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Sunday, January 18, 2026

01/18 Links: Why Netanyahu Asked Trump to Wait on Attacking Iran; US considering asylum for British Jews; Iran doctors put death toll in suppressed uprising at over 16,500; Syria’s Next Phase Offers Little Hope for Kurds

From Ian:

Why Netanyahu Asked Trump to Wait on Attacking Iran
Israel has reportedly urged President Trump to postpone any immediate military action against Iran. Israeli decision-making is not rooted in diplomatic hesitation or lack of defense systems but in a sober intelligence assessment.

Israel's intelligence establishment has concluded that the current moment is strategically unfavorable for a strike and that such an action would be unlikely to achieve the collapse of the Iranian regime.

Regime change in Iran is not determined by popular dissatisfaction alone, but by the continued loyalty of the state's coercive institutions - most notably the regular army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The regime has demonstrated a willingness to use unprecedented and brutal force to suppress dissent. Israeli intelligence analysts assess that as long as the Iranian military and the IRGC remain cohesive and willing to shoot protesters, the likelihood of regime collapse remains low.

History has shown repeatedly that authoritarian governments fall not when protests erupt, but when security forces fracture, refuse orders, or shift allegiance. At present, there is no credible indication that such a split is imminent within Iran's power structure.

In short, Israeli intelligence concludes that the Iranian regime will not collapse as long as the army and the IRGC remain willing and able to fire on their own population. Until that reality changes, restraint is viewed not as weakness, but as strategic prudence.
Amb. Alan Baker: Are Israelis Not Entitled to Human Rights?
On a daily basis, we are witnessing a mass-phenomenon of deliberately one-sided accusations being leveled solely against Israel, alleging human rights violations against Palestinians. Slanted social media platforms, once-reputable international media outlets, politically-biased UN bodies and human rights committees, and clearly ignorant show-biz celebrities all unthinkingly accuse Israel of genocide, apartheid, cruelty and disproportionate military actions.

Curiously, all these "paragons of international virtue" appear to be selectively blind as to the human rights of everyone else in the world. They flagrantly ignore the fact that Israel and its citizens are no less deserving of human rights. They ignore the fact that the public in Israel suffer from ongoing and daily acts of terror by Palestinian terror groups and Islamist fanatics. They have deliberately chosen to forget, or deny, the tragic massacre, rape, butchery, burning, and torture of many hundreds of Israelis and foreign citizens on Oct. 7, 2023.

All this is being orchestrated through a meticulous, well-oiled and well-financed system of brainwashing, emanating from the coffers of the likes of Qatar, Iran, and Turkey. Sadly, this is all being willingly and enthusiastically absorbed and cheered-on by an international choir in Europe and other Western countries, all too willing to absorb and propagate such propaganda and brain-washing and to direct it solely against Israel.

It is high time that the states and organizations within the international community, as well as international media outlets and the manipulated social media platforms, become aware of the absurdity and acute lack of any logical proportion in their anti-Israel fixation.
US considering asylum for British Jews
The Trump administration is discussing the possibility of offering asylum to Britain’s Jews, The Telegraph can reveal.

Robert Garson, Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, said he had been in talks with the State Department about providing sanctuary for Jews fleeing anti-Semitism in the UK.

Mr Garson, who was born in Manchester, told The Telegraph that the UK was “no longer a safe place for Jews”.

He said the Islamist attack on a Manchester synagogue and the widespread anti-Semitism evident in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attack on Israel had led him to conclude British Jews should be offered refuge in the US.

In an interview with The Telegraph, Mr Garson said he could see “no future” for Jews in the UK and laid much of the blame on Sir Keir Starmer for allowing anti-Semitism to flourish.

Mr Garson said he had raised the idea of offering the US as a safe haven to British Jews with Mr Trump’s anti-Semitism tsar in his capacity as a board member of the US Holocaust Memorial Council. Mr Trump appointed Mr Garson to the council last May after firing board members appointed by Joe Biden.


How the West became a hostile environment for Jews
I now feel what earlier generations of Jews felt – a sense of belonging to a marginalised and constantly imperiled people. During Hanukkah, I went to as many public lightings as possible, my small act of defiance. But many others stayed away, particularly after the Bondi Beach attack in Australia.

Looking at American Jews today, one observer notes, is ‘akin to watching a shriveled brown leaf fluttering aimlessly in the wind in the midst of a cold and bitter winter’. Anti-Semitic incidents in the United States have risen nearly ninefold over the past decade. In Canada, Australia and especially Europe, casual anti-Semitism now appears everywhere – from leading newspapers to graffiti in coffee-shop toilets to college campuses.

Anti-Semitism’s resurgence has many roots. Some clearly stem from Soviet-style indoctrination of young people – particularly on college campuses – against Zionism, a trend that easily bleeds into anti-Semitism. This is amplified not only by the Qatar-funded broadcaster, Al Jazeera, but also by once-respected institutions like the BBC.

This new anti-Semitic wave differs from that of the Nazi era. Jews are no longer marginalised and politically weak, living in impoverished shtetls in places like Poland. Instead, today’s flashpoints of anti-Semitism are often centres of Jewish success, at levels not seen since the golden age of Spanish Jewry during the Middle Ages.

After the Holocaust, most Jews, as historian Paul Johnson observed, ‘accepted oppression and second-class status’ outside the ghetto in exchange for being left alone. In the decades that followed, however, the formerly marginalised entered what Yuri Slezkine famously called the Jewish Century. Jews became disproportionately represented among Nobel Prize winners, and in the arts, media, Hollywood and leadership circles. After centuries of restraint, there emerged a sense of confidence, even chutzpah, among diaspora Jews, which draws also from Israel’s remarkable, albeit controversial, technological and military triumphs.

Today, this very success has helped fuel the rise of anti-Semitism. The pattern is not new. As historian Ivan Marcus has shown, early medieval anti-Semitism was often sparked by resentment toward Jews as ‘assertive agents’ – a community that combined economic power with an unshakable belief in being God’s chosen people. Spain’s Jews, after all, were not expelled because they were poor or burdensome, but in part because they were skilled in medicine and the trades, and wielded influence even at court.

Similarly, after the 7 October 2023 pogrom had reignited the anti-Semitic spark, attacks on the so-called Jewish lobby quickly focused on Jews’ supposed power and ample financial resources. When Jewish donors fund campaigns against members of the ‘Squad’, a left-wing faction of the Democratic Caucus in the House of Representatives, they are excoriated by the likes of Ilhan Omar for wielding the power of ‘Benjamins’ – $50 bills – to get their way.
David Collier: BBC Verify does Groundhog Day
On 23 October 2025, three BBC Verify journalists, Benedict Garman, Emma Pengelly and Matt Murphy, published a report on IDF movements in Gaza. The article claimed that in two areas, Israel was marking its withdrawal line deeper inside Gaza than originally declared. The areas involved appear to be near Jabalia in the north and Khan Younis in the south, two locations where terrorists continually approach the line and shoot at Israeli soldiers. Moving the concrete block markers would therefore increase the distance between Israeli positions and those attempting to breach the line and attack them.

Such markers would also be positioned according to IDF intelligence regarding tunnels, known Hamas positions, damaged buildings that need to be destroyed, and numerous other considerations that the IDF is under no obligation to disclose to BBC Verify.

Because the team at BBC Verify has no understanding of the military situation on the ground, it was not even a story worth writing. It reads like part of the BBC’s habitual effort to place a biased microscope on Israel, treat it differently to any other nation, and publish decontextualised misinformation as a means of demonising the Jewish state.

Then, on 16 January 2026, the same three journalists published the same story again.

Put the two pieces side by side and the reality is unavoidable: this is not a new investigation. It is the same narrative repackaged and pushed back out as fresh “verification”:

BBC Verify Groundhog Day
This is where it stops being merely bad and becomes embarrassing.

Look at the opening paragraphs. They are not simply similar in tone. They follow the same sequence and recycle the same framing almost line by line. The red arrows highlight the repeated structure, played out again almost word for word.

This is reporting you expect from an activist blog, not the flagship of BBC News:
To my fellow British Muslims: listen to the survivors of the Hamas October 7 attacks
The impact of October 7 is felt everywhere in Israel. The country has fundamentally changed—more vigilant, more resolute, and more willing to act decisively against perceived threats. This collective shift is not born of ideology, but of shock and a deep desire that Israel will never again be caught out militarily.

During my travels, I also met Eliza and Shlomo Shlouss, who run a small bed-and-breakfast in Khoshen, a village in the Galilee near Ma’alot-Tarshiha. The landscape around them includes Muslim, Christian Arab, and Druze villages—communities living in close proximity. Eliza and Shlomo chose to stay when Hezbollah rockets were repeatedly fired overhead from Lebanon.

Eliza spoke quietly about living in fear, keeping the shutters of their business closed, and repeatedly sheltering with her husband in their bomb shelter. The Israeli military later discovered tunnels from Lebanon into nearby areas, stocked with weapons and motorcycles—clear evidence of intent to infiltrate Israeli villages. Shlomo even constructed a makeshift wooden barricade at home, fearing a repeat of what Hamas had done in the south.

What struck me most, however, was how interconnected the trauma is. Eliza told me about a close friend’s daughter who survived the Nova attack by hiding under dead bodies for seven hours. That survivor’s friend was Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was taken hostage. While sheltering in a bomb shelter, he threw back grenades that Hamas fighters had thrown inside. One exploded, costing him an arm. He was later killed in Hamas captivity in Gaza—another life extinguished by brutality.

These are not abstract stories. They are human stories of fear, courage, grief, resilience and survival. They are stories that British Muslims should hear—and make the effort to hear. Some may turn away, pointing to the immense civilian suffering in Gaza, which is also devastating and deeply painful. Holding empathy for Israelis does not negate compassion for Palestinians. Our moral capacity is not so limited.

What makes us human is our ability to witness pain without hierarchy—to care about suffering wherever it occurs. Listening to Israeli victims of October 7, acknowledging their trauma, and allowing ourselves to feel their pain is not betrayal. It is moral integrity.

If this message reaches even one British Muslim and invites reflection, then it has served a purpose. Being Muslim means many things. To me, it means standing with those who have been wronged, regardless of who they are. On October 7, Israelis—Jews, Muslims, and Christians—were attacked by the barbarity of Hamas. To bear witness to that truth is not political. It is human.
Hamas terror cell in Europe and with links to the UK that ‘raised £6million for terror group’s Oct 7 massacre’ pictured
A SUSPECTED Hamas terror cell operating across Europe is pictured for the first time since being accused of funding the October 7 massacre.

The nine men were seized by police in Italy shortly before New Year for allegedly raising £6million for Hamas over a two-year period.

The group will return to court in Genoa tomorrow (mon) in a bid to have the case against them thrown out.

But extraordinary new pictures obtained by The Sun show them proudly standing alongside the monsters behind Israel’s 9/11.

Disturbing court documents also allege the group’s vast network extended beyond Italy to the UK – with two British-based men identified as high-ranking Hamas operatives.

Links to the Netherlands, Austria, France and Germany were also found.

The court papers accuse the cell of ensuring the “continuous concrete support” of Hamas by “contributing to the preservation, strengthening and realization of its criminal program”.

They add: “Initially, Hamas operated abroad through press offices and charities.

“Where the movement had been included in the list of terrorist organizations, as in Europe, it operated to provide financial, but also political and public support and to legitimize the organization’s work, through humanitarian associations or charities.

“The financial network is made up of charities, which operate in different countries, and branches of the funds of the Muslim Brotherhood association.”

In one of the images of the nine, Riyad Albustanji, 60, stands alongside masked Hamas fighters wearing military fatigues, a symbolic green Hamas scarf and holding an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade).
Seth Frantzman: Making Sense of Trump's Board of Peace Appointments
The White House has listed appointments to the Board of Peace (BoP) on Friday as the Gaza peace deal is set to progress to its next phase.

This international transitional body for Gaza is not the only entity involved in the new phase of the plan. The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) has also been announced. This is the Palestinian technocratic committee, which will play a key role in governing Gaza.

In addition to BoP, other entities and advisers will be involved in executing US President Donald Trump’s vision for Gaza. BoP’s executive board is one of these key parts. There is also the Office of the High Representative for Gaza and a Gaza executive board, as well as senior advisors joining BoP. The parties and their duties

First, there is BoP. Trump mentioned this board as far back as September 2025, when the peace deal was coming into view. Following the deal’s commencement on October 13, the UN also adopted a resolution endorsing the US-backed Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict. This is Trump’s 20-point road map for lasting peace, stability, reconstruction, and prosperity in the region.

Trump chairs BoP, while Nickolay Mladenov was chosen as a kind of director-general.

“Mladenov, an executive board member, will serve as the high representative for Gaza. In this capacity, he will act as the on-the-ground link between the Board of Peace and the NCAG. He will support the board’s oversight of all aspects of Gaza’s governance, reconstruction, and development, while ensuring coordination across civilian and security pillars,” the White House said.

Mladenov is a Bulgarian diplomat who was previously a UN envoy to the Middle East.

In addition to Mladenov, whose name was mentioned several days ago, the following men have been chosen for BoP: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio; US envoy Steve Witkoff; Jared Kushner, who played a key role in the Abraham Accords; former UK prime minister Tony Blair, whose name had been floated previously as a key official for post-war Gaza; American businessman Marc Rowan; president of the World Bank Ajay Banga; and Deputy US National Security Advisor Robert Gabriel.

CBC in Canada also said that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney “has been asked by Trump to join the Board of Peace that will supervise the temporary governance of the Gaza Strip.”

According to reports, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi have also been invited to join BoP. If they join, the peace panel would have more international members. At the moment, BoP is predominantly American.
Trump’s new Gaza Board is a fact; Israel’s job now is to shape the decisions
What is critical here from Israel’s perspective, and a red line, is that there be no Turkish troops in this force. It’s one thing to have a Turkish official on the Gaza Executive Board, one of at least 11, whose voice can be neutralized. It’s another thing to have Turkish security forces looking down gun barrels at IDF soldiers. The former is a challenge that can be finessed; the latter is a catastrophe waiting to happen.

This new architecture is something Jerusalem will have to learn to navigate, recognizing that it is unlikely to change the overall structure. For example, Israel is not going to succeed in expelling Turkey or Qatar from these forums; that fight has already been lost. The more realistic goal is to limit how much influence they are able to exert.

This means avoiding the temptation to turn this into a political or moral debate inside the various boards. In large institutions – universities, corporations, international bodies – arguments are rarely settled by persuasion, and more often by rules and procedures.

And it is here – defining the rules and setting the procedures – where Israel needs to make its voice heard. As Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel said in an Army Radio interview on Sunday, “In the final analysis, things need to be done with our agreement. Nothing can be fixed in place unilaterally.” In other words, Jerusalem is not without leverage.

From Israel’s perspective, the priority needs to be ensuring that security requirements – such as Hamas’ demilitarization – are not treated as aspirational goals but as operating conditions.

Demilitarization benchmarks need to be concrete, time-bound, and independently verified, with automatic consequences if they are missed. Reconstruction of Gaza needs to be tied to specific demilitarization milestones.

Regarding Qatar and Turkey, Israel may not be able to keep them out of these forums, but should insist – in addition to a red line regarding no Turkish troops – that those countries have no control over timelines, over enforcement of demilitarization, and over certifying when this has been accomplished.

Now that Trump has constructed and unveiled this system, Israel should shift the debate from “who is in” to “who decides.” And instead of arguing that Turkey and Qatar should not be there, it should work in close cooperation with the Americans to ensure that while they may participate in certain parts of Phase Two, they are not making the decisions, setting the terms, or enforcing them.
Gaza Palestinian technocratic committee says it will pursue ‘peace, democracy, justice’
In a mission statement published by its top official, a new committee of Palestinian technocrats that will be tasked with running daily affairs in Gaza said Saturday it is committed to peace, economic development and seeking Palestinian self-determination.

The 12-member National Committee for the Administration of Gaza is headed by former Palestinian Authority deputy planning minister Ali Shaath and will be tasked with running daily affairs on the ground and providing services for Gazans in place of the Hamas terror group.

It held its first meeting in Cairo on Thursday.

Shaath posted on X that he adopted and signed the committee’s mission statement, which says the panel is “dedicated to transforming the transitional period in Gaza into a foundation for lasting Palestinian prosperity.”

The statement said the committee’s “mission is to rebuild the Gaza Strip not just in infrastructure but also in spirit.”

It continued, “We are committed to establishing security, restoring the essential services that form the bedrock of human dignity such as electricity, water, healthcare, and education, as well as cultivating a society rooted in peace, democracy, and justice. Operating with the highest standards of integrity and transparency, the NCAG will forge a productive economy capable of replacing unemployment with opportunity for all.”

“We embrace peace, through which we strive to secure the path to true Palestinian rights and self determination,” it concluded.

Shaath, an engineer by trade, has proposed pushing the vast amounts of Gaza rubble into the adjacent Mediterranean Sea to expand the Strip’s territory in order to ameliorate a dire housing crisis for a population that has been overwhelmingly displaced by the war.


IDF deploys soldiers, tank, attack helicopter to remove threat from Israel-Lebanon border
The IDF deployed soldiers following the identification of a suspect who approached the border fence between southwestern Lebanon and Israel, the military said in a Sunday evening statement.

Once identified, the IDF "maintained continuous surveillance of the suspect," the statement noted, before calling in a tank and attack helicopter to "remove the threat."

According to the military, activity in the area is currently ongoing, and it is in contact with the relevant authorities to provide updates on the situation as it develops. Multidimensional 'Refaim' unit finishes deployment in Lebanon

Separately, the IDF's special operation task force, the multidimensional Unit 888, under the command of the IDF's 91st Division, has completed its operation in southern Lebanon, where it has prevented the reestablishment of Hezbollah in the region over the past two months, the military stated earlier in the day.

During its operations, the unit gathered intelligence, located, and destroyed Hezbollah's terror infrastructure, and killed the terror organization's operatives, the IDF stated.


IDF reveals details of recovery of fallen soldier Oron Shaul
The Israel Defense Forces and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) carried out Operation “Red South,” in Gaza about a year ago, the IDF revealed on Sunday. The covert operation recovered the body of fallen hostage, Staff. Sgt. Oron Shaul, and returned it to Israel.

Shaul fell in combat in Shejaiya on July 20, 2014, during Operation Protective Edge, and was then abducted by the Hamas terrorist organization.

During interrogations of detainees, initial information was received regarding a civilian property in which the fallen hostage had been held over the years.

Based on additional intelligence, a decision was made to carry out an operation at the site and a key individual residing at that property was apprehended.

During his interrogation by the ISA, precise information was obtained regarding Shaul’s location. The operation to recover his body was carried out by troops of the elite Sayeret Matkal unit.

On Aug. 1, 2014, during Operation Protective Edge, Lt. Hadar Goldin was killed near Rafah and his body was taken by Hamas. On Nov. 9, 2025, his body was returned by Hamas as part of the Gaza peace plan.

In addition to recovering the fallen from previous operations, the IDF has been doling out justice for previous attacks.

On Jan. 17, the IDF killed a Hamas terrorist in Gaza responsible for the murder of an Israeli civilian at the Nahal Oz checkpoint in 1995.

Muhammad Hamed Muhammad al-Hawli was a key figure in the terrorist organization for decades, the IDF said.

Al-Hawli directed the terrorists who carried out an attack on Feb. 6, 1995, in which Ashkelon resident and security guard Yevgeny Gromov was murdered.


Support for Albanese plummets after muddled response to Bondi attack
Anthony Albanese’s personal standing with voters has taken a sharp hit following weeks of political brawling and mixed messaging since the terror attack on a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach, and dragged the federal government’s support to its weakest point in a year.

The Resolve Political Monitor poll, conducted for this masthead, found Labor’s primary vote had slumped 5 percentage points in a month to 30 per cent, its lowest level since February last year, before the party clawed its way back to win government in May.

The Coalition, up 2 percentage points to 28 per cent, failed to capitalise directly on Labor’s slide, but a continued surge in support for One Nation (18 per cent) narrowed the two-party-preferred contest to 52-48 Labor’s way, from 55-45 in December. Anthony Albanese’s status as preferred prime minister and his likeability have been affected in the past month.Alex Ellinghausen

Most stark was the verdict on the prime minister himself, with Albanese’s net performance rating having fallen to minus 22 from plus 6 on December 7, while his net likeability dropped to minus 15 from plus 9.
The Adelaide Writers’ Festival: killed by hypocrisy and intolerance
It would have been better had Adler left it there. Instead, she went on to represent Abdel-Fattah’s cancellation as symptomatic of a widespread cultural animus to pro-Palestinian views. This was evidence, supposedly, that cultural and political life is being suffocated by the Israel lobby.

‘Are you or have you ever been a critic of Israel?’, Adler wrote in the Guardian this week. ‘Friends and colleagues in the arts, beware of the future. They are coming for you.’ She compared Abdel-Fattah’s disinvitation to McCarthyism and ‘Putin’s Russia’. It was a campaign that had been ‘abetted’ by the ‘Murdoch press’, Adler claimed. Ultimately, the Adelaide festival, she said, was the ‘canary in the coalmine’ for a looming purge of pro-Palestinian voices from the arts.

To which only one response seems appropriate: give me strength. The response to Abdel-Fattah’s disinvitation is itself proof that any threat to Adler’s ‘friends and colleagues in the arts’ on the grounds of their ‘criticism of Israel’ is mythical. Indeed, as soon as reports of Abdel-Fattah’s removal from the festival became known, a campaign to undermine it began. For instance, Britpop band Pulp, who were due to perform on the opening night of the festival, soon found their social-media accounts littered with comments demanding they ‘boycott’ the event and show ‘solidarity with Randa’. And then there’s the small fact that every recognisable name at the festival has since quit. Proof, if it were ever needed, that the alleged influence of the Israel lobby in the arts is imaginary.

The literati’s sudden reverence for free speech is also curious. Under Adler’s watch, the Adelaide festival has cancelled multiple writers. In 2024, New York Times columnist and Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas Friedman was disinvited after a number of academics – including, ironically, Abdel-Fattah – demanded his cancellation. Friedman is Jewish, and had used his editorials at the New York Times to make the case for Israel’s defence. A former board member of the writers’ festival, Tony Berg, said Adler’s voice was critical in removing Friedman from that year’s programme.

At which point, an obvious question arises: where do Australia’s cultural elites stand on the free-speech rights of Jewish artists? The example of Australian singer Deborah Conway immediately comes to mind. For the sin of supporting Israel’s existence, and doubtlessly also because she is Jewish, Conway has been effectively blacklisted from performing in Australia. In 2024, more than 500 writers – again, Abdel-Fattah among them – demanded Writing Western Australia remove Conway from its Literature and Ideas festival. Yet there was no outcry over Conway’s treatment, no one mounting a principled defence of her right to free speech. The same argument could be made for the countless gender-critical authors who have been blacklisted by the arts cognoscenti in recent years.

The collapse of the Adelaide Writers’ Festival is not just a literary bunfight on a larger scale than usual. It is a symptom of a diseased industry. For years, these ‘festivals of ideas’ have been a welter of intolerance. Many of the most significant social and political issues – from Black Lives Matter to trans and the Israel-Palestine conflict – have been sealed off from debate by the very writers and curators now positioning themselves as brave defenders of free speech. The hypocrisy is visible to everyone.


Jonathan Sacerdoti: Jews are fine. Don't exaggerate.
“It’s just one incident.”
Until it isn’t.

Every time something happens to Jews, we’re told not to exaggerate.
Just one attack.
Just one protest.
Just one cancellation.
Just one joke.
Just one threat.

If Jews no longer feel safe in the West, what does that say about the societies we live in?


Jonathan Sacerdoti: West Midlands Police ignored a number of crimes against Jews in Birmingham



British Police Lied to Ban Israeli Fans. The BBC Is Helping Cover It
This is not just a policing failure. It is a BBC failure.

Like the police, the BBC is treating appeasement as prudence. It shows little curiosity about the threats Israeli supporters faced, and none about why those threats were concealed.

That failure matters because the BBC is funded by British taxpayers.

Licence-fee payers deserve to know how a police force chose exclusion over protection and deception over transparency, and how a public broadcaster chose to smooth that failure rather than expose it.

This story is not about “conspiracy.”

It is about institutional cowardice that culminated in a blatantly antisemitic act – and a public broadcaster that should have uncovered it, but instead helped normalize it.


Schools are falling silent on Holocaust Memorial Day – that should shame us all
This year, Holocaust Memorial Day will pass quietly in hundreds of British schools. Not because the Holocaust is no longer relevant, and not because it is no longer important, but because too many educators now fear the reaction it might provoke, from parents in their communities and even from colleagues in their own staff rooms.

According to new figures released by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, the number of schools marking Holocaust Memorial Day has more than halved since 7 October.

That fact alone should trouble us deeply. It is a stain on this country.

Holocaust Memorial Day exists to remember the six million Jewish men, women and children who were systematically murdered for no reason other than that they were born Jewish. It is not a political gesture. It is not a commentary on today’s conflicts. It is an act of human memory, and a moral one at that. When we begin to treat remembrance as something that must be justified, balanced or quietly avoided, we reveal how fragile our commitment to it has become.

My great-grandmother, Lily Ebert, survived Auschwitz. For decades of her life, she devoted herself to speaking to people all over the world about what she had witnessed and endured in what she called “hell on earth.” She answered their questions, listened to their fears, and tried to explain, with remarkable strength and gentleness, how ordinary societies slide into extraordinary evil. When she said “never forget,” she did not mean “unless it becomes uncomfortable.”

The Holocaust did not begin with gas chambers and death camps. It began with words. With lies. With the spread of conspiracy theories. With the slow normalisation of hatred. With the othering of Jewish people. With people deciding that certain lives mattered less than others. And, crucially, with silence, with decent people looking away because it felt easier than speaking up.

This is precisely why Holocaust education matters. It teaches young people where prejudice leads when left unchallenged, how democracies corrode from within, and what happens when lies become louder than truth. My great-grandmother always believed that education was the solution, that knowledge could be a shield against hatred.

But what happens when education itself becomes the problem?


UKLFI: UKLFI raises safeguarding and equality concerns over political symbols worn at Scout meetings
UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) has written to a North London Scout group after being informed that an adult leader at a Beavers meeting for children aged six to eight wore a keffiyeh, a garment with widely recognised political significance connected to the Palestinian cause.

UKLFI was told that the incident took place at a Beavers meeting on 15 January 2026 and that the wearing of the keffiyeh caused distress to Jewish members of the group. Parents reported that the symbol was perceived as hostile to Israel and therefore upsetting in what should be a neutral, inclusive and safe environment for young children.

In its letter, UKLFI explained that the conduct may amount to harassment under the Equality Act 2010, which prohibits service providers and associations from creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading or offensive environment related to protected characteristics such as race, religion or belief. UKLFI notes that Jewish, Israeli or Zionist children may reasonably feel targeted or marginalised by the display of overt political symbols at youth activities .

UKLFI also raised concerns under the Scouts’ own Policy, Organisation and Rules, including the organisation’s commitment to respect, opposition to discrimination, safeguarding obligations and the principle that the Scout Movement is not affiliated with any political body. The letter warns that leaders are role models and that displaying political symbols risks influencing children or giving the impression that Scouting endorses a particular political cause.

The organisation has asked the Scout Group to ensure that political clothing or symbols are not worn at meetings and to clarify dress codes so that Scouts remain a welcoming space for children of all backgrounds .

This is not an isolated issue. In October 2025, UKLFI wrote to the Chief Executive of The Scouts regarding a troop leader in Bristol who repeatedly wore a “Free Palestine” wristband to meetings and camps, despite complaints that it made a Jewish child feel alienated after experiencing antisemitism at school . In that case, UKLFI similarly highlighted potential breaches of equality law and Scout Association rules.


Syria’s Next Phase Offers Little Hope for Kurds
The moment of truth for the Kurds in Syria arrived in a dramatic fashion: There will be no autonomy in the way that many Kurds had envisioned for themselves after exercising de facto self-rule for more than a decade. In the span of just two weeks, Kurdish-led forces have lost more than two-thirds of the territory they controlled in northeast Syria.

Shortly after taking over the two predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo earlier in January, Syrian government forces and affiliated militias launched another large-scale offensive against the Syrian Democratic Forces across the eastern part of Aleppo province, as well as Raqqa and Deir Ezzor. With few exceptions, most cities and towns fell rapidly as Kurdish-led forces withdrew. Most of these areas had been under the Syrian Democratic Forces’ control for nearly a decade, following their liberation from the Islamic State with the support of the U.S.-led global coalition.

The offensive culminated on January 18, 2026, with the announcement of a new agreement between the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces, replacing their March 10, 2025, agreement. The new deal strips the Kurdish forces of most of its authority. With a complete Syrian government takeover, the Syrian Democratic Forces no longer will have a presence in Raqqa and Deir Ezzor. In the Kurdish-majority Hasaka province, all civilian institutions will be integrated into the state structure, and fighters with the Syrian Democratic Forces will be integrated into Syria’s defense and interior ministries as individuals, rather than an intact force. A similar arrangement will be made for the city of Kobani, which is part of Aleppo province.

All in all, the fourteen-point agreement represents a major setback for Syrian Kurds and their political aspirations.

What lies ahead for the Kurds is a constrained—and likely largely nominal—form of administrative autonomy in Hasaka province and Kobani. The other Kurdish region, Afrin in northwest Syria, will remain under direct Syrian government rule.

For years, the Syrian Democratic Forces and its civilian institutions attempted to build an multi-ethnic, multi-religious political entity in areas under their control. That project effectively collapsed on January 18. The rapid and widespread defections of Arab tribes and prominent Arab figures from the Syrian Democratic Forces and its Autonomous Administration underscores the failure of Kurdish efforts to redefine social and political relations with Arab communities. The reality is that most Arabs did not accept Kurdish-led governance in their areas, even though the Syrian Democratic Forces’ model bore no resemblance to the authoritarian nationalist Arab regimes that historically oppressed the Kurds across the region.

Syrian Kurds are deeply disappointed by the turn of events. A prevailing sentiment among them is one of abandonment by friends and allies. Over the last decade, they viewed themselves as close partners of the United States—not only in the fight against the Islamic State, in which the Kurds lost more than 12,000 fighters, but also because they are genuinely pro-American and pro-Western. But it has become clear to them that the United States and the West have sided with the Syrian state, even though it is led by a former jihadist.

The Kurds are the last hope for a democratic Syria. However, with their military and political institutions now in disarray, they are unlikely to serve as an effective force in steering Syria toward a pluralistic system in which all ethnicities, religions, and sects enjoy equal rights and representation.

Syria today is governed by not only former jihadists, but also significant elements within its military and administrative structures that adhere to extremist ideologies. It is a mix of radical currents ranging from the Muslim Brotherhood to Salafism. Massacres against the Druze and Alawi communities, and most recently the Kurds in Aleppo, demonstrate that the country is unlikely to move toward stability anytime soon.


Seth Frantzman: Syria's power struggle: Who controls what, and why fighting continues
Eastern Syria’s civilian affairs are run by the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), which is basically a civilian arm of the SDF, and it is heavily Kurdish and run by groups such as the PYD, who are left-leaning and linked to the YPG. As such, it is primarily a one-party state, although there has been talk of opening up its political system to other groups such as the Kurdish KNC or ENKS.

The new Syrian government is often called the STG or Syrian Transitional Government. Its origins lie in the offensive by the Ahmed Sharaa Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group in late November 2024. HTS was formed in 2017. It has its origins in a Syrian group called Nusra Front that once had ties to al-Qaeda. Sharaa had been imprisoned in Iraq for many years, having gone there to back the Iraqi insurgency against the US.

HE WAS RELEASED when the Syrian rebellion broke out, and he returned to Syria. Sharaa rebranded his group as HTS, and after 2017, he also did outreach to the US and Turkey. He wanted Western support, but he didn’t want to become a Turkish proxy.

HTS ran Idlib province in northwest Syria. Turkey, meanwhile, had turned various other Syrian rebel groups into proxies under the banner of the Syrian National Army. Turkey used these groups to fight the SDF, and most of them became involved in criminality. HTS, in contrast, was trained and prepared for war with the Assad regime. When Israel weakened Hezbollah in November 2024, HTS saw an opportunity and attacked Aleppo. Days later, it took Damascus on December 8, 2024.

After taking Damascus, HTS chose to rebrand itself again and help form a new transitional government. Many top jobs, such as the ministries of defense, interior, and intelligence, went to HTS members, while some portfolios went to independent politicians. Sharaa and his officers set about recreating a Syrian army, building new divisions and incorporating some of the other rebel units into them. The new Syrian forces clash with Alawites in Lattakia and Druze in Sweida, and also Kurds in Aleppo. As such, many groups feel the government has not done a good job working with minorities.

As of today, the SDF continues to control a swath of eastern Syria, and the STG controls Damascus, Homs, Hama, and Aleppo, the major cities of central and western Syria. They also control tribal areas and Deir Ezzor. They have widespread support among Sunni Arabs and other Sunnis, such as Turkmen. They also have close ties to Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Sharaa has met US President Donald Trump several times.

Turkey continues to control a small part of northern Syria. In addition, the Druze control Suwayda, running a kind of small autonomous region in southern Syria. Druze leadership is concentrated in the hands of Hikmat al-Hijri, a Druze leader in Syria’s southern Suwayda province. It does not appear that any other Druze factions are allowed a role. Israel also controls a small area in Syria near the Golan border.

This is the basic breakdown of who controls Syria today. The major change taking place is that many Arab tribes along the Euphrates River valley east of the river appear to be trying to join the Syrian government and help it take areas near Raqqa, Shaddadi, and Hasakah.

These are areas with many Arabs, although there are also some areas with Christians and Kurds. The Middle Euphrates River Valley has been a volatile area in Syria near the Iraqi border for years, where insurgents and ISIS, as well as Iranian-backed militias, had a role in the past. Therefore, the current uncertainty could affect the wider region.


'All options on the table': US boosts presence in Middle East as Iran strike remains possibility
The United States Armed Forces continue to reinforce their military presence in the Middle East amid the possibility that US President Donald Trump may order an attack against Iran.

Aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its strike teams have reached the Strait of Malacca, located between Malaysia and Indonesia. They are expected to enter the US Central Command’s (CENTCOM) area of responsibility in five to seven days. Accompanying the carrier are two destroyers: the USS Spruance and the USS Michael Murphy.

According to reports, an additional 12 F-15 fighter jets have arrived in Jordan over the past 24 hours.

More fighter aircraft are believed to be heading to the region, set to arrive in the near future, while cargo planes have landed at the US military base in Diego Garcia.

US officials told The Jerusalem Post that “all options are now on the table.” The officials added that the goal is to build a significant force in the Middle East that would provide Trump with a broad range of options should he decide to strike Iran.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also convened several ministers in the senior defense echelon on Sunday to discuss recent developments in the region. Israeli officials believe that a “US strike on Iran is still an option.”

Trump had reportedly been persuaded on Wednesday to cancel an attack on Iran, partially due to the US’s limited operational ability in the region, as many American assets had been redeployed to the Caribbean and East Asia after the 12-day war in June.

Several Arab states had also reportedly informed the US that they would not allow American aircraft to take off from their territory in order to strike Iran.
‘New level of brutality’: Iran doctors put death toll in suppressed uprising at over 16,500
The death toll in the suppressed demonstrations in Iran is more than 16,500, according to a British Sunday report citing an account put together by a network of Iranian doctors that far exceeds previous estimates.

The doctors said that most of the dead were people under 30 and that at least 330,000 people were injured, with much of the killing coming over a two-day period, the Sunday Times reported. Among those killed were children and pregnant women.

Though the report did not specify the dates, according to previous accounts there was a spike in killings on Friday, January 9, the day after Iran’s regime cut off access to the internet, and it continued on Saturday.

The doctors’ figures were compiled from staff in eight major eye hospitals and 16 emergency departments across Iran. Doctors were able to communicate using banned Starlink internet terminals, tens of thousands of which have reportedly been smuggled into Iran.

Some patients in hospitals died because security forces refused to allow life-saving blood transfusions. In some medical centers, staff donated blood in an effort to save patients, the report said.

“This is a whole new level of brutality,” Prof. Amir Parasta, an Iranian-German eye surgeon who helped put together the network of doctors, told the newspaper. “This time they are using military-grade weapons and what we are seeing are gunshot and shrapnel wounds in the head, neck, and chest.”


Anti-regime activists hack Iran's national broadcaster, transmit Pahlavi's calls to protest
Anti-regime activists hacked Iran's Badr satellite on Sunday, allowing them to access state TV channels and broadcast exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi's calls for Iranians to protest against the Islamic Republic, anti-regime outlets reported.

The footage was also shared by Pahlavi's media department.

In the video, the broadcast appears to include messages in Farsi encouraging protesters to continue their activities, media footage of solidarity protests worldwide, and messages of support from international leaders.

The video then appears to show a statement from Pahlavi calling for further protests.

Iran International reported that Pahlavi's calls to protest included a call for Iran's military and security forces to side with protesters.

Broadcast at 9:30 p.m., lasting approximately 10 minutes of anti-gov't footage on Iranian state TV - KAN

The hacked broadcast was transmitted at approximately 9:30 p.m., Israel's public broadcaster KAN News reported.

The broadcast lasted approximately 10 minutes, KAN noted.


Iranian protesters attack Palestinian Authority ambassador's residence, injure ambassador
Hundreds of protesters attacked the Palestinian Authority ambassador's residence in Tehran, chanting slogans, throwing Molotov cocktails, and forcing entry into the residence, causing injuries to the ambassador and some embassy staff, Asr Iran reported on Sunday evening.

The incident occurred amid widespread protests on January 8, the outlet noted.

"The rioters, who numbered about 200, attacked the residence," it added.

The ambassador, Salam al-Zawawi, was suffocated during the incident and transferred to the hospital for medical treatment, the report stated.

In addition, the ambassador, her family, and members of the embassy staff sheltered in the residence's basement while waiting for the regime's security forces to rescue them, Asr Iran reported.

Police reportedly entered the residence, rescuing those sheltering and "confronting the attackers."

Further, "extensive damage" was reportedly caused to the residence due to the incident.


Iranian Australians slam left’s ‘silence’ on Tehran’s deadly protest crackdown
Some Iranian Australians have questioned why many left-leaning voices remain silent on Tehran's deadly crackdown on protesters, but vocal about Palestine.

Iran's theocratic regime has violently suppressed recent anti-government demonstrations, with rights groups estimating more than 2,000 people have been killed.

An internet and telecommunications blackout was imposed by Iranian authorities on January 8, as nationwide protests intensified, in a bid to hide the extent of the unrest.

There has been widespread condemnation of the crackdown from governments and civil rights groups, but some Iranian-Australians have expressed concern at the lack of community anger among some pro-Palestine groups.

The Iranian Australian Patriots Association (IAPA) spokesman, Maani Taghizadeh, and his wife, Minoo Toussi, questioned why progressive-left activists have remained silent on what they called the "real genocide".

"During the past two years, we have been seeing pro-Palestinian marches in the street and there have been lots of campaigns around the world. They are accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza," Ms Toussi told Sky News.

"The real genocide is happening now in Iran, because the brutal regime in Iran is killing the people in the dark, in the silence. But what happened? That's my question.

"Where are these people? Where are the lefties? Where are their universities? Why are all the people silent, not only in Australia, but also around the world?

"This is a real genocide happening, but I can't see anything. So it's very heartbreaking for me. It's very hard."

"A few months ago, we had a massive (pro-Palestine) protest on the iconic Harbour Bridge. More than 90,000 people were chanting on the bridge, on our bridge, which belongs to every Australian," Mr Taghizadeh added.


How the Dominican Republic Saved Jewish Lives During the Holocaust
When most countries turned away desperate refugees fleeing Nazi terror, one unlikely Caribbean island provided Jews with a safe refuge.

When the Nazis came to power, they sought to make their country judenrein – free of Jews. At first, their plans did not involve mass murder. They would have happily allowed the Jews to emigrate to any country in the world that was willing to take them in. Unfortunately, most Jews had nowhere to go.

In 1938, after the Anschluss – the German annexation of Austria – delegates from 32 countries met at the Evian Conference in France to discuss the issue of Jewish refugees. Each delegate expressed sympathy for the refugees and then gave excuses for why their country would be unable to take them in.

Out of these 32 countries, only one agreed to accept desperate Jewish refugees. That country was the Dominican Republic, located on an island in the Caribbean Sea.

The Evian Conference was initiated by U.S. President Roosevelt in response to criticism of the U.S. immigration quotas by American Jewish philanthropic organizations, which sounded the alarm at the distressing news coming out of Germany and Austria. When the Dominican Republic offered to accept up to 100,000 refugees, Roosevelt seized the opportunity to participate in addressing the refugee crisis without increasing U.S. quotas. The United States became heavily involved in the proposed resettlement of European Jews in the Dominican Republic.

American philanthropists also stepped in. In 1939, the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) founded the Dominican Republic Settlement Association (DORSA) to manage the project, providing initial investment and financial assistance to Jewish immigrants to the Dominican Republic. James Rosenberg, an American-born lawyer, was elected president, and Joseph Rosen, a Russian-born agronomist, was elected vice-president. Both Rosenberg and Rosen had previous experience with developing a Jewish agricultural settlement in Russia. They believed they could succeed in building an agricultural settlement in the Dominican Republic.

In 1940, DORSA and the Dominican Republic representatives signed a contract. The Dominican Republic committed to ensuring full civil rights and religious freedom for the Jewish refugees. DORSA, on its part, committed to funding the new settlement and ensuring that the refugees did not become a financial burden on the Dominican Republic.

The Dominican leader, General Rafael Leรณnidas Trujillo Molina, presented DORSA with a gift of about 26,000 acres of land on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic. This land became Sosua, the only town in the world settled by Jews fleeing the Holocaust.
From hiding their Jewish identity in Argentina to standing proud in Israel
While headlines report escalating security tensions and high alert, a group of Jewish students from Argentina chose to come to Israel on a mission of identity and solidarity. The young adults, who arrived as part of the Birthright project, did not come only to visit, but to roll up their sleeves, experience Israeli social action up close, and lend a hand to those who need it most.

"In Argentina I'm careful not to identify as Jewish, I avoid wearing a Star of David and I face harsh accusations at university," says Melina, one of the participants. She shares how campus life has become more difficult since the war began: "A lecturer at the university said that Israel is committing genocide and didn't allow any response."

Melina explains that even communal spaces, once considered safe, are no longer a given: "They tried to demonstrate outside my synagogue because Israeli soldiers were coming to give a lecture."

The participants say that antisemitism has changed their day-to-day behavior. "I no longer speak as freely as I used to about being Jewish and Zionist — I'm cautious," says Geraldine. Lara adds, "I avoid saying that I'm Jewish or wearing a necklace with a Star of David." Ezekiel describes adds: "There are places where my friends don't feel comfortable being who they are in everyday public spaces."

The fear also seeps into close social circles. "It hurts to have to explain to friends why anti-Zionism is the modern form of antisemitism, and to deal with difficult conversations to choose to lose relationships because of it," Geraldine shares.

While in Argentina they are sometimes forced to keep their heads down, here in Israel, despite security threats, they chose to hold their heads high with pride.


Bondi Beach victims honoured with floral tributes turned into artwork
The floral tributes left at the site of the Bondi Beach shooting are being transformed into an artwork by Goldstone Gallery Artistic Director Nina Sanadze and over 100 volunteers.


Yarden Bibas marks slain son Kfir’s third birthday
Yarden Bibas, whose family became a symbol of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas kidnappings, has marked what would have been his murdered son’s third birthday with a wrenching Instagram post.​

Bibas wrote on Sunday that his son, Kfir, never celebrated even his first birthday, “so how can I mark your third birthday for you?” He recalled how Kfir in his short life tasted solid food, started to crawl and celebrated his older brother Ariel’s fourth birthday.

Yarden and Shiri Bibas and their sons, Ariel, 4, and Kfir, then about 9 months old, were seized from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault and taken hostage to Gaza. Yarden survived and was freed in a prisoner exchange on Feb. 1, 2025, after 484 days in Hamas captivity.

Israeli authorities later determined that Shiri and the boys had been murdered in captivity. After more than 500 days, the bodies of Ariel and Kfir were returned to Israel on Feb. 20, 2025, as part of a ceasefire deal. Following a forensic “mix-up” in which the body returned by Hamas was found not to be hers, Shiri’s remains were finally returned and identified two days later, on Feb. 22.

“Kfir, I am sorry that I brought you into such a cruel world,” wrote Yarden.

“I hope you know how much I love you and how much I miss you! I am sure that Mom, Ariel and Tony [the family dog] are celebrating for you in heaven. I am sure that Mom is making for you the best and happiest birthday she can, exactly as she knows how. I love you the most in the world, always in the world,” he said.




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