buildup program in the past decade reflects the depth of trust built between the two countries,” the ministry said in a separate statement.

The purpose of the deal is “to expand defense exports as a central tool for strengthening the IDF’s force buildup, influencing Israel’s foreign policy standing worldwide, and bolstering the Israeli defense industry and economy,” the ministry added.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the Slovenian prime minister for refusing to support an EU resolution against Israel’s settlement building in E1, an undeveloped plot of land near Maale Adumim in Judea in Area C, which is under the total jurisdiction of Israel.

The expression of gratitude comes amid a sharp disagreement between Prime Minister Janez Janša and President Nataša Pirc Musar, who issued a statement with a veiled rebuke aimed at the Slovenian premier.

“International law is not a matter of political choice and there must be no double standards in its respect,” she lectured. “It applies equally to everyone. Slovenia, from its own historical experience, understands well the importance of sovereignty and territorial integrity, and therefore must be particularly consistent in defending them. When these principles are violated, Slovenia must be among the countries that clearly defend them.”

Janša fired back, saying that “swearing allegiance to international law while at the same time speaking of genocide in Gaza or in Judea and Samaria (aka the West Bank), which no competent institution has determined under international law — is a political choice of a special kind.”

Netanyahu stepped in to praise Janša for his moral clarity.

“Thank you PM Janša for your courage and clarity amidst EU hypocrisy,” the prime minister posted on X. “The EU remains silent when Turkey, a NATO member, illegally occupies half of Cyprus — an EU member! Yet when the Jewish people want to exercise their historic right to build and live in their ancestral homeland, the EU is outraged.”

“You reminded everyone that Slovenia is a sovereign state and an equal member of the EU. That is not a provocation. It is a right that some wish to deny,” he added. “Thank you, Janez, for your conviction and leadership.”

President Donald Trump vowed Monday to strike back against Iran for its earlier strikes on U.S. forces in Jordan that day, telling Fox News he would “hit them hard.”

“I just spoke with President Trump, who told Fox News the United States will respond to the Iranian attack on U.S. forces overnight in Jordan,” Trey Yingst reported on Fox News. “The president said, ‘We’re going to hit them hard. There will be a response.'”

Fox News also reported that the president said that all of the missiles launched by Iran in this latest attack were intercepted by U.S. air defense systems except for one, which was identified as not going to cause damage and was therefore allowed to slip through the defense system.

“This comes as the president said the Iranians want to meet so badly, but he doesn’t know if you can count on them to make a deal. But added that the current U.S. sanctions against the Iranian regime are kicking in strongly. But again, the headline here: President Trump telling Fox News that the United States will respond to this attack on U.S. forces in Jordan overnight,” the Fox News correspondent concluded.

The president posted an AI-generated video of U.S. forces attacking Kharg Island, which is seen as a threat to the linchpin of Iran’s oil economy.

Meanwhile, Iranian officials are acknowledging that U.S. sanctions are beginning to take their toll, and experts warn that continued economic pain could ignite fresh unrest in Iran.

A brief pursuit by Border Police of a truck that fled the Mizmoriyah checkpoint near the Sur Baher neighborhood on Jerusalem’s southeastern outskirts revealed 18 Arabs hiding in a double wall of the truck’s undercarriage who were attempting to cross illegally, according to Israel Police.

Police caught up with the vehicle in al-Muntar in Judea east of Jerusalem, after the driver damaged infrastructure at the checkpoint and struck two civilian vehicles. The driver fled on foot, but the remaining 18 passengers were detained and taken for questioning.

Arabs keep trying to sneak across the border for employment opportunities. After the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel, Israel revoked more than 115,000 work permits; wages are also twice as high in Israel as they are in the disputed territories. As a result of the revocation of work permits and tightened security in the form of increased checkpoints and restrictions on movement, unemployment among Arabs in Judea and Samaria has soared to 30 percent.

At the same time, a persistent high demand for manual labor within Israel, especially in construction and agriculture, has created an incentive for Arabs to exploit the gaps in checkpoints that remain despite tight security.

For Israelis, this presents a severe security threat, because any gap exploited by laborers seeking economic relief can also be exploited by terrorists seeking to kill as many Israeli civilians as possible.

Israel has launched the international selection process for a massive seawater desalination plant near Netanya that could become one of the largest facilities of its kind in the world.

The Emek Hefer plant is designed to produce up to 400 million cubic meters of desalinated water annually. That is more than one billion liters every day and roughly equal to 40% of Israel’s current annual freshwater consumption by households and industry. The facility will use seawater reverse osmosis, pushing Mediterranean water through specialized membranes to remove salt and other impurities.

The proposed plant will occupy approximately 200 dunams, or 20 hectares, inside the Emek Hefer Industrial Zone. The site is located roughly two kilometers inland, between Routes 2 and 4, with an infrastructure corridor running toward the Mediterranean coast north of Mikhmoret.

Seawater will be carried inland for treatment before the finished water is transferred to a reservoir and pumping station operated by Mekorot. From there, it will enter Israel’s national water network. The tender also allows for construction of a natural gas-powered station capable of generating up to 300 megawatts to meet the enormous electricity demands of the desalination process.

Despite the government’s announcement, construction is not yet beginning. Israel has opened the pre-qualification phase, during which international and Israeli groups must demonstrate extensive financial, engineering, construction and water-treatment experience. Only approved candidates will be allowed to compete in the final tender.

Under the proposed build-operate-transfer arrangement, the winning private consortium will finance, design and construct the project before operating it for nearly 25 years. The facility will then be transferred to the state at no cost. Israel will purchase the desalinated water throughout the concession, while retaining the option to bring the plant online in stages as demand increases.

The project represents the next major step in Israel’s transformation from a water-scarce country into a global desalination power. Desalinated seawater already supplies approximately 80% of Israel’s potable water, but rapid population growth, declining natural water resources and the possibility of prolonged droughts are forcing the country to expand again. The government is preparing to raise national desalination capacity to two billion cubic meters annually by 2050.

The new plant could also reshape Israel’s water relationship with Jordan. Tender documents say the additional capacity may support the proposed Prosperity Blue arrangement, which could increase Israeli water sales to Jordan by as much as 200 million cubic meters annually. However, the government stressed that the regional initiative is separate from the desalination project and that the plant will proceed regardless of whether the agreement advances.

The plan is already facing fierce local opposition. Emek Hefer officials argue that the state doubled the proposed facility from its original 200-million-cubic-meter design before planning authorities completed their review of objections. The regional council says the power station, reservoirs and extensive pipeline network could damage agricultural and open land and place major infrastructure close to local communities.

Council head Galit Shaul has demanded that the tender be frozen until the statutory planning process is completed and has raised the possibility of legal action. Government officials maintain that preliminary tender work must advance because of the project’s complexity and say the final design will reflect decisions made by the National Infrastructure Committee. Professional estimates place construction costs at roughly NIS 5 billion to NIS 6 billion, with the project potentially taking about seven years to complete.

Once operational, the Emek Hefer facility would become a central pillar of Israel’s long-term water security, producing enough water to serve millions of people while creating a larger buffer against drought, population growth and disruptions to natural supplies. Before that happens, however, Israel must clear the planning battle, select an international consortium and finalize the project’s energy and environmental footprint.

Two Israeli boys, ages 14 and 16, have been indicted for allegedly carrying out paid assignments for an Iranian intelligence operative, exposing how the regime’s online recruitment machine is increasingly targeting children through social media.

The Kiryat Motzkin teenagers allegedly photographed potential targets, collected security information, sprayed anti-government graffiti and attempted to recruit additional minors. The Haifa District Attorney’s Office filed the charges in juvenile court, while a gag order bars publication of identifying information.

According to prosecutors, the operation began when the older teenager searched for work through a Telegram group. A man using the alias Daniel contacted him and offered payment for completing assignments. The first requests appeared harmless, including distributing flyers and submitting photographs to confirm his identity. The teen later brought his younger friend into the operation.

TOPSHOT – A man poses for a photo next to a fallen rocket half-buried in the ground on the outskirts of Jericho on June 8, 2026, following Iranian and Iran-backed Houthi rebel attacks. Israel and Iran traded fire on June 8, seriously testing a fragile truce and threating hopes for a deal to end the Middle East war. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP via Getty Images) /

The assignments then escalated. One teenager allegedly photographed shopping centers in Herzliya and Tel Aviv, documenting entrances, exits and the number of security guards stationed at one mall. Prosecutors say he later deleted videos he had already sent because he feared they could be used to facilitate a terrorist attack. Despite that concern, the contact allegedly continued.

The teenagers eventually asked Daniel whether he was Iranian. He reportedly acknowledged being connected to Iran, but prosecutors say they continued working for him. The pair allegedly sprayed and photographed anti-government graffiti in Kiryat Motzkin, while one used his friend’s Telegram account to pose as a soldier in the IDF’s elite Unit 8200 intelligence branch in an effort to secure additional missions.

The Iranian handler also allegedly instructed them to recruit others. One teenager began establishing a Telegram channel and asked his friend to add minors prepared to undertake “high-risk” assignments. The boys received relatively small payments, including cryptocurrency, illustrating how Tehran can cultivate potential operatives with little money and no face-to-face contact. One suspect was ultimately arrested after landing at Ben-Gurion International Airport, triggering a covert investigation involving the Asher District Central Unit, Lahav 433’s Barak Unit and other security agencies.

Israel intelligence agency operator uses program deploying bots on social networks, smearing political opponents. Israeli Mossad agent engages in cognitive warfare using troll accounts, camera A

One defendant now faces charges including contact with a foreign agent, three counts of providing information for the benefit of the enemy and property defacement. The other is charged with assisting contact with a foreign agent and property defacement. The allegations have not yet been proven in court.

The case is part of a far broader Iranian campaign. Another 14-year-old Israeli was indicted earlier this year after allegedly accepting cryptocurrency to film areas near the Kirya military headquarters, Ichilov Hospital and locations in Ramat Gan. The Shin Bet reported that security forces thwarted 120 suspected Iranian espionage incidents in 2025, as recruitment attempts rose 400% from the previous year. Israel has since launched a national campaign warning that Tehran’s seemingly easy online money offers can end in serious security charges and years behind bars.

The Iranian regime does not need every recruit to possess classified documents. A teenager carrying a smartphone can photograph a crowded site, map its access points, count its guards and help identify other vulnerable recruits. Police are now urging parents to watch for unexplained cryptocurrency payments, secretive Telegram contacts and online “jobs” involving photography, deliveries or political vandalism.

President Donald Trump is set to meet with prominent Hasidic rabbinic leaders and heads of yeshivas on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. in the Oval Office. Expected to be in attendance are the grand rabbis (also known as rebbes) of Satmar, Bobov, Bobov-45, Vizhnitz-Monsey, and Skver, as well as Rabbi Malkiel Kotler, the head of Beth Medrash Govoha, a yeshiva in Lakewood, N.J., among others.

No official agenda has been set, but Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum, head of the fiercely anti-Zionist Satmar sect, said he might raise the issue of the Haredi draft with the president. Other issues that might be raised are the rabbis’ opposition to government oversight of education requirements, preserving the independence of Haredi education, and more general questions of religious freedom.

However, the official purpose of the meeting is for the rabbis to tender Rosh Hashana greetings to President Trump.

The Satmar rebbe told his students about the upcoming meeting Friday night and was quoted at length in Yeshiva World News.

Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum, Grand Rabbi of Satmar. (Credit: Instagram)

“Last Sunday, I received an invitation from the White House to meet with the president this coming Thursday, together with other rabbonim [rabbis] and askanim [community leaders],” the rebbe said, adding that at first he planned to decline the meeting, as his yeshiva was involved in studying and preparing for the upcoming High Holidays.

But he recalled a previous time decades ago when such a meeting helped “a Jew who was in distress,” and ultimately, that was what decided him.

“I remembered that about 30 years ago, I had a similar situation, when there was a meeting with the president at the time. During that period, there was a Jew who was in distress, and through that meeting we were able to help him. Since there is now another Jew who is in distress, I thought perhaps we could help him through this meeting, and therefore I ultimately agreed.”

The rebbe said he hoped to discuss the Haredi draft at the meeting.

“Even now, tens of thousands of Jews in Eretz Yisroel are in distress because of the decree to draft yeshiva students. We hope that we will be able to appeal to the president to help with this situation.”

He also stressed to his students that studying Torah is more important than any meeting with the president.

“I ask all the bochurim: Events like these can distract a person. Every one of you should continue diligently learning … Do not neglect Torah and do not become immersed in all this ‘Trumpism.’ I am telling you: One shiur [lesson] in … yeshiva is worth more to me than this entire matter!”

Israel and Greece are set to sign a $3.6 billion deal Monday that will provide Greece with a multilayered air defense system, the first of its kind for Greece, to protect against threats from Iran and Turkey.

The Greeks are calling the air defense system “Achilles’ Shield,” named for the hero in Greek mythology who was immortal and could not be killed save through his one vulnerability, his heel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, right, and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, left. (Credit: X)

The deal, which took three years to finalize, is the largest defense export in Israeli history. It includes David’s Sling systems, which intercept rockets and ballistic missiles; mobile SPYDER systems, which will counteract unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and drones; and the Barak MX system, which will intercept aircraft and missiles. SPYDER systems will be set up on Greek islands that top destination sites for Israeli tourists.

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems will supply the first two components, and Israel Aerospace Industries will supply the third.

A national command-and-control center similar to the one Israel uses will also be deployed in Greece. Using artificial intelligence, it will manage operations and launches. Greek subcontractors will also receive funds to work with the Israeli contractors.

Greece, Israel, and Cyprus, which has reportedly purchased Israel’s Barak MX system, have been working to strengthen ties, and this agreement is expected to further strengthen ties between Greece and Israel amid increasing threats from Iran and Turkey.

Israeli drivers are facing another sharp increase at the pump, with the maximum price of self-service 95-octane gasoline rising 16 agorot to NIS 8.25 per liter at midnight Monday night. The new price matches Israel’s all-time nominal record, first reached in 2012.

The jump follows last month’s massive 61-agorot increase, meaning gasoline has climbed 77 agorot in just two months. A 50-liter fill-up will now cost NIS 412.50 before full-service fees.

Officials say international gasoline prices rose roughly 6%, while an excise-tax adjustment and a higher marketing margin added further pressure. A stronger shekel partially offset the increase.

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) slammed Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) for denying that Hamas exploits hospitals for terrorist activities, such as hiding its fighters and ammunition and torturing and interrogating its prisoners.

“We are appalled by reports of an Israeli airstrike within the Al-Aqsa Hospital compound on 29 August. Hospitals should be safe places for patients and healthcare workers,” MSF posted Saturday.

The airstrike MSF referred to was one that targeted and struck Abd al-Fattah Abu al-Eish, a Hamas Nukhba Force commander who participated in the infiltration of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The strike also took out Raed Adel Mohammed Alyan, a terrorist from Hamas’ military wing.

In a statement posted Sunday on X, COGAT cited the IDF report that the military had struck a Hamas commander who was planning attacks against both soldiers and civilians “while hiding inside the Shuhada Al-Aqsa Hospital compound,” adding that this is yet another example of Hamas’ cynical exploitation of civilian infrastructure and that the IDF had warned Gazan officials of this abuse.

Fadi Jihad Mohammed al-Wadiyya, who worked as a physical therapist for MSF and as a terrorist for Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

“MSF claimed, as it routinely does, that the IDF is targeting healthcare facilities,” COGAT said, accusing the NGO of providing cover to terrorists. “MSF clearly refuses to face reality,” despite clear evidence of Hamas’ use of hospitals for military operations, the group said, saying that MSF ignores complaints even from Gazans about this particular abuse of hospitals by Hamas.

“Once again, MSF is burying its head in the sand, as it consistently fails to see the terrorists operating within and around medical facilities in the Strip,” the group added. “MSF continues to turn a blind eye to complaints from Gazan residents themselves regarding the cynical and illegal presence of masked, armed terrorists conducting interrogations inside hospital grounds.”

In February, the IDF warned MSF it would be expelled from Gaza because it failed to provide a list of all its employees with their full names, which Israel required as a condition of extending its stay. That same month, Palestinian Islamic Jihad identified an MSF worker as a PIJ terrorist who had been killed by an Israeli airstrike.

All the evidence points to MSF as being entangled with Hamas.

The doctors’ organization was implicated in a report by NGO Monitor, which made the following statement in its report:

“Hundreds of captured documents originating with Hamas and analyzed by NGO Monitor reveal that the terrorist group systematically controlled foreign NGOs [including MSF] operating in Gaza and used myriad stratagems to commandeer international aid. Hamas inserted its operatives into administrative positions within international NGOs operating in Gaza; required NGOs to appoint “guarantors” to serve as liaisons to Hamas internal security apparatus; closely surveilled NGO officials and offices; generated beneficiary lists, utilized by the UN and aid organizations, to dictate who would receive cash-assistance; and outright stole aid materials. In response, NGOs and the UN alike adopted a policy of silence and cooperation, becoming complicit in the exploitation of humanitarian principles” [emphasis added].

In other words, Hamas took control of financial aid through crude means such as stealing the aid outright and through covert means such as installing its own operatives to work as employees of such groups as MSF. These Hamas-affiliated employees worked in the administration of MSF and other NGOs and closely coordinated with Hamas’ internal security network, keeping extremely close tabs on NGO officials (down to the way they dressed and their level of religious observance) and providing the NGOs with lists of who should get benefits and cash. MSF and other NGOs complied with all of Hamas’ rules for operating in the Gaza Strip.

“The evidence confirms that NGOs in Gaza do not operate independently or neutrally,” the report added. “Rather, they are embedded in an institutionalized framework of coercion, intimidation, and surveillance that serves Hamas’ terror objectives.”

The report showed that Hamas documents seized by the IDF proved MSF’s awareness of Hamas’ use of medical facilities, despite its denials. At the same time, the organization accused Israel of “genocide,” “apartheid,” “indiscriminate bombings,” “collective punishment,” and “wholesale massacres.”

MSF “consistently abuses its status as a humanitarian organization to launch venomous anti-Israel political campaigns,” NGO Monitor reported.

The National Association of Christian Lawmakers (NACL) sent a letter to President Donald Trump Thursday urging him to create an expedited legal pathway for Canadian Jews facing persecution who wish to emigrate.

The letter, signed by NACL founder and president Jason Rapert, U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback, and other state legislators and civic leaders, was also sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, congressional leaders, and state senators.

“For generations, America has served as a refuge for people fleeing religious persecution,” the letter said. “We urge you to ensure that, consistent with federal law and the security interests of the United States, that door remains open to our Jewish brothers and sisters in Canada who need it today.”

According to the letter, more than 2,000 Canadian Jews wanted to leave Canada as a result of threats and violence targeting Jewish schools, synagogues, and families amid mounting safety concerns since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.

The group asked Trump to instruct the State Department and Department of Homeland Security to create a process for Canadian Jews who face persecution or who can show that they have reason to fear persecution based on their Jewish identity. The letter also cautioned that whatever process was devised, it must retain identity, criminal history, and medical and security screening, as well as protect family unity.

The letter also suggested the need for coordination among states, local governments, Jewish organizations, churches, nonprofits, and even employers who were willing to assist arriving families.

According to the letter, Jewish and Christian leaders in Tulsa, Okla., in particular, have stepped up to offer to help resettle Jewish families in Tulsa.

North American aliyah is surging, with more than 1,100 new immigrants arriving in Israel during August alone, marking a record-breaking month for Nefesh B’Nefesh.

The wave caps one of the organization’s busiest summers. More than 2,200 North Americans are expected to make aliyah between June and September, arriving on nearly 100 organized flights or completing the immigration process from within Israel. Around 2,700 have already made aliyah from North America this year, with more than 4,000 projected by year’s end.

The newcomers span a strikingly broad range. This summer’s group includes roughly 1,100 singles, 480 families and 250 retirees, with an average age of just 29. Approximately 700 children are preparing to enter Israeli schools, including 80 beginning first grade.

They are arriving from Jewish communities across the United States and Canada, with New York, New Jersey, Florida, California, Maryland, Illinois and Ontario among the leading points of origin. Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Modi’in, Ra’anana and Beit Shemesh remain popular destinations, but around 650 newcomers are settling in Israel’s North and South, bringing new residents and professionals to communities outside the country’s central population hubs.

The new olim include doctors, nurses, lawyers, educators, accountants and other professionals. The surge comes as Nefesh B’Nefesh, founded in 2002, recently celebrated facilitating its 100,000th oleh, making the current wave another major milestone for North American aliyah.

If current projections hold, 2026 will finish as one of Nefesh B’Nefesh’s strongest years on record, with thousands of North American Jews choosing to move their families, careers and futures to Israel.

Morton Klein, national president of the Zionist Organization of America, slammed Senate Democrats for a letter they penned to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week decrying settler violence and urging him to take action.

Klein said that the senators, with the exception of John Fetterman (D-Pa.), “fell for the latest anti-Israel propaganda about a supposed existence of and increase of ‘settler violence’ in Judea and Samaria.”

Klein alleged that the letter decried the “fake problem” of settler violence and urged Netanyahu to “intercede to stop the phony ‘surge’ of violence,” but it ignored “the true daily surge of Arab violence, including big gun and knife attacks against Jews and car rammings against Jews, all of which are promoted by the Palestinian Arab regime and the imams in the mosques and the Palestinian media.”

“These allegations against Jews who live in Judea-Samaria are absolute nonsense based on fake data,” he added. “The U.N. is well-known for its extreme antisemitic bias against Jews and Israel, and the U.S. Senate should not be relying on its lies for policy. The amount of crimes by Jews there is tiny and handled immediately by Israel. But the average of 14 daily terrorist attacks by Palestinian Arabs is horrifically huge and is ignored by the Senate’s Democratic caucus.”

In the letter, sent to the Israeli premier last Wednesday, Senate Democrats wrote about the “fatal violence by settlers,” saying that a “significant surge” in violence recently resulted in “a large-scale response by Israeli security forces, mass arrests of Palestinians, and reported attacks by settlers on mosques.” They urged Netanyahu to specifically investigate the deaths of nine Americans who they said were killed by Israeli settlers or security forces since 2022.

According to a study known as the Regavim study, the ratio of violent attacks between Palestinians and Israelis may be as much as 100 attacks by Palestinians for every one attack by Israelis.

In one of the more bizarre but dramatic rescues in Israeli history, a man standing atop a residential building in Tel Aviv last week who threatened to jump said that the only person who could talk him down was the famed musician Yehuda Poliker.

Police were called to a residential building in Tel Aviv to talk to a man who had threatened to jump off. When they arrived and tried to convince him to come down safely, he told them that the only person who could convince him was Poliker, the Israeli singer known as the lead vocalist for the 1980s band Benzene, according to Israeli media reports.

Police at first dismissed the request as unserious, but after their attempts to get the man off the roof failed, they agreed to wake the singer and ask for his help. They woke Poliker later that night, and, despite his surprise at the unexpected and strange request, he agreed to give it a shot, understanding the gravity of the situation.

After Poliker spoke to the man by phone for several minutes, he came down safely.

“They asked him for help,” a source close to Poliker told Ynet. “Yehuda spoke to the man on the phone, and saved his life.”

Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 quoted a police official who was present at the incident. “I’ve been serving in the police for a long time, but I’ve never experienced such a strange incident in all my years,” he said. “This is a bizarre event, but we took it seriously. Everything happened quickly due to the urgency of the matter. The neighbors were terrified and it was obvious that this was a serious threat. We realized that this was a matter of life and death and we thank Yehuda Poliker for responding to our requests in the dramatic moments.”

The Israel Police announced Sunday that it had seized roughly 1.4 million shekels in suspected terror funds from a vehicle it had stopped at a checkpoint in Jerusalem. The police arrested the 29-year-old driver, a resident of Jerusalem, and turned him over for a joint investigation by Israel Police and the Shin Bet.

The money was discovered inside a double wall in the vehicle that served as a secret panel. According to the Israel Police Spokesperson’s Unit, the car was attempting to enter Jerusalem through the Tunnel Checkpoint from Judea’s Gush Etzion region. The police said it stopped the car for inspection and discovered the secret panel, which concealed two bags of cash, during its inspection.

A judge extended the suspect’s custody until Aug. 31, when he will appear in court.

Gaza residents are reporting that food aid is accumulating inside Gaza and sitting there uncollected as prices in the food markets keep dropping, according to the Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT). The government bureau posted footage showing children and adults swarming mountains of food parcels and flinging them about and an image of piles of food boxes.

The bureau said these images undercut claims of starvation and food shortages in the Gaza Strip; instead, it said that the amount of aid currently entering Gaza exceeds the nutritional requirements of the population.

“When aid is left untouched, the conclusion is clear. Gaza is not lacking food; it is flooded with it,” COGAT said in its statement on X alongside the footage. “The evidence from inside Gaza, the UN’s own findings, including UNICEF’s latest SMART survey, and COGAT’s humanitarian data all point to the same reality.”

(Credit: COGAT)

“Claims of famine and widespread shortages are not supported by the facts. Continuing to promote them only serves Hamas and its efforts to manufacture a false picture of crisis in Gaza,” it added.

Indeed, earlier this month, COGAT released jaw-dropping statistics on food aid entering Gaza, saying that six to seven times more food aid is entering the Strip than before the war.

Six hundred aid trucks enter Gaza daily. Before the war, roughly 500 trucks, only 70 of them carrying food, entered every day. Of the 600 that enter daily, 70 percent to 80 percent are food trucks. That’s 420 to 480 food trucks daily, which means that about six to seven times more food is entering Gaza than before the war. There are no restrictions on the types of food allowed in, and food prices have dropped by 72 percent.

“Humanitarian aid flows into Gaza every single day, containing enough food, medical, and WASH [water, sanitation, and hygiene] supplies to support the Gazan civilian population,” COGAT said in a statement at the time.

A young British man named Alex posted a dilemma he was having that illustrates the discrimination Jews who are perceived to be Zionists are facing.

In his video statement, he said that he was “heartbroken” over hearing rumors that the owners of his favorite hummus truck were “massive Zionists,” and now he didn’t know what he would eat. For reasons he did not explain, hummus was the only food he could eat.

He said that he decided to check it out for himself, and although the food truck was decorated with little Palestinian flags, he felt he still had to ask them to disavow Zionism so he could continue buying from them, which they readily did.

Being asked to disavow your Zionism so you can continue your career or be allowed to do other things is the new way to exclude Jews from polite society.

“Some Jewish people in the U.K. are being discriminated against and being falsely accused of being massive Zionists, as in big supporters of the Israeli ethno project out there and the genocide,” he said. “I was at a festival recently, and some person came up to me in the crowd, and it was like, ‘Alex, I follow you on Instagram,’ because obviously I do these posts, right, about Palestine. And they’re like, ‘You know that hummus truck that you’re queuing up for? Hummus, like. that’s owned by massive Zionists,’ and it was my favorite hummus truck.”

Alex said he wasn’t willing to take someone else’s word for it, which is why he decided to “fact check” the claim by confronting the owners, who told him they were Jewish but hastened to say they weren’t Zionists.

Alex cautioned his viewers not to discriminate against the right sort of Jews who aren’t Zionists and to keep fighting for Palestinian rights, because they’re the ones suffering from discrimination.

Critics point to the international support Palestinians enjoy and the increasing isolation of the Jewish people and Israel that they say belie this assertion.

Paul Nicholas Miller, the white supremacist internet personality known as “Gypsy Crusader,” defeated pro-Israel Jewish fighter Ben “King” Azoulay by split decision Saturday night at Duel Arena 1 in Orlando, Florida.

The controversial heavyweight kickboxing match was billed as far more than a sporting rivalry. Miller has built an online following through racist, antisemitic and anti-Israel content, while Azoulay entered the ring declaring that he was fighting for Israel and the Jewish people and promising to knock Miller out.

Miller held a considerable physical advantage. He weighed in at 218 pounds compared with Azoulay’s 185.2 pounds, a difference of nearly 33 pounds, and also appeared significantly taller. Miller additionally entered with previous Muay Thai and kickboxing experience, while Azoulay’s fighting background has largely involved influencer events.

The disturbing political overtones continued throughout the event. Miller, who has a swastika tattoo, repeatedly performed Nazi-style salutes. His corner included fellow antisemite and former MMA fighter Jake Shields, who wore a “FCK Israel” shirt.

Azoulay battled through the size and experience disadvantage, but Miller ultimately received the judges’ split decision.

The hostility then spilled beyond the ring. Following the decision, members of the Jewish and African-American crowd became involved in a chaotic confrontation with Miller and his entourage. People could be heard denouncing Miller’s group and calling them “Nazis” as pushing and fighting erupted around the arena.

Gypsy Crusader trolling on the internet

Azoulay did not secure the knockout he had promised, but he stepped into the ring against a much larger opponent while proudly standing up for Israel and the Jewish people. Miller may have received the decision, but the ugly scenes surrounding the fight showed that this was never merely about kickboxing.

Ironically, despite Miller declaring himself a white supremacist and promoting the supposed purity of the “Aryan race,” he is reportedly of Romani, commonly called Gypsy, ancestry. The Nazis considered Roma people racially inferior and murdered hundreds of thousands of them during the Holocaust, making Miller’s embrace of Nazi ideology a disturbing contradiction.

Israel’s Shin Bet has confirmed for the first time that Yair Netanyahu, the son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was urgently evacuated from the United States after security officials determined that he faced a significant threat to his life.

“There was indeed a significant threat to harm Yair Netanyahu,” the agency said, adding that after a security assessment, officials decided to urgently extract him from Florida together with his Israeli security team and return him to Israel.

The confirmation provides the strongest official backing yet for reports that Yair was the target of an Iranian assassination operation while living in the Miami area.

Head of the Shin Bet domestic security service David Zini participates in a state memorial ceremony for the fallen soldiers of the two-year Gaza war at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem on October 16, 2025. Netanyahu said on October 16, that he was determined to ensure that Hamas hands back the remains of hostages still in Gaza, adding that the fight “is not over yet”. (Photo by Olivier FITOUSSI / POOL / AFP) (Photo by OLIVIER FITOUSSI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The Shin Bet did not publicly identify Iran as the source of the threat or disclose the intelligence that triggered the evacuation. However, the statement came days after Prime Minister Netanyahu revealed that Iran had tried to assassinate one of his sons, and after a U.S. report identified Yair as the intended target.

Newsmax, citing a U.S. law-enforcement source familiar with the case, reported that Israeli intelligence discovered the Iranian plot last December and warned American authorities. According to the report, intelligence officials believed Iranian operatives were already on the ground in the Miami area and conducting surveillance on Yair’s residence and movements.

The intelligence was considered serious enough that Yair was instructed to leave Florida immediately despite already having an Israeli security detail. He reportedly departed without collecting his belongings and returned directly to Israel, where he has largely remained since.

The emergency operation may have been even more extensive than previously known. Channel 12 reported that the Shin Bet temporarily redirected security personnel who were in New York as part of President Isaac Herzog’s protection operation and sent them to Miami to help carry out Yair’s rapid extraction.

Netanyahu had publicly hinted at the episode days earlier while defending the security protection provided to members of his family.

“Iran targeted one of my sons,” Netanyahu said in an interview with Channel 14. “Iran tried to murder him.”

At the time, Netanyahu declined to identify whether he was referring to Yair or his younger son, Avner. The subsequent reporting, followed by the Shin Bet’s acknowledgment of the threat against Yair, filled in much of that picture.

The episode also fits a documented pattern of Iranian attempts to carry out assassinations far beyond the Middle East. U.S. authorities have repeatedly uncovered Iranian-directed plots involving surveillance, hired operatives and attempted killings on American soil. Earlier this year, a federal jury convicted an operative who admitted the IRGC sent him to the United States to arrange political assassinations. Other Iranian-backed plots have targeted dissidents and public figures in New York and elsewhere.

What remains undisclosed is how close the reported plot against Yair Netanyahu came to being carried out, who specifically was involved and what U.S. authorities uncovered after Israel raised the alarm.

But the Shin Bet’s confirmation removes one major uncertainty: Israeli security officials considered the threat serious enough to order the prime minister’s son out of Florida immediately and mount an emergency operation to bring him home.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is promising a stronger security presence around synagogues and Jewish institutions as the High Holidays approach, delivering the pledge from the same Manhattan synagogue where a worshiper and security guard were attacked during Shabbat services just two weeks ago.

Speaking at Central Synagogue, Hochul said New York would provide additional funding, protection and State Police support where needed. “If you need more protection, I will send the New York State Police here,” she told the congregation, promising that Jewish institutions would be fortified ahead of the holidays.

The location carried particular weight. Federal prosecutors say 46-year-old Larry Montes disrupted services at Central Synagogue before allegedly knocking over ceremonial silver candlesticks, punching a 63-year-old congregant and headbutting a security guard. The Justice Department has charged Montes with two federal hate crimes and damaging religious property resulting in bodily injury, on top of state hate-crime charges already filed against him.

The attack comes amid an extraordinary threat environment for Jewish New Yorkers. NYPD figures show that anti-Jewish offenses accounted for 178 of the city’s 322 confirmed hate crimes during the first half of 2026, or 55.3%, despite Jews comprising roughly 10% of the city’s population. Anti-Jewish hate crimes were also up slightly from the same period last year.

New York has been pouring additional money into protecting potential targets. Hochul’s administration announced up to $70 million this year through the Securing Communities Against Hate Crimes program, which helps synagogues and other vulnerable nonprofit institutions pay for alarms, reinforced entrances, shatter-resistant glass, cybersecurity, training and other protective measures. Organizations can seek up to $250,000 each. The state says more than $131.5 million has already been awarded for over 1,700 security projects since Hochul took office.

Hochul has also signed new protections governing access to houses of worship. The law targets intentional interference or threatening conduct against people entering or leaving religious sites and allows police to establish security perimeters beyond 50 feet during demonstrations when necessary.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 12: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (L) listens as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during the annual New York State Financial Control Board meeting on August 12, 2026 in New York City. Hochul and Mamdani were joined by State Comptroller Thomas Dinapoli, New York City Comptroller Mark Levine and other board members as they discussed the state’s budget. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Her latest intervention also comes against a tense political backdrop in New York City. Hochul has publicly pushed back on Mayor Zohran Mamdani over his focus on Israel and has pledged to stand firmly against antisemitism. Mamdani, for his part, condemned the Central Synagogue attack as “horrifying” and said Jewish New Yorkers must be able to worship without fear.

Hochul told congregants that her response to antisemitism was shaped in part by what she witnessed in Israel after the October 7 massacre, including a visit to Kfar Aza. Now, with some of Judaism’s most heavily attended services approaching, the state is signaling that Jewish security will receive additional manpower and resources rather than assurances alone.

A U.K. Cabinet official, who has not been identified, is being investigated after posting on their private Instagram a photo of a younger Dolly Parton wearing a pink party dress with the caption, “It should have been Netanyahu.”

The post displayed other slides with messages such as, “Dolly Parton was two years older than Israel when she died” and “It’s a cruel world that Dolly Parton is gone, but Benjamin Netanyahu is still here.”

“All civil servants are bound by the Civil Service Code and social media rules, which set out clear guidelines for appropriate communications on personal accounts,” a Cabinet Office spokesperson told The Jewish Chronicle. “This post is clearly unacceptable and appropriate steps are being taken.”

(Credit: The Jewish Chronicle)

Dolly Parton passed away Tuesday after a brief battle with cancer.

While known as a country singer, she had massive crossover appeal that reached beyond her roots in country music. In the late 1970s and 1980s, she released songs that became hits for fans of both country and pop. Some of her songs, like “Here You Come Again,” reached the top of both the country music and pop charts.

Parton’s family announced her passing Tuesday, saying she died peacefully after a brief bout with cancer, surrounded by her loved ones. Her nephew and head of security, Bryan Seaver, made the announcement in a prerecorded video posted on Instagram, fulfilling a request she had made years before. Seaver said that she had asked him to be the one to announce her death and that she shared with him her wish to rest in a “beautiful bed of plush cotton,” explaining that after years of wearing heavy, glamorous rhinestones, she wished to feel comfortable at the end.

In honor of the legendary global pop icon, Niagara Falls was illuminated in pink Thursday night last week.

Four men have pleaded guilty to carrying out a devastating arson attack that destroyed four ambulances operated by Hatzola, the Jewish volunteer emergency service serving communities across north London.

Hamza Iqbal, 20, Rehan Khan, 19, Judex Atshatshi, 18, and Saif Ali, 18, entered their guilty pleas at London’s Old Bailey. Each admitted destroying or damaging property by arson while being reckless as to whether lives would be endangered.

The attack unfolded at approximately 1:35 a.m. on March 23, when the fully equipped emergency vehicles were set ablaze while parked near the Machzike Hadath Synagogue in Golders Green, an area with a large Orthodox Jewish population.

Three members of the group allegedly ignited the ambulances while a fourth waited nearby in a blue Toyota Avensis used to travel from east London. The resulting inferno caused oxygen and gas cylinders inside the emergency vehicles to explode, damaging nearby apartments and the synagogue.

Screenshot

Although no injuries were reported, the destruction caused an estimated £1 million, approximately $1.35 million, in losses. Beyond the financial damage, the attack temporarily wiped out vital ambulances used by Jewish volunteers to provide lifesaving care to residents of every background.

Investigators reportedly discovered searches on Iqbal’s phone asking how much ambulances cost and how long police take to investigate arson attacks, evidence suggesting the assault had been planned in advance.

Prosecutors described the incident as a deliberate attack against London’s Jewish community. At sentencing, they intend to argue that the crime had a “terrorist connection.” The four defendants dispute that designation.

An alleged Iran-aligned group calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya claimed responsibility online. British counterterrorism officers have investigated whether Iranian proxies were involved in the ambulance fire and several subsequent attacks against Jewish and Iranian opposition targets. However, a direct connection between the four convicted men and Iran has not been established in court. Iran’s embassy has denied involvement.

The Community Security Trust called the incident an appalling antisemitic attack against an organization whose volunteers provide emergency assistance throughout north London, regardless of a patient’s religion or background.

All four men have been remanded in custody and are expected to be sentenced in spring 2027.

Screenshot

A fifth defendant, 18-year-old Subhan Ahmed, pleaded not guilty to assisting an offender in connection with the alleged disposal of the vehicle used during the attack. He was released on bail under strict conditions and is expected to stand trial in January 2027.

Photo: Metropolitan Police/PA. Clockwise from top left: Rehan Khan, Saif Ali, Judex Atshatshi and Hamza Iqbal.

The man whose job included helping the Defense Intelligence Agency detect insider threats has now admitted becoming one himself.

Nathan Vilas Laatsch, 29, a former DIA cybersecurity and IT specialist from Alexandria, Virginia, pleaded guilty to transmitting national defense information to a foreign government. Laatsch held a Top Secret clearance, had access to multiple Special Access Programs and worked with the agency’s Insider Threat Division, where his responsibilities included monitoring government personnel under investigation.

1282020

The case began after U.S. authorities learned that Laatsch had reached out to what he believed was a “friendly foreign government,” offering classified U.S. intelligence because he disagreed with the Trump administration. Public court filings identify the nation only as “Country 1,” but two people familiar with the investigation previously told The Washington Post that it was Germany. There is no indication that Germany received the classified material.

After the FBI learned of the outreach, an undercover agent began posing as an official from the foreign country. Laatsch continued communicating with the agent and described his access to completed intelligence products, raw intelligence and other classified material. He also demonstrated detailed knowledge of the DIA’s internal security systems and discussed how he believed he could avoid detection.

Federal surveillance showed Laatsch sitting at his classified workstation and manually copying intelligence onto notebook paper. He then removed the notes from the secure workplace, at times hiding folded pages inside his socks or lunchbox.

He eventually deposited a thumb drive at an Arlington, Virginia, park, believing it would be collected by the foreign government. The FBI retrieved it instead.

The drive contained nine reconstructed intelligence documents. Eight were later confirmed to contain Top Secret Sensitive Compartmented Information. One included sensitive U.S. intelligence-collection methods, intelligence concerning foreign military exercises and analysis of their implications. Laatsch told his supposed handler that he was providing a broad enough sample to demonstrate the range of classified products he could access.

What Laatsch wanted in return was unusual. Rather than primarily demanding money, he told the undercover agent he wanted citizenship in the foreign country because he did not expect conditions in the United States to improve over the long term. He said he was not opposed to other compensation but did not need material payment.

Laatsch continued collecting intelligence after the first dead drop. During a second planned transfer, he arrived with additional classified material and was arrested as the FBI received it. Prosecutors say his conduct was especially striking because his DIA position gave him intimate knowledge of precisely the type of insider activity he was carrying out.

“Those entrusted with our nation’s most sensitive information must not exploit their access for personal gain,” FBI Counterintelligence and Espionage Division Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky said, describing the case as an attempt to use American secrets to obtain foreign citizenship.

Laatsch pleaded guilty to an Espionage Act offense involving delivery of national defense information to aid a foreign government. Although the statute carries an extraordinarily severe maximum penalty, prosecutors have said they do not intend to seek death or life imprisonment. Under the plea arrangement, Laatsch has agreed not to seek a sentence below 11 years while prosecutors will recommend no more than 18 years. The final sentence will be imposed by a federal judge in January.

The case stands out not because a hostile intelligence service penetrated the DIA, but because a cleared U.S. intelligence employee voluntarily sought out a friendly government and offered some of America’s most closely guarded information. The foreign country never became his handler. The FBI did.

An Israeli mother returning home with her three children says she discovered a handwritten “F*** Israel” message inside her checked suitcase after flying from Seattle through Los Angeles to Tel Aviv, an incident now raising disturbing questions about who may have accessed the family’s baggage while it was out of their control.

Noa Sabar Dvoskin, 48, a Los Angeles native who moved to Israel two years ago, had been vacationing in Seattle with her children, ages 9 to 16. The family flew Alaska Airlines from Seattle to Los Angeles before connecting to an El Al flight bound for Israel. Dvoskin said she discovered the note while unpacking after arriving home.

“I felt really scared and uneasy,” she said.

Dvoskin immediately searched the suitcase to determine whether anything else had been disturbed or damaged and photographed the note, which was written in large capital letters. She said she deliberately kept it away from her children.

The central question remains unanswered: who put it there?

There is currently no public evidence establishing where the suitcase was accessed, whether it happened in Seattle or Los Angeles, or who was responsible. Dvoskin reported the incident to Alaska Airlines, Los Angeles International Airport, the Transportation Security Administration, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Embassy in Israel. As of the latest reporting, no suspect had been identified and no airline, airport or federal agency had publicly announced the outcome of an investigation. Alaska Airlines had not responded to requests for comment.

TOPSHOT – An Israeli flag is fixed to a street sign as police stand by off Pearl Street on the scene of an attack on demonstrators calling for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, in Boulder, Colorado, on June 1, 2025. Several people suffered burns and other injuries June 1st in the US state of Colorado in what the FBI called a “targeted terror attack” against demonstrators seeking the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
Police in the city of Boulder said a man was taken into custody. They were more cautious in presuming a possible motive for the attack, which multiple sources said was committed against members of the Jewish community during a peaceful gathering. (Photo by Eli Imadali / AFP) (Photo by ELI IMADALI/AFP via Getty Images)

The fact that the message was allegedly found inside checked baggage has intensified concern beyond the hateful language itself. Checked luggage passes through tightly controlled airport systems after passengers surrender it. TSA notes that officers sometimes physically open checked bags during security screening, and says a notice is normally placed inside when an inspection occurs. It is not publicly known whether Dvoskin’s suitcase was officially inspected during the journey.

The incident also comes months after a separate security scare involving an El Al operation at Los Angeles International Airport. In that case, a third-party airport worker placed “Free Palestine” stickers on ground equipment, triggering additional security procedures and baggage screening around an El Al flight to Tel Aviv. Los Angeles airport authorities later said the worker was identified through surveillance footage, lost secure-area access and was fired. Authorities said they found no terrorist connection or coordinated activity.

The IDF announced Friday the successful outcome of a car strike in Jenin that took out the leader of a terror cell there and two of his assistants.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated the IDF on the mission in a terse post on X.

“Initiative and attack. I congratulate our forces on the successful thwarting of the terrorists in Jenin. Shabbat Shalom!” he wrote.

A security source said that the Shin Bet had been tracking the lead terrorist for some time and that he had been involved in planning an imminent terror attack. Once security forces closed in, an airstrike was decided upon as the best way to target him and prevent his escape. The terrorist the Shin Bet had been tracking was identified as the leader, and he was armed during the incident. The other two were identified as his assistants who had been involved in advancing terror plots.

The same day, N12 News released footage showing an increased presence of the IDF in Jenin.

Samira Mohyeddin, a Canadian pro-Hamas activist, expressed outrage in an online video she posted to social media over the installation of granite pavers bearing the names of Shiri Bibas and her children, who were taken hostage and then brutally murdered by Hamas, outside the University of Toronto.

The names of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas were engraved into granite pavers and installed in the pavement of the University of Toronto campus as a tribute to the victims of Hamas who became the face of the hostage crisis. The move was welcomed by Jewish groups, as well as faculty and staff at the college, while it drew criticism from campus anti-Israel activists.

Mohyeddin is known in pro-Hamas activist circles as a broadcaster with On the Line Media and holds degrees in Middle Eastern studies and genocide studies. She has also expressed support for the Iranian regime and has opposed Iranian dissidents.

The pro-Hamas activist said that she wanted to share with her audience “something that I just found out that is very disturbing.”

“The University of Toronto, my alma mater, I just found out that they have put the names of Shiri Bibas and the Bibas children on the pavement just outside King’s College Circle, which is where the Palestine Solidarity encampment was known as the People’s Circle for Palestine,” she said.

Mohyeddin found this to be “unbelievable,” questioning why the university would install “these names” on its campus but failing to explain why she found this so offensive.

Israel is considering expelling British diplomats from the Gaza coordination center after London reportedly planned to impose a complete ban on goods produced in Judea and Samaria in response to Israel’s plan to build more than 1,000 housing units in a section called E1 in Judea in Area C, which is under Israel’s total jurisdiction.

The Times of Israel reported that a source told the outlet that other more severe options are being weighed as well amid growing contention between London and Jerusalem over the E1 proposal. Earlier this week, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar responded fiercely to a rebuke by his British counterpart, Ed Miliband, on X, who threatened Israel with punitive action over the settlements.

“The Jewish people have the right to live throughout the Land of Israel, just as the British have the right to live in London and throughout the United Kingdom. More than a century ago, the Balfour Declaration formally recognized the historic right of the Jewish people to re-establish their national home in the Land of Israel — including in the area in question,” Sa’ar posted on X.

Maale Adumim is adjacent to and partly encompasses E1. (Credit: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images)

“Britain itself still controls colonial territories thousands of miles from its shores. It is absurd for Britain to lecture the Jewish people about where they may live in their historic tiny homeland, when the Jewish people’s connection and right to this land is the most extensively documented of any people in human history,” he added.

“The British Foreign Secretary’s statement is entirely one-sided. It condemns Israel while turning a blind eye to Palestinian terrorism, incitement, and the Palestinian Authority’s continued financial support for terror — the ‘pay for slay’ policy,” he also said.

During a recent phone call between the two, “Sa’ar made very clear to the Foreign Secretary that Israel cannot allow punitive measures to be taken against it without responding,” the source told The Times of Israel.

London said that a response to its threats to impose a ban was expected.

Earlier this week, Sa’ar said that Dutch representatives would be expelled due to sanctions imposed by the Netherlands.

Israel didn’t waste any time sending a team to Nepal after devastating floods Wednesday and Thursday killed nearly 400 people, with more than 1,000 still missing.

IsraAID, a humanitarian aid organization providing urgent relief during global crises and natural disasters, dispatched a team to Nepal, saying it will focus on distributing emergency relief supplies and providing mental health and protection services to areas affected by the flood. The team is expected to arrive Thursday.

“We are devastated to see the scenes unfolding in Nepal as entire communities have been destroyed by flash flooding and landslides and our thoughts are with everyone affected,” IsraAID CEO Yotam Polizer said.

“I personally led IsraAID’s mission to Nepal after the earthquake in 2015 and have seen firsthand the strength, resilience, and beauty of these communities. We will do everything we can to bring urgent support where it is needed most.”

In 2015, IsraAID deployed to Nepal following a massive earthquake and remained there for several years, until 2019, providing mental health care and protection to more than 600,000 people.

NATAN Worldwide Disaster Relief is also sending a team.

“NATAN volunteers, medical and mental health professionals who leave their daily routines at a moment’s notice, are arriving in Nepal to provide medical and psychosocial care to survivors and to strengthen local healthcare systems,” said Gil Reines, Chair of NATAN’s Executive Board. “Precisely at a community’s moment of crisis, we are there to extend a hand, stand behind them, and walk alongside them on the path toward recovery.”

An Israeli tourist who is also missing is a policyholder with the Harel Insurance Company, which is also dispatching a team of eight search-and-rescue workers. The team will depart on Thursday and search for the man in his sixties and the group he was hiking with in the Rasuwa region, near the Nepal-China border.

The collapse of a glacier in the Himalayas led to the landslides and flash floods at the Nepal-Tibet border. It was initially believed to be caused by an earthquake because the glacier caused an impact that registered a magnitude of 5.2 when it struck the bottom of the valley, causing “subsequent catastrophic impacts downstream,” according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The USGS said that the ensuing floodwaters coursed about 62 miles downstream through the Trishuli and Bhote Koshi rivers, forming a towering wall of mud and rock that swept homes, buildings, and roads into oblivion.

This disaster marks the third time Israel has rushed aid to a region suffering catastrophic destruction and loss from natural disasters. In July, a team of rescue workers deployed to Venezuela after two massive earthquakes rocked the country. In August, a team called the “Alliance of Brothers” rushed to Colombia to find the missing after an earthquake as well, finding every last missing person at the sites where it had deployed.

Palestinian Media Watch reported that Palestinian Authority teachers were assigning Oct. 7-based math problems just one week after the massacre, whichThe Jerusalem Post said it verified earlier this week.

A post published on the Al-Kuwait Primary Mixed School’s social media account recounted a teacher’s assignment to students one week after the attack: to devise their own math problems based on the terrible events of the previous week.

This is what students came up with:

• “At least 150 Israelis were killed in one day. What was the number killed in nine days?”
• “Al-Qassam Brigades fired 150 rockets at Israel for an hour. How many rockets did they fire in nine hours?”
• “Al-Qassam Brigades sent [groups of] 150 Jihad fighters to nine settlements in Israel. How many Jihad fighters entered the settlements [in all]?”
• “Al-Qassam Brigades launched 150 rockets daily at the occupation’s settlements. How many rockets were launched over nine days?”

The teachers gave the students glowing feedback on their work.

Examples of the written praise included:

• “May Allah protect you! Wonderful! Mercy and peace to the Martyrs of Gaza.”
• “Excellent! Champion! Our blessings be fulfilled! Mercy and forgiveness to our Martyrs!”

Students were also encouraged to give speeches and write poetry to honor the attack.

A student at the Kharas Girls’ Elementary School in Hebron read a poem in which she said, “On Saturday [Oct. 7], the people who resist returned to their land … It was impossible to express the emotions in our hearts, and we never imagined such pride in our people on our faces.”

“Only blood do we see as an ally, And we will cool the fire in our heart with the body parts and screams of soldiers,” recited a student at the Shweikeh Mixed Elementary School in Hebron. “Open your door, we are death, or close it; we will get to you, the target is identified.”

Itamar Marcus, the director of Palestinian Media Watch, spoke to The Jerusalem Post about the report.

“The Palestinian Authority has made the glorification of the murder of Jews and Israelis so deeply ingrained in its institutions that when Israelis were tortured, burned alive, raped, and more than 1,100 were murdered on Oct. 7, PA educators understood this ‘success’ as something demanding extraordinary celebration,” he said.

“The language PA educators chose for children to read at schoolwide assemblies about the Oct. 7 atrocities is almost inconceivable: ‘pride,’ ‘honor,’ ‘joy,’ ‘glory,’ ‘fame,’ and ‘a beautiful dream. These were the words used to teach Palestinian children how to view mass murder, torture, rape, and kidnapping,” Marcus told The Jerusalem Post.

“Israel must insist that the long-promised ‘PA reform’ begin with the removal and replacement of all senior officials in the PA Ministry of Education and of every school principal. These are the people who are collectively guilty of poisoning the minds of Palestinian children,” he added. “Their replacements must be subject to years of rigorous oversight and supervision, just as Germany’s educational system and educators were subjected to Allied supervision after World War II.”

“Reforming the PA while leaving the people and institutions responsible for educating generations of Palestinian children to glorify terror in place would make reform meaningless,” he explained.

An Irish man accused of threatening to shoot an Australian Jewish couple and invoking Adolf Hitler during an antisemitic confrontation in southern France has been arrested after video of the encounter spread around the world.

French authorities detained the suspect, reported to be in his 60s, following an investigation into the confrontation at a hypermarket in Le Pontet, just outside Avignon. The case is being handled by investigative units in Marseille and Avignon.

The encounter began innocently. According to the Jewish couple, the Irish tourist approached them after noticing the husband wearing a French soccer shirt and hearing them speaking English. The group exchanged friendly remarks before the conversation turned toward Ireland, Israel and Irish policy toward Hamas and Hezbollah.

The woman says the man’s demeanor abruptly changed and that he told them he was sorry Hitler had not “finished the job.” That alleged remark was made before she began recording and therefore is not captured on video.

What happened next was.

As the couple confronted him over what he had allegedly said, the man turned toward the camera and explicitly threatened to shoot them. The footage quickly went viral, putting international attention on the case and prompting condemnation from senior French officials.

The couple initially did not file a complaint because they were traveling onward to Tunisia and were uncertain about the process as foreign tourists. After returning to France, they contacted Jewish security representatives and went to police in Nice. The suspect was arrested shortly afterward.

For the woman, the Hitler reference carried a particularly personal weight. She told The Jerusalem Post that her father survived the Holocaust while numerous members of his family were murdered at Auschwitz. She described growing up with the consequences of what he endured and said hearing someone openly invoke Hitler against her was anything but an abstract historical reference.

French officials had already condemned the confrontation after the footage first emerged. Following the arrest, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez praised the gendarmes responsible for the investigation and declared: “Antisemitism must be fought firmly and relentlessly.”

The case comes as France continues confronting exceptionally high levels of antisemitism. The French Interior Ministry recorded 1,320 antisemitic acts in 2025. While that represented a 16% decline from the previous year, authorities said the level remained historically high and noted that antisemitic incidents accounted for 53% of all recorded anti-religious acts in the country.

The suspect has not been publicly identified and the precise charges he may face have not yet been announced. French reporting says public expressions of antisemitic hatred can carry penalties of up to five years in prison and fines reaching €45,000.

What began as a chance conversation in a supermarket is now a criminal investigation, with a viral video, an identified suspect and French authorities signaling that the threat will not simply disappear into the social media cycle.

It was a 19-hour surgery on a tumor that was determined to be inoperable, but a multidisciplinary team of surgeons at Clalit-Schneider Children’s Medical Center and Clalit-Beilinson Hospital came up with a workaround.

A 15-year-old patient had been diagnosed at age 2 with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer that affects soft tissue cells (specifically immature skeletal muscle cells that are supposed to grow into muscles that support motor function), from which he recovered. But it returned in the form of osteosarcoma, a rare, aggressive cancer that originates in the bones. In his case, the cancer was in the pelvic region but had metastasized to his lungs.

After treating him with chemotherapy to clear his lungs of cancer and shrink the primary tumor, the surgical team removed half his pelvis and replaced it with a 3D-printed implant made from titanium and advanced polymer tailored to fit his anatomy and allow for growth, thus removing the tumor that had been considered inoperable using an innovative solution.

Pictured is the synthetic implant. (Credit: Clalit Health Services)

The 19-hour surgery followed hours of careful planning for the patient, who had flown in from Russia for the treatment.

Dr. Israel Weiss, head of the Orthopedic Oncology Unit at Clalit-Schneider and Clalit-Beilinson Hospitals, said that the teams from both institutions refused to accept that the tumor was inoperable.

“This was one of the most complex and challenging cases we have ever encountered,” he said. “Instead of accepting that the tumor was inoperable, our cross-institutional teams combined custom 3D design and advanced printing technology to open a new horizon of possibilities. This breakthrough showcases the power of integrated expertise across our network.”

Dr. Arie Greenberg, a specialist in joint replacement and orthopedic oncology at Clalit-Beilinson Hospital, explained that, in addition to removing the tumor, the need to restore mobility was also important.

“The goal was not just to remove the tumor, but to restore mobility,” he said. “We designed a custom implant using an advanced polymer that allows bone growth into the structure, matching his exact anatomy. It represents a quantum leap in surgical oncology.”

The patient is recovering at Clalit-Schneider Children’s Medical Center, where he is closely monitored by his team and is expected to recover completely.

The IDF is sharply increasing its readiness in Judea and Samaria ahead of the Jewish holiday period, placing the headquarters of an additional active-duty division on standby and preparing more units for rapid deployment if the security situation deteriorates.

Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir issued the orders during a multi-front assessment with senior commanders, citing growing tensions in the region and a broader threat picture stretching from Iran and Lebanon to Gaza. The IDF said additional units and battalions must be prepared for immediate reinforcement, while the military as a whole will maintain full operational strength throughout the holidays with no reduction in forces.

The move goes beyond a routine holiday security adjustment. The IDF already maintains the Judea and Samaria Division across most of the area, alongside the 96th “Gilad” Division responsible for the Jordan frontier. Putting another regular division headquarters on heightened readiness gives Central Command the ability to rapidly expand its command structure if multiple areas flare simultaneously.

“We are on high alert in the face of multi-front volatility,” Zamir said, stressing that the military is advancing operational preparations across every major arena. His order means the holiday period will see no normal operational stand-down or thinning of combat forces.

The elevated posture follows a string of terrorist attacks and counterterror operations in Judea and Samaria. Israeli forces recently captured the terrorist accused of stabbing an Israeli near al-Auja in the Jordan Valley, while an earlier shooting attack near Havat Gilad in Samaria killed two Israelis and wounded six others. Israeli security forces also arrested more than 200 wanted Palestinians in a major wave of operations and seized tens of thousands of shekels earmarked for terrorism.

There is also growing concern inside Israel’s security establishment over more extreme escalation scenarios. Israel Hayom reported that Zamir recently told ministers the IDF has prepared for the possibility of armed Palestinian Authority forces “turning their guns” on Israel, saying the Judea and Samaria Division has drilled for such a scenario. The IDF has not publicly confirmed the details of that closed-door discussion.

For now, the order is preventative rather than a declaration that a major escalation is imminent. But the message from the military leadership is clear: Israel does not intend to enter the holiday period with reduced forces while Judea and Samaria remains volatile and the IDF is simultaneously watching threats across Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

Niagara Falls will be illuminated in pink Thursday night in honor of the legendary global pop icon Dolly Parton, who passed away Tuesday after a brief battle with cancer.

While known as a country singer, she had massive crossover appeal that reached beyond her roots in country music. In the late 1970s and 1980s, she released songs that became hits for fans of both country and pop. Some of her songs, like “Here You Come Again,” reached the top of both the country music and pop charts.

She achieved a major Billboard success when “9 to 5” hit No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1981. She also starred in films such as 9 to 5 (1980) and Steel Magnolias (1989). Her global appeal was not only due to her talent but also to her colorful personality, humor, and relatability, which stemmed from her humility, for which she was widely admired.

Parton’s family announced her passing Tuesday, saying she died peacefully after a brief bout with cancer, surrounded by her loved ones. Her nephew and head of security, Bryan Seaver, made the announcement in a prerecorded video posted on Instagram, fulfilling a request she had made years before. Seaver said that she had asked him to be the one to announce her death and that she shared with him her wish to rest in a “beautiful bed of plush cotton,” explaining that after years of wearing heavy, glamorous rhinestones, she wished to feel comfortable at the end.

A heartwarming video has been going viral online of Israeli Arab Muslim women dancing at a wedding to Israeli musician Yair Elitzur’s song “Tamid Ohev Oti,” also known as “Od Yoter Tov.” People posting the video online said that the bride is Muslim and that Jewish guests attended the wedding as well.

The song was released in 2024 and became a hit in religious circles, but it became a massive unofficial anthem with appeal that crossed all sectors of Israeli society when secular artists released their own covers of the song. Its expression of hope, joy, and resilience during a time when Israel was still reeling from the horrific Oct. 7 attack by Hamas appealed to the entire spectrum of Israelis.

Apparently, the song is also a hit among Israeli Arabs, and this video shows what the media refuses to cover: that Arab Israelis share a culture with Jewish Israelis and that many of them celebrate life’s milestones together in friendship and brotherhood.

The IDF says two Hamas Nukhba Force terrorists who participated in the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, including a former bodyguard of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, were killed in separate strikes in southern Gaza this week.

Hazem Musa was killed Sunday in Khan Younis. According to the military, Musa was a member of Hamas’s elite Nukhba Force and took part in the October 7 assault on the IDF’s Re’im Base near the Gaza border.

A day later, another strike in Khan Younis killed Razek Sahil Suleiman Abu Shahma, who the IDF says was also a Nukhba terrorist involved in the attack on the Re’im Base. Abu Shahma had previously served as Sinwar’s bodyguard.

The IDF says both men had recently been working to rebuild Hamas’s capabilities and advance attacks against Israeli troops and civilians, in violation of the ceasefire agreement. The military said the strikes were carried out to eliminate the threats they posed.

After the United Nations-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) declared there was a famine in Gaza in August 2025, U.N. official Tom Fletcher delivered remarks full of self-righteous anger and sanctimony over Israel’s allegedly deliberate starvation of the people of Gaza.

Now Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon has demanded an apology in light of UNICEF’s findings that there was never acute child malnutrition in Gaza.

In order to make the famine declaration, the IPC changed the requirements. Unable to obtain a weight-to-height z-score (standard score, aka WHZ), the IPC used instead a measurement of upper arm circumference (MUAC). To declare a famine, 30 percent of children must fail to meet the WHZ score.

The IPC declared that since MUAC finds half the number of malnutrition cases, the MUAC number of 15 percent that it found really means 30 percent, and voilà! We have a famine in Gaza.

The new UNICEF study shattered the IPC’s narrative, finding that the rate of child malnutrition in Gaza was similar to that of developed countries during the war and significantly lower than that of its neighboring countries, Egypt and Jordan, in peacetime.

“A year ago, the IPC report determined that Gaza was facing a famine. Senior UN officials immediately backed the findings, and the UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, even called the evidence ‘irrefutable,'” he wrote in a statement on X.

“Now, new UNICEF data paints a completely different picture. We are waiting for U.N. Relief Chief Fletcher’s apology and for the UN to explain itself,” he added.

Fletcher fired back, feigning disdain for what he called “clickbait,” portraying himself as above the fray.

“I’m (again) avoiding undignified clickbait exchange,” he scolded. “We reduced hunger from levels I spoke of last year because President Trump’s plan and support from region, US, Europe helped us get in 1m+ meals a day. I fully back UNICEF.”

“We won’t be distracted from saving lives,” he declared.

In May 2025, Tom Fletcher had predicted that 14,000 babies in Gaza would die from hunger in the next 48 hours, a prediction that failed to materialize.

Slovenia blocked a joint statement by the European Union condemning the Israeli proposal to build more than 1,000 housing units in a section called E1 in Judea, which is in Area C and thus under Israeli jurisdiction.

The move meant that EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas could issue a statement only in her capacity as the high representative of the body without representing all 27 EU countries, blunting its force.

The recently elected prime minister of Slovenia, Janez Janša, who has reversed course on his predecessor’s anti-Israel policies, said that he had taken this action to restore the credibility of Slovenia due to the “disproportionate” amount of criticism that is leveled against Israel for “every move.”

“In fact, we have only removed Slovenia from the vicious circle of losing credibility in the face of constant disproportionate condemnations of Israel for every move,” he wrote on X, slamming the EU for its silence on major atrocities across the globe while focusing its ire on every Israeli announcement about building “some kind of village.”

“While the Brussels bureaucracy remains silent about the extermination of entire villages of Christians in Nigeria, the massacres of its own people by Hamas in Gaza, massacres in Iran or the increasingly frequent anti-Semitic outbursts in Europe, it reacts to every announcement by Israel that it will build some kind of village,” he scolded.

“The use of double standards has brought the so-called EU foreign policy to a state of near irrelevance. While a single word from the US president can cause a change in energy prices, the EU’s empty foreign policy messages do not change or solve anything,” he concluded.

Slovenia’s Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs also issued a statement saying, “Slovenia supports respect for international law and an agreed two-state solution that takes into account the legitimate interests of both sides,” arguing that the proposed statement “would not bring added value at this time” because of previous statements on the same matter.

President Donald Trump told Glenn Beck, the conservative broadcaster and founder of Blaze Media, that he would “absolutely” support prohibiting Sharia law nationwide.

“You do have pockets of it,” Trump said, pointing to London and Paris, where he claimed it has become “almost like their second way of life.”

“I would absolutely prohibit the Sharia law thing,” Trump continued. “It is happening in this country a little bit, and where we see it, we take it out. You have to take it out. You have one system. We have a great system.”

Nine states, Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Tennessee, have enacted measures restricting courts from applying certain foreign or religious legal codes when they conflict with state or federal law, according to Religion News Service.

At the federal level, Republican Representatives Keith Self and Chip Roy launched the “Sharia-Free America Caucus” in December 2025. The group, which has since expanded to 68 members from 25 states, says it is working to ensure that the U.S. Constitution remains the country’s sole governing legal framework.

Iran’s missile and drone campaign against the United States inflicted billions of dollars in damage on American intelligence facilities and highly sensitive surveillance equipment across the Middle East, according to a new report that reveals a previously hidden cost of the Iran war.

NBC News, citing four people with knowledge of the damage, reported that the destruction suffered by the CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies was unprecedented in scale. Congress has been forced to direct money toward repairing or replacing damaged infrastructure, while some of the affected equipment was jointly operated by the intelligence community and U.S. military.

Among the sites struck was a CIA station inside the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, one of Washington’s most important intelligence hubs in the Gulf, as well as a separate intelligence facility in eastern Iraq. Iran also hit radar, communications and surveillance systems spread across the region.

The Riyadh strike was particularly striking. Two drones hit the U.S. Embassy complex, with one reaching the area housing the CIA station. No CIA personnel were reported wounded. U.S. and Saudi officials publicly acknowledged the attack on the embassy at the time but did not initially disclose that the intelligence station had been hit. Reuters reported that there was no indication at the time that the CIA office itself had been deliberately selected as the target.

The accuracy of several Iranian attacks later triggered another sensitive question inside Western intelligence circles: whether Tehran had outside help. Reuters reported that analysts examined whether Russia may have supplied targeting information or improved technology for Iranian drones used against CIA-linked facilities. One intelligence assessment reportedly pointed to Russian-enhanced navigation technology, although no definitive public conclusion has been reached that Moscow directed the attacks.

101206-N-5538K-395
EAST CHINA SEA (Dec. 6, 2010) The aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 76) transits the East China Sea. George Washington is participating in Keen Sword 2010 with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force through Dec. 10. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Casey H. Kyhl/Released)

Iran also succeeded in damaging some of the expensive sensors underpinning the region’s U.S.-led missile-defense network. A U.S. official confirmed the destruction of an AN/TPY-2 radar in Jordan, a system associated with THAAD missile defense and valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Satellite imagery and other analysis documented additional strikes against radar installations in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. ABC News found at least 10 U.S. or allied radar sites had been struck during the early phase of the conflict.

The damage adds another layer to the enormous cost of the war. CSIS previously estimated U.S. war costs at roughly $34 billion to $42 billion, including billions in equipment losses, damage and the enormous consumption of precision weapons. More recent CSIS analysis found that U.S. inventories of critical Patriot and THAAD interceptors have been heavily depleted, creating concerns not only about another round against Iran but about American readiness for a simultaneous crisis involving China, Russia or North Korea.

The first of two Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors is launched during a successful intercept test. The test, conducted by Missile Defense Agency (MDA), Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) Operational Test Agency, Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense, and U.S. Pacific Command, in conjunction with U.S. Army soldiers from the Alpha Battery, 2nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, U.S. Navy sailors aboard the guided missile destroyer USS Decatur (DDG-73), and U.S. Air Force airmen from the 613th Air and Operations Center resulted in the intercept of one medium-range ballistic missile target by THAAD, and one medium-range ballistic missile target by Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD). The test, designated Flight Test Operational-01 (FTO-01), stressed the ability of the Aegis BMD and THAAD weapon systems to function in a layered defense architecture and defeat a raid of two near-simultaneous ballistic missile targets

Still, Iran’s ability to land painful blows did not prevent U.S. and allied forces from continuing major operations. CSIS assessed that air defenses achieved high interception rates and that the Iranian attacks, despite causing casualties and extensive damage, failed to significantly disrupt coalition operations. What they did expose was a vulnerability Washington can no longer ignore: fixed intelligence stations, radars and command infrastructure that once operated as relatively protected rear-area assets are now well within the reach of Iran’s missiles and drones.

The result is likely to force a broader reassessment of how the United States protects and disperses some of its most sensitive intelligence and missile-defense infrastructure across the Middle East, even as Washington rebuilds equipment that may cost billions to replace.

WATCH: Syria Records First Visa Payment In 15 Years Following U.S. Delisting

Would that be cash or card, Mr. President?

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa used a Visa card to pay a restaurant bill in Damascus this week, completing what was reported to be Syria’s first international Visa transaction in approximately 15 years.

WASHINGTON DC, UNITED STATES – NOVEMBER 10: (—-EDITORIAL USE ONLY – MANDATORY CREDIT – ‘ SYRIAN PRESIDENCY / HANDOUT’ – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS—-) United States President Donald Trump meets with Syrian President Ahmed Shara at the White House in Washington DC , November 10, 2025. (Photo by Syrian Presidency/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Video from the symbolic moment shows al-Sharaa tapping his bank card on a payment terminal while dining in the Syrian capital. The transaction was reportedly conducted alongside Safwat Raslan, the governor of the Central Bank of Syria.

The payment came shortly after the United States officially removed Syria from its list of State Sponsors of Terrorism. Syria had held the designation since 1979, making it one of the longest-listed countries.

The designation imposed significant restrictions on foreign assistance, defense exports and international financial transactions. Combined with other sanctions imposed during the rule of Bashar al-Assad, the measures left most Syrians cut off from international banking networks and prevented the use of major payment systems such as Visa and Mastercard.

President Donald Trump’s administration began removing many of the restrictions following the fall of Assad and the rise of al-Sharaa’s government. Washington formally ended Syria’s State Sponsor of Terrorism designation after completing the required congressional review process.

Al-Sharaa, who previously led the rebel coalition that overthrew Assad, has sought to distance Syria’s new government from its militant past while rebuilding relations with the United States, Europe and Arab nations.

Ahmed al-Sharaa, President of Syria, speaks during the 23rd edition of the Doha Forum 2025 at the Sheraton Grand Doha Resort & Convention Hotel in Doha, Qatar, on December 6, 2025. (Photo by Noushad Thekkayil/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The Visa payment does not mean that international card services are immediately available everywhere in Syria. However, officials presented it as an important step toward reconnecting the country’s damaged economy with the global financial system and attracting foreign investment for reconstruction.

For more than 15 years, such an ordinary transaction was largely impossible. With one simple tap in Damascus, one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited capitals, Syria offered a powerful symbol of its attempt to emerge from decades of war, sanctions and international isolation.

Nearly three decades after the September 11 terrorist attacks, the man accused of designing and directing the plot that killed nearly 3,000 people finally has a date to face a jury.

A U.S. military judge has ordered the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and three alleged co-conspirators to begin June 5, 2028, at the military commission in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The date comes nearly 27 years after Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four passenger jets, striking the World Trade Center and Pentagon while a fourth aircraft crashed in Pennsylvania.

Air Force Lt. Col. Michael A. Schrama rejected prosecutors’ request to begin the trial in January 2027, ruling that the accelerated schedule would not leave enough time to resolve the extraordinary number of evidentiary and procedural disputes still surrounding the case.

The judge specifically pointed to unresolved battles over FBI statements and whether evidence tied to the defendants’ interrogations can be used. His 11-page scheduling order lays out a series of milestones stretching through 2027 and 2028, with final witness and exhibit lists due shortly before jury selection begins. Schrama cautioned through the structure of the order that the date depends on the parties successfully meeting those deadlines, meaning another delay remains possible.

Mohammed will be tried alongside Walid bin Attash, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, also known as Ammar al-Baluchi, and Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi. They face charges tied to their alleged roles in planning and supporting the attacks, including conspiracy, murder in violation of the law of war, hijacking and terrorism. Several of the offenses allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty.

Mohammed, known widely as KSM, is accused of developing the concept of using hijacked commercial aircraft as weapons and directing key elements of the operation for Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda network. He was captured in Pakistan in 2003, held for years in secret CIA detention facilities and transferred to Guantánamo Bay in 2006.

Yet getting the case to an actual trial has proved extraordinarily difficult.

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 26: An FBI logo is displayed on a bulletproof jacket at MCAS Miramar on September 26, 2025 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

Years of pretrial litigation have centered on classified evidence, the defendants’ treatment in CIA custody, allegations of torture and whether later statements made to federal investigators were sufficiently separated from those earlier interrogations to be admissible. The case has cycled through multiple judges, while an earlier trial date set for 2021 was ultimately abandoned.

The case appeared close to ending without a trial in 2024 when Mohammed, bin Attash and al-Hawsawi agreed to plead guilty to all charges in exchange for the government taking the death penalty off the table. Under the agreements, the terrorists would have faced life imprisonment and would have been required to answer questions from victims’ families during extensive sentencing proceedings.

Then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin withdrew the agreements shortly after they were approved. A military judge initially ruled that the deals remained valid, setting off another major court fight. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ultimately sided with the government, ruling that Austin had the authority to withdraw and blocking the planned guilty pleas.

The new order now puts the case back on a path toward a full capital trial.

If the schedule holds, jury selection will begin in June 2028, followed by opening statements roughly 30 days after the panel is seated. It would mark an extraordinary moment: more than a quarter-century after the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil, the government would finally begin presenting its case against the man accused of masterminding it.

The doctors couldn’t quite figure out what was wrong when they first began treating a baby at 4 1/2 months for wheezing, shortness of breath, and coughing, treating him with medications and inhalations that did not seem to help.

Then the baby started vomiting.

A visit to the emergency room at the Assuta Ashdod Medical Center earlier this week at 6 months resulted in an X-ray that showed staples stuck inside the baby’s esophagus from a packet of staples he had swallowed weeks before. Some of the staples had become embedded in the esophageal walls, while others were linked together.

These staples were removed from a 6-month-old baby’s esophagus. (Credit: Assuta-Ashdod University Hospital)

It took a team of pediatric gastroenterologists, pulmonologists, ENTs, and anesthesiologists to carefully extract the staples in a complex surgery that took an hour and a half to complete. The sites where the staples had pierced the esophagus were swollen and inflamed, so the baby was treated with antibiotics and fed with a feeding tube to give the esophagus time to heal.

Dr. Chani Oliveston, director of the Pediatric Gastroenterology Unit at Assuta Ashdod Hospital, explained the baby’s medical condition.

“The baby arrived at our hospital after a long period of coughing, shortness of breath, and wheezing that did not go away despite the treatments he received,” she aid.

“In the case of a baby, who cannot explain what happened or whether he swallowed something, it is important to remember that a foreign object can also cause persistent symptoms,” she explained. “In this case, the staples had already caused inflammation, infection, and swelling in the esophagus, and the baby’s respiratory condition was not good. Fortunately, we were able to remove all the staples. The message to parents is simple: When symptoms continue and do not improve as expected, it is important to continue investigating the cause.”

The disgraced British physician Dr. Rahmeh Aladwan, who was suspended in November 2025 during an investigation into antisemitic and pro-terrorism posts, slammed the Amidah prayer in an X post Wednesday, calling it a “zionist” prayer.

In traditional Judaism, the Amidah is a prayer that is recited three times daily.

“Jews have been reciting the zionist Amidah prayer for 2400 years. It was made up by rabbis. They pray it 3 times a day,” she declared in a post on X.

“The notion that jews are inseparable from zionism is their choice to make and sustain. So far, the vast majority (~90%) continue to support the existence of ‘israel’ aka zionism. Not surprising when their prayers and religious lives contain zionist teachings,” she continued, ignoring the importance of capitalization.

Despite a backhanded acknowledgment of the Jewish people’s millennia-old attachment to the land, Aladwan says they should give it up and “repent.”

“They can always opt to change and exist as a religious community without supremacy or stealing land. They can also just repent. They are actively choosing not to do either.”

She also targeted various sections of the prayer, claiming absurd interpretations and saying that the prayer should be reformed, with the sections she found offensive excised. She said that sections 10, 11, and 14 “call for the usurpation of Palestine and displacement of native population.”

This is what the prayer actually says:

• Section 10 is a prayer for the ingathering of the exiles.
• Section 11 is a prayer for a fair and just legislative system and judges.
• Section 14 is a prayer for the restoration of Jerusalem.

The words “Palestine,” “usurpation,” “displacement,” and “native population” do not appear anywhere in these sections. The native population of the land is the Jewish people, so it would be odd for Jews to pray for their usurpation and displacement.

“Section 1, 12, and 17 which establish a mythical ‘spiritual-bloodline’ supremacy model and actively target post-Torah divine revelations,” she wrote.

An understanding of Hebrew is not needed to check what the sections actually say, as English translations abound on the internet.

The relevant sections actually say the following:

• Section 1 praises God for being the father of our ancestors and the shield of Abraham.
• Section 12 is a prayer petitioning God to foil the malicious schemes of those who plot to harm us.
• Section 17 expresses the hope that God will accept our prayers and worship favorably.

How she got from here to there only her fevered brain knows. This will not help her case in her ongoing investigation by the General Medical Council for posts that “demonize, or express and encourage hatred towards Jews in general, their history and their way of life.”

Israeli scientists from Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science and Rowan University in New Jersey published research challenging the long-held belief that mutations occur randomly, which carries implications for cancer treatments.

The researchers discovered that the physical shape of the DNA surrounding a damaged spot determines whether the repair enzymes are attracted to it and will repair it. For example, repair enzymes will attach to a narrow, three-dimensional shape with a strong electrical charge and will repair it but will ignore flatter DNA shapes with a weaker electrical charge.

This is crucial because cell damage is ongoing, caused by such things as ultraviolet light from the sun and oxidation. If the damage is not repaired, it can become fixed as a permanent mutation and lead to diseases such as cancer.

“People have usually thought that if there’s damage, it doesn’t really matter what surrounds it, and that the nearest neighbor might have a small effect,” said Dr. Ariel Afek of the Weizmann Institute, who led the research. He added that in fact what surrounds the DNA determines its fate.

Illustration of a double helix strand of DNA.

“The local physical environment around DNA damage can strongly affect how it is repaired,” Afek told The Times of Israel. “If it bends in one direction or twists in another, it could make the efficiency of the repair a hundred times easier or harder.”

The research suggests that the very shape of the DNA determines whether damage is repaired or not, or where mutations might become permanent.

The discovery “will have a long and lasting impact on the field,” said Prof. Bennett Van Houten of the University of Pittsburgh, who was not involved in the study. “By revealing that surrounding genetic code alters the physical structure of DNA to directly affect how well these enzymes recognize and fix damage, the findings help explain why specific sequences are especially prone to high mutation rates in tumor cells.”

Afek said that he and his team wanted to go back to the beginning to study the initial stages of the process of cell damage and repair.

“Some researchers look at the mutation in cancer patients,” Afek said. “But we wanted to go back and look at the process that actually initiated the mutation at an atomic level a long time ago to really understand the mechanism and the molecular causes.”

“Why do damaging agents like UV light from the sun, or oxidation from the air, hit specific places in the genome more than others, and why do repair enzymes fail to fix the damage in certain spots?” he asked, by way of explanation. “Mutations stand at the essence of many genetic diseases, and we are trying to understand the building blocks that make mutations happen or not.”

The new findings might help researchers create customizable treatments to introduce repair enzymes that will work to repair differently shaped DNA to cure diseases such as cancer and other conditions like neurodegenerative disorders, but the research is still in its early stages.

“The research helped solve a part of the puzzle, but there is so much that is still unknown. This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Afek said. “There’s still room to understand many other factors that shift mutations and repair in our bodies.”

Addressing the United Nations Security Council Wednesday, Nickolay Mladenov took both Israel and Hamas to task for the impasse over the peace plan.

The high representative for Gaza and director-general of the Board of Peace told the assembly that Israel’s rejection of the 15-point plan, which would see a phased withdrawal of the IDF from sections of Gaza as it demilitarizes, its continual airstrikes in Gaza, and its slow-walking of tent supplies to the Strip are impeding the process of moving toward peace and security.

He also blamed Hamas for its repeated violations of the ceasefire, rebuilding tunnels, and obstructing convoys, arguing that ordinary Gazan civilians are the ones who bear the brunt of the consequences of these actions.

Regarding Israeli airstrikes, Mladenov argued, “Will another strike on a munitions depot stop Hamas from rearming or tightening its grip on Gaza? It will not.”

He said that Hamas agreed to surrender its weapons and its civil and security authority over the Strip, but an Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel that the appearance of uniformed and armed Hamas gunmen increases after Israeli airstrikes.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flatly rejected a phased withdrawal, saying that Israel would withdraw only after the complete disarmament of Hamas. Mladenov reiterated that the Israeli premier was not being asked to accept a phased withdrawal but to reaffirm his earlier commitment to the 20-point Gaza peace plan, accusing Israel of failing to keep its commitments to halt military operations and surge humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Britain’s policing scandal over the decision to bar Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters from a major European soccer match has escalated sharply, with the country’s police watchdog now investigating former West Midlands Police chief Craig Guildford and four others over possible misconduct.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct said Guildford, three officers and a police staff member are under investigation following a months-long examination of how West Midlands Police built the case that ultimately led Israeli fans to be excluded from Maccabi’s Europa League match against Aston Villa. Investigators have already reviewed more than 600 pieces of evidence, including intelligence reports, operational documents, emails, messages and meeting records.

The allegations are serious. The IOPC says Guildford, a senior serving officer and a staff member may have committed gross misconduct. Guildford is being investigated over whether he failed to ensure proper scrutiny of an influential intelligence briefing presented to Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group. The senior officer who helped compile the briefing is accused of potentially failing to ensure its accuracy and impartiality, while the staff member allegedly obtained inaccurate information through AI searches and failed to prevent it from entering police briefings. Two additional senior officers face potential misconduct allegations involving oversight, impartiality and engagement with Birmingham’s Jewish community.

The investigation follows months of revelations about the intelligence used to justify the extraordinary decision to keep Maccabi supporters out of Villa Park.

A British parliamentary inquiry found that West Midlands Police became subject to “confirmation bias,” repeatedly accepting claims portraying the Israeli supporters as uniquely dangerous while failing to properly test contradictory evidence. Some of the information originated from Microsoft Copilot, including a claim about a Maccabi Tel Aviv match against West Ham United that simply never happened.

Other errors were even more striking. Police material claimed 5,000 officers had been deployed during disorder surrounding Maccabi’s 2024 match against Ajax in Amsterdam, while Dutch police told British inspectors that the actual figure was 1,200. A claim that more than 200 Israeli fans were linked to the IDF was found to be an improper conflation of different sources. And a briefing alleged Maccabi supporters had thrown innocent people into a river. Investigators found the evidence showed the opposite: a Maccabi supporter had been thrown into a canal, apparently by members of a pro-Palestinian group.

At the same time, Parliament found that police downplayed threats directed at the Israelis themselves. Intelligence indicated that members of local communities in Birmingham had discussed “arm[ing] themselves” ahead of the match, yet the presentation to decision-makers focused heavily on the danger supposedly posed by Maccabi fans. The committee also found police failed to properly consult local Jewish representatives before the ban, despite warnings that the decision could be perceived as antisemitic.

The Home Affairs Committee ultimately found no evidence of a conspiracy to exclude the Israelis, but said it could not rule out political pressure playing a role. It concluded that evidence supporting a preexisting narrative had been accepted while authoritative evidence pointing in the other direction was ignored.

Guildford initially told lawmakers that West Midlands Police had not used AI in producing the faulty information. He later corrected that account after learning Microsoft Copilot had in fact been used. Parliament concluded he had not intentionally misled the committee because the AI use had apparently not been disclosed to him beforehand, but sharply criticized what it called his “remarkable lack of professional curiosity.” Guildford retired as chief constable amid the growing controversy and scrutiny.

The match itself went ahead without Maccabi’s traveling supporters. Hundreds of police were deployed as pro-Israel and anti-Israel demonstrations took place outside Villa Park, with 11 arrests but no major outbreak of violence.

West Midlands Police now acknowledges that the episode damaged public confidence and says it is cooperating fully with the IOPC investigation while working to rebuild trust. The watchdog stressed that the misconduct notices are not findings of guilt and do not guarantee disciplinary proceedings. Investigators will decide after completing their work whether any of those involved have a formal case to answer.

Maryland is directing $10 million toward protecting synagogues, houses of worship and other vulnerable community institutions, funding everything from armed guards and surveillance cameras to reinforced doors and active-shooter lockdown systems.

Gov. Wes Moore’s administration announced that 116 nonprofits, houses of worship and community centers across 16 counties and Baltimore City will receive grants through the state’s Protecting Against Hate Crimes program. The money can pay for security personnel, access-control systems, cameras, lighting, emergency communications, hardened windows and doors, staff training and other physical security upgrades.

Aerial of the government district around the Maryland State House in downtown Annapolis with the Harbor in distance

Jewish institutions are among those receiving assistance. Beth El Congregation in Pikesville, a major Conservative synagogue serving the Baltimore Jewish community, said the funding will be used for security improvements protecting congregants, students and staff.

“This grant funding will allow our Congregation to make important security enhancements,” Senior Rabbi Dana Saroken said, adding that thousands of people spend time on the synagogue’s campus.

The investment comes as Jewish communities across the United States continue to operate under an elevated security threat. The Anti-Defamation League recorded 181 antisemitic incidents in Maryland in 2025, including 41 at Jewish institutions. That represented a substantial decline from 356 incidents in 2024, but the ADL says levels remain significantly above those seen before the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre and the subsequent surge in antisemitism across the United States.

Federal figures show the threat remains disproportionately concentrated on Jews. The FBI recorded 1,528 anti-Jewish hate-crime incidents nationwide in 2025, accounting for 63% of all reported religion-based hate crimes, according to an ADL analysis of the newly released data.

Maryland created its Protecting Against Hate Crimes program in 2019 and has funded it annually since. The state awarded $5 million to 81 organizations in fiscal 2025 before doubling the program to $10 million the following year and maintaining that level for the new round of grants. The earlier funding helped pay for more than 400 security personnel and roughly 400 security assessments, while more than 2,000 staff members received security training.

ANNAPOLIS, MD – AUGUST 05: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore speaks during a press conference at the Maryland State House on August 05, 2025 in Annapolis, Maryland. Moore announced that beginning in 2027 the Preakness Stakes will be held three weeks after the Kentucky Derby and will return to Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

The identities of many recipients are deliberately kept out of Maryland’s public grant map for security and privacy reasons, underscoring the unusual nature of a program designed to protect institutions precisely because they may be targets.

For synagogues and Jewish schools, the funding reflects a reality that has increasingly become part of daily communal life: security guards, controlled entrances and hardened facilities are no longer exceptional measures, but part of the infrastructure required to keep Jewish life open and accessible.

An Iranian assassination operation targeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son Yair reportedly advanced to the point that operatives were already in South Florida monitoring his home and movements, prompting Israeli officials to order him back to Israel immediately.

The stunning details, reported by Newsmax and attributed to a U.S. law enforcement source familiar with the matter, shed new light on Netanyahu’s recent revelation that Iran had attempted to murder one of his sons. Netanyahu did not initially identify which son had been targeted.

According to the report, Israeli intelligence discovered the plot months ago while Yair Netanyahu, 35, was living in Hallandale Beach, north of Miami. Intelligence officials believed Iranian operatives were already “on the ground” in the Miami area and conducting surveillance of Netanyahu’s residence and daily movements.

The threat was apparently considered serious enough that Yair was instructed to leave Florida immediately. He reportedly returned to Israel without even packing his belongings and has since been based in the country. Israeli intelligence also alerted U.S. authorities about the operation, according to the report.

The operational details have not been publicly confirmed by the FBI, Shin Bet or Israeli government, and no arrests or criminal charges tied specifically to the alleged Florida plot have been announced. The central account comes from Newsmax’s unidentified American law enforcement source.

Netanyahu himself publicly confirmed the broader assassination attempt earlier this week, saying during an interview with Channel 14: “Iran tried to murder one of my sons.” He raised the plot while defending the extensive security provided to his family, arguing that the danger is real and that protection is “not a luxury.”

The disclosure also places a recent controversy over the Netanyahu family’s security arrangements in a dramatically different context. Israel’s Ministerial Committee on Shin Bet Affairs recently approved extended protection for Yair and his brother Avner for another five years, regardless of the outcome of Israel’s upcoming election. Sara Netanyahu was reportedly granted protection for as long as her husband is alive. The decision had faced criticism over its cost and duration, while the Netanyahu family maintained that threats from Iran and other hostile actors justified the extraordinary measures.

The alleged Florida operation would not be an isolated case. Iran has repeatedly been accused of attempting to carry out assassinations and attacks far beyond the Middle East, including on American soil. Earlier this year, a U.S. federal jury convicted Asif Merchant, described by the Justice Department as a trained operative of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, of terrorism and murder-for-hire charges. Prosecutors said the IRGC sent Merchant to the United States to arrange political assassinations before undercover law enforcement officers disrupted the operation.

Israeli security officials have also recently warned that Tehran has intensified efforts to target current and former senior Israeli figures abroad, seeking a high-profile strike that could deliver both a physical and psychological blow to Israel.

If the latest report is accurate, Iran’s operation against Yair Netanyahu went well beyond rhetoric or online threats. Suspected operatives had allegedly reached the same American city as their target and were studying his routine before Israeli intelligence detected the threat and moved him out of the country.

Palestinian police arrested an IDF reservist at a checkpoint in Area C, which falls outside their jurisdiction, since Area C of Judea and Samaria is under Israeli control.

According to an initial report by Israeli broadcaster KAN News, Palestinian police rescued an Israeli in Area B, which is under the joint control of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, similar to an episode that happened earlier.

In the earlier report, an Israeli who entered Ein Arik, a village in Area B, was rescued by Palestinian forces; three others were also safely extracted from the village. A later report by KAN clarified that in a separate incident, the reservist had been stopped at an illegal checkpoint in Area C and was later handed over to the IDF.

The second incident occurred near Beitunia, west of Ramallah.

The reservist said that he was pepper-sprayed and detained violently, and his glasses were taken away. He said that his weapon and vehicle were also confiscated and that he was driven to a location near Ramallah before being handed over to the IDF.

The IDF took him into custody and restored his vehicle, clarifying that he had been unlawfully detained at an illegal checkpoint in Area C.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct announced Wednesday an investigation into West Midlands Chief Constable Craig Guildford, who resigned in January over the decision to ban Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Aston Villa in Birmingham, England.

“Former West Midlands Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford, plus three officers and a staff member, have been advised their conduct is being investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct relating to the Maccabi Tel Aviv supporter ban in Birmingham,” the IOPC wrote in a statement.

“Having examined all evidence currently available to us, we have assessed that there is an indication Mr. Guildford, a senior officer, and a staff member may have committed gross misconduct. They have been served notice that we are investigating their conduct,” the statement added.

The IOPC said that it believes that Guildford did not perform due diligence in overseeing intelligence that turned out to be faulty and that presented the police with an imbalanced view of the Israeli fans.

At the time, the ban elicited strong condemnations from both the Israeli and British governments, as well as local groups who accused West Midlands Police of failing to coordinate with the local Jewish community, of using an artificial intelligence chatbot to search for a basis on which to justify the ban, and of citing a nonexistent match between Maccabi and West Ham. An investigation found that the police first implemented the ban and then retroactively tried to justify it, using false intelligence and making false statements about it.

The police had claimed that intelligence from the Dutch police showed that the Maccabi fans presented a high risk to pro-Palestinian supporters because of their alleged violent confrontations at a match in the Netherlands. The police alleged that Dutch intelligence informed them that it had dispatched 5,000 police officers to quell the violence and that an Israeli fan threw a Muslim fan into a canal.

The Dutch denied those intelligence reports and said they were false. They had, in fact, dispatched 1,200 officers, and it was a Muslim fan who threw an Israeli fan into the canal.

At the time, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she lost confidence in Guildford’s ability to lead the West Midlands Police force.

“The findings of the Chief Inspector were damning,” she said. “They set out a catalogue of failings that have harmed trust in West Midlands Police.”

A private college in Minnesota is offering a sociology course this fall called “Palestine,” which will include discussions of Israel’s “continued territorial expansion” and the “ongoing genocide of Palestinians.”

Macalester College said the course will be taught by sociology professor Khaldoun Samman and will cover “the history of the conflict from the rise of Zionism and resistance to it, including both Palestinian resistance and the contemporary voices of dissenting American Jews.”

“Students will learn and apply concepts such as biopolitics, necropolitics and more, in the context of Israel’s historical and contemporary policies, and will analyze the United States’ regional role,” according to the course description.

On the required reading list for students are How to Sell a Genocide by Adam Johnson and Perfect Victims and the Politics of Appeal by Mohammed El-Kurd.

Students Supporting Israel, which does not have a chapter at the college, nevertheless called on the institution to drop the course. The group pointed to El-Kurd’s justification of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and his mockery of hostages, as well as his statement that “Zionism is genocidal,” according to the Anti-Defamation League.

The group also said that the book “argues that focus on condemning Hamas and rising antisemitism distracts from Israeli violence and portrays accusations of antisemitism as a tool used by Israel and Zionists to silence Palestinians.”

“A course that begins by presenting the ‘ongoing genocide of Palestinians’ as fact and assigns materials that ‘dismantle Zionist propaganda,’ dismiss concerns of antisemitism, and rationalize armed resistance does not advance meaningful conflict resolution,” the organization added. “It replaces education with ideology.”

Knesset Constitution Committee Chairman Simcha Rothman sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Tuesday with an “urgent request” to permit the blowing of the shofar and to allow the Musaf service to be held on the Temple Mount on Rosh Hashanah.

The letter, with the subject line, “Urgent request to permit shofar blowing and open the Temple Mount for prayers on Rosh Hashanah 5787,” asked for permission to open the Temple Mount for these services on the first day of the holiday.

“The blowing of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah is one of the central and most important commandments of the holiday. The inability to blow the shofar on the Temple Mount on this day constitutes a significant infringement on the public’s ability to fulfill this commandment in the holy place,” the MK wrote.

Member of Knesset Simcha Rothman. (Credit: Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP via Getty Images)

“The opening of the Temple Mount for the Musaf prayer on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, which falls on Shabbat, is a rare opportunity for the public at large to come and pray in the holy place on a major holiday. The restriction on access on this day prevents many Jews from being able to exercise their right to pray at the site that is most important to our people,” he added.

After the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel delivered control over the Temple Mount to the Jordanian-controlled Jerusalem Islamic Waqf. While Israel maintained security control, the site was restricted for non-Muslims, and non-Muslim worship was banned.

Although the purpose of keeping the status quo was to preserve the peace, critics have argued that its acceptance by the international community demonstrated an unfair double standard: While Jews have been banned from praying at their holiest site without a hint of protest from activists worldwide, if the roles were reversed, global condemnations of Israel would surely be forthcoming. They argue that the idea itself that Israel would prevent Muslims from worshiping at their holy sites is unimaginable.

For that reason, in July, Congress called for freedom of worship at the site that is holy to the world’s three major Abrahamic religions.

Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) introduced the resolution last October calling for “equal access and religious freedom for Christians, Muslims and the Jewish people at one of the world’s most sacred sites.” The resolution came to the floor last month, when Tenney took to the podium to explain her position, using the personal experience of one of her staffers to make her point.

“When one of my staffers ascended the Temple Mount last year, he was harassed by Muslim onlookers, restricted from visiting most of the site, and was only allowed to be upon the Temple Mount for a very short duration of time,” she said.

“Madam Chair, it’s unconscionable that Jews do not enjoy the same access rights to visit and pray at their holiest site, that other religions do. This is a basic tenet and principle of religious freedom, and the U.S. must do more on this issue,” she added.

In a social media statement posted alongside a video of her remarks, the congresswoman wrote, “Today, the House adopted my amendment calling on the U.S. to defend religious freedom and equal access at the Temple Mount.”

“Jews are denied the freedom to pray at their holiest site while Muslims and Christians worship freely. They deserve that same right. This should not be controversial,” she declared.

Israeli pop superstar Omer Adam and Sacha Israelovich, began their wedding celebrations Tuesday with an intimate, family-only ceremony in the picturesque coastal village of Portofino, Italy.

The couple’s larger celebration, attended by friends and extended family, is scheduled for Wednesday at a converted 14th-century monastery. Approximately 100 guests were reportedly invited, with attendees expected to surrender their phones to protect the couple’s privacy.

Adam, 32, is one of Israel’s most successful and recognizable performers, known for combining Mizrahi music with contemporary pop. Born in North Carolina to Israeli parents and raised in Israel, he began his professional career as a teenager and later became the youngest singer to headline Caesarea. He has also repeatedly highlighted his Jewish identity, including declining an invitation to perform at Eurovision because rehearsals would have required him to violate Shabbat.

Israelovich, 24, is an Italian-Jewish model from a prominent real-estate family. She reportedly studied computer science and entrepreneurship at Reichman University, completed an internship at Harvard and has worked with a cryptocurrency-focused venture capital fund. The couple became engaged in April during a trip to Tulum, Mexico, only months after beginning their relationship.

The wedding ceremony will feature separate seating for men and women to accommodate Hasidic singer Motty Steinmetz, who is scheduled to perform. Adam is reportedly a longtime admirer of Steinmetz’s music, and the two are friends.

Steinmetz, 34, is one of the leading voices in contemporary Hasidic music. Raised in a Vizhnitz family in Bnei Brak, he is known for emotional renditions of songs drawn from Jewish prayers and scripture. His debut album, Haneshama Bekirbi, achieved platinum status in Israel, while his collaboration with Ishay Ribo, “Nafshi,” became one of his best-known songs.

In keeping with his religious standards, Steinmetz does not perform before mixed audiences unless men and women are separated by a mechitzah. His representatives reportedly say that separate seating is a contractual requirement whenever he performs at a wedding. ⁠

Guests were also given a strict dress code: colorful, festive attire for the welcome reception, followed by black-tie suits and evening gowns for the wedding ceremony. Despite the black-tie theme, attendees were reportedly instructed not to wear black.

Israel has begun taking control of a major UNRWA compound in northern Jerusalem, ordering staff out as the city moves to replace the decades-old UN facility with a NIS 40 million educational and community complex for local Arab residents.

Large Israeli security forces entered the Kafr Aqab compound near Qalandiya as municipal crews began work at the site. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he personally ordered the evacuation as part of Israel’s implementation of legislation barring UNRWA from operating on Israeli territory. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir was also at the scene, where Palestinian officials said UNRWA employees were instructed to leave and not return.

The Jerusalem Municipality’s plans go far beyond simply closing the facility. More than NIS 40 million, roughly $13 million, is being invested in the first stage of a new municipal campus, including a boys’ high school scheduled to open with the new school year. Future phases are expected to include additional schools, a mosque, sports facilities and healthcare services for thousands of residents in Kafr Aqab.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry says the land has belonged to the Jewish National Fund since 1937 and was allocated to the Jerusalem Municipality for the project. According to the ministry, UNRWA has no property rights to the plot and had fenced it off for decades, preventing the land from being used for badly needed municipal services.

JERUSALEM – OCTOBER 29: Barbed wire is seen in front of a sign located at the entrance to Jerusalem branch of UNWRA on October 29, 2024 in Jerusalem. Israeli lawmakers voted on Monday to ban the UN agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) from carrying out any activity in the country. Following the vote, Israel’s Knesset passed a second bill to sever diplomatic ties with the organization. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)

UNRWA fiercely disputes Israel’s position. The agency says Jordan made the land available to it in the early 1950s, when Jordan controlled the area, and that its Kalandia Training Centre is a protected United Nations installation. The vocational school has operated for more than 70 years and trains roughly 340 to 350 students annually in fields ranging from vehicle maintenance and carpentry to renewable energy and information technology. UNRWA says the Israeli takeover violates the protections afforded to UN premises under international law.

The confrontation is part of Israel’s much broader campaign to remove UNRWA from Jerusalem following revelations surrounding the Hamas-led October 7 massacre. A UN investigation into 19 UNRWA employees accused of involvement in the attack found that nine may have participated, and the agency terminated their employment. Israel has made far wider allegations concerning Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad infiltration of the organization, which UNRWA rejects.

The Knesset initially passed legislation banning UNRWA operations on Israeli territory in 2024. A later amendment gave Israeli authorities explicit powers to take possession of designated UNRWA properties, including the Kafr Aqab site.

Israel has already acted on the other major Jerusalem property targeted by the legislation. Earlier this year, authorities seized UNRWA’s former headquarters near Ma’alot Dafna and Ammunition Hill and began demolishing buildings there. The government has since approved plans for a new defense complex on the property, including an IDF museum, enlistment office and offices for the defense establishment.

The Kafr Aqab operation also follows a recent High Court petition accusing Israeli authorities of failing to fully enforce the law. The petition was filed by Israel Beytenu MK Yulia Malinovsky, the B’Tsalmo organization and Yaakov Samerano, whose son Yonatan was murdered during the October 7 massacre and whose body was taken into Gaza by an UNRWA employee, according to evidence released by Israel.

What was once a long-running political and legal fight over UNRWA’s presence in Jerusalem is increasingly becoming a physical transformation on the ground. Israel is not merely ordering the agency to leave. At two of its most prominent Jerusalem compounds, authorities are now moving ahead with entirely new Israeli-run projects in their place.

A movement aimed at preserving Jewish philanthropy across generations has crossed a major threshold, with more than 200,000 people now promising to direct a significant share of their future charitable giving toward Jewish causes and the State of Israel.

Jewish Future Promise says its signers represent an estimated $6.821 billion in future philanthropic commitments. Its website currently lists more than 200,100 “Promisers,” marking dramatic growth for an initiative that began with a relatively small circle of major Jewish philanthropists just six years ago.

The promise is deliberately simple. Signers commit that if they leave money to charity after their death, at least 50% of that charitable giving will go toward organizations or causes serving the Jewish people and/or Israel. There is no required donation amount, and the commitment does not mean giving away half of a person’s estate.

Crucially, it is also not legally binding. Jewish Future Promise describes it as a moral commitment rather than a contract, designed as much to spark conversations within families about Jewish identity, values and responsibility as it is to influence where future philanthropic dollars ultimately go.

“Every Promise represents a conversation about the future,” founder Mike Leven said as the organization announced the milestone.

The numbers show how rapidly the idea has expanded. Jewish Future Promise reported 175,186 signers in February, surpassed 184,000 by May and reached more than 195,000 by July before crossing 200,000. In May, the organization said its estimated future commitments already exceeded $6.65 billion.

Leven, a veteran businessman and philanthropist who previously held senior roles at Las Vegas Sands, Holiday Inn and the Georgia Aquarium, launched the initiative with Amy Holtz in 2020. The concept was partly inspired by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett’s Giving Pledge, but adapted around a specifically Jewish concern: ensuring that the enormous transfer of wealth from older generations does not result in Jewish philanthropy disappearing with them.

That concern is becoming increasingly significant. Research firm Cerulli Associates estimates that roughly $124 trillion will change hands in the United States through 2048, including approximately $18 trillion expected to ultimately flow to charities. Much of the wealth currently controlled by Baby Boomers and older Americans will pass to younger generations, potentially reshaping the philanthropic landscape for decades.

Jewish Future Promise argues that the stakes are particularly high for Jewish institutions and Israel as communities confront rising antisemitism, increasing security costs and changing giving priorities among younger donors. The organization is attempting to make support for Jewish causes an explicit part of estate and family conversations before that historic wealth transfer takes place.

Its roster of public supporters includes figures such as Alan Dershowitz, Noa Tishby and prominent Jewish philanthropists, while its broader strategy increasingly focuses on ordinary families rather than only major donors.

The $6.821 billion figure remains an estimate rather than money already donated or legally guaranteed. But with more than 200,000 people now signed on, the movement has grown into a potentially significant effort to influence where billions of dollars in future Jewish philanthropy ultimately go and whether the next generation continues directing substantial resources toward Jewish life and Israel.

Dolly Parton, the beloved country music icon whose voice, faith, generosity and larger-than-life personality touched generations, has died at 80, her family announced Tuesday.

Born into poverty in rural Tennessee, Parton rose to international fame with classics including “Jolene,” “9 to 5,” “Coat of Many Colors” and “I Will Always Love You.” She sold more than 100 million records and became equally admired for her extraordinary philanthropy, particularly her efforts to promote childhood literacy.

Parton’s connections to the Jewish world ran deeply through her music, career and charitable legacy. Her Imagination Library helped inspire PJ Library and Israel’s Sifriyat Pijama program, which have distributed millions of Jewish-themed books to children and families.

Comedienne Joan Rivers and Musician Dolly Parton attend Sandy Gallin’s Holiday Party on December 18, 1988 at the Home of Sandy Gallin in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

In an interview with The New York Times, Parton revealed that she always kept a Bible and daily devotional book beside her bed. She later explained that although she did not consider herself particularly religious, she was “very, very spiritual” and grateful to have been raised with a strong biblical foundation.

Her knowledge of the Hebrew Bible could be heard in several songs, most famously “Coat of Many Colors.” Parton’s mother made the young Dolly a coat from scraps and, hoping to make her proud of it, compared it to Joseph’s biblical coat. Parton recalled going to school believing she looked like the important biblical figure, only to be devastated when classmates mocked her.

Biblical themes also appeared in “The Master’s Hand,” which drew upon stories from Noah and the Book of Daniel.

Portrait of, from left, British musician Barry Gibb, American musician and actress Dolly Parton, musician and actor Kenny Rogers, and talent agent Sandy Gallin (1940 – 2017) as they pose together at Rogers’ home, Los Angeles, California, 1983. (Photo by Steve Schapiro/Corbis via Getty Images)

Parton also credited her longtime Jewish agent, Sandy Gallin, with helping her cross over from country music into television, film and business. During their four-decade partnership, Gallin encouraged her to establish Dollywood and co-founded Sandollar Productions with her. The company produced major projects including “Father of the Bride,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and the Academy Award-winning AIDS documentary “Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt.”

Parton honored their enduring friendship by writing “Sandy’s Song.”

View of American musician and actress Dolly Parton (left) and her agent (and later business manager) Sandy Gallin (1940 – 2017) at the latter’s home, Los Angeles, California, 1984. (Photo by Steve Schapiro/Corbis via Getty Images)

While she was not known as an outspoken political advocate for Israel, her biblical faith, charitable influence and close relationships within the Jewish community created a lasting bond with Jewish admirers in Israel and worldwide.

United Airlines is bringing back nonstop flights between San Francisco and Tel Aviv, restoring a major link between Israel and the Bay Area as American carriers gradually rebuild service following months of regional disruption.

The airline plans to restart the route on March 28, 2027, with three flights per week. United says the service will offer more business-class seats between San Francisco and Tel Aviv than any competing airline, reinforcing a route that connects two major global technology centers and serves a large Israeli and Jewish population in Northern California.

The announcement came as part of the largest international network expansion in United’s history, with the airline adding 10 international destinations and several new routes across Europe and Asia. Unlike many of those additions, however, San Francisco-Tel Aviv marks the revival of a route United previously operated before repeated Middle East conflicts forced U.S. airlines to suspend Israel service.

United will not have the route to itself. El Al is scheduled to restore its own nonstop Tel Aviv-San Francisco service on October 25 after more than six years away, operating three flights per week. By next spring, travelers could therefore have two airlines competing nonstop between Israel and the Bay Area, a significant change after a prolonged period of limited capacity.

The San Francisco announcement is also part of a much broader United return to Israel. The carrier currently plans to restart two daily Newark-Tel Aviv flights on September 8, while service from Chicago and Washington, D.C., is scheduled to return in October. Delta is expected back on the New York-Tel Aviv route two days earlier, on September 6.

UA2822 N2749U

The return of major U.S. carriers could gradually restore competition and capacity on routes that have faced unusually high fares and limited availability during repeated airline suspensions. For United, which historically operated more Israel service than any other U.S. airline, the San Francisco restart is another step toward rebuilding the extensive U.S.-Israel network it maintained before the latest disruptions.

Camp Lavi appears to have survived a dramatic bankruptcy battle that threatened the future of one of the Modern Orthodox community’s best-known summer camps. But the group taking control is not the parent-led nonprofit that raised millions of dollars in a frantic effort to save it.

Instead, Ohel Children’s Home and Family Services, which secured Camp Lavi for $8.75 million in a bankruptcy auction, has reached an agreement with a for-profit group led by Joey Hoenig, a former Camp Lavi director and co-owner. Hoenig is expected to return as the camp’s director, with the new group pledging to preserve Lavi’s Modern Orthodox identity, traditions and coeducational model.

The agreement caps a remarkable few weeks for Camp Lavi families.

The camp was swept into bankruptcy proceedings after Michael and David Shabsels, whose sprawling business controlled 30 summer camps across the United States, filed for Chapter 11 protection. Their companies had accumulated more than $344 million in debt amid allegations that assets had been double pledged and after missed bond payments. Camp Lavi itself operates on a roughly 130-acre property in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains and can accommodate more than 600 guests.

Camp Lavi completed its summer season, but its future became uncertain when Ohel won the property at auction. Ohel initially intended to use the site for its own programming rather than continue Camp Lavi in its existing form.

Parents and alumni mobilized almost immediately. More than 4,000 people signed a petition, over 100 letters were sent to the bankruptcy judge and a committee representing Camp Lavi families filed a formal objection to the sale. The pressure eventually pushed Ohel toward finding a buyer willing to preserve the camp.

An initial deal with runner-up bidder Shlomo Drazin then collapsed after a dispute over price. Ohel had won with an $8.75 million bid. Drazin had originally bid $8.5 million but later sought to pay substantially less, leaving Camp Lavi’s future uncertain once again.

That triggered an extraordinary fundraising drive.

Families and supporters formed Camp Lavi Foundation Inc., with current director Sean Steinmetz expected to lead the nonprofit. The group ultimately announced that more than $5 million had been raised from roughly 2,000 families and supporters and that financing had been secured to match Ohel’s $8.75 million purchase price.

“We have raised all the money, and the bridge loan is secured,” Camp Lavi told families.

At that point, supporters believed the rescue was essentially complete. But within days, Ohel informed them that it had selected another buyer.

That buyer is a group headed by Hoenig, who previously owned 49% of Camp Lavi before a dispute with the Shabsels brothers forced him out in 2018. Hoenig is also a co-founder of the Five Towns Basketball League and serves as director of athletics at the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway.

Ohel said its decision came down to certainty and timing. The organization said the new group demonstrated deep roots in Camp Lavi and was prepared to move quickly enough to begin planning for the 2027 season.

“Whatever path we pursued, Camp Lavi must remain Camp Lavi,” Ohel said, stressing that preserving the camp’s culture, traditions and community had become a central condition of any deal.

For the families who raised millions to create a nonprofit Camp Lavi, the outcome is bittersweet. Their own plan will not move forward, and the camp is instead expected to remain a for-profit operation. The foundation has said donations will be returned once the court approves the new entity and the transaction closes.

The most important result, however, is the one parents feared might not happen at all: Camp Lavi is expected to open again with the same religious character and basic identity that generations of campers know.

Hoenig has made clear that continuity is his goal.

“We are not here to reinvent camp,” he told parents. “We are here to continue something that has always been incredibly special.”

The agreement still must complete the bankruptcy approval and closing process. According to the latest public reporting, the transaction had not yet formally closed, meaning one final step remains before Camp Lavi’s turbulent summer can truly be declared over.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe made a rare, unannounced trip to Moscow aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport aircraft, marking the highest-level visit to Russia by a Trump administration official since January and the first known trip by an American CIA director to the Russian capital since before Russia invaded Ukraine.

The visit was initially exposed by flight-tracking data showing a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III flying from Riga, Latvia, into Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport. The aircraft, tail number 07-7181, had traveled from the Washington area to Latvia before continuing into Russia. A U.S. diplomatic motorcade was subsequently spotted near the airport and later in central Moscow.

CBS News and Axios later confirmed that Ratcliffe was in Moscow for meetings with Russian officials. The CIA has refused to disclose who he met or what was discussed, while the Kremlin publicly claimed it had no information about the aircraft and said no meetings with U.S. administration officials had been scheduled at the Kremlin. That leaves open the possibility that Ratcliffe’s contacts were with Russian intelligence or security officials outside the Kremlin itself.

One of the most striking details emerged before Ratcliffe arrived: U.S. officials informed Ukraine that a senior American delegation was heading to Moscow and asked Kyiv to suspend strikes on Russian cities until the delegation departed. The Jerusalem Post separately reported that the request covered Moscow and other Russian cities over several days.

The request comes as Ukraine has increasingly demonstrated its ability to strike deep inside Russia, including around Moscow, using long-range drones. Washington’s decision to seek a temporary pause appears to have been designed to prevent a Ukrainian attack from disrupting or endangering the high-level U.S. mission while it was inside Russia. The C-17 later departed Moscow and headed back toward Riga.

Ratcliffe’s trip is particularly unusual because CIA chiefs rarely make publicly detectable visits to hostile capitals. His predecessor, William Burns, traveled to Moscow in November 2021 and spoke with President Vladimir Putin and senior Russian officials in an attempt to warn Moscow against attacking Ukraine. Russia launched its full-scale invasion roughly three months later.

Ratcliffe has nevertheless maintained contact with Russian intelligence officials. The CIA has also played a role in U.S.-Russia prisoner negotiations, including the release of American detainees, giving intelligence channels an unusually important role as traditional diplomatic relations between Washington and Moscow remain severely constrained.

The timing adds another layer of intrigue. U.S.-backed efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war have largely stalled, while Washington is simultaneously intensifying pressure on Iran. Russia maintains extensive military, economic and intelligence ties with Tehran, including cooperation involving Iranian-designed drones. Reuters has also reported a Ukrainian intelligence assessment alleging that Russia supplied Iran with satellite imagery that could assist in targeting U.S. facilities in the Middle East, an accusation Moscow denies.

There is currently no verified indication that Iran was on Ratcliffe’s agenda, and neither Washington nor Moscow has disclosed the purpose of the talks.

For now, the unusual military flight, the diplomatic motorcade, the request that Ukraine temporarily stop striking Russian cities and the presence of America’s top intelligence official in Moscow point to a significant channel of communication operating largely outside public view.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani refused to call for the resignation of a Brooklyn politician for promoting a video extolling Henry Ford’s antisemitic publication, The International Jew, a series of pamphlets he published in The Dearborn Independent, a weekly paper that he owned, as well as for blaming a property dispute on the “Zionists.”

Reporters from Jewish Insider asked him on three separate occasions if he had anything to say about the matter, but he refused to answer.

Carmella Charrington was elected to the position of Democratic district leader for Assembly District 56 in Brooklyn, where she serves in the critical, albeit unpaid, role of community and party liaison.

Charrington became infamous in her small part of the world for her role in a property dispute, claiming to be a victim of deed theft and blaming the Jewish investors in her building, whom she called Zionists and whom she accused of having ties to Israeli settlements. Ultimately, New York Attorney General Letitia James found that the case was instead a complicated dispute over her father’s estate.

At the time, Mamdani did denounce Charrington’s attacks on the building’s investors, with his team putting out a statement saying, “Suggesting that an alleged deed theft in Brooklyn is part of a global conspiracy involving Jewish people is blatant, reprehensible antisemitism. Trafficking in these dangerous antisemitic tropes is vile and inexcusable.”

He, along with James and City Council Speaker Julie Menin, who also condemned the posts, stopped short of calling for her resignation.

Other New York Democrats have demanded that she step aside, however.

“Jewish New Yorkers are being attacked. Synagogues are being targeted. Public officials have a duty to lower the temperature and not amplify rhetoric that endangers their neighbors,” district leader and Assembly candidate Joey Cohen-Saban wrote on social media. “Charrington has repeatedly crossed that line without remorse. She is unfit for public office and must resign. Every Brooklyn Democratic leader and anyone seeking to lead this party must say so clearly and unequivocally. No excuses. No equivocation. Period.”

A university instructor stood on a street corner in Toronto Sunday and spewed disgusting venom about the Jewish people.

Dr. Abbas Hamze, who teaches at the University of Niagara Falls Canada, Georgian College, and Conestoga College, accused “Zionists” of raping, killing, and eating children.

“The British colonizers have planted this cancerous, this cancerous, false Zionist state of Israel in the Palestine, and right in the heart of the Muslim countries, and right in the heart of Islam,” he said, speaking into a megaphone and wearing a keffiyeh around his neck.

“This is not coincidence. These Zionists have never had a country of their own because of their mischief. They are the most kicked-out people in the world for making black magic and horrible things,” he added. “We can see the corruption crystal clear in the Epstein Island, where they have seduced leaders from all around the world, including Trump.”

Then came the kicker.

“They have raped and killed and ate children at the same time,” he said. “They have done the unimaginable to blackmail them and control them.”

In his tirade, he also blamed the “terrorist Zionists” for getting Trump to do such things as cause the “genocide” in Gaza, abduct the president of Venezuela, and strike Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, who was killed in joint airstrike by the United States and Israel.

This type of rhetoric coming from a university instructor alarmed Jewish groups.

Several Jewish Canadian groups, including B’nai Brith Canada and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, issued a joint statement calling the incident “blatant antisemitism.”

“For far too long, Bathurst and Sheppard has been a regular site of antisemitic harassment, intimidation, and provocation, too often under the guise of antizionism,” the groups wrote.

“When this behaviour is allowed to continue without meaningful consequences, the message is that targeting Jews in this way is acceptable,” the statement added, urging the Toronto Police to investigate.

“Allowing this behaviour to go unchecked is to normalize antisemitism as an everyday feature of life in this city,” the groups concluded.

According to an X account named Leviathan, which claims to use open-source intelligence to source its information, Hamze has a history of engaging in antisemitic behavior, visiting Jewish neighborhoods on Sundays to intimidate and harass Jews. He has protested at schools and synagogues and called for the kidnapping of hostages, stating that “Hamas has the right to take hostages in October 7th 2023” and that “Hezbollah has the right to assist Hamas in October 8th.”

He has also been photographed carrying a flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the heavily Jewish neighborhoods of Toronto.

Leviathan also alleged that Hamze is protected by a police escort during his anti-Jewish activities and that he came to Canada from France in 2022 and is not a Canadian citizen.

The State Department removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism and rescinded the terrorist designation of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the jihadi group headed by former jihadi and current President of Syria Ahmed al-Sharaa. Simultaneously, the Department of the Treasury removed HTS from its list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons, which means the now former terror group is no longer subject to sanctions under the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations or Executive Order 13224.

President Donald Trump had informed Congress that he intended to start this process in July, giving Congress 45 days for review, a period that has now expired.

“Today, I authorized the formal rescission of Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. “I have also delisted Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham’s (HTS) designation as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.”

“These actions represent another historic step by President Trump to give the Syrian people a path to prosperity,” he added.

“These actions were all taken in recognition of the positive actions taken and further commitments by the Syrian government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa to fully distance Syria from acts of international terrorism,” he continued, citing such actions as counterterrorism work and efforts to disrupt the terror networks of ISIS and al-Qaeda.

“Rescinding Syria’s designation as an SST and HTS’ designation as an SDGT eliminates the final major barriers for private sector investment in Syria and promotes Syria’s economic recovery and reintegration into the global economy,” he concluded.

Tom Barrack, U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special presidential envoy for Syria and Iraq, congratulated Trump and Rubio for taking these actions.

“Another historic milestone in POTUS’ bold vision to give Syria a chance. Today, Sec. Rubio formally rescinded Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism — another decisive step in Syria’s remarkable journey from isolation to partnership, and from a source of terrorism to a committed partner in the global fight against it.”

“For too long, this designation was another wall separating the Syrian people from the investment, enterprise, and opportunity necessary to rebuild their nation. Today, another wall comes down. Capital can replace conflict, enterprise can replace isolation, and commerce can continue to triumph over chaos,” he added.

“Promises made. Promises kept. Syria has been given a chance — now the work is to turn that chance into enduring peace and prosperity,” he concluded.

A security operation in Jerusalem took an extraordinary turn when Border Police officers searching a compound in Kfar HaShiloah, also known as Silwan, discovered an ancient burial cave hidden beneath a building.

Israel Antiquities Authority experts were called to the scene after officers spotted the underground chamber and archaeological remains during their search. A preliminary examination determined that the graves date to the Second Temple period, the era stretching from roughly 516 BCE until the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 CE. Additional archaeological artifacts were also discovered at the site, though authorities have not yet released a detailed inventory.

The discovery was entirely unexpected. Border Police were operating in the compound as part of a broader Jerusalem District investigation following a violent feud between two local families. The confrontation had erupted into gunfire, fireworks and Molotov cocktails, leaving one person dead. Police shot and killed two additional men after officers said they approached security forces carrying weapons and Molotov cocktails and posed an immediate threat.

While searching properties linked to those involved in the violence, officers noticed archaeological remains beneath one of the structures. Antiquities Authority personnel were summoned, transforming what began as a police operation into an archaeological investigation.

Police and Border Police are now securing the site alongside the Israel Antiquities Authority so experts can continue examining and preserving the cave. Authorities have not yet disclosed how many graves are inside, who may have been buried there or precisely what artifacts were recovered. Those questions will require further archaeological work.

The location makes the find especially significant. Kfar HaShiloah sits immediately south of Jerusalem’s Old City, alongside the City of David and an area containing some of the most important archaeological remains from ancient Jerusalem. Nearby discoveries include the Pool of Siloam, ancient water systems and extensive burial complexes spanning multiple periods of Jerusalem’s history.

Second Temple-era Jerusalem expanded dramatically as the city became the religious center of Jewish life and drew pilgrims from across the region. Archaeologists have documented hundreds of burial caves around ancient Jerusalem, with rock-cut chambers, burial niches and ossuaries becoming characteristic features of Jewish burial practices during portions of the period. The newly discovered cave has only undergone an initial examination, and the Antiquities Authority has not yet announced whether its occupants or individual artifacts can be identified.

For now, the discovery offers another striking glimpse into the layers of Jerusalem’s history still lying beneath the modern city. A search triggered by contemporary violence unexpectedly exposed a burial site untouched from an era roughly 2,000 years ago, and archaeologists may only be beginning to understand what is inside.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took an unusual approach to connecting directly with voters this week, publicly releasing what he described as his personal phone number and telling Israelis: If you have something to say, call the prime minister.

The move came in a campaign video featuring Netanyahu alongside longtime adviser Topaz Luk.

In the clip, Luk asks Netanyahu whether he can publish his phone number. Netanyahu initially appears stunned.

“Topaz, have you gone crazy?” Netanyahu responds, before giving him the green light.

[

View this post on Instagram

](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcYvuAgsEmw/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading)

A post shared by Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@b.netanyahu)

“I want to hear from you — your suggestions, your questions, your problems,” Netanyahu tells viewers. “Leave me a message.”

Netanyahu acknowledged there was no chance he could personally respond to everyone, but promised to answer as many people as possible.

Israelis apparently took him seriously.

Within minutes, hundreds of messages and calls reportedly poured into the number, overwhelming the WhatsApp account connected to it. Luk later announced that WhatsApp had blocked the account amid the flood of incoming traffic and said the team was working to restore access.

Was It Really Bibi’s Phone?

The campaign stunt quickly generated another question: Was this actually Netanyahu’s personal cellphone?

Critics suggested the number may instead be operated by campaign staff, with some questioning whether the initiative could also provide Netanyahu’s campaign with contact information for potential voters. No evidence has emerged establishing that the campaign improperly collected or used voter data.

Social media users also spotted an amusing detail in footage showing the phone: a WhatsApp group visible on the device reportedly contained a message supportive of Netanyahu rival and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

That fueled further skepticism that Israelis had suddenly been handed the prime minister’s everyday cellphone number.

Netanyahu Has Done This Before

This isn’t Netanyahu’s first election-season experiment with giving voters a direct line.

During the 2022 election campaign, Netanyahu similarly released a number and encouraged Israelis to contact him. Likud said at the time that a staggering 9,420 calls arrived within the first 30 minutes.

Political opponents mocked that effort, arguing that the phone was effectively another campaign tool rather than Netanyahu’s private device.

Bibi Takes The Campaign Directly To Voters

The latest phone stunt comes as Israel moves deeper into its 2026 election campaign and Netanyahu ramps up efforts to personally engage voters.

Netanyahu has recently appeared at restaurants, shopping centers and entertainment events as part of a highly visible public outreach push. One campaign video showing Netanyahu interacting with children at Jerusalem’s Malha Mall ran into trouble with Israel’s Central Elections Committee, which ordered footage involving children removed over restrictions governing the use of minors in election propaganda.

Whether Israelis were actually calling the phone sitting in Netanyahu’s pocket or a carefully managed campaign line, one thing became clear almost immediately:

When the prime minister tells an entire country to give him a call, Israelis apparently don’t need to be asked twice.

Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada expressed her disdain Monday for the motion to cut ties with Israel, explaining that setting foreign policy falls outside the purview of the City Council.

“The role of city council is not to dictate foreign policy,” she told reporters hours before the vote was scheduled to take place Monday night. “That is the role of the government of Canada.”

The opposition party Projet Montréal introduced the motion in June, which calls for condemning Israel for what it calls its practice of apartheid and genocide and for cutting off all institutional ties with the Jewish state.

B’nai Brith Canada denounced the motion.

“B’nai Brith Canada is urging the City Council of Montreal to reject the divisive, one-sided motion proposed by
Projet Montréal to cut institutional ties with the State of Israel,” the group said in a statement.

“For the City of Montreal to weigh into this conflict would be inappropriate and exacerbate tensions between
communities. It is not in the city’s purview to dictate foreign policy for its residents, as our federal leaders are
elected to do that, and no other elected officials are charged with that mandate,” the group added.

“There is a documented correlation between conflict in the Middle East and increases in antisemitism, as B’nai Brith
has reported in its Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, as well as Islamophobia and other forms of hate,” the group explained, citing specific incidents of antisemitism such as the rabbi and police officer who were shot and killed in June and the Hasidic men who were assaulted and had their shtreimels, the traditional fur hats worn by married Hasidic men, knocked off their heads and stolen the following month.

“Extremist groups are weaponizing the war in Gaza to promote violence and acts of terrorism targeting Jewish
people and Israelis,” the statement continued.

“Montreal’s City Council is mandated to protect its citizens, not to pass motions that would only serve to alienate
the Jewish community. Montrealers do not want their city to become another Middle East battleground. They
want better municipal services and effective governance,” the statement concluded. “Despite all of this, Projet Montréal is choosing to introduce a policy of division, anger, and no substance. It is imperative that the City of Montreal stands strongly against this divisive and dishonest motion.”

The Hellenic Community of Greater Montreal, which represents people of Greek origin in the region, also weighed in, urging the City Council to reject the motion.

Honest Reporting slammed supporters of the motion for standing outside City Hall Monday chanting, “Long live the intifada.”

“Supporters of the motion today decided to stand outside city hall and chant ‘long live the intifada,’ which in our eyes glorifies multiple campaigns synonymous with terror attacks against Israeli civilians, including waves of suicide bombings and other deadly terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians,” the watchdog said.

“Councillors should pay close attention to the rhetoric surrounding this campaign. Montreal should be standing against extremism and Jew hatred, not passing a motion that isolates and demonizes Israel,” it added.

“This motion must be rejected,” it said in no uncertain terms.

Iranian state television has aired a disturbing propaganda video threatening Barron Trump and claiming that the 20-year-old son of President Donald Trump is under constant surveillance.

The roughly three-minute segment, circulated by media affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, carried the title “Where and How Should We Kill Barron Trump?” It purported to identify Barron’s university, vehicles used by his security team and positions occupied by Secret Service agents.

The broadcast also alleged that an unidentified woman had slipped past Barron’s security, met with him privately and supplied information to those behind the video. Additional claims focused on his supposed online communications and personal relationships.

None of the surveillance claims has been independently verified.

The segment reportedly promoted a $10 million reward connected to targeting the president’s son before ending with a menacing warning: “Barron Trump, wait for us!”

The Secret Service said it was aware of the threatening material and investigates anything that could endanger one of its protectees.

The video represents the latest Iranian threat against members of the Trump family. IRGC-linked media previously released similar footage focused on First Lady Melania Trump, while other propaganda has mapped President Trump’s alleged motorcade routes and depicted his death.

Iranian officials and state media have repeatedly called for revenge following Trump’s 2020 order to eliminate IRGC Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani. The rhetoric has intensified further amid the ongoing war and the Trump administration’s expanding campaign of economic pressure against Tehran.

The White House has not publicly announced whether Barron Trump’s security arrangements will be altered in response. JBN has reached out to the White House for comment but has not received a response as of publication.

A financing strategy that helped keep Israel’s housing market moving through years of war and high interest rates is beginning to show its downside, as a growing number of buyers discover they cannot actually complete the purchases they signed for.

The number of canceled home deals signed between 2023 and 2025 has surged 41% since the beginning of the year, climbing from 1,294 in January to 1,821 in the latest Finance Ministry review. Roughly 500 additional transactions have unraveled in just seven months.

At the center of the problem are the aggressive financing promotions developers used to entice reluctant buyers. Under so-called “20/80” or “10/90” deals, purchasers could secure an apartment while paying only a small portion of the price upfront, with most of the balance due when construction was completed. In some cases examined by the Finance Ministry, buyers had paid nothing at all.

Israel Tel Aviv business downtown skyline cityscape aerial view night

The arrangements dramatically lowered the immediate cost of reserving an apartment but postponed the real financial test. Buyers who later failed to obtain a large enough mortgage, could not raise the required equity or saw their financial circumstances change were suddenly confronted with the remaining balance.

The warning signs are particularly visible among apartments purchased in 2024, when developer financing promotions were especially widespread. Cancellations involving deals signed that year jumped from 495 in January to 738 in the latest data, pushing the cancellation rate from 1.5% to 2.3%. Deals signed in 2023 have now reached a 4.3% cancellation rate. By comparison, transactions signed during the booming 2021 market had a cancellation rate of just 0.5% two years later.

And the figures may still be far from their peak. Only around 40% of homes sold in 2024 are currently ready for occupancy, while roughly a quarter have delivery dates stretching into 2028 or later. That means thousands of buyers have not yet reached the moment when the bulk of their purchase price comes due.

The southern region has emerged as a major center of the cancellations, recording 475 terminated transactions signed between 2023 and 2025. In roughly two-thirds of those cases, financial difficulties were cited as the reason, ranging from buyers being denied mortgages to purchasers concluding they simply could not finance the home. A third of the canceled deals in the south involved buyers who had paid nothing toward the apartment, while about half had paid no more than several tens of thousands of shekels.

Normally, walking away from an Israeli home purchase can trigger compensation of around 10% of the property’s value, potentially costing hundreds of thousands of shekels. But the Finance Ministry found numerous cases in which developers waived the penalty or accepted much smaller sums. In the south, average compensation was only around NIS 20,000, although some buyers elsewhere were charged NIS 200,000 or more, with several Tel Aviv cases reaching roughly NIS 500,000.

Senior Finance Ministry economist Galit Ben Naim said the cancellation documents exposed just how little some buyers had initially committed financially.

“There is nothing funny about the fact that for many months… one could pay nothing for an apartment,” she wrote.

The Bank of Israel had already identified the danger. Regulators imposed restrictions on developer-backed financing arrangements after warning that delayed-payment and subsidized balloon-loan promotions could encourage purchases by people whose ability to ultimately complete the transaction was uncertain.

Under the rules, banks face additional capital requirements for residential projects where more than 25% of contracts use significant deferred-payment structures. Contractor-subsidized bullet and balloon mortgages are also capped at 10% of banks’ monthly new housing-loan activity. The restrictions remain in force through the end of 2026.

A man counts stacks of Israeli shekel and US dollar banknotes at an informal money exchange stall in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on July 2, 2024 amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP) (Photo by BASHAR TALEB/AFP via Getty Images)

The cancellations are hitting a housing market already under pressure. Israel has roughly 84,000 unsold new apartments, while home prices have recently been running below their year-earlier levels. High borrowing costs, economic uncertainty and an enormous inventory of developer-owned homes have given builders strong incentives to keep offering buyers creative ways to close deals.

The question now is how many of the purchases that looked like sales on paper will actually survive when the final bill arrives.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed that Iran attempted to assassinate one of his sons, publicly disclosing a threat that Israeli media say had been barred from publication for months.

Netanyahu made the revelation during a live phone conversation with Channel 14 military correspondent Noam Amir while discussing the security provided to members of his family. He did not identify whether Yair or Avner Netanyahu was targeted, and no operational details about the alleged assassination attempt have been released.

“Iran ‘targeted’ one of my sons. It tried to assassinate one of my sons,” Netanyahu said, arguing that the protection surrounding his family is a genuine security necessity rather than a privilege.

The disclosure adds a major new dimension to the debate over the unusually extensive security arrangements surrounding the Netanyahu family.

A ministerial committee recently approved lifetime Shin Bet protection for Netanyahu himself. His wife, Sara, is to remain protected for as long as Netanyahu is alive, while their sons, Yair and Avner, are set to receive protection for five years after he leaves office. Israeli reports have said security assessments view the Netanyahu family as facing an exceptionally high threat from enemies seeking revenge for Israeli military and intelligence operations.

The newly disclosed threat is also not the first confirmed Iranian effort to target Netanyahu.

In a previous case, the Shin Bet said Iranian intelligence operatives recruited an Israeli businessman who was smuggled into Iran and asked to help advance assassination plots against Netanyahu, then-defense minister Yoav Gallant and then-Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar. Iranian officials also explored attacks on other senior Israeli figures. The Shin Bet has separately warned of an escalation in Tehran’s efforts to recruit Israelis for espionage, terrorism and assassination operations.

Netanyahu did not reveal which son Iran targeted, when the operation was planned, how it was supposed to be carried out or how close it came to execution.

But the prime minister’s disclosure indicates that the threat surrounding Israel’s leadership has extended beyond senior officials themselves and directly to their immediate families, offering new context for security measures that have drawn considerable political scrutiny.

Israeli commandos arrested Arab terrorist Imam Hazem in Jenin, northern Judea & Samaria, this morning after the IDF said he was planning to carry out a terror attack in Israel.

Hazem is the son of Fathi Hazem, who was killed last week while attempting to stab Israeli troops in Jenin. His brother, Raad Hazem, was the terrorist who murdered three Israelis in a shooting attack in Tel Aviv in 2022.

Following his father’s killing, Imam “expressed his intentions to carry out a terror attack against Israeli civilians and security forces,” according to the military. Duvdevan Commando Unit soldiers apprehended him during an operation this morning.

In a separate raid in the village of Sanur near Jenin yesterday, Israeli troops detained another Arab terrorist who the IDF says was planning an attack against Israeli civilians.

As the Altalena approached the Mediterranean coast of Israel, nearing the beach of Kfar Vitkin, then-Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion ordered the IDF to shell the ship carrying about 900 Jewish immigrants and a massive stockpile of ammunition for the Irgun.

The dispute arose because Ben-Gurion wanted to unify the different military factions into one state army, while Menachem Begin wanted to reserve some weaponry for separate Irgun units.

Begin, who boarded the ship after it arrived and remained aboard to manage the tense negotiations between the factions, ordered his men not to fire on their fellow Jews, a decision that remained his enduring legacy, pulling the nascent Jewish state from the brink of civil war.

The Altalena burns. (Credit: Hulton-Deutsch/Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis via Getty Images)

When the IDF fired on the Altalena, the cache of weapons ignited, forcing everyone aboard, including Begin, to abandon the ship. Now, divers have found the wreck of the ship, but at 503 meters deep, it is too deep to be pulled out intact.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu announced the discovery Monday in a joint statement, calling the mission “a complex maritime search operation” that took “long months of meticulous planning and preparation” and “special sensors and advanced survey systems.” The Marine Mapping Division of the Survey of Israel led the team in finding this significant piece of history.

“The locating of the Altalena is an exciting historical moment, in which knowledge, technology and advanced mapping capabilities allow us to touch on a significant chapter in the history of the State of Israel,” said Hagai Ronen, the agency’s director-general.

The Heritage Ministry is considering different ways to mark the discovery, such as placing a floating marker above the location of the shipwreck and also documenting the discovery underwater.

Nick Bougas, the racist cartoonist behind the infamous “Happy Merchant” caricature, has died at 71.

Anti-Semetic. Cartoonist Nick Bougas

In a remarkable coincidence, and completely unbeknownst to JBN, Bougas reportedly died the same day JBN released a musical parody that flipped the script on his hateful creation, using the “Happy Merchant” to expose the absurdity of blaming Jews for the world’s problems.

Video posted by JBN yesterday

Bougas created overtly racist, antisemitic, homophobic and anti-feminist cartoons under the pseudonym “A. Wyatt Mann,” a play on the words “a white man.” His work first appeared in WAR, the white-supremacist newspaper operated by notorious racist Tom Metzger.

His cartoons attacked Jews, Black people, gay people, feminists and other minorities. Although Bougas never publicly admitted that he was “A. Wyatt Mann,” multiple former associates identified him as the artist.

His most notorious creation, the “Happy Merchant,” portrayed a Jewish man with grotesquely exaggerated features, a sinister grin and hands rubbing together, promoting the antisemitic lie that Jews are greedy, manipulative and secretly controlling the world. It later became one of the internet’s most widely circulated antisemitic memes.

We would never suggest that JBN’s parody caused him to croak. But if flipping his hateful creation against him helped send him over the edge, we certainly won’t lose any sleep over it.

A wildfire bursting from Reno, Nevada, late Saturday morning, swept through about 15,000 acres, forcing about 90,000 people to evacuate their homes as it threatened to engulf neighborhoods and reach the campus of the state university by Sunday afternoon.

The fire, dubbed the “Hawk Fire” because of the hawks in the region, spread quickly because of strong winds, dry vegetation, and low humidity. Roughly half of those urged to evacuate, about 42,000 people, were placed under strict orders, while the remaining 45,000 were encouraged to leave as soon as possible.

“If you have been told to evacuate, please don’t wait!” Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve said in a statement posted on Facebook. “Structures have already been burned in this fire and your life is more important than a building. Evacuating before the fire arrives also allows our firefighters to focus their efforts on battling the blaze.”

“I encourage our community to please keep our firefighters and first responders in your prayers and to open your hearts, homes and businesses to the people who have had to evacuate,” she added.

Video footage showed the county’s school buses being deployed to evacuate people.

Gov. Joe Lombardo declared a state of emergency in Washoe County and deployed the National Guard. The authorities confirmed that three people, along with three first responders, had been injured and several buildings destroyed in what they said was a human-caused fire, but no other details about the cause were immediately available while it was under investigation.

Hasan Piker, the controversial Twitch streamer who has been accused of antisemitism, said in a live broadcast that Jews who continue to support Israel will face violence.

“If Jews in America keep putting this this idea out there that they are singularly invested in Israel, eventually someone’s going to come around and take action, not against the state of Israel, mind you, but against American Jews,” he said.

“I don’t know how people don’t recognize how dangerous this predicament is. How dangerous this is for Jews. You’re running around basically tying your entire identity to a country that inevitably will be seen as basically Jewish ISIS, and you’re saying, as Jews, this is all we care about,” he added.

“You’re making antisemitism worse,” he said, in a classic case of blaming the victim.

In June, Piker, along with his uncle, Cenk Uygur, was denied entry into the United Kingdom, which they said was due to their legitimate criticism of Israel.

Piker has invited controversy over his antisemitic comments for years, however.

After Oct. 7, he outright dismissed allegations of sexual violence by Hamas, calling them “rape fantasies” and “rape hallucinations.”

“It doesn’t matter if rapes happened on Oct. 7,” he said in a May 22, 2024, livestream. “It doesn’t change the dynamic for me.” He also said on Twitch that “in a totally just world, regardless of your background, any kind of f—— Zionist tendency should be treated in the same way as being a f—— rabid neo-Nazi … You shouldn’t even let someone be the f—— local dog catcher … if they have exhibited any sort of positive feelings about the state of Israel.”

He has called Orthodox Jews “inbred,” and in a grammatically challenged X post last May, wrote: “there’s no comparison between israel & hamas, one is a militant resistance comprised of orphaned soldiers born into a 77 year occupation, the other is a ethnoreligious supremacist apartheid state w nukes doing a genocide backed by the usa!”

More recently, he has campaigned for Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who is also seen by many Jewish advocates as antisemitic.

Jewish advocates and allies expressed dismay over Piker’s latest outburst.

“Islamist Communist Hasan Piker appears to threaten violence against American Jews if they support Israel and blames Jews for antisemitism,” Emily Schrader, human rights advocate and Jewish activist, posted on X. “This guy is literal trash.”

“Hasan Piker says American Jews who support Israel are like people supporting ‘Jewish ISIS.’ He also argues that supporting Israel is provoking attacks on American Jews,” wrote Aviva Klompas, an author and Jewish advocate.

“To be clear: Jews are not responsible for the people who hate them. And no political belief held by an American Jew makes them deserving of violence,” she added.

Mike Rogers, the Republican who is running against El-Sayed in the Michigan Senate race, also weighed in.

“More calls for violence coming out of the El-Sayed campaign,” he wrote in a social media statement. “Here is his running mate, Hasan Piker, saying that if AMERICAN JEWS support Israel, they will be violently targeted because of it.”

“This is all in reaction to Michigan Democratic Congressional candidate Jeremy Moss, who happens to be Jewish, saying he is unsure if he will be able to support Abdul for these very reasons,” he said.

“Absolutely DISGUSTING. If Abdul El-Sayed had any courage at all, he would call this out and disavow Hasan Piker once and for all. We’re waiting, Abdul,” he added.

Mossad Director Roman Gofman met Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani in Jordan in a rare, high-level encounter aimed at preventing the sharp rise in tensions between Israel, Syria and Turkey from spiraling into a wider confrontation.

The talks were held under U.S. mediation and hosted by Jordan, with Syrian state media confirming that al-Shaibani was joined by the heads of Syria’s General Intelligence and Military Intelligence services. Israeli and U.S.-linked reporting identified Gofman as the senior Israeli figure at the meeting.

One of the most significant ideas discussed was the possible creation of a U.S.-supervised coordination mechanism in Jordan designed to prevent military confrontations inside Syria, including incidents involving Turkey. The meeting was reportedly viewed positively and could become the first step toward restarting direct Israeli-Syrian negotiations that stalled earlier this year.

The diplomatic push comes just days after Israel struck the Abu al-Duhur airbase in northwestern Syria, roughly 45 miles from the Turkish border. According to Axios, Israeli aircraft dropped at least eight bombs on the base’s runways and hangars. Israel said intelligence indicated Turkey was preparing to deploy military capabilities there, including drones and radar systems, and had warned that it would act if those preparations continued.

Damascus and Ankara denied that a permanent Turkish deployment was planned. Al-Shaibani acknowledged that Turkish military officers had visited the base but said the visit was connected to training and an exchange of expertise. Israel nevertheless viewed the potential Turkish military footprint in Syria as a direct security threat and carried out the strike after earlier warnings failed to resolve the issue.

The Trump administration has since pushed the parties to lower tensions rather than risk an Israeli-Turkish confrontation on Syrian territory. Washington has spent more than a year trying to broker a security framework between Israel and the government of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, and Syrian officials now say negotiations could resume despite the deep mistrust created by the latest fighting.

Israel, however, is reportedly entering any renewed negotiations with a firm set of security red lines. According to Channel 12, those include preventing Turkish military activity in Syria, maintaining a demilitarized zone on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, barring Syria from obtaining strategic weapons systems and guaranteeing protection for Syria’s Druze community. Israel would also reportedly condition any withdrawal from positions it currently holds in the buffer zone on meaningful diplomatic gains.

WASHINGTON DC, USA – MARCH 02: (—-EDITORIAL USE ONLY â” MANDATORY CREDIT – ‘THE WHITE HOUSE’S X ACCOUNT / HANDOUT’ – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS—-) U.S. President Donald J. Trump sits at a table monitoring military operations during Operation Epic Fury against Iran, with U.S. flags visible behind him, in Washington, United States, on March 02, 2026. (Photo by The White House via X Account/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Damascus is pushing in the opposite direction on several of those issues. Syrian state media said its delegation demanded an end to Israeli strikes, arrests and targeted operations, as well as an Israeli withdrawal to positions held before the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the restoration of the 1974 disengagement framework. Syria also rejected restrictions on its ability to rebuild its military or decide which countries it partners with.

Despite those gaps, al-Shaibani said the two sides had previously agreed “on paper to almost everything” surrounding a potential security deal. Earlier proposals reportedly envisioned several security zones in southern Syria, including a buffer area limited to United Nations forces and other zones permitting different levels of Syrian military deployment.

The latest meeting does not signal an imminent peace agreement, but it does mark an important reopening of a channel at one of the highest levels yet between Jerusalem and Damascus. Israel appears willing to pursue de-escalation, but only if its core security concerns are addressed, particularly Turkey’s military ambitions in Syria, strategic weapons near Israel’s border and the threat of hostile forces exploiting Syrian territory.

For Washington, the immediate objective is narrower: prevent Syria from becoming the battlefield for an increasingly dangerous Israeli-Turkish rivalry. Whether that can develop into a lasting Israel-Syria security agreement will depend on whether diplomacy can deliver what warnings and airstrikes have so far failed to settle.

051021-F-2828D-284
A U.S. Army AH-64D Longbow Apache, 1st Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, Fort Campbell Ky., provides ground forces with air support from Forward Operating Base Speicher Iraq, Oct. 21, 2005, during Operation Iraqi Freedom. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Andy Dunaway) (Released)

The 1st Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, the “Expect No Mercy” Battalion, is the premier attack helicopter battalion in the United States Army. Its lethal fleet of 24 Ah-64D Longbow Apaches is currently conducting combat operations in Northern Iraq, caring on a long tradition of excellence among Army Aviation.

1-101st first gained notoriety during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, when it fired the first shots of the Gulf War during Operation Normandy, destroying key Iraqi radar sites and creating a safe corridor for US aircraft to commence the air campaign. The battalion again proved itself during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003-2004, conducting several mobile strike deep attacks during major combat operations followed by eight months of quick reaction force (QRF), reconnaissance, and VIP security missions during stability and support operations (SASO). After a rigorous 19 months of training and maintenance back at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, the “Expect No Mercy” battalion deployed to Iraq for its second OIF tour.

Since arriving in Iraq, the battalion has conducted an aggressive Relief-in-Place/Transfer-of-Authority (REP/TOA) with 8-229th Aviation Regiment from Fort Knox, Kentucky. The battalion is on track to fly over 1000 combat hours in October, and is already making an impact on operations in Iraq. Initial combat missions involved teams of two “No Mercy” aircraft along with one 8-229th aircraft conducting local area orientations (LAO) to familiarize aircrews with the environment, geography, and unity on the ground. By no means was an LAO an administrative mission though: while on orientations, aircrews participated in numerous reconnaissance

StopAntisemitism, a Jewish advocacy group and watchdog, posted a video online Sunday showing a “Free Palestine” activist blocking a woman from crossing the street. According to the group, the activist noticed her Jewish star and launched into an expletive-laden antisemitic tirade.

The outburst was unintelligible, filled mostly with curse words, and the activist did not appear to try to make a point or present an argument.

The incident took place near 42nd Street and Second Avenue in Manhattan.

Anti-Jewish incidents have soared in New York City since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack against Israel, but hate crimes against Jews have sharply risen since Mayor Zohran Mamdani took the reins of leadership. After two people were stabbed in NYC last month, one of them Jewish, leaders from across the political and Jewish religious spectrum pleaded with Mamdani to tone down his anti-Israel rhetoric, which they blamed for the spike in anti-Jewish violence.

Leaders gathered at a press conference in late July on the Upper West Side hosted by the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, UJA-Federation of New York and other partners at the Jewish Center on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. One of the speakers said that “when a member of our community was stabbed on his way out of the synagogue, the evil we gathered to remember stopped belonging to the past. Suddenly, it was right here in the present.”

“When public officials repeatedly cast the Jewish community as a stand-in for the actions of the Israeli government, they create a climate in which Jews become targets,” Rabbi Yosie Levine of the Jewish Center said in a pointed reference to the mayor. “When I was growing up, the only time we saw security outside my synagogue or Jewish day school was when the mayor came to speak. The police were there to protect him.”

“Today, every time the mayor speaks, we need the police to protect us,” he said.

Eric Goldstein, CEO of UJA-Federation of New York, said the attack was shocking but not surprising.

“We’re no longer surprised,” he said. “When the mayor of New York repeatedly uses his platform to relentlessly single out and demonize Israel, the world’s only Jewish state, and calls those who support it ‘monsters,’ he contributes to a climate in which Jewish New Yorkers are increasingly targeted and unsafe.”

“Mayor Mamdani, stop fanning the flames of hatred and division,” he added. “The consequences are not abstract. They’re playing out on our streets.”

A grassroots protest also took place after the stabbing, with hundreds of protesters pouring into the streets and chanting, “Remove Mamdani.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Hamas in a joint statement Sunday that if it continued flying kites into Israel, the IDF would evacuate the launch sites and intensify strikes, stressing that Israel would never return to the pre-Oct. 7 status quo and that the Israeli government would never allow Hamas or any other terror group to threaten the safety of Israelis again.

Four kites were flown into Israel over the weekend, landing in Kibbutz Nir Oz, which is still recovering from the Oct. 7 attack, and alarming its residents.

Previously, Hamas would fly kites into Israel to which incendiary devices were attached, but this time, no suspicious items were found attached to the kites. A local council urged the IDF to investigate the incident and deal with it immediately.

“We demand that the IDF act against every kite that crosses into Israeli territory, locate it, and deal with it in real time. Not after it has landed. Not retroactively. In real time,” said Uri Epstein, head of the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council.

“These incidents must not become a routine the security establishment learns to live with. A kite that crosses into Israeli territory is an incident that requires a response. When there is no response, the message that gets across to the other side is that they can continue,” he explained.

“We must not make this mistake again. We demand an immediate investigation of the incidents, and to ensure that there is a response that is activated in real time, not after the incident has ended,” Epstein concluded.

In their joint statement, the premier and defense minister did not mince their words.

“Israel warns Hamas that if the launches toward Israel do not stop immediately, the IDF will act to intensify strikes against those responsible for the launches and evacuate populations from areas from which kites, drones and balloons are launched,” they said.

An Orthodox Jewish family in South Florida reunited with the police commander whose heroic actions saved their one-year-old daughter from drowning.

Recently in Bay Harbor Islands, Police Commander Tomas Rego was off duty when he heard a woman screaming near a waterfront home. He rushed toward the commotion and found little Noa unconscious, without a pulse and not breathing after being pulled from a swimming pool.

Screenshot

The terrified mother repeatedly pleaded, “Don’t let my daughter die.”

Rego immediately began CPR. After only two rounds, Noa began vomiting and let out a cry, signaling that she was breathing again.

“It was a big miracle,” Noa’s mother, Tiffany Leaf, recalled. “When she said, ‘Mama,’ I knew she was going to be OK.”

Now two years old, Noa is healthy and thriving. Her grateful family remains close with Rego, regularly sending him photographs and considering him part of their lives.

Rego, who is also a CPR instructor, was presented with a life-saving award during a Bay Harbor Islands council meeting for the quick actions that saved the Orthodox Jewish toddler’s life.

More than 400 campers and staff at Camp Modin, the oldest continuously operating Jewish summer camp in the U.S., were forced into lockdown after neighboring resident Nathan Hewett, 36, allegedly opened fire with a semi-automatic .22-caliber rifle following a confrontation with camp security.

A responding Kennebec County deputy personally observed Hewett fire roughly 20 rounds in multiple directions. Investigators later recovered shell casings whose locations suggested some shots may have been fired toward a basketball court at the rear of the camp. No one was injured. Police seized 23 firearms from Hewett’s property, many of them semi-automatic.

Screenshot

Court documents add a disturbing dimension: a deputy’s probable-cause affidavit says Hewett was suspected of antisemitic bias and alcohol use during the incident. No hate-crime charge has been announced. Camp officials also allege years of harassment involving gunfire, late-night fireworks, truck lights and screaming along the property line.

Hewett was initially held on $50,000 bail but has since been released. His conditions prohibit him from possessing dangerous weapons, drinking alcohol or coming within 1,000 feet of the camp. Camp Modin is now seeking a court protection order against him.

Screenshot

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump are attending the Freedom Grand Prix 250 in Washington, D.C., Sunday, where Trump got his whole entourage to give the camera his signature thumbs-up.

The Freedom Grand Prix 250 is the first-ever IndyCar street race, continuing this year’s celebration of 250 years of American independence. Kicking off the race, the president’s motorcade took an honorary lap around the track before the start of the actual race.

(Credit: Fox News)

The president waved the green flag to start the race.

Speaking to Fox News earlier, he said that what he most hoped to get out of the race was “that everyone’s safe and they have a good time. I want everyone to be safe. I want everyone to have a good time.”

He also wished the drivers “Good luck, have fun.”

Activists from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign UK stormed an Asda supermarket in northwest London Friday, pulling items off shelves they deemed connected to Israel in any way, including Coca-Cola.

The group filmed the activists chanting “Israel on the pack, put it back” while a narrator explained the incident.

“Today we went into this Asda supermarket and we took the Israeli goods and the Coca-Cola products from the shelves. We did so because the sale of these goods supports Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians,” the narrator said.

“We are calling on Asda not to stock and sell these products because by doing that they are profiting from Israeli apartheid and they are profiting from the genocide. I’m removing Coca-Cola from the shelves because Coca-Cola operates factories from an illegal Israeli settlement in the West Bank,” one of the activists said.

“Right now, across the West Bank, Palestinians are facing relentless Israeli military assaults and settler attacks as part of a campaign to ethnically cleanse them from their land. By selling Israeli goods and Coca-Cola products, Asda is supporting these atrocities against Palestinians. We call on supermarkets like Asda to stop selling Israeli goods and Coca-Cola products, and we demand that the UK government take action now and ban all trade which supports Israel’s illegal military occupation, including all trade in goods and services with illegal Israeli settlements,” the narrator concluded.

They left a mess for the employees of the supermarket, accomplishing nothing but adding stress to the supermarket workers who have nothing to do with the conflict.

Activists claim to target Israel and Israeli-linked products, but sweeping large swaths of products off the shelves in an unregulated manner blurs the lines, causing intense anxiety for Jewish shoppers, according to Jewish groups. Security groups have also warned that “supermarket flash mobs” serve to intimidate the staff and increase tensions within the local community.

Two Israeli Australians were “Free Palestined” at a McDonald’s in Brisbane in Queensland, Australia, this month, with the story breaking Sunday.

The Israelis, identified as Asaf and Matan, returned to the McDonald’s drive-thru to ask about a missing item, explaining that a Quarter Pounder that they had ordered appeared to have been excluded from the order. The employee who took their question denied that the item was excluded.

As the exchange became heated, she asked where they were from. When they said Israel, she said, “Free Palestine.” Asked what she meant by that, she doubled down, repeating, “Free, free Palestine.”

Asaf told a local outlet that he felt “shaken” by the exchange, saying the worker also called them baby killers and accused them of lying about the missing item.

A representative of the franchise confirmed that the employee had been suspended.

“As soon as we were made aware, we took immediate action and the employee has been stood down pending the outcome of our investigation,” the spokesperson said. “McDonald’s sincerely apologizes to the customers for their experience.”

“McDonald’s has a zero-tolerance policy for acts of hate and antisemitism in our restaurants and communities,” she added.

Asaf was relieved that McDonald’s took his complaint seriously but is still wary of returning to the same McDonald’s.

“I think it’s good that they are taking care of that. I’m not scared, but I don’t feel comfortable coming to this place,” he said.

Video footage from June has recently surfaced and is circulating online showing medical students at Aleppo University in Syria chanting about violence against Jews at their graduation ceremony.

At the ceremony, one student led the others in chants of, “We are coming, Jew; we will make your blood flow like rivers.” They also chanted, “I’m coming for you, Jew, even through mountains of fire, and I’ll make ammunition from your blood, and I’ll make rivers from your blood.”

The video, which is making the rounds now on social media, is sparking concerns among international observers and Jewish advocacy groups about the disdain for human life from people entering the medical profession.

“Nothing says the Hippocratic oath like chanting: ‘We are coming, Jew, we will make your blood flow like rivers’ at your Med school graduation,” Emily Schrader, a human rights activist and Jewish activist, posted on X.

“Medical graduates of Aleppo University in Syria, chanting: ‘We are coming, Jew, we will make your blood flow like rivers,'” wrote Dan Burmawi, an author of a book on Islam and the West. “Of course, Gaza has nothing to do with this.”

“This is what Muhammad taught them when he promised that the Muslims will kill the Jews to the last one, and what Muhammad himself did to the Jews of the Arabian Peninsula,” he added. “Intelligence and a medical degree do not override Islam. A Muslim who takes Islam seriously, and that is most Muslims, may never participate in jihad himself, but he will support it wholeheartedly.”

An unidentified man managed to pass two security gates overnight and enter the Knesset building in Jerusalem, where he was ultimately found sitting not far from Speaker Amir Ohana’s office.

The breach was apparently uncovered only after security personnel from the nearby Foreign Ministry alerted the Knesset Guard that a suspicious man had approached the Bank of Israel and asked how to reach the Knesset. Guards then reviewed surveillance footage and discovered that he had already made it inside. At around 2:15 a.m., Knesset security located and detained him. He did not enter Ohana’s office.

According to the Knesset account cited by Israeli media, initial questioning indicated that the man was mentally unstable. He was transferred to police and then for medical observation. No terrorist motive has been reported.

Ohana has ordered the Knesset Officer to appoint an investigating officer to examine how an unauthorized individual managed to penetrate two layers of security and roam inside one of Israel’s most sensitive government buildings before being detected.

Disturbing security footage captures the moment a terrorist approaches a Jewish man near Al-Auja, north of Jericho, pulls a knife and repeatedly stabs him from behind before fleeing.

The victim, identified as 24-year-old Elhanan Hananya, had stopped along Route 90 while traveling with his pregnant wife on a family trip. He was evacuated to Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center in moderate but stable condition and is expected to undergo surgery.

The IDF has launched a major manhunt involving special forces and Israeli Air Force assets, with troops searching Al-Auja, Jericho and the surrounding area, questioning suspects and gathering intelligence. As of the latest military update, the terrorist remains at large.

🇺🇸 WHATSAPP GROUP 🔗 https://chat.whatsapp.com/BCkxOzUT6KyINV7Yovd1VL

🇮🇱 TELEGRAM 🔗 https://t.me/JewishBreakingNewsTelegram

🔥 WHATSAPP CHANNEL 🔗 https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va4EEJU7YSdAqzGs362F

🔗 FOLLOW ALL JBN LINKS: https://link.me/jbn

Tens of thousands gathered at Jerusalem’s Western Wall on Saturday night for a powerful Selichot service joined by freed hostages Noa Argamani, Itay Regev, , Bar Kupershtein and Eliya Cohen, along with his wife Nova massacre survivor Ziv Abud Cohen.

Kupershtein shared that while imprisoned in a Hamas tunnel, he and five other hostages made the courageous decision to fast on Tisha B’Av, holding onto their faith and hope for freedom.

Newlyweds Eliya and Ziv also came to thank God for the miracle of their survival. Eliya endured 505 days in Hamas captivity, while Ziv survived the massacre inside the Nova festival’s “death shelter.”

Together with the massive crowd, they offered prayers of gratitude for those who returned, and prayed for Israel’s soldiers and security forces, national unity, and the peace and security of Israel.

📸 Western Wall Heritage Foundation

More than 20 actors associated with Marvel films and television have joined an international campaign demanding the release of Marwan Barghouti, the senior Fatah figure serving five consecutive life sentences in Israel after being convicted of five murders committed during the Second Intifada.

The latest celebrity push includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Ruffalo, Don Cheadle, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Ian McKellen, Daniel Brühl, Rebecca Hall, Tatiana Maslany, Hugo Weaving, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Riz Ahmed and Elliot Page, among others. The “Free Marwan” campaign says more than 200 cultural figures have now backed its call, including musicians Sting, Paul Simon and Annie Lennox and author Margaret Atwood.

The statement signed by the celebrities alleges that Barghouti has faced mistreatment and been denied legal rights in prison, and calls on the United Nations and governments around the world to seek his release. The campaign, spearheaded by Barghouti’s family with support from organizations in Britain, has increasingly sought to portray him as a Palestinian equivalent of Nelson Mandela.

That portrayal leaves out the crimes for which Barghouti was convicted.

An Israeli court found Barghouti guilty of five counts of murder for his role in three terrorist attacks: the murder of Greek Orthodox monk Georgios Tsibouktzakis near Ma’ale Adumim; the murder of Yoela Chen near Givat Ze’ev; and the deadly attack on Tel Aviv’s Seafood Market restaurant, where terrorist Ibrahim Hasouna opened fire and attacked people with an M16, grenades and a knife.

The Tel Aviv attack killed Yosef Habi, Eli Dahan and police officer Salim Barakat and wounded dozens more. Barghouti was also convicted of attempted murder and membership in a terrorist organization. He was sentenced to five consecutive life terms plus an additional 40 years. The court acquitted him of additional murders after finding insufficient evidence to establish his responsibility for those specific attacks.

Barghouti rejected the Israeli court’s jurisdiction and has continued to deny the legitimacy of his conviction. His supporters argue that he should instead be viewed as a political prisoner and potential partner in a future peace process. Israel has long presented him as a senior figure in the Fatah-linked terrorist infrastructure responsible for deadly attacks during the Second Intifada.

The celebrity campaign is gaining traction at a politically significant moment. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa became the first sitting head of state to sign the international pledge for Barghouti’s release, while activists have staged public campaigns and even attempted to erect a Barghouti statue in London’s Parliament Square.

Despite more than two decades behind bars, Barghouti also remains by far one of the most powerful potential figures in Palestinian politics. A new Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research poll found that 54% of likely voters would support him in a hypothetical presidential race, compared with 26% for Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya and just 14% for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

The growing international campaign is therefore about more than the fate of a single prisoner. Barghouti’s supporters are openly positioning him as a possible future Palestinian leader. For Israel, however, any discussion of his political future begins with a far different record: five murder convictions, five life sentences and victims whose names remain inseparable from the campaign now demanding his freedom.

Over the weekend, kites that were flown from Gaza landed in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, a kibbutz near the border with Gaza that had been infiltrated during the Oct. 7 attack. No suspicious items were attached to the kites.

Previously, Hamas would fly kites into Israel to which incendiary devices were attached. In this case, it was not clear who had sent the kites or for what purpose, but the IDF assesses that Hamas directed the kites to be sent to Israel, according to Israeli media reports.

A local council urged the IDF to investigate the incident and deal with it immediately.

“We demand that the IDF act against every kite that crosses into Israeli territory, locate it, and deal with it in real time. Not after it has landed. Not retroactively. In real time,” said Uri Epstein, head of the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council.

“These incidents must not become a routine the security establishment learns to live with. A kite that crosses into Israeli territory is an incident that requires a response. When there is no response, the message that gets across to the other side is that they can continue,” he explained.

“We must not make this mistake again. We demand an immediate investigation of the incidents, and to ensure that there is a response that is activated in real time, not after the incident has ended,” Epstein concluded.

The IDF announced Saturday several successful operations against Hamas terrorists.

In Deir al-Balah, the IDF struck and killed Sharif al-Hasanat, a Hamas company commander of the Deir al-Balah Battalion. The military said that he had spent a good deal of time repairing and reconstructing tunnels and had recently been involved in advancing attacks Israeli soldiers and civilians, adding that they eliminated him because he posed an immediate threat.

“Throughout the war, the terrorist led efforts to restore the underground infrastructure of the Hamas terror organization,” the IDF said. Hasanat had posed an “immediate threat to our forces and was eliminated.”

(Credit: Joe Truzman)

The IDF also said Friday that it had eliminated a terrorist the previous Wednesday who had participated in the Oct. 7 attack and had also held hostages. The terrorist, Sabahi Sami Mahmoud Shahata, was killed in an IDF strike in Nuseirat in central Gaza. The military said that he “took part in holding numerous hostages in Hamas captivity during the war” as well as participated in hostage-release ceremonies. He was eliminated because he was seen as posing an immediate threat while advancing attacks on troops and civilians, according to the military.

The IDF also eliminated threats Friday when two Gazans in two separate incidents attempted to cross the Yellow Line, the line demarcating the separation between territory under IDF control and territory still controlled by Hamas. The IDF currently controls 53 percent of the Gaza Strip.

The first to be eliminated was a terrorist whom the IDF killed because it said he posed an immediate threat. The second, who was armed with a knife, was arrested and taken to Israel for questioning.

Samuel Kaufman has been elected the first Jewish mayor of Key West, Florida, defeating incumbent Mayor Dee Dee Henriquez with approximately 58% of the vote.

The longtime attorney and city commissioner has lived and worked in Key West for 30 years. The island city has about 25,000 permanent residents, including an estimated 1,000 Jews.

Kaufman says Key West’s strong Jewish and Israeli connections have largely shielded it from the anti-Israel activism seen in other progressive cities, noting that Palestinian flags are virtually never seen there.

Screenshot

Following the October 7 Hamas massacre, Kaufman sponsored a unanimously approved resolution condemning the attack and supporting Israel. The Israeli flag was subsequently flown outside Key West City Hall for four months.

Allison Rahmani, 40, a Jewish teacher and mother of four, tragically passed away Friday after losing control of her vehicle at her home in Hewlett, New York.

Screenshot

According to information from the family, Rahmani was reportedly running errands when her vehicle went out of control, backed up, and struck a tree before ultimately ending up in the swimming pool at her home.

Workers at the home heard her cries and were able to get her out of the vehicle. A source familiar with the family confirmed that Allison did not drown. She was able to call for help and was rushed to the hospital, but tragically passed away in the ambulance while en route.

Screenshot

Rahmani was a teacher and math coordinator at the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway. Her husband, Matthew Rahmani, is president of Irving Place Minyan in Woodmere.

There are still many details surrounding the tragic incident that remain unclear, and further information will be provided as it becomes available.

Screenshot

Our thoughts and prayers are with Allison’s family, her four children, loved ones, and the entire community during this devastating time.

Baruch Dayan HaEmet.

Canadian federal police arrested a Montreal teenager after the FBI warned authorities that the minor was allegedly planning an attack on a local high school while embracing neo-Nazi and other violent extremist ideologies.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police launched its investigation several weeks ago after receiving intelligence from the FBI. Investigators say the teen allegedly used artificial intelligence as part of his planning for a potential attack and posted threatening messages on Telegram targeting Muslims, Haitians and members of the LGBTQ community.

default

RCMP Sgt. Érique Gasse said investigators had grounds to believe the teenager was involved in ideologically motivated violent extremism. The suspect was described as identifying with neo-Nazi and accelerationist movements as well as nihilistic extremist ideology.

Accelerationist extremists generally seek to use violence and chaos to destabilize society, while Canadian intelligence officials describe nihilistic violent extremism as a growing threat centered on the rejection of traditional social and moral structures in favor of violent disorder.

Heavily armed RCMP tactical officers moved in Friday morning at the teenager’s family residence in Montreal’s Rosemont area, near Maisonneuve Park. Police said they did not know whether the suspect was armed, prompting the use of a tactical team. Investigators subsequently searched the residence and seized electronic devices for examination.

The teenager’s identity and exact age have not been released because he is a minor. He was expected to appear in Quebec youth court, while investigators said additional allegations could emerge depending on what is recovered from the seized electronics.

The case comes amid mounting concern inside Canada’s security establishment over the radicalization of minors through violent online communities. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service reported this year that nearly one in 10 of its terrorism investigations now involves at least one person under 18, with children as young as 13 appearing in counterterrorism cases.

CSIS has specifically warned of young people participating in online neo-Nazi and nihilistic extremist networks, where users circulate violent propaganda, glorify previous mass attackers and sometimes exchange ideas about carrying out attacks themselves. The agency has also identified growth in interconnected accelerationist and neo-Nazi communities operating across multiple online platforms.

The Montreal case highlights another emerging concern: the potential use of readily available artificial intelligence tools by individuals moving from online extremist content toward real-world violence.

For investigators, however, the international intelligence trail appears to have worked. Information originating with the FBI reached Canadian authorities before the alleged plan could advance further, triggering an investigation and ultimately the teenager’s arrest.

The British Jewish advocacy group Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) posted video footage on X of a protest Friday in London in front of the Israeli Embassy.

The leader of the protest shouted that Gazans “have the right to resist by any and all means necessary to achieve the full liberation of Palestine” before leading the protesters in a chant of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

“What on earth could ‘by any and all means necessary’ mean?” CAA posted alongside the video.

One social media user replied, “What could it mean? You know it means freedom to kill all Jews unimpeded.”

The leader of the protest also reminded the crowd, “We do not talk to the Zionists; we do not talk to the police.”

The protesters had set up large banners with such slogans as “Stop starving Gaza,” despite a recent report from UNICEF that showed that not only is acute malnutrition in children lower in Gaza than in neighboring countries; it’s low even by comparison to wealthy Western countries.

London has been the site of anti-Israel protests that have at times turned violent.

In June, for example, clashes between protesters and counter-protesters turned violent outside Edgware United Synagogue, leading to the arrest of 14 people.

The synagogue held a real estate event that anti-Zionists claimed involved sales of land in the disputed territories, although the organizers of the event said that the land sales were contained within Israel’s internationally recognized borders and did not cross the Green Line.

Neil Saravanamuttoo, who is running for mayor of Ottawa, Canada, is making the genocide accusation against Israel a central theme of his campaign despite the fact that he will not be setting foreign policy as the leader of a local government.

“Running for mayor, one question I get asked surprisingly often is, ‘What is your stand on the conflict in Gaza?'” he said in a video statement explaining his position. “I’ve talked to more people on this issue than just about any other.”

Saravanamuttoo said that he accepts the findings of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry, which published two reports accusing Israel of genocide, without acknowledging the commissioners’ record of antisemitic statements that prejudiced their investigation.

Although he has no authority to set foreign policy, the mayoral candidate said it’s important to call out injustice.

“Some ask why discuss this. The mayor is not the foreign affairs minister. That’s true. But those in positions of authority have a responsibility to call out injustice, not simply stand in silence,” he explained, promising to raise the Palestinian flag at City Hall if elected.

After stating that he stands against all forms of hatred, including antisemitism, he concluded by saying, “I will not stand in silence. I will call out the genocide happening in Gaza.”

Making the Gaza war central to a campaign has become popular among candidates running for office, such as Abdul El-Sayed, the Michigan Democrat running for the U.S. Senate. NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani also featured his anti-Israel position in his campaign and has been accused of turning it into an obsession instead of focusing on what’s important to New Yorkers.

A dramatic funding crisis that threatened to shut the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron and scores of other Jewish holy sites appears to have eased after Israel’s High Court authorized the release of approximately NIS 78 million to the Religious Services Ministry.

The decision came after ministry officials warned that the Tomb of the Patriarchs, one of Judaism’s holiest sites, could be forced to close entirely because the government lacked a legally authorized source of money to keep it operating. Officials had been instructed to prepare to lock the entrances, halt prayers, tours and events, dismiss staff and end contracts with outside suppliers if funding was not restored.

The crisis stemmed from a High Court order freezing hundreds of millions of shekels in budget transfers approved by the Knesset Finance Committee. The court cited “apparent procedural flaws” surrounding the committee session, which was held during an election-period Knesset recess. The frozen package included roughly NIS 78 million for the Religious Services Ministry, alongside considerably larger allocations for other ministries and programs.

The situation escalated sharply when Religious Services Ministry Director General Yehuda Avidan warned the court that the consequences could extend far beyond Hebron. Without the money, he said, the ministry would have to announce the closure of roughly 125 holy sites, including Rachel’s Tomb and the tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai at Mount Meron, as well as the Tomb of the Patriarchs.

Avidan said the funding was needed for far more than routine administration. It covers expenses including security, policing, cleaning, employee salaries, insurance and payments to suppliers, with the pressure particularly acute as large numbers of worshippers visit holy sites during the month of Elul and ahead of the High Holidays.

Hours after the warning, the High Court allowed the Religious Services Ministry’s approximately NIS 78 million allocation to be released. The Finance Ministry had asked the court to exempt those funds from the broader freeze while the legal battle over the remaining transfers continues.

VLUU L100, M100 / Samsung L100, M100

The move appears to remove the immediate financial trigger for the threatened shutdowns, although a formal cancellation of the closure preparations at the Tomb of the Patriarchs had not been publicly announced at the time of publication.

The showdown was particularly striking in Hebron, where Israel has recently undertaken extensive conservation and safety work at the Tomb of the Patriarchs. The upgrades include electrical work, air conditioning, drainage, lighting, fire protection and a permanent roof over the Jewish prayer area, part of what the Jewish Community of Hebron described as the first major Jewish-led conservation work at the ancient structure in roughly 2,000 years.

The site is traditionally regarded as the burial place of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah, and draws roughly one million visitors annually. Jewish and Muslim prayer areas operate under a longstanding arrangement, with the entire complex opened exclusively to each faith on a limited number of designated religious days during the year.

For now, the immediate threat of an extraordinary closure has receded. The broader court fight over the disputed Knesset funding package, however, remains unresolved.

The IDF said Friday that its Home Front Command’s rescue team, called the “Alliance of Brothers,” located and rescued every missing person at the sites where they were deployed.

“The forces are continuing their main effort of assessing and classifying buildings and are surveying the structures that were damaged, in order to help establish an up-to-date picture of the situation in the area,” the IDF said in a statement.

A viral video showed the dramatic rescue last week of a 3-year-old child who was pulled out of the rubble alive by members of the Israeli team after she had been trapped there for 100 hours.

(Credit: IDF)

Israel had sent the 80-person delegation of specialists to Colombia following a devastating earthquake last week that claimed nearly 200 lives, injured about 600 more, and left more than 2,000 people missing.

“In accordance with the directives of the political echelon, the joint humanitarian delegation of the IDF, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ‘Alliance of Brothers’ will depart for Colombia following the earthquake that occurred across the country,” the IDF said in a statement Thursday.

The team drew its members from the IDF, the Foreign Ministry, and the Ministry of Defense, including active-duty soldiers and reservists, and took off from the Nevatim Air Base. Maj.-Gen. Shai Klapper of the Home Front Command said the team’s goal is to conduct rescue missions by mapping destruction sites and offering immediate lifesaving assistance on-site.

Brig. Gen. (res.) Yossi Pinto, the commander of the Home Front Command’s National Search and Rescue Unit, who led the mission to Venezuela, is leading the rescue mission to Colombia.

(Credit: IDF)

Prime Minister Netanyahu had announced Wednesday that Israel would send a team of experts at the request of Abelardo de la Espriella, who was sworn in as president of Colombia last week.

De la Espriella promised to repair relations with Israel that had soured under his predecessor, Gustavo Petro, a virulent anti-Israel leftist who posted “Heil Hitler” just days before he left office. In his first days in office, de la Espriella pledged to move the Colombian embassy to Jerusalem and restore full diplomatic ties with Israel. He canceled a plan to open a Palestinian embassy, recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights and withdrew Colombia from South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

Israel sent rescue teams to Venezuela following the massive twin earthquakes that flattened buildings and killed thousands of people, earning the public praise and gratitude of acting President Delcy Rodríguez. This month, the two countries announced the resumption of consular ties for the first time in 17 years, after then-President Hugo Chávez severed diplomatic relations with Israel.

Turkish Justice Minister Akın Gürlek requested Friday that an Interpol “red notice” be issued against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and 35 other Israeli officials for genocide and crimes against humanity connected to the detention of Gaza flotilla activists.

An Interpol red notice is not an international arrest warrant but an international request for individual countries to carry out an arrest, leaving it to individual governments to decide whether to comply. The Interpol red notice request is in addition to the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Netanyahu and other Israeli officials.

“The judicial process regarding the attack carried out against activists of the Global Freedom Flotilla, which set sail to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, continues with determination,” Gürlek posted, adding that “prosecution is being conducted against 35 defendants, including Binyamin Netanyahu and Afek Moskovitch.”

The Gaza flotilla prepares to depart from Barcelona, Spain, on April 12, 2026. (Credit: Burak Akbulut/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Moskovitch was not identified by a title or position, and according to reporting by Ynet, some of the defendants’ names are misspelled or misidentified. Ynet also said that one of its former military correspondents appears on the list.

“We categorically reject the notion that the Netanyahu administration, which is implementing a genocide policy in Gaza, is untouchable and unaccountable,” Gürlek declared. “We will not allow the crimes committed in Gaza to be covered up or the perpetrators to be shielded by impunity. We will resolutely utilize all possibilities of national and international law.”

Turkey had already indicted all of these people over the detention of activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla, seeking combined sentences of 4,596 years.

Netanyahu fired back, slamming Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for his hypocrisy and antisemitism.

“Erdoğan is an antisemitic dictator who has massacred Kurds, harbors Hamas terrorists, occupies half of Cyprus, and jails record numbers of journalists and politicians who oppose him. He now seeks to extend his aggression against Israel into Syria. Israel will not tolerate it,” the Israeli premier posted on X.

“Erdoğan’s pathetic attempt to intimidate the leaders and soldiers of Israel, the only true democracy in the Middle East, will go nowhere,” he added.