Thursday, June 11, 2026

06/10 Links Pt1: Israel reclaims its right to self-defense; Victor Davis Hanson: ‘Democrats are Islamists now’; Fetterman: Outlook for Jews in Democratic Party is ‘bleak’;

From Ian:

Israel reclaims its right to self-defense
Despite what was widely perceived as Trump’s opposition to escalation, Netanyahu ordered Israeli fighter jets to strike targets inside Iran, including missile launchers and petrochemical facilities.

This is where the deeper challenge begins.

Trump has made clear that he wants negotiations with Iran to continue. His message to both sides has essentially been: enough. One side attacked, the other responded; now stop.

Iran agreed—but with a condition that effectively leaves Lebanon hostage to Tehran’s interests.

Israel, Iran declared, must refrain from attacking Hezbollah—conveniently referred to by Tehran as “Lebanon”—or else “far heavier measures than those already undertaken” would follow. In other words, the war would continue.

That is hardly an outcome Trump welcomes.

Yet almost immediately after the Iranian statement was issued, Hezbollah—which had remained conspicuously quiet for some 30 hours during Iran’s operation and rarely acts without guidance from Tehran—resumed firing at Kiryat Shmona, Metula and other northern communities.

Northern Israel was once again under terrorist attack.

Israel, therefore, appears to face a dilemma while Washington watches closely.

But is it really a dilemma?

The relationship between Jerusalem and Washington is too close, too strategic and too deeply integrated for either side to imagine that Hezbollah’s aggression should go unanswered. U.S. Central Command and the various coordination mechanisms linking the two countries operate continuously. There have been no reports of serious disputes or breakdowns in communication.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee strongly condemned Iran’s attacks. Likewise, Israeli officials explaining the operation against Iran emphasized both Israel’s commitment to its alliance with the United States and its determination to retain the freedom to punish those who attack it.

Israel’s ambassador in Washington, Yechiel Leiter, underscored both the necessity of Israel’s actions and Jerusalem’s commitment to maintaining close coordination with Washington. Explaining the operation against Iran, Leiter emphasized that Israel’s objective was not escalation for its own sake, but the defense of its citizens against an existential threat.

His message reflected Israel’s determination to preserve its strategic partnership with the United States while retaining the freedom—and the obligation—to strike those who attack it.

With precision and determination, Israel’s course appears to be the only realistic one in the dangerous region it inhabits.

There is little chance that Netanyahu will allow Iran to posture through Hezbollah’s Lebanese front while Israel absorbs the consequences.

This is the Middle East.

It is also logical that Israel’s decisive response has once again given the Gulf states and the broader Sunni Arab world a reason to revisit the prospect of a useful anti-Iranian alignment—one that could reshape the region.

That is an outcome Trump may well find attractive.
Michael Oren: Israel has no choice but to risk open conflict with Trump
In May 2021, on the eighth day of “Operation Guardian of the Walls” against Hamas, I received a phone call from a senior adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden, who asked me to convey an urgent message to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “Israel must end the operation tonight, or risk losing American support.” Netanyahu was furious. He wanted to keep fighting for at least three more days. But he immediately complied. The operation ended that evening.

The only difference between U.S. President Donald Trump and previous presidents is his tendency to treat us publicly as vassals who must obey his every order. This is humiliating and demoralizing for Israel and, unfortunately, it strengthens our enemies. But that raises the question: Must Israel obey the White House’s demands under all circumstances and at any price?

Historically, the answer has been “no.” U.S. presidents not only ordered Israel to stop fighting; they also opposed its decision to go to war in the first place. That was the case in every war from the establishment of the state until “Operation Rising Lion” last year. Yet Israel’s leaders, despite the risk of a rift with Washington, determined that our basic security was at stake and decided to act.

Ironically, every time Israel defied the White House and went to war—in 1948, for example, in 1967 and in the 1981 strike on Iraq’s nuclear reactor—we earned America’s respect. Every time we surrendered to pressure and showed restraint—in 1973 and in the 1991 Gulf War—we earned America’s contempt.

This record is especially relevant today, when Hezbollah will undoubtedly violate any ceasefire and continue attacking us. Israel needs to defend and save the north, but in doing so, it risks not only war with Iran but also an open confrontation with President Trump. As in the past, Israel will have no choice but to act.

With its eyes wide open to the potential cost, Israel must show that it is neither a U.S. vassal nor its 51st state, but a sovereign country with an unshakable duty to defend its territory and its citizens. In the end, if history is our guide, Trump will respect us for it.
Who Is To Blame for Israel’s Sagging US Poll Numbers? Not Netanyahu or the Gaza War.
The investigative reporting geniuses who were so keen to see the hand of Russia, Russia, Russia in Donald Trump’s 2016 election victory seem remarkably incurious about the roles Turkey, Qatar, Iran, China, and the Palestine Liberation Organization have played in shaping U.S. domestic opinion, notwithstanding a 2024 press release from President Biden’s director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, that "Iranian government actors have sought to opportunistically take advantage of ongoing protests regarding the war in Gaza."

In other words, Netanyahu and the Gaza war aren’t the only variables. America is also a variable. The information environment is a variable. The Iran war is another variable. It is not over yet. If it concludes with a joyously free Iran allied with Israel and America and pumping plentiful and cheap oil and gas that gets paid for in U.S. dollars, Israel’s poll numbers—and Trump’s—will climb. A White House signing ceremony for Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Kuwait, Pakistan, Iran and Lebanon joining the Abraham Accords would also help Israel’s popularity—and Trump’s. That won’t happen so long as a hostile Iranian regime armed with missiles, drones, and proxies and the ability to close the Strait of Hormuz remains in power in Tehran.

The Gallup data are misleading because they omit respondents who say their sympathies are with both Israel and the Palestinians, with neither, or who have no opinion. Gallup itself concedes that the 5-percentage-point difference by which American sympathies are with the Palestinians over Israel in the latest poll "is not statistically significant." As recently as September 2025, Pew found Americans viewed the Israeli government more favorably than Hamas or the Palestinian Authority, and also viewed the Israeli people slightly more favorably than the Palestinian people.

Netanyahu has been prime minister of Israel on and off since 1996. The decline in Americans’ sympathy for Israel predated the Gaza war, as evidenced by a former editor of the The New Republic, Peter Beinart, publicly abandoning Zionism in July of 2020, by the Harvard Crimson in 2022 editorially endorsing a boycott of Israel (while Naftali Bennett was prime minister in a coalition government that included Arab parties and Mansour Abbas as a minister), by the Harvard student organizations that came out with their letter on October 7, 2023, stating, "We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence" and "the apartheid regime is the only one to blame."

My own bet is that the U.S. will eventually get back on track—Trump’s election has already set some of this in motion, including some changes to immigration policy and the forced sale of TikTok, if not yet a thorough cleanup of the feeds emanating from there or other platforms. The eventual end of the wars and of the pandemic will make it easier for young Americans to go to Israel and to see the reality of the situation for themselves. If the travelers so choose, they can fly there via the United Arab Emirates, which sees Israel as a promising partner. The hunger for meaning, purpose, and community may fuel a return to Christianity and Judaism, to churches and synagogues. Eventually people will figure out that the real dictators aren’t Trump and Netanyahu but Erdogan, Xi, and Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar. Netanyahu will eventually die or retire or lose an election, and his successors will demonstrate the reality that Netanyahu wasn’t to blame for all the world’s Israel-hate. Until then, treat monocausal explanations—whether they come from former ABC anchor Moran or from the Brookings Institution's Bill Galston—with extreme skepticism.


Platner's primary victory shows just how deep the Democrats' fracture goes
Despite it being a foregone conclusion, Graham Platner’s victory on Monday in Maine’s Democratic State primary represents an alarming escalation in the widening fracture between the Democratic Party, its Jewish voters, and Israel.

Platner won the primary after his initial opponent, Gov. Janet Mills, dropped out of the race following a wave of momentum for the energetic, sometimes oyster-farmer outsider to politics. He will now face off in November against Republican incumbent Susan Collins, who has served as Maine’s senior senator since 1997.

Platner, a progressive populist who has garnered grassroots support for promising to focus on the economic woes of the US middle class, is also virulently anti-Israel.

Not in the sense that he thoughtfully opposes the nuances of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government’s policies in defending the country against Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran – opposition, which, by the way, aligns him with more than half of Israeli citizens. But rather, Platner has thrown his lot in with those Israel haters who haul out the “genocide” and “baby killers” trope in any instance they can.

His campaign seems to be obsessed with Israel. Platner’s first online ad, released in August, promised that he would never seek or receive the endorsement of the giant Israeli-American lobby group AIPAC because he believed Israel had committed genocide in Gaza.

Platner accused his opposition of being funded by Israel
Last week, at the end of the primary campaign, he had shifted the focus to Collins, suggesting that her campaign was “bought and paid for by Benjamin Netanyahu” and claiming that a third of her campaign funding came from AIPAC.

According to JTA, Federal Election Commission data showed that a third of donations to Collins in the previous quarter were gifts from individuals who used the pro-Israel lobby as an intermediary. Collins also received a small donation directly from the group’s super PAC.

However, Platner’s broad, anti-elitist statement reeks of animosity toward Israel and toward his views about the existence of a Jewish lobby that controls Washington.

The Anti-Defamation League said the remark about Collins “invokes classic antisemitic rhetoric” and added, “Such accusations call up the age-old dual loyalty trope that casts Jewish Americans as more loyal to Israel than their own country.”

And if these were normal times, the revelation that Platner had a Nazi Totenkopf tattoo on his chest for nearly two years, until he drew criticism for it on the campaign trail, would unequivocally answer those questions.

However, Platner’s defenders have doubled down on their support, blaming American supporters of Israel – or Israel itself – for dredging up his past, including recent allegations of misconduct towards women.

Jewish Democrats in Maine must now weigh how to proceed – to vote for a flawed, possibly antisemitic, candidate who will fight against Israel but reflects their core values, from LGBTQ rights to economic issues, or to enable Collins, a supporter of US President Donald Trump, to keep her seat.

For many of these voters, and Democrats in general, the former is the more acceptable option, and they’ll reluctantly decide to forgive his past indiscretions. But for others, there’s total alignment with Platner’s views on Israel.
Former Biden chief of staff Ron Klain accused of ‘whitewashing’ Graham Platner’s Nazi tattoo
Ron Klain, former White House chief of staff under President Joe Biden, is facing backlash after he defended Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner, who has covered up a tattoo that he said he didn’t know was Nazi imagery.

On Tuesday, the Republican Jewish Coalition called for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to withdraw support for Platner, whom it condemned in the “strongest possible terms.”

“A Nazi tattoo is disqualifying. Full stop,” the RJC said. “Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in America, and every Senate Democrat propping up Platner’s campaign should be ashamed.”

Klain, chief legal officer for Airbnb who is Jewish, responded on social media to the RJC statement, which he called “just a partisan attack.”

“The tattoo was a skull and crossbones to remember his fallen comrades from his service in Afghanistan,” wrote Klain, who hosted a fundraiser for Platner in Washington last week.

Platner has denied knowing that his Totenkopf tattoo was a symbol used by Adolf Hitler’s SS, though Lindsey Fifield, who dated Platner more than 10 years ago, has said he understood the tattoo’s symbolism.

Sam Markstein, national spokesman for the RJC, told JNS that “Ron Klain is not some random political operative who stumbled into this.”

“He is President Biden’s former White House chief of staff, Airbnb’s chief legal officer and a former member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council,” Markstein said. “He knows exactly what the insignia of the Nazi SS represents.”

“Klain chose to host a fundraiser for Graham Platner anyway and is now whitewashing the Totenkopf skull and crossbones itself. It’s a total disgrace,” he told JNS. “One after another, prominent Jewish Democrats are lining up behind Graham Platner, a candidate caught wearing the insignia of the unit that ran the Holocaust death camps.”
Fetterman: Outlook for Jews in Democratic Party is ‘bleak’
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), a stalwart ally of Israel and the Jewish community who has become increasingly isolated within a Democratic Party facing internal friction over its Middle East policy, warned on Wednesday that the outlook for Jewish voters within his party has become “bleak.”

“I’m not a member of the Jewish community, but if I was one, it would be bleak as a Jewish voter in the Democratic Party,” Fetterman said, speaking at a conference hosted by the Culture for Peace Institute, a nonprofit organization focused on advancing “sustainable peace” by bringing together political leaders and researchers, in Washington. “If [Democratic voters are] willing to support these kinds of candidates across the map — look in Michigan [Abdul El-Sayed], look at the one in Maine [Graham Platner], look at New York City [Mayor Zohran Mamdani], look across the map — these are defined by how much anti-Israel rhetoric you can cram into your platform.”

Fetterman expressed concern that the trajectory of the party will continue to “deteriorate,” noting that he “refuses to be part” of what he claims to have predicted would occur within the Democratic ranks. He added that he is “constantly disappointed but not surprised by the way things have drifted within the party.”

“I expect that it’s going to continue to deteriorate,” Fetterman said. “A lot of these extreme views were validated during the midterms. It’s stunning, astonishing to me, the kind of people with these views who [Democratic voters] will now choose to be their representatives. It’s heartbreaking to me, but unsurprising, and that’s what history would have predicted will happen.”

The Pennsylvania senator pointed specifically to Platner’s victory in the Maine Democratic Senate primary on Tuesday, calling it a “capstone” example of deterioration within the party, taking concern with the amount of people “defending” the scandal-plagued candidate.

“I think the capstone of that recently was where you have the kind of garbage candidate like Platner — like full-on Nazi ink on his body — and now you have people defending it,” Fetterman said. “I read an interview with a Maine voter where [a woman said] she would not vote or support someone if they have an Israeli flag tattoo, but it’s OK that [Platner has a Nazi tattoo] on his body. That’s how insidious it’s become within the party, and the calculus where it’s OK to have these views.”

Fetterman stated that the problem is most acute among the “young generation,” arguing that the environment on college campuses and behavior of certain Democratic candidates have contributed to the alarming shift.
‘Democrats are Islamists now’ | Victor Davis Hanson on Zohran Mamdani, AOC & Graham Platner
Victor Davis Hanson – historian, journalist and author of The Counterrevolution: The Fall and Rise of Donald Trump and the MAGA Movement – is the latest guest on The Brendan O’Neill Show. Victor and Brendan discuss the fall of the UK, the transatlantic revolt against racial identity politics, why the Democrats loathe Israel, and why Trump must stop negotiating with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

0:00 Introduction
0:30 What Americans think of Britain
4:57 DEI: still a threat?
13:30 The George Floyd legacy
17:40 Henry Nowak vs George Floyd
21:13 Mamdani and the new left
25:44 Anti-Israel sentiment explained
31:05 Iran: negotiate or escalate?


Jack Schlossberg comes out in support of Block the Bombs Act
Jack Schlossberg, the Kennedy scion and social media influencer running for a coveted open House seat in Manhattan, came out on Tuesday in support of legislation that would impose unprecedented new restrictions on weapons sales or transfers to Israel, despite previously expressing skepticism of the bill.

During a debate on Tuesday evening, Schlossberg pledged that “as of today,” he would vote in support of the Block the Bombs Act, a controversial bill that has drawn backing from a growing number of left-wing House Democrats, casting his rejection of offensive weapons as a response to “a moral question that is being put to our country right now.”

He also reiterated he would vote for continued U.S. funding to boost Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system, saying his position aligns with a commitment to “protect civilian lives as best we can” in the region.

Schlossberg, who has shared inconsistent positions on aid to Israel throughout the campaign to succeed retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) in a heavily Jewish House district, wrote in a January questionnaire that he was “unsure” whether he would support the Block the Bombs Act, arguing that it “would not provide an avenue to peace and stability.”

Even as he has frequently voiced his objections to future weapons sales to Israel, Schlossberg had not appeared to publicly back the Block the Bombs Act until Tuesday’s debate, marking a clear divide over Israel in the race.

By contrast, Schlossberg’s top rivals in the June 23 primary — including state Assemblymembers Micah Lasher and Alex Bores and former GOP attorney George Conway — all declined to support the bill at the debate.
Divesting from Israel could cost NYC $37 billion in taxpayer losses, per ADL analysis
If New York City divests from companies that conduct business with and in Israel, it could cause more than $37 billion in Big Apple taxpayer losses between 2025 and 2035, according to an analysis that the Anti-Defamation League released on Wednesday.

The report comes as Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York City, has called for the city to divest from Israel Bonds. A staunch supporter of the movement to boycott the Jewish state, Mamdani has said that he would have the Israeli prime minister arrested in New York City, and his spokeswoman said that synagogues that host pro-Israel events violate international law.

New York City, which has the fourth-largest public pension system in the country, guarantees pensions for city employees, according to Ari Hoffnung, senior adviser on corporate advocacy at the ADL and managing director of its JLens affiliate.

The city has to compensate for budgetary shortfalls either by raising taxes or fees or by cutting “vital services like public safety, education or social services,” Hoffnung told JNS.

“Proponents of BDS need to understand that, based on our research, there will be a real economic cost to taxpayers,” he said. “Any performance gaps of the pensions ultimately fall on taxpayers to resolve.”

Mamdani can appoint at least one trustee to the city’s five pension boards, according to the ADL report.

The ADL and JLens based the analysis on 47 companies, including Airbnb, Amazon, Chevron and Starbucks, that they believe are “BDS top targets.”


Groups urge Congress to pass bill designating CAIR as terror org
A group of think tanks and advocacy organizations sent a letter to members of Congress on Tuesday urging them to back legislation to designate the Council on American-Islamic Relations as a terrorist group.

The writers, led by the Middle East Forum, cited CAIR’s history of connections to Hamas and its fundraisers.

“CAIR’s connections to terrorism go back to before it was founded in 1994 by individuals previously affiliated with the Islamic Association of Palestine, a Hamas-aligned organization that federal courts later found financially liable for Hamas violence,” the groups wrote.

“These ties extend to as recently as October 2025, when CAIR-Ohio leader Khalid Turaani hosted Majed al-Zeer, a specially designated national and Hamas terrorist, at an online forum,” they stated. “If CAIR does not meet the criteria for designation, it is difficult to understand why specially designated global terrorist sanctions exist.”

CAIR bills itself as “America’s largest Muslim civil liberties organization” but has repeatedly faced controversy over its associations with and advocacy for extremists.

In 2007 it was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the criminal case against the Holy Land Foundation, which resulted in guilty verdicts on all counts against five defendants for financing terrorism.

CAIR has never been charged with a crime.

In 2023, the Biden administration removed CAIR from an advisory role in developing its national strategy to combat antisemitism after its national executive director, Nihad Awad, said in reference to the Oct. 7 attacks that he was “happy to see people breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land.”


Referee banned from the US accused of claiming, ‘Jews benefit at the expense of Muslims’
A referee who has received widespread support from the footballing world after being banned from entering the United States has been accused of posting on social media that “Jews benefit at the expense of Muslims”.

Omar Artan, a Somali referee who was due to officiate at the FIFA World Cup, was denied entry to the United States this week. The official, who was named the Confederation of African Football men’s referee of the year in 2025, was detained at Miami International Airport when he tried to enter, the US and was subsequently flown to Turkey, landing back in Somalia on Wednesday to a hero’s welcome.

Despite the tournament also taking place in Canada and Mexico, all the referees and assistant referees will be based at a training facility in Florida; FIFA subsequently confirmed that Artan would no longer officiate at the tournament as a result. He told the New York Times that he was “very, very disappointed… I’m just simply a referee who’s trying to live his dream – the biggest dream of my life, to come to the World Cup.” US Immigration authorities did not initially give a reason for Artan’s ban, but a statement on Tuesday from the Trump administration said he had been denied entry because of links to “suspected members of ​terror organisations”.

The decision by the US authorities has been widely condemned. However, in response to a tweet by former first lady and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton criticising the move, the official account of the Republic of Somaliland, the country which has declared independence from Somalia, highlighted a 2014 comment from a Twitter account believed to belong to Artan.

“Vetting is important”, the Republic of Somaliland account said, claiming that the tweet from Artan’s account, which was in response to BBC Somali, read: “Jews, target Muslims and Arabs, and suck their blood.”

However, Jewish News understands that a more accurate translation would be, “Jews benefit at the expense of Muslims, and Arab blood has been shed.”


Israel can contain Hamas without reoccupying all of Gaza
Discussions over the future of the Gaza Strip have been eclipsed by the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Yet keen observers believe that Trump’s Gaza Plan is doomed. No international stabilization force is ready to step in, while the planned technocrat interim government has been intimidated out of entering the Strip by Hamas.

Moreover, Nickolay Mladenov, the High Representative for the Board of Peace for Gaza, reported to the UN Security Council that establishing an effective transitional civilian authority in Gaza is not possible without first overcoming Hamas’s resistance to disarming.

The war against Iran may end soon, as neither the US nor Iran appears eager to continue it. Subsequently, attention will move to other arenas. Iran’s proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, has been weakened but remains well-armed and holds veto power over the Lebanese government’s decisions.

Similarly, Hamas in Gaza has resisted pressure to disarm and remains the de facto ruler of the territory it controls – over 30% of the Strip.

Unsurprisingly, terror armies such as Hezbollah and Hamas cannot be eliminated when their ideology commands broad support among the populations in which they operate and when they continue to receive military aid from abroad. Iran has enabled its proxies to survive.

'Total victory' against Hamas is unrealistic
In Israel, the IDF has presented plans to renew its assault on Hamas in order to achieve disarmament and deliver the “total victory” demanded by politicians.

Yet this goal is entirely unrealistic. Notably, Israel has not succeeded in eliminating or disarming Hamas in the West Bank, a territory that has been under IDF military control since 1967.

Meanwhile, polls consistently show that Hamas remains popular among Palestinians despite the immense suffering brought on by the October 7, 2023 massacre in Israel. Furthermore, Hamas has rebuilt its weapons-smuggling networks to recover from the blows dealt by the IDF, and is actively recruiting and training new fighters in preparation for an Israeli offensive.

While the IDF could take over the entirety of the Gaza Strip – and the prospect of a “decisive” victory is tempting – the wisdom of “finishing the job” is questionable for several reasons.

A conquest of the entire Gaza Strip would make its impoverished population of approximately two million people Israel’s direct responsibility.
IDF hero shares the seven lessons learnt for the seven bullets that almost claimed his life in Gaza
Seven bullets almost claimed the life of IDF soldier Ben Ladany, when he was repeatedly shot by a Hamas terrorist in Gaza in November 2023.

The member of the elite Oketz canine unit was left severely wounded, kept in a coma for two months, and confined to a wheelchair.

But now Ladany is standing tall again – and, with inspirational positivity, is determined to share one lesson he learnt for each of those seven bullets.

Speaking last week at the JC event From Hamas… to hope at South Hampstead Synagogue with freed hostage Almog Meir Jan, moderated by journalist Nicole Lampert, the 23-year-old IDF hero recounted the lessons.

He said: “The most important thing in life is your family and friends. Why? Because family will drop absolutely everything that they have, like my mom and dad did. When my friends would come and visit me at the hospital and when I was travelling with Almog, they would take away pain.

“My second lesson, the most important thing in life is your health, physical and mental. If you look at me now, I can’t walk 100 per cent. But my mind and my soul is at one.

“My next lesson? I was there on October 7th. I saw the most horrendous and disgusting things known to mankind. But the bottom line is, the true face that I saw was the face of hatred. After October 7th, Almog and I have had many discussions. We will never hold hate in our hearts because hate hinders you.”

He explained his fourth lesson: “I remember waking up after being shot seven times in a coma, not being able to feel anything. And my dad grabs me and he goes, ‘Ben, you’re so lucky.’ Why am I lucky? I can’t feel anything. I just woke up from a coma. He grabbed me and he said, ‘Ben, the boy next to you is also in a coma. And he lost his leg. The boy next to him is in a coma and he lost both his legs.’ And the boy next to him was also in a coma. And he lost both his legs in his arm. And I learnt something. As much as I think I’m injured, there’s always worse, and there’s always less.
Herzog extends ‘hand of peace’ to Lebanon during northern Israel visit
Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday delivered a message to Lebanon’s leadership and people during a visit to northern Israel, calling for peace while urging Beirut to break free from Iranian and Hezbollah influence.

Addressing the Lebanese public in Arabic from Israel’s northern border, Herzog said: “I extend a hand of peace to the President of Lebanon and to the Lebanese people. But Lebanon must remain free from the influence of Iran, Hezbollah, and the terror organizations as an independent and sovereign nation. My dream is to travel to Beirut, and this dream is still alive, but only if Lebanon’s future is determined in Beirut, and not in Tehran.”

Herzog’s remarks came amid ongoing fire between Israel and Hezbollah and efforts by the United States to prevent escalation.

Speaking afterward in English, the president accused Hezbollah of repeatedly undermining international agreements and regional stability.

“It was Hezbollah that violated the U.N. Security Council Resolution of 2006. It was Hezbollah that violated the ceasefire agreement of 2024,” said Herzog.

He stressed that Israel would not tolerate attacks against its citizens or territory, adding that the Jewish state will defend itself against threats emanating from across the border.


Netanyahu urges Lebanese people to ‘join Israel’ in peace, reject Hezbollah and Iran
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday urged the Lebanese people to “join Israel” in peace and reject Iran and Hezbollah, declaring that “Israel is not at war with you,” but is only looking to oust the Iran-backed terror group and its “sick aims” with its military operations in the country.

The message came as Israel continued its strikes in southern Lebanon, which Lebanese security sources said killed at least 13 people throughout the day. The IDF said the strikes targeted Hezbollah operatives, as well as infrastructure belonging to the terror group, including a cache of weapons.

“I have a message for you, the people of Lebanon. Israel is not at war with you,” Netanyahu said in his English video message, which had Arabic subtitles.

“We’re at war with Hezbollah, that has taken your country hostage, that does Iran’s bidding, that uses your territory to launch terrorist attacks against Israel,” he said.

“Hezbollah is weaker than ever. Israel is stronger than ever,” Netanyahu continued, saying the IDF has eliminated nearly 10,000 Hezbollah terrorists and is “systematically clearing out South Lebanon of these fanatics.”

Along with Israel’s military actions against the Lebanese terror group, “we yearn for peace with you, with Lebanon,” the premier added. “A peace where our two peoples can invest together, build together, thrive together. The only impediment, the only obstacle to this beautiful vision is Hezbollah,” he said.

“They will sacrifice as many of you as possible to achieve their sick aims,” he warned, adding, “seize your future. Join Israel… once Hezbollah is dismantled, the possibilities are endless. And they are sky high.”


US, 21 allied nations condemn Iran for ‘lethal plotting and other malign actions’
The United States and 21 allied nations on Wednesday condemned the “lethal plotting and other malign actions” of Iranian state entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security.

“We stand united in our determination to protect our countries and our people against these threats. The Islamic Republic of Iran must halt these actions now,” the countries said in a joint statement. They cited threats and attacks targeting “Iranian dissidents, journalists and Jewish and Israeli communities and interests” across Europe, North America and Australia.

In addition to the United States, the statement was issued by the United Kingdom, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Portugal and Sweden.

The signatories accused Iranian intelligence services of working with criminal networks to carry out operations abroad.

“The relationship between the Iranian security services and international and local criminal groups is long-standing,” the statement reads. “Their use of these groups is deplorable.”

The countries also condemned a series of attacks “across Europe targeting Jewish communities, Iranian journalists and U.S. interests” that have been claimed by Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, a recently emerged militant group that analysts believe serves as a front for the IRGC.


Could a war of words between Turkey and Israel escalate toward a new crisis?
Turkey and Israel are among the strongest military powers in the region. Both are allies of the US. Both have strong defense industrial complexes. They also have very different ideologies: one is led by a right-leaning Jewish party with increasingly religious-nationalist elements, and the other is led by a conservative, populist, Islamic-leaning party.

“The ‌attacks ⁠by (Israeli Prime Minister ⁠Benjamin) Netanyahu and his network of murder on Lebanon and Syria have brought the issue to a point where it also threatens Turkey,” Erdogan told lawmakers from his ruling AK Party in parliament, Reuters said this week.

He also accused Israel of destabilizing African countries, a reference to Israel’s recognition of Somaliland. Turkey has forces in Somalia and has backed Somalia for years.

Erdogan also accused Israel of creating “discord” in the Eastern Mediterranean and referenced Israel-Cyprus ties. Turkey backs Northern Cyprus, which it recognizes as a country. Turkey invaded Cyprus in the 1970s to support Turkish Cypriots. This led to the division of the island.

Israel has increasingly warm ties with Cyprus and Greece. This challenges Turkey’s role in the Eastern Mediterranean.

“These ‌small entities, whose ambitions far exceed their size, have boarded Israel’s boat of mischief, taken on the role of Zionist subcontractors, and are pursuing some pipe dreams in the Eastern ‌Mediterranean,” Erdogan said. “Nobody should chase adventures...”

“I want everyone to ⁠know that if ⁠the rights of Turkey and Turkish Cypriots are violated in the Eastern Mediterranean, our response will be very clear and very strong,” he stated.

The comments in recent days have raised eyebrows in Jerusalem and Ankara.

It is clear that Turkey and Israel, under their current leadership, will have rhetorical clashes. The question is whether this may one day lead to larger tensions in Syria or the Eastern Mediterranean.
Netanyahu calls Erdoğan ‘antisemitic tyrant’ after Israel threat claims
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday lashed out at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after the Turkish leader accused Israel of threatening regional stability.

Speaking to lawmakers in parliament, Erdogan said Israel’s military actions in Syria and Lebanon have escalated to a level that could endanger Turkey, warning that Israeli “aggression” poses a threat to the entire world and must be stopped.

In response, Netanyahu called Erdogan “an antisemitic tyrant,” accusing him of carrying out a genocide against the Kurds, supporting the Hamas terrorist group, repressing his own citizens and imprisoning political opponents.

Erdogan is “the last person who can preach morality to the State of Israel,” said the premier.

He added that Israel and the Israel Defense Forces “will continue to act forcefully against Iran and its proxies that threaten the Middle East and the entire world,” describing the IDF as “the most moral army in the world.”


US launches 'self-defense strikes' against Iranian military surveillance capabilities, air defenses
US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that it launched “self-defense strikes” against multiple targets in Iran at the direction of US President Donald Trump in a post on X/Twitter on Wednesday.

According to Iranian state media reports, after the strikes were announced, explosions were heard in western Tehran and the southern Iranian cities of Sirik and Minab.

CENTCOM stated that it targeted Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communications systems, and air defense sites across Iran with precision munitions. The sites targeted posed a threat to US forces in the region and commercial ships attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, according to the US military.

"The strikes are in response to Iran's unwarranted and continued aggression," CENTCOM asserted, adding that "US forces remain vigilant, lethal, and ready." Iran claims Strait of Hormuz closed in response to strikes

According to Reuters, Iran's top joint military command announced that the Strait would be closed in response to the strikes and that any vessel attempting transit through the waterway will be shot at.

Iranian state media then claimed that two "violating ships" were hit by Iran’s navy.

CENTCOM denied that the Strait of Hormuz has been closed, asserting that "commercial ships are continuing to transit in and out of the Strait" in a post on X/Twitter.
Trump vows Iran will ‘pay the price’ for stalling ceasefire talks
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iran would “have to pay the price” for stalling ceasefire talks with the United States.

“They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them,” the president wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Trump’s post came shortly after a spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry said that Tehran’s participation in the truce talks talks “must be reviewed” following renewed U.S. strikes against the Islamic Republic.

The U.S. military on Tuesday carried out a wave of retaliatory strikes against Iran in response to the downing of one of its helicopters over the Persian Gulf.

In an interview with Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst on Wednesday, Trump said he was getting close to ordering further strikes on Iran’s power plants and bridges as he accused Tehran of stringing him along in the peace talks.

“I may keep going,” Trump said in the phone interview, according to Yingst.

Trump in his Truth Social post said that Iran’s military was a “complete and total mess” following the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Tehran.

“Much of it, like their Navy and Air Force, doesn’t even exist anymore - they have been completely defeated,” he wrote, adding: “Iran is all talk and no action. The bully of the Middle East is dead!!!”

In a subsequent post, Trump said Iran was doing “zero business, not paying their military, or any of their bills, and quickly becoming a failed nation!”

“Lots of oil is getting out,” he stated. “Praise be to Allah!”


US military attacks Iran again
U.S. President Donald Trump ordered additional strikes on Iran on Wednesday, according to U.S. Central Command.

CENTCOM stated that its forces “began launching additional self-defense strikes today at 5:15 p.m. Eastern Time against multiple targets in Iran at the commander in chief’s direction.”

“The strikes are in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression,” the command stated.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told reporters outside CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa, Fla., on Wednesday that the command has “used the ceasefire wisely and with great efficiency to ensure that we’re refining our intelligence and target sets in a way that are far beyond even the beginning of Epic Fury.”

“Central Command will be busy tonight because President Trump said we will be hitting Iran hard—and we will be,” he said.

“They’ve been ‘tap, tap, tapping’ on the deal,” Hegseth said. “Instead, they’re gonna have tap, tap, tap bombs dropping on key facilities in Iran from the United States of America.”

“Those strikes that will happen tonight will be strong—they will be clear. If they have to happen tomorrow night, they will be strong and they will be clear,” he said. “Throughout, Iran has an opportunity to make a deal.”


For the first time ever: An autonomous drone boat rescues US pilots in Strait of Hormuz
For the first time ever, a US Navy autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) rescued two US Army helicopter crew members after their Apache helicopter was shot down in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman.

In a statement provided by US Central Command to Defense & Tech by The Jerusalem Post, US Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, US Central Command Spokesperson said that "the surface drone that assisted in Monday night's rescue of the Apache crew off the coast of Oman was a US Navy Corsair unmanned surface vessel operated by US 5th Fleet's Task Force 59."

A Saronic Technologies spokesperson told D&T that “the US military has acknowledged that a Saronic Corsair autonomous surface vessel was used in the recent rescue operation following the downing of a US Army helicopter.”

US Central Command said that “the soldiers were safely rescued within approximately two hours and are in stable condition.” The ASV took the two to another location on the water where they were picked up by a helicopter that took them to shore.

Saronic’s Corsair was under the operational lead of the US Naval Force Central Command (NAVCENT) and the 82nd Airborne Division with Task Force 59. Task Force 59 is NAVCENT’s Unmanned Systems Unit, and it is the navy’s primary hub for integrating drones and AI‑enabled maritime platforms.

Unmanned Surface Vehicles have long been deployed in sea mine clearance missions to minimize risk to sailors. But the rescue by the Corsair marks the first time that troops have been saved during combat.
Iran attacks Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan in retaliation for US strikes
The Kuwait Army announced it was intercepting hostile aerial targets after Iranian media reported Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had targeted the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait early Wednesday morning.

The IRGC also said they had targeted four sites at the US al-Azraq base in Jordan using long-range missiles, Iranian media reported.

The Guards said the targets included F-35 fighter jet hangars and a command-and-control center, and warned they were ready to deliver a "crushing and decisive" response to any further US attack.

Sirens also sounded in Bahrain early on Wednesday after Iran, according to Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior.

Axios Global Affairs Correspondent Barak Ravid cited a US official as saying that four ballistic missiles and several more drones were fired by Iran at US bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan.

The New York Times cited a US official as saying that while Iran launched multiple missiles and drones at various US bases in the Middle East, nearly all were intercepted and there have been no reports of US casualties or damages to the bases from the attacks.
IAEA board demands Iran report uranium stocks, grant inspectors access to facilities
The UN atomic watchdog’s board on Wednesday demanded that Iran fully cooperate with the agency, provide complete information about its stockpile of near weapons-grade nuclear material, and grant its inspectors access to Iranian nuclear sites.

A resolution passed by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board also said that giving information and access are “essential and urgent” in order to enable verification that there’s no “diversion of nuclear material.”

Twenty-one countries on the IAEA’s 35-member board of governors voted for the resolution at IAEA headquarters in Vienna, according to diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the outcome of the closed-door vote.

Russia, China and Niger opposed it, while 10 countries abstained, and one didn’t vote as it was in arrears.

The resolution was put forward by France, the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States.

A senior Western diplomat, who wasn’t authorized to speak about the sensitive matter and so requested anonymity, said that the resolution “aims to keep diplomatic pressure on Iran to come into compliance with its legal safeguards obligations.”
IDF confirms airbase was damaged during Iranian missile attack this week
The Israeli military on Wednesday confirmed that damage was caused to the Israeli Air Force’s Ramat David Airbase during Iran’s ballistic missile fire on Israel earlier in the week.

On Tuesday, low-resolution images dated June 8 from the European Commission’s Sentinel-2 satellite, processed by the Copernicus Browser site, showed a discolored patch where a warehouse is located at the northern Israel airbase, possibly indicating that it was hit during the attacks.

The IAF, as of Wednesday, was still investigating what struck the warehouse, although preliminary findings pointed to falling fragments following the interception of an Iranian ballistic missile, rather than a direct impact.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, no equipment was damaged, no injuries were caused, and there was no harm to the operational functioning of the airbase following the impact, which a security source described as “minor.”

Iran launched 24 ballistic missiles at Israel on Sunday night and Monday morning, with many of them aimed at northern Israel. In addition, the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen fired two ballistic missiles at Israel on Monday morning.

According to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iranian forces launched at least one ballistic missile at the northern airbase during its Sunday night barrage.


Starmer: UK charities must not fund illegal West Bank settlements


Illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank are “a flagrant breach of international law and no UK charity should be supporting them,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer has told MPs.

Starmer addressed the issue during Prime Minister’s Questions in the Commons, in a response to claims about 32 UK charities made by Labour MP Melanie Ward.

Ward, who previously served as chief executive of Medical Aid for Palestinians and now represents the Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy constituency, said she had worked with Israeli human rights researchers to identify 32 British charities “funnelling money to settlements on Palestinian land.”

Ward alleged that, over the past five years, these charities have sent more than £28 million to illegal settlements, with a likely taxpayer subsidy of over £5 million through Gift Aid.

She also revealed that she had submitted a formal complaint to the Charity Commission regarding the charities’ activities.

“Our constituents will be appalled by this,” Ward said, adding: “Violence against Palestinians is a major and deliberate impediment to peace.”

In response, Starmer reiterated: “Settlements are a flagrant breach of international law and no UK charity should be supporting them.
Amnesty accuses Israel of ‘state-led’ ethnic cleansing in West Bank; IDF rejects charge
A growing number of rights groups have branded Israel’s military rule in the West Bank apartheid, a charge vehemently denied by Jerusalem.

Amnesty said it interviewed 45 Palestinians from 12 communities, who were either displaced or at risk of displacement, as well as 19 lawyers, activists who witnessed incidents of settler violence, journalists and Israeli and Palestinian NGO representatives.

Rejecting Amnesty’s allegations, the IDF said in response to the report that its mission is “to safeguard the security of all residents of Judea and Samaria, Palestinians and Israelis alike.” It added that in situations where there is a suspicion that troops did not adhere to IDF orders, those incidents are “thoroughly examined, and in appropriate cases disciplinary measures are taken by commanders or a criminal investigation is opened to clarify the circumstances.”

It further said that when troops encounter cases of law violations by Israeli civilians, including violent incidents or incidents directed against Palestinians or their property, “the troops are required to act to stop the violation and, if necessary, detain or apprehend the suspects until police arrive at the scene.”

However, critics cite growing concerns that IDF units tasked with protecting civilians and thwarting attacks on Palestinians are manned by some of those allegedly behind the violence.

Under the authority of far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, whose secondary position in the Defense Ministry gives him wide influence over West Bank policy, the government has authorized settlement construction and legalized wildcat outposts at an unprecedented pace. From late 2022 to April 2026, the government approved or legalized 103 settlements, a major increase over previous years.

Meanwhile, critics have accused the government and law enforcement of turning a blind eye to violent attacks by settler extremists, which have become increasingly deadly in recent years and occur on a near-daily basis. Arrests are rare and prosecutions are even less common.

The military recorded 867 incidents of nationalistic crime and settler violence in 2025, up from 682 incidents in 2024.

The Prime Minister’s Office and the Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Amnesty report.
After Canada joins allies in sanctioning Regavim, it vows legal challenge
As Canada joined the United Kingdom, Norway, France, New Zealand and Australia in announcing new sanctions on Tuesday against several Israeli organizations, it also imposed sanctions on the Regavim Movement.

The announcement follows a May 28 decision by the Council of the European Union to sanction several Judea and Samaria advocacy groups and leaders, labeling them “extremist Israeli settlers and organizations” accused of “serious and systematic human rights abuses” against Palestinians in the territory.

Those sanctioned under the E.U.’s Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime include the Regavim NGO and its director, Meir Deutsch; the Nachala Settlement Movement and its director, Daniella Weiss; Hashomer Yosh and its president, Avichai Suissa; and Amana, the settlement-building cooperative affiliated with the Gush Emunim movement.

Deutsch said on Wednesday that Regavim would immediately file an appeal and a counterclaim, “demanding that our name be cleared and that we be compensated for the injustice caused to us.”

He called the sanctions “a disgraceful attempt to silence us and the Zionist majority in Israeli society, which understands that the establishment of a hostile Palestinian state in the heart of the Land of Israel would endanger the future of the State of Israel.”

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced on May 11 that E.U. foreign ministers reached a political agreement to sanction the organizations and several associated individuals.

They cited Regavim and its CEO, Meir Deutsch, for the organization’s activities and legal petitions against illegal construction projects in Judea and Samaria that were funded by the European Union.


National Review: Is Tucker Carlson Right That Gaza Is as Bad as World War II?



Francesca Albanese tells mother of Oct. 7 victim to ‘change medication’
Francesca Albanese, a U.N. special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories who has faced repeated criticism over her comments on Israel and Hamas, mocked the mother of a victim of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attacks after the woman said she felt “hatred” while attending an event at which Albanese was honored.

Carolin Bohl, a 22-year-old German fashion student and model, was murdered by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Oct. 7 massacre in southern Israel.

In an interview with the German newspaper Die Welt, Bohl’s mother, Sonja Bohl-Dencker, recalled attending a film premiere in Berlin in March where Albanese was a guest of honor.

“I have never been in a room where I felt so much hatred,” Bohl-Dencker said. “Everywhere keffiyehs, terrible slogans and sheer hatred against everything connected with Israel.”

Responding on a social media post citing Bohl-Dencker’s remarks, Albanese wrote, “Change medication.”

The comment drew scrutiny because a lawsuit filed by Albanese and members of her family seeking to overturn U.S. sanctions imposed on her states that Albanese and her husband were prescribed medication after suffering health issues they attributed to the sanctions. According to the filing, Albanese was treated for stomach ulcers, while her husband suffered from anxiety and insomnia.





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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.

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