Monday, November 17, 2025

11/17 Links Pt1: UN Security Council unanimously approves Trump Gaza plan; Belgian Nonprofit Files More Than 1,000 ICC Cases Against Israeli Soldiers Has Ties to Hezbollah

From Ian:

Israeli gov’t to form independent panel to probe Oct. 7, rejects state inquiry
The Israeli government decided on Sunday to appoint an independent commission of inquiry to probe the failures that precipitated the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre, nixing a formal state commission of inquiry.

According to the government decision, a ministerial panel appointed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be determining the members and mandate of the Oct. 7 commission, as well as the probe’s scope.

Since the Gaza ceasefire, “fighting has shifted into a sort of interim state, and the government seeks to use this to advance the establishment of a commission that will be independent, have full investigative powers, and gain as broad public consensus as possible,” the decision stated.

The government said it will seek commission members who have “as broad public approval as possible,” according to Sunday’s resolution.

The ministerial panel was given 45 days to submit its recommendations to the government, ahead of a 60-day deadline Jerusalem was given by the Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, to respond to a petition demanding that it announce a state commission of inquiry.

Netanyahu’s government has resisted launching a state commission of inquiry—which has the power to compel testimony and demand files, including classified documents—saying it would harm the war effort.

In response to petitions filed with the Supreme Court demanding a state commission, the government has argued that the president of the High Court of Justice cannot be trusted to appoint an unbiased committee per the State Commissions of Inquiry Law, 1968, and that the panel’s conclusions would not be acceptable to large swaths of the public.
Khaled Abu Toameh: Why Most Arab Countries Do Not Want Palestinians
[C]ountries such as Jordan and Lebanon had extremely negative experiences with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and other Palestinian armed groups who were trying to overthrow or destabilize their governments (Black September in Jordan in 1970 and the Lebanese Civil War 1975-1990).

Arab leaders often make strong statements, issue condemnations of Israeli actions, and attend high-profile summits that express solidarity with the Palestinians. Their gestures, however -- apart from Iran and Qatar -- are often not matched by decisive steps...

The refusal of the Arab countries to absorb Palestinians (including the ex-prisoners) is... proof why it would be a mistake to rely on the Arab countries to help rebuild and demilitarize the Gaza Strip.

US President Donald J. Trump, who seems to be pinning his hopes on the Arabs to assist in funding and establishing a new government as well as deploying an international force in the Gaza Strip, needs to bear in mind that most of the Arab heads of state and regimes actually do not care about the Palestinians.

By now, most Arab heads of state see Palestinians as having caused immeasurable harm wherever they have gone and as having rewarded with treachery whoever stretched out a hand to them.

For the Arab leaders, the Palestinian issue is just another tool to advance their own political objectives, shore up their own popular support at home, or unite various factions against a common enemy.

Most Arab leaders, in short, will continue to pretend that they are eager to help the US administration with its efforts to implement Trump's 20-point plan for peace in the Gaza Strip. In reality, the Arabs will continue to do their utmost to stay away from the Palestinians -- apart from helping them to regroup in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas bus bomber who killed Briton is now among 15 terrorists freed in Turkey - and is happily wandering the streets
A Hamas terrorist who murdered a British woman is among more than a dozen dangerous extremists living freely in Turkey after being released from Israeli jails.

Security experts have warned of 'a serious concern' for the four million British tourists who visit each year.

Ishaq Taher Salah Arafah, 39, murdered Scottish-born Bible translator Mary Jane Gardner, 59, in a 2011 bomb attack in Israel.

The Daily Mail can reveal he is now at large in Istanbul. Social media posts show him meeting his family in a hotel and walking the streets as well as conducting interviews with friendly media.

In July he told Al Jazeera that 'God willing' the city of Jerusalem would be destroyed.

Last month the Daily Mail told how 154 convicted terrorists serving life were being put up in a five-star hotel in Cairo, Egypt.

Israel was forced to release them in exchange for hostages held by Hamas and allied Palestinian groups in the first stage of Donald Trump's peace deal.

Today we can reveal that 15 Hamas and Palestinian extremists previously serving life but who were released as part of the previous January's ceasefire deal are now living in Turkey.


UN Security Council unanimously approves Trump Gaza plan
The U.N. Security Council voted 13-0 on Monday to adopt a U.S.-drafted resolution on the future of Gaza, as Russia and China forewent their veto power and abstained on the vote.

“We stand at a crossroads. Today, we have the power to douse the flames and light a path to peace,” said Mike Waltz, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, before the vote.

The resolution codifies a mandate for Washington and partners to create and implement an international stabilization force in Gaza and what U.S. President Donald Trump has called a Board of Peace, which he will lead and which will serve as a transitional government authority.

The resolution also sets parameters for Israeli troops to withdraw from Gaza, leaving some in place to guard against resurgent terror threats.

“The demilitarization of Hamas is a basic condition of the peace agreement,” stated Danny Danon, the Israeli envoy to the United Nations, after the vote. “There will be no future in Gaza as long as Hamas possesses weapons.”

Speaking during the council session, Waltz said that “for two years, Gaza has been a crucible of conflict, a hell on earth where Hamas’s brutality and terror met Israel’s fierce response.”

“We have a ceasefire that is holding. This plan has already silenced the guns and freed the hostages in this fragile first step,” he said. “The remaining hostages must come home.”

The resolution also states that “conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood” after the Palestinian Authority undergoes reforms and Gaza’s reconstruction is “advanced.”
Seth Frantzman: The UNSC has voted, now the hard work in Gaza begins
Getting approval at the UN is a major win for the Trump administration. It shows that the administration has learned how to build global consensus. The US is not going it alone but rather working with partners. Trump was able to get the hostage deal in early October and 20 living hostages were freed.

The other 28 deceased hostages were then supposed to be returned. Most were. Three hostages remain in Gaza. Meanwhile Hamas has tried to return to power in part of Gaza.

The US ambassador to the UN called on Security Council member states to vote in favor of the draft resolution, pointing to what he described as broad support from the region and Arab and Islamic countries, the UN’s Arabic media reported on Monday.

The resolution was aimed at authorizing "the establishment of a temporary international force to achieve stability in Gaza.” This is one part of the 20-part plan the US has pushed as part of the ceasefire. The UN vote also pushed a US-backed "transitional administrative body.. that takes charge of setting the framework and coordinating funding for the redevelopment of Gaza...."

Draft resolution stipulates security presence to remain until at least December 2027
The draft resolution stipulates, according to the UN, that the “authorization issued for both the [Board of] Peace Council and forms of international civilian and security presence shall remain in effect until December 31, 2027, subject to further action by the UNSC, and that any renewal of the authorization issued for the international force shall be in full cooperation and coordination with Egypt, Israel and other member states that continue to work with the international force.”

This is a very important development. Now the hard work will begin as the US seeks to find countries to commit peacekeepers. Israel will not want countries such as Turkey sending troops. Indonesia has said it could commit forces.

US Central Command is also playing a key role via the CMCC in Kiryat Gat. All of this shows major American buy-in and commitment to ending the war and doing what is right in Gaza. However, the hard work will be reconstruction and disarming Hamas.


Israeli concern after UN endorses Trump plan with path to Palestinian state
A critic of the Oslo Accords since they were proposed in 1993, Sherman was harsher in his criticism of Israel’s leadership, calling the Trump plan a “grave missed opportunity by the Netanyahu government.”

When Trump spoke about relieving Gaza of its current population and rebuilding it, Israel should have immediately embraced, advanced and anchored it in the public debate, according to Sherman.

In every other global conflict, civilians are allowed to exit combat zones, Sherman said.

Egypt kept Palestinians trapped in dangerous conditions in Gaza for political reasons, despite needing to populate its new administrative capital under construction near Cairo, which was designed to house six million people. Turkey also could have used Sunni Arabs to counter its Kurdish demographic problem, according to Sherman.

“The whole Gaza population is around about 1% of the combined population of Turkey and Egypt,” he said.

Of the available alternatives, relocating the population is the most “liberal,” Sherman said.

He told JNS that he has advocated for three decades for giving “generous relocation loans” to Palestinians to escape the cycle of violence and the “clutches of the corrupt cliques” that hold power over them.

“The thing that I find amazing is anyone who claims to cherish liberal values supporting the Palestinian state,” he said. “Everybody knows that a Palestinian state will be the antithesis of liberal values. It will be a homophobic, misogynistic, Muslim-majority tyranny. Why would anyone advance that?”

The Israeli government should have invested heavily for years in advancing the idea of relocation, and it “boggles the mind” that it did not, according to Sherman.

Israel now finds itself with the Trump plan, which, in point 19, calls for the redevelopment of Gaza, reform of the Palestinian Authority and a “credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.”

“How is that any different from the Oslo Accords?” Sherman asked.


Trump says Saudis will get F-35s, bucking Israeli hope he’d condition sale on peace
US President Donald Trump confirmed on Monday that Washington will be selling F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, whose Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was set to visit the White House on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump was asked whether he would move ahead with the deal after saying last week that he was considering it.

“Yeah, I am planning on doing it. They’ve been a great ally… We’ll be selling F-35s,” Trump responded, claiming Riyadh was also pleased with Washington for the latter’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear program in June.

Israel is thought to not oppose such a sale in principle, while hoping that the US would condition it on Saudi Arabia agreeing to join the Abraham Accords.

But Riyadh has long conditioned such a move on Israel agreeing to establish a pathway to a future Palestinian state, which the current Netanyahu government has refused to do.

Trump is still expected to raise the issue with bin Salman on Tuesday.

The Axios news site reported last week that, in a phone call in October, Trump urged bin Salman to normalize relations with Israel in the wake of that month’s Gaza ceasefire deal. US President Donald Trump answers questions from reporters during a meeting with the White House task force on the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the Oval Office of the White House, November 17, 2025, in Washington, as FIFA President Gianni Infantino listens. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The call took place after the October 13 Sharm El Sheikh Peace Conference, where Trump and counterparts from fellow mediating countries Turkey, Qatar, and Egypt signed a declaration on a peace plan for Gaza, Axios reported.

During the call, Trump said he had succeeded in ending the war in Gaza and expected Saudi Arabia to move toward full diplomatic ties with Israel, according to a US official cited in the report. The crown prince, Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, widely known as MBS, said he would be willing to work with the White House on the matter, the official said.

But a senior Palestinian Authority official close to PA President Mahmoud Abbas told The Times of Israel on Monday that Saudi Arabia had assured Ramallah in closed-door talks that it would not normalize ties with Israel before the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 lines.
Majority of Israelis oppose Palestinian state, even for Saudi normalization, survey finds
Seventy percent of Israelis oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state along the 1967 lines in the wake of the October 7 attacks, a new survey by the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA) found on Monday, ahead of a key UN Security Council vote on a US proposal that would open a pathway to Palestinian statehood. The poll, conducted on November 16–17 by Dr. Menachem Lazar of the Lazar Research Institute among a representative sample of 698 Jewish and Arab Israelis, has a margin of error of ±3.7%. The findings come as international momentum grows for recognizing a Palestinian state, even as multiple polls show Israeli public opinion moving in the opposite direction.

According to the JCFA, the level of opposition recorded in this latest survey is the highest in its ongoing series since the war began. Similar national polls earlier this year also found large majorities of Israelis rejecting the creation of a Palestinian state after October 7.

The survey found that 70% of Israelis oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 1967 lines at this time. Only 8% support such a state unconditionally, 13% said they would support it only if the prospective state fully recognizes Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people and is completely demilitarized, and 9% are undecided.

Among Jewish Israelis, opposition is even higher at 79%, up from 76% in the previous JCFA poll. The center said this marks the highest level of Jewish-Israeli opposition in its tracking since the war began, reinforcing earlier The Jerusalem Post reporting that around seven in ten Israelis have opposed Palestinian statehood since February.

The findings contrast sharply with international moves to formalize Palestinian statehood, including recent steps at the UN General Assembly and in several Western capitals to outline an "irreversible" path toward recognition.
Seth Mandel: The Israeli-German Alliance and the Lessons of History
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made a statement that was remarkable, in the context of 2025, for being unremarkable.

“The position of the Federal Republic of Germany must be clear, where we stand,” Merz said to a conference of his party’s youth wing over the weekend. “In the Western alliance. At Israel’s side, dear friends. I have not forgotten that.”

It’s possible the “I have not forgotten that” line was to reassure the party of his commitment to Israel’s security after Merz earned the ire of some on the German right for temporarily suspending certain weapons shipments to Israel during the war. But overall, Merz hardly needs to remind anyone of his moral standing: He has been, in word and deed, a champion of Israel-Europe cooperation and a staunch opponent of any attempt to delegitimize the Jewish state.

In fact both Merz and Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker have been open about how their countries’ role in the Holocaust informs their policymaking. “I would consider it a fatal mistake to exclude Israel” from Eurovision, Stocker said recently. “Based on our history alone, I would never be in favor of that.”

Their critics on the pro-Palestinian left, meanwhile, consistently try to use that history as a mark against them, arguing that Germany in particular “weaponizes” its guilt to “silence” Hamas’s cheerleaders among artists and entertainers.

This is an essential divide in 21st century politics: between those who believe that past persecution of the Jews requires the current persecution of Israel, and those who believe that the moral lessons of the 20th century include a responsibility to oppose the scapegoating of the Jewish people.

That isn’t just the 20th century’s lesson, of course. It’s the lesson of history. And Merz has found an ingenious way to make it harder and harder for that history to return and claim more victims. One would think that arming the Jewish state would be an important priority for anyone who supports Israeli security. And it is. But Merz knows how effective it can be to reverse that dependency as well.

As the Telegraph reported: “MPs in Mr Merz’s party also told The Telegraph that Germany had become ‘hugely dependent’ on Israeli defence technology, as it faces increased aggression from both Russia and the Iranian regime….

“On the ground, Berlin is already reliant on Israel for intelligence. Last month, three suspected members of a Hamas cell were arrested in Berlin for allegedly plotting attacks on Jewish and Israeli targets in Germany.”

Germany’s rearmament is dependent on Israel, in a simple twist of fate. And that alliance is key to Europe’s long-term security, given that the threats from Russia and Iran won’t stop. The symbolism is not lost on Maj.-Gen. Amir Baram, director of Israel’s Defense Ministry: “The fact that Germany now relies on Israeli capabilities to defend its citizens carries deep historical resonance and stands as a testament to how our relationship is defined not by past wounds but by a shared commitment to prevent their return,” he said.
German leader vows to ‘stand with Israel’ as part of Western alliance
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, shortly after declaring in a speech that Berlin must “stand with Israel” as part of a renewed “Western alliance.”

The call was “good and friendly” and focused on “diplomatic and regional issues,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

On Saturday, Merz referenced Israel in a speech to the Junge Union Deutschlands—the youth wing of his Christian Democratic Union party—in Rust, near Stuttgart in western Germany.

“The position of the Federal Republic of Germany must be clear, where we stand. In the Western alliance,” Merz said, before pausing. He then added, “At Israel’s side, dear friends. I have not forgotten that,” as thunderous applause resounded.
Germany to resume arms exports to Israel starting next week; Sa’ar urges others to follow
Germany will lift an order suspending some weapons sales to Israel beginning next week, following the Gaza ceasefire agreement reached last month, a German government spokesperson announces.

“The government will, as a general rule, revert to case-by-case reviews in decisions on arms exports and respond to further developments,” the spokesperson says.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar celebrates the decision in a post on X, urging other countries to take similar measures: “I welcome Chancellor Merz’s move to revoke the decision regarding the partial ’embargo’. I call on other governments to adopt similar decisions, following Germany.”

According to the German spokesperson, starting November 24, the decision will allow the resumption of exports that Berlin suspended in August over the Israeli cabinet’s decision to conquer Gaza City in its war against Hamas in Gaza. Germany is the second-largest arms exporter to Israel, after the United States.
Elbit Systems signs record $2.3 billion weapons deal with undisclosed international buyer
Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems said Monday it signed the largest deal in its history, a $2.3 billion agreement with an undisclosed international customer for weapons systems to be delivered over eight years.

The company did not reveal the identity or location of the customer, citing a confidentiality agreement, and did not specify which systems would be supplied.

News of the deal sent Elbit’s shares up more than 4% on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

The agreement is the latest in a series of multi-billion-dollar deals by Israel’s defense industry, which has seen a surge in global demand since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The largest deal to date remains Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) $3.5 billion sale of the Arrow 3 missile defense system to Germany in 2023.

Other recent major contracts include Rafael’s $2.2 billion deal to sell air defense systems to Romania and IAI’s $1.6 billion sale of Barak 8 systems to India.

Elbit reported a record-high order backlog of $23.8 billion in its second-quarter financial results for 2025, up $700 million from the previous quarter. The company said 68% of the backlog comes from international customers, with the remainder from the IDF.
Israel asks ICC to bar prosecutor under investigation from cases against PM, Gallant
Israel on Monday filed an appeal to the International Criminal Court, asking it to bar its prosecutor, Karim Khan, from any involvement in ongoing cases against Israeli officials.

The appeal also sought the revocation of the arrest warrants issued by the court, on Khan’s request, against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, which include allegations of crimes against humanity and war crimes during the war in Gaza.

Khan is currently on leave from his position, due to an ongoing investigation into sexual misconduct allegations made against him by a female staffer at the ICC. A second woman came forward in August to make similar allegations.

The Foreign Ministry said that the appeal was filed “due to grave information and reports that raise serious concerns that the prosecutor acted out of illegitimate personal motives to advance false and baseless claims against Israel.”

“This was [done] in order to divert public attention away from the severe allegations against him of serial sexual harassment against a worker who was subordinate to him,” the ministry asserted.

The ministry argued that the legal processes against Netanyahu and Gallant have been tainted in a “deep and irreversible manner,” and therefore requested that the appeals chamber of the court bar Khan from further involvement in the cases and revoke the arrest warrants.
Obscure Belgian Nonprofit That Filed More Than 1,000 ICC Cases Against Israeli Soldiers Has Ties to Hezbollah, Report Alleges
An obscure Belgian nonprofit that has single-handedly filed more than 1,000 complaints against Israeli soldiers at the International Criminal Court (ICC) bills itself as a neutral legal entity crusading against "war crimes and human rights violations perpetrated by the Israeli state." According to a new watchdog report, though, one of its co-founders has openly identified himself as a former Hezbollah terrorist, and the organization itself is entrenched within Hezbollah’s financing network across multiple continents.

Lebanese-Belgian activist Dyab Abou Jahjah, who co-founded the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) in late 2024, described himself in a 2003 New York Times profile as a "very proud" former Hezbollah member. He was arrested by Belgian authorities in 2002 for inciting Arab riots in Antwerp, and has repeatedly pledged his allegiance to Hezbollah and Hamas on social media. One of Europe’s leading anti-Israel activists, Abou Jahjah allegedly remains "linked to organizations associated with U.S.-designated terrorist groups" like Hezbollah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the report states.

The HRF does not publicly disclose its funding structure, but the watchdog report identifies it as "part of Hezbollah’s extensive business networks tied to families and local diaspora connections across Europe, Latin America, and Africa." These networks, the report states, "are known to support front companies, informal trade, and layered laundering operations" through "used car exports, counterfeit goods, and commodity trades, facilitated through relatives or friendly businessmen."

The report's findings shed new light on a sophisticated global lawfare campaign meant to spur the arrest of Israeli soldiers on trumped-up war crime charges. The ICC is investigating cases brought against the Jewish state, and last month it rejected an appeal against the arrest warrants it issued for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant. For the report’s authors, the HRF’s ties to terror raise "serious questions about the legality and legitimacy of its campaign" and of the ICC more broadly, given how active the HRF has been.

The report contends that Abou Jahjah is linked through his brother "to the complex financial web of Soafrimex," a Lebanese-Belgian trading company raided by Belgian authorities in 2003 over money laundering and tax fraud. The United States subsequently designated Soafrimex owner Kassim Tajideen an "important financial contributor to Hezbollah."
Hind Rajab org. files complaint against Israeli reservist, rapper in Prague for war crimes
The Hind Rajab Foundation filed a criminal complaint against an Israeli reservist and rapper before the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office in Prague, the organization said Friday.

The Israeli defendant performed in Prague on Thursday.

HRF accused the defendant of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide while serving in Gaza during the war.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of HRF by JUDr. Jan Täubel, LL.M., attorney-at-law at TAUBEL LEGAL in Prague.

HRF also took issue with a song by the defendant, which the organization argued weaponizes music to normalize atrocities.

HRF urged Czech authorities to act as well, by opening criminal proceedings, seizing the Israeli’s electronic devices, imposing a travel ban or detaining him, and by investigating possible incitement and approval of war crimes during his performances in Prague.

On Tuesday, HRF filed a complaint to Cypriot authorities demanding the arrest of another IDF soldier for his “direct involvement in acts of torture, war crimes, and genocide committed during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.”
Israel shares war lessons with 18 armies in global seminar
An international seminar on Israel’s multi-front war over the past two years, attended by senior commanders and officers from militaries worldwide and led by the Israel Defense Forces Ground Forces, commenced on Sunday and will continue throughout the week.

Military officers from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Finland, India, Greece, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Austria, Estonia, Japan, Morocco, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia arrived in Israel to learn from the IDF’s experience, the Israeli military said in a statement.

The purpose of the gathering is to “strengthen cooperation, enhance familiarity with diverse operational approaches, exchange professional knowledge and experience between the participating militaries,” the army said.

It went on to say that the IDF “continues to initiate and promote international cooperation with leading militaries worldwide as part of its ongoing effort to strengthen relationships, enhance collaboration, and foster shared learning in the face of evolving security challenges.”

According to Israel’s public broadcaster Kan, the military delegations will hear lectures, conduct tours in the Gaza Envelope, and meet with soldiers and civilians who took part in the defensive battles on Oct. 7, 2023.

Israel was engaged in warfare on four major fronts—the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Yemen and Iran—for a little over two years in the wake of the Hamas-led invasion into Israel’s northwestern Negev on Oct. 7, 2023, resulting in atrocities committed against civilians and security forces.
IDF drone kills Hezbollah terrorist in Southern Lebanon
An Israeli drone strike in the Al-Mansouri area of Southern Lebanon on Sunday eliminated a Hezbollah terror operative, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Muhammad Ali Shuweikh “was responsible for communication between the terror organization and the residents of the area regarding financial and military subjects. Additionally, the terrorist operated to seize private assets for terror use,” the IDF said on Monday.

“The terrorists’ activities constituted a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the IDF said, in reference to the U.S.-brokered Nov. 27, 2024, ceasefire between Jerusalem and Beirut that ended the conflict with Hezbollah.

“The IDF will continue to operate to remove any threat and defend the State of Israel,” it added.


Israel's reckoning after October 7 | feat. Seth Frantzman
FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer delivers timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with FDD Adjunct Fellow Seth Frantzman, who serves as senior Middle East correspondent and analyst at The Jerusalem Post.


Hamas stands between Gaza and its future | feat. Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib
FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, a Gaza native who serves as the founder and director of the Realign for Palestine project at the Atlantic Council.


Erin Molan: Israel Blindsided By Trump? — Gaza Deal About to IMPLODE Over Suddon US Push for Pal. Statehood
In this explosive Episode 47 of The Erin Molan Show, Erin sits down with Jonathan Conricus – Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and former IDF international spokesperson – to unpack what this really means for Israel’s future, the US–Israel alliance, and the war after October 7.

What you’ll hear in this episode:
Why the new US draft at the UN now explicitly points to Palestinian statehood – and why Jonathan says “all roads lead to Rome, and Rome is a Palestinian state.” Whether Netanyahu and his team knew this was coming when they agreed to the original 20-point plan. The three “bad options” on the table: Israel going back in to finish Hamas the “old-fashioned” way Trump’s regional deal that now seems to railroad Israel toward a Palestinian state

A Muslim Brotherhood–backed Gaza, funded by Qatar and empowered by Turkey

How advanced US weapons deals (including F-35s) for regional players could erode Israel’s qualitative military edge.

Why Conricus believes Turkey and Qatar are being whitewashed as “problem-solvers” while backing Islamist movements worldwide.

Erin’s raw reaction to the Iranian regime after the killing of 22-year-old activist Amid Salak and the new wave of resistance inside Iran.

A sharp rundown on Venezuela, Maduro, and what looks like an American push for regime change without another Iraq-style war.

Erin’s on-air clarification that The Erin Molan Show is completely editorially independent – with no deals with any foreign government, including Israel.

Fan feedback from around the world after Erin’s viral interview with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – and why so many say this show is what journalism is supposed to be.

⏱️ Chapters
00:00 – Cold open / teaser
00:30 – Erin’s intro & reaction to the Netanyahu interview blowback
03:30 – Venezuela, Maduro & US “regime change” without Iraq 2.0
04:15 – Iran on the brink? Amid Salak, the Air Force officer & a new uprising
07:27 – Erin addresses the Salem / “paid by Israel” rumours (full clarification)
9:51 – Main interview: Jonathan Conricus joins Erin
38:00 – Fan feedback: your reactions to the Netanyahu interview


Who's Being Isolated?
James Kirchick joins the podcast to discuss his new COMMENTARY article, "Neither American nor Conservative," about the isolationists of the American Conservative throwing a tantrum over Donald Trump's muscular support for Israel. And what does it mean that the Heritage Foundation board member Robert P. George just resigned?
Prominent Princeton professor resigns from Heritage board
Robert P. George, McCormick professor of jurisprudence at Princeton University and director of its James Madison program in American ideals and institutions, said on Monday that he is resigning from the Heritage Foundation board.

One of the most prominent conservative professors in the country, George is a former chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, among other presidential appointments.

“I could not remain without a full retraction of the video released by Kevin Roberts, speaking for and in the name of Heritage, on Oct. 30,” George said of a video in which the Heritage president defended former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who had a Holocaust denier and racist on his podcast.

“Although Kevin publicly apologized for some of what he said in the video, he could not offer a full retraction of its content,” George stated. “So, we reached an impasse.”

George said that Roberts “is a good man,” who “made what he acknowledged was a serious mistake.”

“Being human myself, I have plenty of experience in making mistakes. What divided us was a difference of opinion about what was required to rectify the mistake,” George said.

He added that he is sad to leave the board of the conservative think tank.

“My hope for Heritage is that it will be unbending and unflinching in its fidelity to its founding vision, upholding the moral principles of the Judeo-Christian tradition and the civic principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States,” he said.


Call Me Back: Did Israel Win? - With Micah Goodman
The Israel-Hamas ceasefire has been in place for just over a month. Despite the occasional flare-ups, it’s been a time of relatively few sirens (by Israeli standards). As President Trump pushes forward with his peace plan and Israel’s regional enemies seek to gain a new advantage, Dan sat down with Dr. Micah Goodman to figure out whether two years of war have left the Jewish state stronger, weaker, or both. In other words, did Israel win?

Micah Goodman is the author of seven best seller books and the co-host of the Mifleget Hamachshavot podcast in Hebrew with Efrat Shapira-Rosenberg.




travelingisrael.com: When ‘Tolerance’ Makes Women Unsafe — The Lie of Multiculturalism… and You All Know It
Multiculturalism was sold as tolerance, but it made women less safe.
This video exposes the hypocrisy behind the claim that “all cultures are equal.”
It’s time to grow a moral backbone — and you all know it.




One America News Network Fires Matt Gaetz’s Producer Over Anti-Semitic Video
One America News Network fired Vish Burra, a producer for The Matt Gaetz Show, on Monday amid outcry over the virulently anti-Semitic video Burra shared last Friday.

According to The Wrap, network bigwigs “found his comments ‘highly offensive’ and ‘antisemitic.'”

In a response to Susan Lebovitz-Edelman, a conservative donor critical of The Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts’s handling of Tucker Carlson’s friendly interview with Nick Fuentes, Burra posted the video alongside the caption, “You’re not gonna be able to run and hide for long Susan ‘Suzy’ Lebovitz-Edelman. Your blood money can only buy so much ‘loyalty’.”

The video shows a man that looks like Burra approaching a door labeled “Scheming Room” adorned with Stars of David. “Suzy, James, I know what you’re up to in there. Open up!” he says. When he busts into the room and flips on a light above the bugs — who are gathered behind a table stacked with cash — they begin to sizzle under the light and screech.

Matt Gaetz, Burra’s old boss and the former congressman who allegedly paid a homeless 17-year-old girl to have sex with him, tried to do damage control over the weekend, but his effort to save Burra’s job proved as successful as his bid to lead the Department of Justice.

“My producer Vish Burra posted something dumb this week. He knew it was dumb and quickly deleted it. I too have posted dumb things on social media without thinking – some I’ve deleted, some I haven’t. And I’ve had to pay some consequences along the way. Vish will too. I’m not the internet hall monitor of any of my coworkers (thankfully.) I can say on the Matt Gaetz Show we do not believe in applying bigotry to any group of people, no matter where they live or how they worship,” declared Gaetz on X Saturday.

Despite Gaetz’s claim otherwise, his show has become a breeding ground for anti-Israel commentary and arguably anti-Semitism in recent days.


Jury sworn in to try six accused of break-in at Israel-based defence firm
A jury has been sworn in to try six alleged pro-Palestine activists accused of breaking into an Israel-based defence firm’s UK site while in possession of sledgehammers.

Charlotte Head, Samuel Corner, Leona Kamio, Fatema Rajwani, Zoe Rogers and Jordan Devlin are accused of aggravated burglary, criminal damage and violent disorder in relation to an alleged attack by several people at Elbit Systems UK’s site near Patchway, Bristol, in the early hours of August 6 last year.

Corner, 23, is also charged with causing police sergeant Kate Evans grievous bodily harm on the same day.

Head, 29, Kamio, 30, Rajwani, 21, Rogers, 22, Devlin, 31, and Corner are alleged to have trespassed on the facility as part of a larger group.

A previous hearing was told the alleged attack caused more than £1 million worth of damage.

On Monday a panel of 14 jurors was selected at Woolwich Crown Court and was told the case will be opened on Tuesday by prosecutor Deanna Heer KC before the panel is reduced to 12.

A group of noisy pro-Palestine protesters demonstrated at the gates outside the south-east London court, and chanting could be heard by those in the courtroom.

Mr Justice Johnson told jurors: “You will have heard there is quite a lot of noise going on outside the court. Just ignore it.”




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