Sunday, March 15, 2026

03/15 Links: Eli Lake: One American-Israeli Battle After Another; Carlson claims CIA is ‘framing’ him as an Iranian agent; Israel rejects South Africa’s ‘blood libel’ genocide case

From Ian:

Eli Lake: One American-Israeli Battle After Another
The greatest irony of recent Israeli history is that, for all of its brilliance in penetrating and sabotaging Iran, Israeli intelligence failed to pick up the signs before October 7 that the worst pogrom against Jews since the Holocaust was in the offing. But that failure quickly led to profound changes in the scope of the mission against Iran. The senior Israeli war planner to whom I spoke put it like this: “We began rethinking the war plan in early 2023, but after October 7 we focused on a broader war against Iran, not just its nuclear program or missiles.” This represented at least a partial vindication of Dagan’s ideas a decade earlier.

And that is where things stand today. As Israel and America take out Iran’s missiles, nuclear facilities, defense industries, and its political and military leadership from the air, the hope is that after the dust settles, the remaining regime leadership will either surrender or agree to end the Islamic Republic’s war on the Great and Little Satan. As I write at the beginning of March, that may seem like a long shot, and one that invites intolerable risks. After all, without boots on the ground, neither the U.S. nor Israel will have the ability to shape the inevitable chaos that will result after the bombing stops. On the other hand, Israel has proven over the past eight months that it has eyes and ears everywhere in Iran. I wouldn’t be shocked if the Mossad has a plan for what comes next.

Here at home, what is going to come next for those who decided to blame this just American war on the little Jewish state they seem to hate so much? The populists seething about Trump’s war to Make Iran Great Again have shown that they misunderstand recent history and that their audiences are fools to listen to them. Over the past 30 years, Israel has built a capability that is on the precipice of removing a blood enemy of America. It has located and eliminated the clerics and generals responsible for 47 years of terror against our country and her allies.

Trump has not launched a war for Israel. Rather he has joined a war with Israel—a war Israel may have won even before the bombs started dropping.
Victor Davis Hanson: Trump challenged 50 years of Iran fears — and revealed the rotten, decaying truth
So here we are in 2026, watching the systematic destruction of the entire five-decade façade of a supposedly invincible Iranian military, the elimination of its theocratic leaders, and the dismantling of the Iranian military and Revolutionary Guard terrorists.

The regime has no military ability to ensure its survival.

All it has is a rope-a-dope strategy that assumes a White House attuned to domestic criticism, the looming midterms, the price of gas, and pressure from allies to end the war before the global economy sinks into recession.

We are left somewhat confused.

Why did prior presidents not hold Iran accountable for its killing, thus nourishing the myth of Iranian invincibility?

Why did Israel not respond earlier to Iran itself, rather than just its terrorist clients?

And what now are the remaining theocrats thinking? What is their strategy of survival?

They intend to ride out the bombings and, at some point in extremis, expect an armistice via “negotiations.”

They plan to wait out the tenures of both Trump and Netanyahu and hope for a sympathetic president like Obama, or a non compos mentis Biden, or someone ideologically akin to Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

With Trump and Netanyahu out of office, they dream of using their oil to re-arm and resume their role as Chinese and Russian proxies, eventually getting the bomb — and this time perhaps using it.

Theocratic Iran, in its fantasies, still believes that if it ever destroyed Israel, the world, especially given the recrudescence of Western antisemitism, would be appalled — for a day or two.

Then it would resume business as usual.

And with a dozen or so deterrent nuclear-tipped missiles at their backs, the Iranian ritual boilerplate of crazed pronouncements would follow.

Thus, we would go full circle back again to a “crazy” Iran, its murderous clients and its unhinged — but effective — threats.
John Podhoretz: They Should Have Listened to My Dad
Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu saw how an Iranian proxy in Gaza had set into motion a plan on October 7, 2023, with the purpose of bringing about an apocalyptic multifront assault on Israel’s existence—the very thing Ahmadinejad had said he had been seeking 18 years earlier. Iran hit Israel with ballistic missiles in 2024. Trump and Israel struck back with unprecedented force in 2025. And when they were done with the 12-day war, Trump said in no uncertain terms that he would go back to the skies if there were indications Iran was working to re-nuclearize. The Iranians had every chance during this time, and every rational reason, to stand down. They could have sued for peace after the 12-day war destroyed the Fordow nuclear facility and Iran’s air-defense system. They could have made a deal after Trump sent a gigantic armada to the waters near Iran and sent his negotiators to Geneva to talk to the Iranians. After all, they had seen Trump do what no other president would do, even though the four presidents who preceded him in office after the Soviet Union’s fall had all said Iran could not be allowed to go nuclear. The Iranians saw him go into Venezuela and extract its dictator, maybe their closest ally, like a dentist extracting a rotted tooth. But the Iranians did not stand down. Instead, they bragged to Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner that they possessed enough nuclear materiel for 11 bombs. Trump had watched the Iranian people rise up and had seen the Iranian leaders shoot them down. He tried to talk and in response they boasted of their capabilities to do evil. The Israelis had told him they knew the ayatollah and his team were going to be meeting on a Saturday morning all together in one place. Trump said go. Israel went. And then America struck.

In 2007, the Iranian nuclear program was nascent and notional. But we already knew where they had located it and what they were trying to get going. Had we bombed those sites then, as Israel had bombed Iraq’s reactor in 1981, a precedent would have been established. A simple precedent. Stop. Do it again, and we will hit you again. So don’t do it.

But we didn’t. And Barack Obama tried to buy them off. Donald Trump, in his first term, tried to put the Iranians in a cage with maximum pressure. And Joe Biden, well, who knows what Joe Biden did—but he certainly didn’t scare the Iranians. Donald Trump did hit them. And they didn’t stop.

Now they will. But we needn’t have gotten to this point. One strong strike in 2007 and the world would have looked very different. Bush should have listened to my dad.


IDF: Michigan terrorist was brother of slain Hezbollah boss
The terrorist who U.S. authorities tried to murder people at a synagogue in suburban Detroit on Thursday was the brother of a Hezbollah commander whom Israel killed last week, the IDF said on Sunday.

Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, who was born in Lebanon and had become a naturalized U.S. citizen, was the brother of Ibrahim Mohamad Ghazali, a Hezbollah commander who was responsible for managing weapons operations within a specialized branch of the terrorist group’s Badr Unit responsible for firing hundreds of rockets at Israeli civilians, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit wrote on X.

Ayman Mohamad Ghazali drove a vehicle carrying explosives into the hallway of a large Michigan synagogue complex on March 12, which includes a school.

He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Mich., Jennifer Runyan, FBI Detroit’s special agent in charge, said on Friday.

“At some point during the gunfight, Ghazali suffers a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head,” Runyan said during a press conference.

The suspected perpetrator was living in Dearborn Heights and he drove to the synagogue while armed, authorities said.

The synagogue’s director of security was wounded in the incident, during which the vehicle Ghazali was driving caught fire. Dozens of officers were treated for smoke inhalation. The children and staff inside the building were evacuated safely.


Two brothers investigated in France on suspicion of planning antisemitic attack
Two young men have been placed under formal investigation in France for planning a “deadly and antisemitic” attack, the counterterrorism prosecutor’s office (PNAT) said in a statement on Sunday.

The suspects, a 22-year-old engineering student and an unemployed 20-year-old who are brothers, were arrested last Tuesday after police found a semi-automatic firearm, a bottle of acid, and an ISIS flag in their car during a roadside police stop near a prison in northern France, PNAT said. It gave no details about the nature of the planned attack or its target.

The two are being investigated on charges of criminal terrorist conspiracy and possessing a weapon in connection with a terrorist undertaking, and have been placed in pre-trial detention. The PNAT did not release the suspects’ full identities.

Concerns about attacks against ⁠Jewish communities ​around the world have risen ​following US and Israeli attacks on Iran and the subsequent retaliation from Tehran.

In the US, an armed man, Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, crashed his truck into a Detroit-area synagogue and preschool on Thursday before fatally shooting himself. Officials later found large quantities of commercial-grade fireworks and several jugs of a liquid believed to be gasoline.

Several of Ghazali’s relatives were said to have been killed in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon earlier this month amid renewed fighting with Hezbollah. The IDF said on Sunday that Ghazali’s brother, who was killed in the strike, was a commander in the Iran-backed terror group.
Pentagon releases names of US service members killed in Iraq crash
The Pentagon on Saturday cleared for publication the names of the six U.S. Air Force crew members who died when a refueling aircraft crashed in Iraq on Thursday.

The killed crew members were identified as Maj. John “Alex” Klinner, 33; Capt. Ariana Savino, 31; Tech. Sgt. Ashley Pruitt, 34; Capt. Seth Koval, 38; Capt. Curtis Angst, 30; and Tech. Sgt. Tyler Simmons, 28.

The men and women died when a KC-135 refueling plane that was taking part in military operations against Iran crashed “over friendly airspace,” U.S. Central Command announced in a Friday statement.

“The circumstances of the incident are under investigation,” CENTCOM stated, adding that “the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.”

Their deaths brought the total number of confirmed American troops killed in “Operation Epic Fury” against the Islamic Republic to 13.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told reporters on Friday of the crash that “bad things can happen.

“War is hell. War is chaos,” Hegseth said. “We will greet those heroes at Dover [at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland], and their sacrifice will only recommit us to the resolve of this mission.”


Trump: US-led coalition could send warships to keep Strait of Hormuz ‘open and safe’
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that a global coalition led by Washington could dispatch warships to the Strait of Hormuz to keep the route “open and safe” amid the fighting with the Islamic Republic.

“We have already destroyed 100% of Iran’s military capability, but it’s easy for them to send a drone or two, drop a mine, or deliver a close-range missile somewhere along, or in, this waterway, no matter how badly defeated they are,” Trump explained in a post on Truth Social.

Trump said he hoped that China, France, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and other nations “that are affected by this artificial constraint” would send vessels.

“In the meantime, the United States will be bombing the hell out of the shoreline, and continually shooting Iranian boats and ships out of the water,” the president said, vowing: “One way or the other, we will soon get the Hormuz Strait open, safe and free.”

None of the countries listed by Trump ​gave any immediate indication ⁠they would do so, though France and Britain have been discussing a range of options to secure the Strait, Reuters reported on Sunday.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who replaced his slain father, said in a written statement on Thursday that the “lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must certainly continue to be used.”

Since the start of “Operation Epic Fury” on Feb. 28, the Strait of Hormuz—a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil passes—has seen repeated Iranian attacks on commercial shipping vessels and a sharp drop in maritime traffic.


IDF planning 3 more weeks of operations to systematically degrade Iran’s defense industry
The Israel Defense Forces’ campaign in the joint war with the United States against Iran is proceeding according to plan, and at a faster pace than initially expected, military officials said on Sunday, with strikes on Iran’s defense industries expected to further ramp up alongside ongoing efforts to reduce missile fire on Israel.

Despite being apparently ahead of schedule, the military has said it is preparing for at least three more weeks of operations in Iran, as it still has thousands more targets to hit, both in Tehran and in other parts of the country.

“We have thousands of targets ahead,” IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin told CNN on Sunday. “We are ready, in coordination with our US allies, with plans through at least the Jewish holiday of Passover, about three weeks from now. And we have deeper plans for even three weeks beyond that.”

Following Israel’s decapitation strikes that opened the war on February 28, killing Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei and more than 40 top Iranian officials, and subsequent strikes on ballistic missile launchers and air defense systems, the IDF is now focusing its efforts on destroying Iran’s military industry, according to the officials.

The officials said that the current campaign against Iran is different from the 12-day war in June 2025, and far more extensive.

During the previous war, Israel sought to counter the “existential threat” of Iran imminently developing a nuclear weapon, as well as its ramped-up production of ballistic missiles. The current war has given the IDF an opportunity to not only remove the “existential Iranian threat” to Israel, but also Iran’s “strategic threat” on the Jewish state “for the foreseeable future,” the officials said.
Iran fires 7 more missile salvos at Israel, attacks Gulf; IDF launches ‘extensive’ strikes
Iran fired seven missile salvos at Israel overnight Saturday and into Sunday wounding at least eight people and kept up its attacks on countries across the Gulf as the Israel Defense Forces launched a new wave of “extensive” strikes targeting Iranian regime infrastructure in the country’s west.

An Iranian missile rained cluster bomb munitions across a swath of central Israel wounding four people.

In Bnei Brak, a man in his 60s was moderately hurt after a suspected cluster bomb munition struck an apartment building. In Ramat Gan, a man in his 70s was lightly hurt by a blast following another impact, and two women, aged 46 and 18, were lightly hurt in Petah Tikvah, the Magen David Adom rescue service said.

Two people were lightly injured in an earlier attack shortly before noon. The pair, two men in their 50s, were hurt in central Israel, MDA said, after a missile carrying a cluster bomb warhead spread submunitions across the area. Damage and fires were caused at multiple sites in central Israel by the cluster munitions, according to rescue services.

And in the early morning, two people were lightly injured in Holon, in central Israel. MDA said a man in his 80s received medical treatment at the scene for light injuries caused by glass shards, and a woman, also in her 80s, was being treated for symptoms of smoke inhalation.


IDF says no shortage of interceptors, after report claimed stockpile ‘critically low’
The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday denied reports that Israel is running “critically low” on air defense interceptors, as the war with Iran, in which the Islamic Republic has fired missiles and drones at Israel repeatedly each day, entered its third week.

The denial came hours after the government approved the transfer of an additional NIS 2.6 billion (around $826 million) in budget funds to the Defense Ministry for “urgent and essential defense procurement” amid the fighting in Iran and Lebanon. The vote was held by phone, late Saturday night.

An Israeli military official told reporters on Sunday that the IDF had no interceptor shortage as of now. “We prepared for a prolonged conflict. We are monitoring the situation at all times,” the official said.

The IDF has said it is “prepared and ready to handle any scenario,” but initially declined to comment on specific munitions matters following the report from a US news site and a late-night “urgent” government approval of funds for defense procurement.

Speaking Sunday Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also denied the report Israel was running low on interceptors. Asked at a press conference if there was any veracity to the report Sa’ar replied, “The answer is no,” but did not elaborate.
Iran’s security agents gang rape two nurses detained for aiding protesters
Two nurses working in a Tehran hospital who treated wounded protesters during the nationwide uprising in January were tortured and repeatedly gang raped by security agents while in custody, people familiar with the matter told Iran International.

The sources, based in Tehran, requested anonymity for fear of retribution.

The nurses were among medical staff at Tehran’s Rajaei Cardiovascular, Medical and Research Center who treated people injured during the massive protests that erupted in late December and spread into early January, drawing millions into the streets and prompting a crackdown that led to mass arrests and at least 36,500 deaths.

Sexual torture and severe injuries
One of the nurses, a 33-year-old woman, was repeatedly abused and raped during detention, according to informed sources who spoke with Iran International.

Sources said agents subjected her to various forms of sexual torture.

In addition to assaulting her with their fingers, agents raped her in groups of two or three over consecutive days.

They also raped her by inserting a foreign object into her anus, causing severe bleeding, the sources said.

In another form of torture, agents took her along with dozens of other detained women to an elevated place and then pushed them all into a small pit-like space, the sources said.

The injuries inflicted on the nurse were so severe that doctors had to remove part of her intestine, and she now lives with a colostomy bag, one source said.

Her uterus also suffered severe tearing and she has so far undergone two surgeries. Doctors may ultimately be forced to remove her uterus completely, the source added.

Before she was transferred to the operating room, the nurse repeatedly asked doctors not to allow her to survive and said that if she came out of surgery alive, she would take her own life, the source said.


Israel eliminates Lebanon-based terrorist tied to Iran
Israeli forces have eliminated a prominent Lebanon-based Palestinian terrorist directed by the Iranian regime’s intelligence arm, military authorities said on Sunday, identifying the target as Muhammad Majed Abd al-Salam Tawfiq Zidan.

Zidan’s elimination on Friday was a joint operation by the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), the two organizations said in a joint statement.

“He served as a key Palestinian terrorist who operated under the intelligence arm of the Iranian terror regime and attempted to advance terror attacks within the State of Israel,” the statement said.

The IDF and Shin Bet added that the Iranian regime “continues to promote and direct terrorist activity against the State of Israel and IDF troops through intelligence activities and recruiting Palestinian terrorist operatives in Lebanon, including during Operation Roaring Lion.”

Israel launched the operation against the Iranian regime on Feb. 28 jointly with the United States, which codenamed the operation “Epic Fury.”


Eight hurt as Israel under fire from Iran, Hezbollah
At least eight people have been injured since the early hours of Sunday, according to Magen David Adom, as Israel continues to come under Iranian and Hezbollah missile fire that has triggered nationwide sirens and caused fires and property damage.

Two men were wounded on Sunday afternoon when Iranian missile fire struck central Israel, MDA said. A 60-year-old man in Bnei Brak suffered moderate glass shrapnel wounds to the head, and a 70-year-old man in nearby Ramat Gan sustained light blast injuries. Both were taken to Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center’s Ichilov Hospital, where they were listed in satisfactory and good condition, respectively.

A 46-year-old woman and an 18-year-old woman suffered light blast injuries, including ringing in their ears, in the Petach Tikvah area and were taken by MDA to the city’s Beilinson Hospital.

Fragments from an Iranian missile struck the building where the U.S. consul general in Israel lives on Sunday.
Struggle to reach safety: Falls on the way to shelters outweigh other injuries
Every day, dozens of people arrive at branches of Yad Sarah, looking for crutches, slings and other medical equipment, after being injured rushing to bomb shelters amid the ongoing missile salvos from Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon. It is a pattern we have seen far too much of—not just during the current intense conflict, but since the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

For nearly two-and-a-half years, virtually every part of Israel at one time or another has experienced sirens due to rockets, drones and missiles. It is difficult and stressful for everyone, but the elderly and those with disabilities face even more challenges.

The number of injuries from tripping, falls, stumbling down stairs and other minor accidents on the way to take shelter far surpasses those from missiles themselves. Some of these injuries can be prevented. As we help those who have been hurt and those who have been evacuated due to damages to their homes, we are also working around the clock to help prevent future injuries.

Even simple steps can cut down on the number of related injuries, including anxiety attacks.


Ask Haviv Anything: Episode 98: What Israel’s founding fathers knew about terrorism, with Dr. Bruce Hoffman
Terrorism scholar Dr. Bruce Hoffman joins the podcast to guide us through one of the most morally explosive chapters in Zionist and Israeli history: the Irgun, Lehi, the British Mandate, and the violent campaign that helped force Britain out of Palestine. Moving from Allenby’s conquest of Jerusalem to the King David Hotel bombing, the Lord Moyne assassination, the hanging of the British sergeants, and the bitter intra-Jewish “Saison,” the conversation refuses easy answers and asks the hardest questions head-on: When is political violence terrorism, when is it insurgency, and why does terrorism so often work? The conversation is surprisingly urgent and immediate, as we connect Menachem Begin’s mastery of narrative and information warfare to Hamas, October 7, and Israel’s catastrophic failures in the information war. The parallels and lessons are haunting. Join us for this journey into history, ethics, propaganda, the necessity of statehood, and the frightening power of violence to change the course of history.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Terrorism in Jewish History
04:02 Setting the Scene: The British Mandate in Palestine
04:41 The Rise of Jewish Militias: Haganah, Irgun, and Lehi
25:17 Key Events: The King David Hotel Bombing and Assassinations
37:41 The Moral Complexity of Terrorism and Resistance
40:16 The Complexity of Terrorism and Civilian Casualties
46:26 The Glass House Strategy: Propaganda and Political Violence
54:35 The Efficacy of Terrorism: Historical Perspectives
59:21 Ethics of Terrorism: Justification and Outcomes
01:07:18 Lessons from History: The Importance of Narrative in Conflict




Bill Maher calls out Gov. Josh Shapiro on Iran war criticism: ‘You would still do nothing?’
Comedian Bill Maher pressed Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Friday over his opposition to U.S. involvement in Iran, challenging the Democrat on what he would do if he were commander-in-chief and had been given knowledge that Iran would soon have nuclear weapons.

“Our chief negotiator said they were talking to Iran up until the war started. He said their opening salvo at the negotiations, ‘We’re a couple of weeks away from having 11 bombs.’” Maher said during the latest installment of “Real Time.”

“If you were the president, and you got that information, you would still do nothing?”

Shapiro quickly rejected the notion.

“No. What I would do, and what the President of the United States failed to do, was be clear with the American people about what the hell we were doing here,” he said.

“Was the plan to go after the nuclear weapons? The weapons, by the way, he said were destroyed… seven months ago. Was the plan to go and do regime change? In which case, who the hell is going to take over? I don’t think the son [Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei] is any better than the father. Was the plan to go in there later, but you got forced because Netanyahu forced your hand?”

“I think if you don’t have clarity about why you’re going in, you have no way of knowing how the hell to get out,” he added, his remarks met with applause.

Maher also pushed back on the Pennsylvania Democrat’s suggestion that the rationale for the war remains unclear.

“We’ve lost 13 American soldiers in a war that the American people and, by the way, most of the global community, has no idea why the hell we went there in the first place,” Shapiro said.

“I think people have an idea,” Maher countered.

“What was the reason we went in?” Shapiro asked.

“Everything you said – the nukes, regime change, and just to reshuffle the deck in the Middle East. Nothing ever really was going to get better until that regime went away,” Maher replied, prompting chuckles from the audience.

Maher then added, “But we’ll see what happens.”


Tucker Carlson claims CIA read his texts with Iran, is ‘framing’ him as foreign agent
In July 2025, Carlson was condemned for interviewing Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, providing the representative of the Islamic Republic with a global platform and no pushback.

“This was a major victory for Iranian information warfare operations. Whether intentionally or not, Carlson is acting as a significant conduit and amplifier for Iranian government information operations,” Marcus Kolga, an expert on foreign disinformation, told Iran International, a UK-based anti-government outlet, at the time.

Carlson—who has been accused of peddling antisemitic conspiracy theories—called the strikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei “absolutely disgusting and evil,” and said that the war is being waged on behalf of Israel.

His outburst led to public condemnation from the White House.

“Tucker has lost his way. I knew that a long time ago, and he’s not MAGA,” President Trump said in a March 5 interview with ABC News.

“MAGA is saving our country. MAGA is making our country great again. MAGA is America first, and Tucker is none of those things. And Tucker is really not smart enough to understand that,” he said.

Fox News host Mark Levin accused Carlson of amplifying narratives favorable to America’s foes in the Middle East, while some critics have even alleged that Carlson receives financial backing from Qatar, a claim Carlson has strongly denied.

The CIA and the Department of Justice did not respond immediately to requests for comment.


Three more members of Iran’s national soccer team leave asylum in Australia
Three more members of the Iranian women’s soccer team have left their asylum in Australia and decided to return home, Canberra said Sunday.

Seven members of Iran’s visiting soccer delegation competing in the Women’s Asian Cup had sought sanctuary in Australia after they were branded “traitors” at home for refusing to sing the national anthem.

Only three of them will now remain in Australia, after another member of the group had second thoughts earlier in the week.

“Overnight, three members of the Iranian Women’s Football Team made the decision to join the rest of the team on their journey back to Iran,” Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement.

“After telling Australian officials they had made this decision the players were given repeated chances to talk about their options,” he said.

The Australian government gave team members the opportunity to seek refuge but players faced “incredibly difficult decisions,” the minister said.


Israel rejects South Africa’s ‘blood libel’ genocide case
Israel on Saturday submitted a counter-memorial to the International Court of Justice, rejecting what it called South Africa’s “fabricated and politicized blood libel” accusing the Jewish state of genocide in Gaza.

The Foreign Ministry said Pretoria is acting as the Hamas terrorist group’s “legal mouthpiece” and “weaponizing international law as a propaganda spectacle.” It argued that Israel has the right to defend itself following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack, stressing that its operations target Hamas terrorists, not civilians.

Israel said it took “extraordinary efforts” to reduce civilian harm and facilitate humanitarian aid, while accusing Hamas of using Gazans as human shields.

The filing asserts that the ICJ lacks jurisdiction and calls for South Africa’s case to be dismissed.

“Any contrary determination would undermine the fundamental right of States to defend their citizens against terrorists attacking from civilian population centers,” the Foreign Ministry said.

Israel’s Deputy Attorney General Gilad Noam called South Africa’s genocide case “baseless and libelous” and accused Pretoria of distorting international law.


NPR Omits Antisemitism Around Their Man Mamdani, Hammers on GOP 'Islamophobia'
Can you believe that? We don't have daily shootings by radical Islamists. But in a week filled with violent attacks by radical Muslims -- in Virginia, Michigan, and outside Mamdani's mansion in New York -- NPR is going to say attacks are RARE?

Even then, NPR "domestic extremism correspondent" Odette Yousef and host Scott Detrow never breathed the word "Muslim" in a March 13 evening roundup of the Muslim violence. The next morning, Yousef did it again -- the assailant in Michigan was a "naturalized Lebanese American citizen," and host Scott Simon only used the M-word to refer to "an attempted attack on anti-Muslim protesters in New York."

In addition to Mann's article on Sen. Tuberville, NPR has been on a streak of GOP "Islamophobia" stories, leaping off Rep. Andy Ogles tweeting about Muslims being incompatible with America.


Police probe ‘death to IDF’ chant led by Bob Vylan at Al Quds protest
Police are investigating “death, death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)” chants led by Bob Vylan at the Al Quds Day demonstration.

The artist, real name Pascal Robinson-Foster, who is a member of punk duo Bob Vylan, repeated his controversial Glastonbury chant while appearing as a speaker at the protest on Sunday.

Those in the crowd appeared to join in.

The Metropolitan Police said: “We are aware of chanting made by a speaker at the Al Quds protest and will be investigating.

“We recognise the concern footage and chanting like this causes, particularly with London’s Jewish communities.
SHOCKING: Jihad TAKES Over The London Streets – Al Quds Day Protest | Samara Gill
The Met Police says it is investigating chants of “death to the IDF” led by Bobby Vylan at an Al Quds Day protest in central London.

The annual march was banned over fears of disorder, but static protests still went ahead. Police said 12 people were arrested during the protest and counter-protest, for offences including support for a proscribed group, affray and abusive behaviour.

The Met said it understands the concern caused by the chants, especially for London’s Jewish communities, and is now looking into the footage.

Samara Gill speaks with protesters at the static protest.


‘This is not art’: Biennale of Sydney branded ‘woke-fest’ after pro-Palestine stunt
Sky News host James Morrow has taken aim at the taxpayer-funded Biennale of Sydney following a DJ’s on-stage pro-Palestinian stunt during the event.

“This is just absolutely disgraceful, the whole conduct of this Biennale. There has been a huge amount of criticism for the way it has turned into this unbelievable woke-fest,” Mr Morrow said.

“This is not art, this is just activism.”


Graffiti at San Jose State U calls to ‘kill all Jews’
Graffiti at San Jose State University calling for the “eradication of Jews” has put the campus Jewish community on high alert after threats were found scrawled on building walls this past week, according to the local ABC News affiliate and the U.S.-based watchdog group StopAntisemitism.

The graffiti at the California school included the phrases “Kill all Jews,” “Make Osama proud” and “Avoid SJSU 4 Muslims” as well as two Stars of David crossed out with the prohibition symbol.

University police say they are investigating the messages, which appeared on March 11 and 12, but SJSU Jewish Faculty and Staff Association President Philip Heller warned that previous antisemitic incidents and physical violence make him fear “we’ll see more,” ABC7 reported.


Guardian column claims presence of Gail’s bakery near Palestinian cafe is ‘heavy-handed aggression’
A Guardian columnist has claimed the presence of a branch of a Gail’s bakery on the same street as a Palestinian cafe “feels like an act of heavy-handed high-street aggression”.

Jonathan Liew’s piece, which appeared in yesterday’s edition of the newspaper, has triggered a fresh row over antisemitism in British media, with watchdog CAMERA UK formally complaining to the newspaper.

The group said it had written to the editor raising concerns about Liew’s article, specifically the observation that Gail’s presence in Archway, north London, “20 metres away from a small independent Palestinian cafe feels quietly symbolic, an act of heavy-handed high-street aggression”.

The Archway branch of Gail’s has been targeted in recent weeks, with its windows smashed and paint daubed on the walls. Police have increased uniformed patrols in the area, with officers investigating the repeated criminal damage. No arrests have been made.

The Archway branch of Gail’s has been targeted in recent weeks
The controversy has spread on social media. Broadcaster and mathematician Rachel Riley criticised the column. Posting on X, Riley wrote: “I’ve been saying this for a couple of years now, our very existence is being viewed as a provocation.”

Journalist Hadley Freeman wrote: “So let me get this straight: 1. Petty activism against a Palestinian-owned cafe is bad (agreed!) 2. But *violent* activism against a cafe that people associate (wrongly!) with Israel is justified and understandable Update your rule book accordingly.” While Simon Myerson KC wrote: “I see the Guardian is having an antisemitic moment. Sorry, another antisemitic moment.”


IRGC-linked media cited 78,000 times on Wikipedia
Wikipedia has cited IRGC or Iranian-regime media at least 78,665 times across its English, Persian, Arabic, and Spanish-language versions, The Jerusalem Post found.

Realistically, this means Wikipedia has closer to 100,000 references based on information from the propaganda arm of Iran's Islamic Regime. The findings suggest a systematic pattern of IRGC-linked media and editors infiltrating Wikipedia articles to frame the narrative of key topics such as Iran's politics and military.

For the investigation, the Post used code to mass analyze citations to IRGC-affiliated media across four Wikipedia language editions using the MediaWiki API. The findings ultimately reveal a systematic pattern of state media citation infiltration, narrative manipulation, and coordinated editing that spans the world's largest encyclopedia.

The issue was first flagged by Ashley Rindsberg, an investigative journalist covering Wikipedia manipulation, who wrote in the Daily Mail that he had found 29,000 examples of Wikipedia citing Iranian state media outlets.

"Wikipedia editors are copy-pasting text from official terror websites operated into articles," Rindsberg said.


After years of hesitation, more Druze of the Golan Heights seek Israeli citizenship
On Sunday, the first IDF soldier from the Druze town of Majdal Shams was killed in combat.

Sgt. First Class Maher Khatar, 38, of the Combat Engineering Corps, was killed alongside Staff Sgt. Or Demry near the Tzivoni outpost – one of five outposts the IDF set up in South Lebanon after the ceasefire agreement signed in November 2024. The two were struck by a mortar shell or a missile fired by Hezbollah as they went out in D9 bulldozers to rescue a stuck tank.

As a result, Majdal Shams, a town of about 12,000 residents, held its first military funeral. In this small town near the Syrian border and the slopes of Mount Hermon, IDF soldiers are still a rare sight, but it seems that this, too, is about to change.

Just over a week before Khatar was killed, and two days before the start of the second war with Iran, The Times of Israel visited Majdal Shams as part of a tour of the area, where Israel borders Syria and Lebanon.

The entire sector felt as if it were sitting on burning coals. Despite the ceasefire agreement, Israeli residents near the border said they felt unsafe and were longing for the moment the IDF would change its security paradigm and strike across the border.

The situation changed on Saturday, February 28, with the joint US-Israeli attack on senior Iranian regime figures. A few days later, Israel also responded to Hezbollah fire from Lebanon, resuming Israel’s campaign against the terror organization.

An obligatory stop in Majdal Shams is the soccer field in the heart of the town, where 12 young children were killed when a Hezbollah rocket hit the grounds on the morning of Saturday, July 24, 2024, while a youth game was taking place.

The tragedy left the town and the three other nearby Druze villages – Mas’ada, Ein Qiniyye, and Buq’ata – grieving and furious. A memorial is currently being built at the site of the rocket crater. Surrounding it are sports fields and a toddler’s playground, serving as a violent and painful testament to the massacre site’s centrality in the daily life of Majdal Shams.




Buy EoZ's books  on Amazon!

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

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

    
 

 



AddToAny

Printfriendly

EoZTV Podcast

Podcast URL

Subscribe in podnovaSubscribe with FeedlyAdd to netvibes
addtomyyahoo4Subscribe with SubToMe

search eoz

comments

Speaking

Speaking

translate

E-Book

For $18 donation








Sample Text

EoZ's Most Popular Posts in recent years

Search2

Hasbys!

Hasbys!

2019 Nobel Peace Prize nominee

Elder of Ziyon - حـكـيـم صـهـيـون



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

Donate!

Donate to fight for Israel!

Monthly subscription:
Payment options


One time donation:

Follow EoZ on Twitter!

Interesting Blogs

Show All

Blog Archive

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