Friday, November 14, 2025
Seth Mandel: The Future of the U.S.-Israel Defense Alliance
How soon? Well, Bibi said, he was scheduled to have a meeting that very day about planning for the next five years of Israel’s future and beyond.Jonathan Tobin: Begin reducing US aid to Israel, not extending it
Five is less than 10, which is less than 20. Again, Netanyahu is conscious of how all this talk might play with the pro-retrenchment crowd.
Where is all this going? As I wrote last year, the Biden presidency marked a turning point for Israel. Biden himself mostly held the line on military aid, but it was clear that he was the last Democratic president willing to take that level of heat from his own party for defending our alliance with Israel.
The real shock was that the more vulnerable Israel seemed to be, the more intense were the calls to cut off the Jewish state from anything it might need to defend itself now or in the future. In the past, U.S. presidents took the position that Israel cannot be allowed to be put in mortal danger by the two countries’ shared enemies. That would be morally repugnant but also strategically reckless. But now, a loud-enough progressive chorus—a minority in the Democratic Party, but an influential one and a growing one—comes right out and declares Israel’s destruction to be a worthy goal.
This changes the calculus. If, in the future, there is going to be an American administration that won’t let Israel break the glass even in case of emergency, then Israel must be prepared for such a moment well in advance. And a domestic weapons production line does not appear overnight. Israel’s survival has long been ensured by a defense establishment constantly peering over the next horizon, and this appears to be no exception.
The ideal ‘America First’ allyDanny Danon: Israel's envoy to UN Danny Danon: Israel's alliance with US protects both nations
That ought to make it, as Vice President JD Vance pointed out in a 2024 speech, the ideal “America First” ally since it doesn’t want Americans to fight for them and also can contribute to U.S. security interests in a variety of ways. A strong Israel that isn’t so dependent on the United States could enable the Americans to pivot to using more of its resources to deal with the pre-eminent 21st-century threat to their security: China.
There is no scenario in which Israel could be completely cut off from the United States. It’s just too small a country, and for all of the benefits of its First World “Start-Up Nation” economy, it isn’t rich enough to be on its own.
Nor would it be in its interests to do so since having a superpower friend—and there is no possible desirable alternative to the U.S. alliance—is essential to maintaining its security in a world where so many nations and people want to kill Jews and destroy their state. Yet reducing that dependence to the extent that it is possible is vital for maintaining that alliance in the long run.
Netanyahu knows this as well as anyone.
In 1996, during his first term as prime minister, he told a joint session of the U.S. Congress that he wanted to reduce American aid and eliminate the economic element—as opposed to the military portion—of the assistance. To his credit, he was able to do just that.
His next challenge is to reduce the U.S. aid package, rather than to enlarge and extend it.
That goes against every instinct of the Israeli military establishment, which is dependent on all those American arms and ammunition. It’s equally true that the Americans, even the Obama staffers who negotiated the last long-term aid deal, like to keep the Israelis on a short leash. Going back to the first Bush administration in the 1980s, the Americans have been less than enthusiastic about the Israelis manufacturing arms that could also be made in the United States.
If Israel is to remain secure and maintain a healthy relationship with the United States, then this must change in the long term. The United States needs a partner in the Middle East, not a vassal or a protectorate. The more independent the Jewish state can be, the more solid its alliance with America will become.
The US-Israel alliance delivers tangible, measurable benefits to American security. Israeli intelligence has repeatedly provided early warnings that have saved American lives.
One pertinent example was former Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Aqil. He had a $7 million bounty on his head by the US government for playing a key role in the bombings of the US embassy in Beirut in April 1983, which killed 63 people, as well as the attack on the US Marine barracks in October 1983, which killed 241 American personnel.
Last year, Israeli forces eliminated Aqil, who had American blood on his hands, because he was a threat not just to Israel and the United States but to Western civilization.
This is what partnership looks like: a democratic ally doing what must be done when others cannot or will not. It is in America’s direct interest that groups like Hezbollah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad face the kind of consequences that only Israel has the resolve to deliver.
When fringe parts of the American political spectrum – left or right – begin to waver on that basic truth, adversaries notice. The Islamic Republic of Iran notices. Hezbollah notices. So do the forces of extremism and authoritarianism that watch for any sign of Western fragmentation.
When some conservatives dismiss Israel as a burden, or when some progressives tolerate antisemitic rhetoric in their ranks, they are not simply debating policy. They are weakening America’s deterrent posture and emboldening its enemies.
The problem is not just political but cultural. On the Right, some have confused moral clarity with moral indifference, treating alliances as outdated relics rather than as instruments of power. On the Left, outrage has replaced empathy, and solidarity has been warped into tribalism. In both cases, the result is the same: a retreat from responsibility. When America retreats, chaos fills the void.
If this downward spiral is to be reversed, leaders in both parties must act with moral courage and follow in the example of true friends like President Trump. We are eternally grateful for his strong leadership in recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, brokering the historic Abraham Accords, and pushing through a hostage release agreement that has seen all our surviving hostages return home.
Other Republicans should also make clear that antisemitism, whether dressed up as nationalism or nihilism, has no home in their movement. Democrats must confront the radicals in their midst who conflate criticism of Israeli policy with the delegitimization of Israel itself. Neither side can afford to repeat the other’s mistakes. Silence is complicity, and equivocation is surrender.
The United States and Israel share more than intelligence. They share values that are intrinsic to each society: democracy, resilience, and a belief that freedom is worth defending. These principles are under attack from forces that despise both nations equally. To abandon Israel now, or to allow antisemitism to metastasize in American politics, would be to forget the lessons of history at a perilous time.
The stakes are clear. If America truly intends to put itself first, it must remember that strength begins with solidarity. Standing with Israel is not selfless charity. It is strategy. It is the recognition that the enemies of the Jewish state are also enemies of the United States. And it is a reminder that sustained peace is built not on retreat but on the shared strength and resolve of allies who stand together.
UN made ‘Rosetta Stone’ for Jew-hatred in 1975, expert says at Geneva event
‘It planted seeds of hostility’Seth Mandel: Trump and Israel-Saudi Normalization Step Into the Spotlight
Isaac Herzog, the Israeli president, delivered recorded remarks at the event, a half-century after his father, Chaim Herzog, then the Israeli envoy to the United Nations, tore a copy of the resolution and delivered a stinging rebuke in the General Assembly’s hall after it passed.
Chaim Herzog’s granddaughter, Ariel, attended the event on Nov. 12, as did representatives of 37 countries, according to the Israeli mission.
Daniel Meron, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, told JNS that the 50th anniversary of the resolution offered a chance to highlight its current impact on the global body.
“There are forces which are continuing to try to use the United Nations as a platform to portray Israel as the mother of all evils, and where the anti-Zionism and antisemitic notion is very prevalent,” he said. “We thought it was very good to have this event.”
Meron told JNS that the U.S. mission is to be applauded for seeking and obtaining a waiver so that its members could participate during the government shutdown.
The resolution fueled racism rather than fought it, Meron told the audience.
“It emboldened extremists, legitimized hatred and provided ideological cover for the oldest hatred known to humanity,” he said in his remarks. “It planted seeds of hostility that continue to bear poisonous fruit today, in the streets, on university campuses and across the digital world.”
‘It created the playbook’
Gil Troy, an author, historian and senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute, told attendees that “one of the key words that’s often missing from definitions of antisemitism is the word ‘obsession.’”
He stated that “anti-Zionism has become a modern obsession. What do we know from obsession? We put the Jew, as we did in the Middle Ages, and now the Jewish state, at the center of all the world’s troubles.”
Troy denounced the United Nations for “betraying its founding ideals” by adopting the resolution.
“The United Nations created the Rosetta Stone for antisemitism and anti-Zionism, because the two merged. It created the playbook,” he said. “It created the precedent for institutions to single out Israel. It created the playbook for uniting on campus, uniting in the media, uniting in the art world against Israel and the Jewish people.”
David Harris, former CEO of the American Jewish Committee, told attendees that many Israelis thought of the 1975 resolution as “a mosquito bite.”
“‘We’ve had them before.’ ‘We’ll have them again.’ ‘It’ll go away.’ ‘It doesn’t matter,’” he said. “But it mattered.”
Meron told JNS that the U.N. plan to combat Jew-hatred, which it debuted in April, has had little if any practical impact.
“I’ve seen a lot of talk,” he said. “I put together a report, which I delivered here in Geneva and in Washington, of how the United Nations needs to reform and get rid of all this singling out of one country, and nobody’s taking it seriously except the American administration.”
“The United Nations is not taking it seriously,” he said. “If they were really serious about antisemitism, they would stop singling out one country: the Jewish state.”
That the administration wants everyone to know that the president wants a Saudi normalization deal means the White House sees a need to keep the pressure on Riyadh. The president wants to get questions about that normalization deal while bin Salman is at the White House.Republican senators urge Trump to exclude UNRWA from Gaza plans
Trump is comfortable in such situations and in fact likes to test others by putting them under the same hot lights to see how they’ll react. Trump also knows that the more such a deal is spoken about in public, in front of the press, by political leaders, the more it will take on an air of inevitability and normalcy—in a way, it’s how normalization gets normalized.
Bin Salman also surely knows how badly Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu want to be the ones to sign such a deal, since they’re nearing the end of their careers and bin Salman, at the preposterously young age of 40, has his career ahead of him.
The elephant in the room is Palestinian statehood. Hamas launched the October 7 war in part to derail Israel-Saudi normalization, but the attacks also represented a major setback for Palestinian statehood alongside Israel, which Hamas opposes. Hamas’s mere survival in Gaza, meanwhile, is an existential threat to Palestinian national aspirations. The terror group is skilled at playing spoiler.
The path to Palestinian statehood, therefore, can only be paved with Hamas’s total defeat. Trump is on board with that, as are the Israelis. But the unanswered question remains: Does bin Salman have the stomach for taking on the Muslim Brotherhood so definitively? The problem is not power: Iran and its proxies have been sidelined, and bin Salman has much more influence with the al-Sharaa regime that has replaced the Assad family in Damascus.
What bin Salman needs is to know this thing with the U.S. is rock solid. The Obama administration’s attempt to empower Iran at the Saudis’ expense was a wake-up call for everybody, most of all Riyadh. Trump has proved repeatedly that while he’d prefer a diplomatic solution with Iran, he will not be held hostage by Tehran. Joe Biden initially came into office talking about undoing the progress with the Sunni alliance in retribution for the killing of Khashoggi. The post-Trump right has also sent signals that it will be less comfortable with U.S. security guarantees than Trump is.
Bin Salman will get his defense pact next week. But his meetings with Trump will be largely about plotting a possible normalization endgame. And, of course, that Nobel Peace Prize the president has had his eye on.
Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, led 25 Republican Senate colleagues on Thursday in a letter urging the Trump administration to exclude UNRWA, the United Nations aid agency for Palestinians, from plans to rebuild Gaza.Deech questions Palestinian refugee status and calls for UN relief agency to be disbanded
The GOP senators cited UNRWA’s “systemic infiltration” by Hamas and the need to “avoid repeating the mistakes that empowered the terror group to take hold in the first place” in their letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“During your recent visit to Israel, you reaffirmed UNRWA’s ties to terrorism, describing the agency as ‘a subsidiary of Hamas’ and making clear that it ‘is not going to play any role’ in the delivery of aid to Gaza,” the senators wrote. “Reinstating UNRWA would only recreate the very conditions that allowed Hamas to entrench itself and exert control in Gaza.”
“We strongly urge the administration to ensure that UNRWA play no role in any efforts to stabilize, govern and rebuild Gaza,” they wrote. “Instead, we encourage the United States to work with vetted international partners, trusted regional actors and nongovernmental organizations that are demonstrably free of terrorist influence and committed to transparency, accountability and peace.”
Other signatories to the letter included Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine).
Crossbench peer Baroness Ruth Deech has argued in the House of Lords that the UK government’s recent recognition of Palestine as a state should affect the status of Palestinian refugees.US says its plan for postwar management of Gaza offers pathway to Palestinian statehood
The peer, who is Jewish, claimed that with statehood recognised, Palestinians should be considered citizens of Palestine rather than refugees – and that the concept of Palestinian refugees should be reconsidered.
Deech also criticised the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), alleging it perpetuates refugee status and is influenced by Hamas, and called for its dismantlement.
“Since the UK recognises Palestine as a state, its citizens living in their state cannot, in principle, be refugees,” she claimed, after tabling a question on Thursday.
“Indeed, all the other Palestinians around the world are, or should be, citizens of that state and no longer stateless.”
Deech also strongly criticised the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), saying: “UNRWA continues to inflate the number of refugees instead of settling them, and teaches them that they will remain refugees until they return to what they believe were their homes in what is now Israel, with the aim of obliterating the state.”
She added, “There will be no future for Gaza unless UNRWA is dismantled… and the concept of Palestinian refugees in the West Bank and Gaza should disappear.”
In a joint statement arranged by the US on Friday, multiple countries working toward an end to the Gaza conflict voiced backing for Washington’s UN Security Council resolution to establish an International Stabilization Force in Gaza, amid pushback from Russia and China.Indonesia says it has trained 20,000 troops for Gaza peacekeeping force
The statement, supported by Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan and Turkey, noted that the process “offers a pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.”
“We emphasize that this is a sincere effort, and the Plan provides a viable path towards peace and stability, not only between the Israelis and the Palestinians, but for the entire region,” the joint statement continued. We are looking forward to this resolution’s swift adoption.”
US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan states that the conditions “may” be in place for “a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood” while “Gaza re-development advances and when the PA reform program is faithfully carried out.”
Friday’s joint statement appeared to go further than the text of the plan by not leaving the question of a political horizon up for debate, possibly meeting a demand by signatories to the statement.
Despite the language of the 20-point plan, Trump has gone on the record in recent weeks saying that he hasn’t even decided whether he’ll back a two-state solution. Israel is vehemently opposed to the two-state framework.
Thursday saw Washington publicly call on fellow members of the UN Security Council to back Washington’s resolution to establish an International Stabilization Force in Gaza. But the US proposal is facing opposition from Russia and China, which have expressed unease about a yet-to-be-established board that would temporarily govern the territory, and the lack of any transitional role for the Palestinian Authority.
The Chinese and the Russians — two veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council — have called for a “Board of Peace” specified in Trump’s 20-point plan to be removed from the resolution entirely, according to four UN diplomats briefed on the matter who spoke to the Associated Press.
Indonesia has trained up to 20,000 troops to take on health and construction-related tasks during a planned peacekeeping operation in the war-torn enclave of Gaza, the defense minister said on Friday.Terror-Tied Group Sanctioned by Trump Has Bank Accounts Closed, Unable to Pay Staff
The world’s most populous Muslim nation, Indonesia is among the countries with which the United States has discussed plans for an International Stabilization Force (ISF) in Gaza, which include Azerbaijan, Egypt and Qatar.
Last week, Reuters reported a draft readied by Washington for such a force that would authorize it to “use all necessary measures” to demilitarize Gaza, secure its borders, protect civilians and aid delivery, and support a newly trained Palestinian police force.
Indonesia said there was no decision yet on when troops will be deployed and what mandate they will have, underscoring the uncertainty over establishing an international presence in Gaza.
“We’ve prepared a maximum of 20,000 troops, but the specifications will revolve around health and construction,” Indonesian Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin told reporters. “We are waiting for further decisions on Gaza peace action.”
Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto and Jordan’s King Abdullah, who is making a state visit to Indonesia from Friday, would discuss the initiative of US President Donald Trump, he added.
“We’re waiting for the possibilities of a role Indonesia can take in peace efforts,” said Sjamsoeddin. He did not say when troops would be deployed or how many, but said the decision would be made by Prabowo.
Meanwhile, European Union foreign ministers will discuss next week a proposal for the bloc to take the lead in training 3,000 Palestinian police officers with the aim of later deploying them in Gaza, according to a document seen by Reuters on Friday.
Al-Haq, a Palestinian organization with ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), has lost access to its bank accounts and can no longer pay its staff following US sanctions imposed in September, according to new reporting by The Guardian.
Three banks closed the organization’s accounts in October, leaving approximately 45 staff members working without pay. The financial shutdown demonstrates the operational impact of sanctions against entities identified as problematic by democratic governments.
The Trump administration’s September sanctions targeted Al-Haq’s support for International Criminal Court investigations against Israel. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated the US would impose consequences against entities complicit in ICC actions that Washington considers jurisdictional overreach and “lawfare.”
In 2021, Israel designated Al-Haq as a terrorist organization, citing links to the PFLP, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, Canada, and Israel, with a documented history of attacks including aircraft hijackings, bombings, and assassinations since 1967.
As Jewish Onliner previously reported, Al-Haq’s General Director, Shawan Jabarin, has longstanding ties to the PFLP. Jabarin was convicted in 1985 for recruiting PFLP members and has been repeatedly denied travel permits by Israeli courts citing continued terrorist involvement. As recently as 2009, the Israeli Supreme Court dismissed his travel appeal, citing “reliable evidence of his links to terrorist organizations.”
Over the years, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express stopped processing online donations for Al-Haq due to the organization terror connections.
The Palestine Chronicle — a U.S.-based nonprofit that employed a Hamas terrorist who held hostages in his home — just published an article by Sami al-Arian, a convicted Islamic Jihad financier.
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) November 14, 2025
Despite this, neither @FBI_Response nor @IRSnews is investigating the organization pic.twitter.com/9UhAYM9Y3i
Netanyahu Sets Conditions for Future Cooperation with Syria
— ME24 - Middle East 24 (@MiddleEast_24) November 14, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outlined his position on Syria, saying his focus is on tangible developments on the ground. He questioned whether Syria under President al-Sharaa will become stable, eliminate… pic.twitter.com/1JhmUxM30u
The President of Syria al-Julani talks about a “new Syria,” yet his Ministry of Culture invites the public to a national party celebrating the October 7 massacre – the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust (celebrated as “The Flood of al-Aqsa”).
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) November 14, 2025
Anyone who celebrates a… pic.twitter.com/qXLnxOf1Kn
Everyone wants a piece of the Holy Land.
— Leslie Kajomovitz (@kikas6652) November 14, 2025
We’ve already tried EU-trained “police.” They couldn’t hold Gaza before Hamas, EU border monitors fled faster than Speedy Gonzales, and EU-trained “police” are responsible for 2–3 terror attacks per month from Judea and Samaria. https://t.co/9SyW4Rvr6h pic.twitter.com/hnxiakkqOX
The ICC’s ongoing actions against the U.S. and Israel set a dangerous precedent, threaten to infringe on the principle of state sovereignty, and undermine our critical national security and foreign policy work. The U.S. will no longer stand by and let this happen. The ICC and… pic.twitter.com/UYEYq296Qp
— U.S. Mission to the UN (@USUN) November 13, 2025
Friday Focus with John Spencer: Hamas can be demilitarized. Here's how
Welcome to The Times of Israel's Friday Focus. Each Friday, join host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.
This week, the duo is joined by military expert John Spencer, chair of War Studies at the Madison Policy Forum and executive director of the Urban Warfare Institute.
As of recording time, some 100-200 Hamas terrorists are estimated to be holed up in tunnels in southern Gaza on the Israeli side of the Yellow Line. The US has pressured Israel to allow the terrorists safe passage back to Hamas-held areas of Gaza, though Israel has not agreed to such a solution as of yet.
For the first part of our conversation, we plumb the depths of the extensive Hamas tunnel network, speaking about its scope and how the IDF is able to destroy or at least neutralize its many tentacles.
In the second half, we speak about where the current ceasefire in Gaza may turn, as reports are circulated about a two-year mandate for an International Security Force that could be implemented to demilitarize Hamas.
Spencer gives bad -- and better -- examples of international forces and discusses why UNIFIL, the force deployed in southern Lebanon, was destined to failure.
Never again: Executing Hamas terrorists best way for Israel to prevent future kidnappings
With almost all Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza now freed, and before Hamas seizes more hostages, Israel must reconsider its policy on this matter and take decisive steps to settle the score.Hamas is SHAKING as Knesset Passes Bill For Death Penalty on Terrorists!
First of all, it is time to acknowledge that reasoned public debate on this important issue has been squelched by the overpowering campaign of the Hostage Family Forum – in support of the mass release of Palestinian terrorists in exchange for Israeli hostages bechol mechir – “at any price.”
Any deviation from the politically correct line – “bechol mechir” – as dictated by Einav Zangauker and company led to doxxing, silencing, and even violent shaming. Public discourse was distorted by the very well-funded megaphones of Kaplan Street.
After all, everyone knows – because this has been true in every previous case – that released Palestinian terrorists assuredly will strike again, with God-only-knows how many Israeli casualties in the future. The release of over 2,000 terrorists, including hardened and experienced Palestinian mass murderers, certainly will incentivize future kidnappings, pour gasoline onto the terrorist fires already raging in Judea and Samaria, and catapult Hamas towards its intended takeover of that restive region.
Thus, repeated deals over the past two years to release Palestinian terrorists for Israeli hostages held in Gaza might have been the most necessary thing in the world to do, but it also may be the most disastrous thing Israel has done. The cost will pay out over a prolonged period, and it will be steep.
Up until this year, the 2011 deal for Gilad Shalit was the worst: More than 1,000 terrorists were released in exchange for Shalit, including Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the massacre on October 7, 2023. In fact, almost the entire Hamas command structure that planned the Simchat Torah assault on Israeli towns and cities, which killed over 1,200 people in one day, was made up of terrorists released in the Shalit deal.
Mark Regev and Ruthie Blum unpack the explosive political, moral,and strategic debate over Israel’s proposed death penalty for terrorists, a bill passed in its first reading just as Hadar Goldin’s body was returned after 11 years in Gaza. With Prime Minister Netanyahu’s backing and public support surging post-October 7th, the law may seem inevitable. But is it truly a deterrent, or just symbolic? The hosts wrestle with questions of justice vs. revenge, deterrence vs. diplomacy and whether executing terrorists prevents future kidnappings or fuels them. Alongside this, they explore the chilling dilemma of 200 Hamas terrorists reportedly trapped in a tunnel, the risks of a renewed regional war and the limits of peace in a Middle East still riddled with jihadist threats.
Israel accepted and has complied with the U.S. plan. A real path forward is possible.
— Israel ישראל (@Israel) November 14, 2025
But Hamas repeatedly violates the ceasefire, holding Gaza and the region hostage to its jihadist agenda.
They also still hold the abducted bodies of Dror Or, Ran Gvili & Sudthisak Rinthalak,… pic.twitter.com/nWJOA4YkGx
CENTCOM said that this week, the Civil-Military Coordination Center partnered with an international organization to clear debris from a key section of Salah al-Din Road in central Gaza, a major route for humanitarian deliveries.
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) November 14, 2025
CENTCOM said international partners averaged… pic.twitter.com/vPvIgQM0JG
Hamas Militants Hijack Trucks Entering Gaza
— ME24 - Middle East 24 (@MiddleEast_24) November 14, 2025
Trucks entering the Gaza Strip today were seized by Hamas militants, continuing a recurring pattern of such incidents in the territory.
Authorities report that the hijackings are part of Hamas’ ongoing control over supplies entering… pic.twitter.com/WrgJEB1Ct6
IDF kills two Palestinians, arrests 40 in West Bank counterterrorism op.
The IDF arrested 40 suspected of terror activity and arms trafficking, killed two terrorists, and confiscated smuggled firearms during its ongoing counterterrorism operation in the West Bank, the military said on Friday afternoon.4 East Jerusalem Palestinians held for Islamic State ties, prepping for ‘end of days’ war
The Binyamin Brigade arrested five suspects last night in the village of Silwad, near Ramallah, for inciting terrorism and supporting Hamas in a local parade two weeks ago. The brigade also arrested two terrorists involved in manufacturing and operating explosive devices.
The Ephraim, Menashe, and Shomron Brigades, arrested a further 21 wanted individuals. In addition, two M-16s and a shotgun were also confiscated.
IDF arrests ten, prepares for Shabbat "Chayei Sarah" in Hebron
In addition, the Judea Territorial Brigade carried out a brigade-wide operation in Hebron as part of preparations for Shabbat "Chayei Sarah" at the Cave of the Patriarchs.
The IDF's Etzion Brigade arrested 10 terrorists, including two who threw stones at soldiers, and another who threw Molotov cocktails at Israeli civilians.
All those arrested, as well as the confiscated weapons, were transferred to Israel Police and the Shin Bet for further processing.
Four residents of East Jerusalem’s Beit Safafa neighborhood have been arrested and will be charged with affiliation to the Islamic State and planning attacks against Jewish Israelis as part of a “great war of the end of days,” the Shin Bet security agency and Israel Police announced Friday.Call Me Back: What Will Be Israel's Next Big Story? - with Donniel Hartman & Yossi Klein Halevi (PART 1)
The four Palestinians, all in their 20s, were detained recently by police officers over suspicions they were affiliated with the Islamic State, according to the announcement.
The suspects began acquiring military equipment, with one managing to purchase a pistol, which was later seized from a henhouse in his home alongside other materiel, the Shin Bet said. The suspect was quoted as saying during his interrogation: “I will use the pistol against Jews or anyone who is not a Muslim.”
During their interrogations, the Shin Bet said, it emerged that the four suspects “support the ideology of the Islamic State, consumed large amounts of the organization’s content online, including gruesome materials and execution videos.”
“Influenced by the organization’s content, they planned to purchase military equipment, weapons, and arms to prepare for what they call ‘the great war of the end of days’ against Jews,” the agency said.
Israel was founded on a common story and a shared ethos. But what happens when the country can no longer agree on which story should shape its future? In part one of this conversation, Yossi Klein Halevi and Rabbi Donniel Hartman, hosts of For Heaven’s Sake, join Dan from across the Ark Media universe to discuss the competing narratives that tear Israel apart. From liberal democracy to theocratic Messianism. Can a new consensus emerge?
Also: stay tuned for part two of this conversation, where the three ask whether some American Jews are giving up on Israel.
(00:00) Introduction
(09:03) From labor zionism to religious zionism
(12:55) The stories that define Israel’s social camps
(17:50) Why Israel has little margin for error
(19:32) The Israeli mainstream and the Likud
(28:03) How Israelis think about a Palestinian state
(31:14) The relationship between the Jewish and Israeli identities
(37:30) Can Naftali Bennett unite Israeli society?
(41:27) Israel’s next big story
(45:24) The strength of Israeli society
Call me Back Podcast: The Jewish-Mamdani Vote - with Donniel Hartman & Yossi Klein Halevi (PART 2)
This is part two of Dan’s conversation with For Heaven’s Sake hosts Yossi Klein Halevi and Rabbi Donniel Hartman. Early exit polls indicate that almost a third of New York’s Jewish voters may have voted for Zohran Mamdani, who had previously said that Antizionism is central to his worldview, for mayor of the city with the largest Jewish population outside Israel. Are American Jews starting to give up on Israel? Dan, Yossi, and Donniel debate.
Make sure to also catch part one of this conversation, where the three discuss the narratives that split Israeli society.
(00:00) Introduction
(03:08) Why did so many young Jews turn on Israel?
(08:45) Confronting the hard reality of war
(10:25) What to make of Jews struggling with Israel
(16:16) Managing the electoral base during war
(18:20) Ensuring Israel remains Jewish and democratic
(22:12) Did Mamdani voters betray American Jews?
Jeremy Leibler: On The Zionist Federation of Australia & antisemitism
Jeremy Leibler, President of the Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA), addresses the rising challenges of antisemitism in Australia and beyond. Leibler discusses the ZFA's efforts to strengthen Jewish-Israeli ties, promote Jewish education, and combat antisemitic rhetoric and actions.
With a focus on both local and global concerns, Leibler sheds light on the role of Jewish leaders in ensuring security, solidarity, and dialogue in an increasingly polarized world.
Let’s talk about it 👇 https://t.co/5mfFXLxPfU
— Green Beret Nap Time (@GBNT1952) November 13, 2025
Tlaib leads left-wing Democrats in Gaza genocide resolution
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) led 20 fellow left-wing Democrats in a resolution to condemn Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide” on Friday.
The non-binding resolution would “officially recognize that the State of Israel has committed the crime of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza” and call for sanctions against the Jewish state.
“The Israeli government’s genocide in Gaza has not ended, and it will not end until we act,” stated Tlaib, an American of Palestinian descent. “Since the so-called ‘ceasefire’ was announced, Israeli forces haven’t stopped killing Palestinians.”
Co-sponsors of the resolution include some of Israel’s most vocal critics in the House and other prominent members of the progressive faction of the Democratic caucus, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.).
Perhaps the most surprising co-sponsor was Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.), whom AIPAC touted in May 2024 as the more pro-Israel candidate during her primary race in 2024 against the sister of Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), another co-sponsor of Friday’s resolution.
AIPAC’s super PAC put more than $2 million into helping Dexter during the race. (JNS sought comment from Dexter and AIPAC.)
More than 100 anti-Israel and left-wing advocacy groups, including anti-Israel Jewish groups, backed the resolution, among them American Muslims for Palestine, CodePink, Jewish Voice for Peace Action and Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.
Remember when it was just five squad members sponsoring Rashida’s Jew hating bills? Notice the significant growth in her support. https://t.co/K7lolN1Z4R
— Angela Van Der Pluym (@anjewla90) November 14, 2025
The new resolution introduced by @RashidaTlaib is filled with dozens of lies and errors. The Al Basma fertility blood libel is one of them, debunked below. Shame on the members of congress who signed on. More to come on this. https://t.co/oSGL7ZTiq1
— Aizenberg (@Aizenberg55) November 14, 2025
Sami Hamdi admits that his only phone call before being detained was to CAIR.
— Angela Van Der Pluym (@anjewla90) November 14, 2025
CAIR is an unindicted co-conspirator of the Holyland Foundation trial, the largest financial TERRORISM trial in the United States. Where organizations funneled money to Hamas.
Nihad Awad, the leader… https://t.co/kc2gPwrXwm
Ted Cruz Exposes Tucker Carlsons Anti-American Agenda In Bombshell Interview!
Senator Ted Cruz joins Gabe Groisman, former Mayor of Bal Harbour, Florida, for a conversation on Hamas, hostages and the foreign regimes funding antisemitism on U.S. campuses. From Qatar’s deep ties to American universities to the rise of extremist politicians like Zoran Mamdani, Cruz exposes the global networks behind radicalism and the media’s refusal to call it out. Plus: his take on Trump’s strike policy on Iran, the UN’s betrayal of Israel and why the fight against antisemitism must start with courage on both the Left and Right.
Tucker Carlson, Antisemitism, and the MAGA Split Russia Loves. Antisemitism isn’t just a moral failure, it’s a national-security vulnerability. pic.twitter.com/QWFhFDiM72
— Ryan McBeth (@RyanMcbeth) November 14, 2025
https://t.co/QXkUJ69BsS pic.twitter.com/U9o4buji5t
— Han Shawnity 🇺🇸 (@HanShawnity) November 14, 2025
Tucker Carlson said he hates “Christian Zionists more than anybody,” then walked it back, but only to turn the fire back on his easier target, Jewish people.@DineshDSouza breaks down why Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens' tactics are so harmful. pic.twitter.com/bDL6Jyk7GK
— Canary Mission (@canarymission) November 14, 2025
In this morning’s newsletter, Tucker Carlson finally found people who he believes it’s fair and proper to compare to Nazis: Israelis (and Jews like Ben Shapiro and Mark Levin in America).
— David Reaboi, Late Republic Nonsense (@davereaboi) November 13, 2025
The Jews’ Old Testament, Carlson says, tells them that “blood guilt” is ok, and justifies… pic.twitter.com/oeyeB0EPdu
Well well well...https://t.co/BIxAgyq1iE
— Yehuda Teitelbaum (@chalavyishmael) November 14, 2025
Great post from @joelmowbray on just how factually incorrect & outrageous Tucker's most recent throwaway statement on Bonhoeffer is.https://t.co/fooeTxv8kh
— Nathan Livingstone (MilkBarTV) (@TheMilkBarTV) November 14, 2025
Calling people who aren’t Nazis, Nazis, is wrong and dangerous. Not calling people Nazis who ARE Nazis is wrong and dangerous. There, I fixed it @TuckerCarlson pic.twitter.com/yfMpQjzMPH
— Ami Kozak (@amiKozak) November 14, 2025
The rector of Glasgow University is pushing antizionist conspiracy theories about Israelis harvesting organs.
— Nicole Lampert (@nicolelampert) November 14, 2025
What is going on with our university system? https://t.co/ExT1QdTsg2
Mohammed El-Kurd being denounced as an ideologically impure Zionist sympathiser pic.twitter.com/vTxQckTHRY
— Alex Hearn (@hearnimator) November 14, 2025
Palestinianism 101
— Elijah Uzi 📟✡️🎗️🇮🇱 (@Elijah_Uzi) November 14, 2025
1. Hear about something in the news
2. Make up a story about Jews doing it pic.twitter.com/kC9NOx5QfN
WATCH: Hasan explains that the Houthi flag saying, “Curse be upon the Jews,” isn’t a bad thing and needs to be “contextualized.” pic.twitter.com/2ovUa5b9bo
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) November 14, 2025
WATCH: Hasan claims that anyone who has ever had any positive feelings about the state
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) November 14, 2025
of Israel should be treated like a Neo-Nazi. pic.twitter.com/QboMfXDjF1
Sorry to all the protesters who tried to ruin tonight's event with Jonathan Conricus, you failed! We had a great time. https://t.co/BBFGkXTwTh pic.twitter.com/PAd4JaFJhX
— Angela Van Der Pluym (@anjewla90) November 14, 2025
And what do they like at "Oxford Students Palestine Solidarity"? The Iranian regime, which crushes student dissent.
— habibi (@habibi_uk) November 14, 2025
These days, "prestigious university" is a term that should be seen as a warning, not an accolade. pic.twitter.com/anybpjAOSb
UPDATE
— GnasherJew®גנאשר (@GnasherJew) November 14, 2025
A 9-month suspension for this ⬇️ Do you think that’s appropriate - because that’s all she’s got. https://t.co/detX8z9w4l pic.twitter.com/R3jbCI3g2T
Hello Tower Hamlets Council (@TowerHamletsNow). We would like to make a complaint about your complaints officer, Sean Adepoju, who thinks that “Hitler was right.”
— GnasherJew®גנאשר (@GnasherJew) November 14, 2025
Is this the standard of social media output we can expect from your staff? Cc: @metpoliceuk @TerrorismPolice pic.twitter.com/kOKMG7LvOb
Chanting "free palestine" inside the Bataclan, ten years after ISIS murdered 90 people there (and 40 more that same day in Paris)
— Hamas Atrocities (@HamasAtrocities) November 14, 2025
Don't they realize they are cheering for the same murderous ideology?pic.twitter.com/ShgTqDbZFH
No, Miss Israel Melanie Shiraz didn’t shoot Miss Palestine an evil side-eye.
— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) November 14, 2025
⚠️THE VIDEO IS FAKE⚠️
➡️ RT to stop people falling for the hoax! pic.twitter.com/d0NbLRuQBZ
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"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024) PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022) |
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