Friday, January 02, 2026

01/02 Links Pt1: Australia faces ‘crucial test’ after Bondi attack; Why Somaliland works and the international system pretends it does not; Mamdani’s ‘collectivism’ is dangerous to Jews and everyone else

From Ian:

Why Somaliland works and the international system pretends it does not
Which is where Israel comes in. Somaliland is almost an ideal strategic partner: anti-jihadist, aligned with the Gulf camp, hostile to Iran’s regional axis, and positioned opposite Yemen along one of the most sensitive maritime corridors on earth. Quiet security and commercial relationships already exist. Israeli planners understand its value. In a different legal universe, Somaliland would be a natural candidate for an overt strategic partnership.

Israel recognizes Somaliland exists because it has absorbed Houthi attacks for two years from Yemen. And Israel is not alone in being upset at the Houthis: For much of the past two years, the Houthis have been attacking shipping headed for the Suez Canal, impeding global trade and contributing to a sharp fall in container traffic through the Red Sea, forcing ships to reroute around Africa and adding time, fuel, and operational cost. That disruption is estimated to have affected goods worth roughly US $1 trillion in global commerce and pushed freight and insurance costs sharply higher.

Given its unique position as a victim of the Houthis, Israel would really appreciate a forward base in Small Island, and in particular in the port of Berbera, for intelligence and operations activities so that they can stop the Houthi mayhem. And if they do this, that would actually be a huge favor to their dear friends in Egypt who have lost billions of dollars a year in Suez Canal revenues because of the Houthis. The economic bleeding is real, and everyone in the region knows it, even if they pretend not to.

If the Western alliance wants to prevent this part of the world from blowing up entirely, it needs to quickly get the Saudis, the Emiratis, and probably also the Israelis into one room with padded walls and locked doors – until they agree on a plan.

The result is an inversion that borders on absurdity. Somaliland meets every test the world claims to care about: governance, territorial control, democratic legitimacy, security cooperation. Somalia fails them. And yet Somalia is recognized while Somaliland is denied. This inversion is the price of prioritizing a post-colonial system built on inherited lines.

Recognizing Somaliland would establish three principles the international order is not yet prepared to tolerate: that performance matters, that secession can stabilize rather than shatter, and that colonial borders are not sacred. Those principles would rewrite the logic of statehood itself across entire regions. So Somaliland remains the world’s most functional non-state: stable, democratic, strategically vital, and permanently unrecognized.
The Somaliland Gamble
The day after Netanyahu’s announcement, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) issued a statement denouncing the recognition while repeatedly referring to the institutions of the sovereign State of Israel as “occupation authorities.” The communiqué also invoked the need to preserve “stability” in the Horn of Africa—a ridiculous claim since the entire region has known little sustained stability for nearly five decades. Predictably, Qatar declared that it would be preferable for Israel to “recognize the State of Palestine.”

Another statement of condemnation issued by the ministry, this time co-signed by twenty-one Arab and Muslim states, including Algeria and Iran, cast the move as contrary to international law and warned that it “threatens international peace.” It further insinuated that Israel plans to relocate Palestinians to Somaliland from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The claim is patently absurd, yet it has gained traction within Islamist networks, including those maintained by Iran. That this statement—a typo-ridden mess clumsily assembled by a slave-owning petrostate and endorsed by some of the world’s worst abusers of human rights—was conspicuously not signed by any of the signatories to the Abraham Accords, such as Morocco, Bahrain, or the UAE, tells one all that needs to be known about its credibility.

Qatar has its own strategic interests in the Horn of Africa: it sustains pressure on Israel through the Houthis and other Islamist networks in the region. In Somalia, Qataris attempt to influence state policy through generous donations of foreign aid and the support of Muslim Brotherhood elements with Mogadishu’s governing elite.

Since 1996, Qatar has positioned itself as a mediator in a range of Horn of Africa disputes—from the Eritrea–Yemen conflict over the Hanish Islands to the Eritrea–Djibouti standoff at Ras Doumeira. Meanwhile, it has hosted Omar al-Bashir, the former Sudanese leader charged with genocide and crimes against humanity over atrocities in Darfur.

This is why Israel’s recognition of Somaliland poses such a problem for Doha. Somaliland represents a model of bottom-up stability that neither relies on Islamist mobilisation nor requires Qatar’s mediation. Worse still (for Qatar, that is), Israel threatens to help Somaliland defend itself, without Qatari help.

For the first time, an autonomous region long denied international standing has been acknowledged as a sovereign state not by the usual pantheon of Islamist or postcolonial patrons, but by Israel. Crucially, this has occurred in the framework of the Abraham Accords, which Abdullahi has publicly claimed Somaliland will join. The Abraham Accords began as a regional normalisation initiative but have expanded to encompass countries like Kazakhstan and possibly Indonesia.

The example of Somaliland may also inspire other stateless peoples in would-be autonomous regions. One such case is Kabylia, an Amazigh-Berber region in Algeria whose provisional government in exile has recently declared independence. While Kabylia’s circumstances differ markedly from Somaliland’s, the precedent is nonetheless clear. The Somaliland gamble suggests that a new pathway may be opening, in which emerging states that demonstrate internal cohesion, resist extremist domination, and align with a rules-based security order can find sponsors beyond the old gatekeepers. If that is so, then Somaliland is not an anomaly, but a new beginning: one more aligned with Israel’s interests than with Qatar’s.
Statehood hypocrisy: Why it's no for Somaliland, Kurdistan, but yes for Palestine
ISRAEL WAS the only country that supported the 2017 Kurdish independence referendum. A few years earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that “The Kurds have proven a commitment to political moderation, and they are worthy of their own political independence” and that “Israel supports the legitimate efforts of the Kurdish people to achieve their own state.”

No surprises here either: The Palestinians – the people who want the whole world to fight for them so that they can have their own state – categorically rejected the Kurdish independence referendum. Saeb Erekat, a long-time peace negotiator and an adviser to President Mahmoud Abbas, said in an interview with the Al Arabiya Channel that “Kurdish independence would be a poisoned sword against the Arabs.”

Barghouti described Israel as the only country to “recognize the separatist Somaliland,” and Davutoglu’s Israeli recognition of Somaliland is part of a broader strategy to fragment Islamic countries and neutralize key states through encirclement.

The vocabularies of separatism or agents of Israel are outdated and have been deployed for decades to legitimize the massacres in Iran, Turkey, Syria, and Iraq committed against Kurdish civilians over the past decades. Arab, Turkish, and Iranian fascists and Islamists alike have launched vicious campaigns against the Kurds, and always used Israel or The Jews as a scapegoat.

In 1966, then-Iraqi defense minister Abd al-Aziz al-Uqayali blamed the Kurds of Iraq for seeking to establish a “second Israel” in the region. Sixty years later, the term “second Israel” is still perpetuated, claiming Kurdistan is imitating “Yahudistan,” meaning the land of the Jews or Israel.

JUST A couple of weeks ago, Turkish media claimed that the Kurdish-led SDF “is now in Zionist Israel’s lap,” and that it is Israel’s “strategy to divide Syria via the SDF.” Similar rhetoric is now being deployed against the more than six million Somalilanders, using Barghouti’s own words describing them as a bunch of “separatists” and accusing Israel of tearing and dividing, saying that Israel seeks to “destabilize the Horn of Africa.” This is similar to what the late Saeb Erekat said about Kurdish independence as being “a poisoned sword against the Arabs.”

Not long ago, a Turkish newspaper affiliated with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ran a “scoop” claiming that the Israeli government is holding clandestine talks with Kurdish leaders in Erbil (Kurdistan-Iraq) to relocate tens of thousands of Israeli Jewish Kurds to the Kurdish region in Iraq. These kinds of conspiracies are a regular occurrence in Turkish, Iranian and Qatari media to appeal to antisemitic elements in their societies.

The majority of Muslim states, including the so-called “State of Palestine” view both Zionism and Kurdish nationalism as projects of Western colonial imperialism. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has repeatedly accused the US for seeking to create a “new Israel” in the region due to its support of the Kurdish people.

I salute the Israeli government for becoming the first nation to recognize Somaliland. And I am happy to see so many Israelis and Kurds taking to social media to congratulate Somalilanders on this truly historic moment. To my Somaliland sisters and brothers, I offer massive congratulations!


‘Israel was always on our side,’ Somaliland envoy in Washington says
Two situations tend to warrant emergency meetings of the United Nations Security Council: genuine crises and Israel doing something that council members dislike.

On Dec. 26, Israel became the first country to recognize the independence of Somaliland, a quiet corner of northwestern Somalia that has enjoyed de facto self-rule since 1991. So the Security Council held the second kind of emergency meeting.

Somalia’s U.N. representative, Abukar Osman, described Israel’s decision to recognize the breakaway republic as “a flagrant assault” and an “act of aggression,” which threatens “the unity and the territorial integrity of Somalia.”

“No external actor has the legitimacy or authority to alter the unity, the sovereignty or territorial configuration of Somalia or any other sovereign state,” Osman told the Security Council. “Israel’s actions not only set a dangerous precedent but also pose a serious threat to regional and international peace and security.”

JNS spoke on Tuesday with Bashir Goth, Somaliland’s representative in the United States, about what Israeli recognition means for his nascent country.

“Somaliland’s history will be divided into two: the history before recognition and the history after recognition by Israel,” Goth told JNS.

“It was a moment that we had been waiting for 35 years for,” Goth said. “It was a very exciting moment and a sweet surprise for me and for millions of Somalilanders.”

“It was a moral acknowledgement of Somaliland’s past and a strategic endorsement for its present reality as a democratic, peaceful and stable country,” Goth told JNS.
UKLFI: Natasha Hausdorff on Israel's recognition of Somaliland independence & international law
In this interview, UKLFI Charitable Trust Legal Director, Natasha Hausdorff, discusses Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as an independent state and the international legal issues arising from that decision.

The conversation examines the rules governing state recognition under international law, including the criteria for statehood, the role of recognition by other states, and how those principles have been applied in the case of Somaliland.

The discussion also addresses reactions at the United Nations Security Council, differing international responses to recognition decisions, and the legal arguments raised in relation to sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The interview considers how international law is invoked in debates over recognition and the implications such decisions may have for regional stability and international relations.

Chapters:
00:00 – Intro & context of Israel’s Somaliland recognition
01:27 – State recognition and rights under international law
02:54 – Criteria for statehood
03:55 – International reactions
05:55 – UN Security Council & Palestine recognition
07:39 – Concluding observations & Iran developments




Australia faces ‘crucial test’ after Bondi attack
BetaShares CEO Alex Vynokur has insisted Australia now faces a “crucial test” of courage and resolve in the wake of the Bondi attack which left 15 innocent people dead.

Mr Vynokur, who was one of the business leaders and promoters of the open letter calling for a federal Royal Commission, said it was time to ask the “tough questions”.

It comes as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese faces growing pressure to open a federal Royal Commission, which has dominated headlines since the attack.

However, Mr Albanese has ignored the calls and remains hesitant to open the Commonwealth inquiry, leading to accusations of putting ideology and politics ahead of the national interest.

“What's very clear is that we are, as a country, facing an absolutely crucial test of our resolve,” Mr Vynokur told SkyNews.com.au on Friday.

“We are today at an uncomfortable position. We have seen mass murder of Australians on Bondi Beach … And this is not an isolated event,” he said.

“This event has been a culmination of escalating and cascading antisemitic attacks on our shores around Australia. It's a matter of utmost seriousness.”

'Arrogant': PM blasted for ignoring calls for Bondi Royal Commission
Mr Vynokur said while tough and uncomfortable questions must be asked now, it would lead to a “stronger, more united, more cohesive society” like the one Australians were accustomed to.

The BetaShares founder said the business sector was a fundamental part of the fabric of society, which was why it was “absolutely crucial” to send a message to the rest of Australia.

“I think its absolutely crucial, and the business community is joining eminent jurists. It's joining sports people. It's joined politicians from both sides, you know, the political spectrum, so to me this is a really important moment for Australia.”

Mr Vynokur said it was an opportunity to show the world Australia would not stand for foreign hatred and would not “tolerate or import it into our country”.


Jewish groups warned police about ‘hate preachers’ multiple times before Bondi massacre
Australian Jewish groups repeatedly warned federal and state law enforcement agencies about radical Islamic hate preachers before last month’s Bondi massacre, but saw little action despite examples of clerics calling jihad the ­“solution” to the conflict in the Middle East, and describing Jews as “evil” and “cursed”.

This masthead can also reveal the Minns government was warned by antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal in February that its changes to racial incitement laws were “utterly unworkable” because they were too focused on the “likely effect” of conduct rather than the conduct itself.

Following the alleged terror attack, in which two gunmen killed 15 people at a Jewish celebration in Bondi, politicians and law enforcement agencies have promised a crackdown on so-called “hate preachers”.

No arrests have been made but this week AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett referred to a “flying squad of hate disruptors” who were focused on “high-harm, high-impact, politically motivated violence” and were examining a host of sermons which potentially incited hated against the Jewish community.

But Jewish groups including the Executive Council of Australian Jewry and the Jewish Board of Deputies have been raising concerns about rhetoric from some hardline preachers since the most recent outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East more than two years ago.

Along with radical cleric Wissam Haddad, this masthead has been told specific concerns were relayed to authorities about the extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, as well as some clerics linked to Salafist group ASWJ.
Senior Israeli official demands Albanese govt name radical Islam as root cause of Bondi attack
A senior Israeli official has called upon the Albanese government to acknowledge radical Islam as the “driving ideology” behind the Bondi terror attack in an open letter to Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.

The letter comes amid growing pressure on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to open a federal Royal Commission into the Bondi Beach terror attack, which leading business figures called a “national crisis”.

Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli wrote to Mr Burke on New Year’s Eve to extend support to Australia in the wake of the savage attack at Bondi Beach on December 14.

In the letter, Minister Chikli said the first step in fighting terrorism and antisemitism is a “precise diagnosis”, not merely focusing on the weapons but the ideology responsible for the violence.

“The fact that Prime Minister Albanese and Minister for Foreign Affairs Wong have failed to clearly name the source of this violence - radical Islam - undermines the ability to confront it,” Mr Chikli wrote.

Mr Chikli told Minister Burke that Islamic extremism was responsible for the Bondi attack and continued to threaten the Jewish community and Australian society “at large”.

While acknowledging gun control was “important”, Mr Chikli insisted the perpetrators behind the attack which left 15 innocent people dead was driven by a “dangerous and violent ideology”.

Minister Chikli said the Jewish community expects the Australian government to “ensure its safety” as it does for every other citizen and group.

“When crowds are permitted to chant slogans such as 'from the river to the sea' and 'globalise the intifada,' the consequences should not be dismissed as abstract or rhetorical,” he said.


Australian Jewish group calls to block Labor from events
A conservative Australian-Jewish group this week called for the community to bar from its events ministers from the ruling Labor Party unless they support a national inquiry into the Dec. 14 massacre of 15 people at a Chanukah party in Sydney.

Robert Gregory, CEO of the Australian Jewish Association (AJA), issued the call in a statement on Wednesday titled “Labor Ministers should be blocked from Jewish events.”

His group “is calling on Jewish organizations to seriously consider making it clear that federal Labor ministers will not be welcome at any Jewish venue or event unless they have publicly called for a Royal Commission into the Bondi Beach Chanukah massacre,” the statement reads.

Seventeen families related to victims of the attack, as well as the Rabbinical Association of Australasia, have called for a national inquiry, but Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said the events would be reviewed by a federal panel focused on the response of law enforcement to the event.

Supporters of a national inquiry seek a broader scope, which would look at authorities’ handling of escalating antisemitic violence since Oct. 7, 2023, the rhetoric of Australian officials vis-à-vis Israel, and the country’s immigration policy and handling of radical Islam.


The U.S. Has a Lot to Gain from Israel's Tool Kit
The Arrow 3 missile-defense system - co-developed by Boeing and Israel Aerospace Industries - has demonstrated its effectiveness by intercepting and destroying more than 100 Iranian ballistic missiles since 2023.

With a range exceeding 1,500 miles, exo-atmospheric interception capabilities, and kinetic "hit-to-kill" technology, Arrow 3 destroys long-range ballistic missiles far from populated areas.

Its defensive footprint is more than three times as large as the U.S. Patriot system, making it particularly well-suited for large-area defense.

These characteristics align directly with President Trump's "Golden Dome" vision for U.S. homeland missile defense.

Israel's wartime operational environment has consistently driven rapid innovation, allowing it to refine and improve military hardware under real combat conditions. That experience has benefited the U.S. for decades.


JPost Editorial: Israel’s Doctors Without Borders decision is overdue, security comes first
Staff vetting is at the center of the dispute because it is at the center of the risk. Hamas has every incentive to penetrate aid ecosystems, whether through direct recruitment, intimidation, or quiet leverage over local hires and contractors.

Israel cannot outsource that risk. Israel’s security services cannot sign off on “trust us” while Hamas runs the territory and treats humanitarian space as part of its battlefield.

The government’s approach also sends a message to partners abroad. Israel welcomes humanitarian work that is professional, accountable, and insulated from terror exploitation.

Israel rejects humanitarian cover that enables diversion, intimidation, or infiltration. Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli captured that distinction in a public statement that said humanitarian assistance is welcome, while exploitation of humanitarian frameworks for terrorist purposes is unacceptable.

Approval should be efficient for organizations that comply. Rejection should be grounded in clear standards and documented deficiencies. Information handling should be professional and secure, especially when sensitive staff data is involved.

A process that looks arbitrary will weaken Israel’s case abroad and complicate coordination on the ground. A process that looks rigorous and predictable will strengthen it.

MSF has a powerful brand, and its absence will draw attention. Israel should meet that attention with confidence. The government is enforcing oversight in a territory ruled by a terror army, not denying Gazans access to medicine.

The war in Gaza has already taught one lesson: Hamas exploits every opening. Israel’s policy reflects that lesson and translates it into governance. Oversight of NGOs in Gaza belongs in the category of basic national security, and the decision to enforce it now fits the moment.

Israel’s responsibility includes protection for its citizens and compassion for Gaza’s civilians. The government can deliver both through a clear regulatory framework that keeps aid moving and keeps Hamas from turning humanitarian access into an operational advantage.

That is what this step represents, and it is about time.


Only half of Hamas tunnels in Israeli-controlled area of Gaza said to have been destroyed
Only half of the Hamas terror tunnels on the Israeli-controlled side of the “Yellow Line” in Gaza have reportedly been destroyed by the IDF so far.

According to a report in the Walla news site, citing estimates from the security establishment, Defense Minister Israel Katz has instructed the IDF to increase its operations to locate and destroy such tunnels.

The site reports that IDF troops, including combat engineers, are working around the clock on such efforts, including deploying new methods of making the tunnels unusable.

Under the peace plan put forward by US President Donald Trump, the International Stabilization Force is slated to begin deploying in Gaza this month, accompanied by a gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from the area.

Israeli forces currently hold about 53% of the Strip under their control.
Culture minister says Gaza belongs to Israel, Palestinians merely ‘there as guests’
Culture Minister Miki Zohar, of the ruling Likud party, said on Thursday that Gaza belongs to Israel, and that the roughly 2.3 million Palestinians in the enclave are “guests” whom Israel is merely allowing to live there for now.

He made the remarks in an interview with the Kan public broadcaster, while explaining the reason why he is considering denying funds to the Israeli film industry, after the country’s most prestigious film prize, the Ophir Award, to “The Sea,” a movie about a Palestinian boy from the West Bank who is denied an entry permit to visit the beach in Israel.

Pushed by radio host Chen Liberman to define exactly what it is about the movie that justified potentially defunding Israel’s film industry, Zohar suggested that it painted the IDF in a bad light and made the Jewish state look like an “apartheid country that is killing Palestinians.”

But when Liberman, in response, pointed out that the fictional IDF soldier did his job exactly as expected of him, stopping only the child without an entry permit while allowing the other children to enter Israel, Zohar pivoted.

“Let me tell you about a large number of children, perfect and sweet, from Be’eri and Kfar Azza who won’t see the sea ever again,” Zohar said, referring to Israeli children killed during the October 7 massacre.

“Minister Miki Zohar, what you are telling me is that because of October 7, Israeli creators are forbidden from making films that are also about Palestinian children?” Liberman inquired, to which Zohar only responded that he would not allow films that acted “against IDF soldiers” to receive funding.

“It’s a movie that depicts a certain reality, that’s the reality of the occupation,” Liberman continued to push. “Maybe you have a problem with the occupation, but not with the movie, because the movie doesn’t lie in that regard.”
Israel strikes Hezbollah sites in Southern Lebanon
The Israeli military attacked several Hezbollah terrorist positions in Southern Lebanon on Friday, targeting violations of the ceasefire agreement between Jerusalem and Beirut.

The strikes hit a training compound used by Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force for combat drills and weapons training, as well as military structures recently used to store weapons, the Israel Defense Forces said.

The IDF said the facilities were used to train operatives for attacks against Israeli troops and civilians, calling the activity a breach of ceasefire terms.

The military said it would continue operations to eliminate threats against Israel.


Ask Haviv Anything: Episode 75: Power, fear, and the survival of the Iranian regime, with Roya Hakakian
Iran’s streets are in tumult. The latest protests are of a scale not seen before. New sections of Iranian society are in the streets — middle class merchants, the elderly and others. The protestors have more strident demands than in the past. And a regime that knows its legitimacy has been compromised by rampant corruption, systemic state failure, the collapse of the currency and economy and the 12-day war in June against Israel.

Our guest today is Roya Hakakian, a writer, poet and human rights advocate who grew up in Tehran and fled with her family to the US at age 18 several years after the 1979 revolution. Her book Assassins of the Turquoise Palace traces the Islamic Republic’s decades-long war on dissent both inside Iran and across the globe. Her earlier book, Journey from the Land of No, relates her personal journey from a hopeful 12-year-old during the revolution to a refugee, writer and fierce advocate for democracy. A fellow at Yale University’s Davenport College and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, she has written for leading outlets including the New York Times, New York Review of Books and the Atlantic and has contributed to CBS’s 60 Minutes and ABC Documentary Specials.

We discuss the evolution of the protest movement, whether this latest round of protests is different, whether Iran really is on the brink of collapse, what Israel should do (or rather, not do), and how Khomeini’s revolution was the seed for the so-called “red-green alliance” that now defines so much of the Western left.

Chapters
00:00 Iran on the Brink: A Nation in Crisis
03:45 The Evolution of Protests: From 2009 to 2025
08:41 The Regime's Legitimacy: A Historical Perspective
15:45 The Bazaaris and the Middle Class: New Voices of Dissent
21:11 The Hollowing Out of the Regime: A Shift in Power Dynamics
27:15 Iran's Ideological Disguise: The Reality Behind the Regime
29:17 The Collapse of Ideology and the Rise of Anti-Zionism
31:55 Khomeini's Shift: From Anti-Feminism to Anti-Imperialism
34:58 Corruption and Economic Mismanagement in Iran
37:53 The Mafia State: Iran's Governance Crisis
42:31 The Unique Position of Anti-Semitism in Iran
46:44 Cracks in the Regime: Internal Dissent and Future Prospects
52:32 Hope for Change: The Resilience of the Iranian People


Haviv Rettig Gur with 6 projections for Israel in 2026
Welcome to The Times of Israel's Lazar Focus. Each Friday, catch diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.

This week, while Berman was in Florida to cover the summit between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan invited senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur to sit in the hot seat and prepare five scenarios for Israel for 2026.

Rettig Gur came prepared -- plus one -- and the two spend the first half discussing the three main fronts of the war, Lebanon, Gaza and Iran.

In the second half, we learn about more domestic/political issues, including Rettig Gur's projection that Israel will begin to wean itself from US aid as the political winds shift in the States.

Lazar Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by Ari Schlacht.


Call me Back Podcast: Israel Iran War 2? - with Nadav Eyal and Amit Segal
As we enter a new year, news unfolds rapidly when it comes to Israel and the Middle East. Over the past few days, Iran has witnessed the country’s largest anti-regime protests in the past three years, with crowds taking to the streets in several cities and clashing with security forces. On Monday, Prime Minister Netanyahu met President Trump at Mar-a-Lago, for the leaders sixth meeting over the course of Trump’s second term. President Trump made several bold statements to the press, including warning that if Iran continues building its missile programs, the U.S. will take swift and severe action. President Trump also remarked on the Gaza ceasefire, saying he intends to move to phase two of his peace plan, but also threatening “hell to pay” if Hamas does not disarm quickly.

To unpack the dramatic events unfolding in Iran, and to analyze yet another meeting between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, Dan was joined by Ark Media contributors Nadav Eyal and Amit Segal.


Jonathan Tobin: Mamdani’s ‘collectivism’ is dangerous to Jews and everyone else
New York would not be the first great city of the world to be destroyed by ideology. Its residents should recognize what the welfare state, hostility to capitalism and a blind faith in government did to their city in the mid-20th century, only to see it revive when centrists like Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg chose different and more rational paths. And they witnessed how those achievements could be undermined by incompetent leftist governance and the willingness to confuse sensible police policy with racism during the eight years of Bill de Blasio’s tenure. They can also look abroad to places like London, where leftist toleration and encouragement of Islamist antisemitism have harmed Jewish civilian life and society in general.

That is also why the proper response to the Mamdani mayoralty can’t be to treat it like any ordinary transfer of power in an elective office. The new mayor is a skillful politician and an even better talker, and his youth and eloquence give him clear advantages as he sets forth to remake the city and use it to further his long war on Israel and the Jews. Those who seek compromise and think they can prevent him from doing harm by being co-opted into his administration are deceiving themselves.

Mamdani’s socialism should be resisted by other levels of government, whether in Albany or Washington. So, too, should his efforts to defend antisemitism.

As he staffs his administration with people who share his comfort with bigotry or promote forms of discrimination against Jews, those who claim to represent the Jewish community, as well as all other people of good faith, mustn’t be deterred by his popularity or press support. His administration must be resisted with every legal and political tactic that can be employed. Anything less won’t just be a moral failure. It will be an invitation for both the mayor and his followers to proceed with their project of dismantling Jewish rights, along with those of everyone else.
NYPost Editorial: On his first day, Mamdani chose to attack Israel and make Jews less safe
If actions speak louder than words, then Mayor Zohran Mamdani gave New Yorkers an earful by smirkingly revoking nine of his predecessor’s executive orders, a third of them touching on antisemitism.

It sure looks like the other six got nixed simply to camouflage that fact.

Mamdani’s office said that the cancelled orders work “against the interests of working-class people,” and he said he was “proud” to cancel them.

That’s a funny way to describe a condemnation of Jew-hatred: One order tossed in the dustbin was a “working definition” of antisemitism that condemns “hatred toward Jews” directed against Jews, non-Jews and “Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

Lefties don’t like this definition — formulated by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance — because they say it can be interpreted as including anti-Zionist agitation as antisemitic, though it doesn’t even say Israel.

The IHRA definition is good enough for all the European Union nations, 35 US states and the State Department. But Mamdani apparently finds it too restrictive for his brand of tolerance.

The mayor also cancelled an order banning city agencies from boycotting Israel or divesting from Israeli investments for no good reason except discrimination against Israel: This clears the way for Mamdani, a lifelong fanatic about boycotting and sanctioning Israel, to cleanse the city’s supply chain of any Israeli connections.

Most ominously, Mamdani revoked an order instructing the NYPD to “evaluate” conditions for protests outside houses of worship.

Mayor Eric Adams issued this order following an ugly demonstration outside a Manhattan synagogue in November, when screaming protesters were permitted to directly confront worshippers, contrary to established police practice.
Mamdani taking ‘dangerous steps,’ Israeli consul in New York says
Ofir Akunis, the Israeli consul general in New York, decried Zohran Mamdani’s revocation of mayoral executive orders defending Jews and Israel on his first day on the job in City Hall.

“The mayor of New York said he would be a mayor for everyone, yet he is taking dangerous steps in the exact opposite direction,” Akunis stated.

“The decisions to revoke the IHRA definition of antisemitism and to allow for boycotts against Israel are actions that pose an immediate threat to the safety of Jewish communities in New York City and could lead to an increase in violent antisemitic attacks throughout the city,” Akunis added.
Mamdani revokes IHRA antisemitism definition on day 1, amid broad rejection of Adams orders
Mamdani did not axe the Office to Combat Antisemitism, which Adams established in May.

Mamdani’s Executive Order No. 2, outlining the mayor’s office structure and operations, stated that the antisemitism office will remain in place. The order included a description of the office’s responsibilities, which appeared similar to how it operated under Adams.

The director of the office, Rabbi Moshe Davis, a close aide to Adams, said on Wednesday that he had not received any word from the Mamdani team and it was unclear if he would remain in his position. Mamdani’s spokesperson did not respond to a request for information about the office last week.

It was also unclear how the office would define antisemitism. The decision is consequential because it could influence how and whether anti-Zionist speech is tolerated in city agencies, including the NYPD, the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes, and the school system.

Mamdani has condemned classic expressions of antisemitism, such as swastika graffiti and tropes about Jewish greed, while defending or espousing anti-Zionist rhetoric that the mainstream Jewish community finds discriminatory.

Last week, a report from the Anti-Defamation League surveying ties between Mamdani appointees and anti-Zionist groups included among its findings that one appointee had said that Zionists are worse than Nazis.

In response to the report, Mamdani said, “We must distinguish between antisemitism and criticism of the Israeli government, and the ADL’s report oftentimes ignores this distinction, and in doing so, it draws attention away from the very real crisis of antisemitism.”


Mamdani aide ousted over antisemitic tweets scratched out of New York magazine cover
New York magazine altered a cover photo of the city’s incoming mayor Zohran Mamdani with his top aides to exclude Catherine Almonte Da Costa, a senior appointee who resigned after her antisemitic social media posts resurfaced, The New York Times reported Thursday.

The report came the day Mamdani was sworn in as New York’s first Muslim mayor, ushering in a new age of anti-Zionist leadership that has put many Jews in the city on edge.

On Monday, New York magazine published its new edition with a cover story titled “Now comes the hard part — Introducing Mayor Mamdani and his inner circle.”

The cover image showed Mamdani in an office chair with his aides seated or standing around him, against a white background. Aides posing in the back row covered parts of New York magazine’s title.

In the original photo, which was shot by celebrity portraitist Mark Seliger, Da Costa posed so that her head covered the “w” in the magazine’s title, the Times said.

But on the cover of New York magazine’s Monday edition, the letter was fully visible, and there was a white space where Da Costa reportedly once stood. The Times cited an unnamed New York magazine employee familiar with the decision as saying it was fortunate Da Costa posed in a place where it was easy to airbrush her out.




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