Wednesday, October 15, 2025

10/15 Links: After 738 Days, it’s Finally October 8th; Trump, Israel Pile on Pressure as Hamas Fails to Return Hostage Bodies; Hostages describe torture and torment in Gaza

From Ian:

Eitan Fischberger: After 738 Days, it’s Finally October 8th
The trauma has been relentless. Yet we did not waver. How could we, when our hostages endured horrors we could hardly imagine? So we remained resolute, clinging to the sliver of hope that maybe, just maybe, we would see them dance again. That hope and resilience makes us who we are.

That doesn’t mean we aren’t filled with righteous anger. For two long years, the international media told us our fight was futile. That if we only allowed Palestinians to declare a state, Hamas would kindly free the hostages out of the goodness of their hearts. That we should stop fighting evil and instead appease it. They were wrong.

And that doesn’t mean we aren’t worried. Amid our euphoria, we are already bracing for what may come next. Many of the 1,900 Palestinian detainees and security prisoners just released into Gaza and the West Bank have Israeli blood on their hands. They will harm us again if given the chance. Hamas, despite assurances from its patrons in Qatar that it seeks a “new chapter” with Israel, has already begun reconstituting its forces and blatantly violating the ceasefire by withholding the bodies of hostages they murdered, who were guaranteed would be released. As we speak, Hamas is executing Palestinians in Gaza en masse, and there is no clear mechanism to demilitarize them. We know this moment is a respite, not an end. We know we will again have to take up arms against those who seek our destruction.

To those abroad insisting this deal could have happened sooner: it could not have. Only Israel’s courageous campaign in Gaza, including the dismantling of Hamas’s military machine, the destruction of its tunnel empire, and the elimination of its leadership, created the leverage for this agreement. Only Trump’s diplomacy, combined with Israel’s battlefield victories, made it possible. Peace is not conjured by handshakes and lofty words on paper; it is compelled by strength.

This is not the end of our war for survival; it’s a brief breath between battles. Israelis understand that freedom and safety are not permanent conditions. They are achievements that must be won again and again.

But we won’t be thinking about that tonight.

Tonight, as we sit with our families around the dinner table, we marvel at what was just accomplished. We pray for the return of every last soldier, and for the souls whom we could not save in time.

Tonight, on the two-year anniversary of the massacre that shook our world and made us hold our breath — we’re finally dancing again.
Seth J. Frantzman: Why Donald Trump’s Diplomacy Appears to be Working
A key feature of Trump’s foreign policy doctrine is to approach US foreign ties through the prism of personal relationships with leaders abroad. In the lead-up to the Gaza peace deal proposal, which was announced on September 29, Trump met with Arab and Muslim leaders on the sidelines of the UNGA. This face-to-face meeting appears to have paved the way for the deal that took place in Egypt on October 8.

Several key tactics helped push the deal forward. Trump frequently announced progress before the two sides had fully agreed. He was also willing to appear to pressure Israel, demanding an end to bombing in Gaza, for instance. This appearance of being willing to pressure everyone involved has succeeded because the pressure is combined with win-win promises for all the countries.

The president thanked Turkey, Qatar, and Egypt on October 8 as the deal was concluded. Israel also feels it has secured most of what it wanted in Gaza. Trump has appealed directly to Israelis and spoken with freed hostages and families of hostages to show he is in tune with what the Israeli public wants.

There is a sense that the White House believes this deal can reset strategy in the Middle East. One part of this policy portrays Trump as helping Israel get out of a conflict that was increasingly unpopular around the world.

“Israel cannot fight the world,” Trump said in a phone call with Netanyahu. He also believes that this deal will pave the way for future progress on peace in the region, much like the Abraham Accords, which were secured during the first term between Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also praised this “historic moment.”

The question now is whether a successful doctrine will emerge from these first steps in ending the Gaza war. First, all parties must uphold the ceasefire. There is also a question as to whether the peace plan moves to its second phase. Last January’s ceasefire never reached the next stage of its planned sequence.

If the deal can be finalized, then the White House might try to apply this model for success to Ukraine and other conflicts. In any case, the United States has long sought to focus on Asia and near-peer rivalries with countries such as Russia and China.

Beijing and Moscow aim to establish a new world order, one that challenges the US-led order that emerged after the Cold War. They have been working to achieve this goal diplomatically, militarily, and economically. That means that after success in the Middle East, Washington will find its credibility increasing in other areas. Trump has claimed to have helped end seven conflicts in his first year in office. The Gaza deal will be the largest test yet for his doctrine.
Meet the Liberators By Abe Greenwald
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The war between Israel and Hamas has ceased. That means Hamas can come out of hiding and start killing Gazans to reassert its grip on the population. It’s wasted no time doing so. While Israel rejoices in the return of its loved ones and the resumption of prewar life, here’s what’s going on in Gaza, as reported by the Wall Street Journal:

Clashes around a hospital in Gaza City on Sunday left dozens dead, according to the Hamas unit that conducted the raid and members of the family it was fighting. Videos that emerged Monday—verified by Storyful, which like The Wall Street Journal is owned by News Corp—show Hamas fighters dragging a number of men from the family into a public square in broad daylight, forcing them to kneel and executing them in front of a crowd of onlookers.

That’s just a snapshot of one incident among many. In Gaza, the absence of war doesn’t mean peace.

To the anti-Israel fanatics who marched through Western streets and campuses for two years, I say this: These are the men whose side you’ve been on. It is their cause you took up, not the cause of those they now murder. You echoed Hamas’s rallying cries for Jewish extermination. You dressed up like Hamas soldiers, waved their banners, legitimized their sadism, and sustained their spirit while they waited for the day when they could go back to openly killing their own.

Of course, many of the pro-Hamas activists understood perfectly well that they were supporting a murderous terrorist organization. How could they not, given that Hamas recorded their bloody rampage for the world to see? But for the protesters, the massacre of Jews was an expression of resistance, and that’s all that counted. Once Israel was defeated, so their thinking went, there would be no need for terrorism.

There is another, not insignificant, portion of the anti-Israel protesters who were even more out of touch with reality. I know this because they eagerly flaunted their ignorance online. These are people who rarely if ever thought about Hamas before their friends and classmates put on keffiyehs and headed down to the local tentifada. Such ignoramuses dismissed claims of Hamas brutality as Zionist propaganda. They were told, and accepted, that October 7 was an Israeli false-flag operation. Hamas, they genuinely believed, wanted Gazans to enjoy freedom.


TIME: How the Trump Administration Sealed the Gaza Ceasefire Deal
The turning point in the negotiations came in New York a few weeks ago, during the U.N. General Assembly. For Trump's envoys, the global forum was an opportunity to convene a conversation with allies and mediators. Witkoff, who has labored on Middle East diplomacy since January alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, persuaded Kushner to lend a hand. The President’s son-in-law shaped Trump's first-term Middle East policy, proposing an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan rejected by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and brokering the Abraham Accords, which normalized Israel's ties with several Arab states. Trump has long wanted to expand on its diplomatic momentum, most importantly with Saudi Arabia.

After consultations with Israeli officials, Qatari negotiators, and regional mediators, Witkoff and Kushner assembled a 20-point peace plan calling for a ceasefire and hostage exchange, Israeli security guarantees, the demilitarization of Gaza, and a new civilian governing authority. On the UNGA sidelines, they shared the plan with Arab leaders from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey. Taking in their reactions, they went back to work, harmonizing the feedback and, as one senior Trump official put it, "wordsmithing the document."

Soon after, they brought the plan to Trump, who assembled a meeting of world leaders to present it. The gathering, which included a number of Muslim-majority countries from around the world, was “historic,” Rubio said during a Cabinet meeting Thursday. The group’s reaction surprised even the Trump team: less resistance than expected. Witkoff, Rubio, and Kushner then streamlined the proposal to a two-phase structure—first, a ceasefire and exchange of hostages and prisoners to stop the fighting; second, a framework for Gaza's future, including disarmament and a technocratic transitional government. Trump played a role of his own in applying pressure. “I spoke a little bit tough,” he told reporters Friday in the Oval Office.

By this week, both Netanyahu and Hamas leadership had accepted the plan, with the Israeli cabinet voting Thursday to approve it. For Netanyahu, the agreement offers both relief and risk. The Prime Minister’s critics, even within his coalition, have long accused him of prolonging the war for political survival. When the fighting ends his government could unravel, triggering snap elections and a reckoning over the security failures that led to the Oct. 7 massacre. While Netanyahu’s military gains over the past year have steadied his standing, the two-phase structure of the deal gives him a measure of cover, allowing him to argue that Israel must be vigilant in forcing Hamas to honor its commitments, and that he is the right leader to make sure that happens.

For now, Trump's team is taking a cautious victory lap. “I think it’ll hold. They're all tired of the fighting,” the President told reporters Friday. His team sees the deal as a start, not an ending. Much depends on whether Arab governments are willing to take ownership of Gaza—to manage it, rebuild it, and ensure Hamas or any similar terrorist group can't rise again.

"The Arab countries made a lot of commitments," a senior Trump aide told reporters. "They're going to commit a lot of resources, and they've committed to seeing Hamas demilitarized. Then we have a kind of trust-and-verify withdrawal mechanism with the Israelis, so the more those goals are met, the closer we get to a full withdrawal because there's a lot of stability in Gaza."

That's the aspiration, at least. The situation on the ground is volatile. The Trump team has few illusions about how precarious the peace remains. As the senior Administration official said: "There's still a lot of ways this can go wrong."


The real bottleneck in the Gaza deal is coming up
A“perfect storm” of factors came together to enable the first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage agreement, retired Major General Yaakov Amidror, former Israeli National Security Adviser, has stated in recent days.

In the deal brokered by the Trump administration and several Arab countries, Hamas has agreed to release all 20 living Israeli hostages in exchange for a partial Israel Defence Forces withdrawal (Israel remains in control of 53 per cent of Gaza) and an Israeli release of around 2,000 Palestinian security prisoners.

Amidror was speaking during an October 9 virtual event hosted by the Washington DC-based Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), where he is a distinguished fellow.

“The whole Iranian strategy collapsed. They lost the proxies, they lost the bridge from Tehran to the Mediterranean. They are very vulnerable and they understand they don’t have any shield if the Israelis and Americans decide to renew the war,” he said. “They are out of the stage, they are not there,” said Amidror, explaining one critical factor that enabled the deal.

He also cited relentless IDF pressure on Hamas in Gaza, and the impact of the September 9 Israeli strike on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, which, while not an operational success, sent a powerful message. “I believe that the operation in Doha, which was not successful from the intelligence point of view, all of the leaders probably got out of the operation… shook the Qataris, telling them, guys, you lost your immunity. If we decide that this is going with the interests of Israel, we will do it,” said Amidror. He concluded that this, combined with pressure from an Arab world eager for stability and the relentless IDF ground operation closing in on Gaza City, pushed Hamas to the table.

However, while Phase One of the agreement is clear, Amidror warned that Phase Two – concerning the demilitarisation of Hamas and future governance of Gaza – is fraught with uncertainty. He called the second phase the “main challenge” due to its “very vague” language. He asserted that if Hamas is perceived to be stalling negotiations, a return to hostilities is a distinct possibility.

“I will not be surprised that if we find ourselves in such a bottleneck, the way to open it will be to resume the war in Gaza,” he continued. “If it will be clear in Washington and in Jerusalem that… this is a system which is used by Hamas just to win time… I think that resuming the war is not an impossible alternative.”
Seth Frantzman: Major challenges remain after release of 20 living hostages
The release of the 20 living hostages on Monday was a monumental moment for Israel. Now the question is whether Hamas will fulfil its obligation to return all remaining 28 hostage bodies.

It has transferred seven bodies to Israel so far. When the deal was signed on October 8, there were already reports that it would be difficult to move past its first phase.

Reports have suggested that Hamas cannot find all of the hostages’ bodies. Others have been more cynical, making it seem like neither Hamas’s nor Israel’s leaders want to get to the second phase.

This would not be the first time a deal did not reach its next part. The January 2025 deal, for one, did not reach the second phase. Israel preferred to return to fighting in March. However, US President Donald Trump and leaders and delegations from 20 countries did gather in Egypt on Monday to push the deal through.

What comes next? Al-Ain media has indicated that Hamas wants to keep its weapons – surrendering them is “off-limits.” However, the terrorist organization is supposed to be disarmed under the Trump strategy.

“Discussions of other issues have been postponed until after the hostages are handed over. The clause regarding Hamas’s surrender of its weapons was included in the Trump plan. Still, a Hamas official said on Saturday that the demand to disarm the Palestinian faction was ‘out of discussion,’” Al-Ain noted.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told the summit of world leaders on Monday that Trump’s Middle East proposal represents the “last chance” for peace in the region.
Trump, Israel Pile on Pressure as Hamas Fails to Return Hostage Bodies
Hamas failed to make good on its end of the Trump-designed Gaza peace plan on Tuesday, returning just 4 of the 28 bodies it agreed to release as part of the first phase of the agreement. Israel shut down a key Gaza border crossing in response and has begun restricting aid until the terror group follows through on its promise.

"Hamas is required to fulfill its part of the agreement and make the necessary efforts to return all the hostages to their families and to proper burial," the IDF said on Tuesday after receiving the remains of just four hostages who died in captivity.

Israel then shut down the Rafah border crossing with Egypt and severely restricted the delivery of humanitarian aid, an emergency plan Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved early Tuesday. The move is meant to pressure Hamas into upholding the ceasefire pact negotiated in recent days by Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar.

The hold-up drew an angry response from President Donald Trump, who vowed to disarm Hamas with force if necessary.

Trump warned Hamas about making good on the agreement, saying in a Tuesday Truth Social post that "the JOB IS NOT DONE. THE DEAD HAVE NOT BEEN RETURNED, AS PROMISED."

In subsequent remarks at the White House, the president made clear that "Hamas will disarm, or we will disarm them." He added that forced disarmament will "happen quickly, and perhaps violently."

The terror group then offered up four more bodies late Tuesday afternoon. The coffins were transferred to the Red Cross and are currently on their way to Israeli authorities.


Remains of two Gaza hostages arrive at National Center of Forensic Medicine for identification
The remains of two deceased hostages were brought to the National Center of Forensic Medicine in Abu Kabir for identification, the Health Ministry confirmed early Thursday morning.

Israel received the remains from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) late Wednesday night, according to the Prime Minister's Office.

"The IDF requests to act with sensitivity and wait for the official identification, which will first be provided to the families of the hostages," the military stated.

Remains of two hostages set to be returned
Hamas's al-Qassam Brigade has announced that it will release the remains of two deceased hostages on Wednesday evening, according to various reports, which contain conflicting information ranging from two to five bodies.

Professional teams in Egypt are currently discussing methods for locating the remaining 21 slain hostages, the officials stated.

Since Monday, Hamas has released the bodies of seven deceased hostages and one body that it claimed was a hostage but was revealed by the IDF to be an unknown Gazan.
One of the Bodies Hamas Released Was Actually 'A Gazan Wearing IDF Uniform,' Report Says
One of the bodies that Hamas handed over as part of President Donald Trump's peace deal belonged not to an Israeli hostage but to a Gazan militant disguised in an Israeli military uniform, according to a Wednesday report.

"The fourth body was of a Gazan wearing IDF uniform—apparently a terrorist who was shot during the war," Israel's Channel 12 journalist Amit Segal reported on X, adding that Israeli sources say Hamas handed over the Gazan's body "by mistake."

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that one body was not that of an Israeli hostage. "Following the completion of examinations at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, the fourth body handed over to Israel by Hamas does not match any of the hostages," the IDF announced in an X post.

Hamas is required to return the 48 remaining hostages, living and dead, under the first phase of Trump's peace deal. The terror group has returned all 20 living Israeli hostages but only 7 of 28 dead hostages. Israel, which has released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, responded to that failure by shutting down a Gaza border crossing and restricting aid until Hamas follows through on its promise.

The terror group's hold-up drew an angry response from Trump on Tuesday. The president wrote in a Truth Social post that "the JOB IS NOT DONE. THE DEAD HAVE NOT BEEN RETURNED, AS PROMISED." In subsequent remarks at the White House, Trump made clear that Hamas "will disarm and if they don't disarm, we will disarm them," adding that forced disarmament will "happen quickly, and perhaps violently."

Hamas "is an organization that should not be trusted to tell the truth or to follow through on agreements," Foundation for Defense of Democracies executive director Jonathan Schanzer told the Washington Free Beacon. "It's a terrorist organization. Full stop."


Commentary Podcast: Trump Warns Hamas
Eliana Johnson joins the podcast to discuss Donald Trump's telling Hamas to disarm or be disarmed. We also talk about the Democrats' fanciful claim that Trump got the cease-fire and got the hostages back by following the Biden administration's plans. And we get into the New York Times' worshipful profile of Zohran Mamdani.


Call me Back Podcast: A New Middle East - with Tal Becker and Nadav Eyal
On Monday, October 13th, all 20 live hostages were returned to Israel and reunited with their families after two years in Hamas captivity. Israelis all over the country erupted in cheer, with tens of thousands of people in Tel Aviv’s hostage square celebrating as news of returns trickled in. Hamas has also handed over just 4 of the 28 bodies of deceased hostages, in what Israel is calling a “blatant breach” of the ceasefire agreement.

While all of this unfolded, President Trump landed in Israel, where he met with former hostages and hostage families and gave an hour-long speech at the Knesset in which he lauded his administration’s support for Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s leadership throughout this war. President Trump then traveled to Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt, where European, Arab, and Muslim leaders are meeting to discuss Trump’s plan for the future of Gaza.

To discuss all the many dramatic events that took place on this historic day, in which President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu declared that the war is over, Dan was joined by Ark Media Contributor Nadav Eyal and International Law Expert Tal Becker.




Hostages describe torture and torment in Gaza
One was held in a Gaza tunnel, deep underground, shackled in darkness for nearly two years.

Another was kept in total isolation, enduring a process of deliberate starvation at the hands of his captors, losing nearly 40% of his body weight.

They were tortured and tormented and in constant peril.

These were some of the gruesome stories emerging from the 20 living hostages released on Monday, two years after Gazan terrorists seized them during the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel.

Elkana Bohbot, 36, one of the organizers of the Supernova music festival, now reunited with his wife, Rivka, and five-year-old son Re’em, was chained in a deep tunnel for nearly two years, losing all sense of time and space.

Over the two years in captivity, he was able to see images of his family at rallies, appealing for his release, his wife recounted.

In the days before his release, his Hamas captors overfed Bohbot, despite clear Israeli warnings that this could prove fatal after prolonged starvation.

“Yesterday was more emotional than our wedding day or even Re’em’s birth,” Rivka Bohbot said on Tuesday. “I saw them reborn. Elkana couldn’t stop hugging Re’em.”
His Captors Were Teachers, University Lecturers, and Doctors, Israeli Hostage Reveals
Some of the people who held Israelis in captivity were "not soldiers" but civilian Palestinian teachers and doctors, former Israeli hostage Tal Shoham revealed Monday.

"One of the guards was a first-grade teacher, another was a lecturer at a university, and another was a doctor. These are normal people becoming terrorists," Shoham, who was kidnapped with his family during Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, told reporters hours before Hamas handed over all 20 remaining Israeli hostages, according to the Times of Israel.

Shoham described his Hamas captors as "so brainwashed and full of hate" and said that his 505 days in captivity included "a lot of torture and cruelty." While Hamas released Shoham's wife and two children in November 2023, it held him until this February, when it released him as part of a hostage-prisoner exchange.

Hamas has long blurred the line between combatant and civilian. Ordinary Gazans helped Hamas carry out its Oct. 7, 2023, attack, the Washington Free Beacon reported that month. Whereas Hamas members wore uniforms and carried military-grade weapons, Gazan sympathizers who followed them into the Jewish state were dressed as civilians and mostly unarmed. The civilians created a "second wave of carnage" that rivaled that of the Hamas terrorists, the Free Beacon reported.

Other former Israeli hostages have also confirmed that ordinary Gazans were "deeply complicit" in Hamas's hostage-taking on October 7, the Free Beacon reported in January 2024.

"Unarmed teens helped to abduct Jews from their homes on Oct. 7, while Gazan women and children held some of the Israelis captive," according to the Free Beacon's report. "In other cases, Gazan doctors collaborated with Hamas terrorists to covertly treat kidnapped Israelis and imprison them in hospitals."

Hamas terrorists also routinely stole humanitarian aid meant for Gazan civilians, Shoham revealed Monday. "I saw with my own eyes that they stole boxes and boxes and boxes of humanitarian aid from Egypt, from Turkey, from the Emirates, but they didn't agree to give us any of this food in the tunnels," he said.


Crazy Bernie: Bernie Sanders Celebrates Release of Palestinian Murderers, Rapists, and Terrorists
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) welcomed Israel's release of some 2,000 Palestinian murderers, rapists, and terrorists, adding that Monday's exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners presents an opportunity for the United States to end its military alliance with the Jewish state.

Sanders, who spent the past two years pressuring Israel to accept a ceasefire deal, said he is encouraged by "the long-overdue release" of Israel's 20 living hostages alongside "the freeing of almost 2,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons."

Sanders failed to mention that this group includes "hundreds of terror convicts serving life terms," according to the Times of Israel. One Gaza resident Israel released as part of the deal "raped and murdered a 13-year-old boy," while dozens of others are "responsible for a series of suicide bombings and other attacks." Another Palestinian set free on Monday was in jail for lynching two Jews.

The Vermont senator, a longtime critic of the United States-Israel alliance, said Americans must now "grapple with our role in this extremely dark chapter."

"The United States provided most of the weapons used for this horrendous destruction," Sanders wrote in a statement. "The United States spent more than $23 billion in taxpayer dollars to support Netanyahu's barbaric campaign. This blanket military support continued despite clear violations of U.S. and international law."

"This must never happen again," Sanders said, invoking a mantra often used in reference to the Holocaust.


Censored Video:
Exclusive testimony from Gaza residents who witnessed Hamas-perpetrated atrocities in recent days.
Amid the U.S.-brokered ceasefire, with Israeli troops withdrawn from parts of Gaza, Hamas has moved swiftly to reassert control over the Strip the only way it knows how: through brute force.

Through our partnership with @PeaceComCenter, we obtained exclusive testimony from Gaza residents who witnessed Hamas-perpetrated atrocities in recent days.

Video by @TanyaLukyanova_
travelingisrael.com: Al Jazeera is Lying to You — Who are the Palestinian captives Israel released?
Al Jazeera published “Who are the Palestinian captives Israel released?” This video fills in what the article left out...


EXCLUSIVE: Stefanik, Cotton Urge Treasury Department To Probe CAIR for 'Financial Links to Hamas'
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) are urging the Trump administration to investigate the Council on American-Islamic Relations’s links to Hamas, according to a letter obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

In a letter sent Tuesday to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the Republicans argue that CAIR’s "pattern of historic ties" to Hamas, combined with the rhetorical encouragement CAIR leaders have offered for Hamas, may constitute "material support for terrorism." They cite CAIR’s designation as an unindicted co-conspirator in a 2009 federal court case against the Holy Land Foundation, a Hamas front group, and pro-Hamas rhetoric from CAIR leaders in the wake of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks.

CAIR executive director Nihad Awad, for example, said in November 2023 that he was "happy to see" Hamas attack the Jewish state, and applauded Hamas operatives for "breaking the siege" against Israel. Cotton and Stefanik noted that Awad is a former leader of the Islamic Association of Palestine, a propaganda arm of Hamas.

"We urge the department to immediately investigate whether CAIR maintains financial links to Hamas that constitute a violation of U.S. sanctions on Hamas and ensure that none of its assets are being used to advance the objectives of Hamas," said Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, and Stefanik, a top House Republican who is considering a run for New York governor.

If the Treasury Department acts on it, the request could pull back the curtain on CAIR’s foreign funding sources, which the group has gone to extensive lengths to keep secret. CAIR does not disclose donors on its website or in its tax filings. The group quietly settled a lawsuit in March filed by a former board member that would have revealed the group’s foreign donors.

Like many anti-Israel groups, CAIR has falsely portrayed Israel as the unilateral aggressor in Gaza, all but ignoring Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack and its years-long refusal to release hostages taken during the war. CAIR initially urged a ceasefire in the region, but in the wake of the ceasefire deal this week, it is now calling for "international tribunals" for Israeli leaders and their unnamed "enablers."


How I Survived 491 Days Starved as a Hostage in Gaza
On October 7th, 2023, Or Levy’s life changed forever. What began as a normal day at the Nova music festival turned into a nightmare of rockets, gunfire, grenades, and abduction. Or was taken hostage into Gaza, separated from his wife and son, and endured 491 days of captivity — hunger, darkness, fear, and the constant struggle to stay alive.

In this emotional testimony, Or recounts the horrors he lived through: the attack on the shelter, his abduction, life in Hamas captivity, the tiny rays of hope he clung to, and the strength he drew from his son to survive. He shares the spiritual journey he experienced, the friendships and losses he faced in the tunnels, and the moment of bittersweet freedom — being reunited with his child while learning his wife had been murdered.

This is not only Or’s story; it’s the story of all hostages who remain in captivity. It’s a story of resilience, faith, and the unbreakable will to live.




Melanie Phillips: "The War is Not Over" | Why the Hamas Ceasefire Is A Failure?
Hamas has returned four more bodies of hostages to Israel, but one of the bodies does not match any of the known captives, according to the Israeli military.

This brings the total number of deceased hostages returned to eight, with approximately 20 still unaccounted for. The return of all hostages, both living and deceased, is a central component of the ceasefire agreement brokered by US President Donald Trump. However, the incomplete handover has led Israel to suspend the opening of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which was initially planned to facilitate humanitarian aid.

Israel has also reduced the flow of aid into Gaza, citing Hamas’s failure to return all bodies as stipulated in the peace deal.

In response to the ongoing situation, President Trump has warned that if Hamas does not disarm, the US will take action to disarm them, stating, “It will happen quickly and perhaps violently.” He also expressed concern that Hamas had misrepresented the number of hostages it would be able to return during ceasefire negotiations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has echoed these sentiments, cautioning that “all hell” will break loose if Hamas does not agree to disarm.

The incomplete return of hostages and the suspension of humanitarian aid have placed significant strain on the ceasefire agreement, with both Israeli officials and hostage families urging that the remaining bodies be returned promptly.

Julia Hartley-Brewer interviews columnist Melanie Phillips (The Times & The Sunday Times) to discuss the issue further.




Spiked: Natasha Hausdorff: How Trump’s Gaza deal shatters the lies about Israel | The Brendan O’Neill Show
Natasha Hausdorff – barrister and legal director at the UK Lawyers for Israel Charitable Trust – on the return of the hostages, the evils of Hamas and the corruption of the UN.


UKLFI: Natasha Hausdorff discusses the release of Israeli hostages and what made the deal possible
In this briefing, UKLFI Charitable Trust Legal Director Natasha Hausdorff analyses the legal and geopolitical factors that led to the release of all living hostages held in Gaza. She discusses the significance of shifts in the positions of key international actors, including Qatar and Turkey, and the impact of sustained military and diplomatic pressure on Hamas.

Natasha examines how these developments fit within international legal frameworks, including comparisons to other counter-terrorism actions under international law. She also considers how external diplomatic responses — including recognition of Palestinian statehood and arms embargoes — intersect with these events.

The discussion includes an assessment of the challenges ahead for any potential second phase, given Hamas’s renewed control in parts of Gaza.

In the second part of the briefing, Natasha addresses ongoing pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the UK, examining legal frameworks around protest, incitement, and support for proscribed terrorist organisations. She highlights the gap between existing legislation and enforcement, and outlines why the stated aims and slogans of these marches require scrutiny under UK law.


Erin Molan: “APPALLING” Terrorist who stabbed British woman 18 times released & she wasn’t told!







Kamala Harris goes against Donald Trump and accuses Israel of genocide
Israel’s spokesperson to the United Nations Jonathon Harounoff discusses former vice president Kamala Harris’ interview accusing Israel of genocide.

“Rather than marking the enormity of the moment and praising President Trump the former vice president instead opted to accuse Israel of genocide,” Mr Harounoff told Sky News host Sharri Markson.

“I am delighted that President Trump is the president.”


Sydney’s pro-Palestine rally was a ‘cesspit of hatred’ against Israel
Former Victorian Liberal Party president Michael Kroger discusses his undercover attendance at a pro-Palestine rally in Sydney, condemning the event as “disgusting”.

“I listened to about half an hour of the speeches, no condemnation of Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis or Iran, no condemnation at all,” Mr Kroger told Sky News host Sharri Markson.

“It was just a cesspit of hatred, I thought, against Israel.”




‘You can’t disarm an ideology’: Why the disarmament of Hamas may be unachievable
Filmmaker Ami Horowitz explains why the elimination of Hamas won’t be so easy.

“I kind of feel like he’s walking into the same trap Netanyahu did, when he laid out one of the goals as the elimination of Hamas,” Mr Horowitz told Sky News host Danica De Giorgio.

“Hamas is still there, they're not going anywhere … you can’t disarm an ideology.

“Disarming the entire terrorist organisation like that is a difficult goal.”




Australia upholds visa ban on antisemitic far-right US influencer Candace Owens
Far-right US influencer Candace Owens has lost her bid to enter Australia after the country’s highest court on Wednesday backed the government’s decision to deny her a visa over concerns she could “incite discord” in the community.

Owens, who has built a large online following for her controversial conservative views, applied for a visa to undertake a speaking tour in November 2024.

Her application was rejected in October 2024 by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, citing her record of downplaying the Holocaust and making Islamophobic comments. Burke has powers to deny non-citizens entry based on character requirements under the Migration Act.

Owens appealed to the High Court on the grounds that the power burdened the freedom of political communication, an implied right. Unlike the US, Australia does not have an express constitutional right to free speech.

The High Court on Wednesday unanimously sided with Burke and ordered Owens to pay the government’s legal costs.

The court said the Migration Act provisions imposed a burden on political communication but served a legitimate and justifiable purpose in protecting the Australian community from visitors who would “stir up or encourage dissension or strife on political matters.”


‘Death to All Collaborators’: SJP Echoes Hamas in Call To Avenge Gazan Propagandist’s Death
National Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), the umbrella organization for its notorious anti-Israel campus chapters, echoed Hamas in calling for the "death to all collaborators" with Israel after a Gaza-based propagandist aligned with the terror group was killed.

Saleh al-Jafarawi—a prominent Gazan influencer who celebrated the Oct. 7 terror attack and has impersonated doctors, wounded civilians, fighters, and journalists—was killed Sunday during a clash between Hamas and the Doghmush clan, a rival Palestinian faction that has warred with the terror group in recent days.

SJP mourned al-Jafarawi’s death, claiming he had been "martyred by the Zionist-proxy Doghmush clan."

"Saleh’s martyrdom is a testament to the fact that the fight against Zionism in all its manifestations—from the IOF to its collaborators—must continue," the group wrote in an Instagram post. "In the face of hundreds of thousands of martyred Palestinians these past two years alone, collaborators and informants maintain their spineless disposition as objects of Zionist influence against their own people. Between exploiting Gaza’s youth for money using desperately needed aid to the killing of their own people in service of Zionism, collaborators have no place in a liberated future."

"Death to the occupation. Death to Zionism. Death to all collaborators," the post continued.

While SJP has been billed merely as a pro-Palestinian group, its rhetoric puts it in lockstep with Hamas as the terror group accuses rival groups of collaborating with Israel to justify hunting down and executing their members. The campaign, Foundation for Defense of Democracies research analyst Joe Truzman told the Washington Free Beacon, is an effort to assert power amid the ceasefire.
Mamdani Says Pro-Israel Democrats Aren't Welcome in His Coalition
Socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani said there is no room for pro-Israel voters within his coalition, arguing that fellow Democrats should not make "an exception" for people who are "progressive except Palestine."

The Democratic nominee said his long history of anti-Israel activism—which includes founding the Bowdoin College chapter of the extremist and terror-aligned Students for Justice in Palestine organization—informs his belief that pro-Israel liberals should be driven out of the left.

"That exception is one that I believe we should not only take issue with because of what it means for Palestinians and Palestinian human rights," he told the New York Times in an interview published Tuesday. "But also, whenever you are at peace with the making of an exception, you make it easier to make another exception—wherever, whenever."

Mamdani used the term "progressive except Palestine," which pro-Israel liberals like Philip Mendes, a professor at Monash Univeristy in Australia, have criticized as a "cynical political strategy to exclude moderate progressives from debates on resolving the Israeli-Palestine conflict" and a "means to discredit progressives who do not support fundamentalist calls for the abolition of the existing Jewish State of Israel."

Politicians who could be categorized as "progressive except Palestine," according to anti-Israel activist Ruqaiyah Zarook, include Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) and Ayanna Pressley (D., Mass), who have not condemned Israel strongly enough for many fellow leftists.

Mamdani's warning that he does not want the votes of pro-Israel Democrats has not stopped the left-wing group J Street, which describes itself as "pro-Israel, pro-peace," from supporting him.

J Street founder Jeremy Ben-Ami said last summer that the left needs to build a "bridge" between "the center left Jews who care about Israel and the really progressive pro-Palestinian rights activists," such as Mamdani, the Washington Free Beacon reported last week. Ben-Ami has spent the past few months arguing that Mamdani—whose Democratic Socialists of America support Hamas outright—is an important ally.
Zohran Mamdani Refuses Call for Hamas to Disarm as Terror Outfit Slaughters Gazans in Streets
Socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani repeatedly refused to say Hamas should disarm as part of the Trump-brokered ceasefire deal in Gaza, telling Fox News he does not "have opinions about the future" of the terrorist group.

Fox News host Martha MacCallum twice asked Mamdani whether Hamas "should lay down their weapons" and leave political leadership roles in Gaza, a crucial component of President Donald Trump's peace plan. MacCallum noted that "Hamas is killing Palestinians inside Gaza" as part of a campaign of retribution against its critics in the strip.

"I don’t really have opinions about the future of Hamas and Israel beyond the question of justice and safety, and the fact that anything has to abide by international law," said Mamdani. "And that applies to Hamas, that applies to the Israeli military."

While Mamdani says he’s indifferent about Hamas’s future, he’s offered plenty of opinions about Israel and what he claims is a "genocidal war" waged in Gaza. "Peace must be achieved through diplomacy, not war crimes," Mamdani said on the second anniversary of Oct. 7.


Mamdani's Democratic Socialist Party, Which Repeatedly Demanded Gaza Ceasefire, Dismisses Trump's Ceasefire Deal
After two years of demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, the Democratic Socialists of America—which boasts New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani among its members—on Monday released a statement that denounces President Donald Trump's ceasefire deal and calls for more Palestinian "resistance" against Israel.

The statement, titled "Until Palestinian Liberation," says the DSA's goal is "to end U.S. complicity in Israel's genocide and apartheid at every level—in our communities, our government, our workplaces—with every economic and political tool at our disposal." The DSA vows to strengthen its support for anti-Israel campaigns, such as the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions and Labor for an Arms Embargo movements, to "effectively isolate Israel economically, culturally, and academically."

Israel and Hamas last week agreed to stop fighting under Trump's peace deal, with Hamas on Monday freeing all 20 living Israeli hostages and Israel releasing nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in return. World leaders have praised Trump for brokering the agreement, calling it a rare diplomatic breakthrough in the region.

The DSA released its statement criticizing Trump's peace deal after repeatedly demanding a ceasefire. In October 2023, Democratic Socialist members of Congress introduced a resolution titled "Ceasefire NOW." The DSA in a January 2024 statement wrote that "we reiterate our demand for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza." The far-left group earlier this year reaffirmed its claim to support a ceasefire.


With ceasefire in place, activists shift to long term objective, Israel's destruction
With a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in effect after two years of pro-Palestinian protests demanding “ceasefire now,” anti-Israel activist groups have pivoted their advocacy toward several objectives to weaken Israel militarily or politically, with many expressing that the next step is the eradication of Israel.

Activist groups explained on their platforms, following the ceasefire’s implementation on Friday, that the ceasefire was only an initial demand by protesters, and their ultimate objective was to destroy Zionism.

Palestinian Youth Movement Montreal stated on Instagram on Thursday that “While a ceasefire has been a central demand of our movement, it only marks one phase of aggression: We remain committed to confronting and dismantling Zionism in all its forms.’

Another PYM chapter in New York City said of a Friday protest that the ceasefire was a respite for Gazans, and the continuation of the “struggle” to ensure “Zionism is never allowed to persist again” was on Western supporters.

Barnard College and Columbia University Jewish Voice for Peace, JVP University of Michigan, Jews for Justice DePaul University, Anti-Zionist Jewish Student Front George Washington University, and AJSF American University issued a joint statement in which they held mainstream American Jewish institutions responsible for a supposed genocide in Gaza and committed to erasing “Zionism from every crevice of Jewish life.”

“We will continue to fight for the abolition of Zionism both in Palestine and in our own Jewish communities,” said the progressive groups.

The groups believed that the ceasefire had “fractured the Zionist entity” and would serve as the “first step to the inevitable fall of empire.”
Inside New York’s Radical Protests on October 7
Meet Adrian. With round wire-rim glasses, shaggy brown hair, and a beard, he looks like a throwback to the student radicals of the 1960s. His politics are a throwback, too. Standing on a sidewalk in the South Bronx, around the corner from the Mitchel Houses project on Alexander Avenue near East 135th Street, he speaks of war crimes and genocide, of the sins of capitalism and imperialism. He calls on those in the “belly of the beast” need to become seditious and “side with the people of the world” against the United States of America.

It’s a hot Saturday afternoon, and Adrian wears a t-shirt featuring a photo of Joe Biden, above the words “War Criminal.” In one hand he holds a microphone, in the other a stack of flyers for a protest at the Israeli Consulate in New York on October 7. He calls that date the second anniversary of the “Al-Aqsa flood,” (Hamas’s term), when the “Palestinian resistance . . . broke through the apartheid wall and took the fight to their enemies.”

This afternoon, no one is listening to Adrian, but he remains undeterred, railing against Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza and denouncing the “complicity” of the U.S. government. Occasionally, as people walk down the sidewalk, he forces a flyer into their hands.

Adrian is an organizer with Behind Enemy Lines (BEL), a small but growing “anti-imperialist” group with chapters in Chicago and New York and members scattered across the country. This is how he has spent nearly every Saturday for the past ten months. BEL’s highest-profile action to date was a protest at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, at which 56 people were arrested—including Adrian—and two police officers injured. BEL co-organized the protest with Samidoun, a “sham charity” that funnels funds to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Samidoun is banned in Canada and is under U.S. government restriction.

I first contacted BEL in mid-September after seeing its call for nationwide protests on the anniversary of October 7. I told them I was a university student in New York who was interested in joining but took no additional steps to conceal my identity. Days after reaching out, I spoke on the phone with a BEL organizer in Chicago named Michael, who told me the group was hoping to use October 7 to “spark s**t again.” A week later, I was on the phone with Adrian, who said: “For us, the bigger question is always: What are we doing to get people in this country to defect from their loyalty to this thing?”


Stephen Pollard: This Oxford student is the true face of the poisonous pro-Gaza movement
Actions have consequences, as Anna Karenina famously discovered. That is a lesson now being learned by Oxford student Samuel Williams, who was filmed basking in the acclaim of a group of fellow hate chanters as he proudly revealed his creation to the crowd, “a chant that we’ve been workshopping in Oxford”.

Footage of Williams’ chant has now gone viral. “Gaza, Gaza make us proud, put the Zios in the ground,” he screams, the intensity of his rage deepening with every repeat.

On one level it is pathetic. Williams’ Instagram posts – now deleted – show him enjoying cosplaying at revolution, with pictures in combat fatigues holding machine guns and, of course, the now-essential keffiyeh scarf. The contrast with his preppy features and Harry Potter glasses is genuinely funny.

But there is nothing amusing about incitement to murder: “Put the Zios” – ie me – “in the ground”. Thing is, we Jews have a long experience of what happens when mobs call for us to be put in the ground (and yes, Zio means Jews: only a tiny proportion of Jews are not Zionists). We end up being put in the ground.

This isn’t an issue of freedom of expression: free speech has never included the right to incite murder. It’s said the police are now investigating. Good. Williams and his ilk need to learn that you don’t get a free pass if your anger is directed at Jews. But I won’t hold my breath waiting for the criminal justice system to act. George Orwell came up with the idea of a state-sanctioned Two Minutes Hate in 1984.

But it’s clear from the CPS’s refusal to act in all but a tiny number of cases that the Two Minutes Hate has been treated by the authorities not as a fictional satire but as the playbook for their decision making, with the state standing and watching a mass outpouring of hate.


"As Antisemitic As It GETS!" | 'Racist Oxford Student' Arrested Over 'Zios In The Ground' Chant
A University of Oxford student filmed allegedly chanting for Gaza to “put the Zios in the ground” has been arrested.

Videos appear to show the man telling the crowd: “A steadfast and noble resistance in Palestine and in Gaza to look to, to be inspired by and – I don’t want to yap for too long – but a chant that we’ve been workshopping in Oxford that maybe you guys want to join in.

“It goes ‘Gaza, Gaza make us proud, put the Zios in the ground’.”

The student has been suspended by the university, it is understood.

Talk's Ian Collins is joined by Middle East correspondent Jotam Confino and author Jake Wallis Simons to discuss the latest stories surrounding the conflict.


Police arrest man in connection with ‘Put the Zios in the ground’ chant
The University of Oxford has suspended a student videoed chanting a call to “put Zionists in the ground” last weekend, with the police confirming that a 20-year old man has been arrested today “for inciting racial hatred”.

Samuel Williams, a Politics, Philosophy and Economics undergraduate at Balliol College, had been identified as the individual videoed at a demonstration in central London on Saturday, appearing to praise what he described as “an upright, a steadfast and a noble resistance in Palestine and in Gaza to look to, to be inspired by.”

In the video, Williams goes on to say that he doesn’t want “to yap for too long”, and then refers to “a chant we’ve been workshopping in Oxford that maybe you guys want to join in, it goes ‘Gaza, Gaza, make us proud, put the Zios in the ground’.”

The man goes on to scream the chant, which is picked up by a number of people in the surrounding crowd.

Williams has previously been pictured in videos shared by Oxford Students Palestine Society.

Investigative journalist David Collier identified Williams’ Instagram account, which has now been made private – but not before Collier found pictures shared by Williams showing his pro-Palestinian activism, including a picture of a pro-Palestine march, including people standing on top of bus shelters while flying the Palestinian and Lebanese flags. Another appears to show Williams, with part of face concealed by his hands, wearing a scarf featuring the word “Palestine” and a Palestinian flag.

Other image show Williams appearing to be brandishing mock-assault rifles – one, which is clearly Williams despite his eyes being blurred out, shows him holding a replica AK-47 assault rifle and wearing a camouflage jacket. Another image appears to show Williams and a friend wearing balaclavas, with Williams also wearing a keffiyeh and making gun signs with his fingers. A third image appears to show Williams holding an American flag while another individual holds an England flag featuring the cross of St George, in front of a shopping trolley in which a bonfire has been lit. Another individual in the picture is holding a mock-assault rifle.


Taxpayer-funded PhD student who cut down Israeli hostage ribbons felt 'offended, intimidated and threatened' by them - and was 'astonished' by the outrage over her actions
A woman who sparked outrage after she was caught snipping down yellow ribbons tied in memory of Israeli hostages has claimed the tributes made her feel 'intimidated'.

Nadia Yahlom, who is PhD student at the University of Westminster, was filmed vandalising the display in Muswell Hill, north London, with a pair of scissors on October 6.

The ribbons had been tied to commemorate the hostages seized during Hamas's brutal attack in 2023 on October 7, when the terror group murdered more than 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 others.

But Ms Yahlom, who describes herself as a 'Palestinian-Jewish woman,' insisted she 'wasn't aware' of the date's significance when challenged by shocked onlookers.

As she cut down the display, she was filmed declaring: 'Condoning genocide is disgusting and that's what this is.'

Her actions provoked fury from local residents and the Jewish community, leading to her being interviewed under caution by the Metropolitan Police.

Officers confirmed she has not been arrested or charged but said they are also reviewing the footage to see whether any offences, including hate crime or criminal damage, were committed.

Ms Yahlom, who is completing an Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded doctorate at Westminster's Centre for Research and Education in Arts and Media (CREAM), told the BBC that what she did was a 'peaceful form of protest' as she felt 'offended, intimidated and threatened' by the ribbons.
BBC criticised for “sympathetic” interview with woman who cut down hostage ribbons
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum in the UK has condemned a decision by the BBC to publish a sympathetic interview with a self-described “Palestinian Jew” who was filmed cutting down yellow ribbons for Israeli hostages in Gaza, describing it as “deeply disappointing”.

Last week, a woman identified as Nadia Yahlom was filmed cutting down yellow hostage ribbons on the eve of the second anniversary of 7 October. When challenged by onlookers, the self-described “Palestinian Jew” claimed that the ribbons were “condoning genocide”.

Yahlom is married to a Palestinian actor, Mo’min Swiatat, who subsequently claimed that the couple had been “attacked by a group of extremist group [sic] probably working for the Israeli Mosad [sic]…we have been attacked and stranded to be killed.”

On Tuesday, the BBC published a piece titled ‘why I cut down hostage ribbons’, in which it spoke “exclusively” with Yahlom. The PhD student, who previously studied at Cambridge and Goldsmiths, claimed that her actions were “a peaceful form of protest”, saying said she had felt “offended, intimidated and threatened” by the presence of the ribbons. She further claimed that she “actually wasn’t aware that it was close to the anniversary”, but went on to say that discussion about the “oppression of Palestinian people” should go “all the way back to 1948”.

She told BBC London that “after two years of “genocide” in Gaza, “we are still being told that the only lives worth commemorating, the only lives that have any value, are Jewish lives”.

Comments online responding to the BBC interview included “that this even got past a BBC editorial decision is sickening”, “how does this qualify as ‘journalism’ anyway, it’s a disgrace”, and “They’ll have her on ‘Strictly’ next year”.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum in the UK said: “The yellow ribbon is a sign of hope — a worldwide symbol for the 251 babies, women, and men who were taken hostage on 7 October. It represents compassion, solidarity, and the simple plea to bring them home.


BBC fails to tell viewers “Palestinian prisoner” is Hamas suicide bomb plotter
The BBC is facing questions as to why it aired an interview with the sister of a Palestinian prisoner featuring her crying as she finds out he is being deported rather than being released – without informing viewers that the prisoner in question is a terrorist responsible for a 2006 suicide bombing which killed four people.

In a video which was published across the BBC’s channels – including the 10 o’clock news on Monday night, the BBC News website homepage this morning and across the Corporation’s social media channels, Lucy Williamson, the BBC’s Middle East correspondent, interviewed a woman identified as “Aida abu Rob”. In written language accompanying the TV piece, it described her as “waiting for her brother Murad, sentenced to four life sentences in 2006.”

In the BBC video, flagged with a warning for “distressing content”, a tearful Aida says “I’ve waited 20 years for my brother to be released from Israeli jail…I don’t know what he looks like, yesterday I went shopping for him. He’s a big guy, he used to be a big guy, you know? So I tried to figure out, what size should I take for him, you know? I don’t know if it’s going to fit him today or not, I don’t know.”

The BBC video then shows Aida weeping as it turns out that Murad was not among the prisoners released back to the West Bank.

“They kidnapped my brother. They kidnapped him”, Aida claims.

The BBC voiceover from Williamson says that “After comparing three different lists of prisoners, we discovered Murad’s name, once slated for release, was yesterday moved to a list of deportees…our colleagues in Gaza looked for Murad among the hundreds of faces released there today. We still don’t know where he is.”

However, Marc Goldberg, a British-Israeli citizen and author, identified who “Murad” really is.

“There were two Murads released by Israel, only one of them has served 20 years; Murad Abu Al Rab, BBC names the sister as an ‘Aida Abu Rob’. ‘Murad’ is a member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. His family have spoken about their pride in his actions”, Goldberg said, linking to a Palestinian Authority TV programme from 2021 called Giants of Endurance, which features members of the Al Rab family expressing pride in Murad.

Al Rab was sentenced to four life sentences in 2006 for his role in a suicide bombing at the Kedumim junction in the West Bank. A suicide bomber was disguised as a strictly orthodox Jew and sent out to hitch-hike. He was picked up by a car of civilians. At a petrol station near Kedumim, he blew himself up, killing three others in the car and one person nearby – Rafi Halevy, Helena Halevy, Re’ut Feldman and Shaked Lasker.


Censored Video This isn’t October 7 - it’s from the past few hours.
This isn’t October 7 - it’s from the past few hours. Hamas is parading through Gaza, showing off the bodies of the many people they’ve executed since the ceasefire.

We need Greta now.


Man who set Jewish governor’s home on fire gets 25 to 50 years
The man charged with setting fire to the mansion of Pennsylvania’s Jewish governor during Passover was sentenced to decades in prison after pleading guilty on Tuesday.

Cody A. Ballmer, 38, reached a plea deal, the Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office said. He agreed to a sentence of 25 to 50 years in state prison in exchange for pleading guilty to attempted murder, aggravated arson, 22 counts of arson, burglary and other charges.

The incident was widely condemned as antisemitic.

Police accused Ballmer of breaking into Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s mansion on April 13, the second day of Passover, and setting it on fire. Security footage showed what prosecutors said was Ballmer scaling the property’s fence, breaking a window with a sledgehammer and throwing a Molotov cocktail inside before breaking a second window and entering the home.

Shapiro had held a seder at his home before the attack, and his family and guests were sleeping in the mansion at the time. Footage shows Ballmer striking two doors, including one that would have led to the occupants, but he was unable to break through.

Ballmer threw a second Molotov cocktail in the dining area before fleeing, igniting another fire. Prosecutors said the mansion sustained “substantial damage.”

Shapiro, his wife, three of their children, 15 guests and two Pennsylvania State Police troopers were all inside the mansion at the time. Everyone was evacuated safely, and no one was injured.

Ballmer was arrested 12 hours after the attack and told police he was upset by Shapiro’s stance on the Israel-Hamas war.


Some flights delayed after Kelowna airport public information system hacked with pro-Hamas messaging
Kelowna International Airport says some flights have been delayed after a third party hacked its terminal display screens and public address system with pro-Hamas messaging on Tuesday evening.

The incident happened at about 5:15 p.m.

“We are experiencing some delayed flights,” the airport said in a news release.

“We apologize to our passengers for this inconvenience and ask anyone travelling through YLW to check with their airline for updated flight information.”

The YLW website shows two flights to Victoria have been delayed, as well as a flight to Prince George.

YLW said its team has successfully removed the unauthorized messaging and restored the airport's flight information display screens.

Work is ongoing to restore the PA system.


Berlin strips citizenship from Hamas supporter
Authorities in Berlin ordered the revocation of the citizenship of a Palestinian immigrant who shared online pictures of his newly issued passport and then praised Hamas, a German newspaper reported.

The man, who was identified in the media only as Abdallah, will lose his citizenship as a result of a decision by the Berlin State Office for Immigration, Bildt Online reported on Saturday.

Following his naturalization, Abdallah expressed “joy” on social media, sharing photos of his newly issued German passport. He filmed himself singing joyously. The following day, he posted praises for Hamas, a banned terrorist group in Germany, according to the report.

The posts went viral and circulated last month as evidence of the naturalization of terror sympathizers. Anti-immigration and anti-racism activists pointed to the posts as indicative of how Germany has imported virulent antisemitism by letting in massive numbers of Muslims from the Middle East with little or no vetting.
Second man arrested in connection to defacement of three Halifax synagogues, police announce
After a man was arrested for defacing three Halifax synagogues with swastikas and graffiti claiming Jews were responsible for the September 11 terrorist attacks, Halifax Regional Police announced last Wednesday that a second man was arrested in relation to the incident. Russell Jared Currie was arrested last Tuesday for the alleged September 13 vandalization of the Shaar Shalom Congregation, Beth Israel Synagogue, the Chabad-Lubavitch of the Maritimes Rohr Family Institute, and three spots on nearby sidewalks.

"Jews did 9/11" was spray-painted on the wall next to Shaar Shalom’s doors, and a swastika was scrawled on the sign.

The 32-year-old suspect was brought before Halifax provincial court last Wednesday to face charges of public incitement to hatred, three counts of mischief related to religious property, and another three counts of property damage.

Another man, Gezim Topalli, had been arrested on September 17. The 31-year-old faced the same charges as Currie.


Tel Aviv University economist among 3 Nobel Prize laureates
Joel Mokyr, a Tel Aviv University scientist and dual citizen of Israel and the United States, on Monday won the 2025 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, along with Philippe Aghion of the College de France and the INSEAD business school, and Peter Howitt, a professor emeritus of economics at Brown University.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded half the $1.1 million prize to Mokyr and the other half to be split between Aghion and Howitt for showing how “society must keep an eye on the factors that generate and sustain economic growth,” an award committee member wrote.

Mokyr was at his vacation home in Western Michigan when he got the news of his prize, The New York Times reported, and he was preoccupied by the news of Israeli hostages being released, he told the newspaper. He had forgotten the Nobel Prize announcement until he noticed congratulatory emails and a missed call from Sweden, Mokyr said.

The three economists researched the relationship between technological progress and sustained economic growth, which has improved living conditions. Their work would help ensure that growth was maintained and could be steered in the direction to support humankind, the prize committee wrote.

“Sustained economic growth, driven by a continuous stream of technological innovations and improvements, has replaced stagnation,” John Hassler, the chair of the prize committee, said in a ceremony announcing the award on Monday, the Times reported.




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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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