Friday, December 26, 2025

12/26 Links Pt1: Two killed in terror attacks in northern Israel; Israel is first to recognize Somaliland; U.S. Involvement in Gaza Is a Strategic Opportunity

From Ian:

Seth Mandel: Mike Waltz on Gaza, Iran, and Keeping the UN in Check
Mike Waltz is having an unusual experience as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, a job that does not usually come with a honeymoon phase. Yet the former congressman and national security adviser took office in September and a mere two months later the Security Council gave the Trump administration a big win by passing a resolution affirming the president’s plan for postwar Gaza.

As a result, Waltz may be America’s first UN ambassador in some time to describe the atmosphere there, at least for now, as “pleasant.”

Waltz sees such support, he told me this week after wrapping up a weeklong trip to Israel and Jordan, as validation for the fact that “the president and his team are trying something very new and bold and innovative.”

Waltz visited the Keren Shalom crossing on the Egyptian border and the American civil-military coordination center in Kiryat Gat and sees Israel clearly holding up its end of the deal. Aid flow into Gaza has surged: The cease-fire plan called for Israel to allow 600 trucks of food and supplies in daily, and the day Waltz left had seen 900 aid trucks enter the enclave. “For the rest of the world that is saying the international community is not doing enough or that the Israeli government is getting in the way of basic lifesaving aid going in to the people that have suffered at the hands of Hamas, that’s just false,” Waltz says. “The data doesn’t back it up.”

There was almost a breakthrough on another front while Waltz was in Israel. Hamas recovered remains of what many hoped was the body of the last missing hostage, Ran Gvili, but it was a false alarm. Waltz did meet with Gvili’s parents and came away impressed with their son’s heroism and sacrifice. “The reason he was off duty that day is because he had a broken shoulder. And what did he do when he got the alert [that Hamas had invaded]? He threw his gear on his only good shoulder and ran towards the sounds of the guns, and over a dozen dead terrorists were found where he died.”

The search for Gvili’s body continues as all parties work toward further implementation of the Gaza plan, including, Waltz said, Egypt and Qatar. Waltz also mentioned that expanding the Abraham Accords remains an administration priority.
When calling for Israelis to be killed is deemed acceptable
For months my producers at Talk have been working with me to try to get answers out of Avon & Somerset Police about how the investigation is going, whether Pascal Robinson-Foster was ever arrested (he was not, but he was questioned) and we ran a graphic on the screen on many occasions, calculating the number of days the investigation was dragging on. On numerous occasions we asked chief constable Sarah Crew to be interviewed on Talk. She refused each time, and continues to do so.

And now we have the verdict from her and her CPS colleagues: despite televised evidence, despite months of investigation, despite 200 people being interviewed on a basis not fully clarified by Avon & Somerset Police, there is ‘insufficient evidence’ for Pascal Robinson-Foster to be prosecuted. He initially denied he was calling for the deaths of individual IDF soldiers, with evidence inconveniently turning up from a concert just weeks before Glastonbury when he had done just that. Robinson-Foster has repeated the call in other international concerts.

Free speech is a fundamental part of any free society. The free speech we enjoy in the United Kingdom is denied to citizens of most of the Arab world and it is certainly not encouraged by Hamas terrorists in Gaza. But Robinson-Foster’s call was not for the IDF to cease its activity. He was not taking issue with the IDF’s tactics, or even doing something such as calling them ‘murderers’ guilty of ‘genocide’. All of these sentiments are ones with which most Jewish News readers will disagree, but will not actively believe people should be arrested or charged for saying.

But now, as 2025 closes, we are told by both Avon & Somerset Police and the Crown Prosecution Service that in the United Kingdom it is absolutely fine to call for the death of the 169,500 active personnel in the conscript IDF army and its 465,000 reserve soldiers. Many antisemites will sleep more soundly at that.

Sir Keir Starmer lights his menorah candles, has Jewish leaders into Number 10 for a Chanukah reception and says he will do all he can to stop antisemitism. Perhaps he could start by having a word with the organisation he once led, the Crown Prosecution Service, reminding them what antisemitism actually is, if the Prime Minister himself in fact knows. It would be helpful if it didn’t take yet more years for our ruling class to work out basic facts. It may even save a few Jewish lives.
Yehuda Teitelbaum: You Don’t Care About "Palestine" Part 1
You don’t care about Palestine.

How do I know?

One Word. Sudan.

CNN has just published a detailed, months-long investigation documenting ethnically targeted mass killings carried out by Sudan’s army and its allied militias. The reporting describes civilians being executed, bodies dumped into canals, and mass graves concealed until satellite imagery revealed wrapped corpses surfacing as the water receded. Investigators traced responsibility back to senior levels of command.

The scale is absolutely staggering. More than 150,000 civilians are believed to have been killed. Nearly 12 million people have been displaced. Entire regions are facing famine. Non-Arab communities have been targeted at checkpoints, driven from their villages, and in some cases wiped out entirely. Women interviewed by investigators described watching their children executed. Weeks later, bodies were still being carried downstream by the canals. A UN investigator quoted by CNN described the campaign as a “targeted extermination of people.”

If concern for civilian life were really the driving force behind today’s activism, Sudan would be impossible to ignore. Yet there are no campus encampments demanding action, no mass ceasefire marches, no viral influencer monologues, and no celebrities posting flags or slogans.

The usual explanation is that Israel is different because the United States supports it militarily, and that protests are really about American complicity rather than the tragedy itself. I don’t buy it. If mass killing only matters when it can be blamed on your own country, that is a deeply self-centered way of engaging with human suffering.

These same voices regularly insist that silence is complicity and that there is always something one must do, even when the odds of success are low. That principle is suddenly abandoned when Sudan comes up.

No one genuinely believes that protesting Israel under a Trump administration is likely to change Israeli policy. People protest anyway because they believe public expression itself has moral value. That logic does not disappear because the victims are Sudanese, yet it is treated as if it does.

There is also a tendency to pretend that the United States is simply powerless in Sudan, which is not true. This is not an argument for American troops on the ground, and it is reasonable to oppose that idea. But the United States is the most powerful military and diplomatic actor on the planet. If it wanted to exert serious pressure, coordinate large-scale evacuations, isolate leadership, enforce consequences, or push negotiations using the full weight of its influence, it could. Even short of military action, there are many tools available.

The reality is not that nothing can be done. It is that no one wants to do anything. Sudan does not offer the emotional payoff or political symbolism that Israel does. It does not fit neatly into Western ideological narratives, and it does not allow people to perform virtue without cost.

Sudan has everything people claim to care about: ethnic cleansing, mass graves, famine, millions of refugees, and overwhelming evidence documented by satellite imagery, whistleblowers, and international investigators. Even CNN could not soften what it found.

And still, there is silence.


Israel is first to recognize Somaliland, Accords ‘spirit,’ says Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Friday that the Jewish state recognized Somaliland, becoming the first country to recognize the self-declared Horn of Africa nation.

“This declaration is in the spirit of the Abraham Accords, signed at the initiative of President Trump,” the Israeli premier said. (Washington doesn’t recognize Somaliland as an independent state.)

Netanyahu, who said that he and Gideon Sa’ar, the Israeli foreign minister, signed a “joint and mutual declaration” with Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, Somaliland president, stated that he invited the latter to visit Israel.

“The State of Israel plans to immediately expand its relations with the Republic of Somaliland through extensive cooperation in the fields of agriculture, health, technology and economy,” he said.

“Somaliland’s moment has arrived,” the state’s foreign affairs and international cooperation ministry stated. “Momentum is building.”

Sa’ar stated that he had spoken with the Somaliland president “on this important day for both countries.”

“Over the past year, based on an extensive and ongoing dialogue, relations between Israel and Somaliland have taken shape,” Sa’ar said.

The minister said that the agreement establishes “full diplomatic relations, which will include the appointment of ambassadors and the opening of embassies.”

“We will work together to promote the relations between our countries and nations, regional stability and economic prosperity,” Sa’ar said. “I have instructed my ministry to act immediately to institutionalize ties between the two countries across a wide range of fields.”


Two killed in terror attacks in northern Israel
Two people were killed and two wounded in a series of terror attacks involving ramming and stabbing in northern Israel on Friday.

According to Magen David Adom, a report was received at 12:31 p.m. at the MDA 101 call center in the Gilboa region about an injured woman on Route 71 near Kibbutz Ein Harod.

The woman, 19, had been run over and then stabbed. She was later pronounced dead at HaEmek Medical Center in Afula and identified as Aviv Maor from Ein Harod.

Shortly before, a man aged 68, identified later as Shimshon Mordechai, was fatally struck by a vehicle in Beit She’an in what police called a terrorist attack. A 16-year-old boy was attacked in a separate ramming incident in the city and was reported to have light injuries. A 37-year-old man was later wounded when the terrorist got out of his car and hit him with a rock outside Afula.

The single assailant in all four attacks—identified as a 37-year-old Palestinian man from Qabatiya, near Jenin—fled in his employer’s car after the attack on Route 71 toward Kibbutz Tel Yosef and was later shot and killed at the entrance to the city of Afula, police said. He had been working illegally in Israel, the Kan public broadcaster reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement expressing condolences to the families of the two victims, a speedy recovery to the wounded and support for “the heroic citizen who neutralized the terrorist.”

“While there have been many successful counter-terrorism operations over the past year, we unfortunately experience murderous attacks from time to time,” he said. “The Government of Israel will continue to act to thwart anyone who seeks to harm its citizens.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the IDF to act forcefully against the village from which the murderous terrorist emerged.

“Every terrorist must be located and neutralized, and terrorist infrastructure in the village must be struck,” Katz said. “Anyone who assists terrorism or provides sponsorship or backing for terrorism will pay the full price.”

He added, “My heart is with the bereaved families at this most difficult hour. I send my deepest condolences and strengthen them in the face of this unimaginable loss. I wish to commend the security forces who acted swiftly, resolutely and professionally, and who neutralized the terrorist.”


Terrorist rams car into IDF vehicle with four soldiers, no injuries reported
A terrorist rammed into an IDF vehicle carrying four soldiers south of Mount Hebron, the military confirmed on Friday.

The terrorist was apprehended and has been transferred to the Shin Bet. No IDF injuries were reported.

Medical examinations were conducted on the soldiers who were in the vehicle in mild condition, and the four were evacuated to the hospital for medical treatment. Their families were notified.

Over the past few weeks, the IDF, aided by Border Police, Israel Police, and the Jerusalem Municipality, carried out an operation to mitigate the risk of a terror attack from elements in Kafr Aqab, northern Jerusalem, Walla reported.

The military's Binyamin Regional Brigade carried out the operation to locate weapons, rioters, and individuals wanted for police investigations. The military also issued fines to businesses and demolished illegally built structures.


'I’m not religious but I started praying': Bondi survivor Arsen Ostrovsky speaks
He had stepped away for food, the kind of mundane errand that is supposed to be safe on a holiday night, even more so on a beach that sells itself as paradise. Arsen Ostrovsky was at Bondi for a Hanukkah celebration. Minutes later, he was injured in a terror attack, and Australia was forced to look at its Jewish community through the harshest possible lens.

When I called him afterward, I expected anger. Instead, he offered something quieter, and maybe more explosive: “I feel alive.”

Anyone who follows Ostrovsky knows there is usually a rhythm to his week. Every Friday, like clockwork, he would post a photo of himself with yet another scrumptious Israeli breakfast, a spread that somehow managed to look both excessive and deeply normal. He would add a quick line about what was unique this time, the ingredient, the local twist, the small detail that turns food into identity. It was his shorthand for belonging, for routine, for the stubborn insistence that Jewish life is not only a headline, it is also a table.

That is part of what made hearing him now feel so disorienting. For years, readers of this paper have known Ostrovsky as a sharp, relentless pro-Israel advocate, a lawyer by training, and a familiar voice in the public fight against antisemitism. Even before Bondi, he lived in a world of argument and urgency, the kind of person whose phone never really stops buzzing.

Now, the buzz had turned into something else.

'This is my beach'
Ostrovsky grew up in Bondi. “This is my area. This is my beach. These are my people,” he told me, describing it not as a tourist landmark but as a personal geography. He had lived in Israel for 13 years, he said, and moved back to Australia only weeks ago.

The return was not a retreat from being openly Jewish, or from fighting for Israel. It was a choice to fight from a different front and to give his family a little peace. He had been recruited into a senior leadership role at AIJAC, the Australian Israel and Jewish Affairs Council, one of the central Jewish communal organizations in the country, with a mission that includes combating antisemitism and strengthening the Australia-Israel relationship.

He told me about the moment he broke the news to his children. His oldest, eight years old, looked at him with what he called “puppy eyes” and asked a question that, in its innocence, carried an entire Israeli childhood inside it.

“Does that mean no more boomies?” the child asked, meaning no more rockets, sirens, and running to the bomb shelter. Ostrovsky promised Australia would mean normal.

“It pains me that I was wrong,” he said later.
PodCast: Arsen Ostrovsky: Bullet wound to the head at Bondi Beach massacre
Arsen Ostrovsky was enjoying the first night of Hanukkah with his family on Bondi Beach. Within minutes, Arsen's life was in danger. Terorrists began shooting into the crowd, and Ostrovsky's head was struck. A long time JPost contributor, Arsen sits down with our Editor-in-chief, Zvika Klein, to share his story.


Bondi hero’s faith weaponised by progressives to avoid conversation about radical Islam
This month's shooting at a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach left Australia, and the West, saddened but not shocked.

Two men - a father and son, no less - are accused of going out and shooting up a Jewish celebration in Sydney just because they hated Jews.

The world responded with the usual choreography of appropriate sympathy, condolences, and horror.

But that isn’t enough, because sympathy has become the easiest and least costly part of this cycle.

The truth should be shouted from the rooftops because it is staring us in the face, and because the alternative is that we learn absolutely nothing and then act surprised again when it happens somewhere else.

Australia should not become the kind of country that pretends it can buy its way out of civilisational weakness with hardware.

I have written recently about Germany’s Christmas markets, which now sit behind bollards, steel barriers, controlled entry points, and armed police, with concrete painted green or shaped into festive ornaments in a thin attempt to soften what is, in reality, permanent anti-terror infrastructure.

It is the perfect metaphor for the West’s current posture: an anxious society that would rather disguise fear than confront the cause of it.

Do not let politicians squander taxpayer money managing a crisis they refuse to describe.

Do not let them treat citizens like children who can be pacified with street furniture and vague promises of "community cohesion" while the root problem is left untouched.

The people who hate Western societies are a cancer upon us.

They plague everything we stand for, and their ideology cannot be reasoned with in the way our political class keeps insisting it can.

If Bondi teaches anything, it is that anti-Semitism is not an abstraction and not a historical memory.

It is present tense.

It is Jews being targeted simply for being Jewish in a major Western city by people chanting slogans lauded as virtuous, harmless, or "diverse".

A few years ago, I was foolish enough to believe that the politics of Gaza and the Middle East could remain separate from British domestic life.

I thought British people could hold opinions on a conflict thousands of miles away without importing its hatred.

I no longer believe that, and anyone still pretending otherwise is not being charitable; they are being negligent.
The Bondi Beach Massacre and the Future of Diaspora Jews | Rabbi Ben Elton on the Tikvah Podcast
On December 14, 2025, on the first night of Hannukah, a father-son terrorist duo opened fire on Jewish families gathered to light the menorah at Australia's iconic Bondi Beach. Among the dead are two rabbis, an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor, and a 10-year-old girl—with more than a dozen people still in hospital.

Rabbi Benjamin Elton, chief minister of Sydney's Great Synagogue, joins Jonathan Silver days after the massacre to discuss the climate of anti-Semitism in Australia and the terrible inaction that allowed this tragedy to transpire. For two years, Australian Jews have warned the government about escalating violence against Jews—synagogues have been firebombed, cars burned in Jewish neighborhoods, swastikas graffitied on day-care centers, weekly marches past synagogues with chants to "globalize the intifada," and a van discovered full of explosives with addresses of Jewish institutions.

The government offered $57 million for security but never confronted the root problem: surging anti-Semitism from the radical left and radical Islam. Rabbi Elton offers insight into an Australian Jewish community still in mourning, as he urges diaspora Jews to learn important lessons from these events.

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
3:20 The Unfolding of the Bondi Hannukah Massacre
7:40 Who are the Jews of Sydney?
19:28 Life for Jews Since October 7th, 2023
26:50 Warning Signs of Anti-Semitic Violence
32:45 Are American Jews at Risk? The Fallacy of Security Funding
36:10 The Effect of Palestinian State Recognition
38:15 Immigration Policy and Anti-Semitism
42:10 The Path Forward for Australian Jews




‘A miracle’: Bondi shooting victim expected to make ‘full recovery’ says Rabbi brother
A Melbourne Rabbi has said his brother is expected to make a “full recovery” after being severely injured in the horrific Bondi Beach shooting.

Volunteer paramedic Yanky Super was one of dozens of victims who were rushed to hospital following the massacre on December 14, which claimed the lives of 15 innocent people.

Mr Super had been volunteering with Jewish emergency service Hatzolah when he was struck by a bullet.

His brother, Rabbi Pinny Super, on Friday revealed the volunteer paramedic had been released from hospital and was now back home with his family.

He said though Yanky had “long road of recovery” ahead after requiring multiple surgeries, he expected him to be back volunteering within weeks.

“The wound still needs a lot of time to heal... but he's able to walk now and breathe on his own,” Pinny told Sky News senior reporter Caroline Marcus.

“He's expected to have a full recovery, which is really... a miracle," he said.

The Rabbi said the time it took for Yanky to fully recover would depend on how his body “recovers and heals”.

“But I expect that in a couple of weeks, he'll be back in his Hatzolah van,” Rabbi Super said.

“He's so connected to his work with Hatzolah that he wanted to be taken home out of the hospital with the director of Hatzolah, Rabbi Mendy Litzman, who actually came in a Hatzolah van and picked him up from the hospital... and he was so, so happy to ride in the Hatzolah van once again.”

He said his brother had been receiving calls from “all over the world” after being hospitalised following the massacre.

“Everyone is inquiring how he is, getting constant messages,” Rabbi Super said.

“His phone is going off non-stop.”

He said his brother on Friday morning had spoken over the phone with a young man who had laid on the ground beside Yanky and comforted him in the moments after he was shot at Bondi.

“This guy lay down with Yanki the whole time until the shooting ended and Yanky was just so grateful to him for really helping him,” Rabbi Super said.

“Yanky’s coming to terms with the fact that he was shot... that reality is very, very difficult to process, the fact that you were shot.”


Calls grow for Royal Commission into Bondi Beach terror attack after AFP commissioner downplays religious motives
AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett has faced criticism for saying the Bondi Beach terrorist attack was “not motivated by religion”.

Commissioner Barrett had stated in the aftermath of the December 14 attack that the alleged terrorists were “inspired by Islamic State”.

“These are the alleged actions of those have aligned themselves to a terrorist organisation – not a religion,” she said.

Islamic State has long espoused an extreme and selective interpretation of historical Islam.

Former AFP Detective Superintendent David Craig has warned the comment risks overlooking critical motivations behind the attack.

Mr Craig told Sky News that “of course” the attack was “about religion” after one of the alleged gunman was linked to Islamic State and radical jihadist preachers.

“It's in the counter-terrorism legislation. It's an important element. To say otherwise is just nonsense,” Mr Craig said.

Mr Craig warned that failing to acknowledge the religious elements of the attack could cause authorities to “miss the ball completely”.

“Look, I'm a Krissy Barrett supporter, but I have to say I was shocked and very disappointed with that statement,” he said.


Labor members sent explosive letter calling out antisemitism within party ranks
Labor Party members in New South Wales have sent branch leaders an explosive letter demanding stronger internal action against antisemitism.

The party has come under scrutiny at both state and federal level in the wake of the Bondi terror attack, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused of failing to do enough to combat hatred against the Jewish community.

Both Mr Albanese and NSW Premier Chris Minns have since announced a raft of measures aimed at stopping the spread of antisemitism, including tougher hate speech laws and gun control measures.

However, the letter, which was obtained by The Australian on Friday, showed members felt stronger action was needed to address the issue within the party's ranks.

"We believe the party needs to be tougher about unacceptable comments and conduct," it reads.

"If the party as a whole does not fiercely fight antisemitism, we enable it."

Former federal MP, and Labor Israel Action Committee president, Mike Kelly confirmed the letter had been sent to party leadership in NSW, but added it was the responsibility for members and officials at all levels to combat the issue.

"The essential point we’re trying to make to the Labor movement in general is the movement has a responsibility to act on antisemitism in its own ranks," he told The Australian.

"I think everyone in the Labor group in a leadership position needs to call these things out when they become apparent. The standard you walk past is the standard you accept."

Among the concerns outlined in the letter were comments by former foreign minister and premier Bob Carr made earlier this year, in which he suggested Jewish groups were part of a "foreign influence operation".


Australian police name John Argento as suspect in Melbourne Hanukkah vehicle arson
Victoria police on Friday named a transient with an outstanding arrest warrant as a person of interest in the arson of a vehicle with a Hanukkah ornament fixed atop in Melbourne.

47-year-old John Argento, believed by police to be living “a transient lifestyle,” was identified by law enforcement to be “able to assist with their investigation.”

Argento is known to police, with an outstanding warrant for deception-related offenses, and is known by law enforcement to frequent the inner southern and northern suburbs of Melbourne.

Authorities are asking him to contact the Victoria Police. They are also seeking him in relation to the breaching of another vehicle several minutes prior in the same vicinity.

Detectives are treating the predawn Thursday St Kilda East arson of a vehicle with a Hanukkah billboard as a targeted attack, but Victoria Police said that there was no indication that Argento posed a specific risk to the Jewish community.

Police seek John Argento for targeted Melbourne arson
“We understand the devastating impact this type of offence has on our Jewish community, and we are continuing to prioritize this investigation. We won’t fully understand the motives of this arsonist until we get them into custody.

“At this stage, we do not believe there is a broader threat to the Jewish community. We want to thank people in the area for their assistance in this investigation so far,” Southern Metro Region Assistant Commissioner Chris Gilbert said in a statement.


Belgian Jews ‘pained’ by Brussels’ nod to ICJ genocide case
A Belgian-Jewish group on Wednesday condemned the government’s decision to intervene against Israel in the genocide case that South Africa initiated against the Jewish state in 2023.

“The decision to proceed with this intervention, rather than disengage, is deeply painful for the Jewish community,” Ralph Pais, vice president of the Jewish Information and Documentation Center (JID), told JNS.

Pais, whose group monitors antisemitism and anti-Israel hate activity in Belgium and the authorities’ response to those acts, noted that the initiative to file a declaration of intervention under Article 63 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice in the lawsuit was made by the previous government, under Prime Minister Alexander de Croo.

His government, which relied on a coalition featuring the deeply anti-Israel Green Party and the Socialist Party before it was dissolved in February, was one of the most hostile to Jerusalem in the history of the two countries’ relationship.

It was replaced by the center-right government of Bart De Wever, who has spoken critically on the prospect of recognizing a Palestinian state and who has said Belgian authorities would not arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visited Belgium despite a warrant for his arrest issued by the International Criminal Court.

Yet, “it must be stated clearly that the current government, led by Bart De Wever, had full authority to reverse this course [of getting involved in the lawsuit against Israel]—and chose not to do so,” Pais said.

The Jewish community’s “sense of pain is compounded by the fact that the Jewish community has overwhelmingly supported the parties forming this government,” Pais added.


U.S. Involvement in Gaza Is a Strategic Opportunity
For decades, Israel was placed under the U.S. military's European Command, EUCOM. The U.S. announced Israel's move to Central Command, CENTCOM, which oversees the Middle East, in 2021, and by 2022 it was fully implemented. Israel thus became an official component of the regional security architecture that the U.S. had been building for years to counter Iran through shared intelligence, integrated air defense, maritime cooperation, and coordinated operational planning.

The U.S. responded to Hamas's Oct. 7 attack with a rapid, large-scale deployment: aircraft carriers, missile defense ships, electronic warfare aircraft, and enhanced intelligence assets, signaling unmistakable deterrence toward Iran and Hizbullah.

In response to Iran's large-scale missile and drone attacks on Israel in 2023 and 2024, the regional defensive network was activated for the first time. U.S. aircraft intercepted dozens of drones over Iraq and the Red Sea; American, British, and French ships shot down cruise missiles; Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE provided air corridors and shared tactical intelligence. The result was an unprecedented multinational defensive effort that successfully neutralized what could have been devastating strikes.

Following the Trump plan for Gaza, the U.S. and Israel set up a joint command center in Kiryat Gat to implement the plan. This should not be understood as an American takeover of operational decision-making but as a mechanism to deepen coordination. The joint headquarters facilitates real-time intelligence sharing, access to American reconnaissance capabilities, and humanitarian coordination with international actors. The presence of American officers alongside Israeli commanders has also heightened U.S. understanding of Hamas's methods - such as its use of human shields and diversion of humanitarian aid.

Israeli defense officials repeatedly emphasize that the current level of cooperation with the U.S. is unprecedented, and no attempt has been made thus far to impose decisions contrary to Israel's security interests. In practice, Israel enjoys the strategic advantages of alliance integration while retaining independent decision-making.

The U.S. is re-engaging in the Middle East, strengthening allies and escalating pressure on Iran. In practice, this represents a dramatic enhancement of Israel's strategic position. For the first time, Israel finds itself embedded within a regional defense architecture that magnifies its strengths and compensates for its vulnerabilities. Israel has entered a fundamentally new framework, one in which it operates shoulder-to-shoulder with the U.S. and, increasingly, with key Arab partners. This emerging de facto regional alliance provides Israel with strategic depth, intelligence and logistical support, operational coordination, and a dramatically improved international posture.


Call Me Back: 1 A.D. in Jerusalem - with Benjamin Birely
Returning to the podcast (by popular demand) is Benjamin Birely, an American-Israeli PhD candidate and researcher in ancient historical texts at L’Orientale University in Naples, Italy.

Today is Christmas and to mark the holiday, Benjamin takes us back more than 2,000 years to a land very familiar, to guide listeners through the Jewish environment that defined Jerusalem in 1 A.D and the world of Jesus Christ. The story of that period is one of factionalism, religious and political tensions, civil war, and geopolitical drama – and therefore one that will resonate with listeners today.




Ringleader of US leftist group charged in bomb plot called herself a ‘Hamas fangirl’
Far-left activists who were arrested while allegedly plotting a mass bombing campaign in California repeatedly discussed violence toward Israel and identified with the Hamas terrorist group, according to a Tuesday indictment.

Earlier this month, US federal authorities announced the foiled plot by an activist group called the Turtle Island Liberation Front.

Turtle Island is a term used by some indigenous groups to describe North America.

The group is a far-left, anti-Israel, anti-government and anti-capitalist network that participated in a vitriolic protest against a Los Angeles synagogue earlier this month, while some of its members were allegedly planning their bombing campaign.

Four activists have been charged in the bombing plot — Audrey Illeene Carroll, Zachary Aaron Page, Dante Gaffield and Tina Lai. They range in age from 24 to 41.

The indictment, filed on Tuesday in a federal court in California, said the four were part of a radical faction of the Turtle Island Liberation Front, called Order of the Black Lotus.

Carroll created a document, titled “Operation Midnight Sun,” that outlined a mass bombing campaign across Southern California on New Year’s Eve, the indictment said.

The goal of the plot was to “pulverize” targets, such as the offices of technology and logistics companies, and to kill federal immigration agents.

Carroll drafted the other alleged conspirators into the plot and the group began acquiring materials to make bombs, the indictment said.

While they were planning the attacks and assembling the explosives last month and this month, the group repeatedly made statements about violence toward Israel.

Page, using an encrypted messaging application, messaged the other alleged conspirators, saying, “death to israel death to the usa death to colonizers death to settler-coloniasm [sic.].”




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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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