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Friday, June 12, 2026

06/11 Links Pt2: The Paris Conference, the peace industry, and the illusion of representation; Alan Baker: The OSLO ACCORDS Were NEVER About a Two-State Solution!?; When America First Meets Iran

From Ian:

David Collier: Baghdad to London: An Antisemitic Conspiracy Theory Implodes
Terrorist stabbings, firebombings, threats against synagogues, guards at school gates, and conversations in Jewish homes about whether it is still wise to wear visible Jewish symbols in public.

British Jews are living under growing pressure in an increasingly hostile environment.

And yet there is no stampede at Heathrow.

Communities rarely uproot themselves quickly. People adapt. History shows Jewish communities often fail to recognise the precise moment danger becomes irreversible.

And that matters, because what is unfolding in Britain today offers a living example of how Jewish communities historically responded to mounting hostility – and helps expose the conspiracy theory surrounding the exodus of Jews from Arab lands.

A Million Refugees
During the 20th century, around a million Jews were expelled or driven out of more than a dozen Muslim-majority countries. Communities that had existed for thousands of years were uprooted within a single generation.

Antisemitic violence – often rooted in historical systems of Islamic supremacy and discrimination – spread throughout the region. It was fuelled by the rise of Arab nationalism, and when the dust settled, almost every ancient Jewish community across the Arab world had been destroyed or emptied.

Nearly a million Jews became refugees, most of whom found refuge in the newly established Jewish state.

The Anti-Zionist Narrative Problem
The destruction of Jewish communities across the Arab world created a major problem for anti-Zionist narratives. Europe’s antisemitism was undeniable after the Holocaust, so a counter-story emerged: while Christian Europe persecuted Jews, the Muslim world supposedly sheltered them in tolerance and coexistence.

But there was an obvious problem. The Jewish communities of the Arab world had collapsed.

Explaining away that disappearance became essential.

What followed was large-scale historical revisionism.

Centuries of discrimination, periodic massacres, forced conversions, expulsions, and legal systems that relegated Jews to subordinate status were softened, minimised, or erased altogether. The dhimmi system was recast as benign protection rather than institutional inequality. Violence against Jews was blamed not on Islamic supremacy, but on Zionism, or the creation of Israel itself:
Why hasn’t the New York Times corrected its ‘dog rape’ lie?
‘Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.’

This saying, popularised by American astronomer Carl Sagan, was clearly unknown to the New York Times and journalist Nicholas Kristof when they recently accused Israel of a systemic policy of sexual violence against Palestinian prisoners. In a 3,750-word piece, published last month, Kristof alleges that a ‘Gaza journalist’ was raped by a dog that had been ‘coached’ for that purpose. He writes that a dog was summoned and, with encouragement from a handler, ‘mounted’ a prisoner. The prisoner ‘tried to dislodge the dog… but it penetrated him, while guards laughed and took photographs’.

This is the journalistic equivalent of a five-alarm fire – and all the alarm bells should have sounded for the New York Times’ editors. This is where extraordinary evidence is required – yet not a shred was provided.

For a claim to merit publication, extraordinary evidence has to meet two thresholds. First, is the claim plausible? Second, is the claim provable? If the claim is not plausible, it is not automatically untrue, but it should only be published if accompanied by absolute proof. No one would believe the moon is made of green cheese, and that should end the question – unless someone brings back an indisputable sample of green cheese from the moon’s surface. That’s proof of the implausible. But the case of the ‘rape dogs’ goes beyond even the ‘green cheese’ standard.

There is no evidence that dogs can be trained to rape men and no credible, documentable accounts exist of dogs being trained this way. Alan Howe of the Australian asked a dog expert of 34 years, who explained that it failed the plausibility test. ‘Canine erection is a reflexive neuroendocrine response to female reproductive pheromones – it is not a voluntary behaviour and cannot be trained or reliably triggered on command’, the expert said. ‘The specific act alleged is not biologically plausible.’

Did no one at the New York Times wonder about this? This should be the first question any editor would ask – and who knows how many editors Kristof’s column passed through. We do know that, in a separate statement, the editors, still offering no evidence, doubled down on their support for the column – essentially stating that including the alleged rape dogs in the piece was neither an oversight nor a mistake on their part. Was this incurious behaviour deliberate? We have to ask, because for now neither Kristof nor his editors have tried to establish that dogs can be taught this unnatural behaviour.

After flunking the plausibility test, the opinion piece failed the probability test as well. Badly, in fact: no names, dates, locations, photographs or any tangible evidence that dog-rape ever happened. The only accounts are hearsay from anonymous prisoners – who have an obvious agenda – and no response from Israeli prison authorities, former guards or others who might offer conflicting views. Kristof’s only independent corroboration was a nebulous quote from former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, who said pointedly after publication, ‘I did not validate these claims’. There are also subtle errors, including a claim that after the abuse, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) guards took cigarette breaks – even though smoking is strictly forbidden in these compounds.
Slovenia lifts ban on arms trade with Israel; Sa’ar lauds ‘just decision’ by new PM
Slovenia’s new conservative-led government on Thursday lifted an arms embargo on Israel and entry bans on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and two of his ministers.

Last year, Slovenia, then under liberal prime minister Robert Golob, imposed a series of measures against Israel over the war with Hamas in Gaza.

Several other EU members have done the same.

But the government of Prime Minister Janez Jansa, which took office last week, overturned the bans against Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

“This will restore the conditions for a normal political dialogue with Israel,” it said in a statement, adding the move would help “strengthen the role of the Republic of Slovenia in the efforts to achieve a lasting peace in the Middle East.”

The country is also letting the arms embargo expire, considering the decree “unnecessary” given existing national defense laws and EU arms export criteria, it said.

The government of Jansa — an admirer of US President Donald Trump — also lifted a ban on imports from Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar welcomed Jansa’s “swift and just decision to lift the distorted anti-Israeli measures taken by Slovenia’s previous government,” calling him a “bold leader and a true friend of Israel.”

Last week, Israel announced it would open an embassy in Slovenia, marking what it hopes will be a new chapter in relations with the European country. The country’s embassy in the Austrian capital Vienna has previously covered Israeli diplomatic interests in neighboring Slovenia. Screen capture from video of the Palestinian flag flying over the Slovenian Presidential Palace, June 5, 2026. (Nataลกa Pirc Musar/X)

Since taking office, Jansa’s government has also removed a Palestinian flag symbolically displayed on the government building since Slovenia recognized Palestinian statehood in 2024.


Seinfeld laughs at streamer asking him to say ‘Free Palestine’ after Knicks win: ‘It doesn’t exist’
Jerry Seinfeld offered a three-word response when asked to say “free Palestine” while leaving Madison Square Garden after the New York Knicks game on Wednesday night.

“It doesn’t exist,” the Jewish comedian said, laughing.

He was responding to a request from a streamer, FinesseFave, who spotted him outside the arena where Seinfeld watched the Knicks’ NBA finals comeback to defeat the San Antonio Spurs. “Can we get a ‘free Palestine’?” FitnessFave asked, appearing to urge Seinfeld to repeat the slogan.

The exchange soon amassed millions of views on X, where it was shared by Jackson Hinkle, a prominent anti-Israel influencer, among others. It was Seinfeld’s second viral moment of the night, after fans shared photos of him with his jaw dropped following OG Anonuby’s stunning game-winning shot.

The exchange added to a number of dismissive comments by Seinfeld toward pro-Palestinian advocates in recent years. The entertainer has become one of Hollywood’s most prominent supporters of Israel since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel. He visited Israel in December 2023 and met with families of hostages held in Gaza.

In February, an Instagram influencer said “Free Palestine” while taking a selfie with him outside Radio City Music Hall. Seinfeld responded, “I don’t care about Palestine.”

Seinfeld compared pro-Palestinian activists with the Ku Klux Klan during an appearance at Duke University in September with Omer Shem Tov, a freed Israeli hostage. While introducing Shem Tov, Seinfeld said, “Free Palestine is, to me, just — you’re free to say you don’t like Jews. Just say you don’t like Jews.”


Steven Spielberg is MIA in fight against the new antisemitism
A-list stars like Javier Bardem, Joaquin Phoenix and Cate Blanchett have excoriated Israel while promoting the Palestinian cause.

Some, like Bardem, Mark Ruffalo and Emma Stone, went further. They signed a pledge to boycott Israel’s state-funded film industry.

Did Spielberg have anything to say on the matter?

We don’t know, but we do know he met with Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s stridently anti-Israel mayor.

Now, Spielberg’s is talking to the press about his newest film, an alien-themed movie that feels like a spiritual sequel to “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”

Spielberg has weighed in on his view regarding real-life UFOs, but once again isn’t discussing antisemitism, even though warning signs are everywhere and keep getting worse.

Think Maine senatorial hopeful Graham Platner, who waited 18 years to cover up the Nazi tattoo inked on his chest. Or Rep. Thomas Massie, the rogue Republican who blamed his recent election loss on the Jewish lobby.

Any thoughts, Steven?

Spielberg’s Hollywood status is well earned. Few have the gravitas he brings to a discussion. Any discussion. Yet other artists have consistently spoken out about antisemitism’s ascent.

Think “Will & Grace” alum Debra Messing, actor/comedian Michael Rapaport, sitcom superstar Patricia Heaton and Five for Fighting’s John Ondrasik.

Odrasik, a Grammy nominee, recently performed his signature hit “Superman (It’s Not Easy)” with former Israeli hostage Alon Ohel.

Celebrities aren’t commanded to speak out on every hot-button issue. Many should do more homework before joining the hot-take fray.

But Spielberg’s disquieting silence, given his history of support for the Jewish people, feels unsettling and wrong.
Helen Mirren criticizes ‘evil forces’ rising in Israel after ‘Zionist bitch’ video resurfaced
British actor Helen Mirren criticized Israel at a film festival in Italy, in her first public comments since security footage of a November incident where she was accused by a stranger of being an “evil Zionist bitch” went viral late last month.

“Evil forces are rising everywhere, even in a country like Israel,” Mirren said in an interview with journalists at the Taormina Film Fest in Sicily, according to reports in entertainment media. “How could you possibly repeat the actions of what was done to you as people to other people? Crimes against humanity, it’s called.”

The Academy Award-winning actor, who is 80, is being honored with a lifetime achievement award from the festival on Friday. Her many roles have included playing former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir in the 2023 biopic “Golda,” which she premiered in Jerusalem.

Mirren is not Jewish but has a long history of connection to Israel, dating back to 1967, when she traveled with a Jewish boyfriend to work for a month on a kibbutz in the country’s north.

She referenced that period in her comments at Taormina.

“I saw it from the inside and I saw some things that disturbed me from the inside in Israel at that time,” she said, according to Deadline. “I’m talking about six months after the Six Day War.”

Mirren has previously criticized the Israeli government. While promoting “Golda” in early 2023, she said she believed that Meir would be “utterly horrified” by Israel’s current leadership, which she referred to as a “dictatorship.”

But she also spoke favorably about Israel during the promotional events, which shortly preceded the Hamas attack that began the war in Gaza. She described Israelis taking part in mass protests at the time against the government’s judicial overhaul efforts as “my people. ”


Nicole Lampert: Gary Lineker is still an obnoxious coward
The BBC was remiss for too long in allowing its highest-paid presenter to so obviously break impartiality rules – Lineker even retweeted a call for Israel to be banned from international sport but got away with simply deleting it.

When he was finally let go, they sent him off with such a laudatory, tearful fanfare that it appeared posting a racist trope about a minority was a mere inconvenience rather than an utter disgrace.

Conveniently ignored is the fact that by the time he posted the rat, Lineker has long shown deep antipathy toward Israel, which was given new life by the Hamas attack on October 7.

About a year before Lineker was finally shown the door, I had a discussion with him at a press event. I explained that by only focusing on one side of the Gaza war, omitting to even mention the hostages, he was dehumanising one side and he risked being seen as anti-Semitic.

The only bit of the conversation he took on board was that, for a time, he stopped reposting accounts which featured the red inverted triangle, which has come to signify support for Hamas.

Instead, gradually, he ramped up his posts so that he was no longer attacking only Israelis but now Zionists too. This culminated in the rat image.

As for the great champion of human rights? Well, it was noted that while he has always had a lot to say about Israelis, when it came to the Islamic State of Iran butchering tens of thousands of people protesting, there was apparent silence.

As Graham Linehan, a comedy writer, said in January: “Is there a bigger coward in the UK than Gary Lineker? Refused to speak on men in women’s sports and now silent on Iran.”

That, however, hasn’t stopped hungry television executives from courting him. As David Baddiel once wrote: Jews don’t count.
Stefanik praises Shapiro, Fetterman as exceptions on antisemitism
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) praised Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) on Wednesday, arguing that both Democrats’ forceful condemnations of campus antisemitism after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks made them outliers in their party on the issue.

Speaking on a webinar with the Jewish Institute for National Security of America to discuss her book on campus antisemitism, ​​Poisoned Ivies: The Inside Account of the Academic and Moral Rot at America’s Elite Universities, Stefanik noted Shapiro was a rare Democrat to call for the resignation of Liz Magill, the former University of Pennsylvania president, after she struggled to answer Stefanik’s questions during a December 2023 committee hearing on whether calling for the genocide of Jews constituted bullying or harassment. (Magill resigned days after the hearing amid mounting criticism of her testimony.)

“There’s a huge challenge within the Democrat Party right now with this rise of antisemitism. I do highlight in the book that Fetterman was a really important voice that condemned without hesitation,” Stefanik said. “Josh Shapiro, he was governor of Pennsylvania when this happened. Penn was among the worst, and you had very weak leadership from Liz Magill. He called for her resignation immediately as well.”

“There are a few examples, but that’s outside of the norm of the Democratic Party and what we’re seeing play out both in the public polling, but also in some of these primary elections,” she continued, referencing the increase in anti-Israel candidates who have won recent Democratic primary contests.
Bad Guys First By Abe Greenwald
Via Commentary Newsletter, sign up here. I’ve seen a lot of liberal-leaning cable-news pundits asked whether they support Graham Platner’s run for Senate. The most interesting answer is “I’m lucky I don’t vote in Maine.” It’s also, from what I’ve seen, the most common response.

One gets the feeling that the people who say this are happy they don’t vote in Maine not because they’re spared from having to make a choice about Platner but because they’re spared from having to answer the question truthfully when asked on TV.

If your public position on Platner is ambivalence, I don’t have much doubt about what you really think. You might hold your nose and support him, but you support him all the same. Some decisions don’t really require much deliberation.

Those who don’t want to come clean are understandably ashamed. Platner’s inexorable Democratic nomination will confirm that the left is done pretending to care about MeToo, anti-racism, and all the rest of it.

What is the left shorn of its identity-based saviorism? What it always was: the politics of power and grievance. It turns out, you don’t need a designated victim group to claim victimization. You just need the villains.

It’s always about destroying the villains, not protecting the victims. It was about the 1 percent, not the 99; the police and whiteness, not black lives; transphobes, not trans kids; Jews, not Palestinians. It’s okay to support an aggressive misogynist and bigot so long as you are working from the same updated list of bad guys.
J Street holding out on Graham Platner endorsement
J Street, the progressive Israel advocacy group, is for now withholding an endorsement of Graham Platner, the scandal-plagued Democratic Senate nominee in Maine, underscoring the extent to which even some left-wing Jewish activists appear skeptical of his insurgent campaign.

A spokesperson for J Street told Jewish Insider on Wednesday that the group did not “have anything to share at this time” about a Platner endorsement but would provide more information “if that changes.”

The spokesperson declined to confirm if J Street, which this cycle has backed a handful of Democratic Senate candidates vying for open seats or challenging Republican incumbents, had considered whether it will make an endorsement. The group had told JI in early May that it did “not currently have a position in the race.”

In a statement to JI on Thursday, the spokesperson said that it “is incorrect to frame J Street as actively withholding an endorsement from Graham Platner.”

The group “evaluates candidates and makes endorsement decisions on a rolling basis,” and its “endorsement process is ongoing,” the spokesperson said. “The timing of endorsement decisions does not reflect judgment about any individual candidate.”

J Street’s response came after Platner had clinched the nomination on Tuesday to challenge Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), in a high-profile race Democrats see as crucial to reclaiming control of the upper chamber.


The Paris Conference, the peace industry, and the illusion of representation
On June 12, 2025, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs hosted a conference in Paris bringing together dozens of Israeli and Palestinian participants under the banner of supporting peace and advancing the two-state solution ahead of the G7 meeting on June 15. At first glance, the initiative appeared admirable.

France continues to invest political capital in keeping alive the prospect of peace at a time when both societies are exhausted by war, violence, and despair.

The idea of engaging civil society actors from both sides is intuitively attractive. Diplomats, donors, and journalists alike are naturally drawn to images of Palestinians and Israelis sitting together, discussing coexistence and reconciliation.

Yet beneath this attractive surface lies a reality that few are willing to discuss openly. Over the past three decades, an increasingly closed and professionalized “peace industry” has emerged around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

What began as genuine efforts to build bridges between two societies gradually evolved into a highly specialized ecosystem of organizations, consultants, facilitators, conference organizers, and donor-funded professionals who have come to dominate the field of what is often described as Israeli-Palestinian civil society engagement.

The same names appear repeatedly. The same organizations receive funding year after year. The same participants travel from one conference to another, from Geneva to Brussels, from Paris to Washington.

They speak the same language, attend the same workshops, publish the same reports, and celebrate the same symbolic achievements. Meanwhile, the distance between ordinary Palestinians and Israelis continues to grow.

A self-reinforcing ecosystem has developed between donor governments, international bureaucracies, and the leadership of the peace industry itself.

Donors seek predictable partners who understand reporting requirements and avoid political controversy. Organizations learn how to secure grants and maintain institutional survival.

Both sides become comfortable with a model that minimizes risk, avoids confrontation with difficult realities, and rarely challenges the structures that prevent meaningful engagement between the two societies.
UK, Australia and Canada launch fund for peace in Israel and Palestine
Britain, Australia and Canada will launch a £3 million fund on Thursday to help support peace in Israel and Palestine.

The initiative, dubbed the “International Peace Fund”, is intended to tackle the root causes of the Israel-Palestine conflict and pave the way towards a two-state solution.

It will draw on the UK’s experience in Northern Ireland and current work in the Western Balkans, investing in community projects, youth groups and civil society organisations.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the fund would “support those working tirelessly to foster understanding between Israeli and Palestinian communities”.

She said: “When generations of Israelis and Palestinians have grown up with cycles of conflict and violence, we also need to support the local community organisations who are building dialogue, peace and trust across communities.”

Ms Cooper is expected to unveil the fund during a meeting with her Australian and Canadian counterparts, Penny Wong and Anita Anand, at her official country residence, Chevening, in Kent.

Each country has put £1 million into the fund, which will seek to recruit other donors once operational.

Beneficiaries of the funding have not yet been selected.
Nick Matau: The OSLO ACCORDS Were NEVER About a Two-State Solution!?
I sat down with retired Ambassador Alan Baker, one of the legal architects of the Oslo Accords, to discuss what the agreements actually said, what happened behind the scenes with Yasser Arafat, why Camp David failed, and whether peace between Israelis and Palestinians is still possible today.

We covered:
• What Oslo I and Oslo II actually were
• Whether Oslo was intended to create a Palestinian state
• The truth about Areas A, B and C
• Settlements and what the agreements legally allow
• Yasser Arafat's role in the peace process
• Why the Oslo framework still exists today
• Security concerns after October 7th
• The future of Gaza and Palestinian autonomy
• Whether a two-state solution is realistic

This was one of the most informative conversations I've had on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and offers insight directly from someone who helped negotiate the agreements themselves.


The Brink: Suicidal Empathy and the Slow Death of the West - Gad Saad
In this episode of The Brink, Andrew and Jake are joined by evolutionary psychologist, bestselling author, and podcast host Gad Saad to discuss his new book, Suicidal Empathy, and the ideas he believes are driving the West towards cultural and political self-destruction.

Gad explains the concept of "suicidal empathy" and argues that many of the West’s biggest challenges stem from a well-meaning but ultimately self-defeating inability to balance compassion with self-preservation. From mass immigration and cultural relativism to identity politics and DEI, he explores how empathy can become detached from reality and produce disastrous consequences.

The conversation examines the origins of these ideas, the role of universities and elite institutions in spreading them, and why so many people feel unable to challenge prevailing orthodoxies. We also discuss meritocracy, free speech, the decline of intellectual curiosity, and the growing divide between common sense and elite opinion.

Finally, Gad reflects on Israel, October 7th, propaganda, and the psychological forces shaping public opinion in the West. He explains why he believes societies must rediscover the confidence to defend their values, culture, and institutions before it is too late.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
04:10 Discussion on Suicidal Empathy
12:33 Individual and Societal Levels of Empathy
16:26 Cultural Theory of Mind
20:47 Biological and Psychological Connections
25:20 Cultural Traits and Pathogenic Density
29:30 Freedom and Crazy Ideas
33:57 Israel and the Psychology of Disinformation
41:03 Cognitive and Emotional Empathy in Propaganda
48:08 QAnon and Extreme Populism as Idea Pathogens


travelingisrael.com: Every Civilization That Persecuted Jews Destroyed Itself
From ancient empires to modern Europe - the pattern is always the same: when Jews are safe, societies flourish. When they're not, something has already gone very wrong. This video isn't really about Jews. It's a warning sign for everyone else.


Ami’s House: Batya Ungar-Sargon: Anti-Semitism Changed Sides And What's HIDDEN in America's Foundation
Batya Ungar-Sargon, author of the brand new book The Jews and the Left, sits down with Ami for one of the most honest, wide-ranging conversations about Jewish life in America you'll hear. Anti-Semitism switched sides. As Batya was finishing her manuscript about left-wing anti-Semitism, right-wing podcasters decided to become massive anti-Semites. She thought she'd be a national laughing stock. Then the right cleaned house: Trump, Ben Shapiro, senators, cabinet members, all saying Tucker Carlson is not MAGA anymore. Tucker's new audience? Muslims. Candace is bragging about it.

But the deeper argument is about America itself. From the first Jew who stepped on American soil in 1654, one of the first things he did was sue an anti-Semitic official, Peter Stuyvesant, and win — to the founding fathers who saw Jews as the living embodiment of God-given rights. Three hundred years of Jewish-American history have been erased. Batya's thesis: the soil itself rejects Jew hate. That has always been true here and it remains true today.

Plus: the ADL's massive failure after October 7th, why anti-Zionism IS anti-Semitism for the vast majority of American Jews, the HIAS immigration conspiracy theory debunked, why Britain and Canada are lost but America isn't, and Batya's prescription for the Jewish community: stop whining about anti-Semitism, recognize what this country has always been, and keep Shabbos.

Breakdown:
0:00 Welcome + Introducing Batya Ungar-Sargon
0:28 Batya in the Nile, Vienna & India: The Name Origin Story
2:10 The October 7th Aftermath: 'Told You So' on Both Sides
3:37 Batya's Book Was Almost a Laughing Stock — Then the Right Cleaned House
4:35 Tucker, Fuentes & Candace: How the Right Purged Its Anti-Semites
5:42 Left vs. Right Is Meaningless
8:47 300 Years of American Jewish History Nobody Talks About
9:08 Founding Fathers Saw Jews as the Living Embodiment of Their Ideals
11:50 Why Early Jews Gave Up the Very Thing That Made Them Precious
12:18 The First Jew in America Sued Peter Stuyvesant in 1654 — And Won
14:24 Jewish Success Then and Now: Neo-Marxism and the Oppressor Class
16:17 The ADL's Betrayal After October 7th: 'Give Us the Oppressed Category Too'
20:25 Mamdani's Permission Structures: How Left Anti-Semitism Actually Works
22:12 Anti-Zionism IS Anti-Semitism: Batya's Case
26:17 Should You Engage Anti-Semites? Ami's AMFEST Story vs. Batya's Counter
30:10 Charlie Kirk Focus Group: 75% of Young Conservatives Are Pro-Israel
31:12 Tucker Is Marginalized. Candace Brags Her New Audience Is Muslim.
35:41 The Holocaust Anxiety: The 1930s Germany Comparison
44:34 HIAS and Immigration: The Real Story Behind the Tree of Life Conspiracy
50:45 Islam in America vs. the UK: Why America Doesn't Have That Problem
56:19 Britain and Canada Are Lost. America Isn't.
1:01:55 The Prescription: Stop Whining. Democrats Will Moderate. Keep Shabbos.


Call me Back Podcast: ISRAEL VOTES: Who Are You, Gadi Eisenkot? - with Nadav Eyal
Can Gadi Eisenkot make the leap from one of Israel’s most trusted generals to its next prime minister?

Gadi Eisenkot’s popularity is seeing a meteoric rise. Dan is joined by Nadav Eyal to examine Eisenkot’s background, military record, decisions around October 7, and whether experience built on service and sacrifice can survive the rough-and-tumble of an election campaign. They also compare Eisenkot to previous generals who’ve tried this, and to his current viable political opponents.

In this episode:
03:54 – Is Gadi Eisenkot's rise in the polls real?
05:42 – The Appeal of Israel's "Quiet General"
14:33 – From Eilat to IDF Chief of Staff
16:51 – Eisenkot's military legacy and the "war between wars"
23:27 – How much responsibility does he bear for October 7?
27:00 – The personal tragedy that shaped his public image
30:45 – What the War Cabinet Revealed About Eisenkot
38:30 – Can Eisenkot Unite the Opposition?


At United Nations, Colombian president makes more Nazi references, Israel blamed further for Mid East violence
Israel rebuked Colombia sharply at the United Nations after Gustavo Petro, the latter’s president, who wrote “heil Hitler” on social media days prior, invoked Nazism repeatedly when talking about Israel and migration issues at a Security Council meeting and said that “we are going back to the era of the Nazis.”

Petro’s comments amount to “bizarre ideological rants” and a “dangerous distortion of Holocaust history” that “dishonors the victims of the Holocaust,” Danny Danon, Israeli ambassador to the global body, said on Wednesday.

The Colombian president, who is not favored to win a runoff election on June 21, reportedly declined a call from Danon, who sought an apology from Petro before the latter chaired the council session on the Middle East on Wednesday. Colombia serves as president of the Security Council this month.

The meeting centered on concerns of all-out war in the Middle East, and it came hours before U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to launch additional strikes on Iran.

Jennifer Locetta, the U.S. alternative representative for special political affairs in the United Nations, told the council that the Middle East needs “real solutions and political capital, not recycled failed approaches.”

She blamed the Iranian regime for holding “the world’s economy hostage by unlawfully attempting to restrict freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz” and for its patronage of terror proxies in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.

Locetta also accused Russia and China of covering for Tehran, in part by vetoing a draft Security Council resolution in April that would have authorized an international effort to secure vessels going through the strait.

“Dialogue without consequences failed to prevent destabilizing behavior,” she said.

Locetta noted a lack of enforcement behind the international diplomatic efforts.
Two dozen Latino lawmakers come together to slam Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s ‘Heil Hitler’ tweet
Two dozen lawmakers from 14 Latino countries have joined the growing international backlash against Colombia’s outgoing president, Gustavo Petro, for posting “Heil Hitler” in response to an op-ed column in support of the right-wing presidential candidate.

The push-back follows earlier condemnation of the inflammatory rhetoric by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs alongside leading American Jewish organizations.

The parliamentarians from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Uruguay said Tuesday that the use of expressions associated with Nazism is improper in democratic debate and must be condemned, especially when it comes from a head of state.

They noted that the incident cannot be viewed in isolation, given that the left-wing leader has repeatedly used references or allusions to Nazism when referring to opponents, critics, and media outlets.

“The use of references to Nazism must not become a rhetorical tool to discredit political or ideological positions,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement initiated by the Combat Antisemitism Movement. “Democratic leaders have a responsibility to promote a respectful public debate that is conscious of the weight of words.”

Historians have repeatedly cautioned that such comparisons contribute to trivializing the crimes of the Nazi regime and distorting Holocaust memory.


Former Abdul El-Sayed Campaign Staffer Among University of Michigan Graduates Accused of Violent Conspiracy To Terrorize Jews
A former staffer for Abdul El-Sayed, the left-wing Democratic candidate for Michigan’s open Senate seat, was among the eight individuals the Justice Department indicted Wednesday for allegedly engaging in a "coordinated campaign" to threaten Jewish officials, businesses, and groups at the University of Michigan.

Dearborn, Mich., native Mariam Odeh, 24, faces one count of conspiracy to transmit threats in interstate and foreign commerce after participating in anti-Israel disruptions and vandalism on campus aimed at pressuring the university to divest from the Jewish state following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre. A pre-trial services officer told the judge that the recent graduate reported "full-time employment for about four months for a local Senate candidate," the Detroit News reported.

El-Sayed's campaign confirmed to the outlet that it employed Odeh, initially claiming she only worked for it for two weeks. A campaign spokeswoman later said she was actually hired on an hourly basis in February and stayed on through mid-April.

Her employment with the El-Sayed campaign is just the latest instance tying the left-wing Democrat to pro-Hamas agitators. In April, he rallied with Hasan Piker, an influencer who said "America deserved 9/11" and has defended Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. El-Sayed also said during a private campaign meeting that he didn’t want to make a statement on the death of former Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei because many voters in Dearborn were "sad" about the dictator’s assassination. An audio recording of the meeting was first published by the Washington Free Beacon.

Odeh and her fellow defendants "damaged and defaced homes and businesses with spray-painted messages, threats, and symbols" like "INTIFADA" and "discussed methods by which to harm the targets and their families, including poison, bombs, and psychological torture," according to the indictment.

"In the dead of night, masked and hooded defendants allegedly threw noxious chemicals through the windows of families' homes and taped demand letters to their front doors," Jennifer Runyan, the special agent in charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, added. "At every step they attempted to cover their tracks and delete evidence of their crimes."

Those charged allegedly collected "personal addresses, photographs, political and social connections, business ownership, and other personal details of the targets."


When America First Meets Iran
In 2012, Tucker Carlson described the Islamic Republic of Iran as “evil” and its leaders as “lunatics.” He even argued that the Iranian regime “deserves to be annihilated.” At the time, Carlson recognized a reality that remains unchanged today: the Islamic Republic is not a normal state pursuing normal state interests. It is a revolutionary regime built on repression, proxy warfare, and regional destabilization.

What makes Carlson’s evolution particularly striking is that he is often presented as one of the leading voices of the America First movement. Iran is not merely an adversary of Israel. For nearly half a century, the Islamic Republic has defined itself in opposition to the United States, funded groups responsible for killing Americans, attacked American interests across the Middle East, and built a foreign policy around hostility toward both Washington and its allies.

Yet Carlson increasingly directs his criticism toward those confronting the regime and its proxies rather than toward the regime itself. The contradiction is not simply with Carlson’s earlier views on Iran. It is with the political worldview that made him one of the most influential voices in the America First movement. How does a movement built around defending American interests end up minimizing the threat posed by a regime whose leaders still lead crowds in chants of “Death to America”?

The Regime
The Iranian regime is evil because it is a revolutionary theocracy built on repression at home and destabilization abroad. Inside Iran, the regime suppresses dissent, imprisons political opponents, censors information, persecutes minorities, and denies millions of its own citizens basic freedoms. Journalists face intimidation and imprisonment. Women who challenge compulsory hijab laws face arrest and violence. Protest movements are crushed with remarkable brutality. For nearly half a century, the regime has prioritized ideological control over the well-being of its own population while enriching the institutions responsible for maintaining its grip on power.

Nor is the regime’s conduct confined to its own borders. Since 1979, the Islamic Republic has pursued a strategy of projecting power through proxies and allied militias across the Middle East. Rather than confronting its enemies directly, Tehran has spent decades building armed organizations capable of advancing Iranian interests while providing a degree of plausible deniability. This strategy is not incidental to the regime. It is central to how it operates. The regime seeks regional influence, the export of its revolutionary ideology, and the destruction of Israel. It has spent decades constructing the military and political infrastructure necessary to pursue those objectives.


Labour minister slams Greens and Lib Dems over Cabinet post for councillor who called Hamas founders ‘martyrs’
A Labour minister has launched a scathing attack on the Liberal Democrats and Green Party Groups in Birmingham over the appointment of a councillor to the cabinet who had described the founders of Hamas as “martyrs.”

Al Cairns, Labour MP for Birmingham Selly Oak and Minister for the Armed Forces, released a video on social media highlighting the appointment of Green councillor Kamal Hawwash to the new administration’s cabinet, where he has been put in charge of children and families.

At one point in the newly released video, Cairns fumes: “Birmingham deserves better than this, and the Jewish families who built this city deserve an answer.”

Cairns states: “The man who calls the founders of Hamas martyrs is now in charge of Birmingham’s children.

“He’s a Green Party councillor in Stirchley, and the Birmingham Liberal Democrats just put him into their cabinet.

“His name is Kamal Hawwash. He called the founder of Hamas a martyr. He called the co-founder of Hamas a martyr.

“He mourned the chairman of Hamas when he was killed, compared the leader of Hezbollah to Nelson Mandela, and claimed Israel killed its own people on October 7.

“This is not one bad tweet, it’s not some simple mistake. This is years and years of it”
Green Party considers proposal for circumcision ban
The Green Party’s Health Policy Working Group is understood to be considering a proposal to recommend supporting a policy of banning circumcision, which would affect both Jews and Muslims in the UK.

As reported by The Spectator, the Green’s Health Policy Working Group (HPWG) has launched a consultation seeking views on whether parents should only be allowed to consent “to an irreversible surgical procedure on a child if that procedure is medically necessary”, as well as asking members to provide feedback on whether “non-therapeutic male circumcision should only be performed on children who are old enough to make an informed choice.”

In 2018, Iceland became the first European country to ban circumcision for non-medical reasons, a move which was strongly criticised by both Jewish and Muslim leaders at the time. While Iceland’s ban had cross-party consensus, such policy proposals have been used by far right European parties – such as Germany’s AfD and Sweden’s Swedish Democrats – as a tool to try and target Jewish and Muslim communities.

The Spectator reported that the consultation officer of HPWG contacted party members with a survey which included questions on this topic, saying that “helping us to respond to this survey will be a huge help in ensuring the Green Party has an updated Health Policy from this Autumn.” The Greens are due to hold their Autumn conference this September, when a highly controversial “Zionism is Racism” motion also seems likely to be debated.

By Jewish law, boys are circumcised when they are 8 days old, unless there are medical considerations which would such a procedure hazardous. Circumcision is also widely performed within the Muslim community, though usually when a child is somewhat older.
Man behind notorious ‘anti-Zionist’ Twitter account alleged to have punched seagull to death
A man alleged to have punched a seagull to death in front of horrified holidaymakers in Cornwall is understood to run one of the UK’s most notorious “anti-Zionist” accounts, in which he has referred to “Zionist Jews” as “parasites” who “need to be isolated in all walks of life in our society”.

As reported by the Daily Mail, tourists in St Ives, Cornwall, witnessed a man react to a seagull attempting to snatch a Cornish pasty out of his hand. One woman described how he grabbed the seagull “and punched it hard in the chest. It was sort of held in his arm so it couldn’t escape.

“After three or four punches the bird went limp then he threw it to the ground where it just lay there, it was still alive but its chest cavity was caved in and I think it just went off to die.

“I went over and berated him as did some other people, I said “you can’t do that, its illegal” and his wife said the same, I think she was shocked, I asked if he’d do the same to a child who stole an ice cream but he just called me a cow and told me to f*** off.”

The Mail reported that the individual was quickly identified online as “pro-Palestine advocate Jonathan ‘Jonny’ Roberts from Bradford, Yorkshire”.

The online Jewish investigator collective known as “Gnasher Jew” has previously identified Roberts as the individual behind an account calling itself “JonnyUtd”, with the Twitter handle “@fx1Jonny”.


Pro-Palestinian protestor who climbed Big Ben tower convicted of causing a public nuisance
A pro-Palestinian protestor, who climbed part way up Elizabeth Tower (which houses Big Ben) has been convicted of causing public nuisance.

Daniel Day, 30, of Southend on Sea, trespassed on the parliamentary estate by climbing over railings on Bridge Street, at 7:20am on 8 March 2025. Having scaled the tower barefoot until he was a considerable height, he remained there for approximately 15 hours. Footage and pictures of the incident show Day holding a keffiyeh as well as a Palestinian flag.

Day, who had denied the charge, was convicted at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday. A jury had previously been told by Alison Giles, Parliament’s director of security, that the estimnated financial impact of Day’s disruption was £67,000, which she described as “ultimately…[a cost to] the British taxpayer because those funds are used to offset the running costs of the Houses of Parliament”.

A significant number of members of the emergency services attended the area. A cherry picker containing a police negotiator was also used, with mattresses placed at the base of the tower in case the protestor fell.

David Matthew, prosecuting, told the court at the opening of the trial that there had been “serious disruption” in the vicinity, with emergency service attendance in response to Day’s actions “blocking up what is a major part of the central London road network”.


Justice Dept expands Harvard antisemitism suit with new allegations of bias against Jewish, Israeli students
The U.S. Department of Justice expanded its civil rights lawsuit against Harvard University on Monday, adding new allegations that Jewish and Israeli students faced discrimination, harassment and unequal treatment on campus.

The amended complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, comes nearly a month after Harvard filed a motion to dismiss the federal lawsuit. The revised 59-page filing adds several incidents that were not included in the initial complaint filed on March 20.

Among the new allegations is a claim that Marshall Ganz, a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, barred Israeli students from presenting a project on “liberal Jewish democracy” during a 2023 workshop.

“The Israeli students were forbidden by Professor Ganz to present their project of choice and were told that associating the word ‘Jewish’ with ‘democracy’ was offensive,” according to the complaint. They were also allegedly told that the project would make the classroom “unsafe for their Muslim and Arab peers.”

The filing cites an independent university investigation that found Ganz discriminated against the students on the basis of “Israeli national origin and Jewish ethnicity” and afforded preferential treatment to Arab and Muslim students whom he “deemed as ‘oppressed’ by Israel.”

The incident has also been cited in separate lawsuits against Harvard brought by former students Shabbos Kestenbaum and Yoav Segev, as well as one filed by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law.

The amended complaint further alleges that anti-Israel demonstrators blockaded Jewish students inside a study room during a campus protest on Oct. 19, 2023, and that a university employee “tore down posters depicting the faces of Israeli hostages that were on display on Harvard Chabad kiosks in Harvard Yard” in March 2025.


Israel sends French journalist back to Paris over Hamas stance
Israel has barred French journalist Alice Froussard from entering the country, Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli announced on Thursday.

“I am pleased to announce that at this very moment, Alice Froussard, a French journalist who supports Hamas, and who claims that the October 7 massacre must be viewed ‘in context,’ is making her way from Ben Gurion Airport back to Paris,” Chikli wrote in an X post. “Like Linda Sarsour before her, she too has learned that the State of Israel has run out of patience for Hamas supporters and for those who support sanctions and boycotts against it.”

Froussard, who has reported from Israel in recent years, was seeking a new work visa to return as a correspondent for Radio France when officials reviewed her public statements, according to Israel Hayom.

The ministry cited posts and remarks in which she described Israeli laws as “draconian,” accused Israel of operating a dual legal system amounting to apartheid, and said the Oct. 7 massacre should be viewed “in context.”

Earlier this month, Israel banned anti-Israel activist Linda Sarsour from entering the country.
Hamas co-founder in West Bank released without charge after 2.5 years in Israeli jail
Hassan Yousef, a co-founder of Hamas in the West Bank whose son Mosab became famous for working as an Israeli informant, was on Thursday released from Israeli custody without charge after two and a half years of administrative detention, Palestinian media reported.

Yousef, 71, was arrested on October 19, 2023, at his home near Ramallah, as part of a wave of arrests of Hamas operatives in the West Bank following the Hamas-led invasion and massacre in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza.

His son Owais confirmed to AFP that Yousef was “freed near the southern West Bank city of Hebron” and taken to a hospital in Ramallah.

Footage published after Yousef’s release showed him in the hospital with his hand in a bandage. It was unclear how he became injured.

Israeli police did not immediately respond to an AFP request for confirmation.

Yousef is a senior leader of Hamas in the West Bank, having co-founded the terror group in the 1980s along with Sheikh Ahmad Yassin and other Palestinian members of the Muslim Brotherhood.


Seattle soccer league sparks outrage over name, showcasing ‘terrorist imagery’
A Seattle soccer group calling itself the Fedayeen Football League has been hosting weekly matches in city parks while drawing criticism from Jewish and Iranian-American community members who say its imagery and messaging glorify terrorism, violence and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The league, which launched in May, describes its gatherings at Seattle public parks as opportunities to “play football, connect with Palestinian organizations and hang out.”

The group’s next scheduled event is June 12 at Cal Anderson Park in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.

Promotional materials circulating online and in social media posts associated with the group have included imagery of armed militants draped in keffiyehs, missiles striking urban areas and clips from news articles referencing attacks on Israel and the deaths of Israeli soldiers.

Photos shared by the group on social media also show participants playing soccer and posing with Islamic Republic of Iran and Palestinian flags, with one image showing a participant giving what appeared to be the “T” hand gesture popularized by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. (JNS sought comment from Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson and asked Seattle Parks and Recreation if the group reserves space in the parks.)

David Solovy, a Seattle resident and former Israel Defense Forces soldier, told JNS he encountered the group carrying the flags at Green Lake Park in North Seattle. He said one of the members recognized him from his pro-Israel activism, and that the group started chanting “death to Zionists” and called him a “baby killer.”

Rose Marandiz, who fled the Islamic regime in 2001 and now lives in Seattle, criticized the group’s use of symbolism associated with the Iranian government.


Israel may miss the FIFA World Cup, but its tech will power the tournament
As the FIFA World Cup kicks off this June, Israeli football fans will once again find themselves watching from the sidelines, cheering for foreign giants as the national team misses out on the big stage.

Yet, while Israeli boots won't be hitting the grass, Israeli innovation will be everywhere. Behind the scenes of the world’s most prestigious sporting event, a powerhouse of Israeli technology companies is working to shape the tournament's global infrastructure, driving everything from real-time broadcasting and sports data to international ticket distribution.

The data powerhouse behind the scenes: LSports
Israeli sports tech leader LSports is set to play a critical role in the upcoming World Cup, delivering ultra-fast, data-driven insights to the global sports betting and media industries. Utilizing advanced AI and machine learning algorithms, the company tracks millions of real-time data points from the pitch, converting them into live statistics, automated sports visualizations, and deeply engaging fan experiences. By providing bookmakers and media outlets with unparalleled accuracy and latency-free data, LSports ensures that sports fans worldwide can engage with every pass, goal, and penalty in real time.

"The World Cup demands the absolute highest standards of accuracy and speed, and that is exactly where Israeli innovation thrives," said Dotan Lazar, LSports CEO. "We are proud to contribute our cutting-edge sports data ecosystem to the world’s biggest tournament. While the players create history on the pitch, our technology ensures that millions of fans, media channels, and platforms across the globe receive the most precise, thrilling, and immersive data experience possible."

Ultimately, the upcoming World Cup underscores a familiar paradox for Israeli sports: while local athletic achievements frequently stutter on the international stage, the nation's technological prowess remains unmatched. Blue-and-white soccer jerseys may be missing from the locker rooms in June, but Israeli intelligence, creativity, and drive will be power-boosting the tournament for billions of fans around the world.


British Museum defies intimidation to host ancient Israel lecture
The director of the British Museum emphasised the institution’s “enduring commitment to free speech, inquiry and enduring scholarship” as he introduced a lecture on ancient Israel and Judah, given as part of Jewish Culture Month.

The lecture, given by the British Museum’s Keeper of the Middle East, Dr Paul Collins, had originally been due to take place at the end of May, but the museum authorities said they had received “credible information” that there were plans to disrupt it.

This time, the museum was taking no chances and had layers of security which ensured that only ticket-holders to the lecture were able to get into the building.

Everyone was then funnelled through a security tent for a first bag search, before being asked to go through a second bag search, immediately outside the lecture theatre. Security staff at gates of British Museum

Before people were allowed inside, about 15 museum staff were given a briefing as to what actions to take if anyone in the 100-strong audience tried to disrupt Dr Collins.

It is understood that more precautions were taken to protect the “thousands” of people who had registered to watch the lecture on-line. About 4,000 people registered to see Dr Collins, making it the highest-attended event in Jewish Culture Month to date.

Dr Nicholas Cullinan said the museum was “proud to be part of an event marking 1,000 years of shared British-Jewish history,” and expressed gratitude to the Board of Deputies for its support in enabling the event to take place.

He added: “A public talk delivered by a senior curator, for Jewish Culture Month, at the British Museum, should have been unremarkable. But in these polarising times in which we live, this event became a flashpoint in a wider argument about protest, intimidation, and the witness of free expression”.





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