Thursday, January 01, 2026

01/01 Links Pt1: The downplaying of momentous events in Iran; The Most Important Moments for the IDF in 2025; The Organizations Israel Banned From Gaza Over Terror Infiltration

From Ian:

Melanie Phillips: The downplaying of momentous events in Iran
All week, Iranians have been mounting massive and widespread street protests. Triggered by ruinous increases in the cost of living and acute water shortages, they quickly became an insurrection against the Tehran regime, with protesters chanting for the return of the Shah.

These demonstrations have been far more consequential than previous such revolts. They started among the businessmen of the bazaars—the same kind of people who had helped depose the Shah and brought the Islamic revolutionary regime to power in 1979.

Even more remarkably, a number of bases for the fearsome Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Basij militia reportedly fell into the hands of protesters, with one Basij operative killed after demonstrators threw stones in Kuhdasht, a city in western Iran.

At time of writing, this insurrection is still escalating. Although at least four protesters have been killed, the feared bloodbath by security forces hasn’t yet materialized. Instead there have been unconfirmed reports that some have refused to fire on protesters, forcing the regime to call in Arab reinforcements; that other security forces have run away; and even that the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has fled Tehran.

Maybe this revolt will fizzle out under ferocious reprisals, as all previous ones have done. But maybe, this time it will succeed in toppling the regime; it’s the closest the people have ever come to doing so. If they succeed, this would have a seismic impact far beyond Iran. It would transform and reshape global politics immeasurably for the better by removing a malevolent force devoted to the annihilation of Israel, the destruction of America and the conquest of the West.

The protests are therefore of immense significance. Yet astonishingly, the West has been all but silent. There have been no demonstrations in its streets chanting “Free, free Iran!” or “Death, death to the IRGC!”

For most of the week, the mainstream media simply ignored these tumultuous developments. When some reports were finally cranked out, they were minimal and seriously downplayed what was happening.

The Trump administration and Israeli government have expressed support for the protesters. But from the governments of the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, which have consistently sniped at Israel over its battle to neutralize Iran’s genocidal agenda, there’s been a conspicuous silence.

One might think these governments would be desperate to see the back of the world’s most lethal terrorist regime. Israel has taken another step against it by recognizing the independence of Somaliland. This puts the Jewish state into a far better position to deal with the Houthis in Yemen, through whom Iran launders its war against Israel and the West.
Jonathan Tobin: Tehran's Dreams of Hegemony over the Middle East Are Gone
All over the globe, antisemitism is surging. Yet the meetings held in Florida this week between President Trump and other members of his administration with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu are a reason for optimism after the president expressed support for Netanyahu and aimed threats at Hamas and Iran.

The relationship between the two nations remains close and forward-thinking. During the last 12 months, the forces seeking Israel's destruction in the Middle East and elsewhere can definitively be described as the losers. Israel and the Jewish people remain stronger than at any other point in memory.

That's not the tone of most of the coverage of Israel and its ties with its ally. A constant drumbeat of stories has attempted to make the case that Trump and Netanyahu are on a certain collision course about the next steps with respect to conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Iran. But for now, claims that the alliance is about to crack up are wrong.

There is no doubt that Hamas is far weaker now than when it started the war, with no immediate prospect of becoming as dangerous as it was back in October 2023. Iran has suffered defeat after defeat since its leaders set in motion a multifront war against the Jewish state. Israel's 12-day campaign against Iran in June - which the U.S. eventually joined - did enormous damage to its military, in addition to significantly setting back its nuclear program. The assumption that it is a threshold nuclear power no longer holds true.

Iran's Hizbullah auxiliaries in Lebanon suffered a humiliating and catastrophic defeat as a result of Israel's 2024 campaign, which also led to the collapse of the Bashar Assad regime in Syria. The hopes of hegemony over the Middle East that the Tehran government dreamed of are gone. So, too, is the land bridge to the Mediterranean composed of its allies in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon - with which they sought to encircle Israel.

Countless generations of Jews who endured persecution, hardships and even attempts at their genocide have only dreamed of a situation as positive for Jewish life as the one that exists today despite all the sorrow that contemporary Jewry has endured since Oct. 7. This should encourage us to have faith that Israel and the Jewish people will continue to live and thrive. That will require the continued heroism of the Israeli people, bolstered by diaspora Jewry, to have the courage to stand up for their rights and bear witness against hatred and bigotry, wherever it is to be found.
Is This the End for the Islamic Republic of Iran?
The current unrest in Iran is not merely another wave of dissent; it is a direct response to the most catastrophic economic crisis since the 1979 Revolution. By late December 2025, the Iranian rial effectively collapsed. The monthly minimum wage has plummeted to $100, placing Iranian workers at the bottom of the region, just above war-torn Yemen. For the average family, a middle-class standard of living now requires 600 million rials per month, four times the current minimum wage. 60% of the population now lives below the poverty line.

The regime is funneling billions into the IRGC and regional proxies like Hizbullah even as major cities suffer from rolling blackouts and a severe drought that has led to water rationing. The 12-day war with Israel in June drained the last of Iran's liquid reserves.

For the first time, analysts believe the regime is facing a structural failure that cannot be solved by a simple crackdown. Previous uprisings were met by a unified security elite; today, that elite is fracturing. Regular army soldiers, suffering from the same inflation as the civilians they are ordered to suppress, are increasingly showing signs of "passive resistance."

The question is no longer if the regime will face a reckoning, but how it will survive a winter where it can provide neither heat nor hope.
Iran Protests Are about Far More than Cost of Living
Many headlines are reducing what is unfolding in Iran to unrest triggered merely by a plunging currency. But such framing is not only incomplete, but dangerously misleading. The demonstrations now rippling through cities far beyond Tehran are the latest chapter in a decades-long struggle for dignity and freedom.

Yes, the economy is in crisis. But what we are witnessing is the culmination of 46 years of accumulated grievance. Iranians are protesting against a rotten system that has continued to fail them in every way.

They are protesting against the routine use of violence, arbitrary detention and lethal force against citizens who dare to dissent. They are protesting against the persecution of minorities, from Kurds and Baluchis to Baha'is and Lurs, who have borne the brunt of systematic discrimination. They are protesting against the daily war waged against women, whose bodies, hair and choices are policed as instruments of ideology.

They are protesting against corruption so entrenched that even formal resignations at the top, like that of the central bank governor this week, appears less like accountability and more like theater. They are protesting against environmental ruin and water bankruptcy, the result of mismanagement that has left once-fertile regions parched and unlivable.

The people of Iran deserve better than a regime that pours vast sums into foreign terrorist militias while its own citizens struggle to afford bread and medicine. This year alone, a billion dollars was sent to Hizbullah. The people of Iran are not asking to be rescued. They are demanding to be seen.


Examining the Organizations Israel Banned From Gaza Over Terror Infiltration
Israel announced Tuesday that it will suspend operations of 37 humanitarian organizations in the Gaza Strip and West Bank starting January 1, 2026, citing national security concerns, evidence of terrorist infiltration within aid groups, and a refusal to abide by necessary transparency measures. Suspended organizations include Doctors Without Borders (MSF), World Vision, several affiliates of Oxfam, and Mercy Corps, after they failed to meet the new Israeli vetting requirements.

Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) stated that the suspended organizations “contribute less than 1% of the total aid going into the Gaza Strip,” and that humanitarian assistance will continue through organizations that successfully completed the new registration process.

The new vetting rules required nonprofits to submit comprehensive staff lists, including all foreign and Palestinian employees with their passport and personal identification numbers, for Israeli security screening.

Systematic Hamas Infiltration of Aid Organizations
The Israeli decision comes after the release of declassified Hamas documents obtained during military operations in Gaza, which reveal the terrorist organization’s systematic infiltration of international humanitarian organizations. The documents, published by the NGO Monitor watchdog organization, demonstrate that “NGOs in Gaza do not operate independently or neutrally,” but instead function within “an institutionalized framework of coercion, intimidation, and surveillance that serves Hamas’ terror.”

The seized documents detail how Hamas embedded operatives within aid organizations, designated “guarantors” inside major international NGOs, and used blackmail to ensure compliance with Hamas directives. Below are examples of several NGOs suspended by Israel from entering Gaza, which are directly implicated in the internal Hamas documents published by NGO Monitor.

Terror Ties of Suspended NGOs
1. Doctors Without Borders
Investigations revealed multiple terror connections within MSF operations. Most significantly, MSF staff member Fadi Al-Wadiya, eliminated in an Israeli drone strike in June 2024, was identified as a “member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad responsible for developing the terror group’s missiles,” by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which released pictures of him clad in terrorist attire and participating in meetings with other members of the group.

The organization has also allegedly provided funding to the Abdel Shafi Community Health Association (ACHA), which was “founded and is directed by senior members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).” MSF Deputy Cell Manager Amber Alayyan confirmed that MSF “emptied our stocks to give to the [Gaza] Ministry of Health,” which us run by Hamas.

Former MSF Secretary-General Alain Destexhe has publicly accused the organization of becoming “accomplices of Hamas,” stating that MSF has abandoned its neutral humanitarian principles.
Doctors Without Borders advanced anti-Israel narrative, maintained terror ties
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) “practiced advancing an extreme anti-Israeli narrative under the guise of humanitarian activity,” claimed Israeli ministry documents viewed exclusively by The Jerusalem Post.

The well-known medical organization is one of several dozen NGOs prohibited from operating in Gaza and the West Bank since January 1. The move was announced by Israel on Monday and has been met with significant international outrage.

In a letter to the media on Wednesday, the minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, claimed that security investigations determined that employees of certain international organizations operating in Gaza were directly involved in terrorist activity.

With regard to MSF specifically, Chikli claimed it maintained active ties to designated terrorist organizations: in June 2024, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative was identified as an MSF employee, and in September 2024, another MSF employee was identified as a Hamas sniper.

Chikli added that, “despite repeated and explicit demands,” the organization did not provide full transparency regarding the identities, roles, and activities of those individuals.

Under Israel’s current regulatory framework, licenses can be revoked for the following reasons: participation in efforts to delegitimize the State of Israel; legal warfare against IDF soldiers; Holocaust denial; and denial of the October 7 massacre.

As seen, revocation is explicitly allowed for organizations that are actively pro-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, which MSF is.
Gerald M. Steinberg: The Humanitarian Mask
As focus shifts to post-war aid and reconstruction in Gaza, the role played during the conflict by organisations with ostensibly humanitarian objectives is coming under increasing scrutiny. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)—also known as Doctors Without Borders—is a highly problematic example. For decades, MSF was considered a model of universal morality and medical heroism. The NGO’s medical personnel courageously entered dangerous conflict zones to provide desperately needed aid, and in 1999, it was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “in recognition of the organisation’s pioneering humanitarian work on several continents.” “Our actions,” the MSF website promises, “are guided by medical ethics and the principles of impartiality, independence and neutrality.”

While MSF still claims to promote these values, in recent years, it has often replaced neutrality with activist spin, turning medicine into another highly politicised sector. In particular, it has become a major source of propaganda against the state of Israel. Earlier this year, the organisation draped a large banner down a building near a Jewish publishing house in Amsterdam falsely accusing Israel of perpetrating a “genocide” in Gaza. In a statement delivered at an informal tribunal organised by civil-society groups in Istanbul, MSF’s international president Dr Javid Abdelmoneim said:
Jury, please note that MSF is an independent medical humanitarian organisation. We deliver care to people affected by conflict, epidemics, and disasters—and we speak out about what we witness.

We have worked in Palestine since 1988. In Gaza today, over 1,000 of my Palestinian colleagues and around 40 international staff support hospitals, clinics, and water provision.

Jury, please consider that we bear witness to Israel’s deliberate mass harm to civilians, use of food as a weapon of war, and destruction of the healthcare system, as three key elements in its genocide in Gaza, which takes place in the historical context of the Israeli occupation, colonisation, blockade, and forced displacement of Palestinians across the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

MSF-UK’s website now includes a dedicated “Gaza Genocide” section that declares: “In short, we are witnessing a genocide. Through deliberate actions—including forced displacement, annexation, and mass killings—Israel is systematically destroying the conditions necessary for Palestinian life.”

A prominent example of this trend is a British-Palestinian reconstructive surgeon named Ghassan Abu-Sittah, who entered Gaza on 9 October 2023 under MSF sponsorship just two days after Hamas terrorists rampaged across Southern Israel massacring at least 1,195 people and seizing 251 hostages. Abu-Sittah had already visited Gaza on behalf of MSF, including during the violent conflicts started by Hamas in 2018 and 2019. This time, he spent about six weeks working in hospitals across Gaza, including al-Ahli Arab, al-Shifa, and al-Awda, according to the anti-Israel campaign group Forensic Architecture, which promoted his “situated testimony.” Video footage from 7 October shows wounded hostages being taken by armed Hamas terrorists into al-Shifa hospital. Other doctors reported that “everyone knew” that sections of the hospital were off-limits, and unauthorised individuals who tried to enter could be shot.
When Humanitarianism Becomes Ideology: The MSF Case



U.S. Lacks the Tools to Engineer a Major Shift in Gaza
After Monday's meeting between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, it appears no major decisions were reached and no serious disputes erupted. In Gaza, the Yellow Line remains in place, possibly for years. In other arenas, Israel remains largely free to act as it sees fit. Trump echoed talking points closely aligned with Netanyahu's messaging, both in his public opening remarks and behind closed doors.

The U.S. has not succeeded in assembling a stabilization force for Gaza, a key prerequisite for implementing the second phase of Trump's peace plan. Only Turkey and Italy have expressed readiness to participate, but Israel has ruled out any Turkish role and Trump made clear he does not intend to force Israel to accept Turkish involvement near its borders.

The Palestinian governing body meant to administer Gaza does not yet exist even on paper. Without a viable plan for Gaza as a whole, Trump and his envoys have little incentive to clash with Netanyahu or demand further Israeli withdrawals. The bottom line is that Washington currently lacks both the tools and the readiness to engineer a major shift in Gaza, Iran or other active fronts.
Israel, U.S. Set Two-Month Deadline for Hamas Disarmament
Israel and the U.S. will give Hamas a two-month window to disarm, Israel Hayom has learned, following a meeting between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump in Florida on Monday. Professional teams from both countries are working to establish clear, mutually agreed criteria defining what would constitute the practical disarmament of Hamas. Both Israel and the U.S. agree that allowing Hamas to retain most of the weapons and military capabilities currently in its possession would be unacceptable.

It was also agreed that Hamas's disarmament and the demilitarization of Gaza would include the destruction of its underground tunnel network. If Hamas does not disarm, responsibility for the next steps would revert to the Israel Defense Forces.
IDF Podcast: The Most Important Moments for the IDF in 2025
Join us for a special episode of Mission Brief as we look back at the most significant moments that shaped the IDF in 2025. From groundbreaking operations to strategic decisions and unexpected challenges, our international spokesperson breaks down the events that defined the year for the IDF.


Hamas Publishes New Manifesto Justifying October 7 and the Media Look Away
Last Wednesday, Hamas released a document that should have triggered critical coverage across international media.

Titled “Our Narrative: Al Aqsa Flood: Two Years of Steadfastness and the Will for Liberation,” the 42-page PDF issued by the Hamas media office is not a press release, a ceasefire update, or a humanitarian appeal. It is a manifesto. It is Hamas laying out, in its own words, how it understands October 7, why it carried it out, and why it believes the attack remains justified.

But mainstream media outlets completely ignored it. To be clear, those media are right to avoid amplifying terrorist propaganda. But there is a difference between refusing to promote propaganda and refusing to examine it critically.

This document demanded coverage precisely so it could be challenged, interrogated, and exposed. It warranted critical reporting that quoted Hamas’ claims in order to dismantle them, not to echo them.

The contradiction is stark because journalists routinely quote Hamas officials, publish Hamas claims about ceasefire terms, and repeat statements from the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry under neutral framing. HonestReporting has documented throughout the war how Hamas exploits this environment to shape coverage and control narrative framing.

Yet when Hamas releases a comprehensive manifesto spelling out its worldview with unusual clarity, the media looks away. That is precisely when scrutiny is most needed.

“The Day of Glorious Crossing”
The unambiguous text makes it crystal clear that Hamas sees its October 7 massacre as inevitable and foundational — an event to be proud of.
October 2023, 7, was no sudden event; it was another chapter in the ongoing struggle with the Israeli occupation. The Al Aqsa Flood operation is not a passing memory but the foundation of our narrative… a historic, pivotal stage in the journey of our cause.

Despite the severe damage to the terrorist organization and Gaza as a whole, Hamas’ language is that of validation and repetition.

Hamas even brands October 7 “The Day of Glorious Crossing,” transforming mass murder into triumph and laundering atrocity into a symbol meant to endure.

Equally significant is what Hamas admits about its intent. The document explicitly rejects any claim that October 7 was spontaneous or reactive.
This operation was not an adventure or an emotional act, but a calculated step that expresses the will to hope and correct the historical course. [It was undertaken] with awareness, planning, faith in God …believing that sacrifice is the path to salvation.
New bill seeks to give Israel authority over antiquities in West Bank’s areas A and B
A new version of a bill seeks to give Israel power over antiquities and archaeological sites in the West Bank’s Areas A and B, which are governed to varying extents by the Palestinian Authority.

The bill’s lead sponsor, Likud MK Amit Halevy, also sought to include the Gaza Strip in the bill’s purview, according to a publicly available text of the bill.

The first clause of the bill states that “the purpose of this Law is to establish the direct responsibility of the State of Israel for the care of antiquities, heritage and archaeological sites in Judea and Samaria,” the biblical name of the West Bank.

The second clause describes the geographical scope of the law as “the Judea and Samaria area” and adds in parentheses that, “at this stage, the proposed law shall apply to Areas A, B, and C.”

Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, the PA was to have full security and civil control over Area A, and civil control over Area B. Area C — comprising the majority of the West Bank — is under full Israeli control.

The notes attached to the clause explain that “the proponent [Halevy] seeks to apply the authority under the proposed law also to the areas of the Gaza Strip.”

Under the Oslo Accords, Israel’s involvement in West Bank antiquities is only supposed to extend to Area C. Currently, the body responsible for antiquities is the Staff Officer of the Archaeology Unit of the Civil Administration, a branch of the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT).


ILTV INSIDER | Will Israel Attack Iran in 2026?
As Israel looks ahead to 2026, the stakes could not be higher. On this episode of ILTV Insider, executive editor Maayan Hoffman hosts a New Year’s predictions roundtable on the issues shaping Israel’s future. Will Israel confront Iran again? Can Hamas be disarmed and the Gaza war actually end? What happens next in Lebanon and Syria, and is normalization with Saudi Arabia still possible? The panel also tackles surging global antisemitism, aliyah pressures, West Bank sovereignty, Qatargate, and the question of a possible pardon for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.


travelingisrael.com: The Peace Delusion Is Dangerous Because It Ignores Reality
Good intentions do not create peace when they are built on denial and illusion. This video explains why ignoring reality in the name of peace only makes this war worse.




Erin Molan: She Survived Gaza. This Is Her Testimony. [ENGLISH VERSION]
This episode contains survivor testimony. Viewer discretion is advised.

For the first time in English, Romi Gonen, a released hostage, shares a deeply personal account of her time in captivity in Gaza.

This 15-minute testimony was originally filmed for Israeli audiences and is now exclusively dubbed and presented on The Erin Molan Show.

Erin Molan presents this testimony without interruption or commentary — because some stories do not require analysis, only witnesses.

This is not politics.
This is not opinion.
This is a survivor speaking.


Jonathan Tobin Answers All Your Burning Questions of 2025
In this year-end "Think Twice" AMA episode, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin takes aim at the Heritage Foundation’s flirtation with antisemitic voices, calling out conservative personalities like Tucker Carlson and J.D. Vance and exposing the mainstreaming of Jew-hatred from the left and right. He names names, tackles the rise of anti-Zionism in American politics and warns that the Overton window has shifted into dangerous territory. From New York’s radical new leaders to shocking silence in elite institutions, this episode is an unfiltered look at the ideological war threatening Jewish life in America.


“Western Politicians SURRENDERED” Son Of Hamas Gives DARK Prediction About An Islamic Caliphate!
Dan Dyker sits down with the one and only Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of a Hamas founder turned fearless whistleblower, to break down what could be the most dangerous turning point in Middle East history. From a surprise President Trump-PM Netanyahu summit to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Hamas deception and the West’s ideological blind spots, nothing is off-limits. Yousef pulls back the curtain on the lies of jihadist propaganda, the manipulation of the Palestinian cause and the terrifying possibility of a regional implosion.


False narratives have framed Israel as guilty before the world
Israel has struggled to respond effectively. Too often, its instinct has been to explain rather than to confront the narrative itself. Facts are offered where frames must be challenged. But facts do not survive long in an environment designed to neutralize them. Silence is interpreted as guilt. Caution is read as evasion. Technical language collapses in the face of moral theater.

Over time, Israel has been flattened into a symbol rather than seen as a society. Internal debates, political failures, and genuine security dilemmas disappear. Israeli lives become abstract. Israeli suffering becomes negotiable.

None of this requires denying Palestinian suffering. Civilian pain is real and devastating. But an honest conversation must also acknowledge a difficult truth: Palestinian leadership has repeatedly demonstrated that it cares more about dead Israelis than for living Palestinians. Again and again, choices have been made that prioritize violence and spectacle over governance and life. Resources that could have built institutions and opportunities were diverted into weapons and tunnels.

Civilian casualties are not merely tolerated. They are instrumentalized.

Ignoring this reality does not advance compassion. It guarantees more suffering.

What is lost in the dominant narrative is human reality: Israelis raising children under constant threat. Families shattered by terror attacks and abductions. Communities living with the knowledge that the next siren may not be a drill. These are not abstractions. They are lives.

Public diplomacy is not about spin. It is about refusing erasure. Israel does not need to claim perfection. It needs to insist on being seen as real. That means speaking clearly about the choices forced upon a democracy facing adversaries who glorify civilian death and embed themselves among their own population.

Narratives shape perception long before policy is debated. Once a story hardens, changing it becomes difficult, but not impossible.

Israel still has agency. It still has a voice. But using it requires confidence, moral clarity, and a willingness to challenge false simplicity rather than accommodate it. The goal is not universal approval. It is honest engagement.

Stories can be rewritten, but only by those willing to tell them with patience and resolve.

Israel cannot afford to remain a passive character in someone else’s script. It must take responsibility for its own story, not as a symbol, but as a society.

And that work, difficult as it is, remains not only necessary, but possible.


Prominent Jewish civil rights group demands Amazon block payments tied to Francesca Albanese’s anti-Israel book
A prominent Jewish civil rights group has warned Amazon that selling a forthcoming book by a US-sanctioned United Nations official could violate federal sanctions law, and has urged the company to halt related transactions.

Mark Goldfeder, head of the National Jewish Advocacy Center, said on X that his organization notified the retail giant that Francesca Albanese, an Italian human rights lawyer, is barred from receiving payments or other economic benefits.

Albanese is the UN special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories who sparked a furor after accusing Israel of genocide, apartheid and settler colonialism in UN reports and public statements — claims that Israel and the US have rejected as false and antisemitic.

She is also the author of “When the World Sleeps: Stories, Words, and Wounds of Palestine,” a collection of essays and personal reflections on Israeli policies in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The hardcover, scheduled for release in April, is currently listed as a bestseller in the human rights category on Amazon’s website.

“Today we issued notice to Amazon and others about potential sanctions-violations connected to @FranceskAlbs new book,” Goldfeder wrote on X earlier this week.


Somaliland’s little-known Jewish past spans Yemenite traders and contested legends
There are no Jews known to be living in Somaliland, which declared its independence from Somalia in 1991. However, the territory can claim some interesting footnotes in Jewish history — beyond Israel’s move last week to become the first country in the world to recognize it as a sovereign state — even if it doesn’t yet have a Chabad House for Jewish tourists.

Located on the Horn of Africa, Somaliland sits at a historic crossroad of commerce and migration linking Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the wider Middle East. The territory once played host to small communities of Jewish merchants from across the Red Sea, and today remains home to a mysterious tribal clan that claims to be descendants of ancient Jewish ancestors.

“This is a story that is not well-known and hasn’t been widely documented,” said Asher Lubotzky, senior research fellow at the Africa-Israel Relations Institute. “Only a few pieces of evidence have been uncovered to piece it all together.”

Archival documents show that several hundred Jews from Yemen moved to Somaliland nearly 150 years ago, crossing the Gulf of Aden to live in northern coastal cities such as Berbera and Zeila, Lubotzky said.

After the Ottoman Empire consolidated control over Yemen in 1872, the country’s Jewish community saw new opportunities for freedom open up after years of living as dhimmis, an inferior legal status for non-Muslims. The new regime allowed Yemeni citizens to migrate more freely, and following the opening of the Suez Canal several years earlier, in 1869, the Red Sea was becoming a major global crossroad and trade route.

Most of those who could leave headed to Ottoman Palestine, spurred by messianic fervor and what they saw as a call to Zion. In 1881, the first major wave of immigration from Yemen, known as E’eleh BeTamar, saw about 2,500 people move to Ottoman Palestine.


Somalia’s Foreign Minister, UN Ambassador, Ran Health Care Corps in Ohio
Just when you thought the Somali welfare fraud story couldn’t get any more ridiculous, allegations have emerged that Somalia’s Foreign Minister Abdisalam Abdi Ali and Somalia’s UN Ambassador Abukar Dahir Osman ran a company called Progressive Health Care Services Inc in Cincinatti, Ohio.

A LinkedIn profile appearing to belong to Osman certainly reflects this. Strangely the profile states that Osman ran the health care company through 2019 and began serving as Somalia’s ambassador to the UN beginning in 2017.

This seems to suggest he ran a health care company in Ohio while also serving as Somalia’s ambassador to the UN.

He’s described as having worked as a supervisor at the Medicaid Unit in the Franklin County Department of Family Services and then worked as the Minister of National Security for Somalia while also running Progressive Health Care Services.

All of this seems to be a massive conflict of interest with a foreign government official involving in Ohio health care.

The Republic of Somaliland (an independent nation at odds with Somalia) tweeted that “Osman entered the U.S. as a refugee in 1986 by claiming asylum. He presented himself as a victim of persecution under Somalia’s Siad Barre regime, specifically alleging that he was from the Isaaq clan—an ethnic group in Somaliland—the same group he said Somalia did not commit genocide against in the UN Security Council meeting on December 29, 2025.”

Foreign Minister Abdisalam Abdi Ali’s official profile states that “before entering public sector, His Excellency Hon. Abdisalam Ali established a successful career in the private sector. He founded a successful healthcare enterprise, overseeing a multimillion-dollar annual budget.”

A LinkedIn profile for an Abdisalam Ali, whose picture seems to match that of the Foreign Minister, states that he was a founder of Ritechoice Health Services and before that as the CEO of a medical transport company in Toledo, Ohio. There is no direct confirmation that it’s the same person.


NYPost Editorial: Mamdani must denounce the worrying anti-Israel sentiment among some Muslim New Yorkers
One worrying trend, however, is a strong streak of anti-Israel sentiment among Muslim voters, which sometimes bleeds into violent calls against Jews, such as chants to “Globalize the intifada.” Mamdani already has been mealy-mouthed in denouncing the phrase, and had at least one member of his transition team resign after their antisemitic posts surfaced.

Muslims can rightly take pride in the rise of Mamdani, but the haters should not take his victory as license to harass Jews on college campuses and on the streets. And Mamdani should be quick to denounce such behavior.

He may be a symbol for Muslim New Yorkers, but he’s the mayor for all New Yorkers.


Dem NY comptroller candidate pledges to divest from Israel, accuses Netanyahu of war crimes
Insurgent Democratic candidate for state comptroller Raj Goyle wants to fully divest $338 million in foreign assets — including Israel bonds — from New York’s retirement fund, he told a gathering of Working Families Party supporters recently.

Goyle, a tech executive and lawyer, is staking out the anti-Israel position in his long-shot bid to unseat longtime Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, who has stood by the state’s “Israel bond” holdings.

“I’m here to tell you that when I am comptroller, we will not renew the foreign bond portfolio of the state comptroller’s office and that includes Israel bonds,” Goyle said during an event kicking off the party’s lefty “Working Families Party Guarantee” agenda.

“We will not send a blank check for Benjamin Netanyahu’s war crimes in Gaza,” the ex-Kansas state legislator said.

The Common Retirement Fund, one of the largest and most robust pension funds in the country, is run by the state comptroller’s office and manages pensions for state and municipal workers.

The CRF currently holds about $337.5 million in Israel bonds, as part of a massive $291 billion investment portfolio.


Sadiq Khan's London New Year fireworks display is accused of removing Star of David from Israeli flag
Sir Sadiq Khan's New Year fireworks event in London has been accused of removing the Star of David from the Israeli flag - but organisers blamed a technical fault.

The annual celebration featured dozens of flags projected onto the London Eye as 100,000 people lined the banks of the River Thames to welcome in 2026.

But Israel's flag could only be seen in the BBC's coverage as white with two blue stripes - and the Star of David, which represents Jewish identity, was not visible.

The Mayor's office has vehemently denied removing the Star of David, adding that the flags were not always clear because they were small and moving in animation.

Viewers on TV saw a blank space where the Star of David should have been - but the issue also appears to have affected a number of other blue and white flags being shown during the display, including those of Guatemala, Argentina and Honduras.

As the segment of the display with the animation comes to end, the Star of David can finally be seen appearing faintly on the Israeli flag, although it is still barely visible.

A City Hall spokesman told the Mail: 'A range of flags were displayed on the London Eye to represent the wide variety of countries of origin of people who live in and contribute to the success of London. These animated flags were small and moving so were not all entirely clear at every point as they gradually formed into the Union Flag.'

It comes amid growing concern over the safety of Jews in London amid a rise in the number of antisemitic incidents in the UK since the October 7 Hamas attacks.

Last night's display infuriated viewers - with some also upset that the improper Israeli flag appeared next to the Palestinian flag at one point. Former Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy tweeted: 'I thought this was a hoax, so I checked myself.


Pro-Palestine protest organiser filmed chanting at Hamas-aligned rally
Prominent Sydney-based activist Assala Sayara has filmed herself chanting praise for slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar at a rally in Jordan.

Ms Sayara helped organise a now infamous rally on the steps of the Sydney Opera House in the aftermath of Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel.

Members of the crowd burned Israeli flags and chanted antisemitic slurs, drawing condemnation from Jewish leaders as well as state and federal authorities.

The outspoken activist has also previously shared images of Sinwar and his predecessor Ismail Haniyeh on her social media, alongside the caption: "The martyr is alive. True leadership is when the leader isn’t separate to the people, in their fight and struggle. May their legacy live on".

According to The Australian, footage from a social media account belonging to Ms Sayara has now surfaced of her attending a rally in Jordan believed to have been organised by pan-Islamist organisation the Muslim Brotherhood.

It has previously been reported the activist had travelled to Jordan in December 2024.

Muslim Brotherhood is outlawed in Egypt and Saudi Arabia and was banned by Jordan in 2025 after it was accused of threatening national security by training militants, making explosives and plotting to carry out drone strikes.

There have been repeated calls for the group to be prescribed as a terrorist organisation in Australia.

Footage from the rally reportedly shows Ms Sayara echoing chants of "no division and no Judaisation" in Arabic.

She also appeared to respond "Allahu Akbar" to a man who called for "takbir" - a plea to proclaim the greatness of Allah - from the crowd in the name of Sinwar.

Others at the rally help up posters of Jordanians Amer Qawas and Hussam Abu Ghazaleh, who were killed in an October 2024 cross-border shooting attack which wounded two Israeli soldiers.

The emergence of the footage comes after New South Wales Premier Chris Minns spearheaded a push for new protest laws in the wake of the Bondi terror attack.




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