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Wednesday, February 11, 2026

02/11 Links Pt1: Hamas’ World Vision Operative and the Campaign to Obstruct His Trial; Guterres faces backlash for congratulating Iranian regime; France calls on UN rapporteur Albanese to resign

From Ian:

James Kirchick: The Chutzpah of Yoram Hazony
The thrust of Hazony’s argument is that combatting anti-Semitism is as alienating or more alienating to voters than anti-Semitism itself. This reasoning is both morally and tactically wrong. Polls continue to show that a large majority of conservatives support Israel and oppose anti-Semitism. And yet Hazony believes that the 25 percent of the party that is exercised about anti-Semitism should avoid hurting the feelings of the 10 percent who are anti-Semites. Tucker Carlson, Hazony said, is “a very smart, passionate, and very likeable man when you meet him in person.” At the first NatCon conference in Washington, D.C., “he gave one of the best speeches we have ever hosted.” Moreover, “Tucker has been saying—as clear as the day—that he is not an anti-Semite.” Acting like the tough Israeli sabra, Hazony is the cowering Jew of the shtetl, furious at his fellow Jews for provoking anti-Semites.

Hazony’s analysis of American politics and history—epitomized in his laughable claim that Lindsay Graham, Ted Cruz, and Mike Pompeo are the ideological heirs of Nelson Rockefeller and John Lindsay—is as apt as his prognostication skills. In a November interview with Ross Douthat of the New York Times, Hazony said that he was “hoping” Vice President Vance will have “the skill of determining what the boundaries of the coalition are.” The following month, Vance decried “endless, self-defeating purity tests” and righteously affirmed that he would not “bring a list of conservatives to denounce or to deplatform.” Hazony also told Douthat, “I assume that Heritage is going to solve the problem [of anti-Semitism]. I know a little bit about what steps they’re taking, and I think it’s very, very likely that Heritage is going to get on an appropriate and excellent path.” As of this writing, more than 60 senior Heritage staff have left the think tank since Roberts avowed the institution’s unflinching loyalty to Carlson.

While Hazony feigns at playing a moderating force within the movement, what he’s really doing is covering his own tracks, desperately attempting to retain his influence by whitewashing the egregious behavior of his allies and the logical outcomes of his own philosophy. Through his books (The Virtue of Nationalism and Conservatism: A Rediscovery) and conferences, Hazony has been a principal figure in the drive to undermine universalist Enlightenment values as the basis of the American founding. According to Hazony, those who believe such hogwash are “imperialists” who support “the ideal of an international government or regime that imposes its will on subject nations when its officials regard this as necessary.” Proper nationalists, by contrast, believe that “nations should be free to set their own course in the absence of such an international government or regime.” Into the former category Hazony places the Third Reich, the European Union, and the late Charles Krauthammer.

Furthermore, American conservatives have got their history all wrong, a failure for which they must “repent.” The real intellectual fathers of the American Revolution are not John Locke and Thomas Jefferson, whose classical liberalism Hazony conflates with the antinomianism of the 1960s, but rather the 15th-century English jurist John Fortescue and the 17th-century John Selden, whose writings he uses to endorse the concept of America having a state-backed religion (Christianity). If this fake history sounds like a right-wing version of the 1619 Project, that’s because it is.

The rise in anti-Semitism on the right is attributable to a handful of individuals whom Hazony is too cowardly and embarrassed to condemn. Like a vengeful alcoholic at an intervention, he is lashing out and blaming everyone but himself for the wreckage he helped create—the mirror-image of the left-wing Jew who makes excuses for his anti-Semitic comrades. Imagining himself a world-class intellectual, he is, for lack of a better term, a moron. How else could he have thought that forging alliances with European-style blood-and-soil nationalists would be good for the Jews, or America?

Hazony sees himself as a scholar-statesman on the level of a Jabotinsky or Ben-Gurion when he’s really an arriviste. In a reprehensible attempt to protect his access to power, Hazony is willing to gainsay his American co-religionists, who know better than him the threats they face. Watching Hazony’s Jerusalem speech reminded me of no one so much as Rabbi Lionel Bengelsdorf from Philip Roth’s novel The Plot Against America, in which Charles Lindbergh defeats Franklin Roosevelt in the 1940 presidential election and keeps the country out of World War II. The oleaginous Bengelsdorf, who supported Lindbergh, becomes the new president’s court Jew. “I have encountered considerable hostility from members of the Jewish community for allying myself in the 1940 election with the Lindbergh campaign,” Bengelsdorf tells a Jewish family, one of whose sons lost a leg fighting with the Canadian army against the Nazis. “I am pleased to tell you that it took no more than two or three sessions alone with the president to get him to relinquish his misconceptions and to appreciate the manifold nature of Jewish life in America.”

Alas, not even Bengelsdorf’s obsequiousness can outweigh the fact of his Jewishness, and the FBI arrests him for being “among the ringleaders of the Jewish conspiratorial plot against America.” At the end of the book, Bengelsdorf is released and writes a face-saving memoir in which he admits the error of his ways. At this point in his intellectual career, a mea culpa is the least Yoram Hazony can do.
Commentary PodCast: The Price of Chutzpah
Today we are joined by Commentary's new Washington commentary columnist Jamie Kirchick to discuss his new piece on Yoram Hazony. Plus the positive job report, Trump's deal-making obsession on the backdrop on Netanyahu's visit to Washington, and John once again recommends Natan Sharansky's Fear No Evil.
Human Rights Watch’s Frankenstein moment
Shakir’s tactics were not deviations. They were the logical outcome of habits the institution had long tolerated — even rewarded — when they advanced approved narratives. Over time, small permissions sent a clear signal: toxic behavior was acceptable, limits were flexible, standards negotiable.

I saw those habits take hold firsthand.

In 2019 and 2021, I raised concerns with multiple senior staff members about what I saw as a growing “lack of proportionality, context, and balance” in work. I warned that internal discourse was drifting away from HRW’s stated values and that published work “in structure, content, and tone does not meet basic standards of balance and professionalism.” There was no meaningful response.

By 2022, resistance to internal scrutiny was more explicit. The Israel-Palestine chapter of the World Report — HRW’s global review of abuses that I oversaw — became a battleground.

One exchange involved the trial of Mohammed al-Halabi, a World Vision employee. The draft described the proceedings as a “mockery of due process.” But it did not mention the charges against him — that he was accused of funneling money to Hamas. When I asked Shakir to note the charges, as per normal standards of balance, he declined, saying, “The charges are wild.”

In emails sent over my head, Shakir said my review “smacked of being selective.”

A manager reminded him that I reviewed all chapters, including his, and backed my position: “We should never mention a case without mentioning what the charges are. If we think the charges are not credible, we should explain why.” It was a relief — but rare.

For the most part, managers placated, ignored, and excused. “This has been mostly instructive as to how things appear to work with Omar and who calls the shots,” I wrote to a manager after several bruising rounds with Shakir. “Three of us raised issues, including yourself, and in a call to me, you said various elements that remain are not acceptable. And yet you totally back down.”

Accommodation often reflected ideological alignment. But it also sometimes reflected quiet capitulation by an older guard increasingly overwhelmed by strident activist tactics. Watching them try to restrain the shift was like watching Canute try to hold back the tide. “I’m torn between saying the future is clear and I’m not part of it — and taking a stand,” one told me. “It depends how much energy I have on any given day.”

Whatever energy did exist proved insufficient; an increasingly divisive, outraged, aggressive way of doing business continued to gain ground. Foreshadowing last week’s petition signed by 200 staff, Shakir played a key role in rallying some 120 employees after October 7 to pressure senior managers to include references to Israeli “apartheid” in a press release about hostages.

“Argumentation” and “balance” were giving way to “messaging” and “narrative” — increasingly amplified by a new, under-the-radar partner: celebrities.

In the days after October 7, staff referenced talks with “Disney,” “top-tier celebrities,” and the “Hadid sisters” — American-Palestinian influencers Gigi and Bella Hadid, whose rhetoric since has included very familiar language: Israeli “apartheid,” colonialism, and ethnic cleansing.

Human Rights Watch’s own methodology holds that while individuals commit abuses, responsibility ultimately rests with the institutions that enable, direct, or fail to restrain them.

Its public fallout with Shakir is a lesson for institutions that believe they can harness ideology and activism — even when doing so strains their own standards — without those same forces eventually turning inward and coming for them too.


NGO Monitor: Hamas’ World Vision Operative and the Campaign to Obstruct His Trial
Documents retrieved from Hamas’ Ministry of Interior and National Security (MoINS) in Gaza demonstrate that international NGO World Vision’s former director of Gaza operations, Mohammed el Halabi – who was convicted by Israel for diverting aid to Hamas – was an operative for the terror group. As seen in the documents, Hamas prioritized obstructing the case and disrupting Israel’s investigation, viewing the arrest and trial as a major breach of internal security. The evidence highlights the process by which Hamas closely monitored closed-door Israeli court proceedings, identified and interrogated suspected “leakers” in Gaza, and acted to prevent potential witnesses from reaching Israel in order to testify.

These revelations highlight a central Hamas strategy for controlling and diverting aid and explicitly expose the false narrative promoted by World Vision officials, European diplomats, and UN officials, who, without evidence, repeatedly claimed that el-Halabi was innocent and that Israel’s investigation was illegitimate.

Summary of Evidence
On June 15, 2016, World Vision’s director of Gaza operations, Mohammed el-Halabi, was arrested by Israel.1 The majority of the funds involved were provided to World Vision Australia by the Australian government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) – see funding section below. On June 15, 2022, he was convicted in the Beersheva District Court of a series of terror-related offences, including providing building materials to Hamas for constructing and concealing military installations – including tunnels – procuring weapons, collecting intelligence on Israeli positions, diverting funds, hiring Hamas members, and manipulating the World Vision tender process to benefit the terrorist organization.

Moreover, according to the verdict, el-Halabi ensured that “the majority” of World Vision-funded packages of “food and hygiene products, blankets, etc.,” were “regularly provided” to members of Hamas military units, including during periods of armed conflict with Israel.

International Defense of World Vision and Condemnation of Israel
From the time of his arrest, throughout the trial, and during the appeals process, World Vision and its numerous allies repeatedly rejected the allegations of massive Hamas aid diversion.

On August 4, 2016, a World Vision press statement insisted that its “programmes in Gaza have been subject to regular internal and independent audits, independent evaluations, and a broad range of internal controls aimed at ensuring that assets reach their intended beneficiaries and are used in compliance with applicable laws and donor requirements.”

In a February 2, 2017 statement, President and CEO of World Vision International Kevin Jenkin asserted “World Vision has not seen any credible evidence supporting the charges.” He added that the NGO had contracted a “leading global accounting firm,” to audit its operations, and that “The review to date has not generated any concerns about diversion of World Vision resources.” (This review was not made public.)

(On March 21, 2017, in response to numerous queries, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade announced that it “reviewed the management of its funding to World Vision in the Palestinian territories. The review uncovered nothing to suggest any diversion of government funds.” Despite claims to the contrary, this statement did not reject or refute the charges against el Halibi, or comment on the activities of World Vision Australia.)

On December 18, 2020, World Vision issued a statement claiming that it had “commissioned an externally-conducted forensic investigation. The investigation, completed in July of 2017, found no evidence of diversion of funds and no material evidence that El Halabi was part of or working for Hamas.” It is unclear how this investigation was conducted, what materials were reviewed, and the mandate from World Vision .

Following his conviction, World Vision Australia repeated the claims and declared, “We have not seen anything that makes us question our conclusion that Mohammad is innocent of all the charges.” Tim Costello, CEO of World Vision Australia at the time of el-Halabi’s arrest, insisted, “He was an innocent man…he said ‘I didn’t do anything,’ and he didn’t.” In the Sydney Morning Herald, (June 16, 2022) Tim Costello and Conny Lenneberg presented their version under the headline “Guilty verdict against World Vision hero is a travesty of justice.”

Likewise, Amnesty International wrote that “Release of Palestinian aid worker after nearly nine years of unjust imprisonment ends appalling miscarriage of justice.” Similarly, Amnesty Australia labeled el-Halabi a “prisoner of conscience,” who was “convicted after a grossly unfair trial.”
SMH: Hamas interrogated World Vision whistleblowers to obstruct trial
Internal Hamas documents show the militant group spied on and interrogated World Vision staff and suspected whistleblowers as part of a co-ordinated effort to obstruct an Israeli terrorism trial involving the charity’s former Gaza director, sharpening scrutiny of Australian-funded aid programs in the region.

The documents, captured by the Israel Defence Forces over the past two years, highlight the process by which Hamas closely monitored lengthy closed-door Israeli court proceedings, identified and interrogated suspected leakers in Gaza, and acted to prevent potential witnesses from reaching Israel to testify. World Vision’s former Gaza director Mohammed al-Halabi was convicted by an Israeli court of diverting aid funds to Hamas.Monique Westermann

Several reports seen by this masthead, authored by Hamas’ Ministry of Interior and National Security, allege that World Vision’s former Gaza director Mohammed al-Halabi used his senior role inside the international aid agency while secretly working for Hamas, and that the proscribed group treated his exposure as a major internal security failure.

Halabi was arrested by Israel in June 2016 and convicted in 2022 of diverting millions in humanitarian aid and materials to Hamas. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison and released in February 2025 as part of a prisoner-hostage swap between Israel and Hamas.


Eight Senate Democrats urge Trump to reinforce opposition to Israeli settlement expansion in West Bank
A group of eight leading Senate Democrats released a statement on Tuesday evening urging President Donald Trump to “clearly reinforce the opposition of the U.S. government to Israeli government actions that set the conditions for irreversible annexation” of the West Bank when he meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Wednesday.

The statement emphasizes Senate Democrats’ opposition to Israel expanding its control over settlements in the West Bank, which Israel’s Security Cabinet approved measures to help facilitate on Sunday ahead of Netanyahu’s visit to Washington this week.

“We are deeply troubled by the Israeli government’s decision to blatantly consolidate administrative control over and set the conditions to expand settlements into the West Bank,” the senators wrote. “The Israeli government’s actions contravene decades of bipartisan United States policy, including that expressed by President Trump, which asserts the United States supports a two-state solution and that it is not in the U.S. national security interest to support annexation of the West Bank.”

“We have long expressed our concern that these reckless moves make the possibility of a two-state solution, where Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side in peace and security, further out of reach,” the statement continued.

The group said they “urge Prime Minister Netanyahu to reverse course. When President Trump meets with Prime Minister Netanyahu this week, we also urge the President to clearly reinforce the opposition of the U.S. government to Israeli government actions that set the conditions for irreversible annexation.”

The statement was signed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the Senate Democratic whip; and Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mark Warner (D-VA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Patty Murray (D-WA). The senators who joined Schumer and Durbin are, respectively, the ranking members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Foreign Relations Committee, Intelligence Committee, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations and the Senate Appropriations Committee.


France calls on UN rapporteur Albanese to resign over ‘common enemy’ Israel remarks
France was calling for the resignation of the UN special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories over comments she made targeting Israel at a conference, the French foreign minister said on Wednesday.

“France unreservedly condemns the outrageous and reprehensible remarks made by Ms. Francesca Albanese, which are directed not at the Israeli government, whose policies may be criticized, but at Israel as a people and as a nation, which is absolutely unacceptable,” Jean-Noel Barrot told French lawmakers.

Speaking via videoconference at a forum Saturday in Doha, Qatar, organized by the Al Jazeera network, Albanese referred to a “common enemy” that enabled the “genocide” in Gaza.

“The fact that instead of stopping Israel, most of the world has armed [Israel], given Israel political excuses, political sheltering, [and] economic and financial support,” she said.

“We who do not control large amounts of financial capital, algorithms, and weapons — we now see that we as a humanity have a common enemy,” she continued.

On Wednesday, Albanese defended herself in an interview with TV channel France 24 that was recorded before Barrot’s statement, denouncing what she called “completely false accusations” and “manipulation” of her words.

“I have never, ever, ever said ‘Israel is the common enemy of humanity,'” she said.

But Barrot said Albanese’s comments joined “a long list of scandalous positions,” accusing the Italian rights expert of “justifying” the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks against Israel and “comparing Israel to the Third Reich.”

“She is a political activist who stirs up hate speech that does a disservice to the cause of the Palestinian people,” he said, responding to a question from Carole Yadan, a lawmaker from the presidential camp.


Israeli advisers said to have helped train Congo forces to retake city
Blackwater founder Erik Prince deployed a private security force to operate drones and help the Democratic Republic of Congo’s army secure the strategic city of Uvira against Rwanda-backed rebels, four people briefed on the mission said.

The AFC/M23 rebels briefly seized the city on the border with Burundi in December in a major blow to ongoing US and Qatar-backed peace negotiations. They withdrew after Washington threatened to retaliate.

Prince, a supporter of US President Donald Trump and founder of the now-defunct private security firm Blackwater, had been hired by the government in Kinshasa to help secure and improve tax revenue collection from Congo’s vast mineral reserves.

However, the operation to help elite forces recapture Uvira from AFC/M23 rebels is the first known involvement of Prince’s private security forces on the frontline in Congo, widening his role in the decades-long conflict.

A spokesperson for Prince declined to comment. The Congolese presidency and a local army spokesperson did not respond to queries.

One of the sources, a senior security official in Congo, said the presence of US-linked contractors would likely act as a deterrent to AFC/M23 forces, which may be unwilling to risk direct confrontation with Prince’s personnel.


IDF kills Hamas terrorist who orchestrated 2004 Beersheva bus attacks
The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday confirmed last week’s killing of Bassel Hashem Abd al-Fatah al-Haymuni, the terrorist responsible for the 2004 Beersheva bus bombings in which 16 Israelis were murdered.

Al-Haymuni, a Hebron native who was arrested in the wake of the attack but later deported to Gaza as part of the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner deal, was slain in an IDF airstrike in the Gaza Strip last week, the IDF stated.

“In August 2004, al-Haymuni sent several suicide bombers to carry out a double attack on two buses in Beersheva, in which 16 Israeli civilians were murdered and about 100 others were injured,” the army said.

Since his 2011 release, al-Haymuni “returned to recruiting terrorists and directing terror activity,” it said, adding that he “was involved during the war in manufacturing and planting explosives to harm our soldiers.”

The statement noted that the elimination of the Palestinian terrorist operative constituted “an important and valuable closing of a circle.”

Earlier on Wednesday, the military said that Israeli forces killed a Hamas commander who took part in many terrorist attacks against Israeli troops in the northern Gaza Strip.

The elimination of Ahmad Hasan, the head of a sniper unit in the terrorist group’s Beit Hanoun Battalion, came in response to the “blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement” on Monday, according to the IDF, referring to an incident in which Hamas gunmen emerged from a tunnel in eastern Rafah and opened fire on troops.


IDF dismisses soldiers filmed beating detained Palestinian in West Bank
The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday said it had dismissed two soldiers from combat roles after they were filmed beating a detained Palestinian man in the West Bank last week.

Footage published by Palestinian media on Friday showed the soldiers hitting and kicking the detained man, identified as Muhand al-Tamimi, near the village of Nabi Saleh, close to Ramallah.

Tamimi appeared to be handcuffed in the video.

In an initial response to a query by The Times of Israel, the IDF on Sunday said that the soldiers had been suspended from their duties and an investigation was being carried out.

On Wednesday, the military said that following an investigation by the troops’ commanders, “the soldiers involved [in the incident] were removed from combat duties.”

The Military Police also launched a probe into the incident, the findings of which would be sent to the Military Advocate General Corps for review and potential charges, the IDF said.


Israel to present ‘uncompromising position’ on Iranian threats
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington, D.C., for a pivotal meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday, during which Israeli concerns and red lines regarding Iran’s nuclear program and missile production are expected to take center stage.

While diplomatic channels between Tehran and Washington remain open, assessments indicate that Iran is racing to shield key elements of its nuclear program from potential aerial attack. At the same time, Tehran is working to rebuild a missile industry badly damaged in recent conflicts.

According to a report by i24 News, Iran aims to restore a short-term stockpile of roughly 2,000 missiles—about the same number it possessed on the eve of Operation Rising Lion in June 2025. During that operation, Iran is believed to have lost between one-third and half of its missile arsenal, along with roughly two-thirds of its launch capabilities. Since then, it has been moving rapidly to reconstitute those losses.

Brig. Gen. (res.) Prof. Jacob Nagel, former head of Israel’s National Security Council and a former acting national security adviser to the prime minister, who is now a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told JNS that Israel is preparing to present a clear and uncompromising stance.

“Israel’s uncompromising position, which the prime minister intends and needs to present to the president in their upcoming meeting, is a substantive, deep and final treatment of all four problematic axes vis-à-vis Iran,” Nagel said.

He listed those axes as Iran’s nuclear program, ballistic missiles, support for terrorism and oppression of the Iranian people.

Nagel expressed deep skepticism that Iran’s current leadership would accept such demands. “Since there is no chance that the current Iranian leadership will accept anything close to these requirements, we must prepare for the ‘other treatment’ that Trump has cited many times,” he said.

Nagel described this alternative path as a military option that could “bring the people out to the streets again and lead to the replacement of the corrupt and oppressive Iranian regime. No other way will solve the problem at the root.”
Trump insists after Netanyahu meeting: Negotiations with Iran continue, deal should be reached
Negotiations between the US and Iran on the nuclear issue will continue, US President Donald Trump said after his meeting on Wednesday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House.

“There was nothing definitive reached other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a Deal can be consummated,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“If it can, I let the Prime Minister know that will be a preference. If it cannot, we will just have to see what the outcome will be."

"Last time Iran decided that they were better off not making a Deal, and they were hit with Midnight Hammer — That did not work well for them."

"Additionally, we discussed the tremendous progress being made in Gaza, and the Region in general. There is truly PEACE in the Middle East," the post concluded.
Nobel committee calls on Iran to free Peace Prize laureate Mohammadi
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said on Wednesday that it had called on Iran to immediately free activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi from prison.

Mohammadi, 53, who has been imprisoned repeatedly in her three-decade campaign for women’s rights, was last week sentenced to a new prison term of 7-1/2 years, a group supporting her said on Sunday.

She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023, while in prison for her campaign to advance women’s rights and abolish the death penalty in the Islamic Republic.

Citing “reliable and well‑documented sources inside Iran,” the committee said Mohammadi was violently apprehended in December while attending the funeral of a human-rights lawyer and was subject to physical abuse and ongoing life‑threatening mistreatment.

An Iranian prosecutor at the time of the arrest told reporters that Mohammadi made provocative remarks at the memorial ceremony in the northeastern city of Mashhad, and encouraged those present “to chant norm‑breaking slogans” and “disturb the peace.”

The Nobel Committee, in a statement on Wednesday, said the laureate was subject to cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment in violation of international human rights law.

“Mohammadi’s ordeal is yet another grim example of the brutal repression that has followed the mass protests in Iran, where countless women and men have risked their lives to demand freedom, equality, and basic human rights,” it said.


Guterres faces backlash for congratulating Iranian regime, UN Watch demands transparency
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is alleged to have sent a letter of congratulations to the Iranian regime on the Wednesday anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, according to a report from Iran's IRNA.

According to the state outlet, Guterres extended congratulations to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, describing the day as an opportunity to reflect on the country's path, role, and contributions to the international community.

He also urged global cooperation to advance peace and security and uphold human rights.

UN Watch demanded that Guterres release the full text of his letter, stating that "the world deserves transparency on this matter."

"If the reports are authentic, we urge you to explain how congratulating a regime responsible for ongoing massacres serves the cause of peace and justice," a letter written by UN Watch to Guterres read.


Restricted Video:
Iranian singer Mehdi Yarrahi resurfaced online with a new song titled “Auschwitz,” triggering widespread discussion on Iranian social media.
Yarrahi, who is known for his protest songs in support of the Women, Life, Freedom movement, received 74 lashes as part of his sentence last March.
He was arrested in August 2023 after releasing Rousarieto (Take Off Your Headscarf).
The new track features lyrics by Hossein Shanbehzadeh, an Iranian blogger who was arrested in 2024 after posting a single dot in response to a tweet from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.




Jonathan Sacerdoti: Neo-Islamic conquest: how compassion became our weakness and their strength – Prof Mordechai Kedar
When NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani referenced Islamic teachings and invoked the Hijrah in his speech at a multi-faith event, was he offering a message of spiritual resilience — or signalling something more political?

In this conversation, Prof Mordechai Kedar unpacks what that reference really means, explaining how Hijrah is not simply a story of exile and refuge, marking the transition from marginalisation to sovereignty, from preaching to governing. We explore how a modern political leader drawing directly on that narrative deserves our urgent attention.

Mordechai Kedar, one of Israel's most experienced scholars of Islamic culture, Arabic society, and political Islam, draws on decades of study, to explain how migration functions within Islamic tradition, how theology becomes statecraft, and why historical precedent matters in contemporary politics.

We also assess Gaza after October 7th, Israel’s determination that Hamas does not return to power, and the argument for clan based emirates rather than nationalist or Islamist governance. Finally, we analyse Iran: credible threat, regime survival, ethnic fault lines, and whether decentralisation offers a more stable future than imposed unity.

This is a conversation about power, legitimacy, and the operating systems beneath public rhetoric.

👁‍🗨 Watch if you want to understand what Mamdani’s Hijrah reference signifies within Islamic history — and how migration narratives intersect with political authority in the West and the Middle East.

💬 We Discuss:
🕌 What the Hijrah represents in Islamic political development
🏙️ How religious narrative can function as a framework for public authority
⚖️ The boundary between personal religious practice and political Islam
🔥 What makes Israel alarmed about the Trump plan for Gaza
🏛️ The case for clan based emirates over ideological nationalist movements
🌍 Why heterogenous Middle Eastern states struggle for legitimacy
🛢️ Whether Iran is truly afraid of Trump's threats
🧭 The argument for decentralisation as a path to stability




Jason Miyares alleges ‘very organized’ and well-funded network propping up antisemitic activity
Former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares on Tuesday laid out what he said was a coordinated network funneling U.S. funds to terrorist groups abroad and bringing foreign money into the U.S. to incite anti-Israel protests.

The former attorney general, who in his previous role sought to expose the financial records of American Muslims for Palestine, seemingly referring to ongoing litigation, that “allegedly, a good number of charitable organizations and networks of them” funnel money both from the United States to terrorist proxies in the Middle East, as well as from overseas into campus protests.

“They’re very organized, they’re funded,” Miyares, a Republican, said at a George Washington University Program on Extremism conference on antisemitism. “You could see it as a huge network, a huge network that is nationwide, of different entities funneling money in, in my opinion, to form a dissent on these college campuses and give people then the license and the permission to push rampant antisemitism.”

He said that there was clear proof that the protests were orchestrated, pointing to an incident at Virginia Commonwealth University where a large protest “seemingly sprung out overnight,” where demonstrators arrived with premade barriers and signs, as well as full tactical gear and makeshift bear spray grenades, and coached other demonstrators on how to attack police.

Miyares said that he became particularly passionate about pursuing antisemitism as attorney general during a trip to Israel shortly after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, when he visited the site of some of Hamas’ massacres. On the way home from the trip, he saw news coverage of protests on U.S. campuses of protesters waving Hamas flags and shouting Hamas slogans.

“It really struck me in my core. How in the world did we get this inverted?” Miyares said.
J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami elected as trustee of Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Jeremy Ben-Ami, the president of J Street, has been elected as a new trustee of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, a leading philanthropic backer of anti-Israel causes, the foundation announced this week.

In joining the board, Ben-Ami is drawing closer to a foundation that has long been a top contributor to J Street, a progressive Israel advocacy group that has recently sought to capitalize on growing Democratic frustration with the war in Gaza.

But the foundation’s approach to philanthropy has not always been comfortably aligned with J Street’s mission, which is officially opposed to the Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment movement seeking to isolate Israel. For its part, RBF has provided funding to a range of pro-BDS groups such as Jewish Voice for Peace, the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights and Palestine Legal.

Such giving came under scrutiny amid a surge of anti-Israel protests that arose in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks — particularly as JVP emerged as a leading organizer of some demonstrations. “Several of our partners take policy positions that are critical of the government of Israel,” the foundation said in a December 2023 statement defending its grantees, “but each shares our conviction that all human life is precious and valued.”

In a follow-up statement in May 2024, the foundation clarified that it “has had no direct involvement in the campus protests nor have we earmarked funds for them,” while acknowledging some grantees “have provided training, messaging, and/or legal support to student protest leaders.”
Lander campaign operative shared Israel conspiracy theories, pro-Hamas content
The highest-paid consultant for former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander’s congressional bid is the founder of the “Hot Girls for Zohran” campaign — and a prolific X user who has shared posts lauding Hamas and insinuating Israeli involvement in 9/11 and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, all while attacking police and Democratic elected officials.

Among the 21 payments appearing in the first campaign finance filing from Lander — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s endorsed candidate against Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) — the largest is $15,000 disbursed to a company called Brain Child LLC for “Website and social media.” State corporation records reveal that the two-and-a-half-month-old firm belongs to Kaif Gilani and is based out of his triplex Brooklyn apartment.

According to his LinkedIn, Gilani serves as the vice president of the enterprise data office at Citi (the financial company did not confirm or deny this when reached for comment, but said it is “investigating the matter”). But Gilani gained attention, often using the name Kaif Kabir, during the 2025 mayoral campaign as one half of the team behind “Hot Girls for Zohran”: a viral merchandising, social media and volunteer canvassing effort backing the insurgent democratic socialist.

“Hot Girls for Zohran” also organized such high-engagement events as a Mamdani look-alike contest and a costumed Halloween bash profiled in Vanity Fair. In a photo posted to Substack, the future mayor posed with Gilani holding up one of the group’s signature T-shirts.

But amid all the fanfare, Gilani’s X account — from which he tweeted as @chunkyfila, after formerly using his own name as a handle — passed unnoticed, despite numerous extreme views he expressed or amplified on the platform. After Jewish Insider requested comment, Gilani deleted his X and LinkedIn profiles; he also set his Instagram profile, which also uses @chunkyfila as a handle and formerly linked an empty — now deleted — account for Brain Child, to private.

A representative for Lander, a self-proclaimed progressive Zionist who has been deeply critical of Israel during its war against Hamas, maintained that the campaign was unaware of the posts JI uncovered at the time it contracted with Gilani. They added that they have ended their relationship with his firm as of Tuesday in response to JI’s findings.


Citing anti-Israel backlash, NYC’s only Ethiopian-Israeli eatery ends regular dine-in hours
New York City’s only Ethiopian-Israeli restaurant has closed its doors for regular dining, citing the backlash it faced during the war in Gaza.

Beejhy Barhany, who opened Tsion Cafe in Harlem in 2014, recently announced that she is reimagining her restaurant as an event venue for culturally immersive experiences. That means no walk-ins, only group bookings made in advance.

Barhany sees the new model as a prime opportunity to educate New Yorkers about her culture. But she said the change represents a sad concession to the realities of Jewish life in the city since Oct. 7, 2023.

“Everything kind of changed — so much animosity,” she said. Things got even worse, she said, when she dropped meat from the menu in February 2024 to go fully vegan and kosher — a move that drew plaudits from Jews in the city but also raised Tsion’s profile among critics of Israel.

“I was proud to be Jewish. I wanted to illuminate that,” she said. “But from the moment we pivoted to be kosher, it became worse and worse.”

People would call the restaurant and harass whoever picked up the phone, Barhany said. One day, she recalled, a server at the restaurant was standing outside and “a bunch of Gen Z’s” passing through said, “Don’t ever come to this place. It’s owned by Israelis. By Zionists.”

While some Israeli restaurants that faced harassment drew public attention and support, Tsion, located off the beaten track in Harlem, did not. Barhany said she did not seek to publicize the incidents, hoping that they would recede in prominence. But they took a toll.

“It’s kind of tiring,” she said. “You’re here to nourish the community and it feels like you are perceived like the enemy.”




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