Saturday, January 10, 2026

01/10 Links: Is Iran Finally on the Brink of Revolution?; Trump says he is ready to assist Iranian protesters; 40-year-old man arrested throwing rock that fractured skull of 8-year-old NJ Jewish girl

From Ian:

Jonathan Sacerdoti: The Middle East is once again in flux
Something else, however, is forming in its place. A new ideological alignment is emerging around Turkey and the Muslim Brotherhood, grounded in political Islam and nationalist Islamist governance. It partially draws in Ahmed al-Sharaa’s Syria and finds resonance in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, with indirect reach into Pakistan. This alignment privileges ideological affinity over transactional cooperation. Syria sits uneasily between worlds, open to Turkish influence yet also exploring pragmatic arrangements, including economic coordination and even talks with Israel, under American auspices.

Pragmatism, meanwhile, has contracted. Saudi Arabia no longer treats entry into the Abraham Accords as urgent. Public opinion, religious legitimacy and political identity impose costs on overt normalisation. As Iran weakens, Saudi dependence on Israel for security diminishes, reducing strategic pressure to formalise ties. Saudi policy blends interest with ideology and ambition. It does not mirror the Emirati model.

The result leaves the pragmatic alignment largely concentrated between Israel and the UAE, with others peripheral or inactive. Israel now faces two ideological fronts: the older Iranian-centred network, weakened but alive, and the newer Turkish-centred alignment gaining confidence and space. Washington positions itself between pragmatists and ideologues, cooperating selectively with Turkey and Saudi Arabia while hesitating to force the collapse of Iran’s system.

In this environment, Israel must operate with increasing autonomy. Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken openly of ending American military aid within a decade, arguing that Israel has ‘come of age’ and developed independent capacity. The statement reflects strategic reality. American leadership is less reliable. Withdrawal, not arbitration, defines its trajectory.

If Iran’s regime falls, the Turkish ideological bloc will expand. Pressure on Israel will intensify. Yet great opportunity will also appear. A post-regime Iran will require reconstruction, technology, water management, and institutional expertise. Israel could become a partner of consequence. Parallel to this, Israel is deepening ties with the UAE and even Somaliland, adding a non-Arab pragmatic partner and exploring new economic corridors.

The Middle East now contains both logics at once. No alliance yet dominates. Stability remains elusive. Power relationships shift without moral resolution. Conflict persists, mutating rather than vanishing. For Israel, adaptation replaces expectation. Threat and opportunity arrive together. There is no final settlement on the horizon, only a system in motion, shaped by interests where possible and ideology where restraint fails.
Secret dossier reveals police ‘covered up’ threat to Maccabi players
In response to these findings, Nick Timothy, the Conservative MP and Telegraph columnist, said: “The police fitted the intelligence to justify a predetermined decision to ban Israeli fans from Villa Park – all at the behest of Islamist thugs and agitators. And then they lied about it.

“While they pretended the threat was from Israelis to local Muslims, we know from released papers it was the other way round – with armed Islamists threatening visiting Israelis.

“These police logs are further damning evidence of the dishonesty of West Midlands Police.”

Lord Walney, the Government’s former adviser on political violence, said: “This fiasco started out looking like timidity from West Midlands Police in the face of vocal local Muslims, but this latest revelation suggests it has become a systematic cover-up.

“The more chief constable Guildford has tried to double down and deny the force’s initial cowardice, the worse the scandal has become. Like Nixon at Watergate and countless other wrongdoing, it is the cover-up that will tarnish his reputation until he does the decent thing and resigns.”

Lord Austin added: “This is a shocking revelation.” The former West Midlands MP said: “It shows beyond doubt that when West Midlands Police were telling the public and Parliament that Israeli fans had to be banned because they presented a threat to public safety, they knew that it was in fact local Islamist extremists who were threatening violence against the Israelis.

“But instead of arresting the people threatening racist violence, they capitulated to them and have staged an appalling cover-up and lied repeatedly ever since. Why is the Chief Constable still in his job? He must resign or be sacked.”

West Midlands Police declined to comment.
Mosque that advised on Israeli fan ban also sat on panel that chose police chief
A mosque consulted by police before Israeli football fans were banned from a match in Britain was also represented on the panel that appointed the force’s chief constable, newly released documents show.

The Sunday Times reports that Kamran Hussain, then chief executive of Green Lane mosque in Birmingham, sat on the interview panel that selected Craig Guildford as chief constable of West Midlands Police in December 2022.

The force later consulted the same mosque before barring supporters of Maccabi Tel Aviv from attending a Europa League fixture against Aston Villa last autumn. The consultation was disclosed by Guildford in a letter to MPs on the Home Affairs Select Committee.

The decision to exclude Israeli fans and transparently flawed intelligence used to justify it has left Guildford’s position in doubt. Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, has said he should be dismissed.

Guildford’s future may be decided within days, when a report by Sir Andy Cooke, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary, is expected to be submitted to the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, and laid before Parliament.

Freedom of information disclosures show that Guildford was appointed after appearing before a panel convened by Simon Foster, the Labour police and crime commissioner for the West Midlands, which included Hussain. The identities of other panel members have been withheld.

Nick Timothy, the Conservative MP for West Suffolk and an Aston Villa supporter, told the Sunday Times: “West Midlands Police relied on false intelligence to justify banning Israeli fans from Villa Park and discussed the decision with Green Lane mosque. The question now is who is really in charge. It clearly was not the police.”

The force has been accused of retrospectively creating intelligence to support the ban, and of failing to disclose warnings that Islamist protesters planned to target Israeli supporters if they were allowed into Birmingham.


Trump says he is ready to assist Iranian protesters as questions rise on future US involvement
US President Donald Trump announced that America "stands ready to help" since Iran "is looking at freedom," in a post on Truth Social on Saturday.

Admin officials have had preliminary discussions about how to carry out an attack on Iran if needed to follow through on Trump's threats. One option being discussed is a large-scale aerial strike on multiple Iranian military targets, sources told The Wall Street Journal in an article published on Saturday.

One official told The Wall Street Journal that an aerial strike on Iranian military assets was among the options under discussion. Another said there was no unified consensus on whether the administration would strike or what course of action to take, and that the US military had not made any moves in preparation for a strike.

Both officials told The Wall Street Journal that the administration was not planning an imminent attack on Iran, and that the discussions were part of normal planning.

Trump previously stated that if the Iranian regime forces "start killing people," the US will "hit them really hard" during an interview on the Hugh Hewitt Show on Thursday.
Iranian Crown Prince calls for more days of protests in Iran, to prepare for a ‘revolution victory'
As the protests in Iran enter their 15th day, Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has called for two additional days of demonstrations against the Islamic Republic regime. In a video statement posted in Farsi on X/Twitter, he encouraged protesters in their pursuit of "the revolution's victory."

“I ask all of you today and tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday (January 10 and 11), this time, from 6 p.m., to come to the streets with flags, images, and national symbols and claim public spaces as your own,” the statement read.

“Our goal is no longer merely to come to the streets; the goal is to prepare for seizing the centers of cities and holding them.”

Pahlavi also encouraged workers and employees in key sectors of the economy to begin a ‘nationwide strike’ to add pressure on the regime, and addressed members of Iran's security forces who had joined the protests with strategic instructions.

“To the youth of Iran's Immortal Guard, and all armed and security forces who have joined the national cooperation platform, I say: Slow down and disrupt the repression machine even more so that on the appointed day, we can completely disable it.”


Protester replaces Islamic Republic flag with shah-era banner at Iran’s London embassy
A protester briefly replaced the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran on its London embassy with the former flag, flown before 1979, during a demonstration in the UK capital Saturday.

The demonstration was in support of the mass anti-regime protests that have taken over Iran in recent weeks, as the Islamic Republic has intensified its crackdown on dissent amid a nationwide internet blackout.

A video posted to social media showed a man on the balcony of the embassy, near Hyde Park, replacing the country’s current flag with the one used during the rule of the ousted shah to cheers from hundreds of demonstrators below.

The old tri-colored flag with a lion and sun — used in Iran before the Islamic Revolution — stayed in place for several minutes before being removed, witnesses on site told AFP.

London police, in an online post, said they had arrested two people, “one for aggravated trespass and assault on an emergency worker and one for aggravated trespass” and they were seeking another individual for “trespass.”

Police said that after the flag incident “additional officers are being deployed to prevent any disorder” and to protect the Iranian embassy.


Is Iran Finally on the Brink of Revolution?
As protests sweep Iran amid economic collapse and a plunging currency, Iranian American journalist Roya Hakakian argues that this uprising may mark a decisive break with the Islamic Republic. Unlike past protest waves—from the 2009 Green Movement to the 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” demonstrations—this moment is defined by a broad coalition that includes women, youth, ethnic minorities, working-class Iranians, and even longtime regime supporters such as bazaar merchants, all openly rejecting the system rather than seeking reform within it.

Hakakian explains that the regime’s loss of legitimacy has been accelerated by its failure to provide basic security, exposed during Iran’s humiliating confrontation with Israel, and by growing international pressure, including warnings from the United States. As the government responds with internet blackouts and threats of extreme violence, many Iranians believe there is no turning back—raising the stakes for what could be the most consequential challenge to the regime in its 45-year history.




Turkish FM accuses Mossad of stoking Iran protests, says Netanyahu aims for regional conflict
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan accused the Mossad of using ongoing protests in Iran to destabilize the Islamic Republic in a Saturday interview.

In an extended interview with Turkish television, Fidan addressed recent developments in Iran and mounting regional tensions, repeatedly criticizing Israel for what he described as its involvement in the unrest. He argued that Israel is deliberately working to take advantage of Iran’s internal challenges, including economic hardship, to weaken the regime, actions he said are being carried out openly.

“The Mossad is not hiding this,” Fidan said, referring to the protests. “They are calling on the Iranian people to rise up against the regime through their internet and Twitter accounts.”

Fidan said that past overt military attacks have united the Iranian public against external threats, whereas today’s situation is different. According to him, Israel views the absence of active conflict as an opportunity to deepen domestic dissent within Iran.


Menachem Vorchheimer: The Bondi massacre royal commission must free Jews like me from the threat of violence
I am a Bondi boy. I am an eighth-generation Australian and a Jew. My maternal grandfather was a Rat of Tobruk; he died too young for me to ever meet him.

My paternal grandfather survived the Holocaust and also died young. Between them sits my inheritance: a belief in Australia as a fair, democratic country that does not judge its citizens by who they are.

That belief was first shaken on 23 December 1982. I was nine years old when the Israeli consulate in Sydney and the Hakoah Jewish social club in Bondi were bombed.

I remember walking with my father to the synagogue on the next street. A security guard stood outside, the boot of his car open, a shotgun resting inside. It was the first gun I had ever seen — and the first time I understood that Jews in Australia were considered targets.

More than 40 years later, the Bondi Chanukah massacre dragged that memory back into the centre of my life. Fifteen people were murdered and 41 seriously injured. Jewish leaders want an inquiry to go into the deeper causes of anti-Semitism, which could backfire for Anthony Albanese.Jewish leaders want an inquiry to go into the deeper causes of anti-Semitism, which could backfire for Anthony Albanese.

Once again, we are told the attackers “acted alone.” That phrase may describe how the crime was carried out. It does not explain why it happened.

Terrorism scholars have long warned against the comfort of the “lone wolf” narrative. Violent actors rarely arise in isolation. They are shaped by environments that legitimise hatred and dull moral restraint.

What matters is not formal membership in an organisation, but whether a surrounding culture teaches who deserves empathy — and who does not.

For years in Australia, the word “Zionist” has been used as a proxy for “Jew,” portraying Jews as collective perpetrators of global evil. Chants such as “globalise the intifada” have circulated freely.

Violence against Jews has been reframed as political expression rather than racism. Debate fixates on intent. Consequences are dismissed.

Social psychology explains why this is dangerous. Dehumanisation removes groups from the circle of moral concern. When people are conditioned to believe a group is uniquely malevolent, uniquely powerful, or uniquely undeserving of compassion, the threshold for violence drops.
Israeli wounded in Bondi attack arrives home on medevac flight
Gefen Bitton, an Israeli who confronted one of the Bondi Beach attackers and was shot three times in the process, touched down in Israel on Friday morning and was admitted to Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer in Ramat Gan for further treatment.

The 30-year-old was in critical condition and underwent eight operations in Sydney, according to outlet Ynet.

He was flown by Hatzolah Air, a U.S.-based nonprofit provider of emergency medical air transport worldwide. The founder and president of the organization, Eli Rowe, captained the mission, flying for about 40 hours in total.

The medical plane started its journey in New York, stopped in Honolulu, Hawaii, to refuel, and from there arrived in Sydney to pick up Bitton. The Hatzolah plane had one more stop in Bangkok, Thailand, before it arrived at Ben-Gurion International Airport.

“Hatzolah Air salutes Israeli hero Gefen Bitton and is proud to have taken part in the mission to bring him to Israel. After a long flight with a professional medical team, we wish him a full recovery,” Walla News quoted Rowe as saying.

“We would do anything to save him. We are excited and blessed to be here in Israel now, and God bless this remarkable man. We wish him a speedy recovery,” Rowe told Hebrew-language outlet Ynet.

The report added that the total cost of the flight amounted to some $500,000.

The staff on the plane totaled eight individuals: an intensive care physician, nurses, paramedics, Rowe and additional flight crew.

The decision to fly Bitton home was made by his family, leaders in the Jewish community in Sydney, and the Israeli Foreign Ministry, according to Walla.


‘Large-scale’ US strikes on ISIS targets in Syria
American forces launched “large-scale” strikes at “multiple” ISIS targets in Syria at about 12:30 p.m. Washington time on Saturday, U.S. Central Command said.

The attacks were part of Operation Hawkeye Strike, which U.S. President Donald Trump announced in response to a Dec. 13 ambush, in which ISIS killed two American soldiers and a U.S. interpreter in Palmyra, Syria.

“The strikes today targeted ISIS throughout Syria as part of our ongoing commitment to root out Islamic terrorism against our warfighters, prevent future attacks and protect American and partner forces in the region,” CENTCOM stated. “U.S. and coalition forces remain resolute in pursuing terrorists who seek to harm the United States.”

“Our message remains strong,” it added. “If you harm our warfighters, we will find you and kill you anywhere in the world, no matter how hard you try to evade justice.”
Israel planning new Gaza City op in March, but will need okay from Trump — officials
The Israel Defense Forces has drawn up plans to launch renewed intensive military operations in Gaza in March, with an offensive targeting Gaza City aimed at pushing the Yellow Line ceasefire demarcation west toward the coast of the enclave, further expanding the IDF’s control of the territory, an Israeli official and an Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel on Saturday.

The Arab diplomat said that the operation will not be able to go forward without the support of the US, which is still trying to advance the fragile ceasefire reached in October to a second phase that includes Hamas’s disarmament.

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed during his meeting with Trump last month to cooperate with efforts to advance the ceasefire, he does not believe that they will be successful in disarming Hamas and has accordingly directed the IDF to prepare for a contingency plan, the Arab diplomat said.

On the first day of the ceasefire on October 10, Israeli forces pulled back to the Yellow Line, leaving them in control of roughly 53 percent of the Strip. The Gaza City operation planned for March would see Israel increase that percentage, the Israeli official and Arab diplomat said.

Some details of this planned offensive were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Erez Winner, a research fellow at the Israel Centre for Grand Strategy, told The Journal that an offensive against Hamas would now be easier for Israel because Israel no longer has to worry about putting hostages at risk, now that all the living hostages and all but one hostage’s body have been returned.

He added that it would also be easier for Israel to evacuate Palestinians because most of them are living in tents, with one possibility being to bring them to the Israeli-controlled part of the enclave.

“[A new round of fighting in Gaza] will be much faster and easier than people want to believe,” he told The Journal. “It’s adjusting plans we already have to the current situation.”

Possible strategies mentioned by The Journal include an Israeli takeover of Gaza City to induce Hamas to quickly surrender or a slower, piece-by-piece takeover of the entire enclave.
IDF strikes in Gaza, kills at least six Hamas terrorists
The Israel Defense Forces carried out strikes across the Gaza Strip on Thursday in response to a failed projectile launch from the Gaza City area, the military said.

The IDF named several terrorists from Hamas who were targeted in the operation, two of whose deaths were confirmed.

The army said that it killed Kamal Abd al-Rahman Muhammad Awad, head of Hamas’s anti-tank missile array, and Ahmad Thabet, head of a workshop within a Hamas department and as a key source of knowledge in weapons manufacture.

Ahmad Abd al-Fattah Saeed Maghdalawi, a Nukhba Force terrorist in Hamas’s Nuseirat Battalion who took part in the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, including in the attack on the Supernova music festival, was also targeted. The IDF said it could not confirm whether he was killed.

In a strike in northern Gaza, the IDF eliminated four Hamas terrorists who operated from a command-and-control compound. “The terrorists operating from the site were planning to carry out an imminent terror attack against IDF forces operating in the northern Gaza Strip,” the army said.

In addition, the military struck eight launch-tunnel shafts, two weapon production facilities and three weapon storage facilities belonging to Hamas.

Terrorist targets of other terrorist organizations were also struck throughout Gaza, the IDF said.

“The elimination of these terrorists constitutes a significant degradation of Hamas’s and additional terrorist organizations’ operational capabilities and abilities to execute terror attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said.

In a separate incident on Thursday, IDF troops operating in the Jabalia area located a launcher with two loaded rockets that were ready to be fired toward the State of Israel, the military said.

Meanwhile, an Israeli official told JNS that “Hamas has no choice but to disarm, and it will happen either the easy way or the hard way. The terror group committed to President Trump’s plan, which includes laying down their weapons. The policy is clear: The terror group will be disarmed one way or another.”


Chicks on the Right: She Spoke Up for Israel — And the Media Turned on Her Ft. Erin Molan
Speaking out for Israel after October 7 came with a cost — and Erin Molan paid it.

In this episode, former Sky News host Erin Molan joins us to explain why she refused to stay silent after the Hamas attacks, how the media distorted the truth about Israel, and why antisemitism has surged across the West.

Erin breaks down:
How mainstream media coverage of Israel collapsed after Oct. 7
The personal and professional backlash she faced for speaking out
The rise of woke ideology and moral relativism
Why Western institutions are failing to confront extremism
Faith, courage, and the cost of telling the truth


Report: Argentina halts Jerusalem embassy move over Falklands drilling dispute
Argentina has halted its plans to relocate its embassy to Jerusalem, a report said Saturday, due to “tension” between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Argentine President Javier Milei in recent weeks.

According to Channel 12 news, tensions arose due to the Israeli-owned Navitas Petroleum company’s plans to carry out offshore drilling in the Falkland Islands, expected to begin in 2028.

The Falkland Islands are a British overseas territory, although Argentina claims that it, not the United Kingdom, has sovereignty over the islands, which it refers to as Islas Malvinas.

In December, Argentina criticized Navitas and UK firm Rockhopper for announcing what it said was an “illegitimate” oil drilling project worth roughly $2.1 billion off the coast of the Falkland Islands, as it was not approved by Argentina and therefore was a “unilateral decision” made by the UK government.

A 1976 United Nations resolution established that neither Argentina nor the UK can carry out unilateral decisions over the territory as long as negotiations over the sovereignty of the Falklands continue.

Rockerhopper has been banned from operating in Argentina since 2013 after the Argentine government criminalized its activities, and Navitas was also banned in 2022 for carrying out oil drilling operations without authorization.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has attempted to communicate to Argentina that the Israeli government was not involved in, and had no control over, Navitas’s operations, given that it is a public company.

This appears to have had little effect, as Channel 12 cited anonymous sources close to Milei as saying that not only has the disagreement effectively halted the relocation of the embassy, but risks harming relations between Buenos Aires and Jerusalem, which have grown close following Milei’s election in 2023.


Anti-Israel AOC rips Hamas supporters for descending on Queens synagogue: ‘Disgusting and antisemitic’
Lefty “Squad” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – a strident anti-Israel critic – ripped a mob of pro-Palestine protestors who were caught on video chanting in support of Hamas terrorists while marching in Queens.

“Hey so marching into a predominantly Jewish neighborhood and leading with a chant saying ‘we support Hamas’ is a disgusting and antisemitic thing to do,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X Friday. “Pretty basic!”

The card-carrying Democratic Socialist of America member who reps parts of The Bronx and Queens was responded to a video posted on X showing protestors marching through Queens and chanting, “Say it loud, say it clear, we support Hamas here!”

Roughly 200 protesters were caught on camera chanting support for the terrorist organization as they waved Palestinian flags outside the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills synagogue in Queens.

The group could be heard shouting the sick chant as cops barricaded them across the street from the synagogue.

The protest was organized by the Palestinian Assembly for Liberation Pal-Awda to decry the sale of “stolen” land in the West Bank.

AOC’s post had detractors of hers wondering where her sudden desire to defend Jews came from – including some who openly wondered if it’s because she’s mulling running for higher office.


Fury as anti-Israel protest erupts outside Jewish-owned Notting Hill restaurant
A group of anti-Zionist protesters gathered outside an Israeli restaurant in London on Friday evening, with video showing one man being physically restrained by officers during tense scenes.

Footage showed around 50 people stood under a banner proclaiming themselves as the "International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network" outside the Israeli restaurants Miznon on Elgin Crescent in Notting Hill, west London.

Video footage captured an activist using a megaphone to shout: "Standing with the resistance, we affirm that Palestinians have the right to return to their homeland that was stolen from them during the 1948 Nakba [when the state of Israel declared its independence].

"We believe in the right to resist by any and all means necessary, for the full liberation and from the river to the sea!"

A chant then broke out of "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free".

Historian Simon Sebag Montefiore condemned the protest. He wrote on X: "Shocked to see this disgraceful scene outside a Jewish restaurant in Notting Hill. Attacked by a crowd shouting racism and intimidating innocent clients and staff who r defended by a large police presence. Thanks to Met Police for being there but this should not be happening."

Activist Heidi Bachram added: "There are antizionists outside an Israeli restaurant in London right now screeching that they 'stand with the resistance'. They want to destroy Israel 'by any means necessary'. This is NOT legitimate protest. It's violent threats.

"...Now the whole thing needs to STOP."


40-year-old man arrested for allegedly throwing rock that fractured skull of 8-year-old NJ Jewish girl
The New Jersey State Police said late on Friday night that Hernando Garciamorales, 40, of Palisades Park, N.J., was arrested and accused of throwing a rock on Jan. 7 that broke a window on a Jewish day school bus and struck an 8-year-old girl, fracturing her skull.

Yeshivat Noam, a Modern Orthodox school in Paramus, told JNS previously that the “there were no visible markings on the bus identifying it as a Jewish school bus.” The school principal wrote to parents on Thursday saying that the third-grader “is alert and stable, but she will require surgery to ensure the injury heals properly.”

State police told JNS that the incident took place on the northbound lane of the New Jersey Turnpike prior to exit 70 A/B. On Friday, the police said that officers found the suspect “at a self-made campsite within Old Croaker County Park in Bergen County.”

“The investigation also linked Garciamorales to multiple rock-throwing incidents in Bogota Borough, Bergen County,” it said.

The state police said that the suspect is charged with “aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, endangering the welfare of a child, criminal mischief, resisting arrest by flight and hindering.”

The suspect is at Bergen County Jail awaiting a detention hearing, it said.


Jewish woman whose baby photo was chosen by Goebbels as Aryan exemplar dies at 91
Hessy Levinsons Taft, the Jewish woman whose photo as an infant was publicized throughout Nazi Germany for being an exemplar of an Aryan baby, died at her home in San Francisco last week, The New York Times reported. She was 91.

In 1934, when Taft was 6 months old, her parents — Latvian Jewish opera singers living in Berlin — had her portrait taken by photographer Hans Ballin.

Ballin submitted her photo to a Nazi contest seeking the perfect Aryan baby. It was selected by Joseph Goebbels, the notorious Nazi chief of propaganda, and appeared on the cover of Sonne ins Haus, a pro-Nazi publication.

The image would spread widely across Germany in magazines, advertisements, postcards, and homes.

When confronted with the matter by Taft’s parents, Ballin said he knew she was Jewish but submitted her photo anyway as a prank, exposing the absurdity of Nazi theories on race, according to her obituary in The Times.

Taft told Reuters in 2014 that she thanked the photographer for having the courage to challenge his government despite not being Jewish. “It was an irony that needed to be exposed.”

Her parents were horrified by the ordeal, fearing execution if her true identity were discovered. Consequently, they kept her indoors and rarely took her out for walks, determined to keep the truth of the photograph a secret.

Taft revealed the story publicly in 1987 in the book “Muted Voices: Jewish Survivors of Latvia Remember” by Gertrude Schneider. The episode became a source of pride for her, and she described it as a form of “good revenge.”

She told Tablet magazine in 2022: “I can laugh about it now, but if the Nazis had known who I really was, I wouldn’t be alive.”




Buy EoZ's books  on Amazon!

"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024)

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

    
 

 



AddToAny

Printfriendly

EoZTV Podcast

Podcast URL

Subscribe in podnovaSubscribe with FeedlyAdd to netvibes
addtomyyahoo4Subscribe with SubToMe

search eoz

comments

Speaking

Speaking

translate

E-Book

For $18 donation








Sample Text

EoZ's Most Popular Posts in recent years

Search2

Hasbys!

Hasbys!

2019 Nobel Peace Prize nominee

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.

Donate!

Donate to fight for Israel!

Monthly subscription:
Payment options


One time donation:

Follow EoZ on Twitter!

Interesting Blogs

Show All

Blog Archive

Copyright © Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News | Powered by Blogger
Blogger Templates