Monday, August 31, 2026

08/30 Links: The Resurgence of Antisemitism Is a Warning to Every Democracy; The world’s double standard toward Israel is prejudice dressed as principle

From Ian:

The Resurgence of Antisemitism Is a Warning to Every Democracy
One of the most dangerous mistakes Western democracies are making today is to treat antisemitism as a problem that concerns only Jews. It does not. Antisemitism is a symptom of a deeper civic and moral disorder. The resurgence of antisemitism across Europe and North America should be understood as an early warning signal for every democracy.

Today, public debate increasingly rewards emotional certainty over intellectual honesty. In such an environment, antisemitism flourishes wherever complexity is replaced by slogans, wherever individual responsibility gives way to victimhood, and wherever democratic societies lose confidence in the universal principles that once sustained them.

The events of October 7, 2023, revealed how quickly parts of public discourse became unable, or unwilling, to distinguish between the deliberate murder of civilians and the political narratives constructed to justify it. Many public institutions appeared unable to make a basic moral distinction, excusing the deliberate murder of civilians.

Antisemitism has historically provided societies with a ready-made explanation for complexity. It transforms uncertainty into certainty by offering a familiar culprit. The responsibility of democracies is to preserve the moral distinction between criticism and dehumanization.

Criticism examines decisions. Dehumanization questions the legitimacy of an entire people and denies a nation's right to exist. Opposition to specific Israeli policies too often portrays the very existence of the Jewish state as uniquely illegitimate. Once that boundary disappears, antisemitism presents itself as virtue.

The most important question facing democratic societies today is not how much they sympathize with Israel. It is whether they are still capable of making elementary moral distinctions. Can they recognize the deliberate murder of civilians for what it is? Can they condemn terrorism without immediately searching for explanations that diminish personal responsibility?

A society that remains confident in its principles does not hesitate before condemning the massacre of civilians. A society that has lost confidence in its own values begins by asking whether the victims somehow deserved their fate.

The strength of a democracy is measured by its willingness to defend moral principles even when doing so is uncomfortable, unpopular, or politically costly. A society that cannot defend the dignity of its smallest minority will eventually lose the ability to defend the freedom of everyone.
Amb. Alan Baker: The world’s double standard toward Israel is prejudice dressed as principle
There is another disturbing dimension to this phenomenon: the increasingly blurred line between anti-Zionism and antisemitism.

It may be legitimate to criticize Israeli policies, but when Jews throughout the world are held collectively responsible for Israel’s actions; when Jews are physically accosted, Jewish institutions are attacked because of events in the Middle East; when Jewish students are intimidated; or when Jewish communities are told that they must condemn Israel to prove their moral legitimacy, something far more sinister is taking place.

The old accusation from time immemorial that Jews are responsible for society’s problems has simply acquired a modern vocabulary and is now accompanied overtly by violence and intimidation.

The question therefore must be asked: Why Israel? Why the Jews? Why this extraordinary obsession?

Perhaps the answer lies in both political and social convenience. Israel is a small, identifiable and highly visible target. It is easier to mobilize public anger against a democratic state than against authoritarian regimes whose governments control information and suppress dissent. It has always been easier to mobilize anger against Jews, especially in Europe. The fact that history is repeating itself with vengeance is reason for utmost concern

But convenience cannot justify hypocrisy.

Those who genuinely believe in human rights, international law and the protection of civilians should apply those principles universally. They should condemn terrorism regardless of its perpetrators, defend civilian life regardless of nationality, and demand accountability from all states, organizations and societies that violate fundamental norms.

Israel should be judged by the same standards as every other country – not by lower standards, but certainly not by impossibly higher ones.

The alternative is not justice. It is prejudice masquerading as principle.

Israel will continue to face criticism. That is part of being a democratic state. But criticism becomes unacceptable when facts are deliberately distorted, history is erased, responsibility is inverted, and an entire people are demonized.

The time has come to ask the uncomfortable questions – and to insist on honest answers.

For if Israel and the Jews are blamed for everything, sooner or later we must ask whether the problem lies not with Israel or the Jews, but with those who have made blaming them their political reflex.
Greece to sign $3.6b. Israeli air defense deal, creating 'Achilles Shield' against Turkey and Iran
Greece is set to sign a $3.6 billion defense deal with Israel on Monday in Tel Aviv, a major agreement that will provide Athens with a multilayered air defense system against potential threats from Turkey and Iran.

The agreement, negotiated over three years, will become the largest defense export deal in Israel’s history.

A Greek delegation will sign the agreement with Israel’s Defense Ministry to purchase air defense systems valued at $3.6 billion, slightly below earlier estimates. The deal will provide Greece, for the first time, with an integrated, multilayered defense network.

Most of the funds will go to Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, which will supply Greece with David’s Sling systems designed to intercept heavy rockets and ballistic missiles, as well as mobile SPYDER systems designed to counter unmanned aerial vehicles and drones.

Israel Aerospace Industries will provide the Barak MX system, which is designed to defend against aircraft and missiles.

Project 'Achilles Shield'
The agreement also includes a national-level command-and-control center to operate the systems and manage launches, similar to the system used in Israel. The center will incorporate artificial intelligence capabilities.

Greek companies are expected to receive about €700 million of the deal’s total value as subcontractors for Rafael and IAI.

The project is known in Greece as “Achilles Shield” and will include deploying SPYDER batteries on Greek islands, including popular vacation destinations visited by many Israelis.

The largest defense export deal in Israel’s history to date was IAI’s first export sale of the Arrow 3 missile defense system to Germany, worth $3.5 billion, signed in 2023. Greece is already a major Israeli customer

Elbit Systems announced a $2.3 b. deal with a foreign customer this year, according to reports from the Persian Gulf, while Rafael signed a framework agreement with Romania this year to sell SPYDER systems worth $2 b.

Greece has already become a major customer of Israel’s defense industry, purchasing Spike missiles and SPICE precision-guided bombs from Rafael, Rampage missiles from Elbit Systems and IAI, and Heron 2 drones from IAI.


Trump indicates support for Christian-backed plan to help Canadian Jews escape antisemitism
Jewish Canadians facing rising antisemitism might have President Donald Trump's support for an expedited legal pathway into the United States.

Trump shared a report on the plan Sunday with his millions of followers on Truth Social, amplifying the appeal as Christian lawmakers and religious leaders press his administration to act because of a "disproportionate" amount of antisemitic incidents north of the U.S. border.

The National Association of Christian Lawmakers (NACL) founder and President Jason Rapert told Fox News Digital from Israel on Sunday morning that he wants Trump to press Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney directly on the perceived "roadblocks" set up against the "quick recognition of the plight" of thousands of Jewish Canadians fearing for their safety.

"We will find out" if Canada is getting in the way of the more than 2,000 Jewish Canadians who have expressed interest in relocating, Rapert said.

"Trump should ask Carney right now," he added. "Canada should be embarrassed and ashamed of these perceived roadblocks. And we're trying to rally leaders to take a stand."

The comments come after the NACL and its partners asked Trump to direct the State Department and Department of Homeland Security to create "lawful, secure, and appropriately expedited pathways" for Jewish Canadians and their immediate family members who face persecution or can credibly demonstrate fears for their safety because they are Jewish.

"For generations, America has served as a refuge for people fleeing religious persecution," the group wrote in a letter Thursday to Trump. "We urge you to ensure that, consistent with federal law and the security interests of the United States, that door remains open to our Jewish brothers and sisters in Canada who need it today."
'Agent V-7461': A member of Adolf Eichmann's defense team was a German intelligence officer
An investigation published over the weekend by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung sheds new light on the murky connection between the “new” Germany that emerged after World War II and the capture of senior Nazi official Adolf Eichmann. According to the report, German attorney Dieter Wechtenbruch, who joined Eichmann’s defense team, was in fact an agent of West Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service. His role was to pass inside information about the defense team’s conduct to his handlers and ensure that the trial did not expose the Nazi past of members of the West German government in the early 1960s.

After 1945, West Germany integrated former Nazis into senior and influential positions in politics and in the education, health, economic and cultural systems. German authorities, including the security and intelligence services, worked vigorously to obscure or conceal the identities of these people, particularly from Israelis and Jews.

For example, West Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service, the BND, knew Eichmann’s new identity and whereabouts. Eichmann, the former head of the Gestapo’s Jewish Affairs Department, had been hiding in Argentina after World War II. But the person who informed the Mossad of his location and new name was Fritz Bauer, the state prosecutor of Hesse and a Jew who had fled Germany after the Nazis came to power. Bauer did so because he did not trust West Germany’s law enforcement system, whose ranks were filled with many former Nazis.

Now, according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung report, it appears that German intelligence continued its activities surrounding Eichmann even after his capture and trial in Jerusalem. Dieter Wechtenbruch was a young lawyer from Munich who officially came to Israel to assist Robert Servatius, the head of Eichmann’s defense team. Their defense argued that Eichmann had been a minor cog in the machinery of the Jews’ extermination and had merely followed orders.

But Wechtenbruch actually was an intelligence plant and informant for German intelligence. His registration code was V-7461. His agent name was Laquear. His actual role was not to defend Eichmann, but to leak the main points of the lawyers’ defense strategy to his handlers.

According to the investigation, before the trial in Jerusalem, Wechtenbruch was “interviewed” by an Israeli agent known as Almog. The latter failed to uncover the German lawyer’s true motives and gave his superiors a favorable assessment after spending time with him at a cabaret in Munich. “Wechtenbruch represents the new Germany,” he reported. “Without the Nazi stains.”

Wechtenbruch became one of the most influential figures in Eichmann’s legal defense and the team’s main spokesman to journalists. He is even quoted in Hannah Arendt’s famous book "Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil." In a report published in the Israeli press, Haim Gouri quoted the young lawyer as saying after prosecutor Gideon Hausner’s opening address: “I will never again be able to believe anything Germans of this generation say. I now know the truth.”

Wechtenbruch died in April 2025. In June, the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig considered a petition by a German journalist seeking, among other things, disclosure of documents related to Eichmann’s capture in Argentina. German intelligence services refused the request on grounds of secrecy and the need to protect their methods of operation. The court rejected the journalist’s petition.
French MEP Rima Hassan accused of ‘apology for terrorism’
Some 50 members of the French National Assembly from President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance Party have asked the president of the European Parliament to lift the parliamentary immunity of French far-left MEP Rima Hassan because of her presence at a pro-Hamas demonstration in Amman in mid-August.

They consider this presence as a form of “apology for terrorism.”

During the demonstration in the Jordanian capital on Aug. 16, “dozens of placards” were brandished in tribute to Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, killed on July 31 in Tehran, wrote the MPs.

The MPs point out that “the slogans chanted” at the demonstration “paid tribute to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, [and] called for the murder of Jews and the waging of jihad against ‘miscreants.’”

The group of MPs has also filed a report with the Paris public prosecutor for “incitement to racial hatred” and “apology for terrorism.”

This report, made through a lawyer, is based on article 40 of the Penal Code, which requires “any constituted authority, any public officer or civil servant, in the exercise of their functions,” to report crimes or offenses of which they have knowledge, the signatories add.

The MPs said that Hassan, who is a member of the La France Insoumise (“France Unbowed”) Party, “provocatively displayed barely concealed support for the terrorist organization Hamas” as part of an “Islamist and pro-terrorist demonstration.”

In their report to the prosecutor, the lawyers for the group of MPs refer to tweets published on Hassan’s X account. According to them, the content she publishes on the social network constitutes “threats against political figures she considers close to the Israeli government.”

“Ms. Hassan has been participating without limit, for several months, in the dissemination of hatred of Jews in Europe, notably taking up several anti-Jewish conspiracy clichés and denying the State of Israel the right to exist,” they said.
Dutch TikTokker recently converted to Islam livestreams stabbing three in Amsterdam
A Dutch fitness influencer identified by local media as Angelo Bryson stabbed three men outside Amsterdam Central on August 29 evening after livestreaming a confrontation to thousands of his TikTok followers.

The incident took place at around 7.30 pm on De Ruijterkade, on the IJ side of Amsterdam Central station. Footage from the TikTok account ‘Superhuman Unchained’ reportedly showed the streamer shadowboxing before becoming involved in an argument with a group of six or seven men.

During the confrontation, Bryson could be heard repeatedly telling members of the group not to touch him. He also said he was “not afraid” of the group and warned that they were “all going to fall”.

The situation then escalated. According to the footage described in the reports, he referred to alcohol and approached the group with a knife as fighting broke out. One man was seen falling to the ground, after which the streamer appeared to make a stabbing motion before the livestream abruptly ended. Three men were stabbed in the incident.


Israel slams Erdoğan after genocidal, Nazi claims
Jerusalem on Saturday condemned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for antisemitic incitement, after he branded Zionism a “genocidal ideology,” invoked the Holocaust in attacks on the Jewish state and urged Muslim nations to unite against Israel.

On Friday, Erdoğan said that Israel’s government was attempting to destabilize the region and claimed that “the genocidal ideology known as Zionism targets everyone who defends humanitarian values.”

Referring to Nazi Germany and the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, Erdoğan said that civilians had paid the price for international inaction against “Hitler, Pol Pot and other crazed oppressors.

“Millions of people from various origins and faiths were subjected to genocide in Hitler’s concentration camps and Pol Pot’s killing fields,” he said. “Humanity, unfortunately, just stood idly by and watched what unfolded.

“The same mistake is being repeated today in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon,” he continued. “The world is failing to adequately react to the genocidal network’s lawless policies that recognize no principles, values and limits.”

The Turkish leader also urged Muslim countries not to rely on outside powers.

“I believe that it must now be understood that we as Muslims cannot achieve anything by pinning our hopes on others,” Erdoğan said. “We have to be strong and deterrent, defending our rights together and building peace and security in our region together.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry responded on Saturday that Erdoğan was seeking “new heights of wild incitement against the Jewish state in an attempt to divert attention from his actions against his own people and across the region.”

The ministry accused the Turkish leader of imprisoning political opponents, supporting the Hamas terrorist organization and invading neighboring countries.

“Like the worst antisemites in history, Erdoğan seeks to deflect attention from his own disgraceful actions by spreading false blood libels,” the ministry said.


Award-Winning Australian Writer Claims Bondi Beach Terrorist Attack Was Not Antisemitic
Award-winning Australian novelist Richard Flanagan claimed at a festival in Sydney recently that the deadly ISIS-inspired terrorist attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach last year was not antisemitic and that the “Israel lobby” could be fueling antisemitism in the country.

“Other than the murderous evil of the two gunmen, where was the antisemitism to be found at Bondi on that terrible day? Nowhere. Nowhere. Nowhere,” Flanagan said while presenting a new essay inspired by his book Heresies at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas. He then condemned “the immediate politicization of the massacre by the Israel lobby.” Saying the terrorist attack was a result of Australian antisemitism is a “destructive myth built around the Bondi massacre,” he alleged.

Flanagan, who is the first and only author to have ever won both the Booker and the Baillie Gifford coveted literary awards, read from a new essay that focused primarily on Israel, Zionism, and antisemitism. He claimed the Bondi terrorist attack against Jewish Australians showcased multiculturalism in the country because Australians from “every creed, color, and background” rushed to the scene to help, and that “far from being a culmination of a wave of national antisemitism, [the attack] was a refutation of antisemitism.”

“Freedom of speech and expression are now endangered in Australia by the politicization and weaponization of the Bondi massacre,” the author said. He also made allegations about the “renewed attempt by the Israel lobby to use that tragedy to silence discussion around Israel and Gaza, accusing Israel of “seeking to silence” Australians with the “slur” of antisemitism.

“This massacre [at Bondi Beach], it was argued, was a consequence of a government that had done nothing and ignored all warnings about antisemitism … To what extend has the Israel lobby itself contributed to antisemitism in Australia by consistently advocating for Israel’s war in Gaza in a highly aggressive fashion, always seeking to identify all Australian Jewish people with Israel’s actions and with the lobby’s own heavy-handed attempts to silence Australians,” he stated. “Could it be the lobby’s own acts fueling antisemitism?”

”But if you wish to create a machine to destroy social cohesion in this country, a machine to create hatred of Jews such as this country has never known, then endorse the ambitions of the special envoy for antisemitism,” Flanagan added. “Because although this will be the work of the Israel lobby on behalf of Israel, it will be Australian Jews who will be blamed and scapegoated for it.”

Flanagan further claimed that incidents categorized as antisemitic in Australia after the deadly Hamas-led terrorist attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, were in fact “legitimate acts of protest by Australians about the horror of the emerging genocide in Gaza,” including the pro-Palestinian march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 2025, where some attendees waved flags in support of the designed terrorist organizations Al Qaeda and ISIS.

Despite Flanagan’s comments, Australia has seen a historic surge in antisemitic incidents in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack, according to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry. Meanwhile, Australian intelligence has warned the threat of antisemitism across the country has escalated from harassment and intimidation to physical attacks.


Iran Regime Is Cracking from Within
The Islamic Republic is experiencing an array of crises with the collapse in value of the rial, the prolonged absence of the supreme leader, a deep sense of national humiliation over the failure to avenge the death of the leader, the loss of trust in the leadership, and the pressure and economic erosion caused by the costs of war.

The most dangerous threat to totalitarian regimes has never been only the opposition outside, but the disintegration of the "base" within. Among broad circles of elements that in the past were staunch regime loyalists and hard-line nationalists, a deep sense of shock is growing over what is defined as complete "feebleness" in the face of the West.

In the eyes of many Iranians who were supporters of the Islamic Republic, the great tragedy is that the regime that once threatened to destroy countries has itself become battered, weak and helpless. This is a profound crisis of faith. Citizens see the government as a body that does not provide bread, does not provide security, and excels only at suppressing personal freedoms.

This is a disintegration of legitimacy from which there is no return: the public has long since ceased to believe in the ability of the clerics to run a modern state.
Iran Is Suffocating from Within
In recent months, Iran's economy has plunged into an acute crisis. Prices for meat and dairy products have risen more than 100% over the past year, while average per capita consumption of red meat has fallen.

Per capita dairy consumption has fallen from 100 kg. a year at the beginning of the previous decade to less than 40 kg. today.

On social media, Iranians complain that they have shifted to diets based on carbohydrates or cheap, low-quality products.

The government has introduced an emergency program of cash grants and electronic coupons to prevent mass hunger, but many stores refuse to accept the coupons because of delays in banks transferring the money.

Medicine prices have risen by hundreds of percent, forcing people to forgo treatment for chronic medical conditions.

The country's marriage rate has fallen dramatically, while the number of young women choosing to freeze their eggs and postpone having children has surged in the hope that conditions will improve in the future.

The Iranian reformist newspaper Shargh described a "repair economy" among Iran's middle class. Soaring spare-parts prices have made repairs to cars and electrical appliances an expense that many can no longer afford. Iranians cannot afford either repairs or replacements.

The Iranian website Fararu quoted dental clinic managers whose patients were replacing fillings, crowns and implants with tooth extractions, which are cheaper.

"People in Iran simply don't have money anymore, and we're not talking about the poor. We're talking about the middle class, people who in principle are not opposed to the regime, but are actually the people on whom the regime rests," said A., an Iranian-born Israeli who is an analyst for the Israeli Telegram channel Iran News.

"I see a lot of videos that Iranian citizens smuggle out to opposition channels," said Dr. Yossi Mansharof, an Iran researcher at the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy. "What you see in these videos is growing pressure on people's daily lives."
When Will Iran Run Out of Gasoline?
According to a senior Western diplomat who has spent years involved in implementing sanctions against Iran, Iran refines 31.7 million gallons of gasoline a day but consumes 35.7 million gallons, leaving a daily shortfall of 4 million gallons.

Until a month ago, imports from China through the Strait of Hormuz, along with fuel supplied by Russia, made up the deficit.

The U.S. naval blockade, Ukrainian attacks on Russian refining infrastructure, and the closure of the supply route from Russia across the Caspian Sea have reduced imports to almost zero.

The result is rationing that has now fallen to 8-13 gallons per car per month, with enormous lines at Iranian gas stations.


US hits Iranian launchers preparing to fire in Hormuz; IRGC targets Jordan in response
US forces on Sunday struck Iranian rocket launchers on the Strait of Hormuz in their first military action in a month, snapping a lull in fighting. Iran swiftly retaliated for what it called a deadly attack, launching missiles at American soldiers stationed in Jordan.

Forces with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the strait, according to Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for the US Central Command. The US military last week completed clearing sea mines from the strait’s international shipping routes.

Semiofficial news outlets in Iran reported sounds of explosions near Larak Island on the strait. The IRGC reported “the martyrdom and injury of several of our fighters and compatriots.”

The last time the US military confirmed targeting Iran was on July 29, when it announced a “heavy wave of strikes” on dozens of IRGC targets including coastal surveillance and defense sites. On August 1, US President Donald Trump said he would order the military to hold off on new strikes at the urging of Gulf allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Sunday’s attack was a “fatal mistake by the Trump regime during the economic war” and the enemy will pay the consequences militarily and economically, an IRGC spokesperson, Gen. Hossein Mohebi, said in a statement carried by Iranian media.

Shortly later, the IRGC said it launched an attack on the King Hussein and Al Azraq US bases in Jordan with ballistic missiles in response to the US attack on Larak Island.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. “Air defense systems intercepted eight missiles that breached the kingdom’s airspace at dawn today, Monday,” according to a statement from Jordan’s army.

The fighting came just days after the Trump administration said it would turn its focus to increasing economic pressure — rather than military action — to try to end the war with Iran. The shifting strategy centers on threats to punish any country or entity that continues to conduct business with Tehran.


Khamenei calls US, Israel ‘sworn enemies’ of Muslim unity
Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Sunday called the United States and Israel the “sworn enemies” of Muslim unity, accusing both countries of hostility toward the broader Muslim world.

“The criminal rulers of the U.S. and the illegitimate Zionist regime are the sworn enemies of this unity and friendship,” Khamenei said in a message marking Islamic Unity Week. He added that even rulers of Muslim countries considered allies of Washington and Jerusalem were not exempt from what he described as their hostility.

Khamenei also argued that greater Muslim unity would have strengthened the Palestinians, asking whether they would have been left “so defenseless” if Muslims had acted as “a single, united hand.”

Meanwhile, the United States has gained the upper hand in the battle for the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. officials told Axios on Friday, as the White House separately said in a press release that American forces had reopened international shipping lanes and cut off Iranian oil exports.

“That sucker is open. The Iranian response is very mild. They don’t want us to go back at them. That’s the whole ball game. The rest doesn’t matter,” President Donald Trump told Axios reporter Barak Ravid, who wrote that the U.S. officials said “they’ve turned the tide in the strait and believe it could be a watershed moment in the war that brings not only gradual relief to the world economy, but also a better deal with Iran.”

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Adm. Brad Cooper said in a video posted overnight Thursday that “we have successfully cleared sea mines in the strait’s international shipping lanes that were laid months ago by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Internationally recognized transit routes in the strait are free of Iranian sea mines thanks to the incredible work of the U.S. military.”


IDF kills Hamas terrorists in Gaza, including Oct. 7 perpetrator and another hiding in hospital
The Israel Defense Forces over the weekend targeted and killed a Hamas commander who infiltrated the northwest Negev as part of the terrorist group’s Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border massacre, the military said on Sunday.

Abd al-Fattah Abu al-Eish, a Hamas Nukhba Force commander, was killed in an airstrike in the Jabalia area of northern Gaza on Saturday, according to the IDF.

Raed Adel Mohammed Alyan, an operative in Hamas’s “military wing,” died in the same strike, it said.

“Recently, the terrorists advanced terror attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians and operated to rehabilitate the capabilities of the terrorist organization, in systematic violation of the ceasefire,” the statement said. “The strike was conducted in order to remove the threat posed.”

Precautions were taken to reduce harm to noncombatants, including the use of precision-guided munitions and aerial surveillance, the IDF added.

The IDF also said on Sunday that it had targeted and killed Hassam Osama Hussein Nasir, a member of Hamas’s “military wing,” in an airstrike in the Deir al-Balah area of the central Gaza Strip.

Nasir “advanced attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians,” according to the military. He was killed to remove the threat he posed, it said.

In an additional statement on Sunday, the IDF said it killed two terrorists from Hamas’s elite Nukhba Force, Yasser Abu al-Khair and Mohammed al-Din, in a strike in the Khan Yunis area of the southern Strip on Saturday.

The military said the two men had recently advanced attacks on IDF troops and Israeli civilians and worked to rebuild Hamas capabilities in what it described as a systematic violation of the ceasefire.

Also on Saturday, the IDF struck a Hamas commander in the Deir al-Balah area while he was hiding within the compound of Shuhada Al-Aqsa Hospital, the army said.


Ask Haviv Anything: 142: Can Gaza ever move on from Hamas? With Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib
Can Gaza ever be rebuilt while Hamas remains armed? Gazan-American writer Ahmed Fouad Al-Khatib returns to trace Hamas’s rise — from Islamist charities and the slow remaking of Gazan society to authoritarian rule, October 7, and ruinous war. Drawing on his childhood in Gaza and his new book, Hamas and Its Two Million Hostages, Ahmed argues that foreign aid, international NGOs, and Al Jazeera helped Hamas entrench itself while ordinary Gazans paid the price. He and Haviv confront the hardest questions: Can Hamas be separated from Gazan society? Could a movement built around armed “resistance” ever disarm? And is there still a path from permanent war to Palestinian nation-building and coexistence?

Chapters
00:00 Introduction and guest background
04:01 Gaza in the 1990s: Hope and Disillusionment
05:30 The Islamization of Gaza Society
07:13 Roots of Hamas and Regional Influences
10:00 Hamas's Infrastructure and Roots in Gaza
11:58 Hamas's Phases and Evolution
14:53 Personal Experience and Early Influences
17:10 Gaza Society Under Hamas and Resistance Narratives
20:11 The NGO Ecosystem and Hamas's Survival
24:57 Hamas's Political Legitimacy and Elections
30:09 Disarmament, International Efforts, and Challenges
40:08 Hamas's Control, Resources, and Regional Support
49:51 Media Influence and Al Jazeera's Role
59:46 The Support Base and Gazan Society's Complexities
01:09:50 The October 7 Attacks and Gazan Support
01:20:09 Prospects for Disarmament and Peace
01:30:08 Conclusion and Hope for the Future




The Times Editorial: Plan to Sanction Israeli West Bank Communities Is Performative Politics
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham is planning a sudden ill-advised departure from Britain's existing relations with Israel. He is poised to announce a "robust" sanctions regime targeting Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Such a trade embargo would be almost impossible to implement.

The pretext for the sanctions is the long-planned construction of 1,200 homes by Israel just east of the densely populated city of Jerusalem, a zone known as E1. In practice, as Labour Friends of Israel warns, any attempted embargo would probably become a de facto ban on trade with Israel. It is a bleak irony that many Palestinian businesses would be hit hard too.

However, it is the very notion that sanctions are justified in the first place that does not survive scrutiny. Ed Miliband, the foreign secretary, has joined those who allege the E1 project jeopardizes the eventual creation of a Palestinian state. But those alarmist claims are overblown. There has never been any realistic two-state solution under which E1 would fall outside Israeli territory.

Under the borders presented at Camp David in 2000 - when the Palestinians disastrously spurned a viable offer of statehood - E1 would have remained part of Israel. The Oslo accords, too, placed the land under Israeli administration. Yet Israel's critics still alight on every zoning decision as an opportunity to accuse it of wrongdoing.
Chief Rabbi says UK settlement trade ban will be met with ‘deep dismay’ by Jewish community
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis has told Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband that the UK Jewish community will view the government’s proposed ban on West Bank settlement trade with “deep dismay.”

Confirming he had met the Foreign Secretary last Friday, Mirvis said: “While we share fervent hopes for a future of peace and security in the Middle East, I explained why I believe the UK Government’s intended sanctions will be counter-productive and even endanger such a vision of peace.”

In a lengthy statement, Mirvis added: “I told the Foreign Secretary that many within the UK Jewish community will view such measures with deep dismay, at a time when the vilification of Jews, Judaism and the Jewish State has already reached unprecedented levels.

“The intended policy will not influence Israeli decision-making in the way the Government intends. Instead, it risks inflicting real harm across the region. Given the obvious challenges of defining and implementing such measures, there is a clear danger that they will spiral into a de facto boycott of trade with Israel more broadly, damaging the long-term relationship between our two countries and threatening the livelihoods of tens of thousands of Palestinian workers.

“These measures will also disproportionately affect British Jews because of our close religious, family, charitable and educational ties to Israel. Over recent years, we have seen repeatedly that when rhetoric towards Israel escalates, hostility towards Jews is never far behind.”

Reflecting on the surge in settler violence in the West Bank, Mirvis added: “I strongly condemn the reprehensible violence perpetrated against Palestinians by a small number of extremists, yet the UK Government’s proposals will only embolden the tiny minority who support such criminality, while penalising countless others who abhor it.
travelingisrael.com: Exposing the Truth Behind Harry Jaggard’s West Bank Videos

Met faces backlash over plans to honor designer convicted of antisemitic hate crime
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is facing mounting backlash over its plans to honor British fashion designer John Galliano — who was convicted more than a decade ago of a hate crime in France for antisemitic remarks. The choice was blasted as a “serious mistake” by a senior Jewish city official, even as the Met consulted with Jewish leaders ahead of the announcement.

In 2011, Dior fired creative director Galliano after a video surfaced of his drunken, antisemitic tirade at a bar in La Marais, a Jewish quarter of Paris. The footage — in which he declared “I love Hitler” and spewed insults at patrons about “dirty Jews” — led to his immediate dismissal after 15 years at the luxury fashion house and a subsequent hate crime conviction.

Now, the disgraced fashion powerhouse is scheduled to be the focus of “John Galliano: Horizons,” a nine-month exhibition by the Met’s Costume Institute. The exhibition — which makes Galliano only the third living designer to receive a solo retrospective at the museum — will launch with the Met Gala in May, the star-studded spring benefit overseen by Vogue’s global editorial director and Met trustee, Anna Wintour.

Attributing his rants to substance abuse, Galliano later apologized and entered rehab. He then studied with London Rabbi Barry Marcus and met with Abraham Foxman, the former national director of the Anti-Defamation League, to educate himself on Judaism, antisemitism and the Holocaust. Last month, when the Met’s plan to honor him became public, Wintour said, “There is no one more deserving of an exhibition of this scale than John Galliano. His career isn’t defined by a single moment.”

Before announcing the exhibition, the Met consulted with Jewish leaders including the ADL’s Jonathan Greenblatt; Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism in North America; Rabbi Joshua Davidson, leader of the Reform Congregation Emanu-El in New York City; and Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, author of the book “On Repentance and Repair.”

Following the meeting in May, Jacobs told The New York Times he was impressed by Galliano’s attempt to make amends. “The word I come back to is ‘sincerity,’” Jacobs said. “He was open. He looked right at us and spoke in a clear way, not as if he had memorized talking points.”

Greenblatt said at the time, “We believe John Galliano has genuinely worked through the issues that led to his antisemitic outburst years ago in Paris, and we have long since accepted his apology. His efforts to repair the damage his words caused and to learn from that incident should be applauded.”

Yet, some Jewish leaders in New York and beyond remain skeptical.
Met Gala may move date from Yom HaShoah as it honors Galliano, who once praised Hitler
Organizers of the next annual Met Gala in New York are considering moving its planned May 3, 2027, date to avoid it coinciding with Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, Yom HaShoah, as they controversially honor fashion designer John Galliano, who is known for once praising Adolf Hitler, The New York Times has reported.

At the same time, Jewish opposition to the decision to honor Galliano is growing, the report says, with donors threatening to take action if Galliano is feted at the event.

New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, who is Jewish, is quoted as saying in a statement: “Our cultural institutions, particularly those that receive funding from the City of New York, have a responsibility to demonstrate that hatred and bigotry carry consequences. Words matter, and whom we choose to elevate is a direct statement of our values and what we are willing to tolerate.”


'Ballsack Zionist': Jewish politician Lander insulted while protesting NYC Hindu nationalist event
Brad Lander, the Jewish progressive Democratic candidate for the US House of Representatives in New York’s 10th Congressional District, was targeted with insults and calls to leave over allegations of being a Zionist while attending a protest outside Madison Square Garden on Saturday.

"You look like a scrotum, you filthy ballsack!" one protester shouted at him. "F*** you, ballsack Zionist!"

He was further accused of being "another paid Zionist" and was told to "get out of here."

The confrontation took place during a protest against an event organized by the Hindu nationalist RSS movement. Lander attempted to explain to protesters that he had come to join their cause, but some made clear that, in their view, there was no place at the demonstration for a Zionist, even one who opposes the policies of the Israeli government.

The confrontation was particularly notable given Lander’s own views on Israel. Over the past year, he has become one of the most prominent Jewish critics of Israel within the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. He has described the war in Gaza as “genocide,” called for an end to “American complicity” in the conflict, and said he would not support additional military aid to Israel at the time.

Despite those positions, Lander continues to describe himself as a “liberal Zionist.” He supports Israel’s existence as a Jewish and democratic state and opposes the boycott movement against Israel.

Lander tried to explain his position during the confrontation. “I am Brad Lander, the Democratic candidate for Congress in New York’s 10th District, and I came here today to join others and say no to RSS,” he said.


One third of college students say using violence to shut down speech on campus is acceptable: poll
More than one third of college students condone the use of violence to shut down speakers on campus — and top schools do little to protect free speech, according to a new survey.

Around 70% of higher education students agreed that shouting people down on campus is acceptable in some situations and 34% believe using violence to stop speakers is fine, according to the 2026 College Free Speech Rankings from FIRE Foundation.

The survey polled more than 68,000 students across 257 colleges and also found that 28% of respondents said they often self-censor in classroom discussions to avoid backlash.

At Claremont McKenna College in California, 61% of students said shouting down a speaker was OK in some cases, and 28% said it was acceptable to use violence in some cases.

“I don’t think the majority of people are going to do this themselves, but it’s more indicative of a culture where they’re saying it’s acceptable for someone to do it. It’s almost a permission culture for allowing it to happen,” Sean Stevens, chief research advisor for the ranking, told The Post.

Stevens said increased political tensions at the state and national level may have trickled into college campuses, making students ready to throw down over controversial expressions — verbally or physically.

Nearly a quarter of students said they often self-censor around other students, and 28% said they self-censor in the classroom — fearing blowback for their less popular opinions.

Barnard College landed in dead last in the ranking, with Columbia University and Indiana University just above it, suffering in categories like “Comfort Expressing Ideas” and “Administrative Support.”

The bottom-ranked schools suffered from high profile free speech scandals, often related to the Israel-Hamas war and transgender issues.

“For example, administrators investigated and briefly suspended student journalists who covered pro-Palestinian protests. These penalties dragged down the score,” wrote the FIRE Foundation in its description of Barnard College.

Columbia University — which earned a score of 42.9 out of 100 — lost two points for a demoting a public health professor after the Wall Street Journal accused him of “pro-Palestinian indoctrination” in 2024.


Australian investors eye Israel’s agritech innovation boom
For a group of Australian venture capitalists, Israel’s next major investment opportunity may lie beyond its traditional strengths in cyber and defense. They are betting that Israeli climate, energy transition and agritech companies could become the next big thing for Australian investors and potentially for the continent itself.

Next76 is a co-venture between Bandera Capital and Foxglove Capital. It was established two years ago to focus exclusively on Israeli companies. According to David Solsky, an operating partner at Bandera, Israel’s performance in recent years has reinforced the case for investing in the country.

“Despite the war and some of the challenges that Israelis face, the economy has continued to be strong. That Israel is the Start-Up Nation and the Scale-Up Nation keeps getting validated even over the past few years,” Solsky said.

Solsky told The Jerusalem Post that, from a Jewish perspective, there was a general consensus among Australian Jews after October 7 that there was a greater need than ever to support Israel. Many people became involved in philanthropic projects, such as rebuilding communities in the South or advocating for Israel as antisemitism continued to rise.

“We started to look at how we could ultimately invest in Israel, and we think climate and energy transition are particularly relevant verticals,” Solsky explained. “It is a relatively small market compared to cyber, defense and some of the other traditional verticals. But we have expertise in this area and … we figured if we made investments in this area, we could keep them moving forward.”

Solsky said that while the venture capitalists who manage the fund continue to invest in Australia and the United States, among other places, they are also looking more broadly at Israel because “Israel’s got amazing innovation… We have found what we think are some great companies.”

Another question is whether Australians are willing to embrace Israeli companies at a time of heightened tensions surrounding Israel. After the Bondi Beach massacre, many local Jews say they feel uncomfortable in their own country. At the same time, Israeli companies may wonder whether Australia is the right place to do business. Solsky argues that the political and social noise does not tell the whole story.

“I think what you're seeing is a lot of noise from a relatively small part of Australian society, and there are a lot of companies and individuals and investors that have been to Israel or who get the Israeli startup nation story, and I think will come along on this investment journey,” Solsky said.

The first-ever Jerusalem Post Australia Summit, to be held November 19 in Sydney, could provide an opportunity for Israeli companies to explore those possibilities and meet investors interested in Israeli innovation. The day-long event will kick-off with a gala evening and end with an informal cocktail reception where companies and investors can meet and mingle.





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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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