Sunday, January 04, 2026

01/04 Links: Trump’s welcome warpath to peace; Israel Just Exposed The Entire NGO Game; Australian sporting heroes call for antisemitism royal commission

From Ian:

Israel Just Exposed The Entire Game
For two years in this war, and for more than two decades before it, the Gaza narrative machine has operated with ruthless efficiency. Hamas supplied the kinetic trigger. Israel responded militarily. Visuals followed. NGOs translated images into moral urgency. UN bodies amplified. Diplomats echoed. Media synchronized. Each layer fed the next. It felt organic because it was always anchored to something burning.

This time, nothing burned.

Israel did not strike a building. It touched a filing cabinet. It asked who is registered, who is transparent, and who is subject to law. Aid kept flowing. Trucks kept moving. Personnel stayed in place. The only thing interrupted was immunity.

And the system lost its mind.

The reaction was not proportional to reality because it was not reacting to reality. It was reacting to exposure. Without a kinetic event to anchor outrage, the system inflated consequence in advance. Predictive catastrophe replaced evidence. Language about chilling effects and existential threats substituted for facts. The tone was urgent, the claims vague, and the timing instant.

That is what a machine does when it fires without a trigger.

Now that the rules are in force and the predicted disaster has failed to materialize, the hysteria looks almost comical. The organizations that screamed loudest were marginal to begin with. Some delivered virtually no aid. Some delivered none at all during the current and previous ceasefires. Aid volumes are unchanged. Life in Gaza today is no different than it was yesterday.

Oversight is routine everywhere else on earth. The claim that humanitarian life hinged on a handful of unregistered actors evaporated the moment the calendar flipped.

This is the tell.

A neutral humanitarian system would say fine, here is our paperwork. A professional operation would welcome clarity. What we saw instead was panic. Because this was never about logistics. It was about exemption. It was about the quiet assumption that certain actors exist above sovereignty, beyond law, and immune from scrutiny because their narrative utility outweighs their operational relevance.

Hamas understood this arrangement perfectly. Its ground strategy was designed to manufacture content. Dense terrain. Embedded infrastructure. Human shields. Hostages. Every Israeli response produced raw material. The cognitive system harvested the output and converted it into pressure. That partnership required constant shock to remain hidden.

Israel’s regulatory adjustment removed the shock.

By acting non kinetically, Israel denied Hamas visuals and denied the narrative apparatus its fuel. With no rubble to point at and no bodies to display, the system turned inward to protect itself. It screamed before anything happened. It forecasted doom that never arrived. It tried to portray paperwork as persecution. In doing so, it exposed its own wiring.

There is a slight smirk to be had here, not because the issue is trivial, but because the reaction was so naked. The system was not being bombed. It was being asked for ID. The outrage was never proportional to the act. It was proportional to the threat of what would be revealed.

Now that the rules are live and Gaza has not collapsed, the spectacle dissolves. What remains is the uncomfortable truth that much of the international outcry was never about aid. It was about preserving a system designed to perpetuate the crisis it needs to function. A system that has mastered the manufacture of constant emergency, catastrophe, and atrocity to justify its own existence.

And this is where the moment becomes historic.

For years, the Palestinians and their allies fought on two fronts while Israel fought on one. Hamas provoked kinetic responses that activated a ready made diplomatic and narrative machine. Israel won battles and lost framing. Over and over again.

This time, Israel stepped sideways.

It did not rush back into escalation. It enacted a lawfare offensive that normalized scrutiny and exposed corruption. It resisted pressure to provide new images. It refused to feed the machine bodies. It went after the infrastructure that made the reflex possible in the first place.

That is not symbolic legislation. That is adaptation.

Israel finally recognized the non kinetic battlefield and responded with precision. With the stroke of a pen, through a perfectly ordinary regulatory act, it exposed something far larger than any single NGO. It revealed a moral economy built on exemption, opacity, and permanent emergency.

Today it looks like a quiet administrative event. Tomorrow it may be remembered as the moment the Palestinian strategy began to unravel, not because Hamas lost another tunnel or commander, but because the ecosystem that converted its tactics into global leverage was finally exposed and interrupted.
Priti Patel: Starmer’s silence on Iran is shocking
Labour’s neglect of our defence and national security is unacceptable.

As a responsible Opposition, the Conservative Party has a clear and comprehensive plan to tackle the threats posed by Iran. First, we would stand by Britain’s allies to work with them on plans to prepare for all scenarios.

Never again should we be on the sidelines while the USA and Israel defend Western values and interests. We should be working with them, offering UK expertise, capabilities and resources, including the use of our base at Diego Garcia, which we would not be surrendering sovereignty over.

Second, where Iran has failed to adhere to the requirements made of it on its nuclear programme, we would make the autocrats of Tehran and their backers feel the economic pain as a result.

The snapback process needs to be implemented in full and we need to go further with our international partners and unilaterally. We’d also follow the money, the cryptocurrency, and all the other methods Iran is using to circumvent the sanctions and go after those facilitating, supporting and bankrolling this regime.

Third, we’d call out the ongoing cruelty, brutality and repression of the Iranian people. Just as Conservatives backed freedom and democracy for those living under communist tyranny in Eastern Europe during the Cold War, we must speak out and condemn everything the tyrants of Tehran are doing to their own people and give them hope that the torch of freedom will never be extinguished.

And fourth, we’d ensure that our military, intelligence and security services are resourced with the funding and powers to keep us safe and our Sovereign Defence Fund would counter the threats we face, dismantle terrorist plots and bring those responsible to justice.
Maduro, the IRGC, and the Globalization of the Terror Threat to Israel
Venezuela and the Iranian Regime
Iran and Venezuela have maintained a relationship since the 1950s. However, the strength and direction of the relationship increased significantly in 2005. The strategic partnership encompassed the realms of politics, military, and economics. In 2007, then-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez signed a formal “anti-imperialist” alliance, alluding to the U.S.

By 2020, a military company directly tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) established itself in Venezuela. Then, in 2022, amid U.S. oil sanctions, Venezuela and Iran signed a 20-year agreement, whereby Iran transferred oil to Venezuela. The two countries have coordinated the exchange of gasoline and gold, providing both regimes with sanctions-evasion mechanisms and alternative revenue streams. The partnership allowed Iran to establish a growing presence in Venezuela while diverting some of the profits it makes in Venezuela to its terror network in the Middle East.

In the years leading up to the U.S. military operation, Venezuela began developing drones using Iranian-trained experts overseen by the Islamic Republic, reflecting a deepening military collaboration. Beyond that, Venezuela’s state-owned airline, Conviasa Airlines, has been involved in the Iranian regime’s global illicit arms network.

In effect, Venezuela became not merely an economic partner but a strategic outpost for Iran, extending Tehran’s influence closer to U.S. borders while reinforcing its global network of illicit trade and terror financing.

After the U.S. operation, Qatar issued a statement of disapproval, knowing that ultimately, the capture of Maduro would have profound impacts on Qatar as well, which is also linked to Iran’s terror network.

Venezuela and Hezbollah
Iran has exploited this connection with Venezuela to expand its terror and criminal networks across South America. Hezbollah, in particular, has leveraged the region as a hub for narcotics trafficking, money laundering, and illicit finance, with Hezbollah-affiliated operatives based in Venezuela playing a documented role in these schemes. Through drug trafficking corridors, Hezbollah has generated significant revenue used to finance its terrorist activities abroad.

Hezbollah’s vast terror network includes clans based in Venezuela and other South American countries that assist in the movement of funds through different banks in order to finance Hezbollah’s terror activities. One major operation in 2011 exposed the scale of this network, resulting in the arrest of approximately 130 individuals and the seizure of roughly $23 million in illicit funds.

Hezbollah’s involvement in narcotics and organized crime led the U.S. government in 2018 to designate the group as one of the world’s top five transnational criminal organizations, placing it alongside major drug cartels. This designation underscored the critical reality that Hezbollah is not solely a terrorist organization driven by ideology, but a sophisticated hybrid entity that fuses terrorism with large-scale criminal enterprise, exploiting weak states and corrupt regimes like Venezuela to fund and sustain its global operations.

Venezuela has also bypassed U.S. sanctions by using Hezbollah to smuggle gold, whereby the IRGC facilitated the sale of Iranian oil and accepted gold as a form of payment, which was directed toward Hezbollah terrorists.


Ruthie Blum: Trump’s welcome warpath to peace
That same reflexive caution (i.e. fear cloaked in progressive politics) characterized Washington’s approach to Hezbollah’s expansion in South America. For years, intelligence services documented the terror group’s deep involvement in narcotics-trafficking, money-laundering and arms-smuggling across Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina and the Tri-Border Area.

Hezbollah operatives raised funds, built infrastructure and plotted attacks—most infamously the 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires—while enjoying the protection of sympathetic regimes and the willful blindness of U.S. policymakers.

Obama treated the phenomenon as an inconvenient sidebar, lest confronting it complicate outreach to its patron in Tehran and jihadists everywhere. The result was not de-escalation, but entrenchment: terror networks burrowing ever deeper into the Western Hemisphere, confident that ideology trumped enforcement and that American red lines were written in disappearing ink.

Nor was this timorous posture confined to Iran and Hezbollah. From Russia’s seizure of Crimea to China’s militarization of the South China Sea, from Syria’s chemical attacks on its people to the rise of ISIS, the Obama doctrine—if it merits the label—was reactive, rhetorical and risk-averse.

“Don’t do stupid stuff” was his motto. Foes tested boundaries and found none. Allies recalibrated.

When Trump took the helm the first time, in 2016, Iran and other enemies of the United States were nervous. They viewed him as an unpredictable madman with an itchy trigger finger. Their apprehension alone was a good thing.

So, too, was his ripping up of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action—the JCPOA, familiarly known as the “Iran deal.” By making good on this vow, he was proving that there was a new sheriff in town—one whose mission was to assert American exceptionalism. And superiority.

That he proceeded, in addition, to side with Israel as a chief ally in every sense, set the stage for the Abraham Accords. Had he won a consecutive term, the geopolitical situation undoubtedly would have been different. But the Biden administration, a clone of Team Obama’s, reverted to pre-Trump misconceptions and practices.

Democrats, naturally, are in a tizzy over the Venezuela operation, regurgitating their usual platitudes about “escalation,” unintended consequences and the fragility of international order. Yet, as always, they refuse to acknowledge that the so-called “order” has been anything but stable—undermined precisely by the absence of consequences for malign behavior.

Thankfully, Trump grasps that tyrants aren’t swayed by another sanctions package or a stern communiqué and has been functioning accordingly.
John Podhoretz: Trump and the Gordian Knot
Looking at these knots, and having been told that untangling them would be near impossible, Trump chose another route. He took out his sword—the unparalleled American military—and sliced through them. In 37 hours from beginning to end, he took out Iran’s nuclear program. And in five hours this weekend, he extricated Nicolas Maduro from his position atop the Venezuelan greasy pole.

By doing so, he invokes another, more recent paradox, though I know in citing it I am going to get slammed by people for misunderstanding its original meaning. That is Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. By which I mean, the idea that these problems are irresolvable is inalterably changed by resolving them—the facts on the planet Earth have changed in the Middle East and South America because of what Trump chose to do, and the prudent calculations that governed inaction are no longer operative because they describe the options in a world that no longer exists in the same way.

These actions could have gone haywire, like the Desert One hostage-rescue fiasco in 1980. But they didn’t. And we don’t know where the Iran strike will lead, although right now, it looks like the world is safer and one of history’s most evil regimes is weakening to the point of possible collapse. And we don’t even know what Monday will look like in Caracas, not even to say what next year will look like.

Aristotle didn’t say prudence required inaction. He opposed the extremes. And Trump’s actions are only to be considered extreme if you view them in isolation. They came in response to efforts before them to make things happen without military involvement. As Marco Rubio said, we spent a year offering Maduro all kinds of generous deals. He rejected them, called Trump a coward, dared him to act. It stands to reason that if the regime challenging the United States is itself an extreme actor, taking radical action against it might itself be the most prudent course. Alexander didn’t need to spend years solving the Gordian Knot problem when he had a blade sharp enough to solve it for him.
Ben Reacts: The U.S. Takes Down Maduro
Ben Shapiro reacts to the U.S. strike in Venezuela and the capture of Nicolás Maduro. What actually happened, why it happened, and what comes next.


Ryan McBeth Maduro’s Arrest Isn’t About Oil — It’s About China 🇨🇳
Overnight, the United States conducted strikes in Venezuela under Operation Absolute Resolve, resulting in the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Maduro is now reportedly in U.S. custody and expected to face charges in federal court in New York.

That’s the headline.

But the real story isn’t about regime change, democracy, or even drugs.

In this video, I walk through what we actually know, what’s still unclear, and why the next 24–72 hours matter more than the first hot takes flooding social media right now.

Then I explain what this operation is really about.

Yes, oil matters, but not Venezuelan oil.
Yes, the indictment matters, but it’s only part of the story.

The real issue is strategic denial:
• The vulnerability of U.S. Gulf Coast energy infrastructure
• The Panama Canal and global shipping choke points
• And why Venezuela matters in a future China–Taiwan contingency

This wasn’t just an arrest operation. It was about removing a future threat vector in the Caribbean while the U.S. stares down a pacing challenge in the Pacific.

I also cover:
• The legal basis for the operation
• Why this isn’t Iraq 2.0
• Who actually wins and loses
• And what to watch for next inside Venezuela

If you’re trying to understand why this happened now — and not just what happened, this video is for you.




Anti-Israel Conspiracy Theories Flood Social Media Following Maduro Capture
In the 24 hours following the U.S. military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a wave of conspiracy theories swept across social media connecting the intervention to Israel. Far-right commentators and accounts based outside the United states generated over 216,000 posts on X alone promoting this narrative, accumulating 1.7 million interactions and reaching a potential view count of 5.7 billion views.

According to data tracked by Jewish Onliner using social media monitoring tools, at least 24.6% of all X posts containing the word “Israel” on January 3 directly connected it to Venezuela and Maduro, while 27.7% of posts mentioning “Netanyahu” linked him to the operation — either claiming Trump acted on Israel’s behalf or arguing the U.S. president should have captured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instead of Maduro.

Cross-Ideological Amplification
The conspiracy theories found traction across the political spectrum, uniting far-left anti-imperialist activists with far-right isolationists in what observers have called a “horseshoe” phenomenon — wherein ideological extremes converge on shared narratives about Israeli influence over American foreign policy.

Cenk Uygur, host of The Young Turks, seized on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent comments about Venezuela-Iran ties to construct his theory. “Netanyahu literally told us to attack Venezuela two days ago and he’s telling us to attack Iran again,” Uygur posted. One day prior, he argued that Trump was “fighting all of Israel’s wars.” He framed the operation as Netanyahu’s doing rather than Trump’s independent decision, ostensibly arguing that Israel was behind major American foreign policy decisions.

Candace Owens issued a lengthy statement arguing that “The CIA has staged another hostile takeover of a country at the behest of a globalist psychopaths.” She continued: “That’s it. That’s what is happening, always, everywhere. Zionists cheer every regime change. There has never been a single regime change that Zionists have not applauded because it means they get to steal land, oil and other resources.”

"United States of Terror": Pro-Palestine Groups Rally Behind Venezuelan Dictator
Major pro-Palestine groups across the United States swiftly mobilized in defense of detained Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro following the U.S. military operation on January 3. The coordinated response highlights these groups’ willingness to align with authoritarian regimes, as critics note Maduro’s government has faced widespread allegations of human rights abuses, electoral fraud, and economic mismanagement that have driven millions of Venezuelans into exile. Nevertheless, Palestinian organizations have framed the U.S. intervention as part of a broader pattern of American imperialism.

Response from Palestinian Terrorist Organizations
Palestinian terrorist organizations including Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and Palestinian Islamic Jihad released formal statements condemning what they characterized as an illegal act of aggression against a sovereign nation. The coordinated response reflects longstanding ties between Palestinian movements and the Maduro government, which has consistently supported Palestinians on the international stage.

Hamas issued a statement declaring: “We condemn in the strongest terms the American aggression against the Republic of Venezuela, and the kidnapping of President Maduro and his wife. We affirm that it represents a serious violation of international law, by attacking the sovereignty of an independent state.”

The PFLP drew explicit parallels between Venezuela and Palestine, stating that “This American attack on Venezuela is fundamentally similar in its nature and objectives to the brutal Zionist aggression against our Palestinian people; the criminal is the same, and the colonialist mentality that seeks to break the will of resistance is the same.”

Palestinian Islamic Jihad specifically acknowledged Venezuela’s role in supporting Palestinians, stating: “Today’s targeting of Venezuela is a punishment for its steadfast international positions, particularly its historic and unwavering support for the Palestinian cause and resistance forces in our region, and its standing with our people against war crimes and genocide.”

U.S.-Based Pro-Palestine Groups Support for Maduro
In the United States, pro-Palestine groups quickly organized demonstrations in multiple cities. American Muslims for Palestine released a statement condemning “the Trump administration’s illegal military operation against Venezuela, including the forcible capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, carried out without congressional authorization and in blatant violation of both U.S. and international law.” AMP described the operation as “a dangerous and lawless escalation of U.S. aggression” conducted “in open defiance of the U.S. Constitution.”

The ANSWER Coalition and The People’s Forum coordinated emergency protests across the country. The People’s Forum, which has been under Congressional investigation since September 2025 over alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party and receiving over $20 million from CCP-aligned financier Neville Roy Singham, mobilized hundreds of demonstrators to Times Square for a “No War on Venezuela” rally. The Palestinian Assembly for Liberation-Awda NY/NJ participated prominently, marching with banners calling for “liberation” and “return.” Similar demonstrations were reported in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Rochester, and Portland, with activists from Portland for Palestine and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization organizing local rallies.

The Samidoun terror group, which is highly active on the ground in the United States despite being outlawed in October 2024, declared “full and complete solidarity with the people and government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela,” emphasizing that “the aggression against Venezuela is cut from the same cloth as the ongoing U.S.-Zionist assault on Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, and throughout the region.” The organization noted that U.S. forces had attacked “the mausoleum of Venezuelan leader of the Bolivarian Revolution, Hugo Chavez, who famously declared in 2009 that the Zionist entity was guilty of genocide in Gaza.”


Venezuelan VP claims ‘Zionist’ overtones to Maduro capture
Venezuela’s vice president delivered a combative address on Saturday, hours after the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured by the United States, accusing Washington of leading an operation with a “Zionist tint.”

Delcy Rodríguez convened an emergency meeting of the National Defense Council, saying that “the governments of the world are simply shocked that it is the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela which is the victim and subject of an attack of this nature, which has, without a doubt, a Zionist tint.”

Rodríguez demanded the couple’s immediate release, claimed the U.S. military action aimed to seize control of Venezuela’s energy resources and announced the military’s deployment across major cities.

She urged citizens to take to the streets in defense of the government and thanked allied nations for their support during what she described as a foreign assault on the country’s sovereignty.

Iran’s state-run Al-Alam TV reported on Sunday that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi spoke by phone with his Venezuelan counterpart to discuss recent events in Caracas and condemned the American attack during the call.


Olympic legend Dawn Fraser issues a scathing message to Anthony Albanese in the wake of the Bondi Beach massacre - pressure mounts for a royal commission
Legendary Olympic swimmer Dawn Fraser has demanded Prime Minister Anthony Albanese properly address the rising tide of antisemitism in Australia, claiming he is 'too scared' to speak up.

Fraser on Sunday gave a teary speech at Sydney's Bondi Beach, where she slammed the government by saying it had let the country, and its Jewish community, down.

Fraser joined more than 60 other sporting greats who have signed a petition calling for Albanese to announce a royal commission into antisemitism in Australia - in particular the Bondi Beach massacre on December 14, and the events which led to it.

Other sports stars to speak up include Olympic canoeist Jess Fox, swimming legend Ian Thorpe, tennis champion Lleyton Hewitt, former AFL player Sam Newman, Sydney Swans' Isaac Heeney and retired Hockeyroo player Nova Peris.

In her speech, Fraser told Albanese, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and Foreign Minister Penny Wong to 'come down off their high horse' and added that 'this is not about the spineless and weak; it's about doing the right thing'.

Albanese has been accused of ignoring the pleas of Bondi victims' families after he declared there will not be a royal commission, but instead retired spy boss Dennis Richardson would lead a government review.

Liberal leader Sussan Ley has already accused the Prime Minister of repeatedly 'refusing to listen' to calls for the independent inquiry into the alleged terrorist attack, in which 15 people died and many more were injured.

The Richardson Review will examine the conduct of federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies prior to the attack, with findings due by April.
Australian sporting heroes call for antisemitism royal commission



Greens, Labor only parties not backing Bondi royal commission as Teals join call
Teal independents have reportedly joined the push for a royal commission into the Bondi terror attack, leaving Labor and the Greens as the only two federal political forces not backing an inquiry.

Despite widespread calls from Jewish leaders, other faith groups, legal and security experts, and the business community, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has continued to reject the need for a Commonwealth probe into the the tragedy.

Mr Albanese has attempted to argue a raft of measures, including a major gun buyback, reforms to hate speech laws and a departmental review into intelligence and law enforcement failures, announced in the wake of the shooting were sufficient and would quickly provide security for the Jewish community - even as he refused offers to recall parliament to pass legislation urgently.

The government's refusal to act has prompted the Coalition to explore ways of forcing a royal commission through parliament, potentially using the same tactics Labor utilised to push for the 2017 investigation into the banking and superannuation sectors.

In order for such an effort to succeed, however, the opposition would need support from the crossbench and other minor parties, and even then would likely fail to overcome the government's supermajority in the lower house.

Despite this, the Coalition has received a timely boost in the form of a letter from Teal MPs, who wrote to Mr Albanese demanding he change course and immediately establish a royal commission.

According to The Australian, four MPs, led by Monique Ryan, sent a letter in late December which argued a Commonwealth inquiry was the "only way" to independently and comprehensively investigate the circumstances around the tragedy.

"While we welcome your government’s actions and commitments in the wake of the attack, we remain concerned that the measures proposed to date will not adequately address antisemitism in the community," the group wrote.

'What is Albanese hiding': Ley blasts Albanese for dodging Royal Commission
"Only a federal royal commission will have the power to comprehensively and independently investigate the circumstances leading to, and authorities’ response to, the attacks, and examine actions and co-ordination across all levels of government."

With the Teals now joining others on the crossbench from both houses in calling for a royal commission, Labor has been left isolated in its opposition.
Bondi heroes honoured at SCG
The start of play for Day One of the fifth Ashes Test began with a touching tribute to the Bondi attack heroes, who received a roaring applause from over 40,000 fans.

In spine-tingling scenes, applause and cheer rang out for minutes with England and Australia playing standing arm-in-arm to pay their respects.

This was followed by a lap of honour in recognising heroes, 14-year-old Chaya Dadon, Bondi Lifeguards, lifesavers, police officers, paramedics, Ahmed Al Ahmed, and representatives of the Sydney Jewish community.

"The incredible acts of bravery ... at the scene of the Bondi attack were a reminder of the spirit of community and self-sacrifice that unites us as a nation," Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg said.

"Our thoughts remain with those affected by this devastating tragedy and as a sport we will continue to provide what support we can."

Heightened security will be on display at the sold-out SCG, with public order and riot squad officers patrolling the venue.

Officers will be stationed with long-arm rifles to reassure the community.

NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said people may not be used to seeing such large weapons used by police at sporting events.

"Our objective here is to help the public feel safe and police will be out in force," he said.

"The difference will be in the visibility of long-arms and a stronger presence. Police will otherwise be targeting antisocial and unsafe behaviour as usual."

The heightened security comes after two gunmen killed 15 people and injured 40 during a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach on December 14.

Seven people remain in Sydney hospitals with six in a stable condition, while one is critical but stable.


Seth Frantzman: Israeli defense industry looks to capitalize on hard-won combat lessons: 2026 preview
In October a US-backed ceasefire came into place for Israel and Hamas, ending two years of grueling war in Gaza, a so-far tenuous ending to what has been a mixed blessing for Israel’s defense industry. The ramifications of the war will continue to reverberate in 2026 — for better or worse.

On the one hand, Israeli military equipment saw combat experience, including in the largely successful air defense mission, helping to prompt sales to reach record levels in 2024, according to Israel’s Ministry of Defense. It’s plausible that sales will continue to have performed well in 2025, especially as Israel has shown it can deliver systems such as Arrow 3 to Germany on time during the conflict.

On the other hand, Israel’s conduct during operations in Gaza also prompted a furious international backlash, including from otherwise potential export customers in Europe.

The European experience is relevant because the 2024 numbers showed that 54 percent of exports went to Europe. Europe is a growing market in part because of the Ukraine war.

Officials in European capitals have said they need to procure systems quickly that have relevance on the modern battlefield, and Israel is well-placed to provide solutions that are often proven because Israel has used them in its multi-front wars.

For instance Israel’s Arrow air defense system, the highest level of its multi-layered defenses, was viewed as performing well not only against drones and missiles launched by the Houthis in Yemen, but against two large Iranian barrages.

In addition its use of new technology, such as AI, and ecosystem of small defense start-ups will fill a number of defense needs locally and abroad. This will be boosted by Israel’s increasing defense budget aimed at strengthening local self-sufficiency.

Looking to potential deals in 2026, air defenses are one place Israel will be looking to increase its footprint abroad in 2026. Reports suggest Greece is looking at a number of Israeli systems, including Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Spyder and the Barak MX system which was recently sold to Thailand. Greece wants an integrated multi-layered air defense system and other countries are following suit.

Israel has already seen radar exports to central European countries, including the similar IAI MMR radars, which are used with Iron Dome in Israel. Existing customers include the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Col. Richard Kemp: Israel's accomplishments in 2025 were extraordinary, confounded critics
Colonel Richard Kemp, the former commander of the British military forces in Afghanistan, spoke to Israel National News - Arutz Sheva about Israel's accomplishments in 2025 and the challenges it faces in 2026.

"Israel’s accomplishments in 2025 were extraordinary, and many of them confounded its critics as well as objective experts. Perhaps the most unexpected success - and a supremely important achievement - was the release of virtually all the hostages. Prime Minister Netanyahu said he would get them back, and few believed him. Only one now remains, Ran Gvili, a heroic fighter killed defending his country on 7th October, and there is optimism that his corpse will be recovered," Col. Kemp stated.

He went on to listIsrael's accomplishments: "In Gaza, the courageous and hugely effective IDF decimated Hamas and forced them to cease fire, leaving them in control of less than half the Strip. This was achieved by fighting on the battlefield as well as the 12-day war against Iran and the strikes against Hamas leaders in Doha, both of which dramatically demoralised Hamas in Gaza and brought external pressure on them."

"The 12-day war itself was decisive. It effectively removed Iran’s nuclear weapons programme, degraded its air defences and ballistic missiles armoury and eliminated senior members of Tehran’s high command as well as key nuclear experts. With very limited damage against Israel, this war exposed Iran, a major regional power, as a paper tiger. That effect has played a significant role in the current uprisings in Iran. We don’t yet know whether this will lead to regime change but that is a distinct possibility given the intensity and spread of the protests.

"Last year, Israel also inflicted severe damage against the Houthis in response to terrorist aggression against Israeli territory and shipping.

On the northern front, "Israel has also built on its 2024 successes against Lebanese Hezballah, working to constrain their attempts to rebuild lost capability. And in Syria, a buffer zone has been created to protect the country as well as Syrian minorities against future threats, while at the same time working diplomatically to reduce the potential for aggression."

"Overall Israel’s military actions in 2025 have built on its successes in 2024, re-shaping the Middle East, reducing the threats against it and gaining increasing strength for itself. Despite a global campaign to undermine and delegitimise the country, Israel’s battlefield successes have been consolidated by a strengthened economy and some remarkable achievements in international trade including a multi-billion dollar gas deal with Egypt and significantly boosted arms sales with Germany and the UAE," he said.
The Night Colonel Kemp Came to Visit My IDF Unit on Hanukkah in Gaza
Last year, during Hanukkah, on the Gaza front, Britain's Col. Richard Kemp, a veteran of 30 years of service and a seasoned commander in combat zones across the globe, stood alongside my IDF unit to light the candles.

Col. Kemp highlighted three key reasons for the IDF's exceptional commitment to safeguarding civilian lives during the conflict.

First, he emphasized Israel's democratic principles and Western values, underlining its inherent desire for peace and self-defense.

Second, he acknowledged the profound influence of Judaism's moral standards, the nation's ethical foundation.

Last, he commended the army's composition of citizen soldiers, its ordinary individuals called upon to defend their homes with unflinching dedication.

He said, "No army takes such risks to protect civilians as the Israeli army does. I say this as a professional soldier. I say it because it's true, and people who care about truth should know it."

"The IDF are our friends and allies, and they are fighting the same war we are to protect Western civilization. How could any civilized and right-thinking Westerner not support that fight?"


Palestinian sentenced to life for 2024 murder of Shoah survivor
The Tel Aviv District Court on Sunday sentenced a Palestinian terrorist to life in prison for the fatal stabbing of 83-year-old Ludmila Lipovsky outside her nursing home in the central city of Herzliya on Dec. 27, 2024.

Ibrahim Shalhob, from the Palestinian terrorist hotspot of Tulkarem in Samaria, stabbed his victim in the upper body approximately 11 times while exclaiming “Allahu Akbar,” the ruling stated.

Lipovsky, a Holocaust survivor, was evacuated in critical condition to Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center’s Ichilov Hospital, where she succumbed to her wounds. Armed guards from the Israel Postal Company’s Brink’s courier unit shot Shalhob, who was subsequently arrested by police.

Lipovsky’s family was awarded 258,000 shekels ($81,000) in damages, the most allowed, according to a report by the Ynet Hebrew outlet.

The terrorist had previously served jail time under administrative detention three times, most recently from June 2023 to June 2024.

The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) said that Shalhob was also a past informant, who was involved in “thwarting terrorist infrastructures in Judea and Samaria, was exposed and transferred for rehabilitation in Israel.”


Natasha Hausdorff: The Biggest Lie Ever Told About Israel
00:00 Who Is Natasha Hausdorff?
00:31 October 7th and the Propaganda War That Followed
03:56 “Israel Breaks International Law” — The Big Lie Explained
05:28 Performative Outrage vs Real Moral Responsibility
08:44 Inside the Oxford Union Debate Meltdown
15:13 How Universities Became Incubators of Anti-Israel Ideology
19:24 Media Lies, Al-Shifa, and the Cost of False Reporting
29:38 The UN, NGOs, and the Genocide Narrative Pipeline
36:21 Qatar, Egypt, and the Arab World’s Unspoken Role
41:19 Why Peace Is Impossible Without De-Radicalization
47:35 Why Anti-Zionism Is Antisemitism

International law has become one of the most powerful weapons used against Israel — and most people don’t realize how distorted it has become.

In this in-depth interview, Natasha Hausdorff, a British barrister and international law specialist, explains how legal language, media narratives, and international institutions have been systematically weaponized to demonize the Jewish state.

From the immediate aftermath of October 7th, to the role of the BBC, the United Nations, NGOs, elite universities, and foreign influence from Qatar, this conversation exposes how misinformation spreads — and why corrections never undo the damage.

Hausdorff breaks down:
Why the claim “Israel breaks international law” collapses under scrutiny
How accusations like genocide, apartheid, and ethnic cleansing became modern blood libels
Why journalists repeat false narratives — even when evidence contradicts them
How universities like Oxford became incubators for anti-Israel ideology
The UN–NGO–ICJ pipeline driving global disinformation
Why Egypt’s role in Gaza is almost never discussed
How indoctrination makes peace impossible

And why anti-Zionism is antisemitism, no matter how it’s rebranded


Jonathan Sacerdoti: Piers Morgan and the business of outrage — Fleur Hassan-Nahoum dissects Israel, Bibi, Iran, & Qatar
Fleur Hassan Nahum has worked at the sharp end of politics, media and national crisis. As a former Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem and Special Envoy for Innovation, she has dealt directly with international leaders, hostile broadcasters and the pressures that follow war into every public space.

In this conversation with Jonathan Sacerdoti, she lifts the lid to reveal the real workings of media and politics, drawing on her own personal experience. She reflects on her repeated appearances on Piers Morgan Uncensored and explains why she became increasingly critical of the programme, and the man. She describes a media environment that rewards confrontation, elevates extreme voices and treats serious issues as clickbait content.

She discusses her own interactions with Benjamin Netanyahu, assessing his political skill and strategic instincts alongside the divisions, communication failures and long term costs of leadership during war.

👁‍🗨 Watch if you want to understand how personal experience exposes institutional failure, and why October 7 tested the credibility of the West.

We Discuss:
📺 What Fleur’s experiences on Piers Morgan Uncensored reveal about modern broadcasting
🧠 What Benjamin Netanyahu is like in private, and how power operates in Israeli politics
🏛️ Division, accountability and leadership under national trauma
⚖️ Where free speech ends and institutional irresponsibility begins
🕍 Antisemitism as a structural problem within Western culture
🌍 What October 7 revealed about moral confidence in democratic societies


Red, White, and Blue Jew: Did Jews Steal Palestine? | A Historical Reaction & Deep Dive
This video is a *reaction and deep-dive response* to “Elephants in the Room: Did Jews Steal Land?” — a thoughtful and largely neutral explainer that I consider one of the *better entry points* into this conversation.

Rather than “dunking” on the original video, my goal here is to **build on it**.

I walk through the video in real time and expand on key historical points that often get simplified or skipped, including:

What the *Nakba* actually refers to, how the term originated, and how it’s used today
The political and ideological role of the **Grand Mufti of Jerusalem**, including his documented relationship with Nazi Germany
Jewish land purchase, migration, and legal status before 1948
Why the “stolen land” framing persists — and where it breaks down historically
How Israel fits into the broader Middle Eastern and post-Ottoman context

This is the *first episode* in a new Red, White & Blue Jew reaction and education series, designed to help people — especially those genuinely trying to understand — navigate complex questions about *Jews, Israel, and the modern Middle East* with more clarity and historical grounding.

I strongly encourage viewers to also watch the original video. It’s a good-faith attempt to explain a difficult topic, and this reaction is meant to **add context and depth**, not dismiss it.




Pro-Hamas extremist Islamist preacher begins UK speaking tour despite calls for ban
A pro-Hamas Islamist preacher began a UK speaking tour on Sunday, despite multiple calls for the government to ban him for his extremism.

Dr Shadee Elmasry began his tour in Birmingham, but will head to Bolton on Monday and Ilford on Tuesday. The tour was organized by the Global Relief Trust.

Elmasry was born and raised in New Jersey, US, but has studied in many different Islamic countries, including Morocco, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The Jerusalem Post did a deep dive into his online presence and discovered a history of extremist, antisemitic and pro-terror views. Here are some of them:

One of his first posts after the October 7 Hamas massacre was on October 8, 2023, when he tweeted: "The people of Gaza finally punched back."

On 26 November 2023, "even if it was Hamas, it's conceivable and maybe even expected that a legitimate resistance [sic] movement will make condemnable mistakes or go to excesses every once in a while. That doesn't take anything away from the morality of their resistance."

Elmasry then hosted a talk show on November 28, 2023, named 'Exposing Israeli Lies' in which he denied the rapes, beheadings, violence on October 7, and presented the massacre as an Israeli lie.


Reichman U lecturer’s call for terrorist’s freedom accidentally sent to students
Reichman University lecturer and former Israeli diplomat Alon Liel called on fellow academics to join him in signing a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump urging action to release Marwan Barghouti, a mass murderer serving life sentences in Israel. However, the letter was inadvertently distributed to students.

Liel was director general of the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Planning from 1994 to 1996. He then served as an adviser on foreign affairs to then-opposition leader Ehud Barak, and was director general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry in 2000 to 2001.

During his time as a diplomat, Liel also served as chargé d’affaires in Turkey, consul-general for the South Eastern United States and ambassador to South Africa.

The letter claims that Barghouti’s release could contribute to renewing “peace efforts” between Israel and the Palestinians. It further states that Barghouti is viewed by many as “the most prominent Palestinian leader of our generation” and that he possesses a unique ability to unite the Palestinian people.

Barghouti, one of the founders of the Fatah movement, was among the organizers of the 2000-05 Second Intifada. He led terrorist activity and was sentenced to five life terms plus 40 years for his role in the murder of four Israelis and a Greek abbot, attempted murder and membership and activity in a terrorist organization.

The letter asserts that “the release of Marwan Barghouti could influence Palestinians and Israelis in a manner similar to the impact of Nelson Mandela’s release some 35 years ago,” adding that, like Mandela, Barghouti has become in the eyes of his supporters “a symbol of his people’s hopes for freedom, dignity and reconciliation.”

The authors of the letter also addressed Trump directly, writing: “As an American president committed to advancing peace around the world, we call on you to demand the release of Marwan Barghouti as a necessary step toward renewing meaningful peace talks.” They argued that such a move could usher in “a new era of peace, security and prosperity for both peoples.”

Liel asked fellow academics to add their signatures to the letter, but student email addresses were mistakenly included in the send list.


Hampstead barista FIRED for alleged swastika froth on Jewish customer’s coffee
A 19-year old trainee barista at Hampstead’s popular eaterie The Coffee Cup was fired by his manager on Sunday afternoon, after adding cocoa powder froth in the alleged shape of swastika to a Jewish customer’s coffee.

Speaking to Jewish News, the 45-year old man from north London, who wishes to remain anonymous, explained that he “went out for breakfast this morning with my family. We decided to try and find somewhere to have a snack. We didn’t have a booking but managed to get into the Coffee Cup. I know it very well. They were very, very helpful and got us in.”

My wife ordered a cappuccino, and “when it landed, I saw that and said, ‘surely that is a swastika?”

The father of two “didn’t want to make a scene, though, normally I would, but I did call the manager over and said: ‘Listen, we’re Jewish, maybe visibly, so to me, that looks like a very obvious symbol, and we’re not okay with it.’ Fair to him, he was mortified.”

The general manager, Bekim Haradini, “took a picture of it himself, and he went into the kitchen, came back and said, ‘Listen, I’m absolutely sorry. I don’t think the intention is there at all. There was no intent there. We’ve got a trainee barista. He’s a 19 year old kid. He says he doesn’t even know what a swastika is himself. He was trying to do a swirl. We’re terribly, terribly sorry.'”

The customer adds: “That was the end of it, to be honest with you but it just goes to show how quickly something can escalate when it’s symbols like that. I didn’t necessarily need the kid fired, but I wanted him to at least acknowledge that it was not OK, which he did: very, very quickly. The management were great about it.”

Confirming the incident occurred today, general manager Bekim Haradini told Jewish News: “This has never happened before. I was really upset. I fired him. He’s young, and he started to cry and was shaking, but I got so upset. I fired him. He’s no longer working here.”


Teen Jewish sisters among 40 dead in Swiss New Year’s fire
Twin Italian-Jewish sisters, both in their teens, were confirmed on Sunday to be among the 40 fatalities from a fire that broke out at a hotel in Switzerland at a New Year’s party just after midnight Friday.

Another Jewish teenage girl, Charlotte Niddam, who is an Israeli citizen, is still missing.

Sisters Alicia and Diana Gunst were initially considered missing in the ski town of Crans-Montana in the Swiss Alps, but their bodies were identified along with 16 others out of the known 40 dead, a spokesperson for the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (SIG) told JNS.

Sparklers on bottles being carried too close to the ceiling are the likely cause of the fire during New Year’s celebrations at the bar, a preliminary investigation has found. In addition to the 40 slain, 119 others were injured in the fire. Many of the approximately 80 critically injured have also not yet been identified.

Many of the dead and missing are teenagers. The Le Constellation bar, where the fire broke out, was popular with teenagers and young adults in the ski resort town of Crans-Montana, where the drinking age is 16.

On Saturday, eight casualties were identified and their remains were returned to their families. All were aged between 16 and 24, Swiss authorities said. On Sunday, another 16 were identified, including the Gunst sisters.


Last of a generation: Auschwitz survivor and stepsister of Anne Frank, Eva Schloss dies aged 96
King Charles has led moving tributes to Eva Schloss, the stepsister of diarist Anne Frank and passionate Holocaust educator, who died peacefully in London at the age of 96 on Saturday 3 January 2026.

Born in Austria in 1929, Eva’s family escaped from the Nazis by moving to Amsterdam. There, they became neighbours of the Franks and Eva and Anne would often play together. Eva and Anne were both born in 1929, a few months apart.

Both families went into hiding on the same day in 1942.

While in hiding, Eva’s family was betrayed and sent to concentration camps in 1944. Eva and her mother survived Auschwitz, but her father and brother were murdered. After the war, Eva settled in London, where she met and married Zvi Schloss. The following year, her mother Frtizi married Anne Frank’s father Otto.

In 1990, Eva co-founded the Anne Frank Trust UK, set up to empower young people to challenge prejudice through learning from Anne Frank and the Holocaust. Queen Camilla became its first Royal Patron in January 2024.

In 2024 alone, the Trust worked with over 132,000 young people through the Schools Programme and trained just under 5,300 young people as peer educators, More than 45,000 young people have gone through the Trust’s peers scheme.

Eva Schloss MBE, step-sister of Anne Frank and Honorary President of the Anne Frank Trust UK, takes part in a candle lighting ceremony during a reception for the Anne Frank Trust at the InterContinental London, Park Lane, London. Picture date: Thursday January 20, 2022.

In 2024 Eva said: “We must never forget the terrible consequences of treating people as “other”. We need to respect everybody’s races and religions. We need to live together with our differences. The only way to achieve this is through education, and the younger we start the better.”

Expressing “great sadness” at the loss of “our dear mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother”, Eva’s family led by daughters Jacky, Caroline and Sylvia, described her as “a remarkable woman: an Auschwitz survivor, a devoted Holocaust educator, tireless in her work for remembrance, understanding and peace. We hope her legacy will continue to inspire through the books, films and resources she leaves behind.




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Elder of Ziyon - حـكـيـم صـهـيـون



This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For 20 years and 40,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.

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