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Wednesday, December 31, 2025

12/31 Links Pt2: Resilient and vulnerable: Jewish world in 2025; 2025’s ‘Persons of the Year’: Israeli mothers; The impetus behind widespread protests in Iran

From Ian:

Resilient and vulnerable: Jewish world in 2025
Vulnerable. That’s the word that defines world Jewry as 2025 draws to a close.

In Israel, exuberance follows stunning military victories over Iran and Hezbollah, and the joyful rescue of hostages. The return to normal has reawakened the “anyone but Bibi” camp, hoping again to unseat the prime minister. Yet Israelis remain uneasy. Hamas still lurks, armed and dangerous, in parts of the Gaza Strip; Iran continues its ballistic-missile program with openly hostile intent; and Hezbollah struggles to rebuild.

Many worry about U.S. President Donald Trump’s impulsiveness and whether he might pressure Israel politically, even though, if he were to run for prime minister, he would likely win in a landslide, even against Netanyahu. Despite the optimism, Israel remains deeply traumatized by war. Life in Tel Aviv pulses at full speed again, but beneath the surface is a yearning for quiet—and for a more peaceful normalcy. Israelis dream of vacations now that low-cost airlines like Wizz Air promise to make Ben-Gurion International Airport a global hub.

For Jews in Australia, the “Lucky Country,” that historic sense of security has been shattered. From the arrival of eight Jewish convicts on the First Fleet in 1788, Jews in Australia felt relatively safe—until now. In the past two years, that security has turned to fear. The Australian government’s recognition of a so-called “Palestinian state” was seen by many as a reward to Hamas. Massive rallies filled Sydney’s iconic Harbor Bridge with chants of “Globalize the intifada” and calls to “Kill the Jews” while participants waved Hamas flags. Some officials even joined the protests, while few condemned them. Fueled by a virulently anti-Israel policy, antisemitism erupted—a synagogue firebombed in Melbourne, physical assaults and open threats to a Zionist community.

The horror peaked on Bondi Beach on the first night of Chanukah, when Islamic terrorists murdered 15 men, women and children. But rather than respond with the familiar platitudes—appeals to multiculturalism, tolerance or reminders of Jewish civic virtue—Australian Jewish leaders did something different. They spoke with pride and moral clarity, proclaiming that the Seven Noahide Laws—the universal Jewish values of justice, decency, belief in God and kindness—could enrich the broader Australian society.

Their courage inspired a vigil in Bondi on the last night of Chanukah with as many as 20,000 attendees, many of them non-Jews, broadcast live across the country by network TV instead of the regular prime-time fare. Criss Simms, premier of New South Wales, launched a campaign called “A Million Mitzvot,” declaring that “the rabbis of Sydney are so persuasive; let me tell you what a mitzvah means.” The governor general and other national leaders echoed the call. The Bondi attack is becoming a societal turning point as Australians begin to question whether importing radicals who seek to “globalize the intifada” threatens not only Jews but the very fabric of their nation.

Jews in Canada, the United Kingdom and Europe now ask whether Bondi is a preview of what’s to come. Many of their governments mirror Australia’s troubling tilt toward Hamas sympathies, leaving local Jewish communities uneasy. Jews in Hungary and Poland, however, feel secure under governments that have resisted unrestricted immigration and rising Islamic extremism. In Ukraine, the suffering continues amid an unwinnable, grinding war. Ironically, in Russia itself, despite President Vladimir Putin’s immoral war, Jewish life remains surprisingly protected and even prosperous.

In the United States, Jews also feel vulnerable, though less so than their Australian and European cousins. Still, new threats appear on both right and left. In New York, the incoming anti-Israel mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has prompted many to consider joining the growing exodus to Florida—the “Sunshine State” that now boasts thriving Jewish communities, lower taxes, affordable housing, education vouchers and an even more vibrant Jewish life.

Yet despite mounting pressures, Jewish life in America continues to flourish. American Jewry can take pride in its overwhelming support for Israel since Oct. 7, 2023—sending billions in aid, and filling Birthright and teen Israel trips during the conflict and after it subsided. A recent Jewish Federations of North America study revealed a “surge” in Jewish engagement, with Chabad serving as a primary gateway. According to the report, 82% of those active in Chabad strongly support Israel, compared with just 32% of Reform Jews who say they are Zionist.
2025’s ‘Persons of the Year’: Israeli mothers
In 1927, when editors worried there was nothing exciting to report Christmas week, Time magazine designated Charles Lindbergh, “Man of the Year.” In 1999, it expanded to “Person of the Year.” This year, it’s a group award – AI’s architects. Let’s start an Israeli tradition, honoring Israeli mothers as 2025’s Persons of the Year.

Admittedly, 2025 was tough. Israel’s multi-front wars persisted, despite a Gaza ceasefire. The country remained divided, with leaders left to right competing in their never-ending “who’s the most disappointing politician” contest. Approximately 200 soldiers died in Gaza. Iran’s evil missile strikes slaughtered 28 civilians.

Palestinian terrorists murdered over two-dozen Israelis, including last week’s under-reported Beit She’an ramming and stabbing.

Jew-hatred kept spiking, curdling haters’ souls, Left to Right, while menacing innocents worldwide. And sinister jihadist-generated lies about Israel, Zionism and the Jews, about genocide and starvation, polluted Western discourse.

True, I keep chronicling the many blue-and-white beams of light too. Israel triumphed militarily, humiliating Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran. Israel’s economy roared, as its food-tech, pharma, and AI breakthroughs helped humanity soar. Mocking the worries about Europeans, Canadians, and even some Americans betraying the Jewish state, most Arab neighbors demonstrated growing respect for Israel because it walloped the Islamists and Iranian exterminationists.

Ultimately, Israeli mothers deserve credit for each of these triumphs. Like all mothers, they give life, the most godly act any human can perform. As Israelis, they’ve raised generations of superlative citizens, protecting their country while bettering the world. And today’s epoch-making miracles blazed the way for Israeli mothers’ longer-lasting gift to the future: launching a post-October 7 baby boom, not even waiting for postwar calm.

Israel’s mothers leading the way
Israeli mothers have been crowding maternity wards for years. Israel has long led the OECD in procreating, this key to communal happiness reflecting social strength. That’s why by late November, 2023, 17,629 babies had already been born in the seven weeks since rampaging Palestinians slaughtered 1,200 innocents. By 2024, births jumped 10% over 2023. Israel’s fertility rate of 3.1 children per woman nearly doubled OECD’s 1.59 average.

Israel’s fecundity phenomenon continued in 2025. From Rosh Hashanah 2024 to this Rosh Hashanah, 179,000 babies were born. Israeli Jews’ fertility exceeded Muslims’ rate for the first time, as Israel’s population hit 10.1 million.

Beyond the statistics, Israeli mothers’ everyday poetry and superhuman courage perpetually inspire. Imagine the bravery many needed to fight back tears while sending their children into battle October 7 – and every day since. Or the mettle required to send your 18-year-old into the army, today, after October 7, when our enemies reminded us how brutal they are and how costly our fight to defend ourselves can be.

Or the moxie required to keep working – as 70% of Israeli moms do – with husbands serving hundreds of days in reserves, understandably straining their finances, their relationship, and their children. Or the strength involved in burying a husband, a child, a grandchild, or what it’s like to feel so lucky that your child or life-partner was “only” injured catastrophically, as you pursue some semblance of normalcy while helping your loved one heal and rehabilitate.
2025: The year in which antisemitism became an algorithm of hate
As the late historian Robert Wistrich warned, the key is not asking endlessly why antisemitism exists, but recognizing how it mutates. This year revealed its latest mutation: total normalization. “Genocide” and “war crimes” are now casual labels for Israel, deployed without evidence, stripped of meaning.

The market for hatred is vast. Islamists brand Jews as white supremacists. Parts of the left cast them as colonial fascists. The populist right monetizes resentment through podcasts and platforms.

Qatar amplifies it through Al Jazeera; Iran weaponizes it for Shi’ite supremacy; Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan mirrors it from the Sunni world. China and Russia know that anti-Israel fervor weakens the West—and even undermines U.S. President Donald Trump. A hollow pacifism finds its enemy in Israel alone, absolving Hamas and Hezbollah of responsibility.

The killers at Bondi and the Hamas financiers uncovered in Italy are not aberrations. They exist within our media ecosystems, our festivals, our institutions. They are applauded, excused and rewarded.

And yet—this is the essential difference from the past—there will be no new Shoah. The encirclement has been broken. Jews are strong. They are different. And, most importantly, they have Israel behind them.

That is the paradox of the past dark year: Antisemitism has become louder, cruder, more profitable—and at the same time less capable of finishing what it begins. The hope for a better and more peaceful year ahead lies precisely there.


Sydney brings in New Year with commemoration for victims of Bondi terror attack
Sydney began 2026 with a fireworks display held under an enhanced police presence, weeks after terrorists killed 15 people at a Hanukkah celebration at the city’s Bondi Beach.

Sydney’s annual New Year’s Eve celebrations are known globally for their spectacular fireworks, with 40,000 pyrotechnic effects stretching seven kilometers (four miles) across buildings and barges along its harbor, including the city’s iconic Harbour Bridge and Opera House.

At this year’s ceremony, organizers held a minute of silence for the victims of the attack at 11 p.m. local time (2 p.m. Israel time), with the Harbour Bridge lit up in white and a menorah projected onto its pylons.

“Right now, the joy that we usually feel at the start of a new year is tempered by the sadness of the old,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a video message.

Sydney’s Lord Mayor Clover Moore said ahead of the event: “After a tragic end to the year for our city, we hope that New Year’s Eve will provide an opportunity to come together and look with hope for a peaceful and happy 2026.”

Traditional Christmas celebrations at Bondi were likewise muted this year, and several New Year’s events planned there were canceled.

Around 3,000 police, some carrying long arms, were deployed in the city during the main New Year’s celebrations, which typically attract over a million revelers.

“We have to show defiance in the face of this terrible crime and say that we’re not going to be cowed by this kind of terrorism, and we’re not going to change the way we live our life in our beautiful city,” New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said.


'Plainly inadequate': Anthony Albanese's review of Bondi Beach attack criticised for failing to mention antisemitism
The review into the Bondi Beach terror attack set up by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been heavily criticised for failing to reference antisemitism.

The terms of reference for Mr Albanese’s review failed to specifically mention Jewish Australians, antisemitism, radicalisation or Islamic extremism.

The review, headed by former Defence Department secretary Dennis Richardson, appear only to investigate federal agencies, including ASIO and AFP.

Also, the Richardson Review does not mention the role of government ministers responsible for security or social cohesion.

The review appears to completely exclude the decisions of government related to antisemitism, social cohesion and national security.

It comes as Mr Albanese has flatly rejected calls for a federal Royal Commission into the worst terror attack in the country’s history, instead establishing the departmental review.

His excuses for doing so have included that a national inquiry would be too slow, that it would “re-platform” antisemitism and that “actual experts” advised him against it.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Peter Wertheim said the Richardson Review terms were “too narrowly focused on our intelligence and law enforcement agencies”.

“This omits the wider context in which those agencies operate,” Mr Wertheim told Sky News on Wednesday.

“To get to the heart of the matter there needs to be an honest examination of government policies and the conduct and policies of key institutions and figures in major sectors of our society.

“Their contribution to the unprecedented levels of antisemitism in this country over the last two years must be addressed.

“What might emerge could indeed be divisive and ugly but the divisiveness and ugliness is already there.

“Confronting these demons will be cathartic. It’s our only hope of establishing a new national consensus and setting clear standards.”

Australian Jewish Council CEO Robert Gregory also told Sky News that the Richardson Review terms were “plainly inadequate”.

“They make no reference to the Jewish community and exclude critical issues such as antisemitism and Islamic extremism,” he said.

“They also specifically rule out examining the actions and inactions of the Albanese government in the lead-up to the attack, something any serious review would be expected to do.

“The proposed review appears to be an attempt by the government to transfer responsibility for government failures on to Australia's intelligence agencies.”


Leading lawyer refutes Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's royal commission trauma claim, says probe would 'assist in healing'
Top lawyer Kathleen Foley has refuted Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's claim a royal commission would re-traumatise victims of the Bondi terror attack, saying a probe would "actually assist in healing".

Mr Albanese continues to refuse calls to establish a Commonwealth investigation, despite pleas from intelligence and law enforcement experts, legal practitioners and the families of victims.

The Prime Minister instead announced a limited departmental review which will examine any failings by intelligence agencies and state and federal police in the lead up to the attack.

Both Mr Albanese and others within the government have justified the decision not to establish a royal commission by claiming it would take too long to produce answers and solutions, while also offering a "platform" for antisemitic viewpoints and re-open wounds in the Jewish community.

Those arguments were quickly dismissed by many, including Jewish leaders, while Ms Foley told The Australian a royal commission could help produce the complete opposite effect.

Citing her work leading Victoria's Beaumaris Inquiry into historic child sex abuse at public schools, the top silk explained explained a Commonwealth probe would not have to be "adversarial" and instead provided the best and most sensitive way in which to acquire testimony.

"They really are second to none in terms of bringing accountability to a subject matter that needs it," she said.

"Sometimes when people think of a royal commission, they think of something that’s conducted in a very public and very adversarial way, with people having to have their evidence shown on the nightly news. Not every part of a board of inquiry or royal commission needs to be conducted in that way."


Jake Wallis Simons: Yes, the Egyptian ‘extremist’ should have his British citizenship revoked
Time after time, we find this cynical Government using the law to further an agenda that is harmful to the national interest. To make matters worse, all attempts to resist this subversive juggernaut are hamstrung by legal red tape. The demoralising effects upon the existing population, and the resentment that it stokes, cannot be underestimated. Which brings us back to our friend el-Fattah.

At the time of writing, neither Starmer nor David Lammy have deleted their posts expressing their “delight” that he had arrived in Britain. Given this contempt for the public, only one conclusion can seriously be drawn: at the top of government, national security concerns are placed second to the mission of giving a cause célèbre “activist” a home. What is lacking, in other words, is not the legal pathway to deport the man but the political will.

At bottom, this sorry episode speaks volumes about how out-of-touch our leaders are when it comes to the very meaning of Britishness. As most of us naturally understand, belonging here is about more than just a passport and a rolling benefits claim.

It means understanding this country; loving this country; respecting its history, achievements and culture; being willing to make sacrifices for it, if necessary; sharing its values, traditions, customs, language and ideals.

Becoming truly British, in other words, is like joining a family, with all the duties, obligations and privileges that entails. The el-Fattah episode has thus made a mockery of the very soul of Britain, and the worst part is that the elites still don’t properly understand what was wrong with it.

In this context, this is clearly not a case, as Stephen suggests, of a Briton losing his citizenship on account of his views. El-Fattah has never been British in any meaningful sense, and he should never have been granted a passport in the first place. He is an Egyptian and he must be deported to Egypt.

Righting this wrong is vital to the integrity of our country. For decades, such integrity has been trampled by successive centrist fundamentalist ministers and officials by way of the immigration system. Now is the time to draw a line in the sand. This bovine and duplicitous Government must be forced to find a legal way to remove el-Fattah’s passport and give him the boot, using the very same ingenuity with which he was shamefully brought here in the first place.
Stephen Daisley: The more celebrity supporters a cause attracts, the more likely it is to be terrible
Politicians who campaigned to bring Egyptian democracy activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah to Britain are ducking for cover now that his past social media posts have come to light.

Famous faces who agitated for El-Fattah – include Judi Dench, Olivia Colman and the inevitable Emma Thompson – should be just as embarrassed. While it’s commendable to show solidarity with jailed democrats, those who also call for the killing of supporters of Jewish nationhood in Israel probably shouldn’t be top of the list for your human rights poster boy.

The very fact that stars of stage and screen were gushing over El-Fattah was a massive red flag. Celebrity backing for humanitarian and political causes is eagerly sought by canny NGOs that understand just how far a sprinkling of stardust goes.

If you want news media coverage, and through it the attention of politicians, few assets are as valuable as an award-winning thesp or an aging chart-topper willing to ink your petition, post about your campaign on social media, or appear in one of those black-and-white ads where they sombrely hold up your hashtag before looking away from the camera as a Sarah McLachlan song plays.

The notion that fame or accomplishment in the arts or in entertainment should confer special insight into politics, war, injustice or ethics is almost primitive in its trembling obeisance to the most minor of gods.

Being on the telly does not elevate your political opinions above those of the viewers watching you at home. This is a fame-centric variation of the Chomsky fallacy: the risible superstition that Noam Chomsky’s scholarly expertise in generative grammar qualifies him as an analyst of US foreign policy.

Just as no one shouts “Is there a doctor of humanities on the plane?” when a passenger takes ill, no one trying to achieve peace in the Middle East or bring democracy to Burma or end drought in the Zambezi basin has ever banged a table and yelled: “Dammit, we need a Bafta winner and we need one now.”

It’s not just that actors and musicians believe themselves well-placed to opine on global affairs, it’s the deference shown to their semi-researched and vibes-based perspectives by lawmakers and the news media. Parliament is on the brink of nodding through assisted suicide – and a recklessly ill-designed version at that – partly because the Prime Minister promised former television presenter Dame Esther Rantzen he would make time for MPs to consider it.
EastEnders actress Tracy-Ann Oberman accuses celebs of speaking out in support of political issues when they 'don't know anything about it'
EastEnders actress Tracy-Ann Oberman has accused many in her profession of signing letters and speaking out in support of Palestine when they 'don't know anything about it.'

The 59-year-old star, who returned to Albert Square as the character Chrissy Watts in the Christmas Day episode of the BBC soap, said that when she discusses the rise of antisemitism, the situation in the Middle East, and the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 2023, she is 'fully informed'.

Oberman explained: 'Many actors and actresses I know speak out on subjects that they really don't know anything about.

'They sign letters that they haven't fully read or understood the implications of.

'I think I have gained respect because even if people disagree with what I say, they know that it comes from a place of knowledge, understanding, and my truth. It's a lived experience.

'So when I talk about antisemitism, when I talk about the Middle East, when I talk about October 7, I am fully informed. And I think that is something that the industry and people in general respect.'


Spain grants Airbus exemption to produce aircraft with Israeli technology amid sanctions
Spain has granted Airbus exceptional permission to produce aircraft and drones using Israeli technology at its Spanish plants, even though it banned military and dual-use products from Israel two months ago over its war in Gaza.

Approved last Tuesday by the cabinet and defended by several ministers this week, the exemption reflects the pressure from companies and domestic interests that some of Europe's toughest critics of Israel's recent war have faced as they attempt to impose trade sanctions.

It also risks increasing tensions within the ruling coalition between the Socialists and their hard-left partner Sumar when the government is already weakened by internal disputes and scandals over corruption and accusations of sexual harassment.

Neither Airbus nor the defence ministry was immediately available for comment.

Spanish measures on Israel were passed in September
In September, Spain passed a law to take "urgent measures to stop the genocide in Gaza," banning trade in defence material and dual-use products from Israel, as well as imports and advertising of products originating from illegal Israeli settlements.

Its consumer ministry on Tuesday ordered seven tourist accommodation websites to remove 138 advertisements for holiday homes in Palestinian territories or face the threat of sanctions in Spain.

Spain has already blocked 200 attempts to buy material linked to Israel, its digital transformation minister Oscar Lopez told national broadcaster TVE on Tuesday.

Airbus, which employs about 14,000 people in Spain and accounts for 60% of its air and defence exports, was granted the first exception in a cabinet meeting last week, written minutes showed, citing the "great industrial and export potential" of its aircraft, "considered essential ... for preserving thousands of highly skilled jobs in Spain."
West Midlands Police admit ‘no documented feedback’ British Jews wanted Maccabi fans banned
Police leaders in Birmingham have apologised to a cross-party group of MPs after wrongly suggesting that members of the local Jewish community supported banning Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans from attending a match against Aston Villa.

West Midlands Police clarified there was “no documented feedback” from Jewish representatives expressing support for the ban before it took effect.

The original decision to bar Maccabi supporters from the November 6 match, made by the Safety Advisory Group (SAG)—which includes council, police, and other authorities—sparked political outrage, including from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

Earlier this month, Assistant Chief Constable Mike O’Hara had told the Home Affairs Select Committee that “the police had been told by members of the Jewish community they did not want Maccabi fans to attend the match.”

However, West Midlands Police issued a statement clarifying: “It was never the intention of the officer to imply that there were members of the Jewish community who had explicitly expressed support for the exclusion of Maccabi fans.”


Seth Frantzman: 'West Bank-ification?' Police investigate Negev arson spree as Bedouin tensions intensify
Five vehicles were set ablaze on Wednesday in Lehavim in the Negev, in what police are investigating as a retaliatory arson attack linked to escalating tensions in nearby Bedouin communities.

The incident follows another only days ago in the community of Giv’ot Bar, where cars were also attacked. Another town, Mishmar Hanegev, was also the site of an attack on cars. The Israeli police have carried out a number of operations in the Bedouin town of Tarabin al-Sana in response to the incidents.

The attacks on vehicles are being referred to as “price tag” attacks in the Israeli media. This is the same terminology that is used for attacks in the West Bank. However, in the West Bank, the culprits are alleged to be Jewish extremists, whereas in the Negev, the perpetrators are assumed to be Bedouin.

This appears to increasingly link the low-level conflict and lawlessness that is taking place in the West Bank with the breakdown of law and order in the Negev.

These two trends have been growing over the years. However, there seems to be a convergence of the trends, both because of the terminology that is being used and due to reports of how the security establishment sees the challenges in the Bedouin towns of the Negev.

Ynet noted, “Police say arson at a gas station in the Negev town was a reprisal for an ongoing operation in the nearby Bedouin community of Tarabin, warning of tougher measures ahead and calling for Shin Bet involvement.” The issue of increasing protection beyond the local police is part of the trend.

The context is that Israeli authorities are trying to crack down on a number of issues of law and order in the Bedouin towns of the Negev. This is called Operation New Order and includes raids in various Bedouin areas, not only in Tarabin but also in Hura, Lakiya, and Tel Sheva.


The impetus behind widespread protests in Iran
As we see an influx of videos on social media watching the brave people of Iran take to the streets – again – against the theocratic dictatorship that rules over them, a common response is “I hope I am wrong, but”. The prevailing sentiment is that Iran has seen significant and widespread uprisings before now – six in the last 16 years, by one metric – but they have all failed in ultimately toppling the regime.

There are some differences this time around, however. June saw the Iranian regime comprehensively humiliated during a 12-day exchange of strikes with Israel, in which swathes of the Iranian high command were eliminated in targeted fashion, making it clear just how deeply the regime had been compromised. The culmination of the short conflict saw the US itself strike Iran’s nuclear facilities at Fordow. Despite the endless propaganda from regime sources, the regime’s weakness was exposed in brutal fashion. For a dozen days, Iranian airspace was effectively under Israeli control. Not a single Israeli aircraft was brought down, despite a variety of fake stories to that effect.

The notion that an internal uprising against the regime would come at the same time as the Israeli attacks was always a far-fetched one. Despite Israel taking great pains to insist that the attack was directed at the regime itself rather than ordinary Iranians, few ordinary citizens would have seen a period where their country was coming under major external attack as an opportunity to mount an internal rebellion.

In the six months since, however, the general population has plenty to spur its anger to new heights. The value of the rial, Iran’s currency, has plunged by 40% since June. The price of staple food items has consequently soared. Oil revenues have slumped, under the weight of US sanctions. The country, which has felt the effects of global warming particularly acutely, has also suffered from extended drought in the latter part of this year – its worst since before the 1979 revolution that toppled the Shah and brought the current regime to power. Rain finally fell in Tehran earlier this month, but that has done little to address the underlying issue – which has to do with decades of mismanagement and corruption by regime lackeys.

The 1979 Revolution against the Shah was primarily an internal revolt (it infamously took the CIA totally by surprise) against a dictatorship which was seen as both brutal and completely out of touch with the common people. As is so often the case with successful revolutions, what sealed the fate of the Pahlavis was the army turning against it. The Ayatollahs were acutely aware of this problem, and sought to bypass it by effectively creating their own armed forces, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps – fanatical cadres of those most loyal to the regime. Today, Iran effectively operates with two different armed forces – the IRGC (which has army, navy and air force branches, as well as a paramilitary group, the Basij, which operates as a public auxiliary force opposing civil rebellion), and its conventional armed forces, known as Artesh.

Without significant elements of the Artesh actively turning against the regime, the chances of the Ayatollahs being toppled are slim. There are tens if not hundreds of thousands of protestors on the streets, certainly, but they are unarmed. Military defections are a key way to gauge the ongoing stability of the regime, because in most cases, those defecting will have made a simple calculation of safety – is the regime likely to survive and wreak vengeance on myself and my loved ones? The more officers who conclude that the answer to that question is “no”, the more will defect, until enough momentum is created to initiate a domino effect.


Iranian demonstrators reportedly try to enter government building amid 4th day of protests
Iranian protesters tried to break into a local government building in the southern Fars Province on Wednesday, state media said, on a fourth day of mounting demonstrations over the cost of living.

Protests over high inflation and a slump in the value of the local rial currency began among shopkeepers in Tehran on Sunday, and have since drawn in students across the country.

“A few hours ago, an organized group tried to get into the governorate building in the city of Fasa; their attack failed with the intervention of security forces,” state media said. “The leader of these rioters, a 28-year-old woman, was arrested.”

Iran’s Tasnim news agency cited a local official as saying four “attackers” were detained and three members of the security forces had been wounded during the incident.

A video carried by state media showed a group of people trying to break open the gate of the building. Reuters verified the location of the footage but was not able to independently verify the timing.

Additional footage from Fasa, said to have been filmed Wednesday, showed security forces firing toward demonstrators.


Germany probes 55 troops over extremism, antisemitic speech
German military authorities have dishonorably discharged three special forces troops out of 19 being investigated for far-right extremism and antisemitic rhetoric, an army spokesperson told the DPA news agency on Monday.

The investigation within Paratrooper Regiment 26, which has about 1,700 troops, involves more than 200 alleged offenses and 55 potential suspects, 16 of whom were subject to ongoing “dismissal proceedings,” the spokesperson said.

Several female soldiers complained to the commissioner for the armed forces of the Bundestag, the German parliament, about what they described as sexual and inappropriate conduct of troops from the Regiment, DPA reported. It triggered an investigation that revealed the use of Nazi imagery or slogans, as well as Jew hatred, according to DPA.

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper reported that troops at the Regiment’s home base in Zweibrücken engaged in violent initiation rituals and drug use. There was a “right-wing extremist, openly antisemitic clique” in Zweibrücken, one unnamed source told the paper. There were reportedly “Hitler salutes and an alleged Nazi party.”

At least 30 soldiers are said to have been involved in right-wing extremist and antisemitic incidents, according to that report.

“When we realized what was going on in Zweibrücken, we were frankly speechless,” Field Army Commander Harald Gante told the paper. “Both because of the events themselves and the way they were handled.

According to Die Zeit, there were 280 right-wing extremist incidents reported last year within the German army’s ranks.
Russian Teen Assaulted Over Israeli Flag Photo as Antisemitism Concerns Mount, Amid Calls for Jews to Leave Country
A 15-year-old student at a school in Russia was brutally assaulted by classmates after posting a photo featuring an Israeli flag on social media, Russian media reported, leaving him with a serious eye fracture from an incident that has drawn public outrage and is now under criminal investigation.

Earlier this month, a high school student in St. Petersburg, a major city in northwestern Russia, was physically attacked by two classmates after changing his social media profile photo to one featuring an Israeli flag, according to a report by local News Channel 78 on Sunday.

One of the attackers allegedly harassed the boy over his profile picture, demanding that he remove it and apologize.

After a verbal confrontation in which the attacker threatened the boy and hurled insults, including references to the Holocaust, he allegedly demanded that the victim meet him in the bathroom to continue the discussion.

When the two boys met there, the assailant reportedly demanded that he apologize on his knees. The victim refused but said he was willing to apologize without being humiliated.

The attacker then struck him repeatedly in the face while another boy blocked the bathroom exit.

The victim had to be hospitalized after suffering a fracture to the eye socket and underwent surgery under general anesthesia to remove bone fragments.

After spending more than a week in the hospital, he is now receiving outpatient care, and his family is coordinating with school administrators on a transition to home-based schooling as recommended by his doctors.

The boy’s mother reported the assault to the police, prompting local authorities to open a criminal investigation for assault and battery.

This incident came after Pinchas Goldschmidt, who served as Moscow’s chief rabbi from 1993 to 2022, recently urged Jews to leave Russia and consider immigrating to Israel, citing a growing hostile climate and rising antisemitic attacks targeting the local Jewish community.

“I have long urged Russia’s Jews to consider aliyah, the return to Israel. The post-Soviet renaissance was extraordinary, but illusions of permanence ignore history,” Goldschmidt, president of the Conference of European Rabbis, wrote in an op-ed for The Jerusalem Post earlier this month.

“Now, more than ever, Russia’s Jews should heed the call to leave. Israel offers not just refuge but a homeland where Jewish life is sovereign, not contingent on geopolitical whims,” he continued.


Ukraine’s chief rabbi says member of Jewish community killed by Russian shelling
Moshe Azman, the chief rabbi of Ukraine, said Yevgeny Bondar, 84, a member of Kherson’s Jewish community and a Holocaust survivor, died on Dec. 30 after being wounded in recent shelling by Russia.

Azman said Bondar was “critically wounded” when “shrapnel from Russian ammunition struck his liver and severely injured his arm,” which doctors “were forced to amputate.” He later died of his injuries.

“This is the kind of ‘de-Nazification’ that the Russian army has been carrying out for almost four years in a row on the territory of Ukraine,” Azman said. “Killing not only Ukrainians, but also other nationalities who simply live here peacefully.”

The chief rabbi shared a photo of Bonder wearing a kippah and dancing. “He survived World War II and Hitler’s Nazis, who deliberately sought out and killed Jews,” Azman said. “But he did not survive the Russian ‘liberators.’”

JNS sought more information, but did not hear back before press time.

Recent reporting said Russian shelling in Kherson, a port city in southern Ukraine, on Dec. 28-29 killed one person and injured 10, attacking civilian infrastructure.

“May the memory of Yevgeny Bonder live as a blessing for his family, his friends, and the Jewish people,” said the Jewish Policy Center.


More than 69,000 Israelis left Israel in 2025, as population reached 10.18 million
More than 69,000 Israelis left the country in 2025 under the shadow of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, leading the country to record a negative migration balance for the second straight year, the Central Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday in a year-end report.

Israel’s total population rose 1.1 percent during the year to a record 10.178 million, the CBS said. That was the same growth rate as a year earlier, making it one of Israel’s slowest years of growth ever.

A Taub Center for Social Policy Studies study also published on Wednesday estimated that the growth rate would come in at 0.9% and mark the first time the rate dropped below 1%.

According to the CBS, about 24,600 new immigrants arrived in 2025, 8,000 fewer than in 2024. (That’s more than the 21,900 the Immigration and Absorption Ministry announced Monday.) Most of the decline was attributable to a sharp drop in immigrants from Russia, after numbers from that country spiked following the start of Russia’s war with Ukraine in 2022.

Meanwhile, some 19,000 Israelis returned to Israel after an extended time living abroad, and 5,500 people arrived for family reunification purposes, the CBS said. That brought the total migration balance to a net loss of about 20,000 people.

It was the second straight year in which more people moved from Israel than to Israel. In 2024, 82,700 Israelis left the country, about 50,000 more than arrived.

Throughout most of the State of Israel’s history, there have been more Jews moving to Israel than leaving it, with the exception of certain periods in the 1950s and 1980s, demographers have noted.

Many have attributed the changing trend to Israel’s tense political and security climate in recent years, including the war in Gaza sparked by the Hamas-led massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023, and disillusionment with the government’s judicial overhaul plans, which critics say undermine democracy in the country.




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