Saturday, May 17, 2025

05/17 Links: Israel’s Yuval Raphael’s places 2nd in Eurovision; Trump’s Retro-Futurist Vision for the Middle East; Howard Jacobson: Of Jews, rats and Gary Lineker

From Ian:

Trump’s Retro-Futurist Vision for the Middle East
For observers of American foreign policy, Trump’s speech at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum was equally consequential. He hailed a "great transformation" in the region that was "not created by the so-called nation-builders, neo-cons, or liberal nonprofits," but rather "by the people of the region themselves." Many are hailing or lamenting this as a radical departure from prior policy, but it is in many respects a return to an older strategy, albeit updated for the information revolution. This policy depended on a different set of calculations than Trump has used so far, however, and it may fail without it.

Since FDR met Ibn Saud in 1945, America’s Middle East policy has focused on maintaining access to energy from the Persian Gulf. To do this, Americans needed a favorable balance of power and reliable suppliers. Now that information technology is revolutionizing economies and societies around the globe, the Trump administration has added a third goal: integrating Gulf Arab investors into the American-led tech ecosystem that will battle China for control of the world’s information networks.

During most of the Cold War, the first two goals naturally led to a set of partnerships: Turkey tried to bottle up the Russians at the Bosphorus and the Persians wanted the Russians off their turf. Saudi Arabia wanted to prevent any other power from dominating the region, and also to stabilize global oil markets at a price high enough to cover its expenses but too low for industrialized countries to seek new sources of oil. And Israel shredded the Soviet’s Arab nationalist proxies that tried to dominate its neighborhood.

These partnerships benefited the United States. Its allies generally feared and despised each other, but deft American diplomacy capitalized on their strengths. Israel helped the United States break the Soviet threat to the region, and the Saudis helped bankrupt the Kremlin.

Two big trends have created the great transformation that Trump spotted. The first is that the Arab contest between the Islamists and the tech-focused modernizers has replaced the old battle between traditional monarchies and Arab nationalists. The modernizers, led by Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, are trying to pivot from merely supplying oil and gas to becoming global leaders in advanced technology. The Islamists, often disguising themselves as democratic activists, want to topple the modernizers and reverse most of their reforms.

The region’s power politics have shifted too. The fear of Tehran drove the Gulf Arabs and Israel together, but thanks to Israel’s military and Turkey’s Syrian proxies, Iran’s regional empire is a shadow of its former self. That bond grows weaker as their shared enemies do.

Trump sees the massive opportunities created by this transformation. The modernizers can unleash massive investments that could determine if American or Chinese tech companies dominate this century. And a weaker Iran could make for a more tranquil region.

Those opportunities are at hand—but not yet in hand. Trump told the Saudis their relationship is "closer, stronger, and more powerful than ever before," and that "it will remain that way. We don't go in and out like other people." That verbal reassurance does not match his improvisational style though, and his partners are hedging their bets. The Gulf Arabs are buying Chinese tech products, and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, "I think we will have to wean ourselves off of American security aid, just as we weaned ourselves off of American economic aid."

Iran and its remaining proxies are weaker, but still dangerous. The Houthi missile attack on Israel during Trump’s speech underlines that the bombing campaign was only partly successful. And Tehran still has a pathway to the bomb. Some of Trump’s staffers have suggested that he could allow Tehran to keep its uranium enrichment program, the sort of concession that Barack Obama and his coterie of "liberal nonprofits" offered Iran in 2015. Trump tore up that deal, and over 200 congressional Republicans recently encouraged him to push for the "total dismantlement" he demanded earlier this month.

During his visit, Trump hailed "the gleaming marvels of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi," which are products of a different sort of American nation building. American companies like Aramco and Bechtel enriched the Gulf Arabs and made their cities gleam. But that only happened because Washington got the hard-power realities right.
Riyadh, Paris seek to impose Palestinian state
Saudi Arabia and France will host an international conference next month with United Nations backing, establishing a roadmap for Palestinian statehood with specific timelines and enforcement mechanisms that completely circumvent Israel’s position on the matter.

In the wake of French President Emmanuel Macron’s pro-Palestinian declarations, the New York conference scheduled for June represents an unprecedented diplomatic initiative—moving beyond mere statements of recognition to establishing concrete objectives with implementation plans, including sanctions against parties that obstruct the process.

The conference will feature roundtable discussions and formal sessions led by French and Saudi representatives under U.N. auspices, with the explicit purpose of crafting a framework to implement Palestinian statehood.

Point of no return
In their invitation to U.N. member states, the organizers stated that “the conference is intended to serve as a point of no return, paving the way for ending the occupation and promoting a permanent settlement based on the two-state solution.”

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres will deliver an address alongside national representatives. The proceedings will culminate in a practical action document establishing binding commitments and definitive timelines.

This approach marks a significant departure from previous diplomatic efforts that waited for Israeli-Palestinian bilateral engagement, as France and Saudi Arabia are now advancing their agenda regardless of Israel’s participation.

The invitation distributes blame for violence and the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre to “both sides,” stating that “since October 7, there has been immense suffering of civilians on both sides, including the hostages and their families and the civilian population of Gaza. Meanwhile, settlement activities endanger the two-state solution, the only path to just peace.”
Arab League: Pressure Israel for Gaza ceasefire
The international community must exert pressure to end the bloodshed in Gaza and ensure the entry of humanitarian aid into “all areas in need,” heads of state and government said in a joint statement at the Arab League summit in Baghdad on Saturday.

The annual summit was attended by a slew of Arab leaders, including Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres—a declared persona non grata in Israel. Spain was the only European country present at the summit.

“This genocide has reached levels of ugliness not seen in all conflicts throughout history,” Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said, according to AP.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi noted that even if ties between Israel and additional Arab countries are normalized, “a lasting, just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East will remain elusive unless a Palestinian state is established in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions.”

He added that Cairo, in collaboration with Doha and Washington, is “exerting intense efforts to reach a ceasefire” in Gaza, efforts that led to the release last week of Israeli-American hostage Idan Alexander.

Al-Sissi went on to say that “once the aggression stops,” Egypt plans to lead international initiatives for the reconstruction of Gaza, AP reported.

Abbas denounced Israel’s “genocidal crimes,” which he claimed were a part of a “colonialist project that undermines the project of an independent Palestinian state.”

According to AP, he further called on Hamas to lay down arms and abandon its rule over Gaza.

Guterres told the audience, “We need a permanent ceasefire, now. The unconditional release of all hostages, now. And the free flow of humanitarian aid ending the blockade, now.”
Hamas offers to release half of remaining hostages for two month ceasefire
Hamas has offered to release half of the remaining living hostages and a number of bodies in exchange for a two-month ceasefire, Palestinian sources told Sky News Arabia.

In addition to demanding a temporary ceasefire, Hamas also conditioned the release on the immediate resumption of aid deliveries.

Hamas also wants strong American guarantees that negotiations to end the war will begin during the temporary ceasefire and that Israel will stop placing conditions and obstacles to the delivery of aid.

The same source indicated that Hamas doubted whether the US was able to compel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to abide by the terms of any agreement.

The source pointed to the recent release of the last remaining American hostage, Edan Alexander, last week.

Following his release, Hamas had expected that Israel would begin allowing the entry of humanitarian and food aid. However, this didn't happen, and the Trump administration did not pressure Israel either.

Hamas makes additional requests
Hamas also requested that family members of Hamas leadership be allowed to leave the Gaza Strip and that Israel promise not to pursue them.

The source also said that Hamas expressed willingness to give up its weapons after relinquishing control of Gaza.

This comes hours after Netanyahu instructed the negotiating team to "exhaust all efforts" to release the hostages.


Israel’s Yuval Raphael’s places second in Eurovision final, but for Israelis, she is number one
Yuval Raphael, Israel’s contestant, finished in second place at the 69th Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland on Thursday night.

It was a triumph for Israel, in a year when there were countless calls to have Israel banned, as Israel won the audience vote, with 297 points. The winner was JJ of Austria with the ethereal ballad, "Wasted Love."

Even among the Eurovision audience, the boos of those who felt Israel should not take part in any competition were drowned out by the cheers and the applause.

Israel did better than expected in the votes of the national juries. Azerbaijan gave Israel douze points, the highest mark that can be given in Eurovision, and many others of the national juries gave Israel substantial marks. Surprisingly, Ireland, where anti-Israel sentiment runs high, gave Israel seven points. In the audience vote, Israel came in TK, with 297 points.

Raphael was incandescent and performed masterfully as she sang “New Day Will Rise,” a song by Keren Peles that references the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel. Raphael made her love for life clear through her accomplished vocal stylings and the heartfelt gleam in her eyes as she maneuvered with poise through the elaborate set, which looked like a cross between a silver staircase and a birdcage, dressed in black pantsuit with wide, wing-like sleeves by Victor Bellais.

19 months ago Yuval was calling from Nova
Asaf Lieberman and Akiva Novick, the hosts of Kan 11’s broadcast, noted that it was just 19 months ago that Raphael called her father, frantic, from a bomb shelter near the Nova music festival after it had been attacked by terrorists, telling him, her voice shaking, that she was surrounded by bodies. “Play dead, Yuvali, play dead,” he advised her.

She managed to survive, hiding for eight hours, as about 40 people around her were killed. In the Eurovision final, as she sang, “New day will rise/Life will go on/Everyone cries/Don’t cry alone/ Darkness will fade/All the pain will go by/But we will stay/Even if you say goodbye,” it was clear that these words meant more to Raphael than mere lyrics, and that through her journey from the horrors of October 7 to the stage in Basel was one of redemption.


Gal Gadot encourages Yuval Raphael before the Eurovision final
Just before the Eurovision final on Saturday night, Yuval Raphael, Israel’s contestant in the song competition, spoke with superstar Gal Gadot, who made a video call with her from the US to offer encouragement ahead of the competition.

“You’re so stunning, sweetheart!” Gadot said, to which Raphael said, “Me? You!” Gadot advised Raphael to enjoy the rest of the experience, saying, “Darling, listen, you’ve already won, you know you’ve already won! Now it’s just about enjoying it.”

Speaking in Hebrew, Gadot added: “Celebrate your creation, it’s a creation of love and of so much light.”

Speaking about “New Day Will Rise,” the song by Keren Peles about overcoming trauma and finding your way back to love that Raphael will sing, she said, “The song is so moving and it fits you perfectly. It’s really you. Go up on that stage, enjoy it, you’ve already won! Don’t listen to all the noise, it’s just a few people making a lot of it. You are a great light.”

Raphael, who survived the Nova massacre on October 7, responded: “It’s a crazy experience. You prepare yourself and then you get here and it’s a thousand times more than you imagined. I’m having fun and enjoying it. I love being on stage. There’s always pressure before going up—heartbeat and everything—but once I’m up there, it all calms down.”

Gadot, who has some experience of suddenly being in the spotlight following her role as Wonder Woman, said, “Use that excitement—that ‘before’ feeling—it just means you’re alive and electricity is flowing through you. Break out with all that energy and amaze everyone like only you know how.”


Graham Norton, 62, sparks BBC Eurovision outrage with 'disgraceful' comments towards Israel singer Yuval Raphael
BBC presenter and Eurovision stalwart Graham Norton has caused controversy among viewers thanks to his remarks about Israeli singer Yuval Raphael.

The 24-year-old singer, who survived the Hamas attack on the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, was fourth up on Saturday and sang her ballad New Day Will Rise, which was inspired by the ordeal.

Raphael was one of just 11 survivors from a group of around 50 people who took refuge in a concrete bomb shelter during the attack, using dead bodies as a shield for eight hours until she was rescued.

With the conflict still ongoing between Israel and Hamas, the nation's participation in Eurovision has sparked significant controversy, with pro-Palestinian protesters disrupting Raphael's dress rehearsal on Thursday.

Critics have called for Israel to be barred from the event, drawing comparisons to Russia's suspension following its invasion of Ukraine.

Spanish network RTVE even interrupted its broadcast of the finale on Sunday to air a pro-Palestine message.

However, the European Broadcasting Union has defended Israel's inclusion, maintaining that Eurovision is a non-political event.

Norton addressed the controversy when introducing Raphael during the BBC's broadcast on Saturday night, telling viewers: "Onto song number four and it's the turn of Israel.

"Now, of course, their participation continues to be controversial. Fewer protests this year, but a mixed response during some of the rehearsals. They're here tonight because of the public vote.

"Representing them this year is Yuval Raphael. She's 24 and she earned her spot here by winning Israel's biggest talent show, Rising Star.

"She only began singing professionally in 2023, and you can see why; she has an extraordinary voice, and it's a big, powerful ballad. Also, very nicely staged."

While Norton was complimentary about Raphael's ability on the stage, several Eurovision fans flocked to social media to criticise his omission of her ordeal on October 7 and how it inspired her song choice.
British protestors arrested after they tried to storm Eurovision stage during Israel’s performance
Two people have been apprehended after they attempted to storm the Eurovision stage during Israeli performer Yuval Raphael’s performance at the St. Jakobshalle arena in Basel on Saturday night.

According to footage posted to social media, an attendee at the Eurovision Grand Final attempted to leap the barrier separating the audience standing area from the stage and shouted “Free Palestine” in the middle of Raphael’s performance. He was apprehended by security before reaching the stage.

There are also reports that another audience member sprayed red paint on a security guard and other attendees in the area.

Following the incident, a representative of Israeli broadcaster KAN told media outlets: “We will not address issues regarding security in the event. We are extremely proud of Yuval Raphael’s perfect performance on the stage, which represented Israel in the most respectful manner.”

In a statement, Edi Estermann, Head of Communications for this year’s Eurovision song contest said: “At the end of the Israeli performance, a man and a woman attempted to climb over the barrier onto the stage; they were stopped.

"One of the two people threw paint, hitting a crew member. The crew member is fine, and no one was injured. The man and woman were escorted from the venue and handed over to the police.”

According to a press release from Anti-Israel protest group Youth Demand, three of their activists were arrested in Basel. David Curry, 22, from Manchester and Meaghan Leon, 27, from London were named by the group as responsible for the protests.


Howard Jacobson: Of Jews, rats and Gary Lineker
Whereof one knows nothing, thereof one must remain silent
Gary Lineker, prince among football pundits, avid retweeter of other people’s opinions, a man of more heart than he has sleeve to wear it on, does not like what’s going on in Gaza. ‘I just feel for the Palestinians,’ he says. To which the answer ‘Who doesn’t?’ is neither a rebuff nor an endorsement. There is nothing wrong with feeling what everybody feels. What’s wrong is believing that what you feel makes you right because you feel it.

Of the tortuous and tragic conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians, Lineker has chosen to see neither the tortuousness nor the tragedy. ‘People say it’s a complex issue,’ he has declared, ‘but I don’t think it is.’

What then does Lineker see that others don’t? Or is it a question of what Lineker doesn’t see that others do? Either way, he has consistently promulgated an unwaveringly unsubtle pro-Palestinian, anti-Zionist position for which he has doughtily refused to apologize. Why should he? Wherein has he sinned? It is not as though he is an anti-Semite. Has not truth alone - truth at its most simple and unvarnished - been his guide?

But to go to war armed only with simplicity is to go to war naked. Not everyone will notice. Those whose nakedness you retweet certainly won’t. And in your own eyes there is no knowing what richly-attired heroism you see. But in the eyes of those who believe, with the poet Donne, that on a huge hill, cragged and steep, Truth stands, and he that will reach her about must and about must go - the once prolific goal scorer look ill-equipped to be a traveller among the rocky uplands of veracity.


Eitan Fischberger: The Islamists are in the Tent
Conservatives have spent years warning about the threat of Islamism in American life: in schools, universities, media, and government. We’ve (rightly) called out the likes of Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib for their relentless demonization of Israel and apologism for terror groups like Hamas. But while we’ve been preoccupied with rooting out Islamists from the left, we’ve failed to see them walking through our own front door.

The uncomfortable truth is that Islamist figures and their enablers are increasingly making inroads into conservative spaces — not by force, but by flattery. They praise our "family values," nod along when we rail against wokeness, and strategically position themselves as allies against the progressive left. But scratch beneath the surface, and you’ll all-too-often find figures with long histories of antisemitism, terror apologia, and ideological allegiance to the very enemies we claim to be fighting.

Let’s start with the latest scandal.

On May 16, the White House announced the formation of an advisory board for the Religious Liberty Commission. Among the names listed was Ismail Royer, a man who served 13 years in prison after pleading guilty to aiding the Pakistani terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba and helping jihadists reach training camps abroad. Royer wasn’t some low-level lackey: he was a key figure in the so-called "Virginia Jihad Network," which sought to aid the Taliban and facilitate violent jihad abroad.

Royer’s inclusion in the Trump White House’s advisory board is more than just an oversight — it’s a flashing red warning sign. This isn’t a man who tweeted something dumb as a teenager or who got roped into a fringe group. He’s a convicted jihadist who worked to send fighters overseas to kill Americans. Perhaps Royer would say he repented for his past behavior. But still, the fact that he was tapped for a White House role should be cause for concern to anyone who cares about national security.

And he isn’t alone.

Another name on the advisory board is Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, co-founder of Zaytuna College—which he established along with BDS leader and American Muslims for Palestine Chairman, Hatem Bazian.

According to the Investigative Project on Terrorism, Yusuf himself has a checkered history: praising the pro-Hamas Turkish organization IHH, defending Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman (the "Blind Sheikh" behind the 1993 WTC bombing), and once calling Judaism "a racist religion." While he’s attempted to rebrand himself in recent years as a voice of moderation, his and Bazian’s college has continued to elevate apologists for terror and critics of Western democracy.

By the way, radical Islamist preacher Zaid Shakir, the third co-founder of Hamza Yusuf’s Zaytuna College, recently said in a recorded sermon that Trump could be flattered into creating a Palestinian state:
“Trump is so crazy, we might be able to sit him down and say: ‘Trump, do you want to be the greatest president in history? Create a Palestinian state. That’s all. Mount Rushmore is waiting for you.’”

He added, “Man, he is so crazy, he might do it.”

This isn’t (just) mockery — it’s a strategy. To people like Shakir, Trump isn’t a principled ideological obstacle. He’s a volatile ego to be managed. And they’re already working on how to do it.
Iranians accused of spying in UK were asylum seekers
Three Iranian former asylum seekers have appeared in court accused of spying for Tehran.

The three men, who had been granted leave to remain after arriving in Britain in lorries and small boats, were charged with engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service between Aug 14 last year and Feb 16, this year, following an investigation by counter-terror police.

Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55, all living in London, appeared at Westminster magistrates’ court flanked by eight prison officers after being arrested earlier this month on suspicion of committing offences contrary to the National Security Act 2023.

Mr Sepahvand, of St John’s Wood, was charged with “surveillance, reconnaissance and open-source research” with the intention of “committing serious violence against a person in the UK”.

Mr Manesh, from Kensal Rise, and Noori, from Ealing, were both charged with the same offence but with the intention that violence “would be committed by others”.

Both Mr Sepahvand and Mr Noori spoke through a Farsi interpreter at the brief court hearing to confirm their names, dates of birth and addresses.

District Judge Annabel Pilling was told that police attended the home addresses of the three on May 3.

The CPS prosecutor, who did not give his name on security grounds, told the court that Mr Sepahvand first arrived in the UK in 2016 concealed in a lorry. He sought asylum on the grounds that he feared for his safety if he returned to Iran.

Mr Manesh arrived in the UK by boat in December 2019 and applied for refugee status on religious grounds.

Mr Noori had his first recorded contact with the authorities in the UK in September 2022, at which point he applied for asylum.

All three were remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey next month.
Danon: UN accusation of genocide ‘without evidence’
The United Nation’s humanitarian chief accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza “without evidence, mandate or restraint,” Israel’s ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon said in a scathing letter sent to the under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, AFP reported on Friday.

“You had the audacity, in your capacity as a senior U.N. official, to stand before the Security Council and invoke the charge of genocide,” Danon wrote to Tom Fletcher, who spoke before the council on Tuesday.

“It was an utterly inappropriate and deeply irresponsible statement that shattered any notion of neutrality,” the Israeli mission added.

Fletcher, the head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), was quoted by AFP as saying that Israel was “deliberately and unashamedly imposing inhumane conditions on civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

“For those killed and those whose voices are silenced: What more evidence do you need now?” Fletcher asked the council.

He urged the international community “to stop the 21st-century atrocity to which we bear daily witness in Gaza.”

Danon wrote in his publicly made letter that the under-secretary-general was offering the council a “political sermon,” not a briefing.

“To weaponize the word ‘genocide’ against Israel is not just distortion—it is the desecration and subversion of a term with unique force and weight,” the Israeli diplomat said.

Those who use the term seek to “demonize” their targets, Danon remarked.


IDF ramps up strikes on Gaza amid launch of ‘Gideon’s Chariots’
The Israel Defense Forces is conducting extensive airstrikes across the Gaza Strip and mobilizing ground troops to gain operational control in key areas of the enclave, the military announced overnight Friday.

The move marks the opening stage of an expanded phase of military operations—codenamed “Gideon’s Chariots”—aimed at achieving the central objectives of the war: securing the release of hostages and dismantling the Hamas terrorist organization.

On Friday afternoon, the IDF reported that it had attacked more than 150 terrorist targets across Gaza in the past 24 hours as part of ongoing operations against Hamas.

The airstrikes targeted anti-tank positions, terrorist cells, and structures used to launch attacks on Israeli troops. Ground forces from the 252nd, 143rd and 36th Divisions operated in both northern and southern Gaza, destroying tunnel shafts and other infrastructure while killing terrorists engaged in active combat and plotting further attacks.

In a videoed statement released on May 5, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to intensify the war in Gaza, asserting that IDF soldiers would remain in every area they capture.

“We decided on intensified action in Gaza,” Netanyahu said. “That was the IDF chief of staff’s recommendation—to move, as he said, toward the defeat of Hamas. He believes this will also help us rescue the hostages. I agree with him.”

“We are not letting up on this effort and will not give up on anyone,” he continued.


Head of controversial Israel-backed Gaza aid group says ‘plan isn’t perfect, but feeds people’
The executive director of the newly established Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), Jake Wood, told CNN on Saturday that conditions in Gaza are “clearly urgent,” but that he expected positive updates on bringing in aid in the coming days. Wood couldn’t confirm when or how many aid trucks Israel would allow into Gaza.

The US- and Israel-backed aid organization, established to manage a new model for distributing humanitarian assistance in Gaza, announced on Wednesday that it would begin operating in the enclave by the end of the month and that Israel would lift its more than two-month blockade in the interim.

There was no Israeli confirmation of the announcement, but an Israeli official told The Times of Israel that one would be made in the coming days.

GHF is an organization that will oversee the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza in a manner that does not allow its diversion by Hamas. It was established in close coordination with Israel amid mounting mistrust between Jerusalem and UN-backed aid groups that have been operating in the Strip to date.

GHF is backed by the Trump administration, but the rollout has been rocky, with many international organizations refusing to cooperate with it due to the strict conditions Israel is placing on its operations.

Among those restrictions was a limit on aid distribution sites to just four, all located in southern Gaza. Even GHF acknowledged in a memo earlier in May that the sites would only be enough to, at best, feed 60% of Gaza’s population.

Accordingly, GHF said in its inaugural Wednesday statement that it had asked and received Israeli approval for additional “Safe Distribution Sites” (SDSs) to be established throughout Gaza. The statement didn’t say how many SDSs Israel agreed to build. As of last week, only one SDS was in the process of construction by the Israel Defense Forces.
IDF kills Hezbollah commander in Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces on Saturday targeted and killed a Hezbollah commander in the area of Mazraat Jemjim, north of Tyre city in southwestern Lebanon.

According to the IDF, the terrorist was involved in efforts to rebuild Hezbollah infrastructure in the region.

“The rebuilding of terrorist infrastructure and related activity constitutes a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the military said in a statement.


IDF arrests Palestinians in hunt for pregnant woman’s murderer
The Israel Defense Forces apprehended several Palestinians on Saturday, suspects in the murder of Tzeela Gez in Samaria as she and her husband drove to a delivery room three days ago.

“As part of the IDF and Shin Bet manhunt for the terrorist who carried out the shooting attack …, IDF soldiers, guided by the Shin Bet, carried out targeted searches in the village of Bruqin, near the scene of the attack,” the Israeli military tweeted on Saturday, referring to an Arab town located in western Samaria.

“During the arrest of one of the suspects, a terrorist was spotted running toward the forces while holding a bag suspected to be booby-trapped and shouting ‘Allahu Akbar.’

“In light of the immediate threat, the soldiers engaged with and neutralized the terrorist. No casualties were reported among our forces,” the IDF said.

The military added that an inquiry into Wednesday’s terrorist attack was still underway.

Gez’s baby was delivered in the hospital. The Rabin Medical Center’s Beilinson Hospital said the neonatal unit at its Schneider Children’s Medical Center in Petach Tikvah “fought all night for his life.”

The mother was pronounced dead the following morning.

On Friday morning, Schneider issued a statement saying that the condition of the baby boy remained serious but has stabilized.

“The baby was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit at Schneider in very serious condition and underwent intensive treatment overnight by a multidisciplinary hospital team that fought to stabilize him. The baby’s condition is currently classified as serious. We share in the family’s grief,” said Dr. Omer Niv, deputy director of Schneider, per Israel Hayom.
IDF kills Palestinian who charged at troops, may be linked to murder of pregnant woman The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday that troops had killed a Palestinian suspect in the West Bank who may have been involved in a terror shooting attack earlier in the week that killed a pregnant woman as she was traveling to the hospital to give birth.

The suspect ran toward the forces operating in the West Bank town of Bruqin, while allegedly shouting “Allahu akbar” (God is greatest) and holding a backpack suspected of being booby-trapped, the military said, adding that he was shot dead.

Several other suspects of involvement in Wednesday’s deadly terror attack were arrested.

In the attack near Bruqin and the settlement of Bruchin, a Palestinian terrorist opened fire from the side of a road on Israeli motorists, killing Tzeela Gez, 30, and lightly wounding her husband, while they were heading to a hospital to give birth to their fourth child.

Gez was evacuated in critical condition to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, where she was later declared dead. Hospital staff conducted an emergency C-section to save the newborn, who remains in serious condition.

The Hamas terror group praised the killing as “heroic” and called for more such acts, but did not claim responsibility.

Jason Greenblatt, Rahm Emanuel face off over Trump’s record on antisemitism, Israel
Is President Donald Trump good for the Jews? The question has been asked since his first term, when he made several high-profile moves that were widely praised in the Jewish community — moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and bringing together the historic Abraham Accords, to name a few. Now in his second term, with Trump squaring off with universities and revoking the visas of some foreign students in the name of combating antisemitism, Jews continue to debate the question.

Two prominent Jewish voices put forward their arguments on Thursday night — Jason Greenblatt, who served as Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East during the first administration and, prior to that, had worked for him for 20 years, and Rahm Emanuel, former chief of staff to President Barack Obama. The charged debate, held at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan, was moderated by SAPIR Editor-in-Chief Bret Stephens.

Trump’s crackdown on universities — which has involved cutting billions of dollars in federal funding to some elite schools — “is using antisemitism to deal with political retribution,” Emanuel said. “Everytime we have been pitted against other people, Jews have come on the negative side of that,” he warned.

“The president isn’t responsible for antisemitism,” Emanuel continued. “But he is responsible for the moral tone in that office to condemn it when he sees it and he’s always walked away from that, and he’s given a permission slip publicly for that antisemitism.”
Jewish Rapper and Comedian Kosha Dillz Says His Film’s Canceled Screening Has Been Reinstated
A Chicago movie theater that canceled a screening of a pro-Israel comedian’s documentary at the last minute will be reinstating the screening, the comedian said Friday.

Kosha Dillz, the Israeli-American rapper and comic whose real name is Rami Even-Esh, says the theater, Facets, has agreed to show the movie, titled Bring The Family Home. Press attention and calls from Jewish groups objecting to the theater’s decision were what prompted Facets management to reconsider, he said.

“This is incredible. I was practically crying on the Zoom [when informed of the decision],” the rapper told The Hollywood Reporter. A new screening will be set for the next several weeks. Later in the evening Facets’ executive director, Karen Cardarelli, confirmed to THR that the screening was back on and said more information would be forthcoming.

Facets, a longtime arthouse venue in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, canceled the screening just hours before it was to take place Tuesday. Dillz had been scheduled to show the movie and take the stage with Michael Kaminsky, a DePaul University student who had allegedly been punched as well as harassed with antisemitic slurs on campus after making pro-Israel statements in what police called a hate crime. Dillz did end up showing the film at a theater in suburban Wilmette. Groups such as the American Jewish Committee in Chicago and the newer Chicago Jewish Alliance objected to Facets’ decision.

“I call it exclusion — it’s ‘Don’t do business with Jews,’ which is the kind of antisemitism we deal with now,” Dillz said, speaking by phone from Northern California, where he was scheduled for a number of performances and shot footage for the film at Cal. “I just wanted to pay the rental fee and do business with Facets and they wouldn’t accept that.” Dillz said he even offered to have the theater show the film without any promotion on the marquee or website to avoid drawing attention to it, but Facets leadership declined.

Yet on Friday, the theater appeared to have reversed course. “In retrospect we recognize that this was an overreaction and not consistent with our mission,” the organization said in a statement that Dillz posted to his Instagram.

Though the theater cited security, their initial Instagram post about the cancelation sent mixed signals.

“Based on the public posts made by Kosha Dillz and the overall tone surrounding the event, we determined that proceeding would not align with our values or our responsibility to protect the safety and well-being of our community,” Facets said, without elaborating on what they were referring to. “We reject antisemitism in all forms — just as we reject Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian racism, and any form of hate or dehumanization.”


Jewish mayor of Providence ‘disheartened’ by Palestinian flag flown at City Hall
The City Council of Providence, Rhode Island, raised the Palestinian flag at City Hall on Friday amid dueling demonstrations.

The council announced the decision to raise the flag on X Wednesday, one day before Palestinians and their supporters observed Nakba Day, which marks the displacement of Palestinians amid Israel’s War of Independence. City Council President Rachel Miller said the flag represents “a group of people in our community who are very often silenced, very often not allowed to speak.”

Miller said Palestinians were subject to a genocide — a claim Israel vehemently rejects — and that relatives of hers were killed in the Holocaust, which motivated the decision.

“I am a person of Jewish heritage,” she said, according to the local ABC affiliate. “I lost a good portion of my extended family in the Holocaust. Because of that, I believe it’s my obligation to stand together with people who are facing a genocide.”

Israel denies that its war against Hamas in Gaza, launched after the terror group’s October 7, 2023, massacre that killed some 1,200 people and took another 251 hostages, is genocide. Israel says it does not deliberately target civilians as it goes after terror operatives who are deeply embedded in civilian areas, including hospitals and schools.

The flag-raising was announced on the same day that the city’s Jewish Mayor Brett Smiley returned from a trip to Israel. Smiley said the City Council is a separate branch of government and he couldn’t overrule the decision, but that he was “disheartened” by the timing of the announcement upon his return from his trip.

“There are thousands of Jews in our Capital City, and each has their own views and connection to Israel. There are also Palestinians in our community, and they likewise have a unique identity and perspective on this complex issue,” Smiley said, according to WPRI, a local station. “Those of us in Providence cannot solve this centuries-old conflict. But what we can do – what we must do – is lead with compassion, with empathy and with hope.”

The far-left Jewish Voice for Peace Rhode Island participated in the flag-raising ceremony, while the Rhode Island Coalition for Israel held a nearby protest against it. The event coincided with the Jewish holiday of Lag B’Omer, and the pro-Israel activists blasted traditional Jewish music about the return of exiles to Jerusalem over the crowd.
Bernie Sanders: Democrats ‘not speaking up’ on Gaza due to fear of pro-Israel lobby
US Senator Bernie Sanders on Thursday accused pro-Israel lobby groups, especially the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), of muzzling his Democratic colleagues’ criticisms of the war in Gaza by threatening to fund primary challenges against them.

“I happen to believe that what is going on in Gaza is horrific, that we are seeing children, right now as we speak, starving to death,” said the independent socialist from Vermont on The Late Show with comedian Stephen Colbert. “But why do you think more Democrats are not speaking up on that issue?”

“If you speak up on that issue, you’ll have super PACs like AIPAC going after you in the same way Elon Musk goes after Republicans” who fail to toe their party line on issues such as health care, said Sanders, referring to the richest man on Earth, who contributed massively to US President Donald Trump’s election campaign.

In US politics, a “super” public affairs committee (PAC) is an organization that is entitled to spend unlimited funds in favor of a candidate for public office as long as it does not coordinate directly with the candidate’s campaign. Regular PACs, by contrast, may spend up to $5,000 on a single candidate.

AIPAC, which was founded in 1954, did not fundraise for individual candidates until the 2022 US midterm elections, when it formed an affiliated PAC and super PAC. Last year, AIPAC reportedly spent $14.5 million, the highest such sum ever, to unseat Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York, who had accused Israel of genocide in Gaza.

The existence of super PACs in the US was made possible by the American Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. the US Federal Election Committee. That ruling determined that political spending is akin to political speech and is therefore protected by the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression.

Sanders, who has railed against American “oligarchy” in the wake of Trump’s reelection, blamed the ruling for making the US government unresponsive to “the needs of ordinary people.”


Here I Am With Shai Davidai: The #Christian case for #Israel | EP 40 Joan Leslie McGill
In this episode of "Here I Am," host Shai Davidai sits down with Joan Leslie McGill, Chief of Staff at the US Israel Education Association. Together, they explore the complexities of US-Israel collaboration, the meaning of true partnership beyond the term "ally," and the deep faith-based motivations behind Joan’s support for Israel. Joan shares her personal journey as a Christian advocate for Israel, addresses common misconceptions about evangelical support, and discusses the importance of building genuine relationships between Christians and Jews. The conversation also highlights the work of the US Israel Education Association, including bipartisan congressional tours to Israel and efforts to foster cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian business leaders. This episode offers a thoughtful look at faith, politics, and the power of grassroots collaboration for peace.


Comedy Cellar USA: Live from the Table: Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib on Hamas, Israel and the Fight for Peace
Noam Dworman, Dan Naturman and Periel Aschenbrand are joined by Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib.

Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib is the head of Realign For Palestine, a project of the Atlantic Council, where he is a resident senior fellow. He is a Gaza native and a political analyst who writes extensively on strategic affairs in the Middle East.




NYPost Editorial: Zohran Mamdani’s Holocaust non-vote disqualifies him from NYC’s mayoralty
In the past Mamdani has cheered similar resolutions for everything from Neurodiversity Pride Day, Juneteenth and Lunar New Year to Women’s History Month, Disabilities Awareness Day and Korean American Day.

His spokesman, Andrew Epstein, insists Mamdani backs the one on Holocaust Memorial Day too but wants to “narrow down” the number he signed.

Right. He just happened to draw the line at recognizing Nazi Germany’s murder of 6 million Jews.

In fact, he’s already made it clear how much he despises the Jewish state: On Oct. 8, 2023, the day after Jews suffered their worst horror since the Holocaust, he condemned Israel.

He vows that, as mayor, he’d arrest Benjamin Netanyahu should the Israeli leader dare set foot in New York.

No wonder ex-Rep. Jamaal Bowman — who pooh-poohed reports that Hamas raped women en masse on Oct. 7 — happily endorsed Mamdani this week.

And Mamdani happily accepted the endorsement: They’re antisemitic peas in a pod.

Set aside the rest of Mamdani’s socialist agenda, and even his support for defunding cops in 2020: The shameless Jew-hate is all you really need to know about him.

All New Yorkers should find his antisemitism and hatred of Israel utterly repulsive — and disqualifying.

When it comes time for ranked-choice voting for the Democratic nomination for mayor next month, no one should rank Mamdani at all.


PSC Vice Chair Iyas AlQasem and the posts he never deleted
For months I have been documenting patterns of antisemitism, conspiratorial rhetoric, extremism and other problematic issues within Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC). What follows is the most serious evidence I have uncovered so far.

Iyas AlQasem is a Palestinian Briton, the founder of Hope & Play, a charity which helps Palestinian children; son of Dr Anis Al-Qasem, a founding member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in 1964; and Vice Chair of the national Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC).

At least as of late 2023 he is also Chair of PSC’s Richmond & Kingston branch. This branch was previously chaired by current PSC Director Ben Jamal, and it would appear that, as a Kingston resident, this remains Jamal’s local branch.

AlQasem has served on PSC’s ruling Executive Committee since January 2020 and was elected Vice Chair at both the 2024 and 2025 AGMs.

Over more than a decade, he has posted a long trail of inflammatory and morally disturbing material on his public Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) accounts.

This article brings that material to light. The screenshots largely speak for themselves. Some posts are old. Others are more recent. None have been deleted. None have been publicly disavowed. The content is extreme, and AlQasem’s role as a public face of PSC makes them impossible to ignore.

Posting on Facebook on 8 October 2023, AlQasem appeared to justify or minimise Hamas’s infamous rampage through Israel the previous day.

This post was given a Like by Bernard Regan, who has been a member of PSC’s Executive Committee since 2006.

To call a child’s violent response to an abuser “terror” and legitimise the abuser’s brutal response as “their right to self-defence” is not only morally and legally wrong, it’s just plain ugly.

He frames the atrocities not just as a predictable response to Israeli policy but as something more intimate and excusable: a child’s violent reaction to abuse.

The analogy is disturbing on several levels. First, it implicitly casts Hamas as the child and Israel as the abuser – inverting the roles of perpetrator and victim at a moment when Israeli civilians had been hunted, brutalised, slaughtered and abducted. It is not clear whether the killing had fully ended by the time of the post, but the horror of the atrocities was already emerging. Yet instead of condemnation, AlQasem offered a metaphor that risked sanctifying the violence.

Second, the October 7 assault was not the spontaneous lash-out of a traumatised child – it was a meticulously prepared military operation carried out with extraordinary brutality and deliberation.

Third, by framing the events this way, AlQasem risks unfairly casting all Gazans as morally complicit in the attack – and all Israelis, including civilians, as deserving targets.

This post alone should disqualify him from any leadership position in a human rights movement.


NYC college ‘cleans house’ of Jewish accounting professors after ‘antisemitic hate’ erupts on campus: lawsuit
Queens College purged its accounting department of Jewish adjunct professors after “antisemitic hate speech and violence” erupted on campus following the Hamas terror attack on Israel, according to a lawsuit.

Adjunct accounting professor Helen Schwalb says the City University of New York school declined to reappoint her in May 2023 — along with five Jewish colleagues — as part of an effort to “clean house of its Jewish staff,” she claimed in court papers.

The school “kept younger, non-Jewish educators with lower performance ratings,” Schwalb, 66, contended. exterior of queens collegeQueens College has been accused of failing to reappoint its Jewish adjunct accounting professors. J.C. Rice

“The only remaining Jews in the [accounting] department are those with tenure who are in their 70s and 80s and will likely retire soon,” she said in the Brooklyn Federal Court lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages.

Schwalb, of Rockland County, taught two or three classes each semester as well as summer classes at the school since 2012 and had high performance ratings, she said.

The school claimed there was a shortage of enrollment and budget issues, but Schwalb said in court papers the two classes she was slated to teach were fully enrolled and given to other, less qualified educators.

Queens College has been accused of “repeatedly” failing to stop a “barrage of antisemitic hate speech and violence that emerged on campus since the October 7, 2023 massacre of Israelis by Hamas,” she said in the litigation.
Northwestern Lobbying Expenses Skyrocket While Facing Scrutiny Over Campus Anti-Semitism
Northwestern University has ramped up its lobbying efforts in the face of anti-Semitism investigations from the Trump administration and Congress, with expenditures ballooning last quarter to a whopping $757,000—almost as much as Columbia and Harvard universities combined.

That amount—combining in-house and outside spending—marks a more than five-fold increase compared to the same period in 2024, lobbying disclosures reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon show. In fact, that spending level puts it closer to the University of California ($1 million)—one of the largest systems in the country—and the Association of American Medical Colleges ($895,000)—which represents hundreds of medical schools and health systems—than to Harvard ($250,000).

Much of Northwestern’s lobbying activity surrounded appropriations legislation, though it also targeted issues "pertaining to combating antisemitism" and "Congressional oversight of Institutions of Higher Education," disclosure forms show.

The intensified lobbying effort appears to be largely ineffective, however. The House Committee on Education and Workforce is also demanding a meeting on anti-Semitism with Northwestern’s president, Michael Schill, the Free Beacon reported. The Trump administration, meanwhile, launched its second probe into alleged discrimination against Jewish students at Northwestern, and froze $790 million in federal funding to the university over campus anti-Semitism.

Students balked at the lobbying spending, arguing that Northwestern should instead increase its efforts to protect Jewish students. Christina Sher, a student leader with the Coalition Against Antisemitism at Northwestern and a freshman studying biomedical engineering, pointed to an incident during Passover last month in which vandals spray-painted Hamas triangles on a campus building that houses the Holocaust center.

"There have been no meaningful reforms since the grant freeze. In fact, antisemitism on campus has only escalated—with the Kresge vandalism and the Sarge Dining Hall anti-Israel performance both occurring after the funding cuts," Sher told the Free Beacon. "Instead of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on lobbyists to manage political fallout, Northwestern should be investing in protecting its Jewish students. We don’t need PR consultants—we need accountability. The university’s silence after incidents like the Passover vandalism at Kresge Hall makes it clear where its priorities lie," she added.
FDD: Liverpool MPs and Councillors warned about Teachers Advocating for Palestine in Schools
The largest teachers’ union in the UK is encouraging teachers to advocate for Palestine in schools, even though such action is illegal. The NEU is holding a workshop on “Understanding and advocating for Palestine in our schools” in Liverpool on 14 June 2025.

UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) has written to all MPs and councillors in the Liverpool area to warn them about this forthcoming meeting.

The poster for the event says: “There is solidarity in learning and teaching. Knowledge plants a seed and that seed grows to bear fruit so we can ensure our solidarity with all Palestinians.”

UKLFI has pointed out in its letters to Liverpool local authorities and MPs that this call for teachers to promote partisan political views in schools goes against the government’s policy on political impartiality in schools and encourages teachers to breach legal prohibitions on indoctrination in schools.

The NEU had, during its last conference, vowed to produce school resources that “raise awareness’ of the situation in Palestine”.

The logos on the advert for the upcoming meeting suggest that the NEU is collaborating with the organisation Makan on this meeting. Makan produces educational resources and delivers workshops to “enhance advocacy for Palestinian liberation” and is dedicated to promoting advocacy of the Palestinian cause among educators.

Section 406 of the Education Act 1996 requires the local authority, governing body and head teacher to forbid the promotion of partisan political views in the teaching of any subject at a maintained school in England or Wales and the pursuit of any partisan political activities by junior pupils at such a school.

Section 407 of the same Act further requires the local authority, governing body and head teacher to take such steps as are reasonably practicable to ensure that pupils are offered a balanced presentation of opposing views on political issues when they are brought to the attention of pupils while attending a maintained school in England or Wales or taking part in extra-curricular activities provided or organised by the school.

Similar requirements are imposed on academies and independent schools in England and Wales under the Education (Independent Schools Standards) Regulations 2014.

If teachers advocate for Palestine in schools or disseminate resources in schools that spread misleading information about the situation in Palestine, these provisions will be breached.


Iran Is Using North Korea's Playbook — And the US Is Falling for It Again
Iran appears to be using diplomacy to stall, deceive and advance its nuclear capabilities behind closed doors, while securing financial and geopolitical concessions from the West.

The disturbing part is not that Iran's mullahs are following their usual tactics. The horror is that American officials and Western leaders appear to be falling for this shell-game all over again.

The problem with enriching hostile regimes to "buy quiet" is that this is the money they use to build nuclear weapons with which to attack us.

An additional problem, unfortunately, is that the Iranian regime has a well-documented history of lying.

No deal that permits any level of enrichment or allows Iran to keep its centrifuges intact will prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons.

We are trying to "deal" with theocrats who believe it is their divine duty to destroy Israel and America, and take over the oil-rich states in the Persian Gulf.

What makes the current situation even more exasperating is that despite decades of talks, deals and diplomatic theater with North Korea, Russia, China and Iran, we have watched them exploit Western weakness and lack of resolve time and again right under our noses. Yet, like Charlie Brown and the football, the West insists on accepting the same failed, bogus guarantees. We do not need another Swiss-cheese agreement filled with loopholes. We do not need photo-ops and press conferences proclaiming bogus triumphs.
Microsoft Faces Ultimatum From Lawyers: Address ‘Widespread Anti-Semitism’ or We’ll See You in Court
A legal organization accused Microsoft of violating federal anti-discrimination laws and contributing to "widespread anti-Semitism" in its workplace, warning it will sue unless the tech giant fixes the problem.

The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under the Law wrote in a Monday letter to Microsoft that its refusal to allow employees of all races and ethnicities—including Jews—to establish resource groups is illegal.

Microsoft currently funds nine Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), which host educational events and provide a channel through which employees can communicate concerns about workplace discrimination to corporate leadership. Existing ERGs include "Asians at Microsoft," "Blacks at Microsoft," "Hispanic and Latinx Organization of Leaders in Action," and "Indigenous at Microsoft."

Brandeis Center director of corporate initiatives and senior counsel Rory Lancman wrote in the letter that the climate at Microsoft demonstrates why the lack of a Jewish ERG—which would help resolve issues of anti-Semitism—is an issue.

An "Interfaith ERG" at Microsoft included non-Jewish employees who told their Jewish coworkers that they "should expect people to blame Jews for what Israel was doing" and that they should stop complaining about anti-Semitism because "Christians and Arabs face more and worse in the world" and "there were so many countries where Jews were the majority," Lancman noted.

Immediately after Hamas’s October 7 attack against Israel, Microsoft employees used the company’s internal messaging platform to write slogans like "from the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free," accuse Israel of being an apartheid state, and deny a Jewish right to self-determination, according to Lancman.

The Brandeis Center pointed to other incidents in the letter, including graffiti on campus, inappropriate speakers at employee events, and anti-Israel protests and disruptions, arguing that company policy has left Jewish employees at a disadvantage and "allowed anti-Semitism to fester at Microsoft."

The Brandeis Center asserted that Microsoft is discriminating against employees who do not fall under any of the nine ERG categories.

"Jewish and non-Jewish employees must be provided ERGs on the same terms and conditions as other employees at Microsoft regardless of their ethnicity or shared ancestry," the letter reads. "It’s the right thing to do, and it’s the law."


Do Kippot and Keffiyehs Share an Etymology?
The novelist Dara Horn participates in daf yomi, the worldwide daily-page-of-Talmud-study program. This prompts her to ask:
In the tractate of Sanhedrin recently, we came to a discussion of what the Mishnah calls a kippah, a domed or vaulted chamber in which convicted criminals were kept. In considering the opinions of various commentators about this now-obsolete use of the Hebrew word, I found myself thinking of its better-known meaning of “skullcap” and sometimes “hood” (as in kippah adumah, Red Riding Hood), as well as that of “dome” (as in kippat barzel, the Iron Dome anti-missile system). From there my mind, no doubt influenced by ongoing pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel activism in the United States, wandered to the Arabic word keffiyeh and to my question for you. Might keffiyeh be a cognate of kippah?

As sister Semitic languages, Hebrew and Arabic do share a large number of cognate words, but kippah-keffiyeh would not seem to be among them. Kippah first occurs in the Mishnah, where it signifies both a dome and a skullcap (although it’s obvious why one should suggest the other, it’s unclear which suggested which); it derives from the Hebrew verb kafaf, to bend, its root meaning being of something bent or rounded over something else. Arabic has no corresponding verb or noun. It does have two nouns with Hebrew cognates that are related to kafaf and kippah: kaf or kaffa, “palm of the hand,” the same as the Hebrew word for palm, kaf or kaf-yad (palms form domes when hands are bent), and akaf, “saddle blanket,” akin to Hebrew ukaf, “saddle.” Neither of these words, however, can have anything to do with keffiyeh, nor does Arabic have other words that might.

This makes the origins of keffiyeh a mystery. Two derivations have been proposed for it. One links it to late Latin cofia (pronounced co-FEE-ah), a head covering of some sort, from which comes Italian cuffia, a cap or bonnet. These go back to caput, “head,” from which also descend our English words “cap,” “cape,” and “coif.” But although the phonetic fit is good, such an etymology fails to explain why cofia or cuffia would have been borrowed. While Arabic does possess Latin loan words due to the Roman empire’s having ruled much of the Middle East in the early centuries of the Common Era, plus a few Italian ones from later Mediterranean commerce, why would a people that wore keffiyehs have chosen to call them by a word taken from a people that didn’t wear them?

The second proposed etymology has been favored by Arab sources. It traces keffiyeh (in some places pronounced kuffiyeh) to Kufa, a prominent city in southern Iraq. The keffiyeh, according to this view, was first worn there and was named accordingly, just as the frankfurter was named for Frankfurt and the hamburger for Hamburg.

This theory, too, is problematic. The keffiyeh, a cloth draped around the head and neck to protect them from sun and dust, and held in place by a circular headband called an aqal, is generally thought to have originated among the nomadic Bedouin of the desert, to have spread from them to peasants and farmers, and to have reached the urban centers of the Arab world relatively recently, if at all. In the Ottoman times that ended with World War I, Arab city dwellers wore tarbushes, not keffiyehs, and even after the tarbush’s abandonment, the keffiyeh was never popular among them. Moreover, the cloth-and-headband combination is known by different names in different part of the Arab world, such as shmagh, ghutra, and ḥatta, of which keffiyeh is not necessarily the oldest. (Even among the Palestinians, whose national symbol it has become, ḥatta is the more common word for it.) What proof is there that Kufa was its birthplace?




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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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