Thursday, January 08, 2026

01/08 Links Pt1: How international law has been weaponized against Israel; Iran Is on the Edge of Revolution; US to proceed with Gaza phase two despite no Hamas disarmament and missing hostage

From Ian:

Melanie Phillips: How international law has been weaponized against Israel
The ICJ case is a glaring example of how international law repudiates justice and truth in concert with its “human rights” enablers.

At the center of this web of hate squats the United Nations. People believe its self-designation as the ultimate custodian of peace and justice in the world. This is because it represents most of the world’s countries, and so plays into the pleasing fantasy of the brotherhood of man.

But most countries are dictatorships, kleptocracies or other human-rights abusers. These dominate the U.N. General Assembly, while the presence of tyrannical Russia and China on the U.N. Security Council makes a mockery of holding the world’s malefactors to account.

Last year, what was the number of times the General Assembly condemned Cuba, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, China, Sudan, Turkey, Hamas, Somalia, Pakistan, Lebanon or Venezuela? Zero. The number of times it condemned Israel? 15.

In its increasingly brutal crackdown against the current insurrection in Iran, the Tehran regime has killed at least 36 protesters. The number of U.N. resolutions or emergency sessions about this? Zero.

International law isn’t the pathway to a fairer and more civilized world. In its ferocious weaponization against Israel, it has been turned into the negation of justice and the legal instrument of evil.

The rules-based order has expired in disgrace. The only “might” it constrained was the ability of the victims of aggression to defend themselves. The only rule that should govern tackling evil is instead to bring about its total defeat.
The UN’s Apartheid Accusation: Political Narrative Over Facts on the Ground
It is now a well-established tactic to accuse Israel of any wrongdoing under the sun with a fancy name. Definitions get twisted deliberately in order to be leveled against the only Jewish state. Facts are either purposefully ignored or intentionally warped to fit a pre-determined narrative that frames Israel as a state continuously convicted of the most horrendous crimes.

The UN, on January 7, did exactly this yet again by accusing Israel of “racial segregation and apartheid” in the West Bank. The report spans several years, but focuses specifically on the period from October 7, 2023, to September 30, 2025.

Although the report has yet to make front page news in the vast majority of outlets – likely because the UN accusations leveled against Israel have unfortunately become commonplace and therefore unnewsworthy – the BBC wasted no time in publishing the story, displaying the outlet’s obsessive desire to push an anti-Israel agenda.

Counterterrorism Efforts in the West Bank
Incredibly, while the focus of the report is on the aftermath of the October 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas, the report merely skims over them. Had it recognized the severity of the attacks, the UN would then also have to acknowledge that Israel’s counterterrorism and security strategy shifted in real time to prevent terrorist attacks before they occurred and counter any perceived threats.

From October 7, the potential opening of a new front in the West Bank was not just some delusional possibility but a high likelihood, as Hamas and other terrorist organizations have established strongholds in several cities. Hamas even called on Palestinians living in the West Bank to carry out armed attacks against Israel in the immediate aftermath of October 7.

Any state that had just experienced a horrific terrorist attack against its civilians would be expected and indeed obliged to take more preventative and preemptive measures to ensure that nothing like that could ever occur again. This requires the IDF to implement new counterterrorism operations in hotbeds of terrorism such as Jenin and Tulkarm. This is not apartheid but counterterrorism and ensuring the safety of Israeli civilians.

The UN attempts to prove its point that the IDF is indiscriminately targeting Palestinians living in the West Bank, with a spike in deaths reported after October 7, using data provided by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Not only is the context of October 7 once again missing, but the UN also conveniently omits that many of these Palestinians were members of terrorist organizations, or operating as lone actors attempting to or committing terrorist attacks against Israelis. When the ongoing terrorist threat is considered alongside the fact that Israeli operations have been concentrated in cities long known as hotbeds of terrorism, the claim of indiscriminate targeting collapses under even minimal scrutiny.

While the UN attempts to draw a connection based on the disparity between Israeli and Palestinian fatalities in the West Bank, the data more accurately reflects the effectiveness of Israel’s counterterrorism operations, resulting in the reduction of Israeli fatalities.
The Palestinian Authority’s long game in Gaza
Western officials speak endlessly about “the day after” in Gaza, as if it were a technical planning exercise rather than a brutal political struggle. For the P.A., the real endgame is the day after the day after.

It seeks to return to Gaza not as one faction among many, but as an internationally installed authority—armed with donor funding, security guarantees and insulation from blame for the war that preceded its return.

This is why it has invested so heavily in cultivating diplomatic respectability while doing almost nothing to improve Palestinian lives anywhere outside the patronage networks of its dictator, Mahmoud Abbas, now 90 years old. It assumes that any multinational transitional authority will either fail or depart—and that the final choice will be between the P.A. and anarchy.

The P.A. is positioning itself accordingly, maneuvering to be included in any transitional governance framework, even if it is just a small role, so that it can gradually assume more control until inevitably it has the job. Long-term thinking is an Islamist strength the West struggles to match.

Gaza’s civilians bear the cost. Hamas sacrifices them on the altar of resistance; the P.A. on the altar of legitimacy. Palestinian suffering in Gaza is not incidental to the P.A.’s strategy; it is instrumental. Each war, each humanitarian collapse, each funeral deepens a claim that only its rule can restore order and international standing. The message is simple: “You may not like us, but look at the alternative.”

This logic has worked for decades. Israel alone has consistently challenged this cynical and destructive formula.

When the P.A. finally moves to reclaim Gaza, it will insist that Hamas and Israel are gone, and that responsibility for the devastation lies elsewhere—with Israel, the global community or history’s arch itself.

What it doesn’t want is continuity. It wants a reset without reckoning. The P.A. doesn’t want to govern Gaza as it is, but Gaza as a symbol: liberated, suffering and returned at last to “legitimate” Palestinian hands.

This type of strategy is not confusion or incompetence; it is patience, weaponized. It is the belief that international guilt will eventually converge to restore its power without demanding reform, compromise or courage.

Until this strategy is named honestly and confronted openly, Gaza’s future will remain bleak. It will continue to be ruled by those willing to destroy it—and claimed by those waiting to inherit the ruins.


US to proceed with Gaza phase two despite no Hamas disarmament and missing hostage
The United States has told Israel it plans to move ahead with the next stage of its Gaza plan even if Hamas has not yet been disarmed and the body of the final Israeli hostage, Ran Gvili, has not been returned, according to sources familiar with the talks.

The message was delivered to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during meetings last week. US officials stressed that Washington remains committed to both goals – disarming Hamas and returning Gvili – but will not make either a condition for starting phase two.

Israel has objected strongly. Israeli officials argue that Hamas must first hand over Gvili’s remains and give up its weapons before any postwar arrangements are put in place. Gvili, an Israel Police Master Sergeant, was killed during the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October, and his body is still believed to be in Gaza.

Despite Israeli resistance, the US is working with Egypt, Qatar and Turkey on a plan to gradually disarm Hamas. Arab diplomats involved say the idea is to start with Hamas giving up heavy weapons, followed by a scheme to buy back lighter arms. Washington hopes this process could begin within weeks. Hamas leaders, however, have said publicly that they will only give up weapons as part of a deal leading to a Palestinian state.

The US is also preparing to announce new bodies to oversee Gaza once the fighting ends. These include an international “Board of Peace”, a smaller executive group, and a Palestinian technocratic committee that would run day-to-day civilian life in the Strip. An earlier announcement was delayed because of diplomatic opposition and concerns over the fragile ceasefire.
Netanyahu meets with former UN envoy Mladenov, Trump’s pick to lead Gaza peace board
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Thursday with Bulgarian diplomat and former U.N. Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov, set to head the Board of Peace as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip.

During the meeting, which took place at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, Netanyahu emphasized that Hamas “must be disarmed and the Gaza Strip must be demilitarized in accordance with the 20-point plan of President Trump,” according to a readout from the premier’s office.

Axios reported on Wednesday that Trump is expected to announce the establishment of the Board of Peace next week as part of Phase 2 of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, citing two U.S. officials and two sources.

To be chaired by Trump and made up of some 15 world leaders, it is set to oversee the creation of a Palestinian technocratic government for Gaza and supervise the reconstruction process.

According to Axios, Netanyahu’s agreement to advance to Phase 2 of the ceasefire during his meeting with Trump in Florida last week helped pave the way toward progress and brought about Mladenov’s visit.
New CIA general counsel defended Israel at UN court, helped negotiate Holocaust treaty
The CIA’s new chief legal officer has a record of defending Israel at the International Court of Justice, the principal United Nations court in The Hague, and helping negotiate a treaty between the United States and France on Holocaust compensation claims.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe named Joshua Simmons as the spy agency’s general counsel on Tuesday.

“Josh brings an impressive record and the expertise to advance the president’s priorities at the agency,” Ratcliffe stated. “He will be a valuable asset to our leadership team, in addition to playing a key role in strengthening CIA.”

Simmons came to the CIA from legal roles in the U.S. State Department. In April, he represented the United States at a hearing of the International Court of Justice on whether Israel was obligated to support the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees to provide aid to Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war.

“This week, many speakers have focused on the factual circumstances of that conflict. They have voiced significant concerns about the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza,” Simmons argued. “You have heard little, however, about the serious and credible concerns about Hamas misusing UNRWA facilities and humanitarian assistance.”

“You have also heard little of Israel’s security needs after the terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, 2023,” he said.

Simmons, who is also a published author of young-adult novels, described himself in a 2013 interview as a Christian.

His LinkedIn profile says that in 2014, he helped in the “negotiation of a treaty with France regarding Holocaust deportation claims.”
Sánchez: Spain ready to send peacekeeping forces to ‘Palestine’
Madrid is prepared to send peacekeeping troops to the Gaza Strip “once the opportunity presents itself, “Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Thursday.

“Of course, we have not forgotten Palestine and the Gaza Strip,” Sánchez told a gathering of Spanish ambassadors in Madrid, El País reported. “Spain must actively participate in rebuilding hope in Palestine,” he added.

“I will propose to parliament, when the opportunity presents itself, that we send peacekeeping troops to Palestine, once we can see how to advance this task of pacification,” the prime minister continued.

Sánchez for the first time confirmed Madrid’s possible participation in U.S. President Donald Trump’s envisioned International Stabilization Force, which would provide security in the Strip, according to El País.

Trump’s U.N.-endorsed plan includes the international force working alongside local police officers, as well as a Board of Peace, which the president will chair and which is to support transitional authorities.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment on Madrid’s announcement when contacted by JNS on Thursday.

On May 14, Sánchez denounced the Jewish state as “genocidal,” and Madrid has intervened in favor of the genocide charges that South Africa filed against Israel at the International Court of Justice in 2023.

In September, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares recalled Madrid’s ambassador to Israel, Ana María Salomón, for consultations after Jerusalem announced sanctions against two Spanish Cabinet members in connection with Madrid’s hostility toward Israel.
Rogue States as Terror Platforms: The Multi-Dimensional Threat to American and Western Security
Iran's Revolutionary Guards are significantly involved in the international drug trade, both directly and through proxies like Hizbullah. This provides the organization with access to sources of financing that bypass international sanctions placed on the Iranian regime, as well as sophisticated operational platforms that support subversive efforts aimed at the West.

A defector from Iran's Revolutionary Guards revealed the strategic intent behind this drug trafficking: "We were told that the drugs will destroy the sons and daughters of the West, and that we must kill them. Their lives are worth less because they are not Muslims."

Emanuele Ottolenghi, an expert on Iranian operations in Latin America at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, notes: "The Iranians made Caracas the hub of all their propaganda and soft power operations in the region, including their Spanish-language 24/7 news network." Iran established a permanent presence in Caracas for its missionary network under the umbrella of the sanctioned Al-Mustafa International University.

Venezuelan President Maduro, during a 2022 visit to Tehran, declared Venezuela part of the "resistance axis" that "exists throughout the world; it exists in Africa, in Asia, in the Middle East, in Latin America, and in the Caribbean." Largely driven by narcotics trafficking, Hizbullah operatives can move to and from Venezuela discretely and many have roots in Venezuela's one million-strong Lebanese community.

Iran has provided Venezuela with Peykaap fastboats armed with anti-ship missiles and UAVs that can be used for both drug smuggling and military operations in the Caribbean. The Rand Corporation warns that "these Iranian weapon systems present a legitimate threat to maritime security in the Caribbean region." Iranian military advisers have helped transform Venezuela into what Ottolenghi describes as a "forward operating base" against the U.S.
GAO report finds ‘gaps’ in State Department reporting on UNRWA textbooks
The U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report on Thursday finding that the U.S. State Department failed to properly inform Congress about efforts to reform Palestinian textbooks.

As part of U.S. funding to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, Congress required the department to issue reports on UNRWA’s educational activities, which Israel and watchdog groups have long said include materials promoting extremism.

The independent agency that answers to Congress found that in all but one report during the years when the United States provided funding to UNRWA from 2018-024, the State Department either “omitted required information,” missed deadlines or reported inaccurate information about UNRWA schools.

“In June 2019, we reported that UNRWA and the Department of State had taken actions to address potentially problematic content in UNRWA schools in the West Bank and Gaza—content that promotes intolerance toward groups of people or incites violence—but that State’s reporting to Congress omitted required information and contained inaccurate information,” the GAO report states.

“In some cases, State cited the organization without a date, relied on oral discussions without identifying a corroborating document or did not cite education-related information at all,” it states.

The United States cut off funding to UNRWA for 2019 and 2020 during the first Trump administration and again in 2024, as part of a congressional funding deal during the Biden administration, in large part over concerns about UNRWA’s education programs and allegations from the Israeli government that the aid agency employed hundreds of Hamas members at its facilities in Gaza.


Israel distributes thousands of rifles to civilian security squads
The Defense Ministry and the Israel Defense Forces have completed the distribution of thousands of advanced Arad rifles to rapid response teams across the country as part of the community defense strategy, the ministry said on Thursday.

The distribution forms part of the ministry and IDF Ground Forces Command’s broader initiative to bolster security capabilities in communities nationwide in the wake of the war.

The weapons were procured from Israel Weapon Industries (IWI), an Israeli firearms manufacturer, in a deal worth about $31 million, the ministry said.

The deal includes maintenance support for the next decade, as well as the upkeep of Meprolight M5 optical sights that can be mounted on the rifles.

The Arad is an assault rifle designed in 2019 by the IWI. It is primarily manufactured for export, with the Israeli-made Tavor and U.S.-made M16 rifles serving most IDF combat units.

The initiative to arm rapid response teams is part of the government’s broader defense strategy adopted in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led invasion of the northwestern Negev.

These volunteer-based civilian defense squads were some of the first in line to fight the thousands of Palestinian terrorists who infiltrated Jewish communities along the Gaza border.
Israel Navy intercepts Egyptian vessel entering blockaded waters off Gaza's shoreline, IDF confirms
An Egyptian warship entered the closed maritime zone off the coast of the Gaza Strip, the IDF confirmed on Thursday.

The Israel Navy ships were dispatched from Ashdod Naval Base, and issued instructions to the Egyptian vessel to leave, the military confirmed.

Israeli warships fired warning shots towards the vessel, as it posed an imminent threat, Channel 13 reported. The IDF's statement neither confirmed nor denied this.

"The military acted in accordance with procedures, called on the vessel to stop, and after it did not comply, distancing measures were carried out," the IDF said, before the vessel turned around and returned to Egyptian territorial waters.

Egypt accepted responsibility for the incident, Channel 13 reported, citing an IDF source.

IDF: 'Egypt is central partner in peace agreement'
The Israeli army emphasized that "Egypt is a central partner to the peace agreement, and that the security relationship between the two countries continues as usual."


Gazan rocket fired at Israel falls short, hits near hospital
Palestinian terrorists fired a rocket toward Israel from the Gaza City area, which is under Hamas control, on Thursday.

“The launch fell within the territory of the Gaza Strip, near a hospital,” the Israel Defense Forces said. “In a rapid closing of the circle, the IDF struck the launch point in a targeted manner.”

The IDF said it “views with great severity any attempt by terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip to carry out terror plots against IDF forces and the civilians of the State of Israel.”

It was Gazans’ second ceasefire violation in the past 24 hours.

Israeli forces killed a “key Hamas terrorist” on Wednesday after gunmen from the group fired at an area where troops are operating in the northern Gaza Strip, according to a joint IDF and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) announcement.

The terrorist “advanced terror attacks against IDF troops in the northern Gaza Strip,” the statement said, adding that further details would follow.

“This shooting constitutes a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement,” the IDF and Shin Bet said.


IDF conducts second strike in 24 hours on southern Lebanon, killing terrorist drone operator
The IDF conducted an airstrike in the Zaita region of southern Lebanon on Thursday, killing a Hezbollah operative, according to an official military statement.

A later statement from the IDF clarified that the operative was Alaa' Hourani, who was a Hezbollah drone operator. Throughout the IDF's conflict with Hezbollah, Hourani also aided in re-establishing the terror group's infrastructure in the region, as well as in intelligence gathering and deploying terrorist forces.

The military claimed the strike was in response to "Hezbollah's continued violations of the ceasefire understandings."

This comes less than 24 hours after the IDF struck Jouaiyya, southern Lebanon, killing a Hezbollah terrorist from the group's 127th Aerial Unit. The terrorist was also taking part in re-establishing the terror group's infrastructure in the region, according to a Wednesday statement. Netanyahu weighs in on Lebanon's efforts to combat Hezbollah

Lebanon's government and army have not made sufficient efforts to disarm Hezbollah, and this is evidenced by the terror group's efforts, with Iran's help, to rearm and reestablish its infrastructure, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office stated on Thursday afternoon.

The prime minister's comments came after the Lebanese army stated earlier that day that, outside the Israeli-controlled areas, it had achieved operational control south of Lebanon’s Litani River, had moved into “an advanced stage” of monopolizing arms in the area, and was committed to ensuring that armed actors are never again able to use the border area as a staging ground for military actions.

The statement reaffirmed the army’s commitment to being the sole actor responsible for maintaining security in Lebanon, with an emphasis on the area south of the Litani River

To this end, Lebanon’s army claimed “that its plan to consolidate weapons has entered an advanced stage, following the effective and tangible achievement of the objectives of the first phase on the ground.”


Violent Aleppo clashes risk spilling over into rest of Syria if not contained
The recent escalation of violence in Aleppo in the last 24 hours represents a new test of the fragile security and political agreements between Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Civilian casualties in the conflict highlight the urgent need to return to dialogue, implement the agreement, and ensure the safety of the civilian population. Without clear political solutions, any settlement will remain temporary and prone to collapse, with potential humanitarian and security repercussions at the local and regional levels.

In addition, Damascus has suspended all communication channels with the SDF and representatives of the Autonomous Administration.

Violent conflict has raised widespread fears of a broader security slide in the north of the country, as well as questions about the stability of the agreement concluded between the two sides in March 2025.

Dozens of civilians were forced to temporarily leave their homes amid shelling and gunfire in the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsood and Achrafieh, amid partial outages of electricity and water, and disruptions to some basic services.

Local residents said that the sounds of shelling and drones continued for hours, prompting entire families to shelter inside buildings or flee to safer areas. Medical sources confirmed to The Media Line that they had received civilian casualties, including women and children, mainly resulting from shrapnel, at a time when health facilities are suffering from increasing pressure and shortages of some basic supplies.
Israel condemns Sharaa regime’s ‘attacks against Kurdish minority’ in Syria’s Aleppo
Israel on Thursday condemned the Syrian government over “grave and dangerous” attacks against the Kurds in the northern city of Aleppo as Damascus ordered civilians to evacuate the area amid deadly clashes that have displaced tens of thousands of people.

Israel’s condemnation of Syria came two days after the countries agreed on a joint mechanism aimed at lowering bilateral tensions.

“Attacks by the Syrian regime’s forces against the Kurdish minority in the city of Aleppo are grave and dangerous,” wrote Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on X, adding: “Systematic and murderous repression of Syria’s various minorities contradicts the promises of a ‘new Syria.'”

Sa’ar said the violence in Aleppo could increase if the international community remained silent.

“The international community in general, and the West in particular, owes a debt of honor to the Kurds who fought bravely and successfully against ISIS,” he said.

Deadly clashes erupted this week between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The sides have failed to implement a March deal to merge the Kurds’ semi-autonomous administration and military into Syria’s new government. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar attends a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, December 2, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Kurds are pushing for decentralized rule, an idea Syria’s new Islamist authorities have rejected. In the city of Qamishli in the Kurdish-controlled northeast, thousands of protesters gathered Thursday, chanting in support of the SDF and against the government offensive.

Though Damascus has vowed to protect all Syrians, minorities remain wary of their future under the new regime of President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who led the ouster of Syria’s longtime Iran-backed president Bashar al-Assad in December 2024 after a 13-year civil war.


Iran Is on the Edge of Revolution
Iran is enduring its gravest crisis since the 1979 Revolution - due to a convergence of domestic exhaustion, despotism, elite fragmentation and strategic failure. The question is whether the system retains the internal coherence necessary to survive.

The very social groups that helped bring the clerical regime to power have become its most implacable opponents. The economic foundations of the Islamic Republic have eroded beyond repair. The regime and its apologists blame it all on sanctions. Yet, four decades of inflation, mismanagement, and international isolation have impoverished virtually every segment of society.

Iran's currency has collapsed; the middle class has been hollowed out; younger generations are bereft of hope. Rural and small-town populations - once reliable supporters - now confront unemployment, environmental degradation, and declining state capacity. Social media has put them in direct contact with the world.

Para-state conglomerates linked to the Revolutionary Guards and religious foundations dominate key sectors and distort markets, deepening public resentment and crowding out private initiative. They have also created a new privileged class who shamelessly display lavish wealth, underscoring disparities in society.

The so-called "axis of resistance," Iran's network of Middle Eastern proxies, has become a liability, draining resources. Recent military confrontations further exposed the fragility of Iran's deterrence.

The rapid loss of senior military and intelligence figures punctured the image of strategic mastery the regime had carefully cultivated. The perception of weakness can be as destabilizing as weakness itself. The nuclear program, long presented as both shield and leverage, has similarly lost much of its strategic utility.
Internet, phone services shut down across Iran as protesters attack state broadcaster offices
Tehran and several other parts of Iran experienced a digital blackout on Thursday as internet connectivity dropped across multiple service providers, internet monitoring group NetBlocks said, during nationwide protests against economic hardships.

The Associated Press reported that attempts to call Iranian landlines and mobile phones from Dubai failed to connect, indicating that the regime may have suspended telephone service as well.

Footage seen by The Jerusalem Post and verified by BBC's Farsi channel appears to show that protesters set fire to an Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) office in Isfahan during the protests.

London-based anti-regime outlet Iran International reported that IRIB's Mashhad office was a focal point for protesters.

Anti-regime social media news and activist accounts shared footage that appears to show thousands marching through the streets in Mashhad, blocking a major boulevard in the northeastern city. Mashhad is notable as the birthplace of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as being the second-largest city in the country, after Tehran.

Footage from Tehran appeared to show vehicles overturned and burned during the protests.

Two Iranian regime officers were killed during protests in the western Iranian city of Kermanshah, the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights reported, citing Iranian state media.

Israel's Foreign Ministry's Farsi social media account has sent out various messages of support to the protesters, including sharing information on the internet outages.


Call me Back Podcast: The Myth of World Order - with Bret Stephens
Few people expected to start 2026 with images of Nicolas Maduro in a New York prison. In the days since Madouro’s capture, many have argued that the Trump administration’s operation in Venezuela is another signal that the global system we’ve known for the better part of a century has dramatically changed. From the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, to Israel’s two-year multifront battle, to a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, geopolitical power dynamics are rapidly shifting. But to what end? Are we witnessing the emergence of a new world order?

To discuss the historical context and implications of the geopolitical moment we find ourselves in, Dan was joined by Call me Back veteran Brett Stephens. Brett is an opinion columnist for the New York Times, a senior contributor to NBC News, and the inaugural editor in chief of the Sapir journal. Bret previously worked as a foreign affairs columnist for the Wall Street Journal, and from 2002-2004 served as the editor in chief of the Jerusalem Post.


A Whole New World Order 🪂 🤸 Mark Regev & Ruthie Blum Sidle Up To The Bar
Ever since October 7th, 2023, it seems every day is a completely new reality. Geopolitics are making tectonic shifts and the Middle East is as unpredictable as it is unstable. Israel has been hard at work fighting the war on terror to make a very dangerous neighborhood safer and maybe even one day peaceful...?

In this episode, Ruthie Blum and Mark Regev, cohosts of Israel Undiplomatic on ‪@JNS_TV‬ , join A Paratrooper And A Yogi cohosts, Andrew Fox and Shana Meyerson, to discuss the madness we call the Middle East.

Andrew Fox is a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society. He served for 16 years in the British Army, leaving the Parachute Regiment with the rank of Major. He completed 3 tours in Afghanistan including one attached to US Army Special Forces, as well as further tours of Bosnia, Northern Ireland and the Middle East. He was a senior lecturer at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, teaching in the War Studies and Behavioural Science departments. In the last year he has visited Gaza twice as well as Hezbollah tunnels in Lebanon. Andrew is a regular Middle East commentator on GB News, TalkTV and LBC radio, and has been published in The Spectator, The Sun, The Daily Telegraph, New York Post and The Tablet, amongst others.




Antisemitic Narratives Flood X After Minneapolis ICE Shooting
In the 24 hours after the fatal ICE-involved shooting in Minneapolis on January 7, 2026, in which Renee Nicole Good, 37, was killed during a federal operation, a wave of social media posts moved quickly to implicate Israel and “Zionists” in the incident. Using social-media listening tools, Jewish Onliner identified 40.5K posts on January 7 linking ICE discourse to Israel-related terms, generating 259.6K interactions and an estimated 2.6 billion potential views.

The shooting itself remains under investigation by the FBI and publicly contested, with federal authorities claiming self-defense and city officials disputing that account after video circulated online.

The dominant narrative in Jewish Onliner’s dataset claimed that ICE cooperates with Israel on security matters and learned extreme tactics through that relationship. Publicly documented U.S.–Israel security cooperation does not support claims that Israel trained the ICE personnel involved in Minneapolis or influenced the decision to use lethal force. Instead, ICE-related cooperation centers on transnational enforcement priorities such as countering terrorist financing, including a 2022 agreement signed during a DHS visit to Israel.

Key “Super-Spreaders” in the Dataset
Jewish Onliner’s monitoring identified several high-reach accounts as major amplifiers of the narrative on January 7. Among them is prominent communist-leaning streamer Hasan Piker, who quoted a tweet by the Department of Homeland Security, adding “united states of Israel.”

Max Blumenthal, editor of the anti-American outlet The Grayzone, commented on the shooting, writing the United States in the era of President Donald Trump resembles“ A regime of Terror Capitalism imposed on subjects across the Americas to protect economic plunder by a decadent class of Zionist tech plutocrats.”

Several of the most viral amplifiers of the narrative were users based outside the United States. An account known as “Suppressed News,” based in North Africa, posted that “ICE agents are acting just like IDF soldiers but maybe it’s because some of them actually are?”

The UK-based Adame Media, which was previously identified by the Network Contagion Research Institute as part of a Russian and Iranian-tied disinformation apparatus, posted that “Over 120 ICE agents in Chicago are straight from the Israeli Defense Forces!”


Workers at NY’s Israeli-owned Breads Bakery unionize, call to end ‘support of Palestine genocide’
Employees at New York City’s biggest Israeli bakery chain say they have formed a union — and one of their top demands is “an end to this company’s support of the genocide happening in Palestine.”

As an example, they cited Breads Bakery’s participation in last year’s Great Nosh, a citywide festival of Jewish food held on Governor’s Island.

“The workers refuse to participate in Zionist projects such as fundraisers that support the ‘Israeli’ occupation of Palestine, baking cookies with the ‘Israeli’ flag, and catering events such as the Great Nosh, which are connected to organizations that donate millions each year to the IDF,” the union, which is calling itself Breaking Breads, said in a statement issued Tuesday.

The employees at Breads, a spinoff of a Tel Aviv bakery with six outposts in New York City, say “over 30%” of the company’s 275 workers signed cards in support of the union, which will be represented by United Auto Workers. They are alleging poor working conditions, low and unfair pay, and a lack of “respect” from management.

But the workers are also calling on the bakery’s operators, CEO Yonatan Floman and founder Gadi Peleg, to end Breads’ ties to Israel. Both men are Jewish Israelis, and Breads’ menu features items from across the Jewish diaspora that are popular in Israel, such as rugelach, challah, bourekas, and its award-winning babka.

“We cannot and will not ignore the implicit and explicit support this bakery has for Israel,” Breaking Breads posted on Instagram on January 1 in a statement that appeared in English, Spanish, Arabic, and French. It said it had announced itself to Breads’ management days earlier.

“We see our struggles for fair pay, respect, and safety as connected to struggles against genocide and forces of exploitation around the world,” the statement continued. “There are deep cultural changes that need to happen here, and we need to see accountability from upper management.”

US labor laws do not generally enable unions to make political demands of employers, or protect employees’ ability to take action for that purpose.
Anti-Israel group cancels protest of Nefesh B’Nefesh event in NYC, claims ‘win’
An anti-Israel protest scheduled for Wednesday was cancelled after organizers claimed the announcement of the protest had succeeded in forcing Nefesh B’Nefesh “into the shadows.”

A spokesperson for Nefesh B’Nefesh told JNS the Manhattan event “took place as planned and the attendance met our expectations,” noting that “there were no changes on the planning side for us and all went smoothly and professionally.”

PAL-Awda—the group that planned the protest as well as the Nov. 19 protest outside a similar event organized by Nefesh B’Nefesh at Park East Synagogue in New York City—wrote on social media that “our planned action tonight to protest the settler recruitment event is being cancelled.”

“Because of our announced protest, settler agency Nefesh B’Nefesh has been forced into the shadows,” the group claimed. “Their extreme vetting of attendees has hampered their outreach and vastly limited their ability to recruit settlers.”

“Although NBN is still holding their event, their reach and attendance has been diminished,” PAL-Awda said, calling it a “win,” and adding that they will “always stand together in vocal opposition to zionist settler colonialism, to all settler recruitment, and genocide.”

PAL-Awda’s cancellation of the protest followed the circulation of a flyer for a Jewish counterprotest. “We must take action and make sure they know, wherever they go, we will show,” the flyer said, calling the protesters “pro-Hamas.”

The flyer, provided to JNS by a source familiar with the event, urged supporters to “go out and counterprotest” at 6:15 pm at the address of the UJA Federation of New York on East 59th Street, despite organizers’ efforts to keep the location private for the safety of attendees.

Less than 30 protesters and counterprotesters still showed up to demonstrate on a police-blockaded street outside the Manhattan event, according to sources at the scene.




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

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