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Sunday, November 01, 2026

11/01 Links: The Misguided Palestinization of America; Haley Stevens’ act of bravery as her party abandons Jewish voters; Herzog offers party leaders ladders down, signals push for unity government

From Ian:

Islamic Warfare and the October 7th Massacre: An Ancient Doctrine Marches On
Hamas's Oct. 7 massacre manifested the Islamic categorization of territory into the House of Islam and the House of War, and the imperative of reconquering formerly Muslim-controlled territory.

Hamas also murdered fellow Muslims that day whom they considered traitors to Islam.

Today's Islamic civilization seeks to eventually subjugate and Islamize non-Muslim societies through any means possible, among which are mass immigration, information warfare, and the spreading of Islam in the educational and cultural spheres.

Western governments and officials who relentlessly seek permanent peaceful solutions with Muslim-majority countries do so at their peril.

Westerners continue to ignore the fact that the values and objectives of Islam differ from those of the West. Muslims understand the Western concept of compromise as a form of defeat.
Why My Anti-Zionism Didn't Survive a Houthi Missile
"On the ground. Now." I dropped. Face down on the stones near a Ramle market, hands locked behind my neck. Somewhere above me, a piece of technology was trying to intercept a missile from Yemen.

I had spent two years calling for the divestment of the very system I was now praying would work. The missile had not read my posts.

13 days after Oct. 7, Israel hadn't launched its ground invasion, yet somehow, Stanford students had become genocide scholars overnight. And I was one of them.

Only one question mattered: Were you against genocide or not? Nothing recruits faster than the promise of being on the right side of history.

I was marching for a Palestinian state. The one time I mentioned two states, my new friends from the campus encampment corrected me, gently, the way you correct someone embarrassing themselves: believing Israel should exist made me a Zionist. A slur. Next day, I was an anti-Zionist.

Months later, someone sent me an email about an exhibit in LA about the Nova Music Festival massacre. I decided to go. Somebody had to fact-check it. I stayed longer than I meant to. I realized I was fluent in the state's sins but illiterate in its people. So I went to meet them.

In Ramle, all I could think was: will it hit, will it hit, will it hit? I turned my head and saw it: a thin white line climbing to meet another one.

Ramle has mosques and synagogues a few streets apart. Whoever fired it was aiming at both. Then the interception. The boom.

Then everyone just kept walking. The marketplace reopened almost immediately.
The Misguided Palestinization of America
I am a Black American who is not Jewish. In the aftermath of Oct. 7, 2023, I was constantly looking for activities in Atlanta that expressed solidarity with Israel and the Jewish people. I wanted to find opportunities to stand alongside people who understood that the Hamas-led massacre of Israeli civilians was not merely another development in an interminable geopolitical dispute. It was an assault on human beings, on Jewish life, and on the fundamental right of a people to exist without fear of annihilation.

Amid the increasingly visible demonstrations against Israel, what I witnessed as the real-time Palestinization of America struck me as a profoundly misguided response to the events of Oct. 7 and their aftermath. Too often, I saw political activism that appeared less interested in understanding the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict than in making Israel the embodiment of every grievance imaginable.

Let me be clear: Palestinian civilians possess human dignity and legitimate rights. Their suffering deserves serious consideration. One can argue for Palestinian self-determination without denying the Jewish people's right to national self-determination. But there is a difference between advocating for Palestinians and demanding the elimination of the Jewish state. There is a difference between pursuing justice and dressing up hostility toward Jews and Israel in the language of human rights.

I could never accept the proposition that an existing sovereign state should simply cease to exist because someone objected to its existence. The Jewish people's historical and religious connection to the Land of Israel extends back thousands of years.

The Jewish people have endured centuries of persecution, expulsion, discrimination, and violence. The Holocaust remains the bloodiest and most devastating modern expression of that history, but antisemitism did not disappear with the defeat of the Nazis. Jewish communities continue to navigate the consequences of an ancient hatred that repeatedly finds new language and new political surroundings. Oct. 7th added another terrible chapter to that history.


Matthew Continetti: Antisemitism Is on the Ballot in U.S. Midterm Elections
In this year's midterm elections, for the first time in generations, antisemitism has emerged from the shadows to influence American public life. From Graham Platner to Abdul El-Sayed, from Hasan Piker to Tucker Carlson, antagonism toward Israel and "Zionists" has morphed into fear and loathing of a minority that has lived peaceably and productively in this country for more than 300 years. The results on Nov. 3 will measure our collective immunity to an ageless hatred that destroys everything it touches.

El-Sayed has made opposition to the U.S.-Israel alliance central to his candidacy. He demonizes Israel for committing a bogus "genocide" against Palestinians. He falsely charges Israel with apartheid while saying nothing about human-rights abuses in Iran. He refuses to say Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state.

He didn't want to comment on the assassination of Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei because "there are a lot of people in Dearborn who are sad" about his death. His flippant response to a failed terror attack on a synagogue and preschool was that "hurt people hurt people." He implied during a recent debate that Israel and Iran are equal threats to the U.S.

Victory for candidates who traffic in antisemitism will switch on a massive green light for antisemites across the political spectrum. The legitimacy barrier against open antisemitism will fall. American Jews will be in danger. They already are. Anti-Jewish attacks are the most common form of religious-based hate crimes, according to FBI data. Efforts to delegitimize Israel wind up legitimizing hostility to Jews.
Democrat Haley Stevens endorses Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan Senate race
U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) endorsed Republican candidate Mike Rogers for U.S. Senate on Sunday, breaking with her party two days before the midterm elections.

The endorsement followed an escalating dispute with Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, to whom she lost in the party’s primary, over Israel and antisemitism. Stevens’s chief of staff, Justin German, resigned on Sunday, with additional resignations expected, The Washington Post reported.

“I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate. I don’t belong in Abdul’s campaign. I do not stand with Hasan Piker, who gets trafficked on our college campuses,” Stevens said in a video recorded from her car. “What our students see, what our children see and who we are as Michiganders is not hate, and is not what we are getting out from our Democratic nominee right now.”

Piker and antisemitism
Piker, a prominent left-wing streamer whose rhetoric about Israel and Jews has drawn accusations of antisemitism, appeared with El-Sayed at campaign events, including on college campuses, during the Democratic primary.

In August, El-Sayed distanced himself from Piker after the streamer suggested that pro-Israel rhetoric by American Jews could lead to violence against them. El-Sayed said at the time that “nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople.”

More recently, Piker compared the heavily Jewish Detroit suburb of West Bloomfield to a “KKK neighborhood,” saying the “supremacist attitude underlying their worldview is identical.”

El-Sayed condemned the remarks. “Comparing Jewish Michiganders to the Ku Klux Klan is utterly inappropriate and flat-out wrong,” he said.

Growing Democratic rift
Tensions between Stevens and El-Sayed intensified last week over an advertisement by Rebellion PAC, an outside progressive group, that linked U.S. military assistance to Israel with rising grocery prices. The ad was produced by progressive commentator Cenk Uygur, a co-founder of the far-left group The Young Turks and Piker’s uncle.

Stevens called on El-Sayed to condemn the advertisement.

“Abdul promises to get money out of politics,” Stevens said on Friday. “He can begin by getting Israel out of his explanation for everything Michigan cannot afford.”

El-Sayed said the advertisement was not produced by his campaign and that he disagreed with its contents. He accused Stevens of seeking to “relitigate a primary that ended three months ago.”

El-Sayed’s campaign subsequently asked Stevens to stay away from its remaining campaign events.

On Sunday, Stevens, a supporter of Israel, appeared with Rogers at Perfecting Church in Detroit. She had originally been scheduled to attend a campaign event with El-Sayed.

“This is the conscience of the Senate right now, and our Michigan moment,” Stevens said. “And I’m just letting you know where I am. I’m still a very proud Democrat. I still very much believe in everything I voted for and said.”

Appearing alongside Rogers at a press conference later Sunday, Stevens again pointed to Piker.

“We can’t stand with hate. We can’t stand with Hasan Piker,” she said.

Rogers also addressed the Rebellion PAC advertisement. “Blaming a certain group of people for your problems—that sounds like 1933,” he said.

“It has consequences for those communities. Jewish Democrats are calling me, afraid for their children to stay in the state of Michigan,” Rogers added.
NYPost Editorial: Haley Stevens’ act of bravery as her party abandons Jewish voters
Haley Stevens is a “proud Democrat” who bashed GOP candidate Mike Rogers just this past summer.

So think about how bad Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed must be for Stevens to cross the political aisle and endorse Rogers, the Republican candidate she initially dismissed, for senator from Michigan.

So bad that El-Sayed dismissed an attack on a synagogue full of children by blaming Israel, claiming that “hurt people hurt people.”

So bad that when El-Sayed was asked whether Iran or Israel was the greater threat to the US, he answered both.

So bad that El-Sayed refused to denounce an advertisement that blamed Israel for high inflation.

Stevens had begged for El-Sayed to stop blaming the Jewish state for everything wrong in this world, and El-Sayed refused.

So Stevens did the only sensible thing: She is backing Rogers on the eve of Tuesday’s election, warning Michigan and the nation of the dangers posed by Abdul El-Sayed.

The progressives are already screaming, declaring her a “traitor.” But this is not a betrayal. It is a singular act of courage.

Stevens has nothing to gain here. The Democratic machine, which prioritizes winning over morals, will disown her. She’s not looking for a future as a Republican. There is no money, no glory in this. There is only principle.

Haley Stevens hasn’t changed, the party has changed, beholden now to the deranged “Free Palestine” antisemitic mob that cheers the terror of Hamas. She’s tried cautioning the Democrats. She’s tried convincing them. In the end, she came to the realization that so many Jewish-Americans have, to their sadness: The party has abandoned them.

Hopefully her bravery will make a difference with voters this Election Day. Heed her warning.


Detroit Churchgoers Say Haley Stevens’s Stunning Endorsement of Republican Mike Rogers Could Move Votes
Michigan Democratic congresswoman Haley Stevens on Sunday endorsed Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers, saying she objects to the "hate" promoted by her Democratic primary opponent, Abdul El-Sayed, and some of his high-profile supporters.

"If Mike Rogers can share his vision clearly, precisely, answer questions, and if he comes across honestly, transparent—I think it could [change minds]," one woman told the Washington Free Beacon as she left Perfecting Church in Detroit.

Above all, the rising tension between Stevens and El-Sayed—of which Stevens’s endorsement of Rogers was simply an exclamation point—has become the defining media narrative in the closing days of the race. For the past week, Stevens, who had not appeared on the campaign trail alongside El-Sayed, had been making increasingly awkward television appearances, making clear the relationship between the two had grown untenable. It is presumably not the note on which El-Sayed would have wanted to close the race, and he refused even to discuss the explosive news when pressed about it by reporters.

"If you want to ask me questions about the issues the people in my state are facing," El-Sayed told reporters on Sunday, "I am happy to answer them. If you want to ask me questions about some intrigue and about two folks who aren’t here right now, I’m going to be less interested in answering, just putting it out there."

Stevens had backed El-Sayed, albeit tepidly, after losing to him in the primary and made the surprise endorsement in a video posted to X on Sunday while she and Rogers sat next to each other in the church. Her announcement came two days after El-Sayed publicly disinvited her from his own Sunday appearance at a black church in Detroit that also featured Stevens’s mentor, Rep. Jim Clyburn (D., S.C.). Stevens had demanded El-Sayed condemn an antisemitic ad run on his behalf by Cenk Uygur, the uncle of El-Sayed campaign surrogate and anti-American streamer Hasan Piker. Instead, El-Sayed released a statement criticizing Stevens and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

"We can't stand with hate. We can't stand with Hasan Piker," Stevens told reporters after the morning service. "All I can do is lead with love and integrity."

"This was a personal and private decision," she continued. "I woke up this morning and I decided to go to church. And I'm here with the person who I am voting for for United States Senate, and that is Mike Rogers."

Democratic leaders had hoped Stevens’s planned "unity" appearance with El-Sayed would help the Democratic nominee repair his strained relationships with the Jewish and black communities, voting blocs that Stevens carried during her narrow primary loss to El-Sayed in August. But just two days after the announcement of the event on Friday, Stevens was in Detroit stumping for Rogers.

"Abdul was very clear. He said, ‘Don't come,’" Stevens said on Sunday. "When it really comes down to it, this is how I'm casting my ballot."

Rogers told reporters outside the church that he "got the call this morning" from Stevens, and that he was "honored to have earned [Stevens’s] vote."


‘Stop climbing trees’: Herzog offers party leaders ladders down, signals push for unity government
President Isaac Herzog on Sunday urged Israel’s party leaders to “stop climbing trees, and face the reality” of the election results, as rival blocs began setting out their positions on the formation of the next government, ahead of formal consultations at the President’s Residence this week.

“This coming Wednesday, I will receive the official election results from the Central Elections Committee chairman… Justice Noam Sohlberg,” Herzog said at a state memorial ceremony for Israel’s first president, Chaim Weizmann. “Afterward, I will begin consultations at the President’s Residence. The President’s Residence will be wide open to all factions and parties.”

Herzog will ask the leaders of the Knesset factions whom they recommend for prime minister. He said he hoped they would come with an “open mind,” and be ready to “find creative solutions to prevent another election,” noting that candidates inevitably “climb high trees” during a campaign.

“But the elections are over, the election results are an established fact — they are reality,” Herzog continued. “And this is the time to tell all the leaders: stop climbing trees, and face reality. This week at the President’s Residence, we will try to put up ladders, to enable the leaders to face reality, in a measured and careful manner.”

Later on Sunday, the President’s Residence formally confirmed that Herzog would begin consultations on Wednesday with the factions elected to the 26th Knesset before he selects a lawmaker to grant the mandate to form a government to.

Eyal Shviki, director general of the President’s Residence, said Herzog has invited the heads of all elected factions to the consultations, urging them to approach the process with an “open mind” and a willingness to compromise.

“The president expects [faction] representatives to come to the consultations with an open mind, ready to listen, to share ideas, and to prevent another round of elections,” Shviki said, citing Herzog’s earlier remarks.

He said he hoped the consultations would take place “in a dignified, respectful, and substantive manner,” amid tense uncertainty following last week’s inconclusive election.
Meet the 120 members of the incoming Knesset
33 women, 47 newcomers, five former IDF generals and a former Shin Bet chief: The lawmakers of the 26th Knesset, party by party
Khaled Abu Toameh interviewed by Fiamma Nirenstein: Israeli Arabs Voted for Integration
In the aftermath of Israel's Knesset election, Israeli Arab journalist Khaled Abu Toameh offers an interpretation of the extraordinary turnout among Israeli Arab voters and the 19 Knesset seats won by the Arab parties. The Arab vote, he believes, should not simply be read as a rebellion against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or his political partners. Beneath the rhetoric of the Arab political leadership, something deeper is happening: A significant part of Arab society wants greater integration into Israel.

One reason for the dramatic change was "the desire for integration. Working among Israelis and enjoying a free and democratic society, students, workers, judges and doctors in hospitals want to have a greater say. It is the only country in which Arabs can organize, demonstrate and vote freely."

"In Italian society, too, minorities live protected by Italian law. Many appreciate this. Others less so. Minorities need to expand their opportunities and improve their situation, and despite the problems, this has also happened among the Arabs. Many of the people I speak with have a sincere desire to share in...Israeli society as a whole."

Yet the rhetoric of Arab political leaders frequently appears much more radical than the attitudes Abu Toameh describes. Some Arab politicians have refused to describe Hamas as a terrorist organization and have accused Israel of colonialism and genocide.

He responds, "The leaders of the Arab parties are highly rhetorical and sometimes stupid. They do not express the expectations and desires of a large part of Arab society....If the current Arab leadership says a lot of foolish things, that is wrong. They should stop seeking support by attacking Israel. Many Arabs want greater integration....Many believe that the Oct. 7 disaster was monstrous, and they have no problem saying that Hamas is a terrorist organization. It is so obvious."

Perhaps this is the most unexpected message of the election. The extraordinary Arab turnout may mean that they increasingly want a stake in the country in which they live.


Ask Haviv Anything: 157: Netanyahu was beatable. What happened?
Netanyahu was vulnerable. His opponents mobilized their voters and delivered huge increases in turnout. But no side secured a governing majority. What happened?

We dig into the election numbers, the cracks in Netanyahu’s coalition, and the opposition’s failure to turn his weaknesses into victory.

Chapters
00:00:00 Intro and sponsor message
00:02:11 Netanyahu's demographic advantages
00:05:55 Likud's weak showing and the Shas collapse
00:12:28 The threshold defense and rebel right-wing voters
00:20:28 How the opposition performed, and why it still failed
00:34:11 Coalition talks: unity or a second election
00:40:42 Everybody lost: what comes next




U.S. Military Objectives in a New Iran Strike
U.S. and Israeli forces could be ready within days to launch major strikes against Iran in an operation intended to be short, lasting only a few days, but highly intensive.

CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper presented President Trump on Thursday with operational options that he and his staff developed jointly with the Israel Defense Forces.

There is a strong likelihood the IDF would be a full partner in any American strike.

Trump wants to use a military strike to bring Iran to compromise on U.S. demands concerning its military nuclear program and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping.

The strike is intended to weaken the Iranian regime and the Revolutionary Guards. If they still refused, the continuing economic blockade would leave the regime considerably weaker and more vulnerable internally.

The U.S. military objectives include preventing Iran from attacking vessels sailing through the Strait of Hormuz.

The Iranians have begun using speedboats to magnetically attach small naval mines to the hulls of ships that U.S. forces are escorting. The mines do not necessarily sink the vessels but can damage and disable them.

Another objective is to strike Iran's ballistic missile and drone production and launch capabilities on a large scale to prevent Iran from attacking American forces and allies.

An additional objective is to inflict more extensive damage on Iran's nuclear facilities, preventing it from resuming uranium enrichment and nuclear warhead development for many years.

The Americans and Israelis would likely seek to disable the tunnels at Pickaxe Mountain and bury the uranium enriched to 60% even deeper underground.

That material is located at Isfahan, Fordow, and an underground facility near Natanz. Other secret nuclear facilities recently uncovered by intelligence agencies would also be targeted.


IDF finds Hezbollah weapons, explosive drones in home in Southern Lebanon
Israel Defense Forces troops found weapons in a civilian home and a children’s room bearing symbols associated with Hezbollah during operations in Southern Lebanon, the military said on Sunday.

Troops of the 769th Brigade, under the command of the 91st Division, made the discovery while operating in the security zone near the Southern Lebanese village of Khiam, where the military said forces were dismantling Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure.

The IDF released footage showing the children’s room, which contained Hezbollah imagery.

During searches in the area, troops also located and dismantled a storage facility for explosive drones, according to the military.

Additional weapons found during the operation included rockets, Kalashnikov rifles, ammunition, helmets, military vests and explosive drones.

The discoveries come as Israeli forces continue operations against Hezbollah infrastructure in the security zone along the border.

In recent weeks, troops from the 300th, 769th and 4th brigades, as well as forces from the School for Infantry Corps Professions and Squad Commanders, have operated in the areas of Khiam, Tir Harfa, Mays al-Jabal and Majdal Zoun.

The IDF said on Oct. 20 that its forces had destroyed more than 540 terrorist infrastructure sites in the security zone and located more than 150 weapons.

The weapons included rockets, rocket launchers, RPGs, anti-tank missiles, long-range anti-tank missiles, explosive devices, grenades, Kalashnikov rifles, pistols and artillery firing positions.

Khiam, located several miles from Israel’s northern border, has repeatedly been the focus of IDF operations against Hezbollah infrastructure.


Palestinian suspected of assaulting Jewish shepherds in Samaria arrested
Israel Police officers on Saturday arrested a Palestinian on suspicion of assault, after two Jewish shepherds were reportedly attacked near the Giborei David Farm in the Binyamin region of Samaria.

Judea and Samaria District officers and Israel Defense Forces troops were called to the scene following reports of a confrontation, according to a police statement. They collected evidence and took witness statements.

The suspect, a man in his 50s from the village of Anata, was questioned at the Binyamin police station and taken into custody. The investigation is ongoing, police said.

According to The Judea & Samaria Situation Room (JSR), dozens of Arabs armed with sticks and stones ambushed the shepherds and their flock while they were grazing near the village of Duma.

Both shepherds were injured and treated by emergency teams at the scene, JSR said.

The group, founded by the Yesha Council, an umbrella organization of municipal councils of Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria (and formerly, Gaza), also said far-left activists arrived at the scene and shouted slogans in support of the attackers.


Edinburgh council condemns Greens’ anti-Zionist resolution
The city council of the Scottish capital of Edinburgh on Thursday passed a motion calling on the British and Scottish prime ministers to condemn last month’s resolution by the Green Party of England and Wales, which called Zionism a form of racism.

The Edinburgh Council resolution said that that body’s members “condemn the divisive language of the [Green Party of England and Wales] conference motion, reaffirm its opposition to antisemitism and express its solidarity with Edinburgh’s Jewish community,” the Edinburgh Evening News reported.

The motion in Edinburgh, whose council has passed several anti-Israel motions, underlines dissatisfaction with the Green Party’s Oct. 4 resolution even in left-wing circles where the Jewish state is deeply unpopular. Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrats representatives voted for the resolution, with the Scottish Greens and Scottish National Party opposing it.

Separately, a Scottish National Party lawmaker queried the Scottish government on Wednesday, asking them to reply on why a Spanish train station, CAF, was allowed to participate in a local railways tender in light of CAF’s involvement in building the Jerusalem Light Rail in the city’s east.

“This was not about debating the conflict between Israel and Palestine. It was about ensuring that Edinburgh’s Jewish community knows it is valued, respected and supported, and that antisemitism has no place in our capital,” wrote Councilor Marie-Clair Munro of the Scottish Conservative Party, who submitted the motion, the Evening News reported.

In September 2025, a majority of councilors in Edinburgh backed a Green Party motion seeking Scottish government guidance and legislative changes to enable councils to implement boycotts against Israel.

The Green Party resolution on Zionism, which last week prompted the Board of Deputies of British Jews to formally declare the Green Party “racist,“ has divided the British left and even the Green Party itself.

It has also complicated the alliances of Green officials with other parties in some municipalities, including Sheffield, where Labour representatives intend to split with Greens because of the resolution, the Jewish News of London reported on Thursday.

On Wealden District Council in Sussex, led by Greens, one Green councilor, Christina Coleman, confirmed on Thursday that she had defected to the Liberal Democrats over the Green Party’s direction under Zack Polanski’s leadership “and the recent conference motion on Zionism,” the Jewish News reported.

Polanski did not vote in favor of the Zionism resolution but said he would not try to overturn it.


Israeli, US flags burned in Lyon as economic protests turn violent in European cities
Clashes between protesters and security personnel erupted in several cities across Germany and France on Saturday, as demonstrations against the rising cost of living and demands for greater investment in public services continued across Europe.

Police deployed a water cannon while dispersing protesters in Cologne, barricades were set on fire in Hamburg, and officers in Lyon used tear gas after objects were thrown at them. Despite the violence, many demonstrations took place without significant incidents.

Tens of thousands of people participated in protests across Germany, with demonstrations organized in more than 30 cities at the initiative of the movement "Gen Z Takes Responsibility."

Protesters demanded increased investment in education and healthcare, measures to ease the cost of living, and an end to plans for compulsory military service. According to Reuters, turnout was lower than organizers had predicted.

Berlin rally ends peacefully before separate protest begins
In Cologne, police canceled a planned march after some participants covered their faces and used pyrotechnics. Protesters were initially allowed to continue holding a rally along the Rhine River, but clashes broke out as the gathering was dispersed, prompting police to deploy a water cannon.

Barricades were reportedly set on fire in Hamburg, while police in Stuttgart halted a march several times because participants had covered their faces and ignited pyrotechnic devices.

In Berlin, the main rally near the Brandenburg Gate ended without incident, according to police, who estimated attendance at approximately 5,000. Organizers claimed that 11,000 people had participated.

Later, approximately 300 people gathered for a separate demonstration at Rosenthaler Platz. Reporters from Germany's public broadcaster described a group dressed in black and reported that firecrackers had been thrown at police officers.


Spanish Jewish Federation condemns conspiracy theories linking Israel to fatal train crash
The Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain (FJCE) has decried circulating conspiracy theories accusing Jews of being responsible for the fatal railway crash in Urda, Toledo, last week.

At least 69 people were killed and more than 100 wounded on October 28 two high-speed trains collided due to a signaling failure.

Following the tragic accident, conspiracy theories and doctored videos started spreading, accusing Israel of orchestrating the collision.

For example, one post, viewed over 100,000 times, attempted to demonstrate how Israel may have been involved in the accident. It highlighted Thales Group, a French defense and technology company responsible for railway signaling and safety systems in Spain, and alleged that the company has close ties to Israeli intelligence, including former members of Unit 8200, and that it supplied technology to Israel’s military and security forces. The post then questioned how Thales’s supposedly highly sophisticated railway software could have failed, suggesting the possibility of deliberate tampering by Israel.

An AI video then circulated, seemingly depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatening Spain with supply cuts and train accidents. In the background, Netanyahu is shown to be writing the word “Spain” on a whiteboard. Despite being false, the video circulated in over six languages at a rapid pace.

Fabricated Netanyahu ‘threat’
The account Irlandarra, which frequently posts antisemitic material, published a post with a different video apparently showing Netanyahu threatening Spain with power outages or train accidents.

The quotation is fabricated. And though the video is real, it dates from April 10, 2026, when Netanyahu was responding to Spain’s criticism of Israel over the Gaza war. In it, he announced the removal of Spanish representatives from the coordination center in Kiryat Gat and said: “I do not intend to allow any country to wage a diplomatic war against us without paying an immediate price.”

Irlandarra captioned it: “Following Netanyahu’s threats against Spain, yesterday we have a train accident – 68 dead.”

It then used the word “accident” in inverted commas. The post has been viewed 148.8K times.

‘Very dark times’
On the day of the accident, the FJCE had posted a statement on social media platforms saying that it was in mourning, together with all of Spain, for the dozens who died in the terrible railway accident and was profoundly sad for so many families that had lost loved ones.

“We pray for the victims, those close to them, and for the injured, to whom we wish a rapid and complete recovery,” the federation had added. The FJCE also highlighted the courage of the survivors and the security services in their rescue efforts and called on the government to show transparency in its investigation of the tragedy and guarantee railway safety.
Indonesians protest against Bocelli concert over support for Israel
Indonesian protesters on Saturday demonstrated against a concert by the famed Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli due to his support for Israel.

The move came after Indonesia’s top Islamic council urged the government last month to cancel two planned concerts by the Italian tenor in the Southeast Asian country as part of a world tour.

The event at the UNESCO-listed Borobudur Temple in Indonesia’s Central Java’s Magelang city went ahead as scheduled. A second concert is scheduled for Tuesday in Jakarta.

Public sympathy for Palestinians is widespread in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, which does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel.

Last month, anti-Israel groups in Jordan also called for a boycott of Bocelli’s November 27 concert in the ancient Jordanian city of Petra.

Bocelli, 68, who has a long history of support for Israel, performed at a concert in Tel Aviv in 2022 and sang at a 2010 fundraiser in Los Angeles for Friends of the IDF, an organization supporting the Israeli military.
Hundreds rally in Phuket demanding closure of Chabad operations in Thailand
A rally held in Phuket called on Thai authorities to end the activities of the Chabad movement in the country and take action against alleged illegal economic activities by foreigners, including Israeli-linked organizations.

The protest was held several days after Thailand revoked the citizenship of the head of the Chabad movement in the country, Rabbi Yosef Chaim Kantor, for using his American passport to travel abroad. Thai law calls for revoking the citizenship of naturalized citizens if they continue to use their previous passport.

Kantor knew of this law when he traveled, the country’s Interior Ministry said.

Kantor has lived in Thailand since 1993 and received Thai citizenship in 2013. Chabad said after the decision that it was challenging the revocation through the appropriate legal channels and that its Chabad houses and synagogues in Thailand were continuing to operate as usual.

Thailand is examining 19 firms linked to Kantor for possible offenses, the Bangkok Post reported. If wrongdoing is discovered, the government could force the sale of properties, the report said.

Organizers at the protest charged that shady foreign investments, illegal businesses, and questionable financial transactions are threatening the local economy.

“Phuket and many other areas now feel like their sovereignty has been seized,” lawyer Nok Khao told the crowd, according to public broadcaster Thai PBS. “Foreign capital groups have been able to play a significant role in the economy, while Thais, the rightful owners of the land, face unfair competition and risk losing their job opportunities.”

Twenty local organizations, led by the Phuket Land Protection Group, came together for the protest under the banner “Unite to Take Back Our Thailand.”


Israeli envoy becomes world’s first ambassador to Somaliland
Israel’s ambassador to Somaliland Michael Lotem presented his credentials last week at the Presidential Palace in Hargeisa, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

The historic ceremony marks not only the Jewish state’s first diplomat to the Horn of Africa nation, but the first official ambassador accredited to Somaliland by any sovereign nation in the world.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar was quoted by his office as saying, “Israel is determined to develop and strengthen its relations with Somaliland. The appointment of ambassadors, in accordance with the agreement reached when our countries established mutual recognition, is another important step in deepening the ties between us.”

Since the countries’ mutual recognition on Dec. 26, 2025, Sa’ar made a historic visit to Somaliland in January 2026, while Somaliland opened its embassy in Jerusalem during President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi’s visit to Israel in June 2026.

An X account run by the Office of the Presidency of the Republic of Somaliland posted footage from the ceremony, which took place last week.

In a joint press conference, Abdullahi greeted Lotem, saying that “This is a historical day. Today it is the first day that any Somaliland president has received the letters of credentials from an ambassador... from a member of the United Nations [that has] recognized Somaliland.”

He said that every Somalilander will keep this day in their minds and memories.

Abdullahi described the appointment of the Israeli diplomat as a “clear demonstration of how closely our countries are growing together and of our mutual determination to build enduring and mutually beneficial partnership founded on the shared interests, mutual respect and common vision for the future.”

The leader further stated that the Israeli-Somaliland cooperation carries “important regional and international significance.”


TIME names Israeli medical AI company Aidoc's CARE model amid Best Inventions of 2026
Israeli medical technology company Aidoc's artificial intelligence model, CARE, has been named one of TIME magazine's Best Inventions of 2026 in the Medicine and Health category, the company announced in a statement.

The model analyzes medical imaging and clinical text to help doctors identify serious medical conditions at an earlier stage. TIME's selection panel highlighted the technology's ability to detect a wide range of potentially serious medical findings, one of the factors contributing to its inclusion on the list.

When the system detects a potentially urgent finding, it flags the examination so medical teams can prioritize it for review. The model also allows Aidoc to expand the number of conditions it can identify without developing a separate AI model for each one.

TIME's annual list recognizes inventions based on their originality, effectiveness, ambition, and impact. Other technologies featured on the 2026 list include Anthropic's Claude Code and Lovable.

Aidoc CEO and co-founder Elad Walach said advances in medical AI are bringing the technology closer to serving as an additional safeguard in routine medical diagnoses.

AI could serve as a second pair of eyes in medical diagnoses, Aidoc CEO says
"Medical foundation models that can detect hundreds of diseases and significantly improve diagnostic safety are among the developments that will affect us all," Walach said.

"We are rapidly approaching a reality in which AI will serve as an additional pair of eyes in almost every medical diagnosis. CARE is already a significant growth driver for Aidoc, and TIME's selection is an important recognition of this major trend."

Aidoc's AI solutions, which have received clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), are used across more than 150 healthcare systems in the United States and over 1,600 hospitals worldwide, including most hospitals in Israel, the company said.

The CARE model is designed to allow the company to expand the range of medical conditions its technology can detect while improving the accuracy of its algorithms.
'Just bored and reading Hebrew': Britney Spears shares Jewish prayer books in Instagram post
Pop star Britney Spears shared a photograph of Jewish religious books on Instagram on Sunday, revealing that she was reading Hebrew and drawing renewed attention to her longstanding interest in Jewish traditions and mysticism.

"Just bored and reading Hebrew!!!" Spears wrote alongside a photograph featuring a Hebrew Book of Psalms and another religious text. "Reading from right to left!!!"

The 44-year-old singer concluded her message with an affectionate remark: "God speed little man!!! I love you!!!"

The photograph showed two books, including a copy of Tehillim, the Hebrew Book of Psalms, and a Jewish prayer book, positioned upside down.

Spears did not explain why she was reading Hebrew, where she had obtained the religious texts, or whom she was addressing in the final portion of her caption.

However, the unexpected post is far from the first time the singer has publicly expressed an interest in Jewish culture and religious practices.

From Madonna to Kabbalah: Britney Spears' history with Judaism
Spears' connection to Jewish mysticism dates back to 2003, when fellow pop star Madonna introduced her to Kabbalah, a tradition of Jewish mystical teachings that gained popularity among several Hollywood celebrities during the early 2000s.

At the time, Spears credited the practice with helping her navigate a difficult period in her personal life.

"Madonna first introduced Kabbalah to me at a time in my life when it was much needed," Spears wrote on her website.

"It has helped me get rid of a lot of negative influences that were guiding me down the wrong path," she added.



 

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