Thursday, May 15, 2025

05/15 Links Pt1: Terrorist kills pregnant woman in Samaria; Is the Trump-Bibi Rift Overblown?; Trump claims Iran nuclear deal is near; Breakthrough in Adass Israel Synagogue firebombing

From Ian:

Melanie Phillips: The gold-plated peacenik in the White House
In his consequential speech in Riyadh, Trump announced a total rupture with the “neo-conservative” aim of remaking the Middle East in the image of American democracy.

“In recent years, far too many American presidents have been afflicted with the notion that it’s our job to look into the souls of foreign leaders and use U.S. policy to dispense justice for their sins,” he said. “I believe it is God’s job to sit in judgment, my job to defend America and to promote the fundamental interest of stability, prosperity and peace.”

Well, amen to that. However, the alternative to imposing Western values on the Arab world is not choosing to ignore the attempt by elements of that Arab world to impose Islam on the West. The correct course of action is, as it always has been, to fight and defeat these threats to Western interests.

Trump’s mantra “peace through strength” is fine, but strength inescapably involves the credible threat of war. His Riyadh speech suggested instead that he’s using showers of money to tell those who threaten the West, as well as their putative victims, that all of them are now on their own. America won’t do war. There’s a peacenik of the right in the White House raining down gold instead of missiles.

Trump says he doesn’t have enemies. Where others see threats, he sees only financial opportunities.

The inconvenient truth, however, is that some people are out to destroy America and the West. If Trump doesn’t regard these as enemies, he will leave America and the West defenseless against attack.

It also puts him radically at odds with Israel, which views fighting and winning the war to defeat genocidal Iran as essential for its survival.

When Edan Alexander was released, the head of Qatar’s state-run Al Sharq News gloated that America had now been peeled away from Israel by “a move that constitutes implicit recognition of Hamas” and that would “deal a blow to Netanyahu and his Zionist team.”

It’s possible that Trump has a genius strategy that will cause lions to lie down with lambs. It’s possible that he will soon realize that his quest to bring peace on earth is hitting a dead end and that he will accordingly turn on a dime. But it’s also possible that he won’t realize that he’s been played for a sucker until it’s all far too late.


Eli Lake: Trump’s Serenity Prayer in Saudi Arabia
After months of mixed signals from Washington over what Donald Trump’s foreign policy will mean for the Middle East, the president has revealed his hand. In his speech Tuesday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Trump explained that America is no longer trying to remake the world in its image.

“In recent years, far too many American presidents have been afflicted with the notion that it’s our job to look into the souls of foreign leaders and use U.S. policy to dispense justice for their sins,” Trump said.

This echoes the first half of the Serenity Prayer, made famous by Alcoholics Anonymous: “God grant me the power to accept the things I cannot change.” And this marks a real change for U.S. foreign policy. America is no longer going to hector its allies about whether women have the right to drive or whether dissidents disappear into dark prisons. Trump’s message to America’s allies in the Middle East is: You do you.

The venue is important in this respect. U.S.-Saudi relations were strained to their limits in the aftermath of the 2018 murder of Washington Post analyst Jamal Khashoggi, allegedly by Saudi henchmen. For the Democratic Party the brutal killing of Khashoggi, lured to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, where he was hacked into pieces, made Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman radioactive. How could the U.S. continue a partnership with a man who has his journalist critics assassinated? Trump was the president during this crisis and his administration fought Congress to shield the kingdom from the blowback. But when Joe Biden won the White House after the 2020 election, he spent the beginning of his term isolating the Saudis.

Trump is now taking the opposite approach. He made no mention of Khashoggi or human rights in his speech in Riyadh. At times it sounded like a tribute dinner. “Mohammed, do you sleep at night?” Trump asked as he marveled at Saudi Arabia’s construction boom. “How do you sleep? Huh? Just thinking. What a job. He tosses and turns like some of us, tosses and turns all night—“How do I make it even better?”—all night. It’s the ones that don’t toss and turn, they’re the ones that will never take you to the promised land.”

Trump made news as well. He announced that America was lifting sanctions on Syria, and on Wednesday he even met with Syria’s president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda member who fought American forces in Iraq. He also expressed his “fervent hope” that the Saudis will soon sign on to the Abraham Accords and establish diplomatic relations with Israel, as other Arab states did during his first term. If the country that hosts the two most important sites for Muslims does indeed normalize ties with Israel, it would represent the most significant change in the Arab world’s attitude toward Israel, whose right to exist it has widely rejected since the Jewish state was born in 1948. Trump also warned Iran that the negotiation process over its nuclear program will not last forever.
Is the Trump-Bibi Rift Overblown?
Even as Trump has pursued a nuclear deal with Tehran, he has ramped up economic sanctions on the regime and kept a military option firmly on the table. Trump told radio host Hugh Hewitt last week that Iran has two options for its nuclear centrifuges: "Blow them up nicely or blow them up viciously."

While Trump has not made regional normalization of relations with Israel a condition of his Gulf diplomacy, he has repeatedly expressed confidence this week in the future expansion of the Abraham Accords, matching Israel’s no-hurry attitude on the issue. The president told reporters after his meeting with al-Sharaa on Wednesday that the Syrian leader had agreed in principle to join the pact, though Trump acknowledged "they have a lot of work to do."

Amid the uncertainty and anxiety in Israel about Trump’s intentions, some on the Israeli right have called for the Jewish state to emulate the president’s "America first" foreign policy.

Abu Ali Express, a prominent anonymous commentator in Israel, argued in a blog post on Monday, "Israeli interests are important to Trump, and when they do not conflict with American interests, then Trump acts in favor of Israeli interests."

"Trump takes care of the U.S. Israel takes care of Israel," Abu Ali Express added. "That’s how it works."

Netanyahu conveyed a similar message to Israeli lawmakers on Sunday. During a meeting of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Netanyahu said that Israel needs to move toward ending its reliance on U.S. military aid.

"We receive close to $4 billion for arms," he said. "I think we will have to wean ourselves off of American security aid, just as we weaned ourselves off of American economic aid."

Amit Halevi, a Likud lawmaker who has advocated for greater Israeli independence from the United States, called Netanyahu’s remarks "important."
Trump in Riyadh: "All Civilized People Must Condemn the October 7 Atrocities Against Israel"
President Donald Trump said in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday: "I've come this afternoon to talk about the bright future of the Middle East...forging a future where the Middle East is defined by commerce, not chaos; where it exports technology, not terrorism; and where people of different nations, religions and creeds are building cities together, not bombing each other out of existence."

"The Gulf nations have shown this entire region a path toward safe and orderly societies with improving quality of life, flourishing economic growth, expanding personal freedoms, and increasing responsibilities on the world stage."

"It's my fervent hope, wish and even my dream that Saudi Arabia...will soon be joining the Abraham Accords....They've been an absolute bonanza for the countries that have joined....It will be a special day in the Middle East, with the whole world watching, when Saudi Arabia joins us...but you'll do it in your own time."

"Now working with the vast majority of people in this region who seek stability and calm, our task is to unify against a few agents of chaos and terror that are left and that are holding hostage the dreams of millions and millions of great people. The biggest and most destructive of these forces is the regime in Iran, which has caused unthinkable suffering in Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, Iraq, Yemen and beyond....Iran's leaders have focused on stealing their people's wealth to fund terror and bloodshed abroad."

"I want to make a deal with Iran....But if Iran's leadership rejects this olive branch and continues to attack their neighbors, then we will have no choice but to inflict massive maximum pressure, drive Iranian oil exports to zero, like I did before...and take all action required to stop the regime from ever having a nuclear weapon....We'll never allow America and its allies to be threatened with terrorism or nuclear attack."

"All civilized people must condemn the October 7th atrocities against Israel....The people of Gaza deserve a much better future, but that cannot occur as long as their leaders choose to kidnap, torture and target innocent men, women and children for political ends."


Terrorist kills pregnant woman driving to delivery room in Samaria
The Israeli military is hunting for a terrorist who shot and killed Tzeela Gez and injured her husband, as the Israeli couple drove to the delivery room near the small community of Bruchin, in Samaria.

Gez’s baby was delivered in hospital, Ynet reported. The infant is listed in serious but stable condition. The Rabin Medical Center’s Beilinson Hospital said its neontal unit at the Schneider Children’s Medical Center “fought all night for his life.”

The mother was pronounced dead on Thursday morning.

“I am deeply shocked by the horrific attack in Samaria, targeting a heavily pregnant woman and her husband as they were on their way to the delivery room,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated.

“This vile act precisely reflects the difference between us—those who cherish and bring life—and the despicable terrorists whose very purpose is to kill us and cut lives short,” the prime minister said.

“I trust that our security forces, as in previous cases, will swiftly reach the murderers and hold them and anyone who aided them accountable,” Netanyahu said.
Herzog slams ‘spine-chilling’ murder of pregnant woman in Samaria
Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Thursday morning strongly condemned the “spine-chilling” murder of Tzeela Gez, who was shot dead on Wednesday night while en route to a hospital delivery room in Samaria.

“The murder of Tzeela Gez, on her way to give birth at the hospital, is a spine-chilling, horrific act of terror that shakes us to the core. At the very moment life was about to begin—life was taken in the most brutal way,” said Herzog.

“My heart goes out to her grieving family and all her loved ones, who are in deep shock. We’re all praying now for the baby’s health and for the recovery of her injured husband, Hananel,” he added.

“Terror won’t break the Israeli spirit. We will relentlessly track down terror wherever it hides,” Herzog concluded.


Brighton memorial to the victims of October 7 destroyed by vandals
Over £1,500 has been raised in less than a day after Brighton’s memorial to the victims of October 7 was destroyed yesterday.

The community behind the memorial’s creation, who are currently appealing for witnesses to the destruction, said they suspected the vandalism took place between 1pm and 3:30pm on Wednesday, in broad daylight.

The pages of a book which featured the photographs of many of the victims of October 7 had been ripped out “so forcefully it bent the rings of the folder,” Heidi Bachram, one of the individuals behind the memorial’s creation, said. “They threw the images of murdered children around like they were nothing. Evil unhinged.”

A stranger and her young son were seen tidying up the memorial after coming across the damage, with the little boy gathering up the pages of the book which lay scattered in the vicinity.

Sussex Police confirmed that they were aware of the vandalism and that the investigation into the matter is currently open.

More than £1,500 has been raised in less than a day following the attack, a sum which has been added to the ongoing Gofundme page set up by the Brighton and Hove Jewish community and allies to maintain the site and go towards creating a future permanent memorial.

Heidi told the JC it was “extremely distressing” to see the memorial destroyed and not for the first time. “There have been over 40 attacks on it including vandalism, theft, and graffiti. The abuse has been relentless.

“The memorial is not a political place. We simply mourn the murdered. We tell their stories. It’s shocking that grief for innocents is met with such violence. The hate won’t stop us, and every night, a different victim’s story will be told [at the memorial]. We will never let them be forgotten,” Heidi said.


Mother of fallen Israeli soldier urges UN action: ‘Enforce your resolution’
Leah Goldin, the mother of Lt. Hadar Goldin, whose remains have been held by Hamas in Gaza since 2014, called on the United Nations during a press briefing on Thursday at its headquarters in New York City to help facilitate the return of her son and other deceased hostages.

Goldin traveled from Israel to the United States ahead of a U.N. Security Council meeting scheduled for that afternoon. The session, called at Washington’s request, will discuss Resolution 2474, which addresses the return of the bodies of missing persons held by hostile parties during armed conflict—the first such discussion since the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Goldin urged all U.N. member states to take appropriate measures to locate missing persons and ensure that their remains are returned to their families.

“For nearly 11 years, my son’s body has been held in Gaza by a terrorist organization that exploits humanitarian frameworks for political gain, and for nearly 11 years, the international community has looked away,” she said.

On Aug. 1, 2014, during Israel’s “Operation Protective Edge,” two hours after Hamas agreed to a ceasefire, terrorists ambushed three Israeli soldiers from a tunnel in the basement of a house in the Gaza Strip. The terrorists killed two of the soldiers on the spot, and shot Goldin, 23, who later died. Hamas is also holding the remains of Oron Shaul, another soldier killed in the military operation.

Since Resolution 2474 was adopted in 2019, its enforcement has been virtually nonexistent, according to Goldin.

“The words of the resolution were powerful, but words alone do not bring our children home,” she said.

Goldin said that the international body must begin to enforce Resolution 2474 “not electively, not symbolically but seriously.”

“Demand the return of the missing, demand accountability, and demand the dignity that every human being deserves in life and in death,” she continued.
‘Psychological warfare’: Hostage father Ruby Chen calls on UN to act on hostage remains
Hamas’s practice of holding bodies of hostages whom it killed is the “lowest form of terrorist, psychological warfare,” Ruby Chen, the father of Israeli-American hostage Itay Chen, told the United Nations Security Council.

The Thursday session, called at Washington’s request, focused on Resolution 2474, which addresses the return of the bodies of missing people held by hostile parties during armed conflict. It was the first such discussion since Oct. 7.

“I humbly ask the Security Council members, what kind of human being holds people for a decade and uses them as negotiation chips?” Chen told the council.

“Who denies the deceased the last basic human dignity they deserve?” he added.

Chen told the council that the Israel Defense Forces notified him in March 2024 that his son was declared dead but the terror group has refused to confirm its possession of Itay’s remains or to provide any physical evidence for more than 19 months.

“What my family have been subjected to—this deliberate withholding of information about our sons fate and the refusal to return him, has been a form of of slow and enduring psychological torture,” he told the council.

Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, urged the Security Council to enforce Resolution 2474 and ensure the return of the deceased hostages.

“Hamas has turned the bodies of the murdered into an industry of death,” he said. “It uses them to negotiate, to bargain, to profit.”

“This is not a mistake, it is a strategy,” he said.


Arab Israelis stand with their country, rejecting Hamas’ hate
The Hamas-led terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023 wasn’t just a bloodbath — it was a defining moment for Israel. Prospects for Middle East peace?

Over 1,200 people were murdered. Children shot in their beds. Families torched in their homes. Civilians dragged screaming into Gaza.

It was the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust, and a shock to every decent person on the planet.

As Israel reeled and the IDF prepared for war, another fear surfaced: Would the country’s fragile Jewish-Arab internal fabric come undone?

It didn’t.

In fact, something extraordinary happened — something Hamas didn’t expect.

Arab Israelis — Israel’s 2-million-strong Arab minority — didn’t riot. They didn’t wave Hamas flags. They didn’t cheer.

They stood with Israel.

Arab citizens of Israel don’t all agree with the government. Many have grievances concerning inequality, discrimination and underinvestment.

But when terrorists stormed Israeli homes and massacred civilians, Arab Israelis didn’t flinch. They chose loyalty.

Arab medics treated the wounded. Arab mayors calmed tensions.

Volunteers from Arab towns donated blood, delivered aid and helped evacuate families.

Arab enlistment in the IDF grew, because many saw clearly that groups like Hamas don’t distinguish between Jew and Arab when attacking Israeli civilians.

An Israel Democracy Institute poll in November 2023 showed that 70% of Arab citizens felt a sense of belonging to Israel — a dramatic rise from less than 50% just months earlier.

More recently, a Moshe Dayan Center in December 2024 found that 71.8% of Arab Israelis supported the inclusion of an Arab party in the next governing coalition.

While Hamas spreads chaos, Arab Israelis are choosing civic responsibility and coexistence.

What many Western critics miss is this: Israel isn’t just fighting Hamas with missiles — it’s defeating them with reality.

Israel is a democracy. Imperfect, yes — but one in which Arab citizens vote, serve in Parliament, work in hospitals, sit on the bench and lead classrooms.

They protest. They debate. They’re part of the national fabric.

No country in the region offers Arab citizens those rights — not Egypt, not Lebanon, not Syria, and certainly not Hamas-run Gaza.
What Israel Needs to Do to Prevent Hamas from Winning the War
When Hamas launched the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, its immediate goals were to murder as many Jews as possible and to take as many hostages as possible to use as bargaining chips to secure the release of other genocidal terrorists sentenced by Israel to prison.

Hamas's additional goals were to provoke Israel into a massive military response that would take the lives of thousands of Gazans, who would then be used to vilify and castigate Israel in the international arena.

Finally, Hamas sought to survive the war, maintain its position of governance and dominance in Palestinian society, and enjoy the fruits of the inevitable international effort to rebuild Gaza.

Following Oct. 7, Israel's government set the goal of dismantling Hamas's military and governance capabilities. Only by destroying Hamas - through the elimination or capture of its members in both Gaza and Judea and Samaria, and the complete dismantling of its governing infrastructure - can Israel prevent a Hamas victory.

Until January 2025, external forces compelled Israel to undermine its goals and allow Hamas to continue fulfilling its governance roles in the guise of humanitarian aid distribution.

While Israel has secured the release of 197 hostages, Hamas continues to hold 58 people in captivity. Of these, there have been signs of life from 20 and another three may be alive. While some try to promote the false narrative that the terrorists would release all the hostages if Israel agreed to end the war before destroying Hamas, the truth is that the hostages are Hamas's ultimate insurance policy. Hamas will never release all of the hostages simply through negotiation.

Accordingly, the Israeli military has no alternative other than to systematically comb through Gaza, inch by inch, in search of the hostages.
‘Elimination of Hamas is what achieves peace,’ Rubio says in Turkey
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized “the deep U.S. commitment to its historic relationship with Israel and the ironclad U.S. support for Israeli security” in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, according to Tammy Bruce, the State Department spokeswoman.

Netanyahu and Rubio also spoke about Syria after U.S. President Donald Trump’s “historic meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia,” and the two “shared their mutual commitment to make sure Iran never possesses a nuclear weapon,” according to Bruce.

In a press conference at the Cornelia Diamond Golf Resort and Spa in Antalya, Turkey, on Thursday, Rubio was asked about Gaza, particularly the deaths of Gazans.

Rubio told a reporter that, as Trump has said, “the people of Gaza deserve a better future than what they’ve had under Hamas.”

“We think that the elimination of Hamas is what achieves peace. We’re troubled by the humanitarian situation there,” Rubio said. He noted that “the Israelis with American backing and support have offered a plan to deliver aid that doesn’t get diverted or stolen by Hamas.”

“I’ve heard criticisms of that plan. We’re open to an alternative if someone has a better one, but it—we are for all the aid we can get without the people, without Hamas being able to steal it from people,” Rubio said.

The secretary said that everyone wants to see an end to the war, which would happen right away if Hamas surrendered.

“They’re a terrorist group. They’re a group that kidnapped, raped, murdered innocent people that had nothing to do with the war, and as long as they exist and they’re around, you’re not going to have peace,” Rubio told reporters. “This is not a peaceful group. This is a group that deliberately, on Oct. 7, committed horrifying crimes, which have triggered this conflict.”

“If there’s a role we can play in bringing about the release of these hostages and the return of these remains to their families, and we have an opportunity to play a role, we will,” he added. “I don’t want to endanger them, but suffice it to say that we know there are others involved. The Qataris have been involved. The Egyptians have been involved. The Turks have been involved. Numerous countries have been involved in passing messages and in getting results.”
ICC cases grind to halt due to Trump sanctions against court, report says
The work of Karim Khan, chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, has ground to a halt since U.S. President Donald Trump slapped the top ICC official with sanctions, the Associated Press reported on Thursday.

Khan has lost access to his email, and his U.K. bank accounts have been frozen since Washington imposed the sanctions on Feb. 6, AP reported.

Citing current and former court officials, international attorneys and human rights advocates, the news wire reported that American staffers of the Hague-based court fear being arrested if they return to the United States.

In addition, some non-governmental organizations have halted their work with the ICC, and the leaders of one will not even reply to emails, according to the Associated Press report published on Thursday morning.

Staffers at an NGO said to play an “integral role in the court’s efforts to gather evidence and find witnesses” told the AP that the group had moved money out of the United States because they feared it might be seized.

Washington’s move has led ICC staffers to wonder whether the tribunal could survive the Trump administration, with one official telling the AP: “It’s hard to see how the court makes it through the next four years.”

A spokesperson for the International Criminal Court and its Office of the Prosecutor declined to comment on the report to the Associated Press.
Witkoff told mediators US not planning to force Israel to end Gaza war, officials say
Since hostage talks between Israel and Hamas resumed in Doha on Wednesday, US special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff has told other mediators that Washington doesn’t plan to force Israel to end the war in Gaza amid Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s staunch refusal to do so, two Arab officials told The Times of Israel on Thursday.

Qatari and Egyptian mediators had hoped the US would move in this direction, given comments from President Donald Trump and other top aides about their desire to end the war following Hamas’s Monday release of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander.

Netanyahu has insisted on only agreeing to a temporary ceasefire of roughly 45 days, which would begin with Hamas releasing about 10 hostages. During that time, he told Witkoff that Israel is prepared to hold talks on a permanent end to the war, without committing to such a result up front, the first Arab official said.

Hamas has flatly rejected this framework, arguing that it had already agreed to release hostages during a January truce deal that was supposed to see Israel hold talks regarding a permanent end to the war, however, Netanyahu then refused to enter such negotiations and ended up resuming the IDF’s offensive in Gaza on March 18.

Accordingly, Hamas has insisted on an up-front Israeli commitment to end the war before it releases additional hostages. It also issued a statement on Thursday, warning of harm to the talks if Israel doesn’t end its nearly two-and-a-half-month-long blockade on aid entering Gaza. Israel has accused Hamas of stealing much of the aid that was previously brought in.

Due to both sides’ intransigence, Witkoff has offered a proposal that tries to meet the sides halfway — one that would see the release of a smaller number of hostages in exchange for a weekslong truce, the two Arab officials said. The Trump envoy has also tried to assure Hamas through mediators that the US will make sure that this time Israel does enter talks regarding the terms of a permanent ceasefire.
US-backed Gaza aid group to launch by end of May
A new U.S.-backed humanitarian group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), is set to begin operations in the Gaza Strip by the end of May, Reuters reported on Thursday. The group aims to provide aid through a plan endorsed by Israel and supported by private American firms.

The foundation has asked Israel to temporarily allow international aid groups to resume deliveries under current procedures until its infrastructure is in place. No humanitarian assistance has entered Gaza since March 2.

The Israeli government, citing repeated diversion of aid by Hamas, has largely frozen aid deliveries until the terrorist group releases all remaining hostages taken during the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre. Israel supports what it calls “the American humanitarian plan,” which U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee outlined at a press gaggle at the American embassy in Jerusalem on Friday, and which sidelines international bodies like the United Nations in favor of private-sector-led aid distribution, with the stated goal of ensuring better oversight and security.

Under the plan, aid will be delivered to a limited number of “secure distribution sites” in southern Gaza, managed and protected in coordination with the Israeli military. Once in place, humanitarian supplies will be handed over to aid groups for civilian distribution.

GHF is coordinating with two American firms—UG Solutions, a security company, and Safe Reach Solutions, which specializes in logistics—to implement the operation. A source familiar with the project said GHF is seeking expanded access, urging the Israel Defense Forces to help identify safe sites in northern Gaza as well.
In Qatar, Trump claims Iran nuclear deal is near
U.S. President Donald Trump declared on Thursday that the United States is nearing a breakthrough in nuclear negotiations with Iran.

“We’re in very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace,” Trump told troops at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest U.S. military installation in the region, the AFP reported. “We’re getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this … There is a very, very nice step, and there is the violent step, but I don’t want to do it the second way,” he said.

Trump headed from Qatar to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, the third day of his regional tour.

His remarks at Al Udeid came as talks between U.S. and Iranian negotiators continue, with both sides publicly expressing support for a diplomatic solution. A fourth round of discussions ended on Sunday in Oman, with more expected soon. However, significant obstacles remain, including the future of Iran’s uranium enrichment program—a core sticking point in years of stalled negotiations.

Iran has insisted that enrichment on its soil is a national right, while U.S. officials have repeatedly called for a full halt. Still, both sides appear to be exploring compromises. Tehran has signaled a potential willingness to reduce the level and quantity of enriched uranium it produces, particularly the highly enriched material that raises concerns about possible weaponization.

On Tuesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian lashed out at the United States, calling it the “most destructive force” in the region and accusing Trump of trying to stir unrest inside Iran. “He thinks he can sanction and threaten us and then talk of human rights,” said Pezeshkian. “All the crimes and regional instability are caused by them.”

Despite the rhetoric, signs of movement have emerged in the negotiations. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff described the recent Oman talks as “encouraging,” while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called them “difficult but useful.” Araghchi reiterated that while Iran won’t abandon enrichment altogether, there may be room to adjust its scope in the short term to build trust.
Emerging nuclear agreement between US and Iran seems problematic, officials tell 'Post'
The emerging agreement between Iran and the US seems problematic for Israel, Israeli officials told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.

Israel's official position, as publicly stated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is that the US should insist on the "Libyan model" in any agreement, meaning, as was the case with Libya about twenty years ago, the complete dismantling of uranium enrichment facilities.

Two Western officials told the Post that progress has recently been made in the talks between the US and Iran.

They added that several options related to enrichment facilities and the broader issue of uranium enrichment are currently being considered.

This effectively means that the US is not automatically adopting Israel’s position that the enrichment facilities must be dismantled.


Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp’s anti-Israel offensive
In a recent letter to Kaja Kallas, foreign-policy chief of the European Union, Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp accused Israel of violating international humanitarian law, questioned its intentions in Gaza and warned that the E.U.-Israel relationship may be in breach of Article 2 of the E.U.-Israel Association Agreement. That article conditions bilateral cooperation on respect for human rights and democratic values; Veldkamp now claims Israel no longer qualifies.

That would be ironic if it weren’t so dangerous.

Veldkamp’s tone is accusatory, his logic circular and his priorities inverted. Hamas receives a single line in his letter—a vague remark that it should release hostages—while Israel receives paragraph after paragraph of legal condemnation. The terrorists get lip service, and the only democracy in the region gets legal threats. Veldkamp does this not as an outsider to the region, but as someone who once represented the Netherlands in Israel. He should know better.

What’s worse, he does it while acknowledging that the Israeli-American humanitarian-aid mechanism he rejects is one whose details remain “unknown” to him.

This is not the behavior of a statesman. It is the performance of a man responding to political pressure, particularly from the activist NGOs that he and Netherlands Prime Minister Dick Schoof had just met with, including Oxfam Novib and Amnesty International, which had pressed the government to draw a “red line” for Israel. Shortly afterward, Veldkamp summoned the Israeli ambassador for a formal reprimand over a strike by the Israel Defense Forces in Rafah, one that is already under investigation.

Then came his letter to the European Union. The pattern was clear: Isolate Israel diplomatically, downplay Hamas, and do it all wrapped up in legal jargon.

Even more audaciously, Veldkamp criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for prioritizing military pressure over hostage negotiations, as if a European minister has the moral standing or strategic knowledge to dictate how a nation under attack should act. It’s a presumptuous move from a country that has done nothing to bring home the 58 hostages still being held in Gaza, 35 of whom are believed to be dead.
Michigan man charged with planning attack at military base for ISIS
A Michigan man has been arrested and charged with attempting to carry out a terrorist attack on a U.S. military base on behalf of ISIS, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, 19, a former member of the Michigan Army National Guard, was arrested on Tuesday for attempting to carry out a mass shooting at the base in Warren, Mich. He is charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and distributing information related to a destructive device, according to the department.

According to the complaint, Said told two undercover police officers of his plan, believing them also to want to carry out the attack at the direction of ISIS. Once the officers confirmed their willingness, SAID provided “material assistance to the attack plan, including providing armor-piercing ammunition and magazines for the attack, flying his drone over TACOM to conduct operational reconnaissance, training the undercover employees on firearms and the construction of Molotov cocktails for use during the attack and planning numerous details of the attack including how to enter TACOM and which building to target,” the department stated.

Said was arrested on the scheduled day of the attack after traveling to an area near the base and launching a drone. He appeared on Wednesday before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Avi Issacharoff: Eliminating the Most Dangerous Man in Gaza Is Not the End of Hamas
Mohammed Sinwar has been one of the hardest-line figures in the Hamas leadership - arguably even more extreme than his brother Yahya.

He was among the top operatives behind the Oct. 7 attack and has shown a ruthless willingness to sacrifice tens of thousands of lives if it means preserving Hamas's hold on Gaza.

He has repeatedly been an obstacle to any deal with Israel or a ceasefire.

The removal of Mohammed Sinwar, 49, would deal Hamas a significant military and symbolic blow.

He commanded Hamas's Khan Yunis brigade during the 2006 abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and played a direct role in planning and leading the operation.
IDF conducts multi-location strikes in Gaza Strip
The IAF conducted airstrikes across the Gaza Strip throughout the day, including in Jabalya and eastern Khan Yunis, as well as other locations, Army Radio reported on Thursday afternoon.

Gazan reports cited by Army Radio claimed that over 115 Gazans had been killed since Thursday morning.

In the Al Tuba Mosque in Jabalya, 15 people were reportedly killed. Concurrently, the IDF carried out heavy artillery shelling and air strikes in the town of Khuza'a, east of Khan Yunis. Gazan sources reported numerous casualties in a strike on a residential building on Al-Fahm Street in eastern Khan Yunis.

Also east of Khan Yunis, in the town of Bani Suhaila, the military reportedly struck several residential buildings, also in the area of Deir al-Balah, and on Al-Wahda Street in central Gaza City.

A residential building in Jabalya al-Balad in the northern Strip was also struck, along with reported attacks in the Al-Salateen neighborhood in Beit Lahia and the Jabalya area.

According to eyewitnesses, the Nasser Medical Center has been filled with the wounded and the deceased, while the medical system in the Strip is struggling with a severe shortage of medical supplies.

Those wounded from the various attacks were also evacuated to the Indonesian Hospital and the Al-Ma’mouni Hospital in Gaza City, with some of the casualties described as being in moderate to serious condition.

The IDF said it is operating at several sites in Gaza. The main site is around the European Hospital, the area where the IDF attempted to assassinate Hamas head Mohammed Sinwar, who was in a tunnel at the time.

The Israeli air force is reportedly preventing Hamas terrorists from approaching the tunnel in an effort to rescue survivors.


Hamas-Tied "Journalist" Agrees to Stage Famine Scene for Cash
Motasem Ahmed Dalloul is a name you’ve likely never heard of—but you should. He’s a Gaza-based “journalist” with a verified X account of over 140,000 followers, and a correspondent at Middle East Monitor, a UK-based propaganda outlet masquerading as a media organization. To many in the Western press, he’s treated as a credible source. But behind the scenes, Dalloul isn’t just manufacturing anti-Israel disinformation—he’s apparently willing to stage it. For cash, of course.

In a stunning exchange with Rabbi Linda Goldstein—a satirical persona created to expose antisemites and self-proclaimed “experts” on Israel who, in reality, know nothing about it—Dalloul appears to eagerly agree to fabricate a “famine scene” in Gaza for Western audiences, in return for personal payment.

And there you have it: a so-called journalist openly entertaining the idea of staging a humanitarian crisis—for money—to manipulate public opinion and generate pressure against Israel.

This is nothing new for Motasem. Since the start of the Israel–Hamas war, he’s built a reputation by spreading AI-generated images and outright fabrications—weaponizing disinformation to vilify Israel.


IDF shoots down Houthi terror missile fired from Yemen
Air-raid sirens were activated across Israel’s central region, including in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, on Thursday evening, warning of an incoming ballistic missile from Yemen, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed.

“Following alerts that were activated a short time ago in several areas of the country, one missile launched from Yemen was intercepted. The alerts were triggered according to policy,” the military stated.

Israel’s Magen David Adom medical emergency response group said it received no reports of casualties in the attack from Yemen, except for panic attacks and people who were injures on their way to a shelter.

Since Tuesday night, the Jewish state’s air defenses have intercepted four projectiles fired at the country by the Iranian-backed terrorists.


Commentary PodCast: A Senor Moment
Dan Senor joins the podcast to discuss his remarkable June COMMENTARY cover story, "The Future of American Jewry After October 7." But first we talk about Trump's Middle East trip, Iran, Israel, and other stuff.
Israel's Impossible Choice | Rescue Hostages or Defeat Hamas
Who’s really pulling the strings behind the hostage crisis? In this episode, Eylon Levy is joined by Asher Fredman—Executive Director of the Misgav Institute for National Security and former Ministry of Strategic Affairs official —to unpack the shocking realities behind Edan Alexander’s release and the geopolitical theater that surrounds it.

Topics discussed:
How the U.S. pressured Qatar to force Hamas to release a hostage
The dangerous spin cycles from Israel, the U.S., and Hamas
Qatar’s double game as Hamas's patron and Western partner
The myth of humanitarian leverage: why Gaza reconstruction won’t disarm Hamas
How international institutions are shielding terrorists and targeting Israel
Why the ICC and ICJ have lost all moral authority

This episode doesn't offer easy answers—because there are none. But it does break down the strategic dilemmas Israel faces as it fights both on the battlefield and in the courtroom of world opinion.


What Happens When Wokeism TAKES OVER Academia | Douglas Murray
What happens when a civilization begins to doubt its own foundations, dismissing facts, evidence, and even reason for not being woke enough? In an age where biology, history, warfare, and even science are increasingly shaped by ideology, what does defending truth mean?

Douglas Murray, one of the most influential public intellectuals worldwide, has spent his career warning us that the West is in trouble, not because of external threats, but because we ourselves have begun to question the values that built our ideals, our history, our culture, our civilization, and our sense of identity. His latest work, “On Democracies and Death Cults,” which we’ll discuss today, applies this warning to one of the most politically and morally charged conflicts of all time. It also leads us into the fundamental question of the very purpose of Western civilization.

At its core, Douglas Murray’s work explores a universal issue: the battle over what counts as truth. From journalism to biology, we continue to return to the most profound question: how do we guard and protect our most sacred truths in a world that no longer agrees on what reality itself is?

Key Takeaways:
00:00 Intro
01:10 My trip to Israel and death cults
05:55 Judging a book by its cover
12:20 The Economist
13:48 Academic institutions and political activism
29:42 The impact of projection and guilt
36:01 Science, progress, and Western civilization
49:54 The possibility of peace in the Middle East
54:46 How to find courage
56:54 Outro


Ben Shapiro: Archaeological Expert Breaks Down The History of Jerusalem
Ben Shapiro interviews IDF major and City of David archeologist, Doron Spielman "When The Stones Speak" , about ancient archeology, biblical truth, and modern warfare.




Sen. Katie Britt slams Democrats for not defending Fetterman
Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) is criticizing Senate Democrats for declining to challenge media reports about Sen. John Fetterman’s (D-PA) mental health, attributing their reticence to the Democratic senator’s independent approach to Israel and immigration, and his support for several of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees.

Britt, who has grown to be one of Fetterman’s closest personal friends in the Senate since both were elected in 2022, made the comments in an interview with Jewish Insider on Tuesday, where she raised concerns about the implications of Senate Democrats remaining silent as one of their own is targeted over his highly publicized mental health struggles during National Mental Health Awareness Month.

“John has been a voice for Israel. He has been a voice for the Jewish people. He has been willing to take a look at nominees and approach things in a common-sense way. He understands the need for a secure border and interior enforcement. He was out front on the Laken Riley Act. I would say that part of [Democrats’] silence has to do with his independence,” Britt told JI.

“What does that mean for the people you serve? What does that mean for the people of this country that are actually struggling? What does that mean about the decency which you should have and operate with?” she continued.

The Alabama senator rebutted allegations from current and former Fetterman staffers in a series of news stories that Fetterman is facing fresh challenges performing his job effectively.


Brendan O'Neill: What Israel has done in the war should inspire the West
Journalist and author Brendan O'Neill joined the JC to discuss the world's reaction to October 7, where the BBC gets it wrong on Israel and how the Left is obsessed with hating the world's only Jewish state.


‘Hope’: The story of a three-year-old hostage taken by Hamas
Hostage Release Advocate and Author Liz Hirsh Naftali discusses the story of a 3-year-old hostage taken by Hamas.

A neighbour saw 3-year-old Abigail Mor Edan being captured, describing her as covered with blood that wasn't hers.

Abigail then spent 51 traumatic days in Hamas captivity and was released on November 26 as an orphan.

Ms Naftali told Sky News host Sharri Markson that Abigail will "carry" the pain of what Hamas did for the rest of her life.

"When we learned that she had survived, it was something of hope."


Breakthrough in Adass Israel Synagogue firebombing
The Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT) has linked the firebombing of the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne with the arson attack of South Yarra’s Lux nightclub.

On Thursday the JCTT, which includes Victoria Police, Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, released images of those believed to be responsible for the Adass Israel Synagogue arson attack, urging members of the public, and those with knowledge of the crime, to come forward.

According to the JCTT statement, CCTV shows a blue Golf sedan drive past the Adass Israel Synagogue multiple times before parking outside the main entrance on 6 December 2024. CCTV images of those believed responsible for the Adass Israel Synagogue arson attack. Photo: JCTT

The footage shows three individuals dressed in hoodies and masks get out of the vehicle and use an axe to damage the entrance of the synagogue. At least two individuals commence pouring the contents of red jerry cans inside the entrance of the synagogue, before entering the building.

The individuals then make multiple trips to the Golf to get more jerry cans, which were poured inside the synagogue before the liquid was ignited.

The individuals fled the synagogue shortly after and drove away in the Golf towards the western suburbs. CCTV images of those believed responsible for the Adass Israel Synagogue arson attack. Photo: JCTT

The Golf is a stolen car that was also used in other offences before the synagogue arson, including the Lux nightclub arson in South Yarra in November 2024, and an arson and shooting that occurred in Bundoora on the same night as the synagogue arson attack.

The Golf, which had cloned number plates, was seized by police last year. The nightclub and shooting are being investigated by Victoria Police and are not considered politically-motivated attacks.

According to The Herald Sun, on Thursday morning investigators made a wave of arrests and raids over the nightclub fire.

The pre-dawn raids resulted in the arrests of two men after three Pakenham properties were raided early on Thursday.

Two Pakenham men, aged 21 and 22, were arrested about 6am and will be interviewed by arson squad detectives today.

AFP Assistant Commissioner Counter Terrorism and Special Investigations Command Stephen Nutt said the investigation into the synagogue arson attack remained a priority for the JCTT.


'Revolting': CCTV footage revealed of Adass synagogue burning
Adass Israel Synagogue Board Member Benjamin Klein has spoken on the “traumatic” and “challenging” situation of the Adass Synagogue being torched in Melbourne.

Victoria police have finally released footage of the attack, with Mr Klein calling it “quite deliberate, hateful”.

“It’s been very traumatic, we obviously haven’t got our home, haven’t got our synagogue, the jewel of the community,” Mr Klein told Sky News host Andrew Bolt.

“It’s quite unsettling and difficult for the community not to have that base.

Mr Klein stressed the “revolting, disgusting behaviour” should not be acceptable in Australia.


Urgent need to catch Adass Synagogue perpetrators to ease community fears
Executive Council of Australian Jewry Co-CEO Alex Ryvchin comments on the police's investigation into the Adass Synagogue firebombing, emphasising the urgent need to identify and bring the perpetrators to justice.

“It just makes it all the more imperative that we bring these people to justice as quickly as possible,” Mr Ryvchin told Sky News host Sharri Markson.

“Because the longer these people are at large, the greater the anxiety will remain.”




Christians kick anti-Israel protesters out of Dutch coastal town
Anti-Israel protesters who demonstrated outside a Christian-Zionist celebration in the Netherlands on Wednesday were chased away by locals, some of whom assaulted the outsiders and made others “run for their lives,” an observer told JNS.

The event in the Dutch coastal town of Katwijk was an Independence Day celebration by Christians for Israel that drew hundreds of Israel’s supporters, as well as its ambassador Ephraim Modi and Dutch Chief Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs.

Up to 30 anti-Israel demonstrators, reportedly mobilized by Salafist preacher Abu Hafs (real name Fuad al-Bush), gathered near the Nieuwe Kerk (“New Church”) where the celebration was taking place. Two locals were arrested, and one person was hurt, police said.

Bart Schut, the deputy editor-in-chief of the NIW Dutch weekly, who attended the event, described the protest as an echo of a similar recent disruption in Zaltbommel. “These were the same guys who attacked and spat on people during an evening of Christians for Israel a couple of weeks ago,” Schut told JNS.

A group of locals spontaneously assembled and headed toward the area where the anti-Israel protesters had assembled. The group left the Nieuw Kerk area, where many in the crowd included families, older residents, and flag-waving supporters of Israel, and a more aggressive element emerged.

“It was mainly youths from both of Katwijk’s large football clubs who basically had enough,” said Schut. “They fought the Muslim protesters and made them run for their lives in some cases.”

The clash followed months of anti-Israel agitation in large Dutch cities, including Amsterdam, where Jews were assaulted last year during an “occupation” event at the University of Amsterdam.


Pro-Palestine group Unity of Fields calls for police officers to be set on fire
In a now-deleted X post, the anonymous, radical anti-American and pro-Palestinian group, Unity of Fields (UoF), called for police officers to be set on fire. The deleted post was shared exclusively with The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.

"If the pigs are advancing on your barricades, push them back by any means necessary," the post read. It then added "Instead of lighting the barricades on fire, why not aim a little further?" followed by two bacon emojis, indicating burnt 'pigs.' 'Pig' is slang for a police officer.

The post was written on May 9, following a violent protest at the University of Washington on May 5 during which protesters lit dumpster fires in two locations in order to block the police from entering.

Over 30 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested after illegally occupying the Interdisciplinary Engineering Building to demand divestment from Boeing. The protest was led by Students United for Palestinian Equality and Return (Super UW), which released a manifesto earlier in the day praising the October 7 massacre and calling for resistance.

"We are taking this building amidst the current and renewed wave of the student Intifada, following the uprising of student action for Palestine after the heroic victory of Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7th, which shattered the illusion of zionist-imperialist domination and brought Palestine to the forefront for all justice-loving people of the world," the manifesto said.

On the same day, Unity of Fields posted a student testimony which said, "We can no longer afford to be simple protesters. We must become combatants, an untraceable whirlwind of resistance that strikes at the heart of our enemy and vanishes into the night to fight another day."




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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.

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