Wednesday, November 11, 2026

11/11 Links Pt1: US envoy Mike Waltz blasts UNIFIL as 'human shield for terrorists,' announces Lebanon visit; ‘Vile hatemonger’ Francesca Albanese accused of ‘hijacking’ words of Primo Levi to condemn Israel

From Ian:

Netanyahu's 1996 promise to end US aid to Israel fulfilled after 30 years, PMO claims
The Prime Minister's Office said Benjamin Netanyahu has fulfilled his 1996 promise to gradually end US financial support for Israel in a Wednesday post on X/Twitter.

Netanyahu, the PMO claimed, promised at the time to end the financial support, which then totaled $1.2 billion, compared to the current total of nearly $4 billion.

"He did just that," the post reads.

Israel is "strong enough economically to gradually end military support," 30 years after Netanyahu's initial promise, the PMO wrote, adding that this is because "today, Israel has a strong and stable economy."

"Israel and the US are making the important move from aid to partnership," the PMO said, using similar terminology to a Friday statement, in which the PMO said that it views US President Donald Trump's announcement to stop aid to Israel by the end of the year as a shift from military aid to "partnership," as reported by The Jerusalem Post.

"Today, Israel has a strong and stable economy. The move by PM Netanyahu and President Trump from aid to partnership shows the strength and sophistication of our relationship, and its ability to adapt and stand strong over time," the PMO wrote.

"This joint move by Netanyahu and Trump shows the strength of our relationship and its ability to adapt to changing circumstances," the PMO said.

The statement also used similar language to Netanyahu's May interview with CBS's 60 Minutes, in which he called for reducing US financial support to Israel down to zero, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's "affirmation" in Paris earlier this week, citing the US's top diplomat as calling the decision "something the Israelis themselves have offered us."

Rubio says Israel's economy is at a point where Jerusalem no longer needs Washington's financial aid
Rubio recently said that Israel has become sufficiently prosperous to purchase US weapons without relying on financial assistance, the Post reported at the time.

“On the question of financing, I think Israel has clearly graduated beyond that,” Rubio also said.

PMO spokesman Doron Spielman told Fox News that "while the aid has been incredibly important, the prime minister has been working with President Trump to make the correct transition out from aid towards partnership and mutual investment."

Trump claims Netanyahu personally proposed ending US aid to Israel
On November 3, Trump claimed that Netanyahu personally proposed ending the aid during a telephone interview with Fox News' Fox & Friends.

However, the Israeli defense establishment was shocked by Trump's November 3 announcement of his decision to cut off aid, and is unclear on what it implies for immediate budgetary and weapons sales issues, the Post reported on Sunday.
US envoy Mike Waltz blasts UNIFIL as 'human shield for terrorists,' announces Lebanon visit
US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz delivered a blistering attack on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) at the gala evening of the second annual Israel Hayom Summit in New York, announcing plans to visit Lebanon next week to push for fundamental changes to the peacekeeping mission in the country's south.

Waltz described the UN force as a "human shield for terrorists" and made clear that the Trump administration was seeking to overhaul its operations. "I'm going there next week to get rid of this human shield known as UNIFIL and change the peacekeeping mission that has been there for 20 years," Waltz declared. "This mission costs half a billion dollars a year, and instead of promoting peace, it has provided a human shield for terrorists," he said, adding that the goal was to turn the UN into an organization that genuinely advances peace in the region.

Turning to Iran and its network of proxies, Waltz portrayed Tehran's influence across the Middle East as significantly diminished. "The Iranian regime is weaker than it has ever been," he said, pointing to the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, the blows dealt to Hezbollah and developments in Lebanon as part of a broader erosion of Iranian influence. "The cancer of the Middle East is being eradicated, step by step, by a president who had the courage not to put off the difficult decisions," he said.

Waltz also highlighted growing security cooperation between Israel and Arab countries, describing military coordination between Israel and Gulf states as one of the most significant developments of recent years. "To see Israeli soldiers fighting alongside Arab soldiers from the United Arab Emirates, and to see Arab countries helping defend the State of Israel when Iran launched its attacks, would have been absolutely unthinkable just six years ago," he said.

He pointed to what he described as a significant shift on the international stage as well, noting that 146 countries had condemned Iranian attacks on civilian targets, including ships, hotels, resorts and airports, at the UN.

A substantial portion of Waltz's speech focused on the Abraham Accords and President Donald Trump's Middle East policy.

Waltz recalled that when Trump first unveiled his vision for normalizing relations between Israel and Arab countries, many experts and diplomats dismissed it as impossible. "They said there could be no broader peace between Israel and the Arab world until the Palestinian issue was resolved. They called Trump's vision a fantasy. But we proved them wrong," he said.

Waltz, who attended the signing ceremony for the Abraham Accords at the White House in 2020, stressed that predictions that successive wars in the region would bring about the agreements' collapse had also proved unfounded. "First they said the Abraham Accords would never happen. Then they said they would never last. On October 7, they said the war would destroy them. Then they said the war in Gaza would destroy them, and now they're saying the war in Iran will destroy them. So what's the answer? Not only have they survived, they're expanding."


Eisenkot cancels coalition talks with Likud after Netanyahu's 'divisive' Knesset speech
MK Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party announced Tuesday that it had scheduled a preliminary meeting with Likud to discuss coalition negotiations.

However, following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "divisive" speech at the Knesset, the meetings were canceled.

"Following Yashar's appeal to all Knesset factions to conduct sincere and genuine negotiations based on the four principles set out by Yashar for forming a government, a negotiation meeting was scheduled for tomorrow between the Eisenkot team and Likud," the party's statement read.

"Against the backdrop of the outgoing prime minister's divisive speech and his disgraceful conduct at the Knesset swearing-in ceremony, which dishonored what remains of statesmanship under Netanyahu's rule, Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot has now instructed that the negotiation meeting planned for tomorrow with Likud representatives be canceled."

Netanyahu continues to push for unity government
The revelation of unity talks and their subsequent collapse came after Netanyahu's call on Monday for opposition leaders to join him in a single unified government in "the need of the hour."

Tuesday's Knesset speech, which Eisenkot called "delusional, divisive, hateful, and disgraceful," also pressed for a unity government in the face of an Iranian nuclear threat, which the prime minister insisted must be destroyed.

Yashar: Unity, solidarity vital for Israel, but Netanyahu chooses himself
The Yashar statement claimed that Netanyahu continued to choose to divide Israeli citizens instead of looking to negotiate.

"The outgoing prime minister lashed out at Israeli citizens this evening in what became yet another sad reminder, for anyone who needed further proof: Netanyahu does not want unity," the party stated.

"As always, when faced with a choice between the gravity of the moment and the resilience of Israeli society on one hand, and his political survival on the other, Netanyahu will always choose himself. At any cost."


‘Vile hatemonger’ Francesca Albanese accused of ‘hijacking’ words of Primo Levi to condemn Israel
Israel’s has accused UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese of being a “vile hatemonger” and “hijacking” the words of Primo Levi as part of a campaign to “spread hatred” against the Jewish State.

Albanese, one of Israel’s most outspoken critics at the UN, posted Holocaust survivor Levi’s ‘If This is a Man’ poem through her X account on Sunday.

Responding to an Al Jazeera video about the conditions after heavy rain in Gaza, Albanese posted the poem and wrote: “The images of kids submerged in freezing floodwater, in flimsy tents that won’t survive another winter, make me SICK.

“I think of Primo Levi’s words that every European learns by heart at school – only to forget when entering politics or diplomacy. The shame of our time.”



Replying to the post, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said: “Francesca Albanese is a vile hatemonger who deliberately desecrates Holocaust memory to spread hatred against Israel.

“Hijacking Primo Levi’s words about Auschwitz for an antisemitic propaganda campaign is absolutely nefarious. “[Francesca Albanese] must go!!”

Levi, who died in 1987, is a well-known Jewish Italian author of several books, chemist, and survivor of the Holocaust.

His most well-known book, If This Is a Man, was written as an account of the year he spent as a prisoner in Auschwitz – the poem of the same name was written by Levi as the opening preface to the 1947 book.


UN gives Iran seat on influential coordination committee
The United Nations General Assembly elected the Islamic Republic of Iran to the UN Committee for Programme and Coordination on Wednesday, giving Tehran a seat on a key body responsible for reviewing and coordinating the organization’s programs and priorities, despite its record of human rights abuses and support for terrorist organizations. Iran received 144 votes in favor in a secret-ballot election, according to the voting results.

During Wednesday’s session, Israel raised objections to what it described as a double standard in the treatment of Israeli candidates, accusing Arab groups of repeatedly subjecting them to politically motivated votes and calling the process a “waste of time and resources.”

Critics, including UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer, had repeatedly urged international representatives to demand a vote on Iran’s candidacy to block its election, following the Islamic Republic’s nomination by the UN’s 54-member Economic and Social Council in April.

UN Watch condemns Iran's election to key committee as 'travesty of justice'
“They are planning to elect the Islamic regime in Iran to a UN committee that shapes priorities on women’s rights and terrorism prevention,” Neuer said. “This is a travesty of justice. … They massacred tens of thousands of people in January, [so] the notion that they would be named to this committee is an absurdity.”

“The UN General Assembly just elected the murderous Islamic Republic of Iran to its Committee for Program and Coordination, the main body shaping the world organization’s priorities on Women’s Rights, Human Rights, Disarmament, and Counter-Terrorism,” he wrote on X/Twitter after the vote was announced.


Commentary Podcast: The JDPOA
We are joined by FDD's Jonathan Schanzer from Jerusalem on this Veteran's Day to discuss President Trump's announcement that the Iran war is "effectively over" and whether that is the last word on the conflict, the failed attempt to impeach Pete Hegseth, and the ramifications of JD Vance's vision for the region and the future of the country.


Report: Vance weighing direct talks with Iran, Trump sees June MOU as blunder
US Vice President JD Vance is weighing direct talks with a top Iranian security official, according to a report on Wednesday that said President Donald Trump empowered him to resume negotiations on ending the war that they have cited as a key reason for the Republican’s steep losses in the midterm elections.

But Mohsen Rezaei, secretary-general of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said earlier Tuesday that there are no plans to meet Vance.

US officials told the Wall Street Journal that Vance has taken the lead role in diplomatic efforts to reach an agreement with Iran, eclipsing White House envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Despite supporting renewed diplomacy, Trump has been privately criticizing the June memorandum of understanding with Iran that Vance helped negotiate, two US officials said, insisting that it was a mistake and allowed Iran to recover and bring in oil revenues.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller back maintaining the blockade on Iran until it gives, said two US officials, amid deliberations over what comes next.

The Journal report noted that unlike Rubio and Hegseth, who have defended Trump over the war, Vance has publicly blamed the conflict for the GOP’s drubbing by Democrats in last week’s elections, with officials quoted by the newspaper describing his decision to make himself the face of diplomacy with Iran as a politically high-risk, high-reward effort depending on how the talks turn out.

Trump has expressed agreement with Vance’s assessment about the electoral consequences of the the war, but has continued to defend it, including on Wednesday as he claimed the US already won but does not want to pull out until there has been a knockout.

“We fought back… and we won. [It’s] just a question of when we want to end it,” he said in a Veterans Day address at Arlington National Cemetery.

“We want to make sure we have a total victory — not a 93% victory. It’s going to be total,” Trump added.

Trump again asserted that the war will end shortly — something he has been asserting for months.
US treasury chief Bessent moved to military base amid Iranian threats, sources say
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has recently moved from his Washington, DC, residence to a US military base due to Iranian threats against his life, three people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

The New York Times first reported the move. A senior intelligence official in the Trump administration warned in a memo seen by Reuters late last month that Iranian plots against US personnel and American citizens had reached an advanced stage.

According to the Times report, that assessment was based in part on specific intelligence about threats against Bessent, who has led the US sanctions and economic pressure campaign against Iran.

That effort, dubbed Operation Economic Outcast, has tried since August to push Tehran to end attacks on shipping and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The crucial waterway has been largely closed since the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.

The economic pressure campaign, which coincides with a US naval blockade of Iranian ports, has included sanctions on Middle Eastern bank branches and other financial services firms facilitating transactions with Iran.

“The secretary will not be deterred by the Iranian regime’s threats and remains committed to executing Operation Economic Outcast and maintaining the blockade, which together are collapsing Iran’s economy,” a US Treasury spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

The Times reported that the severity of the threats to Bessent was not immediately clear.

A source familiar with the matter said security concerns surrounding Bessent increased when the Wall Street Journal published an aerial view of the Georgetown mansion that Bessent bought for $12.5 million shortly after his confirmation as Treasury secretary in January 2025.

The photo allowed Bessent’s home to be geolocated, and now, with Iran’s increased efforts to target US officials, Bessent was relocated to a military base for his safety, the source said, adding: “The news media has an obligation to act responsibly amid growing threats against public officials.”

He joins at least a half dozen top US officials in relocating to military bases or secure housing sites over the past year, the Times said, including Stephen Miller, now the White House chief of staff.
Iran said producing up to 50 ballistic missiles a month, as IRGC unveils underground ‘missile city’
Iran is producing 50 ballistic missiles a month, about half its prewar capacity, according to Western intelligence estimates reported on Wednesday, shortly before Iran unveiled a a new underground “missile city.”

An unnamed Western official who spoke to Bloomberg cited intelligence reports that found that though Iran’s conventional military was mostly destroyed by the joint US-Israel air campaign launched in February, it likely has at least 1,700 ballistic missiles left and is making more.

According to the report, despite accounts that the war left the US with a weapons shortage, it still has large stockpiles of precision-guided bombs and cruise missiles, but drawing on those supplies has depleted stores in other regions.

It said Iranian missile launches at US forces and allies in the Middle East used up at least 1,000 Patriot interceptors. About 650 of those missiles, costing $4 million each, are produced each year.

Bloomberg estimated that Iran fired over 4,900 Shahed drones and at least 2,200 ballistic missiles since the war started on February 28 with joint US-Israel attacks.

IRGC unveils underground ‘missile city’
On Wednesday Iranian media reported that the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force had unveiled a new underground “missile city.”

According to the Tasnim News Agency, the bunker contains ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as their launch systems.

The outlet does not give any clue as to the location of the facility, or the amount of munitions it contains.

The unveiling of the facility was attended by Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Ali Abdollahi and Commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force Brigadier General Majid Mousavi, the report said.

The report noted that IRGC spokesman Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi recently said that missile and drone production facilities would all be moved underground, presumably in an attempt to shield them from potential strikes by the US or Israel.


Saudi Arabia says debris from intercepted missiles fell in Mecca region
Saudi Arabia said debris from two ballistic missiles intercepted by its air defenses fell in the Mecca region on Wednesday, as the kingdom and Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement exchanged attacks in an escalating conflict.

The Houthis launched the missiles towards the region, and air defenses intercepted and destroyed them, with debris falling in several locations, including Sabuhah village, Saudi Arabia's civil defense said in a statement.

The Houthis have repeatedly denied Saudi accusations that they target Mecca and Medina, Islam's two holiest cities, saying their military operations are directed at military and strategic targets elsewhere in Saudi Arabia. They have yet to comment on the latest incident.

"This hostile targeting of civilian objects constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and reflects the dangerous hostile approach pursued by the Houthi militia," Saudi Arabia's civil defense said early on Thursday.

Houthi sends missile and drone attacks to Saudi Arabia
The Houthis seized Yemen's capital Sanaa in 2014, prompting Saudi Arabia to intervene militarily the following year in support of the internationally recognized government.

A UN-brokered truce in 2022 largely froze the conflict, but hostilities resumed earlier this year, with the Houthis launching missile and drone attacks on Saudi territory and Riyadh carrying out airstrikes in Yemen.
Iran designates Argentine navy, air force as terrorist organizations
Iran on Wednesday designated Argentina’s navy and air force as terrorist organizations in retaliation for Buenos Aires’ decision in April to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced.

Tehran said the move was based on a 2019 Iranian law allowing reciprocal measures against countries that support the U.S. designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization. The ministry warned that Argentina would bear responsibility for any consequences arising from the decision.

Argentina designated the IRGC over Iran’s alleged role, through Hezbollah, in the 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires and the 1994 AMIA Jewish community center bombing, which killed 29 and 85 people, respectively.
Ex-biker boss pleads guilty over Bondi kosher-deli arson plot
A former Australian motorcycle gang leader has pleaded guilty to helping organize the firebombing of a kosher business in Sydney’s Bondi neighborhood, The Australian reported on Wednesday.

Sayed Moosawi, a former Nomads chapter president, admitted serving as a middleman in the attack on Lewis’ Continental Kitchen, according to the newspaper.

The Australian Jewish Association posted a one-word message on X on Wednesday: “Guilty.”

Moosawi, 35, pleaded guilty to knowingly directing the activities of a criminal group, being an accessory before the fact to destroying property using fire and intimidation, according to a separate NewsWire report published by The Australian.

Court facts cited by NewsWire said Moosawi used the alias “James Bond” on Signal, an encrypted messaging app, to recruit associates for an arson attack for which he was promised 12,000 Australian dollars (about $8,250).

After failed attempts targeting the wrong business, an associate set fire to the intended deli on Oct. 20, 2024, causing approximately 1 million Australian dollars ($688,000) in damage, the report said.

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation said in August 2025 that it assessed Iran’s government had likely directed the attack. The court facts did not establish who hired Moosawi or whether he knew their affiliations or motivations, NewsWire reported.

His lawyer, Zemarai Khatiz, said Moosawi acted to fund a gambling addiction rather than out of hostility toward Jews.

Moosawi is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 10 after the judge postponed sentencing on Wednesday.


Neria Leiter, son of Israel's envoy to US, discharged from hospital two months after terror attack
Neria Leiter, the son of Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the US, was discharged from Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem and transferred to a neurological rehabilitation center on Wednesday.

Leiter was seriously wounded during a car-ramming terrorist attack at the Bell checkpoint on Route 443 in September.

According to Shaare Zedek, Leiter remains unconscious but is breathing on his own.

During his hospitalization, Leiter underwent several neurosurgical and orthopedic procedures. After several weeks in which his life was in danger, his condition stabilized.

His family said they “thank the medical teams at Shaare Zedek for their dedicated and professional care, which went above and beyond,” and asked that their privacy be respected.

“Following the announcement from Shaare Zedek Medical Center, the Leiter family wishes to express their gratitude to the medical team that cared for Neria with such dedication, fighting for his life against all odds, specifically Prof. Philip Levin, Director of the Intensive Care Unit, and his devoted staff, as well as Dr. Yevgeny Karpov, Director of the Neurological Intensive Care Unit, and his dedicated team,” Ambassador Leiter wrote on X/Twitter.

“Neria has been transferred to the Tel Hashomer rehabilitation facility for patients with impaired consciousness. Despite this transition, his condition remains complex, and the road to recovery is long and arduous,” the ambassador said.

“Neria remains unconscious and will require several additional surgeries. The family extends their thanks to the many people who have prayed for Neria, and they ask that these prayers continue, praying for a miracle that will bring Neria back to the embrace of his family,” he added.
Iran calls for compensation over US, Israeli war damage
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian told the COP31 climate conference on Wednesday that his country wanted compensation for environmental damage caused by US and Israeli strikes, saying the issue is related to global efforts to fight climate change.

"We expect the global community to establish a genuine and meaningful link between climate commitments in times of peace and responsibility in times of war, to document and assess the environmental damages caused by military aggressions and to develop compensation mechanisms," he said.

His comments were part of back-to-back speeches by heads of state on the third day of the two-week conference in Turkey.

International climate agreements currently include billions of dollars in wealthy-country finance to help developing countries adapt to climate change and pay for its impacts, but they include no provision covering the environmental impacts of military strikes.

US, Israel launched strikes on Iran in February as part of operations Epic Fury, Roaring Lion
The US and Israel launched a military campaign against Iran in late February. The conflict, which spread to Lebanon and the Gulf, has involved repeated strikes on energy infrastructure in Iran and across the wider region, as well as strikes on shipping. Iran has repeatedly attacked oil tankers navigating the Strait of Hormuz.

Those attacks have caused environmental damage, including substantial oil leaks.

The Iran war may also have led to a reduction in overall global emissions. A report from a consortium of international scientists on Tuesday said global fossil fuel emissions are on track to fall slightly this year, partly due to high fuel prices and expanded use of renewable energy in the wake of the conflict.
Israel excluded from COP31 climate summit in Turkey over Gaza war, Turkish minister says
Israel was not invited to the COP31 climate summit, which Turkey is hosting this year, Turkish Environment Minister and COP President Murat Kurum announced on Tuesday, citing Israel's actions in Gaza as the reason for its exclusion.

“As the host country for the leaders’ summit, we did not send an invitation to Israel,” Murat told Turkish media. “Of course, we will discuss the climate and climate justice here. We say that there can be no climate justice where peace does not prevail.”

The chairman of the Palestinian Environment Quality Authority, Zaghloul Samha, told The National that the decision was “a political issue, not a technical issue.”

The exclusion comes as climate negotiations involving nearly 200 countries seek agreement on a Turkish proposal to increase the share of electricity in global energy use and revive stalled efforts to move away from fossil fuels. However, statements by world leaders at the summit have increasingly focused on geopolitical conflicts and Israel's role in the region, raising questions about whether climate discussions are being overshadowed by political disputes.

"A year ago, the planet left COP30 invigorated... [but] this momentum has dropped off at the start of this year. Climate change disappeared from the speeches and documents from global leadership," Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whose country hosted last year's conference, told the summit. "We started talking more about weapons and tariffs than the survival of future generations. The planet cannot be at the mercy of hegemonic struggles."
Senior settler leader Yossi Dagan denied entry into France
Settler leader and head of the Samaria Regional Council Yossi Dagan said Wednesday that he was denied entry into France last week after flying to Paris for a series of meetings.

The Foreign Ministry condemned the French decision and said it would demand an explanation from Paris for the move.

Dagan’s office said he was taken aside for questioning by border control officials and told he was not allowed to enter the country due to his role in the establishment of 35 settlements in the northern West Bank, and for promoting the reestablishment of Jewish settlements in Gaza.

Dagan has indeed been active in supporting and promoting the establishment of settlements and illegal settlement outposts in the jurisdiction of the Samaria Regional Council, which he heads, and has advanced a program to bring a million residents to the northern West Bank by 2050.

Writing on social media Wednesday evening, Dagan said he was “proud to be, together with my brothers and sisters — the pioneers of Samaria — on the right side of history.”

The Foreign Ministry called the French decision “completely unacceptable.”

“Israel views with severity France’s decision to ban the entry of a law-abiding Israeli elected official on a blatantly political and ideological basis,” said the ministry statement. “This is a completely unacceptable step, and Israel will demand explanations for it from the French government and will accordingly consider its steps.”

Dagan has worked assiduously in recent years to expand existing settlements as much as possible, help establish and support illegal outposts such as Shuvael, and lobby the government to legalize existing illegal outposts. He has urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex the West Bank, as well as to resettle Gaza in response to the “holocaust” of October 7.

Relations between France and Israel have been notably tense over the past few years, as Paris has grown increasingly critical of the Netanyahu-led government, the war against Hamas in Gaza and soaring West Bank violence.

In June, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was also barred from entering France, which accused him of promoting the annexation of the West Bank and the “recolonization” of Gaza. A month earlier, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir was also banned from the country over his treatment of detained Gaza flotilla activists.

In June, the French foreign minister also said that four leaders of settler organizations and 21 “violent settlers” were part of the ban along with Smotrich. Paris did not name the entire list of those barred at the time, although it likely included Dagan.


Comedy Cellar USA: Philosopher Michael Walzer Has Not Changed His Mind About Israel
Michael Walzer, renowned political philosopher and author of Just and Unjust Wars, joins Noam Dworman and Periel Aschenbrand for a conversation about Israel, Hamas, Gaza, and the morality of modern warfare.

Walzer discusses Hamas's October 7 attack, the asymmetry trap, civilian casualties, Netanyahu's leadership, and the point at which Israel should have shifted from military action to political solutions. He also addresses his New Yorker profile, rejects the claim that he changed his position on Israel, and discusses the future of Zionism, Palestinian self-determination, and Israel's security.

Then, a provocative discussion between Noam and Periel about intellectual dishonesty, antisemitism, media bias, and the willingness of public intellectuals to change their positions to gain approval.

Michael Walzer is an American political philosopher, public intellectual, and professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS). He is widely recognized as one of the preeminent thinkers in contemporary political theory. He is the author of multiple books including Just and Unjust Wars and the subject of a recent profile in The New Yorker titled, "A Philosopher of War Changes His Mind."

03:00 – Hamas, October 7 & Moral Responsibility
06:45 – The Asymmetry Trap: Hamas's Strategy Against Israel
14:40 – Civilian Casualties & Israel's Military Strategy
20:25 – Did Michael Walzer Change His Mind About Israel?
22:45 – When Should Israel Have Ended the War?
28:05 – Netanyahu, Gaza & Israel's Strategic Mistakes
32:45 – Iran, Hezbollah & Israel's Security
35:00 – Palestinian Self-Determination & Democracy
39:45 – The Future of Zionism & a Palestinian State
43:40 – Walzer's Final Message: Israel Must Survive
48:13 – Did The New Yorker Misrepresent Michael Walzer?
51:00 – Why Noam Does This Podcast: Access to Great Minds
1:01:00 – Bari Weiss, 60 Minutes & What Makes a Good Interview
1:02:00 – Omar Bartov, Hamas & Intellectual Accountability
1:05:40 – Do Intellectuals Change Their Beliefs to Be Accepted?
1:08:40 – The Psychology of Belonging & Political Conformity
1:10:30 – Why Interviewing Anti-Israel Intellectuals Matters
1:14:00 – Noam Chomsky, Intellectual Integrity & Controversial Associations
1:19:50 – Russell Brand, Sexual Assault & the Question of Consent
1:24:20 – Celebrity, Power & Sexual Consent
1:28:10 – Final Thoughts: Why the Walzer Interview Matters


Canadian-Sanctioned Iranian Regime Official to Keynote London AI Conference
An Iranian government official personally sanctioned by Canada over policies violating women’s rights, including compulsory veiling, is scheduled to keynote a December 13 conference on artificial intelligence and “Islamophobia” in London. Professor Saeid Reza Ameli, a former senior Iranian policymaker and longtime director of the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), will address an event organized by the same organization, whose associated charity is under investigation by British regulators.

Ameli is among three keynote speakers advertised for the conference at London’s P21 Gallery. Other speakers include Sandew Hira, a longtime IHRC collaborator with documented relationships involving sanctioned Iranian institutions, and Ramón Grosfoguel, a University of California, Berkeley scholar who previously denied Hamas’s attacks against Israeli civilians during the October 7 massacre.

The conference’s promotional description amplifies the fabricated claim that Gaza is the “world’s first AI-assisted genocide,” alleging that Israel has used artificial intelligence for the “maximized infliction of casualties.” It further speculates that Western governments have tolerated Israel’s military campaign to learn how to use AI in their own “projects of violence,” while claiming that efforts are underway to “embed and institutionalise Islamophobia.”

Canadian-Sanctioned Official and Former IHRC Director
Ameli served as secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution between 2019 and 2023. The powerful Iranian policymaking institution oversees cultural and educational policy, including policies concerning compulsory hijab. In October 2022, The Times reported on Ameli’s simultaneous roles in Iran’s cultural policymaking apparatus and IHRC, which provided regulated immigration advice in Britain. The investigation linked Ameli to stricter compulsory-hijab regulations as nationwide protests erupted following the death of Mahsa Amini, who had been detained by Iran’s morality police.

United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) documented that Ameli’s council developed stricter mandatory-veiling regulations in 2019.

On February 23, 2023, Canada formally sanctioned Ameli under his full name, Seyed Saied Reza Ameli Renani, as part of measures responding to “gross and systematic human rights violations” in Iran. The Canadian government’s regulatory statement described the head of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution as a “chief proponent of policies that violate women’s rights, like compulsory veiling.” Ameli appears as entry 76 in Canada’s sanctions regulations, which prohibit Canadians and persons in Canada from specified financial dealings with him.

Britain subsequently sanctioned the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution in July 2023, citing its involvement in serious human-rights violations through mandatory dress-code enforcement, including the use of unreasonable force against women deemed noncompliant.



 



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