Sunday, March 23, 2025

03/23 Links: Israel's Stunning Blow Against Hamas's Fascists; The war on Jews has returned, and the West is complicit; Proof of Iran's Direct Role in Planning Oct. 7

From Ian:

Brendan O'Neill: Israel's Stunning Blow Against Hamas's Fascists
Imagine if, following an Allied raid on Nazi positions, the newspapers the next day told us about nothing but the civilian casualties. No mention of the fascists who were killed. Instead, just pained commentary on the suffering of the innocents who tragically found themselves swept up in this act of war. We would think that strange, right?

Well, that's how I feel perusing the coverage of Israel's resumption of its military crusade against Hamas. You could be forgiven for thinking this is a blindly barbarous assault in which only the guiltless have perished. It's not true. In reality, Israel appears to have landed a brilliant blow on the new fascism, taking out some of Gaza's most nefarious radical Islamists who played key roles in the armies of antisemites that subjected the Jews of Israel to such horrors on 7 October 2023.

The removal of Hamas's de facto prime minister, its security chief, its top domestic bruiser and other commanders represents the decapitation of this racist movement that poses such a threat to the Jewish nation and to civilization itself. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a deranged Sunni Islamist army devoted to the destruction of Israel, also confirmed that its military spokesman was killed. PIJ gleefully took part in 7 October's carnival of violence. Yet we're left with the impression that Israel has only killed innocents, and only intended to.

When it comes to the Jewish State and its fight against the Islamist armies that surround it, we're fed an infantile morality tale in which Israel is a genocidal maniac and Gaza an unimpeachably blameless land peopled entirely by innocents. The truth of war - a war Hamas started - is buried by a furious and sometimes pornographic obsession with civilian suffering. We are actively discouraged from coolly discussing Hamas's culpability, the question of Jewish security, and the idea of a "just war."
The Iran Files: Proof of Iran's Direct Role in Planning Oct. 7
Iran has repeatedly claimed that it had no prior knowledge of the Oct. 7 attack. However, captured documents that the IDF seized during the Gaza war paint a completely different picture.

Iran knew that Hamas intended to attack, although the exact date was not coordinated with them.

Captured Hamas documents published by the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center record ongoing communication between Iran and Hamas regarding the attack, especially from 2021 through 2023.

On Hamas's side, Yahya Sinwar, Saleh Arouri and Ismail Haniyeh led the meetings and coordination efforts.

On the Iranian side was Saeed Izadi, head of the Palestine Branch in the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards.

According to the documents, Izadi informed higher officials in the Iranian leadership about these contacts, including Supreme Leader Khamenei.

Some 20 documents, protocols and summaries of meetings demonstrate a shared understanding between the Iranians and Hamas that the time was ripe to try to destroy Israel.

Security sources have now revealed that in August and September 2023, meetings were held in Beirut once every two weeks where the attack plan against Israel was discussed.

These meetings were attended by Saleh Arouri from Hamas, Hizbullah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, Islamic Jihad leader Ziad Nakhala, and Iranian Quds Force Commander Ismail Qaani.

Qaani himself was present at training sessions for hundreds of Hamas operatives held on Iranian soil during September, just weeks before the massacre.
Einat Wilf: Israel’s existential battle is against the vilifying of the collective Jew
GIVEN HER views, one might expect Wilf to have at least a grudging respect for Netanyahu. She does not. In her view, he has fundamentally misjudged the nature of the conflict.

“At one point,” she said, “I thought it was his ego – his sense of self just doesn’t allow him to take Palestinianism seriously. He wants to focus on Iran.” But by fixating on Iran as the primary threat, she argued, the prime minister has ignored a more immediate danger. “It’s like the man has no understanding of where the dangers lie or who our enemies are.”

She believes one of his biggest missteps came in the immediate aftermath of Oct. 7, when US president Joe Biden visited Israel and delivered a deeply moving speech. “You could see how shaken he was by the evil that was unleashed that day,” she recalled. But then Biden added a crucial line: “Hamas doesn’t represent the Palestinians.”

The significance of that sentence, she said, was clear to her the moment she heard it. “I remember thinking, ‘We are going to pay dearly for this.’ And what did Israel – official Israel, under Netanyahu – do? It caved.” According to Wilf, military spokespeople were directed to reinforce the narrative that Israel was at war only with Hamas, not with the Palestinians.

For Wilf, this was a critical failure of leadership. Instead of going along with Biden’s framing, she argued, Netanyahu should have responded with measured but firm disagreement: “Thank you, Mr. Biden, for everything you’re doing for us – the aircraft carriers, the Iron Dome support. But unfortunately, all the evidence points to the fact that Hamas does represent the Palestinians.”

She pointed to the Palestinian celebrations on Oct. 7, the vast tunnel networks, the stockpiling of weapons, and the transformation of Gaza into what she called an “integrated, weaponized landscape.” In her view, pretending that Hamas and the Palestinian people are separate entities is a dangerous illusion.

“I am not going to send soldiers into battle based on a lie,” she said, imagining what Netanyahu should have said.

The failure to acknowledge reality, she argued, has led Netanyahu to incorrectly define the enemy. “It’s as if the US president in December 1941 [after Pearl Harbor] would have declared war only against Japanese pilots – saying, ‘other than that, we’re good.’”

Instead, she believes Israel must confront the broader ideological war it faces. “The correct war is, at a minimum, against Gaza and, more truly, against Palestinianism itself. This war will continue until the ideology of Palestinianism dies – so that Jews and Arabs can finally live in peace.”

For Wilf, the prime minister’s refusal to see the whole picture has had severe consequences. “If you don’t understand who your real enemy is, you will keep making mistake after mistake. And in that, I think Netanyahu bears responsibility for so much of what has gone wrong.

“He is fighting the wrong war.”


The Wider Goal Needs to Be the Conquest of Gaza
Oded Ailam, former head of the Counterterrorism Division in the Mossad and currently a researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, explains the thinking behind the renewed Israeli offensive in Gaza.

"Hamas has an interest in drawing out the negotiations, raising various new issues all the time....In Hamas, they understood that they needed time...to enlist and train new fighters, to replenish their weapons supply, and to strengthen their control over the population. But enlisting 5,000 youths age 16-18 and giving them 300 shekels each doesn't make them an effective fighting force."

"Hamas is particularly focused on maintaining control of the Gazan population and is telling them to forget any ideas that Hamas is leaving, disarming, and becoming irrelevant. Their message is 'We are here.' Hamas has a unit called 'Saham,' whose role is to deal with collaborators....This unit uses threats to instill fear in Gazans who question the ethos of Hamas. They deal with Gazans with a heavy hand, abuse them and kill them."

Unlike relations with the Biden Administration, Ailam says, Israel is acting in coordination with the Americans. "Israel agreed to the Witkoff outline and Hamas rejected it. Hamas will not return all the hostages....Hamas clearly understands the importance of the hostage card for Israel, so they will not release all of them. It is an illusion to say, 'let's withdraw totally from Gaza, accept all of Hamas's demands, and then after we get back the hostages we can go back in.' It won't happen because Hamas will not release all the hostages."

"Hamas finds itself now at its lowest point. All of its supporters in the region lied to them or ceased to exist. Hizbullah will certainly not return to the fight, nor will Iran. The Houthis may shoot a missile every so often to wake us up at night, but not more than that. And so they are left quite alone. Hamas is now fighting for its survival."

"Hamas understands that it will not rule, but wants the Hizbullah model where it doesn't rule but it dictates everything. The Egyptian plan would allow this....As long as Hamas is not disarmed it will dictate everything that happens in Gaza. I don't see any international force that is able to come and disarm Hamas. Certainly not the Egyptians."

"Israel has no other real option to achieve the goals of the war - the return of the hostages and the collapse of Hamas - without the conquest of Gaza down to the last centimeter. We need to perform a deep cleansing that includes the destruction of its military infrastructure, preventing rearmament, and a complete economic blockade of Hamas."

"We will need to set up a military government to back up the Israeli moves, and after a year or two, try to create an alternative internal government, while enabling Israel to do whatever it needs to do in Gaza for its security, and maintain a security perimeter to assure that Oct. 7 will not reoccur. I don't see any other way."
Michael Oren: U.S. Releases Restraints, Empowers Israel to Confront Iran
The president who ordered the liquidation of Qassem Sulimani, the commander of Iran's Quds force, in 2020 is now threatening not only to put a credible military option back on the table but waving it in the Ayatollah's face. "Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN," the President posted. "IRAN will be held responsible."

Not since 1988, when Ronald Reagan ordered the U.S. Navy to sink the Iranian ships that shot at Kuwaiti oil tankers, has Washington retaliated for Iranian attacks against American targets. In 2023-2024, pro-Iranian militias in Syria and Iraq launched 180 rocket and drone attacks against American bases, causing dozens of casualties, while the Houthis in Yemen essentially blocked international shipping through the crucial Mandeb Straits.

In spite of this flagrant aggression, the Biden administration refused to approve the firing of a single bullet at Iran. Instead, Washington officials constantly broadcast fear of a war with Iran - a war which Iran, lacking an air force, had no ability to wage. Not surprisingly, the Ayatollahs concluded that they and their proxies could continue to attack the U.S. and its allies with impunity. All that is now about to change.
Netanyahu, Rubio discuss Gaza war, ‘unwavering’ US support for Israel—PMO
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Prime Minister’s Office announced on Sunday.

The call was focused on “regional developments, including releasing the hostages and the resumption of fighting in the Gaza Strip,” according to a brief readout published by Netanyahu’s office on Sunday evening.

Washington’s top diplomat was said to have expressed to Netanyahu the Trump administration’s “unwavering support for Israel and its policy.”

On March 15, Rubio slammed as “nuts” the terms being demanded by Hamas in hostage-ceasefire negotiations with Israel, while insisting the Trump administration remains committed to freeing the remaining 59 captives still held by the Palestinian terrorist organization in Gaza.

“We care about all the hostages. We want all the hostages released … But we’re also talking about bodies. And these trades that are being made, they’re ridiculous trades—400 people for three. These are nuts,” Rubio said at a press conference following the G7 Foreign Ministers Meeting.

“The whole world should continue to say that what Hamas has done is outrageous, it’s ridiculous, it’s sick, it’s disgusting … We’re just dealing with some savages. That’s it. These are bad people, terrible people, and we need to treat them as such,” added Rubio.

U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff sought to extend the Gaza ceasefire through the Passover and Ramadan periods, during which time Hamas would release 11 living hostages and half of the bodies it still holds. Jerusalem endorsed Witkoff’s proposed outline; Hamas did not.
Witkoff: Blocking Iran nukes, solving Gaza key to regional stability
U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, in an in-depth interview with Tucker Carlson on Friday, said addressing the Iranian nuclear threat and solving the Gaza conflict are the starting points to bringing stability to the region and expanding the Abraham Accords.

“How do we deal with Iran? That’s the biggie,” Witkoff said on “The Tucker Carlson Show,” a streaming podcast hosted by the conservative political commentator.

The first issue in tackling the Iranian threat is to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons, Witkoff said. Otherwise, the Islamic Republic will turn into the North Korea of the Middle East.

“North Korea, where they are, has outsized influence as a very small nation. We can never allow someone to have a nuclear weapon and have outsized influence [in the Persian Gulf region],” he said.

Second is to deal with Iran’s “proxy armies,” Witkoff said, noting that Israel has already shown that those proxies, specifically Hamas and Hezbollah, don’t constitute the existential threat that had been previously thought.

Witkoff credited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for “decapitating” Hezbollah and Hamas. “We would not be as effective in what we’re doing … if Bibi did not get [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah out of the picture in Lebanon. … If he did not do what he did with Hamas. He’s decapitated Hamas. Hamas is nowhere close to the terrorist organization that they were beforehand,” he said.

“That Islamist Crescent that everybody thought was going to be effective—it’s been largely eliminated. So he’s done an exceptional job with that,” Witkoff said.
Trump's offer of talks with Iran aims to avoid military action, US envoy says
US President Donald Trump's outreach to Iran's top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on a possible new nuclear deal is an effort to avoid military action, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday.

"We don't need to solve everything militarily," Witkoff told Fox News.

"Our signal to Iran is let's sit down and see if we can, through dialog, through diplomacy, get to the right place. If we can, we are prepared to do that. And if we can't, the alternative is not a great alternative."

Trump said earlier this month that he had sent a letter to Khamenei, warning that "there are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal."

Khamenei rejected the US offer for talks as "a deception," saying negotiating with the Trump administration would "tighten the knot of sanctions and increase pressure on Iran."

However, Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said on Thursday that Tehran would soon reply to both the letter's "threats and opportunities." He cautioned on Sunday that talks with the US are impossible unless Washington changes its pressure policy.

Speaking separately on CBS News, the White House's national security advisor, Mike Waltz, said the US sought "full dismantlement" of Iran's nuclear program.

"Iran has to give up its program in a way that the entire world can see," he said.

"As President Trump has said, this is coming to a head. All options are on the table and it is time for Iran to walk away completely from its desire to have a nuclear weapon."

Tehran has long said the program is only for peaceful purposes.


Israeli Cabinet unanimously votes no confidence in AG
Israel’s Cabinet voted unanimously on Sunday to back a motion of “no confidence” against Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, setting in motion the process of her dismissal.

The attorney-general is now set to appear before the public committee for appointments and dismissals, which will submit a recommendation to the government ahead of a final vote on Baharav-Miara’s removal.

Baharav-Miara did not attend the Cabinet session where ministers discussed the 800-page file detailing the government’s complaints.

Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin told fellow ministers during the meeting that the fact she had chosen not to attend was a sign of her “absolute disrespect for the government,” Channel 12 reported.

It also proved “that she has no answers to the claims against her,” according to the Hebrew-language broadcaster.

In Israel, the attorney general does not work for the prime minister, as opposed to in the U.S., where the AG is an agent of the executive branch. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other ministers have often clashed with Baharav-Miara, who was appointed in 2022 by the “government of change” led by then-Premier Naftali Bennett.

There are only four grounds that justify the dismissal of the attorney general, with one of them being ongoing and essential disagreements between the government and the AG that prevent effective cooperation—which is the justification cited in Sunday’s no-confidence motion.

“There is no way to restore the trust—the legal adviser must do what any person of integrity would do and resign immediately,” Levin said in his first public statement following Sunday afternoon’s Cabinet vote.
Coalition MKs slam Lapid’s call for anti-gov’t strike, ‘tax revolt’
Members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition on Sunday slammed opposition leader Yair Lapid’s call to shut down the economy during wartime if the government defies a High Court injunction against a Cabinet decision to fire Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.

“Yair Lapid should be ashamed. In my opinion, his deterioration in the polls is bringing him to a political behavior that is endangering the State of Israel,” Likud Party lawmaker Tally Gotliv told JNS on Sunday.

The threat from Lapid, who chairs the Yesh Atid Party, of a tax revolt undermines the Jewish state’s resilience during wartime while failing to “take into account the consequences for the country,” said Gotliv.

“Lapid is the lowest kind of politician there is in that he is concerned with his political survival in a way that betrays all of his values,” she added.

Speaking at an anti-government rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday, Lapid said that if Netanyahu’s coalition “decides not to obey the court’s ruling, it will turn itself that day, that moment, into a criminal government.

“The economy needs to strike, the Knesset needs to strike, courts need to strike, local authorities need to strike, not only the universities need to strike, but also the schools,” urged Lapid, who added, “If we can organize a tax revolt, we will organize a tax revolt.”

The remarks came after some ministers vowed to defy the court’s temporary injunction preventing Bar’s dismissal despite the Cabinet’s unanimous decision on Thursday to fire him.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich insisted, “Supreme Court judges will not run the war or decide its commanders. Period.”
Diplomatic event sparks claims Mexico recognized ‘Palestine’
Mexico’s president on Friday accepted the diplomatic credentials of an ambassador of the PLO, prompting claims that this meant formal recognition of a Palestinian state.

President Claudia Sheinbaum, who is Jewish, accepted Nadya Rasheed’s credentials along with those if other new ambassadors. This has happened before without leading to recognition of Palestinian statehood by Mexico.

The first time a Mexican president accepted the credentials of a PLO envoy was in 2013, according to the website of the Mexican Foreign Ministry.

Whereas Mexico publicly supports international recognition of Palestinian statehood, it has not issued a formal recognition, its foreign ministry has said.

“Mexico has maintained the practice of not unilaterally recognizing states. Its position has been to support the entry of a state into the United Nations as a form of collective recognition,” the ministry’s website states.

The Mexican embassy in Israel did not immediately reply to a query by JNS as to whether the country recognizes Palestinian statehood. A spokesperson for Israel’s foreign ministry said it had nothing to add on the subject at this point.

A diplomatic source familiar with the Israeli-Mexican relationship and Friday’s credentials ceremony told JNS: “There’s no new development here. Palestinian envoy presented her credentials in 2011 to the Mexican president, and also in 2016.”

Mainstream media, including BBC Mundo, have reported inaccurately several times in the past that Mexico recognized Palestinian statehood.


Israeli Defense Ministry: Over 16,000 war wounded treated
More than 16,000 personnel wounded in the current war have received treatment since Oct. 7, 2023, according to data the Israeli Defense Ministry released ahead of its Rehabilitation Department’s first international conference.

An additional 8,300 individuals have sought recognition for injuries from incidents that took place before the war. The total number of wounded under Defense Ministry care now stands at 78,000, with one in two experiencing psychological distress.

Sixty-six percent of the wounded since the Oct. 7 terrorist invasion are reserve soldiers, 51% are aged 18-30, and 7% are women. About 10,900 individuals have physical injuries, while 50% suffer psychological distress, including 2,900 with both physical and psychological trauma.

Among the wounded, 6% have moderate injuries and 4% have severe injuries. Seventy-two amputees have already received prosthetic devices.

The conference, titled “Lifetime Partnership,” will take place on Tuesday at Tel Aviv University, gathering experts from more than 20 countries. Sessions will focus on medical, psychological and social rehabilitation efforts for IDF personnel and released hostages, highlighting innovative treatments and personal recovery stories.

The Defense Ministry maintains a “rehabilitation before bureaucracy” approach, ensuring immediate care while delaying formal evaluations for one year. The average annual cost per war casualty is estimated at 150,000 shekels (about $40,000). With projections estimating 100,000 disabled veterans by 2030, the Defense Ministry is enhancing digital services to support long-term care.


IDF strike in south Gaza kills senior Hamas official; ground ops restart in Beit Hanoun
An Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip late Saturday killed Hamas political leader Salah al-Bardawil, the military and the Palestinian terror group confirmed Sunday.

Bardawil was a well-known member of the terror group’s political wing who gave media interviews over the years.

In a statement, the terror group accused Israel of assassinating Bardawil and his wife with a drone strike on a tent shelter in Khan Younis, in the south of the Palestinian enclave, overnight. “His blood, that of his wife and martyrs, will remain fueling the battle of liberation and independence. The criminal enemy will not break our determination and will,” said the terror group Sunday morning.

The Israel Defense Forces in a later statement confirmed it had killed Bardawil.

According to the IDF, Bardawil, who headed the terror group’s planning and development ministry, led Hamas’s strategic and military planning, including amid the war.

His killing was a “blow to the functioning of Hamas’s military and governing capabilities,” the IDF added.

Bardawil was the third Hamas political official to have been killed in renewed Israeli airstrikes. The terror group’s de facto government head Issam Da’alis and internal security chief Mahmoud Abu Watfa were killed on Tuesday, along with several other officials.


The Jerusalem Post: Conflict & Cuisine: Episode 4 with Seth J. Frantzman and Erica Schachne
JPost senior editors, longtime colleagues, and foodies discuss with trademark knowledge, wit, and flair - unpacking the top headlines in Israel and the Middle East, making complex topics easy to understand as if you're coming over for coffee or wine with a side of politics through a light hearted conversation about everything. And this week - Surprise strikes in Gaza and Yemen, JFK conspiracy reveals, and stacks of pancakes

A special segment devoted each week to 'why no one cares about Algeria', and of course - Cuisine - as we discuss recipes, what doesn't belong on your plate, and the food preoccupying us and making our mouths water this week.


‘I condemned the Oct 7 massacre. It cost me my job’
A sewage worker was sacked after condemning the Oct 7 massacre, The Telegraph can reveal.

Damon Joshua was dismissed by Severn Trent Water after he described Hamas as “a group of violent and disgusting terrorists” in a post on the company’s staff intranet website on the anniversary of the attack.

The post was taken down by managers at the company following internal complaints that “the terminology being used includes very derogatory words” and “is very one-sided”.

According to documents seen by The Telegraph, one complainant said: “The post reflects poorly on Severn Trent’s reputation as a diverse and inclusive company.”

Mr Joshua was immediately suspended and then later dismissed from his job without notice following a disciplinary hearing.

In the post in question, Mr Joshua said: “One year ago our valued partners and friends, Israel, were horrifically attacked by a group of violent and disgusting terrorists.

“I can say with confidence today that the vast majority of STW’s employees stand in solidarity with our Jewish, Israeli and Zionist colleagues against the evil of Islamist terror.”

The post also included an image of the flag of Israel.

Mr Joshua told The Telegraph: “It happened in a matter of hours. I made the post at 7.50. I got a call from my manager at 10 or 11 telling me that it had been taken down. At 1pm I got called to a meeting room on the site that I was working on. My manager and her manager were there and I was suspended.

“They didn’t really give an opinion on what I’d wrote. They just said that it was seen as offensive.”


Pro-Iran axis hosts Western activists, Hamas leaders at Houthi conference
Prominent anti-Israel actors and terror leaders were hosted by the terror-designated Ansar Allah group in Houthi-controlled Sanaa, Yemen, for a conference titled "Palestine: The Central Issue of the Nation - You Are Not Alone."

The four-day conference kicked off Saturday in Sanaa with wide international participation from the pro-Iranian axis and beyond, including Hamas representative in Yemen Muath Abu Shammala, American activist Jackson Hinkle, former South African politician and grandson of Nelson Mandela, Zwelivelile Mandla Mandela, former Irish MEP Mick Wallace, American activist Christopher Helali, Brazilian journalist Deb Escobar, and others.

Pictures from the event showed the hall adorned with pictures and quotes of pro-Iranian leaders, including Ruhollah Khomeini, Ismail Haniyeh, Qassem Soleimani, Yahya Sinwar, Hassan Nasrallah and PIJ spokesperson Abu Hamza; with the Houthi slogan ‘Allah is Greatest, Death to America, Death to Israel, a Curse upon the Jews, Victory to Islam’ covering one of the walls.

Main speakers included high-ranking Houthi official Abdelaziz Bin Habtoor, former Iraqi prime minister Adel Abdel Mahdi and a representative of Hamas in Yemen, Muath Abu Shammala, all of which lauded Hamas’s October 7th massacre and commended the Houthis for targeting ‘aiding’ Hamas. Speakers also rejected the ‘failed’ path of negotiations in Oslo, deeming Israel an ‘imperialist colonialist entity.’

For his part, Mandela, who converted to Islam several years ago under the auspices of a Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Sheikh, praised Hamas’s ‘armed resistance’ and claimed Israel was unable to defeat the resistance so far, praising the South African stance of support for Gaza.

Imperialism is the 'source of terror'
Former Irish MEP Mick Wallace also denounced Imperialism as ‘the source of terror,’ deeming Europeans who support the “genocide in Gaza” as ‘barbaric,’ and commending Houthi-controlled Yemen as “one of the few countries adhering to international law.

This is not the first time in the past weeks that Western activists attended an event led by the pro-Iranian axis. Only less than a month ago, Hinkle, Helali, and others were invited to attend the funeral of assassinated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut while also taking part in a ‘birthright’ style trip to southern Lebanon.


Politico runs cover for Hamasniks at Georgetown
In a recent article on the arrest of the pro-terror husband of a Hamas-affiliated student at Georgetown, Politico sounded less like a news agency and more like a public relations firm. The article, “Trump is seeking to deport another academic who is legally in the country, lawsuit says,” by Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein, omits crucial context to portray the prospective deportee and his Hamas-affiliated wife sympathetically.

Unfortunately for Politico, that omitted context came from research produced by CAMERA. While the legal proceedings have only begun and remain under seal, we can already identify false claims in Politico’s story.

Here’s the background. In a February 13 article at National Review, CAMERA exposed that Georgetown University graduate student Mapheze Ahmad Yousef Saleh was directly affiliated with the specially designated terrorist organization Hamas. Not only was her father a senior Hamas official, but Saleh herself had worked directly for the terrorist organization. CAMERA’s research meticulously documented the evidence, providing screenshots and linking to articles written by Saleh acknowledging her role in Hamas’s “Committee to Break the Siege in Gaza.” CAMERA also documented Saleh’s deplorable views, including celebrating the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre of Israeli civilians and mocking those taken hostage by the terrorist organization.

Unsurprisingly, it turned out that her husband Badar Khan Suri held similarly deplorable views. Disturbingly, Suri also held an academic role at Georgetown’s Alwaleed Center for Christian and Muslim Understanding, known for its extremist faculty members. Now Suri, an Indian national, has been arrested and is facing deportation proceedings.

So how do Politico’s Cheney and Gerstein ignore these details?


Brown And Its Reputation Continue to Plummet
On February 3, the Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced an investigation of Brown’s Warren Alpert Medical School, and the medical schools of Columbia, Harvard and Johns Hopkins. The government’s press release noted that at Brown, the investigation was prompted by “reported incidents of antisemitism and displays of offensive symbols and messaging during [graduation] ceremonies, including alleged expressions of support for terrorist organizations” that raised “serious concerns” for Jewish students.

On March 14, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol deported Brown Medical School professor Rasha Alawieh to her home country of Lebanon. Brown students and faculty, as always without bothering to look into the facts and without regard to applicable law, immediately broke out their apparently always-at-the-ready masks, keffiyehs and signage and jumped to her defense. According to the Brown Daily Herald (“BDH”), the rally in support of Alawieh was organized by The Party for Socialism and Liberation along with “several members of the medical community” and attended by various members of the Brown medical school community. On March 17, Politico, hardly a right wing news outlet, published a piece on Alawieh. The article is attached below. There may or may not be procedural questions as to how Alawieh was handled by Customs and Border Protection. But there can be no question as to her support for enemies of the United States. Among the facts noted by Politico are the following:

Thanks for reading Middle East Studies at Brown ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

- While in Lebanon, allegedly to visit her family according to George Bayliss, associate professor of medicine at Brown, she attended the funeral of Hezbollah terrorist chieftain Hassan Nasrallah whose teachings she followed “from a religious perspective”;

- Her phone contained “photos and videos of Nasrallah and other leaders connected to Hezbollah”, though she claimed to be apolitical explaining she “had the images because those leaders are revered by many Shia Muslims”;

- Nasrallah, who had orchestrated the murders of hundreds, arguably thousands, of Americans, Israelis and others but according to Alawieh “is a religious figure…highly regarded in the Shia community”, “a religious, spiritual person…he has very high value. His teachings are about spirituality and morality”, she supported and admired Nasrallah “from a religious perspective”;

- The photos on her phone of Iranian terrorist leader Khamenei “has nothing to do with politics…it’s a purely religious thing. He’s a very big figure in our community”;

- Explaining why she appeared to have deleted some photos from her phone a day or two before arriving in the U.S., she said “Because I don’t want the perception. But I can’t delete everything. But I know I’m not doing anything wrong. I’m not related to anything politically or militarily” despite, seemingly reluctantly, conceding that she knew Hezbollah was a U.S. designated terrorist organization.

At some point Alawieh was represented by Arnold & Porter, a Washington, D.C. based law firm with a long and storied history of pro-bono work. Interestingly, according to the New York Times, “as a result of further diligence”, Arnold & Porter dropped her as a client.

How dumb must Alawieh think Americans are, including many at Brown and those who brought her to Providence, to believe in light of the above that she is “apolitical”? But at least fortunately for Hezbollah terrorists, they will now be able to make use of Alawieh’s medical skills. And, equally fortunately, the Rhode Island medical community will do very well without them.


I'm witnessing a rise in antisemitism at Glasgow University
Jewish people have become used to antisemites using the word Zionist instead of Jew for decades as a way of trying to get around being labeled antisemitic for what they say.

Jewish people, therefore, know all too well that the litmus test for judging whether something is antisemitic or not is substituting the word Jewish for Zionist.

If it reads as an antisemitic trope or a call to violence against the Jewish people, then it's antisemitism. It's that simple.

Now addressing the proclamation of “long live intifada.” It is important to note that intifada is Arabic for uprising. The term refers to the first (1987-1993) and second Palestinian intifadas (2000-2005), when armed Palestinian terrorist groups including Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the PFLP carried out a prolonged series of attacks targeting Israeli civilians.

Put simply, calling for intifada is to call for violence against Jewish people and to support the murder of Jews.

This warrants expulsion from Glasgow University.

I would like to think that if any student expressed support for violence against any religious group on campus, they would be immediately expelled. Why does that standard never seem to apply to those expressing antisemitism?

A university should be a space for diverse opinions, but it cannot be a space for threats, intimidation, and incitement to violence.

When antisemitism is excused or tolerated under the false banner of political activism, the message is clear: Jewish students are not equally protected.

They are expected to endure hostility that would be deemed unacceptable if directed at any other minority group.

Despite these challenges, I'm proud to say that we, Jewish students, have only grown stronger and more united.

We continue to advocate for our rights, to challenge antisemitism, and to stand firm against hatred in all its forms.

However, our voices alone are not enough. We need the support of university administrations, political leaders, and the wider community to ensure that Jewish students, like all students, can pursue their education free from discrimination and harassment.

Antisemitism on campus is not an abstract issue — it is a reality that Jewish students live with every day.

It is time for universities to take real action, not just offer empty statements. Otherwise, history has shown us where this path leads.


Turkey faces uncertainty amid Erdogan's protest crackdown, mayor's arrest
An Istanbul court on Sunday solidified the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. He was detained last week alongside dozens of others in a large police raid. The arrest has sparked massive protests in Turkey. The arrest is seen as politically motivated and another step on the authoritarian road in Turkey.

Imamoglu was detained on corruption charges, state media has claimed. He is also being held on “terror” charges. Imamoglu “was arrested by the criminal court to which he was referred to within the scope of the ‘corruption’ investigation” Anadolu News Agency reported.

The popular mayor is a member of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and was widely expected to challenge Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the next elections. Erdogan and his AKP party have been in power for two decades.

Along with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and several other leaders, the AKP is part of the rising authoritarian parties that have come to dominate a number of countries in the last decade.

As such, this arrest in Turkey has potential global ramifications because other authoritarians may take a cue from it.

Ankara’s drive to authoritarianism comes at a key time. The region is at a crossroads. Turkey could play a larger role in Syria as there is a new government there. It is also angling for positive ties with the new Trump administration. It wants to get around Iran sanctions and also play a role with Russia.

The Trump administration has done outreach to Moscow and Tehran. Ankara could play a role in this new regional order. Ankara is a key partner with Doha. Doha and Ankara back Hamas.

Doha also has key influence over policies in the West and even in Israel. As such, Doha’s backing of Ankara and of the new Syrian government have wider ramifications. For this reason, what happens in Turkey matters.

“No despair! Keep fighting!” the Tukish CHP wrote on social media over the weekend. RUdaw, a Kurdish media outlet noted that “Imamoglu’s arrest also came as the CHP moved ahead with a primary to elect Imamoglu as its candidate against Erdogan in 2028.
Seth Frantzman: Iran weighs options on talks with the US amid internal debate
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi put out a statement reported in Iranian state media on Sunday that suggests Iran is having internal discussions about potential talks with the US. For now, Tehran has said it is not going to negotiate directly with the US.

This comes after reports that US President Donald Trump sent a letter to Iran and is seeking talks via mediators, and Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff discussed potential Iran talks in recent interviews.

Araghchi said, “Iran has decided it is not going to negotiate directly with the United States government for the time being, and that it is a tactic, not a strategy,” Iran’s state media IRNA noted. He was giving an interview in Iran and discussing ongoing talks with France, Germany, and the US. This comes after high-level meetings between an Iranian delegation and Russian and Chinese officials in China.

Araghchi noted, “To say that, as a strategy, we will not negotiate… that’s not how it is. We have negotiated many times [before], including very recently. Our ongoing talks with the three European countries are, in fact, something of an indirect negotiation over our nuclear program.

“The format of negotiations is always relevant in diplomatic relations, whether the two sides talk directly or indirectly. For now, our tactic and method is to have indirect negotiations,” he added.


Amichai Chikli: The war on Jews has returned, and the West is complicit
The events of October 7, and the grotesque global response that followed, elevated this hatred to new heights.

The glorification of rape, the celebration of slaughtered families, the demonization of IDF soldiers, the Holocaust distortions, the grotesque double standards — all reserved for one state.

Once again, the streets of Europe are unsafe for Jews. And once again, many of its leaders have chosen cowardice over courage. Rather than side with truth, they align themselves with Palestinian propaganda. Instead of backing those under attack, they excuse the attackers.

Moral decay in Europe might buy short-term quiet, but it fuels Hamas-style barbarism — even in European capitals. Just look at what’s happening in “Londinistan.” The country that gave the world the Magna Carta now guards Churchill’s statue with police. As Rabbi Jonathan Sacks once said:

“What begins with the Jews never ends with the Jews.”

Whoever turns their back on our people in our fight against evil will soon find that evil at their own doorstep.

Denying the Jewish people’s right to their ancestral homeland — in Mount Ebal, Shiloh, or Jerusalem — is not just historical blindness; it weakens the moral fabric of those who do it.

Deny us the right to self-determination, and you may soon struggle to recognize your own nation in the mirror.

To fight antisemitism, we need bold leadership and decisive action.
Revoking visas for Hamas and Hezbollah sympathizers behind violent protests in the US? That’s decisive action.
Defunding and investigating universities that failed to protect Jewish students? Also decisive.
What we see now from the Trump administration and Leo Terrell’s task force at the Department of Justice is real leadership. That is a real war on antisemitism.

The Diaspora Affairs Ministry will continue to seek cooperation with leaders and organizations willing to face reality, roll up their sleeves, and fight — not with polite condemnation, but with moral clarity and unapologetic force.

I’ll end where Sokolow began. In his Eternal Hatred for the Eternal People, he wrote:
“It is truth that will fortify the people of Israel on its eternal path. Through truth, we will stand against the fierce assault of our enemies. Through truth, we will find strength and hope.”

The eternity of Israel will not lie.
How can an antisemitic EU fight antisemitism?
Astonishingly, the EU Commission, often seen as a champion in the fight against fake news, punished a democratically elected Jewish European leader based on a short list of easily debunked falsehoods.

Kantor had been a prominent figure in leading the European fight against antisemitism, pushing EU leaders to take the issue seriously and move beyond empty rhetoric to actions. While he was celebrated by many European leaders and received national awards for his efforts toward peace, tolerance, and coexistence, he was secretly vilified by others.

Many suspect that the invasion of Ukraine served as an excuse for some to dispose of a leader who had been a thorn in their side, advocating for the safety and security of the Jewish community.

Additionally, Kantor personally funded initiatives that strengthened the security of vulnerable Jewish communities under constant threat from extremists. These communities are now left even more exposed, deprived of a leader who could have made a significant difference to their well-being.

The EU sanctions on Kantor had little to do with the war in Ukraine. It was an overtly antisemitic move by bureaucrats in an institution whose former director, Josep Borrell, at times seemed to encourage antisemitism rather than fight it.

Thankfully, and long overdue, the sanctions against Kantor were finally lifted. It was too little too late, and the champion of fighting antisemitism in Europe was unable to do so at a time when European Jewish communities needed him most.

To make up for lost time and to show a strong commitment to the fight against Jew-hatred, Dr. Moshe Kantor’s name, reputation, and ability to work on behalf of the Jewish community must be restored.
Down with the avocados: UK pro-Palestine group boycotts Israeli produce
The UK-based activist group Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) has launched a campaign urging people to boycott Israeli produce and Coca-Cola in support of Palestine.

PSC called on "individuals, shops, cafés, and venues to boycott Israeli produce and Coca-Cola" with the aim of ultimately removing products from shop shelves. Products that are particularly targeted are avocados, hummus, dates, and oranges, which are sometimes produced in Israel.

On Saturday, The Telegraph reported that pro-Palestine activists had removed avocados, hummus, and dates from the shelves of a Preston branch of the supermarket Waitrose and then loaded them into trolleys.

The PSC told supporters that “Israeli fresh produce, like avocados, oranges, herbs, and dates, is grown in illegal Israeli settlements on stolen Palestinian land. When businesses in Britain sell this produce, they are supporting and profiting from Israel’s land theft and ethnic cleansing.”

Earlier in the month, activists from Chorley For Palestine piled avocados, dates, and hummus into trolleys and replaced them with stickers accusing Israel of genocide.

PSC is also boycotting Coca-Cola, claiming it operates a regional distribution center in an Israeli settlement in east Jerusalem.
Gal Gadot’s role in Snow White sparks renewed Arab boycott calls
The New Arab website reported Sunday that a number of Arab organizations have renewed calls for a boycott of the Disney live-action Snow White movie, which opened around the world last week, because Israeli actress Gal Gadot has a major role.

Gadot, best known for playing Wonder Woman, another movie that was boycotted in some Arab countries, portrays the Evil Queen in the retelling of the fairytale, opposite Rachel Zegler, who plays the title role.

There were rumors that the two actresses clashed doing publicity for the movie because Gadot has been outspoken in her support for the release of hostages held by Hamas and her criticism of the terror group for the October 7 massacre, while Zegler has voiced support for pro-Palestinian causes on her social media.

Although the two have been cordial in public appearances, the Los Angeles of premiere of the film was reportedly scaled down from the usual Hollywood hoopla, with only a handful of journalists allowed to attend.

The New Arab wrote that the boycott campaign comes as critics accuse Disney of “enabling the whitewashing of Israeli occupation through Gadot’s prominent role as the film's Evil Queen.”

According to the website, activists have called on movie theaters in Arab countries not to show the film and have promoted hashtags that include #BoycottSnowWhite, #BoycottGalGadot, and #SnowWhiteWithOccupationFlavour.

Groups from several countries are supporting the boycott, including from Jordan, Bahrain, Lebanon, Tunisia, and Egypt.

In a joint statement, the various groups wrote, "Gal Gadot does not represent art - she represents occupation, violence, and a military force that continues to commit atrocities against Palestinians. Allowing her to star in Snow White is an attempt to sanitize her image and distract from her unwavering support for Israeli aggression."

While groups in these countries pushed for a boycott, the movie took in $87.3 around the world, according to Deadline.com. While this was lower than Disney had projected, it doesn’t seem likely that this campaign had much impact.
'I was lured to a remote cottage, handcuffed and brutally beaten by masked jihadis': The chilling story of a sinister anti-Semitic kidnapping in the heart of rural Britain
Beaten, bloodied and handcuffed to a radiator, Itay Kashti truly believed he was going to die. Trapped in the middle of the Welsh countryside 200 miles from his loved ones, his panicked thoughts immediately turned to his family. 'I just remember thinking about my children and my wife, telling myself, 'I must be with them,' ' the 45-year-old recalls with a shudder now, seven months later.

'It's not as if I am a soldier, or a fighter, or an activist. You see my workspace here. Is this a place that provokes this kind of ordeal?'

It most certainly is not. A gentle and creative man, Itay is chatting to me from his music studio in north London with his piano, drum kit and treasured guitar ('It's a Martin,' he tells me proudly – a prestigious brand of acoustic guitar) to hand.

He is a music producer, and it is clear that he would much rather be discussing his work with stars including Earl Slick, a guitarist for David Bowie and John Lennon, who was in his studio just a few days before we meet. How did an innocent creative like this come to be beaten and cuffed to a radiator – in rural Wales of all places?

His ordeal marks one of the most chilling acts of anti-Semitic violence in the UK, and the fact it hasn't had more national news coverage is alarming to say the least.

For Itay, an Israeli who came to the UK 18 years ago, was targeted by a jihadi gang who lured him to Carmarthenshire for a 'music retreat'. The retreat, he learned too late, did not exist.

When he arrived at the remote Welsh cottage, he was attacked by three masked men armed with imitation pistols who threatened to kill him if he did not comply with their demands.

He escaped only because the taxi driver who had taken him there had helped him in with his bags and, seeing the violence, escaped to raise the alarm.
Teenager with Palestinian roots hits, bites French rabbi
A 16-year-old boy of Palestinian descent was arrested on Saturday for allegedly assaulting a rabbi in front of the rabbi’s son in Orléans, about 75 miles southwest of Paris.

The alleged assault, in which the suspect was said to have savagely bit the victim, prompted condemnations from French President Emmanuel Macron and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.

The suspect bit Rabbi Arié Engelberg on the shoulder after accosting him and beating him on the street at around 1 p.m., the Le Parisien news site reported. The rabbi was lightly wounded, including on the cheek. The assailant left the scene after the attack but police arrested the suspect at 9:45 p.m.

The rabbi had complained to police about the assault. The suspect does not have a criminal record, Le Parisien reported.

Ariel Godman, president of the FSJU (United Jewish Welfare Fund), said the alleged assailant had approached the rabbi with a cell phone, appearing to film him on Shabbat. Many Orthodox Jews object to being filmed or photographed on the Jewish day of rest. The rabbi asked the suspect to stop, leading to the assault, Godman told the France 3 television channel.

The teenager in custody is facing charges of “deliberate violence committed because of the victim’s real or supposed affiliation with a religion,” Emmanuelle Bochenek-Puren, the prosecutor of the Orléans area, told Le Parisien.

“The attack on Rabbi Arié Engelberg in Orléans shocks us all,” Marcon wrote on X. “I offer him, his son, and all our fellow citizens of the Jewish faith my full support and that of the nation. Antisemitism is poisonous. We will not give in to silence or inaction.”

Sa’ar wrote about the incident: “The resurgence of antisemitism in France and across Europe is not only alarming—it is a wake-up call to European governments, leaders and civil society.”


Batya Ungar-Sargon: Two Christians Made a Show about Jews. It’s Phenomenal.
American Jews often accept a widespread misconception that the attachment so many evangelical Christians have to Israel, and to their American Jewish neighbors, is the result of a longing for the Second Coming. In this reading, the Jews are mere instruments whose return to the land of Israel will result in their mass conversion (or mass expiration), and bring about the messianic redemption of the world. Many Jews feel offended by this apocalyptic narrative, but it's far removed from how Jews are understood by American Christians, one of the first populations in history to organize their religion around the protection of Jews, rather than around our persecution. Though the Ku Klux Klan demonized both Catholics and Jews, there have been times in American history when it was harder to be a Catholic, a Mormon, or a Quaker than it was to be a Jew.

The bloody religious wars of the sixteenth and seventeenth century in Europe left their mark on the framers of the Constitution. America was founded not on mere religious tolerance but on religious freedom—the idea that our freedoms are imbued in us by our Creator, and that no government or other human has the right to abridge them (this obviously did not apply to slaves, until we fought a war over it). The equal rights enjoyed in America by Jews, whose biblical story of creation introduced the idea of a common humanity fashioned in the image of a single God, were not a favor granted by our Christian neighbors, but a recognition due to the glory of God. It was their respect for the Almighty that caused the Founding Fathers to defend the rights of Jews, providing proof that they were making good on the promise laid out in the Bill of Rights—proof that they were right with their God.

American Christians are keenly aware of the Jewishness of Jesus and the early leaders of Christianity. As my friend Darvio Morrow put it, “We’re in the house that you built. Without the Jewish people, none of us would know anything about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Equally important was the influence of the Puritans, who founded New England and whose culture was steeped in Scripture and the ability to read the Bible for themselves—in the original Hebrew. “The Puritanism of New England was a kind of new Judaism, a Judaism transposed into Anglo-Saxon terms,” explained the celebrated mid-century critic Edmund Wilson. “These Protestants, in returning to the text of the Bible, had concentrated on the Old Testament, and some had tried to take it as literally as any Orthodox Jew.” Schoolchildren in early Puritan schools were taught Hebrew, the better for them to worship in what Wilson called a “Gentile imitation of Judaism.” Wilson himself, who learned Hebrew to read and write about the Dead Sea Scrolls, chose a phrase from the book of Joshua to be chiseled in Hebrew on his tombstone, which translates as, ”Be strong, be strong, and of good courage,” a phrase traditional Jews recite when they have finished a book of the Bible.

Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, viewed the very culture of New England as having been “formed by this constant face-to-face intimacy with Hebrew literature.” New Englanders were deeply convinced, Wilson concluded, “that the Jews are a special people selected for a unique role by God, and that New England somehow shares this destiny.”

Aspects of this culture—the close connection to Scripture, and the view of Jews as God’s chosen people and a blessing to their homeland, wherever it may be—remain to this day in many American Christian communities. Evangelicals and other American Christians love Israel because they know and love the Bible. They identify Israel, as well as their American Jewish neighbors, with the characters they love from the Bible, who are woven into the character of this county.

This is the culture that gave birth to House of David.

An assumption made too often on the left is that religious Christians seek to oppress Jews, while secular liberals protect us because they protect the oppressed. It’s a lie that’s been given oxygen by characters like Candace Owens, who uses “Christ is King” as shorthand for her unabashed and unrelenting hatred of Jews. As Rod Dreher wrote for The Free Press, parrying absurd attacks on a television show about Mary that cast an Israeli as the mother of God, “followers of Jesus cannot reject the Jews without being guilty of a serious, even fatal, heresy.”

Of course, there are and have always been antisemites in this country who happen to be Christians. But as New York archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan recently reminded readers of The Free Press, “The devil hopes to divide God’s people, to make them fear and eventually hate each other. In rejecting Satan’s lies and empty promises, as Christians are called to do this Lent, in the weeks before Easter—and as our Jewish neighbors prepare for Passover—we renounce his plans to divide the children of Abraham from one another.”

It would be a grave mistake to allow the likes of Owens to define the religious commitments of millions of American Christians. Or to allow people like her to redefine Jews, the descendants of David, who felled Goliath.

House of David is a beautiful corrective to a lie that’s seeped into the culture. If you want to understand how your Christian neighbors truly see you, watch this show.
House of David review: ‘hokey biblical adaptation rings hollow’
The series, made by the non-Jewish filmmaker Jon Erwin under his new studio The Wonder Project, is thankfully not preachy, but it feels a bit hokey in the way that religious programmes sometimes can. King Saul’s psycho-religious crisis, depicted through over-produced hallucinations of ghoulish, growling men, is more laughable than it is haunting.

The sagacious, white-bearded Samuel is probably the most interesting character in the show, portrayed with simultaneous spiritual fortitude and physical frailty by Stephen Lang. Even so, the world in which we find Samuel is entirely two-dimensional; it is hard to get a sense of the relationships between the Israeli tribes, or even of the social and moral codes of the era, probably for they are not explored in any of the eight episodes. And don’t get me started on the distractingly inconsistent accents – just because the cast is made up of Israelis, Americans, Brits and Egyptians should not mean they could not settle on a single credible inflection.

If executed well, biblical dramas can be riveting productions with the power to both entertain and inform, but our familiarity with the David and Goliath story isn’t enough to convince audiences, of any faith or none, to keep watching this wooden adaptation.


Max Frankel, Holocaust survivor and Pulitzer Prize winner, dies at 94
Max Frankel, a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist who fled Nazi Germany as a child and covered some of the most critical stories of the 20th century, passed away Sunday at the age of 94.

Frankel died from bladder cancer complications in his home in Manhattan, his son said.

A former leader at The New York Times, he ushered the Pentagon Papers into print in 1971. His coverage of US President Richard Nixon’s trip to China in 1972 earned Frankel his Pulitzer Prize. He eventually moved on to lead the publication’s newsroom as its executive editor for nearly eight years.

In 1940, Frankel arrived in the United States as a Jewish refugee who escaped Nazi Germany at age nine.

Born in eastern Germany in 1930, he was expelled with his family to Poland by the Nazis in 1938 alongside thousands like his family. His father ended up in a Soviet gulag, and his mother struggled to gain their exit permits before sailing to New York.

Between the years 1986 and 1994, Frankel served as The Times head honcho, paving the way for modern American journalism. His earliest experiences in life would impact his career as well as his life.

Years later, he said, “a piece of me never stopped being a refugee,” in an interview with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in 2011. The organization, along with others through the years, honored him in 2010 as one of the IRC’s “refugees of distinction.”
Auburn U basketball coach spotlights Gaza hostages in postgame presser
Auburn University basketball coach Bruce Pearl opened up his press conference after his top-seeded Tigers defeated Creighton in Saturday night’s second-round March Madness game by calling for the release of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander along with all remaining 59 hostages.

“I get asked a lot how this basketball program has become so competitive over the last eight years,” Pearl said. “But for me, I believe it was God’s plan to give us this success, success beyond what we deserve. To give us this platform. To give us an opportunity to start this conference briefly and remind the world that Edan Alexander is still held hostage in Gaza right now. An American held hostage and not enough people in this country know his name.”

Asked later what made him want to talk about the hostage situation and the Israel-Hamas war, Pearl — an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump — referenced his Jewish faith and family’s migration to the US.

“October 7 was the worst day since the Holocaust for the Jewish people, and they say they want to do it again and again and again. We have American hostages in Gaza right now, and it’s unacceptable,” Pearl said. “And President Trump called it out, and said if they just free the hostages, the killing would stop. Free the hostages, and the killing will stop, and that’s up to Hamas.”

Pearl has repeatedly voiced his support for Israel on social media, and during a radio interview last month with Dan Bongino, a conservative podcaster and Trump loyalist who has been named deputy director of the FBI, he said he supported Trump’s proposal to resettle the 2 million Palestinians who live in Gaza.

By discussing the subject during one of the year’s most-watched sporting events, Pearl took his views to a broader audience.


Father of the last living American hostage in Gaza hopes Trump can bring his son home
Unlike many families who blame Israel’s government for not getting their loved ones released from captivity in Gaza, Adi Alexander is hesitant to point fingers.

Pragmatic and measured, the father of the last living American being held hostage by Hamas just wants his son to come home.

“I don’t want to get into who came first, the egg or the chicken,” Alexander told The Associated Press on Friday from his New Jersey home.

Still, with the once-promising ceasefire giving way to renewed fighting between Israel and Hamas, he wonders whether Israel can secure his son’s freedom and is more hopeful about America’s chances to do it.

Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old Israeli-American soldier who grew up in the US, is one of 59 hostages still in Gaza, more than half of whom are believed to be dead.

Last week, Hamas said it would release Edan and the bodies of four other hostages if Israel recommitted to the stalled ceasefire agreement.

Days later, though, Israel launched rockets across Gaza, breaking the two-month-old deal and killing hundreds of Palestinians.

The hostilities show no signs of abating, with Israel vowing Friday to advance deeper into Gaza until Hamas releases the remaining hostages.
Haunted by horror, Kfar Aza’s rage still burns
In the kibbutz of Kfar Aza, less than two miles from the Gaza border, it is impossible to escape the ghosts of the October 7 massacre.

It was here that 67 Israelis – a tenth of the community’s population – were slaughtered 17 months ago when Hamas terrorists stormed the kibbutz, destroyed families’ homes and seized women and children to be held hostage in Gaza.

When I visited this week, the scars of that horrifying attack remained. The blackened homes of families – many of them peaceniks who worked alongside Palestinians in the fields – are untouched. All that has been removed are the bloodstains and dismembered bodies meticulously taken, processed and buried in keeping with strict Jewish practice.

For the small group of Israelis who have returned to this ruined community, their emotion is overwhelming. Rage.

Shachar, whose wife miraculously survived the massacre after hiding for 30 hours in a safe room, says that his ‘blood is still boiling’ when he thinks about the attacks.

‘I don’t care if the leaders in Gaza build a fence to the heavens,’ he tells me. ‘I don’t want to deal with those people again.’

From this kibbutz in the south to the city of Jerusalem, the anger is palpable. But for many Israelis the target is not simply Hamas, but their own mercurial prime minister Benjamin ‘Bibi’ Netanyahu.

Bibi’s dwindling popularity has plummeted in recent days amid the breakdown of the fragile Gaza ceasefire and fears for the remaining 59 hostages held by Hamas.


Nova Festival memorial attracts 7,000 daily visitors
KKL-JNF’s site has become the most visited location across Israel over the past six months, drawing approximately 7,000 visitors per day. As a result, it has become a destination for thousands of visitors in this tragic reality.

The memorial site for the victims of the Nova Festival began as an initiative by bereaved families who sought to commemorate their loved ones who were murdered in the horrific massacre at the Festival on October 7, 2023. The memorial site features pillars displaying the victims’ photographs alongside Israeli flags.

Meir Zohar, who lost his daughter Bar in the massacre, shared: “As a father who lost his daughter in the horrific Nova massacre, this place is not just a memorial site for me and the other bereaved families—it is a space where we feel that our pain is seen and heard."

KKL-JNF has undertaken an immense mission: to preserve the memory of the victims, make the site accessible, and provide families with a dignified place to connect with their loved ones. "I am deeply grateful to everyone working to ensure that this place remains honorable, accessible, and worthy—so that the victims’ story is never forgotten," Zohar added.

In discussions with the families and with the aim of making the site more accessible while preserving the memory of the victims, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) allocated 4 million shekels to improve the Re’im parking lot. Enhancements include the construction of accessible pathways, restroom facilities, durable and appropriate signage, educational spaces, a memorial grove, and more.

Yaniv Maimon, KKL-JNF Southern Region Director and the leader of this initiative, remarked: “We are proud to play a significant role in one of the most visited sites in Israel today.

This site holds great national importance. Furthermore, many members of KKL-JNF’s Southern Region team, who are responsible for the site's maintenance, were personally affected by the events of October 7, adding to their deep personal and emotional commitment to this site.”


'In no scenario had Eliya imagined or believed I’d be here'
It’s Wednesday in Tsur Hadassah. Yesterday Eliya Cohen was released after spending ten days in Rabin Medical Center, and before that, from spending 505 days in Hamas captivity. He and Ziv are settling into a room of their own in his mother’s home, slowly adjusting to routine after the horrors and celebrations. They unpack their cases and arrange the potted plants received as gifts. “Could you bring me my shoes, Eliya?” she calls out to him. Only days ago, this would have been a dream.

They had driven here to the sounds of Sarit Hadad, with local well-wishers waving signs and cheering them on. “Eliya and Alon Ohel, had a conversation in the Eliyas last few days in captivity, asking one another, “If you get out tomorrow and go home, what song are you putting on in the car?” Eliya wanted Sarit Hadad. Alon wants Yehudit Ravitz’s “Shir le lo Shem” (“A Song With No Name”).

And what did he want to eat?
“Shawarma. That was the first thing he asked for. He didn’t get a shawarma on the first day, but he did later on.”

'I hadn’t planned what to say'
The last time Ziv Aboud, 27, saw Eliya Cohen, 27, before he was kidnapped, was in the “Shelter of Death” at Re’im to where they fled from the Nova festival. They reached the shelter with her nephew Amit Ben Avida, and his girlfriend Karin Shwarcman.

Amit and Karin were both murdered and Eliya was kidnapped to Gaza. Ziv fought tirelessly for his return, leaving no stone unturned. Her videos garnered thousands of views online and last Purim, she walked around Hostages Square in a yellow wedding dress, waiting for the man she wished to wed.

On Valentine’s Day, she sat at a candlelit table on the Tel Aviv promenade - alone, across from an empty chair. Passers-by hugged her, but she was waiting for a hug from just one person. They had been together for seven years, and soon after he was kidnapped, his mother told her that Eliya had bought a ring and hidden it in a draw.

In Eliya’s mind, the reality awaiting him outside captivity could have been completely different. He was prepared for the worst. “The first person to meet him was the psychologist. She told him that his mother and father were waiting for him, ‘and Ziv too’. He was very emotional as he didn’t expect me to be alive.

"He says he had prepared himself for them telling him I wasn’t here. He imagined, Heaven forbid, visiting my grave for the first time. He planned his first meeting with my parents and what he would say to them. We had tickets booked to Thailand for New Year's Eve 2024. He thought he’d go on his own to fulfill my dreams.”

What was your reunion like?
“It was very emotional. I hadn’t planned what to say. Only on my way to Re’im, did I start muttering what I’d say. I wasn’t going to believe it until I saw it. I only planned what to wear at the last minute. When Raz Ben Ami met Ohad, she told him how beautiful he was and Ohad later said this had given him strength. I wanted to say something like that to Eliya, about how beautiful he was to me. "But being Eliya, he laughed at me and said, ‘Yalla, who are you kidding?’ I bought him lots of clothes when I was in Miami as part of a delegation - a suitcase full of stuff I thought he’d like, and I left it for him on the bed. It was along the lines of what he liked before. A gift from Gucci too. Yes, he’s changed and he’s less interested in material things. I’ll give it a few months.”




Buy EoZ's books  on Amazon!

"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024)

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

    
 

 



Related Posts:

AddToAny

EoZTV Podcast

Podcast URL

Subscribe in podnovaSubscribe with FeedlyAdd to netvibes
addtomyyahoo4Subscribe with SubToMe

search eoz

comments

Speaking

Speaking

translate

E-Book

For $18 donation








Sample Text

EoZ's Most Popular Posts in recent years

Search2

Hasbys!

Hasbys!

2019 Nobel Peace Prize nominee

Elder of Ziyon - حـكـيـم صـهـيـون



This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For 20 years and 40,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.

Donate!

Donate to fight for Israel!

Monthly subscription:
Payment options


One time donation:

Follow EoZ on Twitter!

Interesting Blogs

Show All

Blog Archive

Copyright © 2025 Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News | Powered by Blogger
Blogger Templates