Pages

▼

Wednesday, January 28, 2026

01/28 Links Pt1: Now that all hostages are back, Israel must finish off Hamas; PA Promised $200 Million in ‘Pay-To-Slay’ Payments After it 'Scrapped' Program

From Ian:

JPost Editorial: Now that all hostages are home, Israel must open inquiry into October 7 massacre
A profound chapter in Israel’s national trauma reached a painful conclusion on Monday: the remains of St.-Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last Israeli held in Gaza after the October 7, 2023 attack, were returned to Israeli soil. After 843 days, the state can say that there are no more Israelis in captivity.

Gvili’s story comprises both courage and heartbreak. A 24-year-old police officer who put on his uniform on that horrific morning while on medical leave, he joined the defense of Kibbutz Alumim and was killed while fighting to protect others. That he ran toward danger and became the last to come home should echo throughout Israeli society.

Gvili’s return is rightly mourned and honored. Families gathered in Hostages Square. The symbolic clock counting the days since October 7 has been turned off. Yet closure brings its own burden: a country that has endured this scale of loss still needs to fathom how and why Israel was so catastrophically unprepared.

Government and military leaders also framed Gvili’s return as a statement of national duty. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he told the family, “We will bring Ran home,” and added, “We will bring them all home.”

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir said, “We kept our promise to leave no one behind,” calling it a moment the country “is excited about,” because Ran returned “to be buried in Israel.”

Across the political spectrum, voices have called for a state commission of inquiry into the gross failures of October 7. Many of those calls reflect anguish more than politics. Families who lost loved ones, freed hostages, reservists, and civilians want answers about intelligence failures, operational decisions, strategic assumptions, and the broader policy environment that left communities exposed.

At the same time, concerns raised by opponents of a sweeping inquiry deserve a fair hearing. Israel remains in a volatile security environment, and public hearings can affect operational freedom, intelligence sources, and national cohesion. Some also fear that an inquiry will turn into a political battlefield and deepen internal chasms and rifts at a time when unity still carries strategic value.
No retreat: Now that all hostages are back, Israel must finish off Hamas
Why it's time to finish off Hamas
In this war, two critical dimensions are unfolding simultaneously: the present and the future.

The insistence on returning all the hostages held in Gaza embodied the battle over the present – our moral, ethical, and existential duty to save lives here and now. Every moment in which our soldiers and civilians were held captive was an open wound in the heart of the nation, and every effort to bring them home expressed our commitment to the value of life.

At the same time, the insistence from here onward on the decisive defeat of Hamas embodies the battle over the future. A society that cannot defeat its enemies, uproot the threat of terror, and ensure secure borders for generations to come will remain trapped in an endless cycle of bloodshed and uncertainty. The dismantling and disarmament of Hamas is not only a military objective – it is a vision for a future of stability, security, and prosperity in the State of Israel.

The beginning of Phase II is an integral part of the war, and the determination to dismantle Hamas is not only part of the struggle for life, but also – and no less importantly – for the quality of life. Part of this war for life is the moral foundation that obligates us to do everything possible not to leave hostages behind.

The completion of the phase of returning the hostages from Gaza must serve as a lesson – not the first, but one that must be the last – that it is both a security and moral obligation to decisively defeat Hamas. As long as it exists, the threat of rockets, tunnels, and kidnappings will continue to haunt us, and any dream of civilian stability will remain fragile. The defeat of the October 7 perpetrators is therefore a necessary condition not only for survival in the present, but above all to ensure that no Israeli civilian or IDF soldier will again be abducted and held as an asset by Hamas in the future.

The prolonged war in Gaza and along Israel’s other borders – and especially the kidnapping of civilians and soldiers – has tested and continues to test Israeli society. It challenges us to understand that war demands painful prices and enormous economic resources. These reflect our choice to invest in building the tools necessary for our defense, rather than in monuments to our memory.
Andrew Fox: Why cutting military ties with Israel would cost British soldiers’ lives
Four retired senior British Army officers have reportedly urged the prime minister to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel and to “cut all military collaboration with Israel forthwith”, including links with Israeli defence firms.

In the same political climate, the UK has also taken steps to prevent Israeli students from attending one of Britain’s flagship defence courses. You may agree or disagree with any Israeli policy, and you can hold Israel to any standard you believe is appropriate. However, a blanket attempt to sever military-to-military contact with the Israel Defence Forces is not a serious way to protect British troops. It is, in fact, a notable way to ensure that British soldiers die needlessly in the next war Britain cannot escape.

Here is the uncomfortable truth: when it comes to saving young men and women after they have been torn apart by blast and shrapnel, Israel has been learning, adapting and delivering at a pace and scale that the British Army simply has not had to sustain in recent years.

The IDF’s own combat medicine data from recent conflicts shows a steady decline in the “case fatality rate” (the proportion of casualties who die) across major operations, even as injuries have become more severe. That is what a learning medical system looks like when tested under fire.

Consider the first lesson: blood, not “drips”, saves lives. For decades, armies (and civilian ambulances) often reached for clear IV fluids first. Doctors call these fluids “crystalloids” – essentially sterile saltwater solutions used to increase circulating volume.

They are not useless, but they have a fatal limitation: they do not carry oxygen, and they do not contain the clotting components that stop catastrophic bleeding. In mass trauma, too much crystalloid can dilute the body’s ability to clot, cool the casualty, and worsen shock.

The IDF’s data indicates a significant doctrinal shift away from crystalloids and towards blood-based resuscitation. During the Second Lebanon War, 92.7 per cent of casualties receiving resuscitation fluids were treated with crystalloids. In Protective Edge (2014), that figure was still 83.3 per cent. In the current war (Iron Swords), only 29.8 per cent were treated with crystalloids, reflecting a clear move towards resuscitation centred around blood products, especially whole blood.

“Whole blood” matters because it is what the body actually loses: oxygen-carrying red cells, plasma proteins, and platelets that form clots. The challenge is not the concept; it is creating a system capable of delivering whole blood safely, repeatedly, and at scale. Israel has achieved this.


Palestinian Authority Promised Terrorists More Than $200 Million in ‘Pay-To-Slay’ Payments After it 'Scrapped' Program, State Department Tells Congress
The State Department formally determined this month that the Palestinian Authority paid more than $200 million to terrorists and their families in 2025, the same year PA president Mahmoud Abbas claimed he ended the "pay-to-slay" program, according to a nonpublic notice provided to Congress and obtained exclusively by the Washington Free Beacon.

Rather than ending these payments, the PA shifted to a new system that it hoped to hide from international donors at a time when the Ramallah-based government is jockeying for a role in postwar Gaza, the State Department disclosed for the first time. Israeli intelligence assessed that the PA funneled $144 million to terrorists and their families in 2024 and committed at least $214 million through 2025, while the State Department determined that the payments continued from March to August 2025 under a purportedly reformed welfare system.

"The old Palestinian system of compensation for Palestinian terrorists and the families of terrorists killed in the course of committing such acts of terrorism gradually transferred responsibility for compensation to the Palestinian National Foundation for Economic Empowerment (PNEEI) under the guise of social welfare," the State Department determined. "Despite changing the mechanism for doing so, the PA continued the payments to Palestinian terrorists and their families during the reporting period."

The findings are likely to further erode the PA’s standing with the Trump administration as it works to implement phase 2 of the Gaza peace plan, which bars Abbas’s government from participating in postwar programs until it undergoes a series of reforms that include ending pay-to-slay. Though the PA has no formal role on paper, the head of the newly created National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, civil engineer Ali Shaath, has held senior roles in the PA, suggesting Abbas’s government could wield behind-the-scenes influence.

The Trump administration collected evidence that the PA used post offices, social media platforms, and encrypted messaging services like Telegram to alert aid recipients that cash was available under the newly branded pay-to-slay program, "indicating clearly that compensation in support of terrorism has continued," according to the State Department notice.

Abbas drew international headlines in February 2025 when he ordered an end to the pay-to-slay program, saying that welfare will be provided to Palestinians based solely on need, rather than the number of years their relatives have been imprisoned in Israel for terrorism. But Abbas cast doubt on that decree just weeks later, when he promised the Fatah Revolutionary Council that "even if we only have one cent left, it will be for the prisoners and martyrs."


Honoring the Abraham Accords: Why Israel, US must stand with the UAE
If the Abraham Accords are to remain an alliance, a framework that holds together under pressure and enables expansion, it will require operational mechanisms. Three elements:
Coordination: A permanent Israel-UAE infrastructure activated during escalation: coordinated messaging, mapping pressure points, joint countermeasures. Not escalation against a third party; activating framework rules to protect a partner.
Value: Visible proof the accords constitute an asset under pressure: intelligence, cyber, air defense, supply chains, and economic ties that withstand political storms. Without cumulative value, a framework is a gamble; with it, an asset.
Commitment: A partner who chooses peace does not stand alone. Not a slogan but real-time public commitment and diplomatic cost for those who delegitimize partners.

The United States should join Israel in supporting all three principles. An alliance that proves it stands by its partners is an alliance worth joining.

The Trump administration, as founders of the Abraham Accords, has leverage: The American package promised to Riyadh can and should be conditioned on normalization. But leverage alone is not enough. Washington must also recognize that when it embraces Qatar and Turkey, states that lead anti-normalization campaigns, it is the UAE that pays the price.

The UAE has proven its commitment to the accords. This is an opportunity to show the same. And to Riyadh: The door remains open.
Sa’ar hails Kazakhstan’s entry to Abraham Accords
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar praised Kazakhstan’s decision to join the Abraham Accords during a joint press conference with his Kazakh counterpart, Yermek Kocherbáiev, in Astana on Tuesday.

Noting that it is the first Central Asian country to join the circle of peace with the Jewish state, Jerusalem’s top diplomat called it a “bold and moral move” by a “world leader in promoting tolerance and interfaith dialogue,” emphasizing that Kazakhstan is a “natural partner” for the “shared vision of tolerance and cooperation” between Israel and moderate Muslim states.

Marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Sa’ar also reflected on Jewish history and thanked Kazakhstan for sheltering Jews who fled Nazi persecution, calling tolerance “part of Kazakhstan’s DNA.”

Sa’ar called Kazakhstan “a true friend and an important partner for Israel” and said the two countries would deepen cooperation in water, agriculture, innovation and food security. He led an Israeli business delegation to Astana that included representatives from more than 30 organizations.

He praised Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as a “visionary leader,” and later on Tuesday wrote on X about their meeting, saying they had “a great discussion in Astana on ways to realize the full potential in our relations, as well as regional issues,” and he praised the president for his decision to join the Abraham Accords.
Trump's Peace Council is still far from bringing peace in Gaza
Demilitarization of the strip and disarmament of Hamas
The most difficult task is the demilitarization of Gaza and the disarmament of Hamas. At the Davos meeting, Jared Kushner presented a master plan for dismantling Hamas, demilitarizing the Strip, and rebuilding it, but it remains unclear who would carry out the first two tasks.

The “international stabilization force” mentioned in Trump’s plan already has an American commander, but it has no army. Countries that committed to sending forces – such as Azerbaijan and Indonesia – have meanwhile backed out. Turkey and Qatar do possess leverage over Hamas regarding both demilitarization and disarmament, but their membership in the Executive Council appears designed to pave the way for the entrenchment of the organization in Gaza. Such an outcome would strengthen their interests in Gaza on the one hand, and bolster Hamas’s “victory” narrative on the other.

A “technocratic government” without a mandate or teeth
The Palestinian committee is composed of individuals chosen not because they represent anyone or anything, but because they do not threaten the important players in the Palestinian arena. Aside from the mandate and consent granted to it, the committee lacks real tools to govern the Strip, and certainly to disarm Hamas and demilitarize Gaza. It can assist in the reconstruction process, but that process is not meant to begin before demilitarization and disarmament are completed. Moreover, the committee is not independent in its decisions or actions, which could undermine the effectiveness of its work on the ground.

Old and new spoilers
Beyond the familiar spoilers – Iran and what remains of its proxies – the composition of the Peace Council could also work against it if important actors remain outside. This is precisely why Trump also approached Putin and others in an attempt to persuade them to join. Russia, China, and even the UN could prove to be forces that complicate reaching understandings and agreements, as they have little interest in serving what currently looks like a one-man show.

To Trump’s credit, the new structure is the product of out-of-the-box thinking. But it is unclear why it was necessary to construct such a complex structure to address Gaza’s well-known fundamental problems. Its very complexity may impede its work.

Israel has effectively been “hobbled” by Trump and cannot act in Gaza entirely as it wishes. If the Peace Council succeeds in achieving peace, Israel will benefit. But the council’s failure – and at present the odds of that seem high – would mean that Hamas entrenches its control over the Strip.

That would, of course, be bad news for Israel, since a renewed war does not appear to be a realistic option, especially given the existence of international involvement in Gaza.


Netanyahu: IDF soldiers paid with their lives due to US arms embargo
Israel Defense Forces soldiers paid with their lives because of a weapons embargo that ended when U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday.

“I have one more thing to tell you, you can get a translation,” Netanyahu said, speaking at the end of a Hebrew-language press briefing that focused on the return of the remains of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last captive taken during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023.

“I said we paid very heavy prices in the war—the fallen and wounded, truly heavy costs. Part of this is what happens during war,” the prime minister continued.

Netanyahu noted that Gaza was full of booby-trapped buildings. After the IDF called on the civilian population to evacuate the combat zone, the military initially used artillery and airstrikes to eliminate terrorists who remained in structures rigged with explosives, the premier said.

However, “at a certain stage, we reached a stage where we did not have enough ammunition, and people fell—heroes fell,” he said.

Without explicitly naming the previous U.S. administration, he said that the shortage was in part caused by “the embargo.”

“This embargo situation changed beyond recognition with the entry of President Trump’s administration,” he added. The Israeli premier said he was working on developing a strong domestic army industry “for maximal independence … so we don’t run out of weapons or ammunition.”

Biden suspended the delivery of 2,000-pound bombs to the IDF in May 2024 to discourage a ground offensive in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, where Hamas terrorists had embedded itself among civilians.

“Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those [2,000-pound] bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers,” the Democratic president told CNN at the time.

Pro-Israel U.S. politicians revealed that the White House had held up far more arms shipments, slow-walking deliveries via bureaucratic means.

Trump lifted all restrictions within a week after returning to office.




Netanyahu turned down 11 assassination plans against Sinwar in months before Oct. 7
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu passed up 11 opportunities to assassinate Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the months leading up to October 7, 2023, a security forces official claimed to N12 on Wednesday.

According to N12's source, after seeing escalation from Gaza during the months before the attack, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) notified Netanyahu 11 times that an effective assassination of Sinwar could be conducted, yet each time, Netanyahu refused to even lead a discussion about it.

N12 had previously reported that Netanyahu had received an intelligence briefing from then-Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar on October 1, six days before the massacre, in which he presented the possibility of killing Sinwar. Netanyahu reportedly ignored the suggestion.

Prime Minister's Office denies allegations
The Prime Minister's Office, responding to this allegation, stated that it was completely false. "Exactly the opposite! Prime Minister Netanyahu repeatedly demanded that the Hamas leadership be thwarted, and security officials blocked this, which is well documented in the minutes."

Sinwar took responsibility as the architect of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre, which led to over 1,200 deaths and terrorists taking approximately 250 hostages into the strip. He was killed by the IDF in Tel Sultan in Rafah in an unplanned operation in October 2024.
Jerusalem Tunnel Checkpoint stabbing thwarted
The Israel Defense Forces said on Wednesday that it had received a report of a suspected stabbing near the Tunnel Checkpoint area in Jerusalem.

According to a police statement, Border Police officers identified a suspect approaching the checkpoint on foot from the direction of Judea and Samaria. During a search, the suspect presented an ID card before drawing a knife, prompting checkpoint security guards to neutralize him.

No injuries were reported among Israeli forces, and the incident remains under review, the military said.
Lebanon complains to UN Security Council about Israeli airstrikes
Lebanon accuses Israel of more than 2,000 violations of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in a formal complaint filed with the United Nations Security Council, multiple outlets reported.

In the Monday filing, Beirut’s U.N. mission said Israel committed 2,036 violations of Lebanese sovereignty in the final quarter of 2025, including 542 incidents in October, 691 in November and 803 in December. (JNS sought comment from the Israeli mission to the global body.)

Lebanon called on the Security Council to pressure Israel to “completely withdraw to beyond the internationally recognized borders” and stop its attacks. It also said Israel must release Lebanese prisoners.

The Jewish state has fired on Hezbollah targets in Southern Lebanon regularly, including a round of air strikes across Southern Lebanon on Sunday, which reportedly killed at least two.

The Lebanese Armed Forces was supposed to have disarmed Hezbollah by the end of the year, per an agreement between Washington and Beirut. The longstanding U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 demands a complete disarmament of non-state actors in Lebanon and the return of Lebanese sovereignty to the southern part of the country.

Lebanon says its mission south of the strategic Litani River is complete, but Israeli officials have said Hezbollah is increasing its weapons stockpiles.

The Jewish state is supposed to withdraw troops from five locations in southern Lebanon upon Hezbollah’s disarmament.


Former IDF senior commander: We might attack in Iran before the US
Internal security and the looming threat from Iran took center stage at the Israel Hayom "Bolstering the North" conference in the Upper Galilee on Wednesday. In a candid conversation, a former IDF top officer warned that the quiet on the northern border is deceptive and that a direct confrontation with Tehran may be closer than the public realizes due to Israel's need to defend itself.

"Even in the north, kilometers (miles) from the border – before we talk about national security, let's talk about personal security," Israel Hayom Deputy Editor-in-Chief Uri Dagon said in one of the panels, during which he interviewed Brigadier General (Res.) Amir Avivi, the chairman of the IDSF-Habithonistim (Israel Defense and Security Forum).

"How do we deal with the north in general and with the Upper Galilee specifically? We need to address the protection rackets (extortion schemes) and agricultural theft. Sometimes this is even more critical than what is happening at the border fence," he asked.

"Security doctrine is built from the inside out. If it is rotten on the inside, it will eventually spread outwards," Avivi said. "We are in deep, systemic rot. Essentially, the State of Israel refuses to define the internal reality. There is a campaign being waged inside the country. At the IDSF-Habithonistim (Israel Defense and Security Forum), we defined this a year ago. Broadly speaking, the Arab-Israeli conflict is characterized by the same dynamics everywhere, whether across the border or within it.

"You see it in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) with land takeovers, you see it in the Negev, and in the Galilee. The protection rackets (extortion schemes) are ubiquitous, along with the crime families and militias that employ 12 and 13-year-old children to hold grenades and carry out terror. The terror begins inside Arab society itself and spills over. 80% of businesses in the north are paying protection rackets (extortion schemes). The state itself is under protection rackets."
Iran threatens to hit ‘heart of Tel Aviv’ in response to any US attack
Iranian officials issued stark warnings Wednesday against any US strike on the country, with a top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader threatening that Tehran would attack Israel in any such event with an “unprecedented” retaliation, including “at the heart of Tel Aviv.”

In posts to X both in Persian and in Hebrew, Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said: “A limited [US] strike is an illusion. Any military action by America, of any kind and at any level, will be considered the start of a war, and the response will be immediate, comprehensive, and unprecedented, directed at the aggressor, at the heart of Tel Aviv, and at all who support the aggressor.”

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also warned that Iran’s forces would respond forcefully to any US military operation, but did not rule out a new deal on Tehran’s nuclear program.

“Our brave Armed Forces are prepared — with their fingers on the trigger — to immediately and powerfully respond to ANY aggression against our beloved land, air, and sea,” he said on X.

“At the same time, Iran has always welcomed a mutually beneficial, fair and equitable NUCLEAR DEAL — on equal footing, and free from coercion, threats, and intimidation — which ensures Iran’s rights to PEACEFUL nuclear technology, and guarantees NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS.”


In major reversal, France now supports move to put Iran’s IRGC on EU terrorism list
France will now support the inclusion of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the European list of terrorist organizations, a move that Paris has always been hesitant to back for fear that it could cut ties with Iran.

European Union foreign ministers are set to meet in Brussels on Thursday and were already due to sign off on new sanctions in response to a crackdown on protests that has seen thousands killed and thousands more arrested.

But even until earlier on Wednesday, France had been hesitant to back the majority in the bloc, who have pushed to add the IRGC to the EU’s terrorist organization list following the United States.

“The unbearable repression of the peaceful uprising of the Iranian people cannot go unanswered. The extraordinary courage they have shown in the face of the blind violence unleashed upon them cannot be in vain,” Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X, adding that France would now back the listing.
Brooklyn man sentenced to 15 years in Iran-backed plot to kill anti-regime dissident Masih Alinejad
A Brooklyn man was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Wednesday for taking part in what prosecutors called a failed Iran-backed murder-for-hire plot against Masih Alinejad, a prominent Iranian dissident living in the US, the Justice Department said.

Carlisle Rivera, also known as "Pop," previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and one count of conspiracy to commit stalking before US District Judge Lewis Liman for the Southern District of New York, who imposed Wednesday's sentence, the Justice Department said in a statement.

Alinejad, who fled Iran in 2009, is a longtime critic of Iran's head-covering laws and a journalist. She has promoted videos of women violating those laws to her millions of social media followers. She was living in Brooklyn at the time of the alleged plot on her life.

The case was part of a crackdown by the Justice Department on what it calls transnational repression: the targeting by authoritarian governments of political opponents on foreign soil.

Prosecutors said Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its intelligence officials have repeatedly tried to target Alinejad.

Iran has dismissed as baseless allegations that its intelligence officers sought to kidnap or kill her.

Other people have also been convicted in the US and sentenced in relation to the alleged plot.


UN bans man from Holocaust event for filming guards’ spat with pro-Israel influencer
The grandson of Holocaust survivors was blocked from attending the United Nations Holocaust Remembrance Day event in New York City after taking a photograph of influencer Lizzy Savetsky’s confrontation with security over an Israeli flag.

Julian Voloj was going through the security line at the UN General Assembly Hall when he saw security guards “harassing” Savetsky, a prominent pro-Israel social media influencer.

The security guards told Savetsky that she could not enter the event wearing her blazer, which had a bedazzled Israeli flag displayed prominently on its back. She was eventually allowed into the General Assembly Hall after checking her jacket.

“I do find it interesting that I was asked to check my Judaism at the door of an International Holocaust Remembrance Day event. Kind of ironic, no?” said Savetsky in an Instagram post about the incident.

After instinctively using his phone to take photos of the confrontation between Savetsky and security, Voloj said a security guard “stormed right to me, moved me aside, took my phone, used my face ID to access my photos and made me delete the pictures.”

From there, Voloj, who serves as the executive director of Be’chol Lashon, a nonprofit promoting Jewish diversity, said the security guard took his pass for the event and escorted him off the premises.

Voloj said he was not at the event in a professional capacity, only as the “grandchild of Holocaust survivors.” He said the experience left him “furious.”



Erin Molan: Syria Is Unraveling Again — Dr. Qanta Ahmed Explains What Happened (in detail)
In this urgent standalone interview, Erin Molan is joined by Dr. Qanta Ahmed, a physician and global security expert, to explain what is unfolding right now in Northeast Syria — and why it matters far beyond the region.

Dr. Ahmed breaks down the sudden withdrawal of Western support for Kurdish forces, the growing instability in the area, and the serious concerns surrounding extremist regrouping, regional power shifts, and the long-term consequences for global security.

This conversation focuses on policy decisions, strategic risks, and geopolitical consequences, cutting through confusion and misinformation to explain what’s actually happening — and what could come next if the situation continues to deteriorate.

This is not speculation or sensationalism. It’s a clear-eyed assessment of a rapidly changing reality that deserves far more attention.

00:00 – Why Syria Is Back in Focus
01:28 – What Changed in Northeast Syria
03:45 – Syrian President's role
06:10 – Who in Trump's admin is responsible for this
08:42 – Regional Consequences for Israel
10:20 – Why This Could Escalate Quickly


Avi Yemeni: The government was WARNED before the Manchester terror attack
Chaim Frankenhuis WARNED the government days before the Manchester terror attack after he was assaulted near the synagogue. Nobody listened. Now two British Jews are dead.


Why Jewish peoplehood does not fit Mamdani’s universalism
I had the privilege, some 20 years ago, of hearing Bernard-Henri Lévy, the French Jewish philosopher, argue that the central challenge to universalism—as a worldview, a set of values, and a political commitment—was not necessarily a tension between universal values and particularism. Rather, it was a tension between two notions of universalism: one built on the particular and the other that negates the particular. In that framework, the universalism of the French Revolution demanded that Jews negate their particularism and peoplehood to enjoy liberty and equality. They had to hide as Jews in order to be equal and free.

An alternative vision holds that different peoples, nations, ethnicities, communities, and cultures can affirm themselves within a universal framework that celebrates difference—so long as one group’s particular identity does not negate another’s, but instead affirms all peoples as limbs in the body of humanity. I was reminded of that tension recently while listening to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s inaugural speech, when he asserted, to loud applause, that Palestinian New Yorkers in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, can look forward to a time under his mayoralty when they “will no longer have to contend with a politics that speaks of universalism and then makes them the exception.” I was reminded of Lévy’s argument not because I found the mayor’s logic persuasive, but because I found it puzzling.

Are New Yorkers of Palestinian background uniquely excluded from the rights and privileges of being Americans in New York? Are they not permitted to affirm a Palestinian identity in a way that also affirms the identities of others, including Jews and Israelis? That is hard to fathom. I am not aware of Palestinian self-affirmation being questioned in New York politics except when it crosses into negating Israeli or Jewish affirmation—for example, in chants of “from the river to the sea” or “globalize the intifada” at protests organized by Palestinian activists, including marches of hundreds of demonstrators up Columbus Avenue on the Upper West Side, apparently chosen because the neighborhood has a large Jewish population.

Alternatively, was the new mayor referring to the status of Palestinian Arabs in Israel and the territories and connecting that—somehow—to the policies of the City of New York? Which city policies have excluded Bay Ridge Palestinians, or Palestinians more broadly, from the promises of universalism? All three of Mamdani’s most recent mayoral predecessors, going back 24 years, are on record supporting a two-state solution and self-determination for Palestinian Arabs, on the condition that they live alongside a secure and independent Israel. Or perhaps, for Mamdani, the two-state solution itself denies Palestinians the promise of universalism because his vision of Palestinian national affirmation cannot abide a Jewish Israel next door. What, exactly, is he promising the roughly 9,000 New Yorkers of Palestinian background in Bay Ridge that he does not also need to promise the roughly 19,000 Jewish New Yorkers who live in the same neighborhood and who, in his view, have not been excluded from universalism?

To begin answering that, consider a series of statements Mamdani has made about Jews and Israel that suggest a distinctive stance toward Jewish particularity and its place within universalism.
New York City Is WORSE than Anyone Predicted (Mamdani Update)
New York City is changing fast — and not in the way people hoped. In this episode 90 of The Erin Molan Show, Erin speaks with David C. Kaufman (New York-based columnist) about NYC under Mamdani, rising tension around antisemitism vs anti-Zionism, the media’s double standards, and why the loudest “human rights” movements go silent when the story doesn’t fit the narrative.

David also shares a deeply personal perspective on the DEI / identity politics era, why it’s collapsing, and how the culture and institutions try to enforce ideological purity tests. They also discuss the post–Oct 7 climate, and why the same moral rules seem to apply differently depending on who the target is.

If you want the most direct breakdown of New York politics, woke culture, media hypocrisy, Israel vs Hamas narratives, and the wider fight over Western values — this one is for you.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 Intro: The return of the last remaining Israeli hostage body
06:05 Trump talks to Gov. Tim Walz amid rising ICE tensions in MN
07:10 Tom Homan heading to Minnesota (Apple Man video)
10:13 The Islamic regime in Iran comdemns the US over ICE (lol!)
12:15 David C Kaufman interview
39:40 Final takeaway: what happens next in America


Don’t allow anti-Zionism to drown out ‘Hidden Voices’
On the surface, the curriculum guide is a valuable resource for teachers committed to integrating lessons about the significant contributions the Jewish people have made and continue to make to enhance the general welfare and democratic institutions of the United States.

In the hands of a serious and fair-minded teacher, this curriculum could be used to enlighten students who are either ignorant of or hostile to Jewish history and culture. The success of “Hidden Voices” can be measured by the extent to which students learn to approach the richness and diversity of Judaism with deep appreciation and respect, rather than hostility and disdain, as was demonstrated at Origins High School in Brooklyn. Education of young people, not indoctrination, is one of the most effective weapons against bias and hate.

The problem is that the mayor’s support of “Hidden Voices” in no way dilutes his position that denying Jews the right to self-determination in Israel is not antisemitic, since the curriculum legitimizes anti-Zionism as a respected position currently held by influential members of the American Jewish community. While the controversial Liberated Ethnic Studies Curriculum that has made its way into a number of California schools is direct in its opposition to Zionism, “Hidden Voices” takes a more nuanced approach. The following excerpt is from the opening of its guide:

“Collectively, these profiles clearly show that the question of Jewish nationhood has long been central to the diaspora, so too does this group exhibit a range of attitudes about Zionism and the state of Israel, from passionate support to disengagement to harsh criticism. We have done our best to ensure that our contributors, who include scholarly historians, museum experts, educators and writers—a majority of whom identify as Jewish—represent similar diversity.”

Here lies the weakness: It opens the door to teachers who choose to develop lessons that uncritically promote ideas held by the anti-Zionist margin of the Jewish community. Students, rather than learning about the historical context of Zionism and its critical importance to the survival of the Jewish people, may be led to believe that Zionism and anti-Zionism are simply two equally respected political positions. After all, the mayor of New York City is an ardent supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement that seeks to deny the Jewish people their right to self-determination.

Omar Barghouti, a co-founder of BDS, hasn’t been shy about the movement’s destructive intent toward the Jewish people. Unless teachers are able and willing to teach their students about the destructive forces that underlie the anti-Zionist movement and its dire consequences for the Jewish people, they will be sowing the seeds of more misunderstanding about Jewish history rather than being sources of enlightenment.
NY man charged with two hate crimes for alleged assault of rabbi on Holocaust memorial day
Eric Zafra-Grosso, 32, of Queens, N.Y., is being charged with two hate crimes for allegedly punching a rabbi after making antisemitic remarks on Jan. 27 in Forest Hills, Queens, the New York City Police Department told JNS.

According to the NYPD, officers responded at just before 3 p.m. on International Holocaust Remembrance Day to a reported assault at the intersection of Queens Boulevard and 71st Avenue.

A 32-year-old man told officers that “an unknown individual approached him, made antisemitic comments and engaged him in a verbal dispute,” the NYPD told JNS. “The individual then punched the victim to the chest and about the face.”

The victim was treated for minor injuries, and Zafra-Grosso was arrested and charged with two hate crimes—assault and aggravated harassment—and assault causing injury.

Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York City, said he was “horrified by the antisemitic assault on a rabbi in Forest Hills.”

“On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, New Yorkers were confronted with a painful truth: antisemitism is not a thing of the past,” Mamdani wrote. “It is a present danger that demands action from all of us.”


Sen John Cornyn: EVIL FACE



Rapper Macklemore compares Minneapolis to Gaza
The 42-year-old rapper Macklemore stated on Tuesday that “Gaza and Minneapolis are not separate stories.”

“They operate through the same machinery that treats people as disposable and calls it order,” he wrote. “Different places, the same architecture of harm. Property protected, always stolen. Profit prioritized. Violence justified.”

Macklemore, whose real name is Ben Haggerty and whose hits include “Thrift Shop,” “Can’t Hold Us” and “Glorious,” has more than 20 million followers across various social media platforms.

The Anti-Defamation League has said that the rapper “villainizes Israel” and “tokenizes Jews who pass his anti-Zionist litmus test.”

“How many false claims and antisemitic tropes can Macklemore fit into one song?” it said.


Radical Activists Promote Pro-Palestinian TikTok Alternative Amid Ownership Shift
As TikTok completes its sale to a U.S.-led consortium, radical pro-Palestinian activists are orchestrating a mass migration to UpScrolled, a competing social media app founded by Palestinian-Australian technologist Issam Hijazi. The platform's appeal lies in its explicit rejection of content moderation—a selling point for influencers and activists who openly promote violence against Israelis.

Adding to concerns is Hijazi's appearance at an international conference alongside Hamas political chief Khaled Meshaal next month, suggesting his network extends into circles directly connected to designated terror organizations.

The Palestinian owned Social media app Upscrolled has broken into #11 position among social networking apps on Apple’s App Store charts.

On January 22, 2026, TikTok announced that it had finalized a deal to create a new American entity, effectively sidestepping a ban that had loomed over the platform for years. The restructuring places TikTok under majority U.S. ownership through a joint venture that includes Oracle (led by Trump ally Larry Ellison), Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX, each holding 15 percent stakes. While ByteDance retains a 19.9 percent stake, the deal represents a significant shift toward American oversight and control.

The deal addresses national security concerns that prompted lawmakers to pursue a ban or forced sale. U.S. officials argued that ByteDance is subject to Chinese laws requiring companies to turn over user data when requested by the government. The new ownership structure places U.S. user data and TikTok's recommendation algorithm under the control of Oracle's secure U.S. cloud environment, establishing clearer domestic oversight and accountability standards.

The Coordinated Migration to UpScrolled
Rather than embracing American oversight, radical activists have coalesced around UpScrolled, founded in 2025 by Hijazi. The platform has advertised itself with promises of "no censorship" and "no shadowbans," positioning itself as a space where pro-Palestine voices can be shared without restriction. The platform has surged in downloads following TikTok's sale, with organized promotional campaigns from pro-Palestinian influencers and activist groups framing content moderation as censorship.

A Network of Controversial Connections
Hijazi is scheduled as a speaker at the 17th Al Jazeera Forum, taking place February 7-9, 2026, appearing alongside Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal and Abbas Araghchi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
‘Palestine in Berlin’ festival nixed after displaying Hamas-like symbol
A Berlin festival celebrating Palestinian culture was canceled after the Israeli Embassy in the German capital raised concerns that the event’s organizers had displayed an inverted red triangle, a Hamas symbol, in its marketing materials, German media reported last week.

The festival, titled “Palestine in Berlin,” was scheduled to take place on Jan. 24-25 in the borough of Reinickendorf.

The district office told Bild that after it “had become aware of the use of prohibited symbols (red triangle) in advance during the examination of the event, the organizer [cultural and sports club] Salam prohibits the performance of the event.”

Salam receives public funding that will amount to some $100,000 in 2026, according to Bild.

The red triangle is a symbol used by the terror group Hamas to mark Israel Defense Forces soldiers that it killed during the two-year war in Gaza.

Israel’s embassy brought the matter to the attention of local authorities after arguing that a festival flyer serves as “a dog whistle for antisemites.”

Tweeting in German on Jan. 19, it said: “A Palestinian cultural festival funded by means of the Berlin Senate illustrates its flyer with the inverted red Hamas triangle. For two years now, this has been the symbol of the Jewish genocide on social media.

“It is hard to interpret this as anything other than a dog whistle for antisemites. If it [were] merely … a case of botched graphic design, then the organizers are surely prepared to publicly distance themselves from Hamas’s terror. For that is incompatible with both integration in Germany and state funding.”




Buy EoZ's books  on Amazon!

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

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

    
 

 

at