LIVE DEVELOPMENTS — updated Friday, December 27th, 2024  

Houthis Launch Overnight Missile Attack; Elderly Woman Murdered By Palestinian Terrorist

TRUSTED ANALYSIS

• Antisemitism Called Out Inside BBC As A Result Of Gaza War Reporting
• War In Lebanon Saw IDF Seize 85,000 Hezbollah Items From Over 30 Villages
• Netanyahu Warns Houthis As He Lights First Candle Of Hanukkah
• Israeli Defense Minister Says Houthi Leaders Are In Crosshairs

Day 448 — Friday, December 27 

An elderly woman, aged approximately 80, was murdered Friday morning in a terror attack on Kdoshei Hashoah Street in the central city of Herzliya.

Initially, Magen David Adom (MDA) reported that the woman was in “very serious” condition. Medical teams began fighting for the woman’s life at the scene and evacuated her to Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv.

However, the hospital declared her death shortly after her arrival.

“She was brought to the hospital with a large number of stab wounds, while undergoing resuscitation, and the hospital was forced to declare her death upon her arrival,” the hospital said.

Initial police estimates are that two Brinks security guards who were at the scene neutralized the terrorist, who suffered an injury to his leg and was arrested.

Initial police estimates are that security guards who were at the scene neutralized the stabber, who suffered an injury to his foot.

Tel Aviv District police commander Haim Sergoff, who arrived at the scene, stated that the terrorist who carried out the attack is a Palestinian Authority Arab who arrived from the area of Tulkarm. A police source added that the terrorist was formerly incarcerated in an Israeli prison, and that there was no specific, focused warning prior to the attack.

Recounting the terror attack, Sergoff said, “Security guards from Brinks heard shouts of, ‘Allahu akhbar,’ identified the stabbings, and determinedly aimed for contact, fired shots, and hit the terrorist, who is a resident of the [Palestinian Authority-controlled] territories.”

EMT Eylon Boaron, who arrived first at the scene, said: “I was on a nearby street when I received a call on the MDA app. I immediately left for the scene and noticed a woman of about 80 near the nursing home. She was lying on the sidewalk unconscious and with stab wounds to her body. Together with additional forces who arrived at the scene, we began providing lifesaving medical treatment and conducted resuscitation, and evacuated her to the hospital in critical condition. As we treated her, security personnel who were nearby neutralized the terrorist near us.”

MDA paramedic Idan Shina said: “We received a report regarding a woman who was injured by stabbing. We quickly arrived at the scene and saw the woman lying unconscious and suffering from a stab wound to her body. We provided her with initial medical treatment, including stopping the bleeding and providing medications, and evacuated her to the hospital in critical condition.”

Arutz Sheva

Day 448 — Friday, December 27 

The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen take responsibility for the overnight ballistic missile attack on Israel, claiming to have targeted Ben Gurion Airport.

The Houthis claim that “the missile succeeded in reaching its target despite the enemy’s censorship, and the operation resulted in casualties and the cessation of navigation at the airport.”

The IDF said the missile was successfully downed by air defenses, and there were no reports of impacts at the airport. Flight arrivals were reportedly halted for 30 minutes.

Additionally, the Houthis claim to have carried out a drone attack on a “vital target” in the Tel Aviv area. There were no reports of drones reaching Israel from Yemen in the past day.

The Houthis also say that it targeted a container ship in the Arabian Sea with several drones.

The Iran-backed group vows to continue their attacks on Israel “until the aggression on Gaza stops and the siege is lifted.”

Times Of Israel

Day 448 — Friday, December 27 

Biased Israel reporting, perhaps, but racism at work toward Jewish employees? This is not something that the BBC has been accused of… until recently.

“Anti-Semitism exists in the newsrooms of Britain’s public service broadcaster,” an experienced BBC staff member recently told the Daily Telegraph. “It has for years and remains prevalent today, exacerbated by events since October 7.”

After a formal letter from Jewish employees at the BBC was sidelined by management earlier this year, the whistleblower decided to expose the problem, saying antisemitism had become ‘normalized’ since the brutal Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023.

While the anonymous Jewish employee did not divulge the worst examples to protect their identity, they did reference several instances where colleagues’ remarks and conversations were considered inappropriate for a professional workplace.

“On yet another occasion, while at the coffee station with a journalist, they felt the need to say to my face: ‘My sympathies lie with the Palestinians,’” the whistleblower told the Telegraph. 

“I don’t even recall having a discussion leading up to it but it was in effect throwing down a gauntlet, a kind of squaring up to a Jew in the office as if to say: ‘Israel is simply wrong and I feel so strongly about it that I’m letting you know.’” 

“Would anyone say to an Indian colleague: ‘My sympathies lie with Pakistan,’ or vice-versa? Of course not, it would be unthinkable,” the BBC staff member added.

In June, BBC Chairman Samir Shah received a letter signed by more than 200 mainly Jewish staff members, contractors, contributors and suppliers. They wrote that antisemitism is “systemic” at the corporation and that “Jews don’t count,” since so many complaints had been dismissed or marginalized. In their formal letter, the signatories provided 30 pages of personal testimonies.

After Shah refused to launch an investigation into the claims of antisemitism, both on and off screen, many prominent artists began speaking out and continuing the exchange of letters with BBC department heads. Some spoke anonymously to the Jewish Chronicle. 

“Every week it gets a little harder being a Jew at the BBC,” said one employee. “Harder to sit in the office and listen to colleagues discussing their very personal views about the war in Gaza and attacks by Hezbollah on Israel. 

“It is harder listening, watching and reading the loaded output about events in the Middle East and colleagues’ partial and often offensive social media posts, and harder to go home at night and speak to friends and family who hold me responsible for the BBC contributing to the rise in antisemitism in the UK.”

Another said: “The hardest thing of all is seeing how BBC stories are adding to antisemitism – you can see it in the social media responses to our stories. And there is nothing we can do about it.”

The signatories to the letter said that Shah’s weak response was “an example of the gaslighting of the entire Jewish community.”

Former BBC employees have corroborated these claims. A non-Jewish former BBC journalist told ALL ISRAEL NEWS that “the prevailing hostility [within the workplace] towards Zionism did cross lines and tended to filter out any narrative sympathetic to the idea of a Jewish homeland” and said the whistleblower’s report was “sadly accurate.”

Some have suggested that the BBC’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas war has negatively influenced the media environment and the broader UK atmosphere toward British Jews and supporters of Israel.

Danny Cohen, a former BBC television director, and Baroness Deech, a former BBC governor, published a report criticizing the BBC’s reporting during the first 11 months of the Hamas-Israel war. The report concluded that “the BBC is not merely careless in its reporting of the war in Gaza. The ‘mistakes‘ are almost always in the anti-Israel direction…”

“Whenever the corporation is faced with the choice of whose account or narrative to believe, it seldom points in Israel’s direction. For Hamas in this war, proof is rarely necessary. For the IDF and Israel, proof is rarely enough.”

In May 2024, the BBC had already issued 80 corrections to its Gaza war coverage. Cohen wrote in The Telegraph, “Something is going badly wrong. Mistakes don’t happen 80 times.”

Commenting on Cohen’s analysis, the UK Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis wrote that media reporting has been inextricably linked to the hostile treatment received by some British Jewish citizens.

“The data could not be clearer: wherever sustained misinformation and demonization of Israel is found, incidents of anti-Jewish racism surge. That’s one of the reasons why the accuracy and objectivity of our national broadcaster is so important for the Jewish community.” 

In addition, the Asserson Report into the BBC’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, published in early September, revealed 1,553 breaches of the corporation’s own guidelines, including impartiality and accuracy. These findings only covered a four-month period, beginning on Oct. 7, 2023.

The latest report from the Henry Jackson Society examines the BBC and other media outlets in its fact-checking of the inflated numbers promoted by the Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists.

The report revealed that the media has largely acted as a mouthpiece for Hama, particularly in amplifying inflated and inaccurate Gaza death tolls reported over the past 14-plus months.

All Israel News

Day 448 — Friday, December 27 

Today is the day after Christmas and the second day of Hanukkah. You could say that Israel, in a way, lit the second Hanukkah candle in Yemen a few hours ago.

Earlier in the day, the IDF carried out massive airstrikes against those Iran-backed Houthi Rebels who have been an increasing thorn in Israel’s side. Over the past several weeks, barrages of ballistic missiles launched from Yemen toward Israel have become a daily occurrence. Not only that, a consistent barrage of drones has also been emanating from Yemen.

Yemen has now become very crucial to Iran’s overall strategy, which has unraveled over the past few weeks. The Iranian axis, or “ring of fire,” that surrounds Israel on all sides has been pulverized by the Israel Defense Forces. Whether it’s Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, or the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, this carefully constructed ring of fire is now being demolished before the Ayatollahs’ eyes in Iran.

Even the Iran-backed militias in Iraq stated two days ago that they are taking a step back from attacking Israel. They see which way the winds are blowing, and they don’t want to be smashed next.

We now have four rings on that Iranian ring of fire—really the main four—largely out of commission. This turn of events makes Yemen and the Houthis even more important to the Ayatollahs. They, in some respects, are the last man standing.

The Houthis continue launching projectiles toward Israel on a daily basis. Over the weekend, a ballistic missile hit Tel Aviv in Jaffa, the southern part of the city, wounding 16 people. Over the summer, an Israeli was killed as a result of one of these Houthi drones striking Tel Aviv. This has become a persistent problem.

For a while, Israel worked to contain the Houthis, carrying out major airstrikes in late September and July against the Hudaydah Port, which is the main port in Yemen. Those major strikes sent a message—or so you would have thought—resulting in a mushroom cloud and explosions above Yemen, which could reportedly be seen many miles away. The Houthis, however, obviously did not get the memo and were not deterred. In fact, not only have they continued, but they have intensified the attacks they are carrying out against Israel.

Israel conducted serious airstrikes late last week against three ports. The Houthis responded with more missiles and drones. As I have said before, evil is arrogant, reckless, demonic, and irrational—and the Houthis check all the boxes.

Day 447 — Thursday, December 26 

The IDF seized 85,170 Hezbollah military items from over 30 villages in southern Lebanon throughout the [ground operation], the army said on Wednesday.

Many of these items were presented on exhibit to The Jerusalem Post and other reporters on Tuesday at a base in the North.

Among these items are 2,250 larger rockets, 6,840 smaller anti-tank missiles, and rockets, of which 340 are more advanced Kornet missiles.
There are also 60 anti-aircraft missiles and 20 vehicles, often with the capability of firing a dozen or multiple dozens of rockets at a time.

The IDF also seized 9,000 improvised explosives, 5,560 guns, and around 60,800 electronic items, equipment, and documents.

The IDF also said on Wednesday that it killed 3,851 Hezbollah terrorists and wounded around 9,000 since the start of the current war.

צה״ל מציג: למעלה מ-85,000 פרטי שלל של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה הוחרמו בתמרון כוחות צה״ל בדרום לבנון

לכל התיעודים והפרטים: https://t.co/vcPJ190s6p pic.twitter.com/Dka3qvjQQu

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) December 25, 2024

Jerusalem Post

Day 447 — Thursday, December 26 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lit the first candle of Hanukkah in Jerusalem, Israel, on Wednesday evening, and warned Iranian-backed Houthi rebels who have been firing missiles and drones from Yemen that they are about to learn a lesson.

The Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Israel early Wednesday (Christmas) morning, which was intercepted by Israel’s defense systems, though pieces of shrapnel fell on the country. A drone from Yemen reached Israel but landed in an open area, causing no injuries.

Israel has retaliated against the rebels three times, and is planning a larger counterattack, after Houthi attacks have continued.

Hanukkah (or Chanukah) celebrates the rededication of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem after it was liberated from Syrian-Greek control in the second century B.C. While the themes of the holiday are primarily religious, it is also a powerful symbol of Israel triumphing over its enemies, and it was in that sense that Netanyahu invoked it.

The Prime Minister’s Office released the following statement:

Prime Minister Netanyahu after the candle lighting [translated from Hebrew]:

“Today we are lighting the first candle of Chanukah to mark the victory of the Maccabees then, and also the victory of ‘the Maccabees of today’.

Like then, we are striking at our enemies, and those who thought they could cut the thread of our lives here then, this will apply to them all.

The Houthis will also learn what Hamas, Hezbollah, the Assad regime and others have learned, and this will also take time. This lesson will be learned across the Middle East, I tell you, in those days at this season.

A happy holiday to you all.”

Israeli soldiers deployed in the field also lit Hanukkah candles, from Lebanon in the north to Gaza in the south.

Breitbart

Day 446 — Wednesday, December 25

Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that the Jewish state will target the heads of the Houthi terror group after a successful missile interception by Israel’s long-range Arrow defense system shortly before 2 a.m. local time.

The missile was intercepted outside of Israeli territory, the IDF said.

“I warned and said that just as we dealt with [recently eliminated Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar in Gaza, [Hamas political leader Ismail] Haniyeh in Tehran and [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah in Beirut, we will also deal with the heads of the Houthis in Sana’a and everywhere in Yemen,” Katz said.

He made his remarks while touring an Arrow missile battery along with Brig. Gen. Gilad Biran, commander of the Israeli Air Force Air Defense Division, Brig. Gen. Gilad Biran. He praised servicemembers of the air-defense system for their actions throughout the war.

JNS

Day 446 — Wednesday, December 25

A fierce controversy erupted on Tuesday on social media after the discovery of T-shirts bearing the likeness of Yahya Sinwar, the recently eliminated Hamas leader, on Walmart’s online sales site.

The organization StopAntisemitism, which fights against antisemitism, immediately demanded the removal of these items. In an X post, the group asked: “Walmart, are you aware you’re selling apparel celebrating terrorism and violence against Jews?”

Internet users, however, pointed out that these T-shirts were not directly produced by Walmart, but by a third-party seller using the distribution giant’s marketplace. This nuance did not prevent a wave of indignation on social networks, with many users accusing the company of allowing the marketing of products that glorify terrorism.

Attempts to find the sales pages of the controversial T-shirts on Walmart’s website have proven unsuccessful, with the links now leading to error pages, suggesting that the company quickly responded by removing the products from its platform.

i24 News

Day 446 — Wednesday, December 25

During an interview on The Hugh Hewitt Show, Israeli journalist Haviv Rettig Gur explained that antisemitism is more than stereotyping or insulting Jewish people. It’s “an ancient idea . . . that the Jews stand in the way of the redemption of the world.”

In the first half of the 20th century, a smear campaign victimized the Jewish people. Not only did Nazi propaganda blame them for Germany’s financial and social problems, but it also portrayed them as the root cause of global suffering.

According to this twisted ideology, so-called Jewish greed and deceit had ignited two world wars. Eastern Europeans simultaneously believed Jewish people embedded themselves within European societies and accused the Jews of undermining those same nations.

Eastern European antisemitism extended beyond religious discrimination to encompass a racial and genetic narrative. Antisemites depicted Jewish people as a parasitic race whose DNA marked them as “anti-human.” Many believed that by ridding humanity of the Jewish people, Hitler and the Nazis would save the world.

A Nazi propaganda cartoon displayed at Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Memorial, features a parasite with a grotesquely exaggerated nose (a Jewish stereotype) suffocating the world. One eye of the parasite bears a Marxist symbol and the other a dollar sign. The message is clear: To Nazis, Jewish people prevented global redemption.

Iran and its proxies Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis intend to eradicate the State of Israel. Since 2007, Hamas has controlled Gaza, diverting untold resources and funds designated to benefit the Palestinian people to the eradication of the Jewish state. To Iran and its proxies, Israel’s existence hinders the Muslim redemption of the world.

Israel repeatedly has offered Palestinians the opportunity to build their own sovereign state, dating back to the original 1947 United Nations Partition Plan. Instead of accepting the proposal, they sought to destroy Israel and to elevate Islam to power to redeem the world.

Today, chants of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” ring from prestigious North American and European university campuses. Speaking with campus protesters, Gur found that many of them believe resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can solve all global injustices. From domestic police violence to the ills of capitalism, “Every ideological peccadillo all converges on Palestine,” he said. Progressive campus protesters, like the Iranians and their proxies, see Jewish people as the barrier to worldwide redemption.

Despite Gur’s compelling explanation of antisemitism, this sin transcends ancient bigotry; it constitutes a spiritual prejudice that goes back to the day God called Abraham (Gen. 12). Satanic deception fuels the notion that Jewish people stand in the way of the world’s redemption. Satan wants to convince humanity to hate Israel and the Jewish people as an imperative, righteous mission to save the world from Jewish influence.

Day 445 — Tuesday, December 24 

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels fired another ballistic missile at Israel early Tuesday morning, triggering sirens across the center of the country, as well as in southern Israel, for the third time in less than a week.

The Israel Defense Forces said it managed to intercept the missile before it entered Israeli airspace.

According to a military source, the projectile was shot down using the long-range Arrow air defense system, which is designed to take out ballistic missiles outside of the atmosphere.

Sirens were triggered across central Israel — between Herzliya and Ashdod — as well as in several towns east of Beersheba, as a precaution due to the potential for fragments to land inside Israeli territory following the interception, the military said.

The Magen David Adom emergency medical service said it did not receive any reports of injuries due to fallen missile or interceptor fragments.
However, a 60-year-old woman fell while running to a shelter in Tel Aviv and was transferred to the city’s Ichilov Hospital in serious condition, MDA said.

Shortly after the launch, senior Houthi official Hezam al-Asad tweeted that such attacks would continue “until the aggression against our people in Gaza stops.”

Hezbollah made similar pledges to continue its cross-border attacks against Israel until a ceasefire was reached in Gaza but caved last month after two months during which Israel decimated the Lebanese terror group’s capabilities.

Hours earlier, the Houthis claimed responsibility for launching drones at Israel on Monday afternoon.

The IDF said that the air force shot down one drone outside of Israeli airspace.

The Houthis claimed to have launched two drones, at targets in Ashkelon and the Tel Aviv area. There were no reports of impacts in either city on Monday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Sunday that Israel would act against the Houthis in Yemen with the same force it used against Iran’s other “terrorist arms,” appearing to indicate the start of a stepped-up campaign against the Islamic Republic’s proxy group after a ballistic missile crashed into a Tel Aviv playground overnight Friday.

On Thursday, a multistory school building in Ramat Gan collapsed after it was hit by the warhead from a partially intercepted ballistic missile fired at Israel by Houthi rebels.

Times Of Israel

Day 445 — Tuesday, December 24 

Hannah Katzir, who was released along with 50 other hostages held by Hamas in a deal in November 2023,  died at the age of 76, Kibbutz Nir Oz announced on Tuesday.  

Her funeral is set to be held at Kibbutz Nir Oz at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.

Katzir was kidnapped to the Gaza Strip from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7 and was returned in the November hostage deal of last year. Her husband, Rami, was murdered during the massacre.  

Katzir is described by friends and family as being a woman with a “whole heart” who will always “give to others.”

Jerusalem Post

Day 445 — Tuesday, December 24 

Three Israeli soldiers were killed during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday, the military announced, as operations to combat the Hamas terror group’s regrouping efforts in the area continued.

The slain troops were named as: Cpt. Ilay Gavriel Atedgi, 22, from Kiryat Motzkin; Staff Sgt. Netanel Pessach, 21, from Elazar; and Sgt. First Class (res.) Hillel Diener, 21, from Talmon.

They all served in the Kfir Brigade’s Shimshon Battalion.

According to an initial Israel Defense Forces probe, the soldiers were killed by an explosive device in the Beit Hanoun area.

Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 391. The toll includes a police officer killed in a hostage rescue mission and a Defense Ministry civilian contractor.

The Kfir Brigade had just wrapped up an operation against Hamas in nearby Beit Lahiya earlier this week.

Troops advanced to the Beit Hanoun area “following intelligence information about the presence of terrorists and terror infrastructure in the area,” the IDF said on Sunday.

The military and Shin Bet also announced Monday that a senior member of Hamas’s general security forces had been killed in a Sunday airstrike in Gaza City.

According to the military, the target of the strike, Tharwat Muhammad Ahmad al-Bayk, served as the head of the security directorate in Hamas’s General Security Service.

Al-Bayk was targeted while at a Hamas command center embedded within the Musa Ibn Nusayr school, in Gaza City’s Daraj neighborhood, the IDF said.

Times Of Israel

Day 444 — Monday, December 23 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Israelis on Sunday to be “patient” as Jerusalem prepares to respond forcefully to attacks by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists.

“We will take forceful, determined and sophisticated action,” the prime minister vowed after a Houthi ballistic missile evaded the Israel Defense Forces’ aerial defense systems and hit a playground in Tel Aviv’s Jaffa quarter overnight Friday, lightly wounding 16 people.

“Even if it takes time, the result will be the same—as it has been with the other terrorist arms,” he said, in reference to previous IDF operations against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“Just as we have acted forcefully against the terror arms of Iran’s axis of evil, so too will we act against the Houthis,” Netanyahu said. “However, in this case, we are not acting alone. Like us, the U.S. and other countries see the Houthis not only as a threat to international maritime navigation, but to the international order as well.

“what I ask of you, citizens of Israel, is to be patient, to continue showing the same resilience that you have shown up until now, and to strictly follow the [IDF] Home Front Command directives,” he said.

Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck a series of terrorist targets in Houthi-held territory in Yemen before dawn on Dec. 19, after a previous Houthi missile attack hit a school building in Ramat Gan, just east of Tel Aviv.

According to the IDF, the IAF retaliatory strikes were carried out in two waves by 14 fighter jets, refuelers and spy planes. The jets were already en route when the Houthis fired the missile around 2:35 a.m.

Following last week’s strikes, Netanyahu said that the Houthis and their Iranian backers “are learning—and will learn the hard way—that whoever harms Israel will pay a very heavy price for it.”

JNS

Day 444 — Monday, December 23 

Australian police have been working to identify a group of men who took part in a [pro-Nazi] protest on the front steps of Victoria’s Parliament House in Melbourne over the weekend, local media outlets reported on Sunday.

On Friday evening, a group of around 20 men, all of them dressed in black, unfurled a large banner proclaiming that “Jews hate freedom” on the steps of the government building.

The group of protesters, according to local outlet 7News Melbourne, were demonstrating against plans to place new restrictions on protesters, including a ban on protests outside places of worship, due to rising antisemitism across the state of Victoria.

Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan proposed the new laws after arsonists gutted a Melbourne synagogue this month and protesters kept fearful worshipers trapped inside a Sydney synagogue for three hours a week earlier.

The law would also prevent protesters from flying flags and displaying symbols of groups listed as terror organizations by Australia. Face masks used by protesters to conceal their identities and protect against capsicum spray would also be banned.

Footage posted online of Friday’s protest showed the group of men chanting “Freedom for the white man” and “The Jews must go.”

Standing in front of the large black and white banner, one of the protesters declared that “the Jews have demanded that the Victoria government change laws to take away our freedom to protest politically, and to expand so-called ‘hate speech anti-vilification laws’ to take away our rights to speak freely and criticize them.”

“Why should 0.4 percent of the Australian population — the Jews — get to dictate to the Victorian government what our freedoms should and should not be?” he shouted, declaring that the supposed reason for this was the “money and power that the Jews have.”

“This country should not belong to the Jews, it should belong to the white Australian people who built it.” he declared.

“Hail Victory!” the neo-Nazi proclaimed, invoking a direct translation of the German Nazi Party’s “Sieg Heil.”

“Blood and honor!” he shouted, again borrowing a Nazi-era motto, this time from the Hitler Youth.

In additional footage from the demonstration, the masked men could be seen leaving the area following a request from police officers.

Speaking to the Herald Sun on Saturday, Victoria Police Acting Superintendent Kelly Walker confirmed that one of the participants in the protest had been identified and that police were “making all inquiries to apprehend him and look at the range of offenses.”

“Looking to ID these men is our priority,” she said, branding their behavior as “disgusting.”

A Victoria Police spokesman confirmed to the local outlet that the investigation was still ongoing, and reiterated that the police department “vehemently condemns antisemitic or racially motivated behavior in our society and will not tolerate this kind of activity.”

There was no official comment from the Australian government on the matter.

Australian Jewish groups were quick to condemn the protest and express outrage over the incidents, the Australian Jewish News reported, citing Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Dvir Abramovich, who said that Melbourne “stands firm against this wave of neo-Nazi barbarity.”

“Melbourne will never bow to the jackboots of hate, and we will never allow the echoes of Hitler’s hate to dictate the future of our multicultural, democratic community,” he added.

Times Of Israel

Day 444 — Monday, December 23 

Not only have we witnessed the fall of the Assad regime in less than two weeks, but we have also seen the ruins of Hamas and the destruction of Hezbollah commanders, along with over 80% of its missiles. Billions of dollars spent by the Iranian regime to fund terror with the intent of destroying Israel have literally gone up in smoke. Imagine, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, what could they have done for their own people with all that money?

Of course, Israel wasted no time in destroying Assad’s strategic military capabilities to prevent them from falling into the hands of radical rebels. Israel destroyed chemical weapons sites, Syrian air bases, weapon depots, and weapon production sites. According to the IDF, the airstrikes further eliminated “many long-range projectiles, scud missiles, cruise missiles, coast-to-sea missiles, air defense missiles, fighter jets, helicopters, radars, tanks, hangars and more.”

That is incredible, to say the least. But you may be thinking: What now? Where is this all heading? The more important question is, what does God’s word have to say about what we see today?

In the Bible, it is clear that those who seek to destroy Israel will never succeed, as we have seen proved over millennia. Those who have tried fail again and again. Jeremiah 31:35-36 is a verse I have often quoted in my articles. In this passage, we read, “Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is his name: If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.”

God is also truthful to His promise in Genesis 12:3, where He says: “I will bless them that bless thee [the Jewish people], and curse him that curseth thee…”

Over thousands of years, all those who have tried to destroy Israel and the Jewish people have failed miserably. Why? Because God said that they would not succeed. Instead of launching missiles into Israel, Iran would have been better off having taken its projectiles and that of all their terror proxies and aimed them at the sun, moon, and stars. According to the words God delivered to the prophet Jeremiah, as long as they’re intact, Israel will always exist.

Day 443 — Sunday, December 22

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will reportedly not attend the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz on International Holocaust Remembrance Day next month because of fear that Poland will honor a warrant to arrest him.

The warrant was issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Netanyahu and former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant for supposed war crimes in Gaza. The ICC has no jurisdiction over Israel, and its embattled prosecutor, Karim Khan, who faces claims of sexual misconduct, refused to notify Israel before taking action.

The Times of Israel, citing a Polish media source, reported Friday:

The major event is planned for International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27 and is expected to be attended by dozens of leaders and heads of state, including Britain’s King Charles.

According to Polish outlet Rzeczpospolita, Israeli authorities haven’t contacted their Polish counterparts about attending the event, and officials in Warsaw believe the reason is related to Poland’s stance that it will adhere to the ICC’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu over possible war crimes in the Gaza war.

Relations between Israel and Poland have been tense in recent years, as Poland has pushed back against claims that it was complicit in the Holocaust. Nazi Germany operated many death camps there, and some Poles murdered Jews even after the war had ended. 

Then-President Donald Trump placed sanctions on the ICC to prevent it from investigating the U.S. and its allies at the behest of anti-Western nations. President Joe Biden reversed that policy, enabling the ICC to target Israel — and potentially to investigate American leaders and soldiers.

Breitbart

Day 442 — Saturday, December 21  

Sixteen people were lightly wounded by glass shards early on Saturday morning after a rocket fired from Yemen slammed into the Tel Aviv-Jaffa area, Israel’s emergency medical service, Magen-David Adom, reported.

Prior to the impact, sirens sounded across central Israel at 3:50 a.m. 

MDA also treated 14 others who sustained minor injuries as they made their way to protected areas. The ambulance service additionally treated another seven who suffered from anxiety.

MDA said that ambulances, mobile intensive care units, and medicycle EMTs were dispatched to the scene and that the wounded, all of whom were in stable condition, were evacuated to Wolfson Medical Center in Holon and Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv.

“The scene was complex as the blast impact affected apartments in the nearby buildings,” MDA paramedics Noam Weisbuch and senior EMT Noa Shimony stated.

Later on Saturday morning, Houthi spokesperson Yahya Qasim Sare’e said the Iranian-backed Yemeni terror organization had conducted the attack.

The Houthis claimed to have targeted an IDF military target with a hypersonic ballistic missile. 

Sare’e stated the operation was part of the “promised conquest and the holy jihad.” The spokesperson added that it was also part of the group’s retaliation for Israeli military activity against Yemen.

“The missile force of the Yemeni Armed Forces targeted a military target of the Israeli enemy in the occupied area of Jaffa with a hypersonic ballistic missile, Type Palestine 2,” Sare’e claimed in an English-language statement. “The missile striked [sic] its target accurately and the defense and interception system failed to intercept it.”

The Israel Police said in a statement that it received multiple reports “regarding the fall of weapon fragments in one of the communities in the Tel Aviv District.

Jerusalem Post

Day 442 — Saturday, December 21  

Shots were fired at a Jewish girls’ school in the North York district of Toronto early Friday morning, marking the third such incident at the institution this year, according to Toronto police.

Officers responding to the scene at Bais Chaya Mushka Elementary School discovered evidence of gunfire around 2:30 a.m. local time.

No injuries were reported. The Integrated Gun and Gang Task Force is leading the investigation, with support from the Hate Crime Unit.

This is the third shooting at the school in seven months. In May, two gunmen opened fire at the school on a Saturday morning while it was closed.

In October, two men were arrested following another shooting towards the school which occurred on Yom Kippur.

No one was injured in either of the incidents.

Speaking at a press conference outside the school on Friday, Rabbi Nochum Sosover, the school’s executive director, said the incident left shattered glass and bullet holes in the front door.

“In a short time of seven months, it is the third time our school was targeted by shooter overnight,” said Yaacov Vidal, the school’s principal. “It is very, very hard to be woken up in the middle of the night to such news.”

Vidal expressed concern for the school community, adding, “Students are afraid, staff are afraid. Nobody should be afraid to come to school, nobody should be afraid sending their child to school.” He also acknowledged that some parents chose not to send their children to school despite it remaining open Friday.

Vidal said parents were notified overnight, and alternative locations for Friday classes were considered. Ultimately, the school decided to remain open.

Pierre Poilievre, leader of Canada’s Conservative Party, condemned the incident and criticized the Trudeau government for failing to act against antisemitism.

“Another horrific act of antisemitic violence at a Toronto elementary school for Jewish girls. After 9 years of NDP-Liberals, our people are living in fear, hate and violence are on the rise, and Trudeau does nothing. STEP UP and protect our people!” he wrote on X.

Arutz Sheva

Day 441 — Friday, December 20 

Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon on Wednesday warned that the Iranian ayatollah regime threatens world peace with its acts of global terrorism and ambitions to acquire nuclear weapons. 

“The Islamic regime of Iran is a danger to the entire world. The recent report from the International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran’s nuclear progression, alongside the recent letter from the UK, France and Germany, highlighting Iran’s, and I quote, ‘significant non compliance,‘ were cries for immediate action,” Danon argued.

“This is not about a hypothetical future. The danger is already here, looming on the horizon,” he continued. 

Danon also urged the UN Security Council to implement “crushing” sanctions against Iran’s ability to fund global terrorism. He called for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to be officially designated as a terrorist organization.

The ambassador argued that the international community currently has a chance to “liberate the world from the most corrupt, most violent, most destabilizing regime.”

The IRGC and its elite Quds force have played a central role in building the “ring of fire” against Israel, consisting of Iranian-backed terror proxies, such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, militants in Iraq and Syria, as well as the Houthis in Yemen. 

Danon directly addressed the Iranian people in his UN speech. 

“I am telling the Iranian people, we know the cost of freedom and the courage it demands,” the Israeli ambassador said. He urged freedom-loving Iranians to take back their country.

“Your fight is not just for yourselves but for the millions of lives the regime has destabilized and destroyed. In your hands lie the power to restore the beautiful Iranian nation, to rebuild a land rich in history, culture and resilience,” Danon said, urging Iranians to “take action now.” 

He reminded listeners that the Jewish Maccabee fight for freedom against the powerful Greek Empire will be commemorated in the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah this month

“With a statement to human courage, to the will of a small but determined people who refused to bow to tyranny,” Danon said. 

All Israel News

Day 441 — Friday, December 20 

Shalom from under the missile-less, rocket-free, siren-silenced skies of the Jezreel Valley! What a blessing it is to be able to drive to work in the morning without having to keep one eye on the road and one eye looking up. It’s true, we are not officially at peace. There is still fighting going on in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank. However, for the most part, the action is taking place outside our borders with very few aerial or ground terrorist attacks.

I can’t say that it is back to how it was before the black day of October 7, 2023. It can never again be how it used to be. In some ways we are better off now than we were then. In others, we are worse. One positive is that we have a buffer zone in both the north and the south. No longer can terrorists simply pour over the border. We’ve ensured there are enough cameras, kilometers, and guns to mow down any attempt at a Hamas-style redux coming from Lebanon, Syria, or Gaza. We’ve also decimated the manpower, weaponry (both ground and aerial), and leadership of Hamas and Hezbollah.

Assad, too, is gone from Syria, and we’ve made sure that the massive store of weapons that he left behind is less than usable for any rebel groups who have rushed in to fill the leadership vacuum. It’s true that the Houthis still like to lob a missile at us every now and then just so they can feel relevant, but the sand is quickly running out of their hourglass. Payback is coming soon – in fact, you’ll see in breaking news below, it has already begun. Vengeance is coming to the Houthis and it will destroy once and for all the last bent spoke of Iran’s axis of evil.

All of that helps me to look at this coming season of Hanukkah and Christmas with true hope. With both holidays, we celebrate God’s provision coming at just the right time. Many will unite with their loved ones to rejoice over the birth of the Messiah, while those of us here in Israel will gather together as families to celebrate our festival of lights. But for many of us Israelis, the celebration will be different than it once was.

Think of a child who receives a Hanukkah gift or a Christmas present. There is joy and exuberance. They may shout and dance and maybe even run around the house. With each passing year, however, the celebration calms incrementally. Often, a grandfather’s delight is expressed with a smile, a hug, and a thank you, all from the comfort of his favorite chair. Part of that mellowing is age and maturity. Much of it, though, is life experience. Suffering and struggle often quiet the soul. This Hanukkah, there will be joy, but it will be tempered. As a people, we Israelis have aged over these last 14 months. Our gladness is moderated by both a very deep sorrow at what so many of our people have suffered and a greater perspective which recognizes that we have survived this fire but the global flames of antisemitism still burn.

Don’t get me wrong, there will be laughter and joy in my house as we celebrate. However, we will take time out to remember the hostages, to pray for the families who have lost loved ones, and to ask God’s healing for our soldiers who have been wounded and contentment for those who will spend this Hanukkah away from home. We will beseech the Lord to keep His hand of protection on Israel and we will pray for the peace of Jerusalem. I ask that you join us in these prayers.

Day 440 — Thursday, December 19 

Israel rejected Turkish accusations on Tuesday following Ankara’s condemnation of Israeli military actions in Syria, as Turkey escalates its own operations in the war-torn country. The rising tensions have deepened the rift between the two nations and sparked concerns over regional stability and the fate of U.S.-backed Kurdish forces fighting ISIS.

On Monday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry criticized Israel for expanding settlements in the Golan Heights, calling it part of Israel’s “expansion of borders through occupation.” Turkey urged Israel to comply with the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, which established a cease-fire between Israel and Syria.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the agreement void, arguing it no longer applied after forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad abandoned their positions on the Syrian side during the country’s civil war. Netanyahu has described the Golan Heights as a vital security buffer and integral to Israel’s defense strategy against Iran and Hezbollah, which operate in Syria.

On Tuesday, Israel’s Foreign Ministry issued a response on X. “Turkey has systematically encroached on Syrian territory… Approximately 15% of Syria’s territory is under Turkish-backed control. In these areas, the Turkish currency is in use, and Turkish bank branches and postal services have been operating.

“Furthermore, the Turkish military bombards infrastructure in the northeastern autonomous region of Syria using aircraft and UAVs. Turkey supports jihadist forces that operate against Kurds in Syria. The last country that can speak about occupation in Syria is Turkey… There is no justification for Turkish aggression and violence against Kurds in Syria!”

As Turkey deepens its presence in Syria, analysts warn that clashes with Israel could become unavoidable. Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak of Tel Aviv University’s Moshe Dayan Center drew parallels to Turkey’s interventions in Libya and Azerbaijan. “If Turkish forces move into proximity with Israeli operations or allies, the risk of unintended confrontations will rise dramatically,” he told TPS-IL news agency.

Yanarocak warned of growing risks. “The skies are the limit for how far this situation could deteriorate,” he said. “It’s time to pay attention.”

Fox News

Day 440 — Thursday, December 19 

The Israeli Air Force struck Houthi targets in Yemen overnight Wednesday, after intercepting a missile over central Israel fired by the Iranian-backed terror group.

A school in the Ramat Efal neighborhood of Ramat Gan, just east of Tel Aviv, suffered severe damage when interceptor shrapnel hit it. According to the mayor, the impact caused a partial collapse of the central building, prompting the cancellation of classes for the day. No injuries were reported.

According to the IDF, the IAF strikes were carried out in two waves by 14 fighter jets, refuelers, and spy planes.

The jets were already en route to Yemen when the Houthis launched the ballistic missile at around 2:35 a.m. The first wave of strikes occurred at 3:15 a.m., targeting the Ras Isa oil terminal on the Red Sea as well as the Hodeidah and Salif ports. Eight tugboats, used for guiding ships into the ports, were also destroyed.

At 4:30 a.m., the second wave targeted the Yemeni capital of Sana’a, hitting two power stations, the Haziz and D’Habban, according to reports in Yemen.

Houthi-affiliated media reported casualties.

“Over the past year, the Houthi terrorist regime has been operating with the direction and funding of Iran, and in cooperation with Iraqi militias, in order to attack the State of Israel and Israeli civilians,” the IDF stated following the strikes.

“The conducted strikes degrade the Houthi terrorist regime, preventing it from exploiting the targets for military and terrorist purposes, including the smuggling of Iranian weapons to the region,” the statement continued. “The IDF is determined to continue operating against all threats posed to the citizens of the State of Israel, wherever necessary.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Houthi leaders after the overnight operation that “the long arm of Israel will reach you. Whoever raises a hand [against us] will have it severed. Whoever harms [us], will be harmed many times over.”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog commended the IAF operation in an X post on Thursday morning.

“In the last few hours, we have seen the tremendous ability and bravery of the Israeli Air Force, defending our people against an attack by the Iranian terrorist proxy, the Houthis in Yemen, and striking them with powerful force,” Herzog wrote.

“I thank each of the brave servicemen and women of the Israeli Air Force and the IDF for defending our people from terrorists who seek to terrorize Israel and the Middle East,” he added.

On Monday, a Houthi missile triggered air-raid sirens in the greater Tel Aviv area. Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency response group said it had treated five people who were lightly injured while running for cover.

Earlier on Monday, an Israeli Navy ship intercepted a Houthi drone over the Red Sea before it crossed into Israeli territory.

JNS

Day 439 — Wednesday, December 18 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited on Tuesday the summit of Mt. Hermon located on the Syrian side of the border. This area was captured by Israeli troops last week as part of an operation to secure the buffer zone after the fall of the Assad regime.

“We will stay in this important place until another arrangement is found that ensures Israel’s security,” Netanyahu declared.

The prime minister was accompanied by Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi, Head of the IDF Northern Command Maj.-Gen. Ori Gordin, Shin Bet director Ronen Bar, and other officers.

They held a situation assessment “in light of the fact that events in Syria are occurring at a dizzying pace and the consequences could be far-reaching,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.

Netanyahu “received an updated operational briefing from the commanders in the field and issued directives on the continued deployment of the IDF. He commended the IDF operations in the area, and the regular and reservist fighters for organizing quickly and for the sharp and professional implementation.”

The IDF had quickly taken over the demilitarized zone along the Golan Heights frontier with Syria, as well as strategic positions outside of it, after the posts were abandoned by the soldiers of the Syrian army upon the collapse of the Assad regime, almost two weeks ago.

“The collapse of the Syrian regime created a vacuum on Israel’s border and in the buffer zone established by the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement,” the PMO has stated. “This deployment is temporary until a force that is committed to the 1974 agreement can be established and security on our border can be guaranteed.”

Netanyahu declared on Tuesday that the meeting on Mt. Hermon was meant “to decide on the deployment of the IDF in this important place until another arrangement is found that ensures Israel’s security.”

“This is nostalgic for me,” Netanyahu continued. “I was here 53 years ago with my soldiers in the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit. The place has not changed. It is the same place but its importance for the security of Israel has only been underscored in recent years, and especially in recent weeks with the dramatic events that have occurred below us in Syria.”

“We will determine the best arrangement that will ensure our security,” the prime minister emphasized.

In a separate statement, Katz stressed the strategic importance of the summit, dubbing it “the eyes of the State of Israel, to identify threats near and far.”

“The IDF is here to protect the Golan Heights communities and the citizens of Israel from any threat, from the most important place where it can be done. I instructed the IDF to quickly complete the establishment of the area – including the construction of fortifications and defensive measures and the regulation of the soldiers’ conditions – in order to fully prepare for the possibility of a prolonged stay there.”

The IDF recently announced it would prepare insulated shelters, winter gear, and other essential equipment for the troops stationed on the peak of the Hermon Mountain range, which is expected to receive heavy snowfall soon as the winter months approach.

All Israel News 

Day 438 — Tuesday, December 17 

Defense Minister Israel Katz says Israel will continue to rule over Gaza militarily after the war.

“Once we defeat Hamas’s military power and ruling power in Gaza, Israel will control security in Gaza with full freedom to act, just as in Judea and Samaria,” he says, in reference to the West Bank.

“We will not allow any terrorist activity against Israeli communities and citizens from Gaza. We will not allow a return to the pre-October 7 reality.”

Times Of Israel

Day 438 — Tuesday, December 17 

A Columbia University professor who called Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel “awesome” will be teaching an upcoming course on Zionism at the Ivy League school. 

The class led by Joseph Massad will cover the “History of the Jewish Enlightenment (Haskala) in 19th century Europe and the development of Zionism through the current peace process between the state of Israel and the Arab states and the Palestinian national movement,” according to a description on Columbia’s website. 

The day after Hamas launched its bloody attack on Israel, Massad posted a column on the website The Electronic Intifada, saying, “The sight of the Palestinian resistance fighters storming Israeli checkpoints separating Gaza from Israel was astounding, not only to the Israelis but especially to the Palestinian and Arab peoples who came out across the region to march in support of the Palestinians in their battle against their cruel colonizers.” 

“No less awesome were the scenes witnessed by millions of jubilant Arabs who spent the day watching the news, of Palestinian fighters from Gaza breaking through Israel’s prison fence or gliding over it by air,” he added. 

Columbia University and Massad did not immediately respond to requests for comment by Fox News Digital. 

Rep. Ritchie Torres, a staunch ally of Israel in Congress, criticized the class on X, saying, “Why should U.S. taxpayers subsidize ideological indoctrination that glorifies the mass murder, maiming, mutilation, rape, and abduction of Jews and Israelis?” 

“Joseph Massad, who is an apologist for October 7th (calling it “astounding” and “incredible”), is going to teach a course on Zionism at Columbia University. What’s next at Columbia? [Former Ku Klux Klan leader] David Duke teaching a course on antiracism.” 

Columbia international and public affairs adjunct professor Lawrence Rosenblatt reportedly has resigned because of the class. 

Fox News

Day 438 — Tuesday, December 17 

A bill proposing a change in the policy regarding the entry of Israelis into the Gaza Strip was submitted to the Knesset on Monday.

According to the proposal, the current restriction in the Disengagement Law that prohibits Israeli citizens from entering Gaza would be repealed.

In explaining the bill, MK Avichay Buaron (Likud), who submitted the proposal, stated, “The entry ban is reminiscent of dark periods in Jewish history.”

The proposal further states, “The war against fundamentalist Islam in Gaza must end with the loss of its control over the land. This is the most painful price for them, and it must be the outcome.”

“Therefore, one of the first steps the Knesset must take today is to erase the disgraceful stain of a ‘zone forbidden to Jews’ from Israel’s legal code regarding the Gaza Strip, just as it did for northern Samaria, and allow full freedom of presence and movement in Gaza, as in all parts of the Land of Israel.”

The bill seeks to stipulate that the provisions prohibiting Israeli entry would no longer apply to the Gaza Strip.

Identical bills have previously been submitted to the Knesset by MK Amit Halevi and MK Limor Son Har-Melech.

Arutz Sheva

Day 438 — Tuesday, December 17 

It was a bit of an eventful weekend—surprise, surprise—in Syria once again. If you thought Israel was through with destroying Bashar al-Assad’s military assets, preventing them from falling into the hands of Islamic jihadists who have overrun the country… think again. Before I detail the latest Israeli strike, which caused an explosion so enormous that it registered on the Richter scale, let me set the scene.

In the past week, Israel has carried out over 300 air strikes in Syria, taking out everything from chemical weapon stockpiles to Syria’s Air Force and Naval Fleet.

Many may argue that Syria’s military wasn’t much to begin with, being filled with outdated equipment. They would be right. However, that does not mean that these weapons, equipment, and fighter jets did not have the capability to hurt not only Israel but the people of Syria. There is always the possibility that the jihadis would use those fighter jets to target their own people. Perhaps the Christians, Kurds, Drews, and the more moderate Muslims in that country would have been in the jihadis crosshairs.

Israel did Syria a favor, it did itself a favor, and it did the world a favor by destroying approximately 80% of Syria’s military machine that was built up over decades by Bashar al-Assad with help from Iran, Russia, and others.

On December 7th, when the jihadis overran Damascus, it was a whole new day in Syria—for better or for worse. Bashar al-Assad fled Syria to Russia, where he’s now living in exile and has been granted Asylum. That is when the IDF began wisely, preemptively, and swiftly hammering the Syrian military arsenal, including missile stockpiles of the Iranian regime.

On Saturday, Mohammed al-Jolani, the head of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is the main Jihadi group that’s taken over in Syria, said to Israel that now there are “no more excuses to carry out airstrikes in Syria.”
Al-Jolani privately is none too pleased that that arsenal has been eliminated. I’m sure he would have loved to have had his claws on it and used it to advance his Jihadi cause, not only to try to conquer all of Syria but perhaps cross the border, flooding into Lebanon, Iraq, or beyond. He has a lot less weaponry with which he can do that now, thanks to Israel.

Israel is treating it this way: Assad was the devil we did know, and the jihadis are the devil we don’t know. Before Israel has an ISIS-style caliphate take root in Syria, it’s probably not a good idea for the jihadis to get their hands on chemical weapons and a fleet of fighter jets.

Despite al-Jolani’s threat on Saturday, Israel continued on Sunday with a massive barrage against targets in Syria near the Mediterranean coast. Israel used what is being called by major media outlets globally an “earthquake bomb.” Whether its first use by Israel was on Sunday or possibly previously in Beirut, this was at least the first public unveiling. It registered on the Richter scale and caused a significant mushroom cloud—that’s how massive this “earthquake bomb” was.

These were the heaviest air strikes carried out in the region in 12 Years. 2012 was the last time we saw explosions this large in scope. That’s saying something.

Day 437 — Monday, December 16

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu published a statement on Sunday in which he recounted his conversation with US President-elect Donald Trump and detailed the challenges facing Israel.

“I spoke again yesterday with my friend, US President-elect Donald Trump. It was a very friendly conversation, very warm, and very important. We spoke about the need to complete Israel’s victory and we spoke a lot about our efforts to free the hostages. We are constantly continuing to work tirelessly to bring the hostages home, both the living and the deceased. And I add, the less we talk about it the better, and that way, with God’s help, we will also win,” Netanyahu stated.

Regarding the security situation on Israel’s various borders, Netanyahu stated: “A year ago I said something simple: We will change the Middle East, and we are indeed changing it. Syria is not the same Syria, Lebanon is not the same Lebanon, Gaza is not the same Gaza, and the head of the axis – Iran – is not the same Iran. It also felt the might of our arms.

“We are working forcefully and thoughtfully to achieve security against all countries in the region and to bring stability and security to all our borders. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t challenges ahead, there certainly are. Both against Iran, its bleeding proxies, and all other potential threats, since the reality is dynamic, it changes quickly.”

He mentioned Israel’s activities in Syria. “We have no interest in a confrontation with Syria. We will decide Israel’s policies on Syria based on the reality on the ground. I remind you that for decades Syria was an actively hostile state to Israel. It attacked us again and again, it allowed others to attack us from its territory, and it allowed Iran to arm Hezbollah from its territory.

“To make sure that what was won’t be again, we conducted a series of strong actions in recent days. Together with Defense Minister Katz, I instructed the IDF to eliminate the potential threats from Syria and to prevent terrorist entities from taking control near our borders. Within a few days, we destroyed the capabilities that the Assad regime built over decades. We did this to make sure that dangerous weapons wouldn’t be pointed at us again from Syrian soil. We also struck the weapon supply lines from Syria to Hezbollah. Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem said this yesterday outright: ‘Hezbollah lost its military supply line through Syria.’ This of course is additional evidence of our strong blow to the Iranian axis as a whole.”

“I wish to clarify and warn: we must prevent the re-arming of Hezbollah. This is Israel’s ongoing test, we must succeed. I tell Hezbollah and Iran unequivocally: to prevent you from harming us, we will continue to act against you as much as needed, on every front and at all times.”

Arutz Sheva

Day 437 — Monday, December 16

Israel filed two appeals on Friday against the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant.

The appeals, filed by Dr. Gilad Noam from the Attorney General’s Office, focused on what Israel argued were serious procedural deficiencies in the decision by ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan to seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant.

The first appeal addressed Israel’s contention that Khan should have provided new notification of his investigation into the allegations regarding the prosecution of the war in Gaza following Hamas’s October 7 invasion and massacre. He instead relied on notification issued in 2021 of an investigation the court had initiated at the time.

The second appeal dealt with Israel’s claim that the ICC lacks jurisdiction over Israelis.

The ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant on November 21 on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the war in Gaza.

The allegations related in particular to charges that the two leaders had committed the war crimes of directing attacks against the civilian population of Gaza and of using starvation as a method of warfare by hindering the supply of international aid to Gaza. Israel has strongly rejected the substance of the allegations, insisting that it has funneled massive amounts of humanitarian aid through the crossings along the Gaza border, and that any problems with the distribution of that aid to the Palestinian civilian population are a result of inefficient operations by the aid organizations on the ground, difficulties arising from the ongoing conflict in the territory, and the looting of aid by Hamas and other terrorist organizations.

Israel has also rejected allegations that it targets civilians, insisting that civilian casualties caused by the operation have resulted in large part due to Hamas’s tactic of embedding its fighters and installations within Gaza’s civilian infrastructure.

Times Of Israel

Day 436 — Sunday, December 15

In his first official comments on the Israeli actions in Syria in recent days, the leader of the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group which expelled the Assad regime, Ahmad al-Shara, said he doesn’t want to get dragged into additional conflicts.

Al-Shara, better known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, told a Syrian TV channel that now that Iranian forces had left Syria, Israel has “no more excuses to carry out airstrikes in Syria.”

Al-Shara emphasized Syria would not be dragged into additional conflicts that may lead to further destruction, vowing instead to focus on rebuilding the country after over a decade of civil war.

“We are not about to enter into a conflict with Israel. Israel intended to invade Syria because of the Iranian presence there – but now it doesn’t need to,” he said.

“What happened in Syria is a victory over the Iranian project which is dangerous for the entire region,” he said, adding that HTS was “able to end the Iranian presence in Syria, but we are not enemies of the Iranian people.”

The comments were the first time al-Shara had directly commented on Israeli actions in the past few days. In addition to the airstrikes, IDF troops also captured the demilitarized zone along the Golan Heights frontier, as well as several strategic points to the east of the zone, within sovereign Syrian territory.

Following al-Shara’s comments, the IDF released a statement by IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi.

Without directly referencing al-Shara, Halevi stressed: “We do not interfere in what is happening in Syria and we have no intention of running Syria. We do absolutely intervene in what determines the security of the citizens of Israel, and we advanced to prevent terrorist elements from entrenching themselves close to our border.”

Meanwhile, Hezbollah’s leader Naim Qassem on Saturday for the first time commented on the fall of the Assad regime, for whom its troops were among the most important pillars propping up the regime over the past decade, together with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and its other proxy militias.

Qassem now claimed that his group had only supported the Assad regime to help “strengthen the capacities of the resistance across its territory towards Lebanon and Palestine.”

He expressed his hope that the new Syrian government would not normalize relations with Israel. “We can only judge the new forces when they take clear positions and the situation normalizes in Syria,” he said.

Qassem also acknowledged that “Hezbollah has lost the military supply route through Syria, but he said that this is a small detail that can change over time. This route can be restored with the new regime, just as we can find new ways.”

All Israel News 

Day 435 — Saturday, December 14 

Dutch populist leader Geert Wilders was presented with an award by the legislature of Israel during his solidarity-showing visit over its fight against radical Islam.

Speaker of the Knesset Amir Ohana awarded the the Jabotinsky Prize for Liberty to Dutch MP Geert Wilders this week as the Party for Freedom (PVV) leader toured Israel, where he held  diplomatic meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, and members of the Israeli cabinet.

“This award is a fitting tribute to a man who, for so long, embodied Jabotinsky’s courage and conviction. He has confronted the lies propagated by institutions like the ICC [International Criminal Court], which distort justice and reward terror. In America, we are seeing President Trump assemble a dream team. Geert brings that same optimism to Europe, where it is needed even more,” Speaker Ohana said of the main power behind the government of The Netherlands.

Wilders, a leading critic of radical Islam, has long been a staunch supporter of the Jewish state, having volunteered for a year in the West Bank during his youth. During his diplomatic mission to the country this week, Wilders continued to advocate for Israel’s rightful control of the West Bank, describing the Jordan Valley settlements in Judea and Samaria as Israel’s “bulletproof vest” without which it would cease to exist as a country.

Upon receiving the award from the Knesset, Wilders said: “This is not the time to be silent, but to stand up and support Israel. After the October 7, 2023 massacre, where 1,200 innocent Jewish lives were lost, the world was shocked, but as so often, unfortunately, only for a short time, after which too many countries, politicians and institutions like the UN and the ICC started bashing Israel for rightfully defending itself and its people against an existential threat.”

Wilders said that his mission to Israel was intended to show his “full and never-ending support” against the “evil powers” of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The PVV leader lamented that alongside the hatred of Jews by radical Islamists, the anti-Israel sentiment is being driven by the “self-hatred of woke Westerners who no longer believe in fighting for the truth.”

The Dutch populist reiterated his warning that should Israel fall in its battle, the “West will be next” and therefore wished to demonstrate by his journey to Israel that there are still “political leaders in Europe that are not afraid to come here and say out loud, here and in Europe, very clear, that we will never, ever abandon you and we’ll be always at your side.”

In October, writing exclusively for Breitbart London, Mr Wilders argued that European patriots should stand by Israel, hailing the country as a model for Western nations to follow to preserve their own national identities.

“What we need today is Zionism for the nations of Europe. The Europeans should follow the example of the Jewish people and safeguard the sovereignty of their nation-states,” the populist leader wrote.

Wilders said that while globalist elites in Europe have sought to dismantle their own nation states in favour of a “supranational institution” in the EU, “the Jewish nation proudly reasserted itself as a sovereign nation-state and vigourously defended its borders.”

This, Wilders argued, was the principal reason why the Western left despises the state of Israel, as it serves as a “beacon for nations striving to maintain their national identity.”

Breitbart

Day 435 — Saturday, December 14 

After incoming National Security Advisor Mike Waltz vowed that the next U.S. administration would reinstate the maximum pressure policy on the Iranian regime, The Wall Street Journal on Thursday reported that pre-emptive strikes on the regime’s nuclear facilities are also being weighed by President-elect Donald Trump.

According to the report, the transition team is weighing several options for how to deal with the regime, which reportedly tried to assassinate Trump and, in recent months, has sharply increased its stockpile of fissile material.

A member of the transition team said the United States must take more action against Iran, which “is actively trying to kill President Trump.”

“That certainly influences everybody’s thinking when it comes to what the relationship is out the gate,” the source added.

A report from the Office of the U.S. Director of National Intelligence (DNI) recently warned that “Iran now has enough fissile material to make more than a dozen nuclear weapons,” but has not yet decided to proceed.

Despite Trump’s aversion to starting new wars and his stated desire to reduce U.S. troops stationed in the Middle East, the WSJ said a military option to prevent Iran from building a nuclear bomb has received more serious consideration in recent weeks.

The regime lost several of its terror proxies over the past months, as Israel has nearly destroyed Hamas in Gaza, decapitated Hezbollah in Lebanon, and seen the Assad regime in Syria collapse under the pressure of a rebel onslaught.

When asked about the possibility of war with Iran, Trump said that “anything can happen” during an interview with Time that was published on Thursday. “It’s a very volatile situation,” he added.

While Trump reportedly considered a pre-emptive strike on Iranian nuclear facilities at the end of his previous term, the regime is now weaker than it has been in decades, presenting an opportunity for the president-elect to take dramatic action at the start of his second term, which begins on Jan. 20, 2025.

“If you were going to actually do something to neutralize the nuclear-weapons program, this would be it,” Mark Dubowitz, chief executive of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), told WSJ.

The newspaper cited four people familiar with the transition team’s plans, who said that two broad options are currently under discussion.

The first strategy envisions a massive ramping up of military pressure with the deployment of additional American forces to the region. This could include the sale of advanced bunker-buster bombs to Israel, enabling it to target fortified nuclear facilities without direct U.S. involvement. 

The second option is a combined approach, using the threat of military strikes alongside new sanctions, aiming to pressure Iran into accepting a diplomatic solution.

“You’re going to see a huge shift on Iran,” Trump’s incoming national security advisor, Waltz, said.

Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he and Trump had spoken three times on the phone and emphasized that they were seeing “eye-to-eye on the Iranian threat in all its aspects, and on the dangers they reflect. We also see the great opportunities facing Israel, in the area of peace and its expansion, and in other areas.”

All Israel News

Day 434 — Friday, December 13 

Defense Minister Israel Katz has ordered the IDF to prepare for an extended stay in the conquered Syrian Hermon region, due to the instability in Syria.

The instruction follows a Thursday security assessment led by Katz and including IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and additional commanders.
Under the new orders, the IDF will remain in Syria throughout the winter months.

However, due to the inclement weather, the IDF will need to set up appropriate facilities and make special preparations for the soldiers’ stay in the area.

Katz stressed, “Due to what is happening in Syria, there is enormous security importance in our hold on the summit of the Hermon, and we must do everything in order to ensure the IDF’s preparedness in the area, so as to allow the soldiers to remain in the area even in inclement weather conditions.”

Arutz Sheva

Day 434 — Friday, December 13 

The University of Michigan has fired an administrator after she was accused of saying that Jewish students should not benefit from diversity programs as they are “wealthy and privileged,” according to documents obtained by the New York Times on Thursday.

The administrator, Rachel Dawson, formerly worked as director of UoM’s office of academic multicultural initiatives.

According to the documents and her lawyer, the firing comes on the back of alleged comments made at a conference in March, in which she claimed the university was “controlled by wealthy Jews.”

Dawson also said that “Jewish people have no genetic DNA that would connect them to the land of Israel,” according to the documents, which formed part of a complaint from the Anti-Defamation League of Michigan. 

At the March conference, two Jewish professors, including Naomi Yavneh Klos of Loyola University New Orleans, approached Dawson as they were curious about the university’s approach to Jewish students.

The other professor asked Dawson if the DEI office works with Jewish students, to which Dawson reportedly said that it did not, as “Jewish students are all rich.” The professors then filed a report with ADL.

ADL Michigan sent a letter to the university in August with the claims, and the university subsequently hired a law firm, Covington & Burling, to investigate.

While Covington & Burling said it was “not possible to determine with certainty whether Ms. Dawson made the exact remarks” due to the lack of recording or witness other than those who reported it, the conclusion was that the “weight of the available evidence supports ADL Michigan’s report.”

Jerusalem Post

Day 434 — Friday, December 13 

I’ve had many people ask me if this is a fulfillment of Isaiah 17:1, which says that Damascus must be destroyed. It is not. Assad’s regime was destroyed. Damascus is still standing.

The north is now back open for Israeli citizens to move home. Not all are ready to do so, but they can if they want. If you had told me a few months ago that by December both Hamas and Hezbollah would be gone, I would have told you that you were dreaming. But this is what we see. Both terrorist groups are decimated to the point of being non-threats. That doesn’t mean Israel will give up hunting down threats. It’s just that we no longer have to worry about an invasion from the north or the south.

Israel is in a very strong place right now. Netanyahu has done what he said he would do; he has brought safety back to Israel. Many doubted him and many still do, but he has proved his mettle and will go down in history as one of the greatest Israeli leaders of all time.

We are also in a great place because of the U.S. elections. Many in the incoming Trump administration are more Zionist than even some in our government. With our united front, Iran should be quaking in their boots. We’ve already seen the Iranian axis fall; next we’ll see their nuclear program collapse. It also looks very good for Israel in the Middle East. With the incoming Trump presidency, I see both the Saudis and the Indonesians quickly lining up for normalization with Israel under the Abraham accords.

With the collapse of Iran’s axis, Hamas has been left hanging. With prayer and strong negotiations, I believe we could see a hostage deal soon. Trump has already made it clear that the U.S. will step in to see the hostages returned quickly. Already, Israel’s Defense Minister Katz and America’s Secretary of Defense Austin are talking about the negotiations with Hamas.

The terrorists counted on two things: the public outcry for the hostages would overcome the government and Netanyahu would be forced to back down. Neither happened. Hopefully, individual Hamas members will give in to temptation and take the proffered $5 million for every hostage returned. Then they can slip away scot-free to enjoy their boon, at least until they get a secret visit from the Mossad.

These times are historic. Ever since October 7, we’ve constantly reminded ourselves “…but God is still on the throne.” This past week, He reminded us that He was there all along working and maneuvering. Then, when the timing was right – Bam! – He stepped in and did something marvelous before our eyes. He truly is the almighty God who proves over and over that He will never neglect to take care of His children.

Day 433 — Thursday, December 12 

A young boy was fatally shot and several people were wounded in a terror attack targeting a Jerusalem-bound bus in the West Bank (Judea And Samaria) late Wednesday night.

The 10-year-old child was brought in critical condition to Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem in nearby Jerusalem, where doctors declared his death early Thursday following intensive efforts to save him.

He was later named as Yehoshua Aharon Tuvia Simha of the Beitar Illit settlement — from where the bus had departed.

Three others were hurt in the shooting: a woman who suffered moderate wounds and two other people who were lightly hurt.

The bus was shot up by the gunman at a junction by the Palestinian town of al-Khader, the Israel Defense Forces said, before proceeding with the wounded to the Tunnels Checkpoint.

The Palestinian terrorist turned himself in, Israeli defense authorities said on Thursday morning.

The IDF, Shin Bet, and police said he did so amid their “exertion of military pressure in the area” — including by encircling Bethlehem.

He was named as Ezz Aldin Malluh from the town of Beit Awwa near Hebron.

He initially tried to turn himself in at a Palestinian Authority police station in the area, where his weapon was taken from him but he was refused entry.

Times Of Israel

Day 433 — Thursday, December 12 

Amnesty Australia awarded its Human Rights Defender Award on Wednesday to three self-proclaimed “journalists” from the Gaza Strip, two of whom are members of recognized terror groups proscribed by Canberra.

Anas Al-Sharif, Bisan Owda and Plestia Alaqad were honored alongside “all the journalists in Gaza” for their “extraordinary resilience, bravery and courage,” Amnesty Australia said in a statement on social media.

In October, the Israel Defense Forces identified an Al Jazeera reporter by the name of Anas Al-Sharif as a Hamas terrorist operative. According to the military, al-Sharif was the head of a rocket-launching squad and a member of the Nukhba Force, which led the Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

During the attacks, in which 1,200 people were murdered, he wrote on his Telegram account, “Nine hours and the heroes are still roaming the country, killing and capturing. Allah, how great you are.”

Al-Sharif has been pictured with Mahmoud al-Zahar, a founder of the Hamas terrorist organization; Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind behind the Oct. 7 assault, who was eliminated by the Israel Defense Forces in October; and senior “political” official Fathi Hammad, who in 2021 urged Arabs to “cut off the heads of the Jews.”

Bisan Owda, described by Amnesty as a “Palestinian journalist, activist and filmmaker,” is reportedly an active member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which participated in the Oct. 7 atrocities, and which Australia designated a terror group some two decades ago.

In 2015 and 2016, Owda is said to have led celebrations in the Strip for the group’s founding anniversary, appearing in full PFLP military garb.

In the aftermath of Oct. 7, Owda reportedly wrote on her social-media accounts, “For every action, there is a reaction. This means: What was expected after 75 years of occupation and 17 years of siege?”

Alaqad, an “aspiring journalist” who has been featured in various outlets since Oct. 7, including The Washington Post and The Guardian, has been known to spread pro-Hamas propaganda and anti-Israel libels.

According to the HonestReporting watchdog group, Alaqad on Oct. 17, 2023, claimed the IDF committed a “massacre” of 1,000 Palestinians at Gaza’s Al-Ahli Hospital. In reality, the explosion in the hospital’s parking lot was found to have been caused by an errant rocket from Gaza. A European official told AFP that 10 to 50 people had died in the blast.

On Dec. 5, Amnesty International released a report titled “You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza.”

The 296-page file accused Israel of “prohibited acts under the Genocide Convention—namely killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm and deliberately inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction in whole or in part.”

The Israeli branch of Amnesty immediately and publicly rejected the claims that the Jewish state is perpetrating genocide in the Gaza Strip.

“Our careful analysis does not find that the findings meet the definition of genocide, as carefully formulated in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,” wrote the Israeli NGO, which is legally independent of Amnesty London headquarters.

In 2022, Amnesty called Jerusalem’s treatment of Palestinian Arabs “apartheid,” a conclusion that staff members of Amnesty Israel called “problematic,” “flawed” and at risk of producing “an adverse effect.”

JNS

Day 432 — Wednesday, December 11 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel is destroying what is left of the Syrian military just as the British destroyed the fleet of the defeated Vichy regime in France so the Nazis could not use it.

As Breitbart News reported earlier Tuesday, Israel has conducted hundreds of airstrikes in Syria since dictator Bashar al-Assad was ousted by rebels on Sunday. Israel wants to ensure heavy weaponry, and chemical weapons, do not fall into the rebels’ hands. It has destroyed aircraft, ships, missiles, air defenses, and a variety of other heavy weapons.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) described the operations that had been undertaken (original emphasis):

Within the last 48 hours, the IDF struck most of the strategic weapons stockpiles in Syria, preventing them from falling into the hands of terrorist elements.

Naval Operations: Last night (Monday), Israeli Navy missile ships struck two Syrian Navy facilities simultaneously: the Al-Bayda port and the Latakia port, where 15 Syrian naval vessels were docked.

Targets: Dozens of sea-to-sea missiles with ranges of 80–190 kilometers were destroyed. Each missile carried significant explosive payloads, posing threats to civilian and military maritime vessels in the area.

Hours in the Sky: Manned aircraft flew hundreds of hours over Syrian airspace, conducting over 350 aerial strikes together with fighter jets.

Targets Struck: A wide range of targets were struck, including anti-aircraft batteries, Syrian Air Force airfields, and dozens of weapons production sites in Damascus, Homs, Tartus, Latakia, and Palmyra. 

Assets Neutralized: Numerous strategic weapons were neutralized, including Scud missiles, cruise missiles, surface-to-sea, surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles, UAVs, fighter jets, attack helicopters, radars, tanks, hangars, and more.

Ground Operations: The Northern Command’s Fire Control Center conducted air strikes on 130 assets in Syria, including weapons depots, military structures, launchers, and firing positions.

In his own statement, Netanyahu said (translated from Hebrew by the Government Press Office):

We have no intention of interfering in Syria’s internal affairs; however, we do intend to do what is necessary for our security.

As such, I approved the Air Force bombing of strategic military capabilities left by the Syrian military so that they will not fall into the hands of the jihadists.

This is similar to what the British Air Force did when it bombed the fleet of the Vichy regime, which was cooperating with the Nazis, so that it would not fall into the Nazis’ hands.

We want to have relations with the new regime in Syria but if this regime allows Iran to re-establish itself in Syria, or allows the transfer of Iranian weapons, or weapons of any kind, to Hezbollah, or attacks us – we will respond forcefully and we will exact a heavy price.

What happened to the previous regime will also happen to this one.

Breitbart

Day 431 — Tuesday, December 10 

The Israel Defense Forces has conducted 300 strikes in Syria since Sunday’s ouster of Bashar Assad, Israeli media reported on Tuesday, marking the heaviest air campaign in the country since the 1972 Yom Kippur War.

Israel’s Ynet news outlet cited Western intelligence sources late Monday night as confirming the figure, saying that the aerial assault is mainly targeting air force bases, including entire squadrons of fighter jets.

It is believed that the Syrian Air Force could be destroyed in its entirety “within a few days,” Ynet noted, which would substantially reduce the threat posed to the Jewish state by the incoming Syrian government.

The last time Israel destroyed an entire air force was in 1967, when the Egyptian Air Force was wiped out in the first hours of the Six-Day War.

Local security sources told Reuters on Monday that the Israeli Air Force had attacked at least three army bases that housed dozens of helicopters and jets in the largest wave of strikes on the Syrian Air Force since Assad was toppled.

JNS

Day 431 — Tuesday, December 10 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told journalists on Monday evening local time that Israel had destroyed in 14 months what it had taken Iran 45 years to build: a network of terrorist groups on the borders of the Jewish state.

Netanyahu was speaking in the aftermath of the sudden defeat of the Syrian regime by rebel forces, who moved with lightning speed to Damascus in the wake of Israel’s success in a war of self-defense against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Iran had armed and funded Hezbollah, using the force not only to threaten and attack Israel, but also to dominate Lebanese politics, and to serve as the shock troops of the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad against Sunni militias.

Iran also controlled Hamas, which was originally a Sunni group but came to rely on the Shiite regime for weapons, arms, training, and other forms of support.

Israel has decimated Hezbollah and largely destroyed Hamas in Gaza.
Iran still has proxy militias in Iraq that fire missiles and drones sporadically at Israel, and it also controls the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who hit Israel with a drone on Monday. Iran is also smuggling weapons to terrorists in Judea and Samaria, otherwise known as the West Bank, in an effort to destabilize the Palestinian Authority as well as Israel.

Netanyahu spoke of a new beginning in the Middle East, and reiterated that he wanted good relations with Syria. In the interim, he confirmed, Israeli forces would operate in the formerly demilitarized zone between Israel and Syria, as well as on the peak of Mount Hermon, the highest mountain in the region, which was formerly a Syrian military site.

He stressed the strategic importance of the Golan Heights, which are a crucial buffer between the chaos in Syria and the Israeli heartland. He reminded the press that he had urged U.S. President Donald Trump to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the territory, which Israel took from Syria in the defensive war of 1967, after nearly two decades in which Syrians had been able to use the Heights to shell Israeli farms and communities in the Galilee valley below.

The Israeli prime minister also emphasized the suffering of the 100 hostages still in Hamas captivity in Gaza, and said that the collapse of Iran’s terrorist proxies, as well as Iran’s own weakness, would push Hamas towards making a deal.

Breitbart

Day 431 — Tuesday, December 10 

While millions of Christians worldwide prepare to celebrate Christmas this month, the Vatican has sparked debate with a revisionist addition to its annual nativity display in St. Peter’s Square. Unveiled on Saturday, the scene features a depiction of baby Jesus adorned in a keffiyeh, a traditional Middle Eastern headdress often associated with Palestinian identity.

“Nativity of Bethlehem 2024,” the politicized exhibition, was designed by Fatem Nastas Mitwasi and Johny Andonia, two artists from Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Jesus, which is currently under Palestinian Authority (PA) control.

Pope Francis who attended the ceremony said that the keffiyeh-clad baby Jesus should remind the world of those who “suffer the tragedy of war in the Holy Land and other parts of the world.”

“Enough with wars, enough of violence!” the Pope stated while condemning the military industry “that thrives on war and death.”

The ongoing war in Gaza began on Oct. 7 of last year, when the Hamas terrorist group invaded and massacred 1,200 Israeli men, women and children. The terrorists also kidnapped 251 Israelis and foreign nationals into Gaza, at least 95 of whom remain in Gaza after more than a year of captivity.

Since the 1960s, the keffiyeh has become a symbol of “Palestinian resistance” for many. At the same time, many Jews and Israelis associate the keffiyeh with decades of Arab and Islamic-driven acts of terrorism against Israel and the Jewish people.

Palestinian Authority propaganda has for years falsely presented the Jewish-born Jesus as a “Palestinian.”

While Pope Francis condemned the Hamas massacre of southern Israeli border communities last October, he has become increasingly opposed to the State of Israel as the Israeli military continues to defend itself against terrorists who call for Israel to be eliminated.

Last month, Pope Francis called for an international probe to determine whether the IDF’s military operations against Hamas in Gaza have the “characteristics of genocide.”

“It should be carefully investigated to determine whether it fits the technical definition of genocide formulated by jurists and international bodies,” the Pope wrote in his newly published memoir, “Life, My Story Through History.”

“Pope Francis addresses current issues, including the suffering of war displaced and the famine in Palestine. He underscores the importance of respecting human dignity,” the Vatican News website stated.

The Vatican did not comment on the impact of Hamas and Hezbollah aggressions, including the suffering of Israeli victims or the displacement of tens of thousands of Israelis from their homes in the north and south.

Criticism of Israel by Pope Francis has not been limited to the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

He has also condemned Israel’s military operations against the Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon as going “beyond morality.”

The war in the north began on Oct. 8, 2023. when the Iranian-backed terror group launched an unprovoked attack on northern Israel, displacing tens of thousands of Israelis from their homes.

After facing a backlash for his “genocide” comments in his book, Pope Francis argued that his remark was taken out of its context.

“I did not claim that Israel committed genocide, Hamas should no longer exist in the world,” Pope Francis stated.

Rabbi Yosef Garmon, a former IDF tank commander in the 9026 Battalion who served both in Gaza and in the North, refuted the common accusation that Israel has been committing “genocide” in Gaza.

“Israel has the capability to end the war in one day and erase Gaza entirely, but it did not act that way and risked its soldiers to prevent the killing of innocents. You should investigate those who call to investigate Israel – not the other way around,” Garmon urged the Pope.

All Israel News

Day 430 — Monday, December 9

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has ordered the Israel Defense Forces to create a secure area free of “heavy strategic weapons and terror infrastructure” beyond the buffer zone with Syria, the Defense Ministry said Monday.

Katz said he had instructed the IDF to establish full control over the demilitarized buffer zone in the Golan Heights, which was established by the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement between Damascus and Jerusalem and ended the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

Katz also ordered the continued destruction of strategic weapons that were previously held by the regime and Iranian-backed militias to prevent their falling into the hands of terrorist forces. Among these weapons are “surface-to-air missiles, air defense systems, surface-to-surface missiles, cruise missiles, long-range rockets and coast-to-sea missiles,” according to the ministry.

Katz has also instructed the army to “prevent and thwart the renewal of the arms smuggling route from Iran to Lebanon through Syria, in Syrian territory and at border crossing points.”

Lastly, Katz said he had asked the military to attempt to establish contacts with Syria’s Druze community and other local populations.

Former Syrian President Bashar Assad fled Damascus on Sunday after rebel groups stormed the capital, ending his family’s five-decade rule.

JNS

Day 430 — Monday, December 9

A third of Ontario’s Jewish medical practitioners are considering leaving Canada over the post-October rise of antisemitism in their field, according to a Jewish Medical Association of Ontario  (JMAO) survey released on Wednesday.

In response to the increase of antisemitism in medical facilities and schools, 31% of the 1,000  Canadian Jewish doctors, medical students, and residents surveyed by JMAO are thinking of abandoning the country.

“I feel I no longer belong in Canada and may need to flee,” one respondent reportedly told JMAO.

JMAO chair Dr. Ayelet Kuper warned that Canada could lose a generation of medical professionals.

“This could lead to hundreds of doctors leaving Ontario at a time when our system is crumbling,” said Kuper. “Unquestionably, our institutions need to step up and ensure the protection of Jewish doctors, healthcare professionals, medical students, and residents. We can and must do better.”

Before October 7, last year, 1% of the survey participants, of which half were in Ontario, felt that antisemitism was a severe problem in the medical field. Since the Hamas-led 2023 pogrom in Israel’s south, 98% were worried about the impact of antisemitism on the healthcare system.

Over 80% of respondents had experienced antisemitism in medical institutions since the war sparked, whereas prior to the terrorist attack, 29% had experienced prejudice in their medical community, 39% in hospitals, and 43% in academic settings. 75% have experienced antisemitism in academic settings since October 7, 2023, and 64% have encountered Jew-Hatred in hospitals.

57% of respondents said that since the war, they had experienced antisemitism through organizational policies, 55% through organizational communications, 53% through personal interactions with colleagues, 41% with non-physician staff, and 38% through administration.

“It is incredibly concerning to watch antisemitism creep into our medical institutions across the province. Discrimination doesn’t just impact doctors. It undermines the entire healthcare system, compromising patient care and eroding workplace integrity. This is a crisis for all people in Ontario, not just Jewish doctors,” said Kuper.

Over half of the survey participants expressed concern that Jewish patients could receive substandard care because of pervasive bias in the Canadian healthcare industry.

Jerusalem Post

Day 429 — Sunday, December 8

Israeli Air Force fighter jets on Sunday struck dozens of targets across Syria, taking out weaponry that Israel feared could fall into the hands of hostile forces, in light of the dramatic fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime some two weeks into a lightning offensive by rebel groups.

Also on Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces seized control of a buffer zone between the Israel-Syria border in the Golan Heights, in what it described as a temporary defensive measure.

Dozens of IAF aircraft struck numerous targets, with a focus on destroying “strategic weapons,” defense sources told The Times of Israel, describing the strikes as “very intensive.”

Times Of Israel 

Day 429 — Sunday, December 8

Syria’s army command has notified officers that President Bashar al-Assad’s rule has ended following a lightning rebel offensive, a Syrian officer who was informed of the move tells Reuters.

Syrian rebels also say Damascus is “now free of Assad,” calling on Syrians abroad to return to their newly freed country.

A journalist in Damascus reports seeing groups of armed civilians along the road in the outskirts of the capital and hearing sounds of gunshots. The city’s main police headquarters appeared to be abandoned, its door left ajar with no officers outside, they say.

After reports that President Bashar al-Assad left the country for an undisclosed location, Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalili says the government is ready to “extend its hand” to the opposition and hand over its functions to a transitional government.

“I am in my house and I have not left, and this is because of my belonging to this country,” Jalili says in a video statement.

There will be no changes to guidelines for residents of the Golan Heights, local authorities say, following a fresh assessment held by the military.

Earlier, Army Radio reported that the IDF was considering imposing restrictions on gatherings and schools following the fall of the Assad regime in Syria.

The Golan Regional Council in a statement to residents says that a decision has been made by the army to not change the restrictions.

The statement also tells citizens that sounds of explosions may be heard as Israeli forces carry out operations in the buffer zone between Israel and Syria.

Times Of Israel 

Day 428 — Saturday, December 7

The IDF announced on Friday that based on the situational assessment that has been ongoing since Thursday in the General Staff and Northern Command, and following developments in the internal conflict in Syria, it has decided to reinforce aerial and ground forces in the Golan Heights area.

The IDF stated that troops are deployed along the border and the IDF is monitoring developments and is prepared for all scenarios, offensive and defensive alike. “The IDF will not tolerate threats near the Israeli border and will thwart any threat against the State of Israel.”

The Syrian Center for Human Rights reported on Friday afternoon that thousands have fled the major city of Homs and government troops have begun withdrawing from then city as the rebels, led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, make advances toward it. In addition, Russia, one of Assad’s strongest allies, has called on its citizens in the country to leave immediately.

Amid the developments in Syria and concerns that the Assad regime may be close to collapsing the Israeli Security Cabinet will meet on both Saturday and Sunday evening.

Arutz Sheva

Day 428 — Saturday, December 7

An anti-Israel convention that was recently held in a Chicago suburb offered advice to college students on how they could make their campus “Palestinian.” 

The Free Press reported on the 17th Annual Convention for Palestine, which took place last week at the Tinley Park Convention Center, dubbing itself “the largest gathering for Palestine in the US” according to its website. 

There was a game called “Crisis Room” aimed at “figur[ing] out strategies” on how to combat an Israeli official appearing on their campus.

“A war criminal is coming to your campus,” Jenin Alharithi, a recent graduate of University of Illinois in Chicago who led the game, told the participants, according to the report. “What are you going to do?”

A participant responded by saying the students should organize a protest and recruit demonstrators through the messaging app Telegram. Another raised concerns about accusations of antisemitism, suggesting the anti-Israel group Jewish Voice for Peace join the protest. 

“The first complaint is going to be ‘Oh, this is antisemitic,’ ” she said. “I think we need like a JVP, or something like that, with Jewish people. We want White people, Jewish students there.”

The convention was hosted by American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), a nonprofit the Free Press noted is currently under a congressional investigation over its alleged ties to Hamas. 

Among its speakers was Council on American-Islamic Relations executive director Nihad Awad, who sparked outrage last year when he said he was “happy to see” the terrorist attack unfold on October 7.

Fox News

Day 427 — Friday, December 6

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) introduced legislation on Thursday that would ban the federal government from using the term “West Bank” and instead use Judea and Samaria, the terminology preferred by Israel.

Formally titled the “Retiring the Egregious Confusion Over the Genuine Name of Israel’s Zone of Influence by Necessitating Government-use of Judea and Samaria (RECOGNIZING Judea and Samaria) Act,” the bill would prohibit government funds from being used to describe “the land annexed by Israel from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War” as the “West Bank,” except in international treaties and agreements.

“The Jewish people’s legal and historic rights to Judea and Samaria goes back thousands of years,” Cotton said. “The U.S. should stop using the politically charged term West Bank to refer to the biblical heartland of Israel.”

In a social-media post, he added that using the term “West Bank” is “a slap in the face to historical truth.”

“It’s time to call this region by its rightful name and stop playing into anti-Israel propaganda,” he said.

The Kingdom of Jordan promulgated the term after the 1948 Israeli War of Independence to describe the territory it controlled west of the Jordan River. Since the Six-Day War in June 1967, when Israel captured those territories, it has governed them as Judea and Samaria, and annexed the former eastern Jerusalem into the unified Jerusalem District.

The use of “West Bank” as opposed to Judea and Samaria is often viewed as a proxy for Palestinian and Israeli territorial claims and has also become a partisan issue in the United States, with many Republicans favoring Judea and Samaria while many Democrats using the phrase “West Bank.”

David Friedman, who served as U.S. ambassador to Israel in the first Trump administration, welcomed Cotton’s legislation on Thursday.

“Thank you, Tom Cotton, for standing with Israel, recognizing its biblical heritage and supporting one Jewish state,” he wrote.

The co-sponsors of the House companion version of the bill also touted Cotton introducing it in the Senate.

“Words matter,” wrote Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.). “It’s not ‘the West Bank.’ It’s ‘Judea and Samaria.’”

Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), who introduced the House version of the bill in February, said that it reaffirmed Israel’s “undeniable and indisputable historical and legal claim over Judea and Samaria.”

“This bill reaffirms Israel’s rightful claim to its territory,” she wrote. “I remain committed to defending the integrity of the Jewish state and fully supporting Israel’s sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.”

JNS

Day 427 — Friday, December 6

Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Friday morning responded to an arson attack on the Adass Israel in synagogue in Melbourne, Australia.

“I spoke this morning, with President of the Zionist Federation of Australia, Jeremy Liebler, and expressed my deep sorrow and the support and solidarity of all the Israeli people for the Jewish community following the abhorrent antisemitic arson attack on the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne,” Herzog said in a statement.

“I was moved to hear how the entire community is standing united and strong in the face of this terrible attack and the wave of antisemitism they are experiencing.”

He urged, “I call on leaders in Australia and around the world, to strongly condemn this vile act of terror and to combat the intolerable rise of anti-Jewish racism worldwide.”

Firefighters were summoned to the scene shortly after 4 a.m. Friday morning local time and found the Adass Israel synagogue completely engulfed in flames.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer with Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) Brayden Sinnamon told ABC Radio Melbourne, “FRV crews worked tirelessly to bring it under control and approximately 17 appliances and 60 firefighters were on scene.”

“Damage to the building is quite a lot, however crews worked amazingly to contain the fire so that no further damage was done to the extensions or other neighboring buildings,” Sinnamon added.

Two people were lightly injured in the blaze.

Police have said that the synagogue was significantly damaged and that a hate crime investigation has been opened.

Arutz Sheva

Day 426 — Thursday, December 5

The Israeli military on Wednesday revealed the results of a comprehensive probe into the deaths of six hostages whose bodies were recovered from the Gaza Strip in August.

The IDF told the hostages’ families that they were shot by Hamas terrorists fearing an impending IDF raid and not directly by Israeli bombardments, as the Hamas terrorist organization had claimed.

The bodies of Alex Dancyg (75), Yagev Buchshtab (35), Chaim Peri (79), Yoram Metzger (80), Nadav Popplewell (51), and Avraham Munder (78) were recovered by Israeli troops from a tunnel in Khan Younis in a night raid on Aug. 20.

Of the six hostages, only Munder had not yet been declared dead by the IDF at the time. Intelligence information led the military to declare Peri, Metzger, and Popplewell as deceased in June, while Dancyg and Buchshtab were confirmed dead by the IDF in late July.

The IDF was initially unable to determine the exact circumstances of their deaths.

On Wednesday, Army Radio reported that the investigation found that for the first months of the war, the hostages were held in a large tunnel dubbed “the kingdom” under Khan Younis, likely alongside other hostages and senior Hamas officials.

The IDF believes they were held there until the end of December or early January. During that time, military intelligence was aware of the presence of the hostages in the “kingdom” tunnel.

However, the six hostages were then transferred to a tunnel in the Hamad City neighborhood, some 4 km (2.5 miles) away, to stay clear of the IDF’s ground offensive into Khan Younis.

The army still doesn’t know whether the hostages were transferred there either above or below ground. At this point, the IDF had lost contact with them and didn’t know about their new location.

The second tunnel was not meant for a longer stay but was built as a transit tunnel, very narrow, and similar in size to the tunnel where six other hostages were murdered in the Tel Sultan neighborhood in Rafah.

On Feb. 14, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) bombed targets in Hamad City, very close to the location of the then-unknown tunnel. The military clarified that there was no suspicion that hostages were being held near the targets at the time of the IAF strikes.

According to the investigation, the airstrikes were not due to a lack of judgment or care, had received all the required approvals, and were carried out in accordance with established procedures and orders.

The military estimates that the terrorists executed the hostages immediately after the airstrike, probably fearing an imminent IDF raid. However, Israeli forces arrived in the tunnel only in August, when they discovered the victims’ bodies with gunshot wounds.

Next to them, the bodies of six Hamas terrorists were found. The IDF estimates that in the six months that passed between February and August, other Hamas terrorists entered the same tunnel, but did not move the bodies to another location, believing the IDF would not find the tunnel.

All Israel News

Day 426 — Thursday, December 5

Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday morning responded to allegations by Amnesty International that Israel is committing “genocide” in Gaza.

“The deplorable and fanatical organization Amnesty International has once again produced a fabricated report that is entirely false and based on lies,” a Foreign Ministry statement read.

“The genocidal massacre on October 7, 2023, was carried out by the Hamas terrorist organization against Israeli citizens.”

Amnesty’s 300-page report highlights what it claims were “direct deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructures where there was no Hamas presence or any other military objectives,” the use of wide-radius explosives in densely populated areas, the blockade of humanitarian aid, and the displacement of 90% of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents.

The London-based organization stated that its findings were supported by “dehumanizing and genocidal statements by Israeli government and military officials,” satellite images of destruction, field investigations, and firsthand accounts from Gaza.

In a statement quoted by the AFP, Amnesty’s Secretary General Agnes Callamard said, “There is absolutely no doubt that Israel has military objectives. But the existence of military objectives does not negate the possibility of a genocidal intent.”

The Israeli Foreign Ministry further stressed: “Israeli citizens have been subjected to daily attacks from seven different fronts. Israel is defending itself against these attacks acting fully in accordance with international law.”

Arutz Sheva

Day 425 — Wednesday, December 4

Australia on Tuesday voted in favor of a UN General Assembly resolution calling on Israel to withdraw from the West Bank and Gaza, breaking with its position of opposing the measure for two decades.

In a resolution passed by a 157-8 vote, with the United States and Israel among those voting no, and seven abstentions, the Assembly expressed “unwavering support, in accordance with international law, for the two-state solution of Israel and Palestine.”

The Assembly said the two states should be “living side by side in peace and security within recognized borders, based on the pre-1967 borders.”
It called for a high-level international meeting in New York in June 2025, to be co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia.

The last time Australia voted for the resolution was in 2001.

“On our own, Australia has few ways to move the dial in the Middle East. Our only hope is working within the international community to push for an end to the cycle of violence and work toward a two-state solution,” the spokesperson said.

Australia’s Opposition Leader Peter Dutton slammed the government’s change in policy, charging that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had “sold out” the country’s Jewish community for progressive voters.

“The best we can do for peace in the Middle East is defeat Hamas and Hezbollah and make sure their proxy in Iran does not strike with nuclear weapons, or through the Houthis, or others they are funding because innocent women and children are losing their lives,” he told reporters in Sydney.

In May it voted for a resolution recognizing the Palestinians as qualified to become a full UN member and recommending that the UN Security Council consider the matter, while last month it backed a resolution recognizing “permanent sovereignty of the Palestinians” in the West Bank and Gaza.

Times Of Israel

Day 425 — Wednesday, December 4

An Israeli strike in Syria killed Salman Nemer Jamaa, Iranian-backed Hezbollah’s terrorist representative to the Syrian military, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed in a statement on Tuesday night.

“As part of his role, Jamaa was responsible for coordinating between Hezbollah operatives and the Syrian military, including supporting weapons smuggling from Syria to Hezbollah,” the IDF stated.

The senior terrorist stood in “close contact” with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government, according to the Israeli military statement.

Syrian state media reported earlier on Tuesday that the IDF had carried out an airstrike against a vehicle on the road to Damascus International Airport. An Israeli official confirmed the Damascus strike to Kan News.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based organization associated with the Syrian opposition that maintains a network of sources in Syria, reported that an Israeli drone strike resulted in one death and one injury.

The Israeli Air Force on Saturday attacked terrorist infrastructure along the Syria-Lebanon border that according to Israel Hezbollah was “actively using” to smuggle arms.

“The strike was conducted after identifying the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah from Syria to Lebanon, even after the ceasefire agreement, constituting a threat to the State of Israel and a violation of the terms of the truce,” the Israel Defense Forces said.

Hours before the ceasefire went into effect, Israel for the first time carried out airstrikes targeting Lebanon’s three northern border crossings with Syria, according to Reuters, which cited Lebanese Minister of Public Works and Transport Ali Hamieh.

Syrian state media reported six killed and 12 wounded in the attacks, in addition to “significant material damage.”

The IDF confirmed on Nov. 27 that it had struck Hezbollah smuggling routes between Syria and Lebanon.

JNS

Day 424 — Tuesday, December 3

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump warned on Monday that there will be “ALL HELL TO PAY” if the hostages held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza are not released by the time he enters the Oval Office on Jan. 20.

Trump posted on Truth Social two days after Hamas released a propaganda video featuring U.S.-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander urging the president-elect to secure his release.

“Everybody is talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire World, in the Middle East – But it’s all talk, and no action!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social social media platform.

“Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity,” he stated.

“Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!” he added.

Trump began issuing warnings to the Hamas terrorist organization in July, during his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

“I tell you this, we want our hostages back,” he said, “And they better be back before I assume office, or you will be paying a very big price.”

The renewed threat comes after ongoing failed attempts by the Biden administration to secure a deal that would end the war in Gaza and free the 97 remaining hostages who were taken captive on Oct. 7, 2023, during the worst attack on the Jewish people in one day since the Holocaust.

After the Biden administration brokered a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon last week, there have been renewed diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas before U.S. President Joe Biden leaves office.

However, the Biden administration stated that Hamas has yet to indicate a willingness to enter into any negotiations and seems unconcerned with their own lives or the lives of the hostages.

The families of the hostages met with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan last month, urging the Biden administration and Trump’s transition team to work together to secure a hostage deal before Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, 2025.

Trump’s warning follows the confirmation on Monday that U.S.-Israeli Omer Neutra, who was believed to be alive and held hostage in Gaza, had already been murdered during Hamas’ brutal Oct. 7 attack.

The terror group continues to hold 97 of the 251 hostages taken captive on Oct. 7, with Israeli officials estimating that 33 of them have been killed.

All Israel News

Day 424 — Tuesday, December 3

The Israeli military launched a wave of airstrikes in Lebanon on Monday evening after Hezbollah launched two mortars at the Mount Dov area for the first time since the ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed terror group took effect last week.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces said fighter jets struck Hezbollah operatives and dozens of rocket launchers and facilities belonging to the terror group across Lebanon.

Hezbollah claimed earlier on Monday that it launched the mortars in response to Israel’s “repeated violations” of the ceasefire deal that took effect last week, and said that it should serve as an “initial warning” over IDF strikes on Lebanon during the truce and the “continued violation of Lebanese airspace by hostile Israeli aircraft.”

The incident — the first fire from Lebanon since the start of the truce — came after the US and France both reportedly warned that Israel was violating parts of the deal, a charge Israel has denied.

The IDF said that the projectiles landed in open areas and did not cause any injuries.

Senior Israeli officials were quick to condemn the Hezbollah attack, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing a firm response.

“Hezbollah’s firing at Mount Dov constitutes a serious violation of the ceasefire, and Israel will respond forcefully,” he said in a statement. “We are determined to continue to enforce the ceasefire, and to respond to any violation by Hezbollah — a minor one will be treated like a major one.”Defense Minister Israel Katz also warned of a “harsh response,” writing on X that Israel “promised to act against any violation of the ceasefire by Hezbollah, and that is exactly what we will do.”

In addition to the Hezbollah operatives, rocket launchers, and facilities targeted by fighter jets, the IDF said it struck the launcher used to fire the two mortars at Mount Dov. The site was hit a short while after the attack, according to the army.

“Hezbollah’s launches tonight constitute a violation of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon,” the IDF said in a statement.

“The State of Israel demands that the relevant parties in Lebanon fulfill their responsibilities and prevent Hezbollah’s hostile activity from within Lebanese territory. The State of Israel remains obligated to the fulfillment of the conditions of the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon,” the army added.

Times Of Israel

Day 423 — Monday, December 2 

Jerusalem is constantly monitoring the situation in Syria, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, after Sunni jihadist rebels over the weekend took control of Aleppo, the country’s second-largest city.

“We are determined to both protect the vital interests of the State of Israel and preserve the achievements of the war,” Netanyahu told Israel Defense Forces recruits at the Tel Hashomer induction center in Ramat Gan.

The premier scheduled a special discussion regarding the developments in Syria, set to take place on Sunday night. The meeting was to also focus on the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

Jerusalem is treating the rebels’ and jihadists’ advances in Syria with caution, with intelligence warning that the developments could ultimately spell trouble for the Jewish state.

Intelligence chiefs cautioned that the possible collapse of the regime led by President Bashar Assad had the potential to create a situation of turmoil in which threats against Israel could develop.

Meanwhile, Syrian rebel fighter Suhail Mohammed Hamoud (“Abu TOW”)—a member of the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army—told Israel’s Kan News public broadcaster on Saturday that Jerusalem should “worry about Iran and Hezbollah. We’re taking care of them.” He added, “Brother, you should be afraid of Bashar al-Assad, Iran and Hezbollah” rather than the Sunni rebels.

Syrian opposition forces stormed the Iranian consulate in Aleppo as part of their advance into the city, Tehran’s Foreign Ministry confirmed on Saturday, after footage on social media showed fighters in the building.

The lightning offensive marked the first time that Aleppo fell from Damascus’s control since the start of the civil war in 2011.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed on Saturday that the rebels’ surprise offensive was part of “a plot by the Israeli regime and the U.S. to undermine regional security,” Iran’s IRNA broadcaster reported.

In a call with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, Araghchi urged “enhanced cooperation among Iran, Russia and regional countries, particularly Syria’s neighbors, to thwart this conspiracy,” the report continued.

Araghchi touched down in Damascus on Sunday in a show of support for the Assad regime, the Iran International opposition outlet reported.

JNS

Day 423 — Monday, December 2 

The IDF on Monday confirmed that Capt. Omer Neutra, 21, died on October 7, 2023, and his body was taken by Hamas back to the Gaza Strip.

New intelligence information that came to light allowed a special military commission of rabbis, scientists, and lawyers to finally confirm his death around 14 months later, despite long-standing suspicions that he was dead.

Neutra was a lone soldier from New York, serving as a tank platoon commander in the 77th Battalion of the 7th Brigade.

He was abducted to the Gaza Strip on October 7 along with members of his tank crew, tank gunner Nimrod Cohen from Rehovot, who is currently detained in Gaza,  tank loader Oz Daniel from Kfar Saba, and driver Shaked Dahan from Afula, who the IDF has confirmed as killed in Hamas captivity.

On Sunday, Neutra’s parents spoke with The Jerusalem Post with regard to the possibility of a hostage deal under a Trump candidacy.

“We’re just hoping that he uses his leverage. You know, each side has their own leverages,” Orna Neutra, Omer’s mother, said, adding, “We’re hoping that the combined effort will finally make something move.”

Jerusalem Post

Day 423 — Monday, December 2 

Just like the Israeli settlers of Gaza in 1946, the entire State of Israel is full of those who bought and restored barren land. The prophet Ezekiel wrote “They will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited’” (Ezekiel 36:35). Land was purchased and cultivated, swamps were drained, streams rerouted, and cities renewed. Life was brought back to this forgotten land.

I once stood with a group at a kibbutz in northern Israel on the border of Lebanon and Syria. Our guide showed us the boundaries of Israel, Syria, and Lebanon by pointing out the brown, arid landscape on the Lebanese and Syrian side and the green, lush vegetation on the Israeli side. Israelis call the line separating the two sides the “Green Line,” crafted in 1949 as a line of demarcation that briefly served as Israel’s de facto international border. While it earned its name for the green ink diplomats used to mark the map, it’s also appropriately named because it delineates where Israel’s green land begins. Although God “sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45), His blessing on the land of Israel is apparent. The difference between Gaza and southern Israel appears eerily similar.

Israel desires to bring life back to the once-fertile land. Yet their neighbors seem to focus only on the Jewish people’s destruction.

The day after October 7, 2023, Ali Baraka, a senior Hamas official, said on national television, “The Israelis are known to love life. We, on the other hand, sacrifice ourselves. We consider our dead to be martyrs.” Hamas hoped it could use Israelis’ hope for peace and love for life against them. The hate Hamas cultivated inside of Gaza manifested on October 7, 2023, when Hamas invaded southern Israel, killing more than 1,200 innocent Israelis and migrant workers from other countries. Why? Because it hates the Jewish people and believes the land they bought and cultivated for decades belongs to Palestinians. Stripping away deceptive media and emotion, we see Israel grow in love and Hamas in hate. 

Day 422 — Sunday, December 1

A proof-of-life video that Hamas released of the American-Israeli citizen Edan Alexander, 20, whom the terror group is holding hostage in Gaza, is “cruel psychological warfare,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Saturday night.

Netanyahu told Alexander’s family on Saturday evening that “he feels the suffering that Edan and the hostages and their families are enduring,” and the prime minister “promised that Israel is determined to take every action to bring them back home, together with all of the hostages held by the enemy,” his office stated.

Sean Savett, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, stated that the video, which runs about three-and-a-half minutes, “is a cruel reminder of Hamas’s terror against citizens of multiple countries, including our own.”

“We have been in touch with Edan’s family. The war in Gaza would stop tomorrow and the suffering of Gazans would end immediately—and would have ended months ago—if Hamas agreed to release the hostages,“ Savett stated.

Mark Dubowitz, the CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, wrote that Trump “has a chance to make history.“

“In his first term, he excelled at bringing hostages home. Acting now could save lives and begin his second term with a monumental achievement,“ Dubowitz stated. “This may be the final opportunity to free the hostages. Time is of the essence.”

Some publications posted the video, which appears to show Alexander in distress and asking both Netanyahu and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to negotiate for his release. It also seems to show him crying and saying that anti-government protesters should take to Israeli streets.

Joe Truzman, a senior research analyst at FDD, wrote that “Hamas released hostage footage of Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander, where he asks Israelis to pressure the government to accept a ceasefire.”

“Hamas knows when to activate levers to pressure the Israeli government,“ Truzman wrote. “Now that there is some reported movement on ceasefire talks, Hamas propaganda has published this footage. Unfortunately, there will likely be more.”

JNS

Day 421 — Saturday, November 30

Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck Syrian military infrastructure near border crossings between Syria and Lebanon earlier today, which the IDF says were being “actively” used by Hezbollah to transfer weapons.

“This strike was carried out following the identification of the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah from Syria to Lebanon, even after the ceasefire agreement, and constitutes a threat to the State of Israel, in violation of the terms of the ceasefire agreement,” the military says in a statement.

The IDF accuses Hezbollah, with the support of the Syrian regime, of using civilian border crossings to bring weapons into Lebanon.
Israel has vowed to prevent all weapon transfers to Hezbollah amid the ceasefire.

“The IDF will continue to act to remove any threat to the State of Israel that violates the terms of the ceasefire agreement,” the military adds.

Times Of Israel

Day 421 — Saturday, November 30

Even as anti-Israel protests disrupted Black Friday shopping — all over the United States and beyond — outgoing President Joe Biden was seen exiting a Nantucket bookstore with an anti-Israel volume clutched in his arms.

The protests were documented in several cities across the country — everywhere from Boston and New York City to Chicago and Seattle — where they blocked traffic on the streets and harassed shoppers in local malls.

“Bombs are dropping, why are you shopping?” protesters demanded as customers attempted to find their post-Thanksgiving deals in New York City’s Columbus Circle.

“Protesters blocked traffic for an hour on the Magnificent Mile on Black Friday to highlight the ongoing war in Gaza to holiday shoppers and to call for boycotts of major retailers that do business in Israel,” The Chicago Sun-Times reported.

“Protest at the Apple store in U Village, the store has now shut down on Black Friday and protestors say they’ve been trespassed and told if they don’t leave they will be arrested,” KOMO News reporter Lynnanne Nguyen reported.

Protesters also hit the streets in Santa Monica, California.

“Happening now: Pro-Hamas protesters led by USPCN are marching in the streets of Chicago to disturb Black Friday shopping screaming about boycotting Apple while using their iPhones… Can’t make this up folks!” Angela Van Der Pluym posted.

Protesters also swarmed Boston’s Copley Mall.

The protests also stretched outside the United States, reaching Montreal, Canada, and even London.

Meanwhile, a vacationing President Biden was seen leaving Nantucket Bookworks clutching a copy of “The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonial Conquest and Resistance, 1917-2017.”

The book’s author, Columbia University professor emeritus Rashid Khalidi, responded to the news by telling The New York Post, “I do not speak to the Post (or the Times for that matter), so this is not for publication, but my reaction is that this is 4 years too late.”

As The Post noted, the outlet “did not offer or agree to any terms conditioning that response as off the record or on background.”

Khalidi’s book posits that “the modern history of Palestine can best be understood in these terms: as a colonial war waged against the indigenous population, by a variety of parties, to force them to relinquish their homeland to another people against their will.”

Khalidi himself has also lashed out at President-elect Donald Trump, claiming that during his first term in the White House, he was effectively an Israeli “mouthpiece.”

Daily Wire

Day 420 — Friday, November 29

Several BBC staff members quit the journalists’ union after being told to wear the colors of the Palestinian flag, Jewish News reported on Wednesday.

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) reportedly sent messages asking workers to “wear something red, green, black or a Palestinian keffiyeh.”

This directive is part of a Day of Action for Palestine, an event calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

One BBC staff member told Jewish News that this “hypocritical and antisemitic” suggestion was a breach of the BBC’s commitment to impartial reporting, saying, “BBC journalists, who pride themselves on impartiality and who fought to keep their NUJ free of politics, are being encouraged to break the BBC’s editorial guidelines by supporting a political cause.” 

In a message to NUJ members, the union responded, “Clearly, members working across the BBC and in public service broadcasting have important duties in relation to impartiality and work within social media guidelines the NUJ would not wish members to breach.”

According to Jewish News, more members of NUJ are expected to resign following this situation.

Charlotte Henry, a freelance journalist who resigned, wrote that the union had become “a hostile environment for Jews, and I can no longer be part of that.”

The TUC declined to comment on whether it had previously requested workers to wear colors representing one side in a conflict. However, it admitted that it has never asked its members to wear Ukrainian colors during the ongoing conflict with Russia, Jewish News reported. 

The Board of Deputies of British Jews issued a statement directed at both unions.

“Whatever the stated intent, attempts to bring this issue into the workplace in such a fashion will undoubtedly add to the belligerent atmosphere which many Jewish staff have been facing.”

In September, a report from The Telegraph, based on research led by British lawyer Trevor Asserson, showed that the BBC had breached its editorial guidelines for news coverage more than 1,500 times since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas War.

The research found that there was a “deeply worrying pattern of bias against Israel” and that Israel was associated with genocide 14 times more than the Hamas terror group was throughout the analyzed BBC coverage.

Further findings from the research included the BBC’s repeated downplaying of Hamas terrorism. Conversely, Israel was presented as a “militaristic and aggressive nation” by the BBC, the report said.

Jerusalem Post

Day 420 — Friday, November 29

IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Haggai, issued a statement Wednesday evening against the backdrop of the ceasefire in Lebanon, revealing that fighter jets attacked Hezbollah’s largest precision missile component production site some 1.4 kilometers (nearly a mile) long.

The attack was carried out in the Beqaa Valley in southern Lebanon. Hagari also revealed that during the war, the IDF attacked and destroyed about 360 targets throughout Beirut.

According to him, “Air Force combat aircraft, under the direction of the Intelligence Wing, attacked yesterday in the Jenata area in the Beqaa Valley in Lebanon Hezbollah’s largest precision missile component production site. At the underground site, which is about 1.4 kilometers long, ground-to-ground missiles and various warfare components were produced, as well as precision warfare tools designed to harm the State of Israel. Due to its proximity to the Syrian border, the site served as a central point through which thousands of combat components and even activists from Syria and Lebanon were smuggled.”

Hagari described that “in the hours preceding the attack on the site, several attacks were carried out in the area in order to thwart activists and destroy its infrastructure. Among the targets, a central camp of the ‘Radwan Force’ was attacked where the unit activists were located. The camp conducted training and qualifications of the activists whose purpose was to implement the ‘Galilee Occupation’ plan.”

“Hezbollah’s production capability in Lebanon was built over the last decade with Iranian support as a mechanism for arming the terror organization following several attempts by Iran to smuggle precise missiles to Hezbollah, which were thwarted by Israel,” he added. “As part of this effort, a number of production and conversion sites were established throughout Lebanon, at the heart of which is the site that was attacked yesterday. In recent years, Hezbollah has begun to build and operate this site, with Iranian assistance and collaboration.”

He said that Iranian operatives worked on the site alongside Lebanese Hezbollah operatives.

“This is the most strategic production infrastructure of the terrorist organization in Lebanon that was attacked during the war. The attack was made possible following a precise intelligence dossier that was collected and built over years. This attack constitutes a blow to Hezbollah’s warfare production capabilities, which have been severely damaged in recent months.”

i24 News

Day 419 — Thursday, November 28

A former head of Human Rights Watch (HRW) described dozens of hostages held by Hamas as “utter irrelevancies” on Wednesday.

Kenneth Roth, a visiting professor at Princeton and the former executive director of HRW, accused the Israeli government of giving “diversionary excuses” in response to charges against two top officials by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. The ICC charged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, of committing war crimes in the war against Hamas in Gaza.

One of the “excuses” cited by Roth is Israel’s mission to rescue roughly 100 hostages taken by Hamas during its October 7, 2023, terror attack.

“The Israeli government responded to the ICC war-crime charges with the usual diversionary excuses – the need to liberate the hostages, Hamas’s use of human shields, Israel’s democracy and self-defense, supposed ICC antisemitism – all utter irrelevancies,” Roth said in a post on X.

Roth served as the executive director of HRC from 1993 to 2022. He received pushback online for his characterization of the hostages held by Hamas.

“I can think of 101 people, in addition to their families, who might argue that the hostages are not ‘utterly irrelevant’ to IDF operations in Gaza,” Melissa Weiss, executive editor of Jewish Insider, wrote on X.

International Legal Forum CEO Arsen Ostrovsky called Roth “an absolute heartless monster.”

Adam Cannon, the director of legal at the British tabloid The Sun, said that Roth’s post showcases the “huge anti Israel bias” as HRC.

Cannon wrote to Roth on X: “Your dismissal of the Hamas atrocities and the hostage they took on Oct 7 just illustrates your total lack of understanding or maybe just abject bias when it comes to this conflict, undermining an organisation which should be at the forefront of helping solve the issues.”

Daily Wire

Day 419 — Thursday, November 28

Maaike Smole, a 48-year-old college policy worker from the central Dutch city of Amersfoort, no longer has any hope that there is a future for Jews in her country.

“It’s too late. The Netherlands are schluss,” she said, using a Yiddish term for “closed,” or “over.”

“Education has failed, integration [of Muslim minorities] has failed. Respect for us Jews has disappeared and will never come back. There are simply too few of us, the other side is so much larger and more aggressive. All that’s left is to do is to count down to our aliyah,” Smole said, using the Hebrew term for immigration to Israel.

Smole’s feelings appear to reflect those of a growing number of Jews in the Netherlands — a community that has been in the country, once known for its religious and ethnic tolerance, for centuries. Both anecdotally and through the chief rabbi’s office, The Times of Israel learned that an unprecedented number of Dutch Jews are contemplating leaving their homes for the Jewish homeland.

Now numbering between 30,000 and 50,000 depending on the criteria by which they are counted, many local Jews say they feel crushed by the combined pressures of antisemitism among migrant groups and anti-Zionism within the Dutch political left. It is historically a country where pogroms are an alien phenomenon.

That changed on the night of November 7, when bands of mostly Arab and Muslim youth — with the assistance of taxi drivers of the same ethnic and religious background — went on a self-described “Jew hunt” in the streets of Amsterdam.

Israeli officials said 10 people were injured in the violence, while hundreds more Israelis huddled in their hotels for hours, fearing they could be attacked. Many said that Dutch security forces were nowhere to be found, as the Israeli tourists were ambushed by gangs of masked assailants who shouted pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel slogans while they hunted down, beat and harassed them.

Shraga Evers moved to Israel from the Netherlands 12 years ago and now helps Western European Jews make that same transition as CEO of Shivat Zion, an organization that assists with the immigration and integration process.

“Last week, we organized an event in Amsterdam for Dutch Jews interested in making aliyah,” Evers said. “Forty people showed up. That’s about as many as we would normally get in a year. We haven’t seen this kind of interest in decades.”

Before the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel and the subsequent Israel-Hamas war, Evers saw potential immigrants who were ideologically motivated. Now, fear seems to be a primary driving force.

“Jews who would have never considered aliyah before now understand there’s no future for them in Europe,” said Evers, echoing the words of Smole.

“Even if Israel may statistically be more dangerous, the nature of that danger is different,” he said. “In Israel, the threat is mostly external. In the Netherlands, your attacker can live next door. The Dutch police can’t protect the Jews anymore; when Muslims work together their numbers are just overwhelming.

“Pandora’s box has opened and even when the wars in Gaza and Lebanon are over, things in Europe will never be the same,” said Smole.

Daniel, a 47-year-old doctor who asked that his real name not be used and that identifying information be withheld to protect his safety, is one of those Jews who only a year ago would have never considered making the move to Israel.

“I am not recognizable as a Jew in the street, but my surname is clearly Jewish,” he said.

Even before this month’s riots in Amsterdam, Daniel asked himself questions about his family’s future in the Netherlands.

“I am usually an optimist, a very happy person, but I worry about my children. Will they be able to go to university safely? When will it be too late to leave if things get worse? Are we back in the 1930s? Two of my grandparents survived Auschwitz. Even after October 7, we thought we could tough it out, the war would end and antisemitism would eventually die down. We didn’t want to make aliyah, we wanted to stay here in the hope that everything would be alright,” he said.

Then the violence of November 7 struck and Daniel felt how much things had really changed in his country.

“It looks like Jews no longer have a right to exist in the Netherlands, like we can’t live our own identities,” he said. “I always thought I could. A lot of my patients say they feel ashamed of what is happening and that they pray for me. Personally, I don’t get any animosity from Muslim patients, but in all fairness, I don’t get any support from them either.”

Politics also plays a part in Smole’s decision to accelerate her move to Israel.

“Everything got twisted around. Media and politicians turned the victims in Amsterdam into perpetrators and perpetrators into victims,” she said. “A couple of months ago there was a protest in my city, ‘Amersfoort against Zionism.’ We went to have a look from a safe distance. My 15-year-old said to me, ‘Mom, how can I raise my children here?’ Imagine a child thinking that, that’s not a thought any child should ever have.”

“Israel may not be the safest country in the world, but at least there we are protected by the army and the police,” she said. “We no longer have that feeling here in the Netherlands.”

Times Of Israel

Day 418 — Wednesday, November 27

The agreement, which Israel’s national security cabinet approved in a vote of 10 ministers to one on Tuesday night, will reportedly provide for a 60-day transition period, during which the IDF will withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon, while the Lebanese Army will deploy some 5,000 troops south of the Litani river, including at 33 posts along the border with Israel.

Hezbollah forces will leave southern Lebanon, and its military infrastructure will be dismantled. The US has also reportedly provided a side letter specifying Israel’s rights to respond to violations of the ceasefire, should there be any.

A copy of the ceasefire deal was not published before it came into effect.
While Hezbollah has said that it accepts the ceasefire proposal, a senior official with the terror group said Tuesday that it had yet to see the agreement in its final form.

“After reviewing the agreement signed by the enemy government, we will see if there is a match between what we stated and what was agreed upon by the Lebanese officials,” Mahmoud Qamati, deputy chair of Hezbollah’s political council, told the Al Jazeera news network.

“We want an end to the aggression, of course, but not at the expense of the sovereignty of the state.” of Lebanon, he said. “Any violation of sovereignty is refused.”

Nevertheless, the ceasefire appeared to hold early Wednesday morning, with signs of celebration in Beirut, a day after Israel carried out its most intense wave of airstrikes in the Lebanese capital since the start of the fighting.

Both Israel and Hezbollah continued fighting in the hours leading up to the ceasefire, and earlier on Tuesday, the IDF said it had struck 20 sites within two minutes in the southern suburbs of Beirut, after issuing evacuation warnings.

Seven buildings targeted in the strikes were used by Hezbollah for the management and storage of funds, the IDF said, including headquarters, vaults and branches of the Al-Qard al-Hasan association, known to be used by the terror group as a quasi-bank.

The other 13 sites included a Hezbollah aerial forces center, an intelligence division command room, weapon depots, and other military infrastructure, the IDF said.

Hezbollah too, continued to launch rockets and drones at Israel in the hours leading up to the ceasefire, setting off alarms across central and northern Israel.

Times Of Israel

Day 418 — Wednesday, November 27

US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday criticized President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris following the announcement of the ceasefire in Lebanon.

In a post to X, Johnson pointed out that the Biden administration is still withholding weapons to Israel.

“While the Biden-Harris Administration celebrates this announcement, remember that it is STILL withholding weapons to Israel. This Administration put up roadblock after roadblock on Israel and dragged out this conflict. They repeatedly appeased Iran rather than show unequivocal support to our closest ally in the region. Israel’s military success has been in spite of the White House, not because of it,” Johnson wrote.

“We always hope for peace in the region, and still do during this 60-day ceasefire. But it is President Trump’s Administration that will pave the way to lasting peace, because peace only comes through STRENGTH,” he added.

Arutz Sheva

Day 418 — Wednesday, November 27

In 2004, Wikipedia provided a definition for Zionism that was as acceptable and unbiased as that platform could give. It stated, “Zionism is a political movement among Jews holding that the Jewish people constitute a nation and are entitled to a national homeland….The word ‘Zionist’ derives from the word ‘Zion,’ being one of the names of Jerusalem, as mentioned in the Bible. To diaspora Jews, Zion has been a symbol of the Holy Land and of their return to it, as promised by God in Biblical prophecies.”

It was a basic definition, but “a political movement toward a national homeland” is a good start.

Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban defined Zionism as follows, “Zionism is nothing more — but also nothing less — than the Jewish people’s sense of origin and destination in the land linked eternally with its name.”

While the media and anti-Zionist factions slowly changed the definition, Wikipedia held on to its 2004 definition. Pressure rose, and wokeness prevailed—so much so that in June 2024, the online “encyclopedia” quietly redefined the word.

On Wikipedia’s 2024 page on Zionism, the definition was changed drastically to read as follows: “Zionism is an ethno-cultural nationalist movement that emerged in Europe in the late 19th century and aimed for the establishment of a Jewish state through the colonization of a land outside Europe. With the rejection of alternate proposals for a Jewish state, it eventually focused on the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, a region corresponding to the Land of Israel in Judaism, and of central importance in Jewish history. Zionists wanted to create a Jewish state in Palestine with as much land, as many Jews, and as few Palestinian Arabs as possible. Following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Zionism became Israel’s national or state ideology.“

Words and phrases such as ethnocultural nationalist movement, colonization, rejection of alternate proposals for a Jewish state, and as few Palestinian Arabs as possible paint a picture of a people group stealing land by force and killing many people in the process, which is precisely what most of the world is accusing Israel of.

Wikipedia even questions original Jewish ethnicity, when they state, “the application of the Biblical concepts of Jews as the chosen people and the Promise Land” in Zionism, particularly to secular Jews, requires the belief that modern Jews are the primary descendants of biblical Jews and Israelites.”

It is subtle, but what is implied is that one has to “believe” that the Jews of today are the true descendants of biblical Judean Jews. This wouldn’t be much of a challenge without the existence of the conspiracy theory about Jews being descendants of 9th-century Eastern European Khazar converts to Judaism. As ludicrous as it sounds, it is a real thing, and books have been published on the topic.

We must keep in mind that once people believe that today’s Jews are not the natural descendants of Judean Jews, it becomes easy and even logical to accuse them of stealing Palestinian land and colonizing it for the “illegal Jewish State.”

Day 417 — Tuesday, November 26  

The Israeli government has approved a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal with the Iranian-backed army of Hezbollah to put a stop to the group’s relentless rocket barrages that have terrorized civilians across northern Israel for nearly 14 months.

The decision came after Israeli warplanes struck terrorist targets across Lebanon on Tuesday, killing at least 24 people while also warning civilians to evacuate before its strikes.

Israel also achieved a primary goal of the war on Tuesday as its ground troops reached parts of Lebanon’s Litani River to push Hezbollah’s terrorist army away from its border.

Even while announcing the ceasefire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remained steadfast in warning, “If Hezbollah breaks the agreement and tries to rearm, we will attack. For every violation, we will attack with might.”

Israel declared that the ceasefire would take effect beginning Wednesday.

While the exact terms were not released, the deal does call for a two-month initial halt in fighting and requires Hezbollah to end its armed presence in a broad swath of southern Lebanon

Hezbollah has said it accepts the proposal, but a senior leader said the group must still verify the final agreement.

CBN News

Day 417 — Tuesday, November 26  

US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) responded on Monday to Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly’s comments to a news publication regarding Senator Graham’s proposal to sanction any nation or group that aids and abets the International Criminal Court (ICC) after the court issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

In an interview with Politico, Joly was asked what is her response to Graham’s proposal, after Canada vowed to comply with the ICC order, and replied, “Canada will take its decision. Then the US will take its decision.”

On the possibility that Canada could face sanctions from the United States for complying with the ICC order, she replied, “We abide by international norms, including the fact that we’re a founding member of the ICC.”

When pressed on the issue, Joly stated, “For us, it is not a political question. It is a legal question, and it is part also of our own legal system that we respect the jurisdiction of the ICC. Period.”

Responding to the comments, Graham said, “I consider Canada to be one of America’s greatest allies and friends. We are not only neighbors – we also share many common values.”

“However, the idea that the International Criminal Court seeking arrest warrants against Israel’s Prime Minister and former Defense Minister is an act of international rules-based order is beyond the pale,” he added.

“The prosecutor who instigated the arrest warrants is under investigation. The ICC, in the eyes of the majority of Congress, is acting as a rogue organization asserting jurisdiction based on their belief that something bad happened,” stated Graham.

“This abuse of jurisdiction has no limits. Why couldn’t the ICC come after an American president or Secretary of Defense if they feel we have done wrong?”

“This is about sovereignty and some semblance of the rule of law. From an American point of view, the ICC has no accountability. For them to come after us would be an attack on our sovereignty. Since we’re not a member, and we are a mature democracy with an independent judiciary, like Israel, we would have little to no say,” continued Graham.

“To my friends in Canada and throughout the world, America rejects – in the strongest possible terms – the Court’s efforts to issue warrants for duly elected political leaders of Israel for defending their nation against barbaric terrorism. We reject the jurisdiction claims of the Court. We will make it loud and clear that those countries who assist in enforcing the arrest warrants – even if they are close allies – will hit a wall of resistance in America,” Graham clarified.

“America must act decisively to reject this action by the ICC because we could be next. The court threatened to go after American soldiers for their conduct in Afghanistan but wisely chose not to.”

“Again, we are a mature democracy just like Israel, with an independent judiciary. To Canada and all others – we do not view this action as furthering international norms. We view this as a direct threat by an unelected, unaccountable body in The Hague against American sovereignty and as an existential threat to our allies in Israel who are fighting for their very existence.”

“President Biden objected to the ICC ruling, and I will be discussing with President Trump and his team how to respond forcefully,” concluded Graham.

Arutz Sheva

Day 417 — Tuesday, November 26  

Israel has let into the Gaza Strip almost 900 kilotons of food in some 40,000 trucks over the past year, according to official data.

The data was released on Friday following the International Criminal Court’s decision the previous day to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant. Israel has roundly rejected the allegations, which it called false and antisemitic.

The food data appears to undermine the ICC’s reasoning for issuing the warrants, which it said was over suspicions that the two Israelis “knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.”

In addition to food, about 2,600 trucks containing more than 51,000 liters of water were let in, along with almost 30,000 tons of medical equipment. An additional 10,000 aid drops took place in 140 operations.
The water supply translates to 112 liters per person daily in the north of the Gaza Strip, 39 liters in the center, and 24 liters in the south.

More than 5.7 million vaccines, including polio vaccines, were administered, and 32,000 liters of fuel were let in as well as 26 kilotons of cooking gas.

In total, 57,480 trucks carrying 1,129,774 tons of aid have been delivered to the residents of the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led terrorists murdered some 1,200 people in Israel and abducted another 251, triggering a regional war and an ongoing war against Hamas.

JNS

Day 416 — Monday, November 25 

Rabbi Tzvi Kogan, the assistant rabbi to the growing Jewish community in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, was confirmed dead Sunday morning, apparently murdered by three Iranian agents from Uzbekistan who fled to Turkey.

Rabbi Kogan had been missing since Thursday. Israeli officials contacted his relatives on Friday. There was reportedly some frustration among Israeli officials with the slow pace of investigation by UAE authorities, especially since Rabbi Kogan’s car — evidently driven by his assailants — had reportedly been stopped for speeding on the road to Oman.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement:

The UAE intelligence and security authorities have located the body of Zvi Kogan, who has been missing since Thursday, 21 November 2024.

The Israeli mission in Abu Dhabi has been in contact with the family from the start of the event and is continuing to assist it at this difficult time; his family in Israel has also been updated.

The murder of Zvi Kogan, of blessed memory, is an abhorrent act of antisemitic terrorism. The State of Israel will use all means and will deal with the criminals responsible for his death to the fullest extent of the law.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog added that the terrorist act “will not deter us from continuing to grow flourishing communities in the UAE or anywhere — especially with the help of the dedicated commitment and work of the Chabad emissaries all over the world.”

Chabad Lubavitch is a Hasidic movement that performs outreach to Jews of all backgrounds, and has become synonymous with the presence of Jewish communities of any significant size, anywhere in the world.

The murder of Rabbi Kogan took place almost sixteen years to the day of an Islamist terror attack on the Chabad House in Mumbai, India. Rabbi Kogan was related to Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, who was killed in that attack, the Times of Israel reports.

The murder is also a significant blow to the UAE’s image as a safe and tolerant country. And it marks Iran’s return to purely antisemitic terror attacks, rather than attacks on Israel or Israelis.

Israel normalized relations with the UAE under the Abraham Accords in 2020. Since then, Jewish communities in Dubai and Abu Dhabi have flourished.

Breitbart

Day 416 — Monday, November 25 

Hezbollah fired a barrage of missiles and other projectiles into Israel Sunday in response to deadly IDF strikes on the militant group’s command centers in Beirut. 

The Israeli military said Hezbollah fired about 250 rockets and other projectiles Sunday, with some intercepted – marking one of the militant group’s heaviest barrages in months. Some of the rockets reached the Tel Aviv area in the heart of Israel.

Meanwhile, an Israeli strike on an army center killed a Lebanese soldier and wounded 18 others in the southwest, Lebanon’s military said. The Israeli military said the strike occurred in an area of combat against Hezbollah and that the military’s operations are directed solely against the militants.

Israeli airstrikes also pounded central Beirut on Saturday, killing at least 29 people and wounding 67, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

Smoke billowed above Beirut again Sunday with new strikes. Israel’s military said it targeted command centers for Hezbollah and its intelligence unit in the southern suburbs of Dahiyeh, where the militants have a strong presence.

Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of the Gaza Strip ignited the war there. Hezbollah has portrayed the attacks as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas. Iran supports both armed groups.

Fox News

Day 415 — Sunday, November 24

One minute before noon on Saturday, Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, acknowledged an antisemitic riot the night before. “What we saw on the streets of Montreal last night was appalling. Acts of antisemitism, intimidation and violence must be condemned wherever we see them,” he stated.

“The Royal Canadian Mounted Police are in communication with local police,” he added. “There must be consequences, and rioters held accountable.”

Critics, including the opposition leader Pierre Poilievre, who heads the Conservative Party of Canada, had noted that Trudeau was attending a Taylor Swift concert while the riot occurred. “Justin Trudeau refuses to condemn the antisemitic riots in Montreal,” Poilievre wrote minutes before Trudeau posted his comment. “He has time to dance and do selfies. But he’s too busy to condemn a violent Hamas takeover of our streets.”

“Violent mobs riot and rampage through beautiful Montreal, typifying the chaos that is engulfing our once-peaceful country after nine years of Trudeau’s radical, divisive agenda,” Poilievre wrote on Friday night. “Trudeau fiddles while Montreal burns.”

The opposition leader told the prime minister that he shouldn’t be surprised that Jew-hatred was on such public display. “You send out your MPs to say one thing in a mosque and the opposite in a synagogue, one thing in a mandir and the opposite in a gurdwara,” he wrote. “You have made Canada a playground for foreign interference. You allowed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps terrorists to legally operate here for four years after they murdered 55 of our citizens in a major unprovoked attack.”

The Israeli embassy in Ottawa referred to a mob that rampaged Montreal streets. “The violent intentions of anti-Israel and pro-Hamas protesters have never been clearer,” it stated. “Freedom of protest is a cornerstone of democracies like Canada and Israel, but democracies must ensure these freedoms are not exploited to incite violence.”

“The slogan ‘globalize the intifada’ is not just rhetoric—it is a call for violence against Jews, Israelis and anyone who upholds Western values,” the Israeli embassy added. “We urge the Canadian government to act decisively to curb this dangerous and antisemitic incitement before tragedy strikes.”

Michal Cotler-Wunsh, the Israeli special envoy for combating antisemitism, wrote to Trudeau that “you can’t fuel antisemitism—then condemn it.”

She noted that Trudeau had said on Thursday that Canada would abide by an International Criminal Court warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s arrest.

“You can’t embolden antisemites—then be surprised when they attack Jews,” she added. “Your false moral equivalence, most recently in response to the heinous ICC decision—mainstreamed and unleashed an ever-mutating lethal hate—that endangers freedom, humanity and the dignity of difference. In Canada too, never again is now.”

Melissa Lantsman, one of the Conservative Party’s deputy opposition leaders, wrote that “it wasn’t a protest. It was an antisemitic riot.

The Jewish parliamentarian also directed criticism at Trudeau. “Complete lawlessness in Montreal as the pro-Hamas terror mobs emboldened by the Trudeau Liberals destroy the prime minister’s own hometown,” she wrote. “Rioters on a violent rampage and not a single word from our government. They only act when you disagree with them.

“Bring back law and order, safe streets and communities in the Canada we once knew and loved,” she added. “Hope the concert was good.”

JNS

Day 414 — Saturday, November 23

Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon tells Fox News Digital that his country is keeping its “eyes open” for any potential aggression from Iran during the Trump transition period, adding it would be a “mistake” for the Islamic Republic to carry out an attack. 

The comments come after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi vowed earlier this week that Iran would retaliate against Israel for the strategic airstrikes it carried out against Tehran on Oct. 26. Araghchi was quoted in Iranian media saying “we have not given up our right to react, and we will react in our time and in the way we see fit.” 

“I would advise him not to challenge us. We have already shown our capabilities. We have proved that they are vulnerable. We can actually target any location in Iran. They know that,” Danon told Fox News Digital.

“So I would advise them not to make that mistake. If they think that now, because of the transition period, they can take advantage of it, they are wrong,” he added. “We are keeping our eyes open and we are ready for all scenarios.” 

Danon says he believes one of the most important challenges for the incoming Trump administration will be the way the U.S. deals with Iran. 

“Regarding the new administration, I think the most important challenge will be the way you challenge Iran, the aggression, the threat of the Iranian regime. I believe that the U.S. will have to go back to a leading position on this issue,” he told Fox News Digital. 

“We are fighting the same enemies, the enemies of the United States of America. When you look at the Iranians, the Houthis, Hezbollah, Hamas, all those bad actors that are coming against Israel… that is the enemy of the United States. So I think every American should support us and understand what we are doing now,” Danon also said.  

Fox News

Day 414 — Saturday, November 23

Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, said during a press conference on Thursday that he would have Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrested if the premier arrived on Canadian soil, in line with a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.

“First of all, as Canada has always said, it’s really important that everyone abide by international law,” Trudeau said. “This is something we’ve been calling on from the beginning of the conflict. We are one of the founding members of the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice.”

Both the ICC and the ICJ are located in The Hague, although the justice court is a body of the United Nations and the criminal court is a stand-alone body. The ICC issued warrants on Thursday for Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, the former Israeli defense minister, among others.

“We stand up for international law, and we will abide by all the regulations and rulings of the international courts,” Trudeau added.

Netanyahu has called the court’s decision a “modern Dreyfus trial,” while U.S. President Joe Biden recycled a six-month-old statement, in which he referred to the court’s decision as “outrageous.”

Leo Housakos, a Quebec senator, wrote that Trudeau’s were “disgraceful comments” that suggested that “Canadian authorities would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.”

“This ill-considered endorsement of the ICC’s politically motivated actions is a slap in the face to our ally and to every innocent Israeli still being held hostage,” Housakos stated. “We stand with the people of Israel and support their right to self-defense against terrorism. The actions taken by both the ICC and Justin Trudeau should be condemned as a dangerous precedent that threatens global stability and the principles of international law.”

“I have to say that we’re horrified, but not shocked,” Michael Teper, a board member of Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation, told JNS of Trudeau’s comments.

“The statement is sadly highly predictable and indicative of the overall attitudes of the government of Canada these days,” Teper said. “It’s really just sad that Mr. Trudeau is taking this approach.”

Earlier in the day, Anthony Housefather, Canadian special advisor on Jewish community relations and antisemitism, wrote that “Israel was attacked by terrorists on Oct 7. The warrant issued by the ICC today against Netanyahu and Gallant claims their crimes started as early as Oct. 8. A day Israel was in shock, grief and mourning. The ICC discredits itself by its actions today.”

Amir Epstein, director of Tafsik, an Israel advocacy group with affiliates in Toronto and Winnipeg, told JNS that “the idea that Canada is aligned with Islamofascist countries that dictate what the ICC, the ICJ and the United Nations say and do is no longer surprising to anyone.”

He noted that dictators are able to “come freely into Canada,” which “is both laughable and embarrassing at the same time.”

The Abraham Global Peace Initiative in Toronto stated that it “expresses its strongest condemnation” of the court’s “reckless and politically motivated” action.

“The decision underscores the ICC’s troubling trend of weaponization against Israel, prepared by the Palestinian Authority and its allies since 2015,” the group said. “The ICC’s arrest warrants dangerously distort international justice by empowering extremists, exacerbating global antisemitism and undermining peace efforts during a time of heightened tensions.”

JNS

Day 413 — Friday, November 22

US President-elect Donald Trump announced Pam Bondi, former Florida Attorney-General and longtime Trump supporter as his updated choice for US Attorney-General on Thursday night.

In an interview this year with news host Chris Salcedo, Bondi addressed the pro-Palestinian protests on US college campuses, saying, “The students who protest against our Jewish friends and support Hamas – they should be deported from our country, they are ignorant children.”

This isn’t the first time Bondi has so vocally supported Israel. In 2018, while serving as Florida’s Attorney-General, she was interviewed by Fox News, where she was asked about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and expressed clear pro-Israel views.

“Israel is one of our greatest allies in the world, if not the greatest,” Bondi said as part of an interview about concerns of escalation in the Middle East. “I visited Israel twice as Attorney-General, and Jerusalem is Israel’s capital.”

“President Trump has always said Jerusalem is the capital. And now it’s officially the capital. And we didn’t wait years. We didn’t spend a billion dollars to do it. The President said it would happen, and it happened. So he’s not giving up on other things. We’re saying it will be negotiated. Nothing else has been finalized regarding borders or other issues. But this is a very important step for the Israeli people,” Bondi declared.

When asked about canceling the nuclear deal with Iran, she answered, “We’re alone, but we’re brave. And this shows strength. And leaving the nuclear deal was probably one of the smartest things we could do. Iran lied to us for years about their nuclear weapons. There were no inspections. And this must stop. And the United States, President Trump knows how to hit them. We saw it with China. He knows what to do, how to hit them in trade, in the financial market, in the economy, everything he can do to influence them to stop producing these nuclear weapons and providing tools to Hamas and Hezbollah.”

Bondi joins a line of pro-Israel appointments by President Trump, including his nominee for CIA Director, John Ratcliffe; his pick for National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz; and Elise Stefanik, who is expected to serve as US Ambassador to the UN.

Jerusalem Post

Day 413 — Friday, November 22

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday, following a months-long campaign by the ICC Chief Prosecutor against the Israeli leaders.

The warrants were issued on the basis of accusations that Israel has committed “crimes against humanity and war crimes” during the battle with Hamas terrorists in Gaza. This claim is contradicted by numerous reports, expert military analysis, and investigations of the IDF’s actions, which found that the Jewish State does more to protect civilian lives than any other military in world history.

One of the allegations mentioned surrounded “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare.” This charge blames Israel for humanitarian aid failing to reach civilians in Gaza despite the large-scale theft by Hamas terrorists, who steal the aid and sell it back to civilians at exorbitant prices. Israel has reportedly sent 700,000 tons of food into the strip. Officials from the UN admitted only a few days ago that its own aid trucks have been looted by Hamas on an enormous scale.

The move by the ICC to issue the arrest warrants was met with outrage from Israeli officials, Republicans in the United States, and Christian leaders who called the action “the pinnacle of diplomatic terrorism.”

Franklin Graham, President of BGEA and Samaritan’s Purse, responded on FaceBook, writing, “The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of genocide for defending his people and his country. More than 1,200 of Israel’s residents were brutally murdered and 251 people were taken hostage and they’re accusing Prime Minister Netanyahu of war crimes?? It seems their hypocrisy knows no bounds.”

Graham further noted his agreement with a quote from the Jerusalem Post, which read: “The International Criminal Court in The Hague, instead of standing as a bastion of justice, has devolved into a stage for hypocrisy and cowardice.”

Rep. Chris Smith, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the co-chair of the Israeli Allies Caucus, in an interview with Tony Perkins, expressed his outrage at the decision, urging the US congress to repudiate the indictments.

“Netanyahu is a tremendous head of state,” he told Perkins. “As Prime Minister of Israel, he is defending his people against an existential threat posed by Hamas, Iran, Hezbollah, and others who are committed to the complete elimination of Israel and the killing of Jews.”

The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, applauded the ICC ruling and stated that members of the EU are bound to implement the warrants. Smith, in response, highlighted Borrell’s stance as another historic failure of Europe to protect Jews.

“European Union has been notorious for its siding with the PLO, then the PLA, and now Hamas,” Smith described. “They’ve always had their finger on the scale against Israel, and of course, much of that goes back to the very problems of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. You would have thought that they would have learned by now that the killing of Jews, the extermination, the genocide of Jews, will never again happen—and Netanyahu has said it will never happen, especially on his watch. The European Union has failed again, and I find that outrageous.”

The ICC ruling is blatantly anti-semitic, Smith asserted, adding that “it is one of the worst marks on them imaginable to indict a sitting prime minister who is defending his country against aggression.”

“It’s demonic, and we need to call it out,” he concluded.

Day 413 — Friday, November 22

The antisemitic decision of the international court in The Hague is a modern Dreyfus trial, and it will end the same way.

One hundred thirty years ago, the French-Jewish officer Alfred Dreyfus was falsely accused of treason by a biased French court. In response to these false accusations, the great French writer Émile Zola wrote his monumental essay “J’accuse.” He accused the French court of antisemitic lies against an innocent officer, who his letter exonerated of all guilt.

Now, an international court in the Hague, also headed by a French judge, is repeating this outrageous offense.

It is falsely accusing me, the democratically elected Prime Minister of the State of Israel, and Israel’s former Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, of deliberately targeting civilians. This when we do everything in our power to avoid civilian casualties. We issue millions of text messages, phone calls, and leaflets to the civilians of Gaza to get them out of harm’s way. While Hamas does everything in their power to keep them in harm’s way—including shooting them [and] using them as human shields.

The court in the Hague accuses us of a deliberate policy of starvation, this when we have supplied Gaza with 700,000 tons of food to feed the people of Gaza. That’s 3,200 calories for every man, woman, and child in Gaza. And these supplies are routinely looted by Hamas terrorists, who deprive their people of much-needed food. Just in the last few weeks, Israel facilitates the vaccination of 97% of the people of Gaza against Polio. Yet, this doesn’t prevent the court from accusing us of genocide.

What in God’s name are they talking about in the Hague?

The truth is simple. No war is more just than the war that Israel has been waging in Gaza after Hamas attacked us—unprovoked—launching the worst massacre against the Jewish People since the holocaust.

The decision to issue an arrest warrant against me, the democratically elected Prime Minister of the State of Israel, and our former Defense Minister was made by a rogue prosecutor, who is trying to extradite himself from sexual harassment charges, and by biased judges, who are motivated by anti-semitic sentiments against the one and only Jewish State.

Day 413 — Friday, November 22

In the early 2000’s, Australian politicians proved that they were still under the illusion that handing out peace prizes would actually bring about peace in the Middle East.  On 6 November 2003, then Premier of New South Wales, Bob Carr, handed the Sydney Peace Prize to Palestinian activist, Hanan Ashrawi.  The act was met with fierce opposition from the Jewish community.  The citation was supposedly because of Ashrawi’s “commitment to human rights, to the peace process in the Middle East and for her courage in speaking against oppression, against corruption and for justice.”  In response, the President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry said, “Every decent person, including Palestinians, wants a peaceful and just resolution and there are people we look to for change and reconciliation. Hanan Ashrawi is nowhere on that list. She is an old-style propagandist.”

The evidence of Ashrawi’s unsuitability for the peace prize was conveniently overlooked.  As far back as 1993, she was a known supporter of Hamas and held the view that the only way to solve the Israeli-Palestinian crisis was to absorb Israel into a Palestinian state.  No surprise then that after October 7, Ashrawi went to work defending the indefensible – painting Hamas as the victim and accusing Israel of lying by attempting to discredit claims civilians were massacred en masse by Hamas.  Ashrawi further claimed that the savage rapes of Israeli women and the decapitation of Israeli babies didn’t occur.  For over twenty years, she has been absurdly portrayed as some sort of peace activist when, in reality, she is a terror apologist.

Speaking of terror supporters, the Iranian Ambassador to Australia, Ahmad Sadeghi, said earlier in the year that he looks forward to the “heavenly and divine promise” made by Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yasin that would lead to “wiping out the Zionist plague” by “no later than 2027”.  After such abhorrent comments, you would expect the Australian Government to have expelled the Ambassador.  Instead, along with most other countries, Australia recently recognised “permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”.  It is the first time an Australian government has voted in favour of the “permanent sovereignty” resolution since it was introduced in some form two decades prior.  Thankfully the pro-Israel stance of the incoming US administration will be able to mitigate some of the damage done by Australia at the UN.  However, this latest act affirms that our Australian government is spiritually blind and ignorant to the dangers of its position under God’s clear declaration in Genesis 12:3.

There have been times in Australia’s history where we have clearly supported Israel and the Jewish people.  However, we also have much to be sorry for, as this article reveals.  Also part of the problem is that replacement theology is taught by many Australian churches.  If we, as a nation, are to have any chance of getting right with God, we must uphold His truth concerning Israel.  I thank God for Australian pastors and Christians who do teach the truth regarding the past, present and future of Israel.  But, like the Jewish people in Australia, they are very much in the minority and often held in contempt.

Day 412 — Thursday, November 21 

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant “for crimes against humanity and war crimes” allegedly committed during the Gaza War.

In addition, a warrant was issued for Hamas military leader Mohammad Deif, who was killed by the IDF months ago. ICC chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, had requested the warrants in May.

The court issued the warrants after ruling that it has jurisdiction in the case, contrary to Israel’s stated position, which doesn’t recognize the court’s authority.

In a detailed explanation of its decision, the court wrote that it found “reasonable grounds to believe” that Netanyahu and Gallant “each bear criminal responsibility for the following crimes as co-perpetrators for committing the acts jointly with others: the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.”

The court accused them of “intentionally and knowingly” depriving civilians in Gaza “of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog declared a “black day” for justice and humanity.

“The absurd decision of the International Criminal Court, made in bad faith, turned universal justice into a universal joke. It ridiculed the sacrifice of all those who fought for justice – from the Allied victory over the Nazis until today,” Herzog stated.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar dubbed the decision “a moral deficiency that turns good into bad and serves evil,” adding it was “a reward and encouragement for the axis of evil.”

National Unity leader Benny Gantz said the court’s “decision is moral blindness and a historical disgrace that will never be forgotten.”

The authority of the ICC rests on the Rome Statutes, which were ratified by European Union states and many other nations – but not by the U.S., Russia, China, India and Israel.

The ICC admitted the “State of Palestine” as a member in a controversial move, in effect granting itself the authority to investigate alleged crimes in the areas of Judea and Samaria, as well as the Gaza Strip.

In principle, the Rome Statute only grants the ICC the authority to prosecute individuals from states that are unable or unwilling to prosecute the alleged crimes themselves.

All Israel News

Day 412 — Thursday, November 21 

A disturbing new report from StopAntisemitism reveals an unprecedented surge in antisemitic incidents on US college campuses in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, with Jewish students facing increasing harassment, exclusion, and safety concerns.

The organization’s 2024 College Report, which evaluated 25 higher education institutions across the nation, documented a staggering 3,000% increase in antisemitic incident reports compared to the previous year, forcing the watchdog group to triple its staff size to handle the flood of submissions.

The report paints a troubling picture of campus life for Jewish students, with more than half reporting direct experiences of antisemitism at their schools. According to the survey, 55% of Jewish students have been victims of antisemitism, while 43% feel compelled to hide their Jewish identity from classmates out of fear. Perhaps most concerning, 72% of students reported feeling unwelcome in certain campus spaces simply for being Jewish.

The institutional response to these challenges has been notably inadequate, with only two out of 25 surveyed schools responding to requests for information about their handling of antisemitism – a sharp decline from seven respondents the previous year. The report also found that 67% of Jewish students say they are completely excluded from their school’s “DEI initiatives,” while 69% report being blamed for Israel’s actions.

Several prestigious universities received failing marks in the report’s grading system. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) saw its grade drop from a C to an F following multiple incidents, including a three-week pro-Palestinian encampment where participants called for violence against Jewish students. The evaluation considered multiple criteria: protection measures, allyship initiatives, identity support, and policy implementation.

“These higher education institutions have utterly failed to protect its Jewish students, allowing harassment, exclusion, and violent antisemitism to thrive unchecked,” organization Founder and Executive Director Liora Rez said.

“Despite reports of discrimination, death threats, and open hostility, the administration has taken little to no meaningful action, abandoning Jewish students in their time of need. This negligence not only endangers Jewish students but also sets a dangerous precedent for intolerance on campus,” she added. “Parents, do not fund this complicity with your tuition dollars. Choose institutions that prioritize the safety and inclusion of all students – Jewish students deserve better.”

Some institutions have demonstrated more effective responses to these challenges. Baylor University and Clemson University received higher grades for their stronger support systems and more proactive responses to antisemitic incidents. However, the overall findings suggest a systemic failure in protecting Jewish students across American higher education.

“Jewish students should not have to consider their own safety when choosing which school to follow,” the report concluded, emphasizing the urgent need for institutional change. The study found that 43% of current Jewish students would not recommend their school to fellow Jewish students, highlighting the depth of the current crisis.

Israel Hayom

Day 412 — Thursday, November 21 

The United States vetoed a U.N. Nations Security Council resolution calling for an Israel-Hamas ceasefire on Wednesday morning, citing its failure to condition a halt in hostilities directly to the release of the hostages, whom Hamas continues to hold in the Gaza Strip.

“We could not support an unconditional ceasefire that failed to release the hostages,” Robert Wood, deputy U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told the council.

Wood accused Hamas—and not Israel—of blocking a negotiated ceasefire and cited Israel’s reference for a temporary ceasefire and a phased release of hostages.

Washington cast the lone vote against the measure among the 15-member body. It is one of five permanent members of the council that has veto power.

The E10, a group of the council’s 10 elected members, put the resolution forward at Algeria’s urging. The North African country is the Security Council’s de facto representative for the Palestinians and the Arab and Muslim world.

Amar Bendjama, Algeria’s envoy to the global body, called it a “sad day” for the council and claimed that the Jewish state has “impunity in this chamber.”

The vetoed resolution demanded an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire, as well as the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages who remain in Gaza.

It rejected “any effort to starve Palestinians” and demanded immediate access to basic services and humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza. It also called for aid to enter the Strip at scale and be delivered, including to “civilians in besieged north Gaza.”

Wednesday marked the 12th time that the Security Council has voted on a resolution about the Israel-Hamas war. Only four have been adopted. None of the prior 11 appears to have had a substantive effect on halting hostilities or securing the release of hostages or delivery of aid.

Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters ahead of Wednesday’s vote that the resolution “is nothing short of a betrayal.”

“It betrays the 101 innocent hostages still held by Hamas, their grieving families and the very principles the United Nations claims to defend,” he told journalists.

It is “not a resolution for peace. It is a resolution for appeasement” that abandons the hostages and validates and rewards terrorism, he added.

JNS 

Day 411 — Wednesday, November 20 

Italy’s defense ministry admits Hezbollah staged an attack on itself when a UN Interim Force in Lebanon base was hit by rocket fire that it initially blamed on Israel, Barron’s reported on Tuesday. 

Last week, Italy said an unexploded artillery shell hit the base of UNIFIL base, putting the blame on the IDF.

According to Barron’s, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto had initially said in Brussels that the IDF had staged the attack on the UN base in Lebanon.

Israel’s newly appointed Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar had promised Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani an ‘immediate investigation‘ into the shell incident.

However, an IDF review determined that Hezbollah was responsible for firing the rocket hit the UNIFIL post, the military said.

According to UNFIL, the strikes hit areas where no peacekeepers were present, and no serious injuries were reported.

On Tuesday morning, multiple UN Interim Force in Lebanon bases were hit by rocket fire and then again in the afternoon, one in the region of Ramyeh, another near Chamaa, and additional locations were hit later, UNIFIL said.

According to the IDF assessment, the rocket was fired from the area of Deir Aames, one of many fired by Hezbollah in a barrage launched at Israel at 9:50 a.m.

UNIFIL agreed with the IDF report that these strikes were from Hezbollah, saying the rocket was “fired most likely by non-state actors within Lebanon.”

Breitbart

Day 411 — Wednesday, November 20 

The lame-duck Biden-Harris administration is slapping new sanctions on

Israelis, while sending nearly a quarter of a billion dollars in additional funding to the Palestinians, adding insult to injury in the closing weeks of its failed policy.

The Washington Free Beacon noted Monday:

The Biden-Harris administration on Monday unveiled sweeping new sanctions on Israeli Jews, just days after it awarded another $230 million in taxpayer funds to the Palestinians. The back-to-back announcements signal that diplomatic relations between Israel and the outgoing White House will continue to sour until President-elect Donald Trump retakes office next year.

The new sanctions are the broadest to date, imposing unprecedented punitive measures on three Israeli organizations the administration accuses of fomenting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. They were leveled just days after a coalition of nearly 90 congressional Democrats petitioned the Biden administration to ramp up sanctions on Israel before leaving the White House.

The sanctions were announced just three days after the Biden-Harris administration awarded another $230 million in funding for humanitarian projects in the West Bank and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. The American government has now sent more than $2 billion in taxpayer funds to the Palestinians since Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror spree on Israel—even as critics warn this cash is keeping Hamas on life support.

The State Department website describes the sanctions on Israelis as targeting “violent Israeli individuals and entities,” though the “violence” that two of the targets are accused of committing amounts to nothing more than providing construction vehicles to settlements that the State Department says are illegal.

The Biden-Harris administration has sanctioned a broad array of Israeli individuals and institutions, largely at the instigation of anti-Israel groups and Democrats in Congress. Many of the sanctions target people who have not broken laws; a legal challenge against the sanctions notes that some target what would be constitutionally protected protest in the U.S.

Israeli legal scholar Eugene Kontorovich added in the New York Post:

Usually, sanctions target those responsible for severe wrongdoing, such as terrorist financing, nuclear proliferation and large-scale human rights abuses.

The new sanctions break this mold by targeting Israeli Jews in the West Bank accused of property crimes and vandalism, or of simply associating with the wrong people.

Despite an ongoing campaign of terror by Palestinians in the West Bank, Biden has used his order to target Jews almost exclusively.

Kontorovich adds that the Biden-Harris administration has also made exceptions for Palestinian organizations that normally would fall afoul of existing anti-terror sanctions.

The Biden-Harris administration restored funding for Palestinian organizations, and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which caters to Palestinians, as soon as it took office, brushing aside concerns about terror. The administration also eased sanctions enforcement against Iran, which funds Palestinian terrorists.

Breitbart

Day 410 — Tuesday, November 19 

Just hours before the United Nations Security Council is slated to vote on an alleged anti-Israel resolution pushed by Algeria to impose an end on the Jewish state’s war of self-defense against Hamas, the Biden administration has gone silent about how it will vote.

The irony of the notoriously anti-Israel Algeria devising the resolution recalls the witty line of the late Israeli Ambassador to the U.N., Abba Eban, who said, “If Algeria introduced a (U.N.) resolution declaring that the earth was flat and that Israel had flattened it, it would pass by a vote of 164 to 13 with 26 abstentions.”

The proposed resolution has triggered outrage from several quarters, including a leading Republican U.S.senator.

“This resolution is just one of several assaults on Israel being planned at the United Nations, meant to preemptively and permanently undermine the incoming Trump administration and Republican Congress,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital.

“I will work with my Republican colleagues and with President Trump to take whatever steps are necessary to undo these measures, including fundamentally reevaluating our relationship with the U.N. and the Palestinians, broadly cutting aid, imposing sanctions on specific officials responsible for those measures, and countering governments and NGOs pushing or implementing them,” he said.

Fox News 

Day 410 — Tuesday, November 19 

A disturbing incident of antisemitism and racism took place in an Ohio community in Columbus over the weekend.

State and community leaders are condemning the group that marched through an area called ‘Short North’ carrying flags bearing the Nazi swastika.

Witnesses say some were carrying weapons and shouting racial slurs towards people of color and Jewish people.

Police arrived at the scene and the group left the area without incident. No arrests were made.

Ohio’s Republican Governor Mike DeWine issued a statement saying:

“We will not tolerate hate in Ohio. Neo-Nazis — their faces hidden behind red masks — roamed streets in Columbus today, carrying Nazi flags and spewing vile and racist speech against people of color and Jews. There were reports that they were also espousing white power sentiments.”

“There is no place in this state for hate, bigotry, antisemitism, or violence, and we must denounce it wherever we see it.”

It’s the latest unsettling display in a wave of antisemitism that has swept the globe over the past year.

“It has felt like it’s open season on Jews, certainly since October 7th,” said Ellie Cohanim, senior fellow at the Independent Women’s Forum. “The massacre in Israel seems to have ignited a terrible bloodlust against Jews around the world.”

One of the most violent incidents took place earlier this month in Amsterdam when an organized Muslim mob hunted down and attacked Israeli soccer fans after a match. 

CBN News

Day 409 — Monday, November 18

Several people fired flares at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private home Sunday morning, igniting a fire next to it.

Shocking video of the incident shows the moment one of the two flares is fired at the house in Caesarea, landing in the yard and starting a fire beside a central air unit.

Three people were arrested in the incident, which occurred when the PM and his family were not at home.

It should not be “possible for the Prime Minister of Israel, who is threatened by Iran and its proxies who are trying to assassinate him, to be subject to the same threats from home,” said newly appointed Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz.

New York Post

Day 409 — Monday, November 18

The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) published a report on Friday stating that South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is being funded by Iran.

The report, “South Africa, Hamas, Iran, and Qatar: The Hijacking of the ANC and the International Court of Justice,“ states that South Africa has developed strategic relationships with Iran’s terrorist proxies, including Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as with leading state sponsors of terrorism in Iran and Qatar.

In January, the African National Congress (ANC) submitted a formal legal case to the ICJ in The Hague, accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. In May, South Africa claimed that Israel’s military operations sought to “destroy Palestinian life and to wipe them off the face of the earth.”

According to the ISGAP report, South Africa’s ruling ANC party brought the case against Israel to the ICJ as a diversion from its own domestic challenges. Shortly after announcing the case, the ANC faced near bankruptcy but unexpectedly secured funds after a series of meetings between ANC ministers and leaders from Iran, Qatar, and Hamas. These funds reportedly covered the party’s nearly $30 million debt.

The report also highlighted that South Africa functions as a hub for terrorist financing and fundraising, with an increasing presence of Islamic terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, who use the country for military training and media operations.

In January, The Jerusalem Post uncovered a South African network involving major banks and organizations deeply involved in funding the Hamas terrorist group. At the center of the network was the Al-Quds International Foundation, a Hamas-affiliated organization, established in 2001 in the Lebanese capital of Beirut.

South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola attended Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian’s inauguration in Tehran this summer, according to the ISGAP report, and was praised by acting Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri, “for his outstanding role as an undaunted and innovative diplomat in pursuing the case of the Zionist regime’s crimes at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the special efforts by the South African government to denounce the regime’s crimes in international legal and judicial circles.”

The ISGAP report also describes how South Africa’s efforts have been crucial in gaining Iran political legitimacy and influential economic access by facilitating its involvement in the BRICS group, an intergovernmental organization comprising nine nations: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Furthermore, Qatar has invested heavily in South African energy projects.

The report highlights that 45 of the 574 references in South Africa’s ICJ submission were sourced from anti-Israel organizations. In January, NGO Monitor, a globally recognized research institute established in 2002, demonstrated how the case relied heavily on reports from groups with known ties to terrorist organizations.

“South Africa’s submission to the court contains no fewer than 45 references to NGO publications, including several from outfits linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a terrorist organization. Staff and board members of these PFLP-linked groups were part of the South African delegation to public hearings in mid-January and helped prepare South Africa’s case,” wrote NGO Monitor Chief of Staff Naftali Balanson in The Wall Street Journal.

“Among the references in South Africa’s court petition is a report titled ‘Israel Apartheid. Tool of Zionist settler colonialism‘ from al-Haq, a Palestinian NGO that Israel designated a ‘terror organization‘ in 2021.”

He added: “According to Israel, al-Haq is part of a network that operates on behalf of the PFLP… Al-Haq director Shawan Jabarin was part of South Africa’s delegation to the ICJ… On Oct. 10, Ziad Hmaidan, head of al-Haq’s training and capacity-building unit, celebrated the Hamas attacks, writing on Facebook: ‘It is written in the Hadith: ‘You must wage jihad. The best jihad is preparing for war, and it is best to prepare for war in Ashkelon,‘ an Israeli city.”

All Israel News

Day 409 — Monday, November 18

Jewish students in Ireland are changing schools to escape harassment as a report exposes bias in school textbooks.

The findings emerge from an extensive study by the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (Impact-se), an Israeli nonprofit organization, which identified problematic content in Irish educational materials, the London-based Jewish Chronicle weekly reported.

Ireland’s Chief Rabbi Yoni Wieder told the Chronicle that some students now express fear about their Jewish identity. The Jewish Representative Council of Ireland (JRCI) confirmed this assessment, noting that several students have transferred schools due to hostile environments.

Maurice Cohen, JRCI chair, has repeatedly sought meetings with Minister for Education Norma Foley to discuss these concerns. The education department responded to the Chronicle, stating: “There is no evidence of antisemitism being taught in Irish schools.”

“There has been a marked increase in incidents, with deeply hurtful remarks ranging from Holocaust denial to comments about the Israeli-Gaza conflict,” Cohen told the Chronicle. He criticized the government’s response to rising antisemitism and problematic textbook content as “nothing short of scandalous and shocking.”

The 40-page Impact-se report examined numerous Irish textbooks designed for students aged 12 to 16. The Irish government dismissed the findings, telling the Chronicle, “The Department of Education is confident that Irish students are being taught in a fair and balanced way by high-quality Irish teachers in a variety of subjects, including the history of the Jewish people and Judaism.”

In “Call to Action,” a civics textbook from Gill Education, students are presented with activities focused on the Palestinian perspective. The book features Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg on its cover and includes exercises asking students to consider potential futures for Palestinian children.

Another text, “Inspire—Wisdom of the World,” by Educate.ie, an Irish educational publisher, claims Jesus was born in a country called “Palestine.” The book states, “Today this area, between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea, is also known as the Holy Land.”

Impact-se noted that “Historical references to Jesus living in ‘Palestine’ without appropriate context can contribute to narratives that challenge Israel’s legitimacy and undermine the Jewish historical connection to the land.”

The same book presents religions differently, stating “Judaism believes that violence and war are sometimes necessary to promote justice,” while describing Islam as “in favor of peace and against violence,” and Christianity’s aim as “to promote a world in which peace and justice and enjoyed by everyone.”

“Grow in Love,” a 2019 edition by Veritas, Ireland’s leading religious publisher and retailer, depicted people who “do not like Jesus” wearing a tallit (Jewish prayer shawl). Following criticism, Veritas updated the textbook in 2024, removing the tallit image.

In another Veritas publication, “Faith Seeking Understanding, Christianity: Origins and Contemporary Expressions,” the New Testament parable of the Good Samaritan is illustrated with an image of a boy wearing a Palestinian scarf protesting Israel.

Wieder reported that students have told him that “they feel afraid because they are Jewish, or that they avoid talking about being Jewish in front of their non-Jewish peers.” The rabbi told the Chronicle, “The anti-Israel narrative in Ireland has become so distorted and widespread that it creates a context in which antisemitism can thrive.”

JNS

Day 408 — Sunday, November 17

The Israel Defense Forces released footage this week that was discovered inside Gaza that showed Hamas terrorists torturing Palestinian civilians.

“The same civilians that Hamas outspokenly claimed to be fighting for, are the same civilians being tortured in this video,” the IDF said in a post that contained the video.

“Hamas is not only Israel’s enemy—they’re Gaza’s enemy also,” the post added.

IDF troops discovered what was described as “years’ worth of CCTV footage” of Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists torturing civilians in Gaza.

Israel said that the footage was evidence of Hamas’ “brutal methods for interrogating civilians, violating human rights, and systematically oppressing residents suspected of opposing the organization’s rule.”

“The videos document Hamas activities at Outpost 17 in the Gaza Strip, where brutal interrogations of civilians suspected of opposing Hamas are conducted,” the Israeli government said.

The statement added, “These materials reveal the Hamas’s methods of governing the Gaza Strip, enforcing terror, harming Gaza’s civilians and infringing on their freedom of expression.”

A senior Israeli military official told the media that it took the IDF months to go through all of the thousands of hours of footage that was recovered.

(1/3)
During the ground activity in the Gaza Strip, our forces uncovered materials exposing Hamas’s brutal methods for interrogating civilians, violating human rights, and systematically oppressing residents suspected of opposing the organization’s rule. pic.twitter.com/5T8HMQc13c

— 4IL (@4ILorg) November 10, 2024

Daily Wire

Day 407 — Saturday, November 16 

Mike Huckabee, who was appointed Ambassador to Israel by President-elect Donald Trump told Newsmax Friday Hamas must be eradicated and the hostages be released.

“We have four Americans being held hostage in Gaza — Americans. And this is outrageous that we have not put more pressure, not just on Hamas, but on Iran, who’s funded Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis,” Huckabee told “National Report.” “We need to put pressure on Qatar. They have influence over Hamas, and they need to understand that Donald Trump doesn’t play around.”

Huckabee said Hamas cannot control Gaza anymore.

“They cannot be trusted. Their hatred toward the Jewish people was evidenced on Oct. 7 and their massacre of civilians, including babies and elderly people,” he continued. “So there has to be a change of what happens there.”

Huckabee said Trump will show strength in the region, like he did during his first term, noting how weak the Biden administration was on Iran.

The Biden administration “had given Iran the go ahead to make money and that money was funneled to the very people in Hamas who did their dastardly deeds,” Huckabee said.

“So we need to be afraid. Not so much of what Israel does in Judea and Samaria. We need to be more afraid of what we allow Iran to do when they have the money to fund terrorist activities and murder civilians brutally and horrifically.”

Newsmax

Day 407 — Saturday, November 16 

More than 10% of principals and senior education staff employed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip are members of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad, according to a report published on Thursday.

The study, by Israeli non-profit organization IMPACT-se, noted that many continued to draw a regular salary after Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 massacre. Its publication comes less than two weeks after Israel’s Knesset barred UNRWA from operating in Israel over its terror ties.

For the study, IMPACT-se explored educational practices in five schools whose principals are senior UNRWA education officials, and under two of which (Al-Maghazi Boys Preparatory School B and Al-Zaytun Boys Preparatory School A) Hamas tunnels were found.

IMPACT-se found that the “schools use lessons to deny Israel’s existence, promote hostility, and encourage violent narratives,” and noted that despite past warnings, “UNRWA has taken no meaningful steps to address the glorification of violence or antisemitic rhetoric in these schools.”

The report details hateful material taught in each UNRWA school, under two of which terror tunnels were discovered by Israeli forces, underscoring the profound influence wielded in Gaza by Hamas.

Fifth graders at Al-Zaytun School, for example, were taught to glorify Dalal Mughrabi, the perpetrator of the 1978 Coastal Road Massacre, killing 38 Israelis. Photos of a classroom blackboard show how she is presented as “the fighting leader” and a “hero” to be honored. Similarly, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, for whom Hamas’s “military wing” is named, is described as a “martyr” and “hero.”

At Al-Maghazi School, materials glorify violent acts, including a reference to the firebombing of an Israeli bus as a “barbecue party.” An Arabic language summary states that martyrdom and jihad are “the most important meanings of life.”

“We are deeply concerned, although unsurprised, by the ongoing revelations of terror links within UNRWA’s educational system,” said IMPACT-se CEO Marcus Sheff.

“UNRWA has repeatedly failed to act, despite mounting evidence and repeated warnings of the deep influence of terror groups on UNRWA’s schools. This is not just about accountability, but about protecting young minds from an education that fuels hatred and extremism,” he added.

The report notes that Israeli intelligence recently exposed 12 UNRWA principals and deputy principals as active members of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

An Israeli intelligence report released in January showed that at least a dozen UNRWA employees actively participated in the Hamas atrocities in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and that the agency has 450 “military operatives” belonging to Hamas and other terrorist groups on its payroll.

The revelations prompted 18 countries—led by the United States and Germany, UNRWA’s biggest donors—to suspend funding. With the exception of the United States, all have since resumed or partially resumed funding.

The United States—UNRWA’s largest donor, accounting for some 30% of the agency’s budget—has frozen its donations until at least next year.

During his first term, President-elect Donald Trump cut off all U.S. aid to UNRWA, a move later reversed by the Biden administration.

According to Hillel Neuer, the director of the U.N. Watch NGO, Trump is not likely to restore funding during his second term.

“Especially with the appointment of Elise Stefanik to the United Nations, it is absolutely clear that the Trump administration will not reinstate a single penny of U.S. taxpayer funds for UNRWA,” he told JNS on Thursday. “But they should go further: The United States should work to end the agency and its pathological agenda of perpetuating Palestinians in a state of dependency and grievance, and aiming for the dismantlement of Israel.”

JNS

Day 407 — Saturday, November 16 

It has been three weeks since the Israeli Air Force struck sensitive military sites in retaliation for Iran launching the largest ballistic missile barrage in military history against Israel. Now, weeks later, we are learning that this Israeli counterstrike against Iran was far more painful for the Iranian regime than we initially knew.

After the dust has settled, we are now learning that Israel apparently struck a sensitive secret Iranian nuclear weapons research facility. It’s no wonder that the Iranian regime is vowing revenge.

Iran’s nuclear sites are now on the table. They have been “fair game” since Hamas and Hezbollah were largely decimated—Hamas almost completely and Hezbollah reeling on the same path. The Iranian regime has been exposed. They were exposed even further in that strike three weeks ago, on October 26th, when their air defense systems were destroyed. Might I add that Russian-supplied s300 air defense systems made up at least part of those Iranian air defenses.

We have been saying for some time that nuclear weapon sites are on the table, and it seems Israel took that to heart. While we are not talking about Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, nuclear reactor, or uranium enrichment facility, this was indeed a secret nuclear weapons research facility in Parchin that was destroyed by the Israeli Air Force.

You can see now why Iran is weeping, gnashing its teeth, and vowing revenge—which now apparently has been delayed since Donald Trump was elected to take office in 66 days.

Let’s get into this.

As I mentioned earlier, Iran’s attack on October 1st was the largest ballistic missile attack in military history, when some 200 ballistic missiles were launched toward Israel. Thankfully, that attack was a massive failure. It also came five months after the April 13th Iranian attack involving some 300 projectiles (cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and drones) that were launched at Israel—an attack which also was entirely unsuccessful after 99% of those incoming projectiles were intercepted. Nonetheless, Israel cannot countenance its greatest enemy launching 500 projectiles in the span of five months. Needless to say, Israel felt compelled to respond, and understandably so.

It is for that reason we all expected a massive response. You have got to send a message. This level of attack cannot be winked at. Speculation then swirled surrounding whether Israel would target Iran’s oil infrastructure, its leadership (which went into hiding after Israel took out the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah), the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp, or its nuclear sites.

When this Israeli counterstrike against Iran happened three weeks ago, it came in three waves involving 100 IAF fighter jets—all of which were unscathed and returned to Israel safely without a scratch.

For three hours in the middle of the night, Israeli fighter jets were operating with impunity in the skies of Iran, carrying out surgical strikes on military facilities. That alone shows how substandard Iran’s air defenses truly were.

During the first wave that night, for lack of a better word, the counterstrike seemed to many to be almost underwhelming, or at least, it wasn’t what we had all been expecting. At first, people were disappointed, suggesting Israel had caved to the demands of the Biden-Harris Administration, who have been attempting to restrain Israel. Without a doubt, the Biden-Harris Administration has been endeavoring to pressure Israel at every turn, whether in Gaza, in Lebanon, or in its response to Iranian aggression and provocations. Others suggested that Israel was “playing nice,” knowing at the time that the election was only a week and a half away.

Despite what could be initially perceived about the strike, I underscored at the time the importance of letting the dust settle. Then the dust settled. We all had a night to sleep on it, and the following day revealed the magnitude of the attack. It wasn’t good for the Iranian regime. In fact, it was very, very painful.

Israel struck strategic ballistic missile and drone factories and destroyed Iran’s air defenses—that was big, and you got an inkling of that about two or three days after when Iranian officials were evaluating the damage and vowing revenge. Israel’s counterstrike was not underwhelming; it was, in a sense, overwhelming.

Here is what we now know: a secret nuclear facility apparently was struck. That alone, even if the air defenses weren’t destroyed, was worth the price of admission.

The Times of Israel reported that the Israeli strike on the sensitive Iranian nuclear facility “destroyed equipment needed for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon.”

Day 406 — Friday, November 15

Russia and Iran have reportedly linked their respective bank card systems in a joint effort to bypass international sanctions, the Islamic Republic television channel IRINN announced on Monday.

The bilateral cooperation between the Iranian network, Shetab, and its Russian counterpart, Mir, will allow Iranian bank credit cards to be used in Russia. In addition, Russian nationals will reportedly be able to use their Russian bank cards in Iran.

It is currently unclear when this bilateral initiative will be fully implemented.

In 2018, during then-U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, banks in Iran were excluded from the international financial messaging service SWIFT. This move severely undermined the Iranian banking system, as most international transactions are conducted through the SWIFT platform.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, international sanctions have also been imposed on Moscow. Over the past two years, Russia and Iran have consequently concluded that closer ties are mutually beneficial. Moscow has been calling for the establishment of a new international payment system that would serve as an alternative to SWIFT.

IRINN emphasized that the financial integration between Iran and Russia marks only the first step in Tehran’s efforts to expand its international diplomatic and financial ties.

“The plan is also going to be implemented in other countries that have a wide range of financial and social interactions with Iran, for example, Iraq, Afghanistan and Turkey,” the Iranian state news agency stated.

Iran and Russia have also forged closer military ties amid continued wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. While Russia is formally considered a military superpower, it reportedly lags behind Western nations in some key technologies, including drones. Moscow has, therefore, been acquiring Iranian-produced drones that have been used in the ongoing war against Ukraine.

In December 2022, the United States raised concerns about the “unprecedented Russian-Iranian military partnership.” While Iran’s drone support for Russia is well known in the West, U.S. National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby also warned of “an unprecedented level of military and technical support” from Russia to the Iranian regime, which threatens the Middle East’s regional security.

“Russia is seeking to collaborate with Iran on areas like weapons development and training,” Kirby warned. “We are concerned that Russia intends to provide Iran with advanced military components,” which “could include air defense.” 

In early 2023, Russia and Iran agreed to build a drone factory in Russia to boost Moscow’s drone capabilities.

In September 2024, the Biden administration raised concerns that Iran intended to deliver ballistic missiles to Russia.

“We have been warning of the deepening security partnership between Russia and Iran since the outset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and are alarmed by these reports,” stated U.S. National Security Council Spokesman Sean Savett.

“Any transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia would represent a dramatic escalation in Iran’s support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” Savett continued.

“This partnership threatens European security and illustrates how Iran’s destabilizing influence reaches beyond the Middle East and around the world.”

All Israel News

Day 406 — Friday, November 15

President-elect Donald Trump promised Thursday to end all restrictions and delays on arms deliveries to Israel on his first day in office, according to Amit Segal, a reporter for Israel’s Channel 12 News and Yedioth Ahronot newspaper.

The Biden-Harris administration withheld precision bombs from Israel in May in response to Israel’s decision to enter Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, against the White House’s explicit demands. Israel ultimately secured Gaza’s border with Egypt and killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who had been attempting to escape through Rafah.

Though the administration later released those weapons, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) alleged that the administration was delaying the delivery of weapons that had already been approved by Congress by failing to submit the proper notifications. Breitbart News had reported already in March that Israeli military officers believed that the U.S. was quietly withholding weapons to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take a softer approach to defeating Hamas.

Without precision bombs, Israel was required to send soldiers into buildings in Gaza where Palestinian terrorists were believed to be hiding, risking the lives of those soldiers through battles or booby traps.

Precision and bunker-busting bombs have also been crucial in the fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon, whose leaders had built their headquarters and other facilities underground — not just near the border, but in the capital city of Beirut as well. Israel used such bunker-busting bombs to kill Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in September.

Breitbart

Day 406 — Friday, November 15

“There’s going to be an anti-Israel protest downtown,” my friend said. “I think we need to do something.”

The next day, we met in front of the courthouse in Las Vegas. Sure enough, there was a group of protesters calling for an end to Israel’s “occupation of Palestine.”

After watching the protest for a few minutes, we walked to our cars. One protester recognized my friend, an Ethiopian Israeli, and confronted us. He followed us for several city blocks, hurling vile slurs at us, accusing us of supporting racism and genocide.

That day I experienced what many of my Jewish friends have: the never-ending scourge of antisemitism.

From spray-painted swastikas on Jewish frat houses to toppled tombstones in Jewish cemeteries, traditional antisemitism is easy to identify. More difficult to pin down is the modern, politically motivated version my friend and I experienced.

As Natan Sharansky, a victim of Soviet-era antisemitism, writes,

Whereas classical anti-Semitism is aimed at the Jewish people or the Jewish religion, “new anti-Semitism” is aimed at the Jewish state. . . . This hatred is advanced in the name of values most of us would consider unimpeachable, such as human rights.¹

This modern, slickly rebranded incarnation is called anti-Zionism. Zionism is the liberation movement of the Jewish people, which originally called for a return to their homeland after centuries of global dispersion and persecution. Its goal realized in the 1948 establishment of the Jewish state, Zionism continues today, calling for the Jewish people’s continued right to live in their land sovereignly and securely.

But anti-Zionists believe Zionism is a form of Western colonization that dispossessed the Arabs living in the region (identified as Palestinians after the Six-Day War) and robbed them of their land. In their view, since the Nakba—the term they use to describe Israel’s rebirth, meaning “disaster”—the Jewish state has engaged in the brutal oppression and systematic disenfranchisement of these “Palestinian refugees.” Not only, they claim, is Israel an illegitimate nation, but it participates in apartheid, à la pre-1994 South Africa. This twisted interpretation of events motivates anti-Zionism’s calls for the destruction of Israel and the establishment of a Palestinian state in its place.

It might seem that anti-Zionism is merely impassioned criticism of a nation that happens to be Jewish, not an antisemitic credo. In theory, this dichotomy works. One can criticize Israeli policy without hating Jewish people. Just ask Israelis, who are known for being their own biggest critics. But there is a vast disparity between anti-Zionism in theory and practice.

Day 406 — Friday, November 15

At various points in the last couple decades, leaders from European nations began to change their ideas on immigration. Instead of blocking the mass of migrants pouring into their countries, they decided the more civilized way of treating them would be to do so with open arms. After all, what could possibly go wrong? So the Muslim immigrants came, and they came, and they came. Now these same countries are looking at their skyrocketing crime rates and the fear many of their citizens have of simply walking the streets and they say, “Oh, maybe that’s what could go wrong.” But it’s too late now. Instead of an overt invasion like the Umayyads carried out in Spain centuries ago, this was a soft invasion. The results, however, are the same. Europe has been Islamicized.

Does that matter? Maybe we should ask the Jews who were in Amsterdam Friday night. Following a football game, fans of the Israeli team, Maccabi Tel Aviv, made their way back to their hotels. But a mass of Muslims were waiting for them. When the Israelis exited their public transportation, they were attacked. Many were beaten, some were stabbed. It was horrific, lasting about five hours. The Dutch police were nearby, but they didn’t help. Many shopkeepers closed their doors to the fleeing Jews. Thankfully, there were some who opened their doors, hiding the Jews in their homes in a scene reminiscent of World War II.

As the weekend progressed, the violence spread as Jews were hunted down also in Sweden and Belgium. Ironically, November is Islamaphobia month. It seems, though, that we need to ask whether they should fear us or we should fear them. And, yes, I certainly recognize that it is not all Muslims who act this way. But there are enough to make me renew my call to Jews everywhere that it is time to come home. Europe is not safe anymore. America is not safe. Asia is not safe. It is time to make aliyah and come home to the land given to you by your Creator.

Day 405 — Thursday, November 14

Wednesday evening, the IDF Spokesman’s office announced the names of six soldiers from the Golani Brigade who were killed during combat in southern Lebanon earlier that day.

The names of the fallen soldiers were:

– Captain Itay Marcovich, aged 22, from Kokhav Ya’ir, a Platoon Commander.
– Staff Sergeant Sraya Elbom, aged 21, from Mehola, Squad Commander.
– Staff Sergeant Dror Hen, aged 20, from Gan Haim, Squad Sergeant.
– Staff Sergeant Nir Gofer, aged 20, from Dimona, soldier.
– Sergeant Shalev Itzhak Sagron, aged 21, from Sderot, soldier.

All six IDF fighters were from the 51st Battalion of the Golani Brigade and were killed Wednesday morning in an encounter with Hezbollah terrorists in a village in southern Lebanon. Another soldier was moderately wounded in the same battle.

President Isaac Herzog eulogized the fighters in a post on X, saying, “Together with the entire people of Israel, I received with deep pain and sorrow the news of the fall of six Golani fighters, heroes of Israel, who fell defending the homeland in the battle against Hezbollah.”

“They fought for us with bravery, courage and dedication and for the defense of the people and the country,” Herzog continued, saying he is praying for “the speedy recovery of all the wounded in the war in body and soul.”

Golani Brigade and Brigade 188, fighting under Division 36, have been operating in recent days on the outskirts of the second line of villages in the western sector of southern Lebanon. The IDF has identified villages where Hezbollah had a known presence before the start of the ground campaign, either conducting launches or storing weapons and ammunition in those locations.

So far, the IDF has cleared most of the first line of those village across the border region. As part of an offensive on new areas where the IDF has not previously conducted ground maneuvers, the Golani Brigade was clearing buildings in a limited maneuver, aimed at capturing strategic areas and locating weapons and launchers. The IDF has detected rocket fire on northern communities in recent weeks coming from some of these villages.

As Battalion 51 launched an assault on several targets, entering and raiding several buildings, the force encountered at least four terrorists at close range, in a building believed to have been unoccupied, and a prolonged battle ensued with the terrorists.

According to a report in Ynet, the IDF is investigating the possibility that the terrorists emerged from an underground combat shaft and, therefore, were not injured in the preparatory strikes that preceded the entry of the infantry fighters.

At the same time, an additional group of Hezbollah terrorists launched an attack on the IDF troops from nearby buildings. Thus, the soldiers came under fire from multiple directions.

The battle lasted around three hours until the IDF gained control of the area. A seventh soldier was moderately wounded in the same battle.

The battle occurred after several brigades operating in southern Lebanon were rotated out for a break, and defense officials had even spoken of releasing reserve forces.

However, with little evidence of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah, the IDF is now expected to keep some of the reserve units in Lebanon to continue applying military pressure on the terror organization.

All Israel News

Day 405 — Thursday, November 14

Authorities have arrested and charged a man suspected of leaking classified documents that described Israel’s preparations for a possible attack against Iran, according to a New York Times report.

The Times report names U.S. government employee Asif William Rahman as the suspect. Fox News has learned that Rahman worked for the CIA. 

A court filing states that Rahman was indicted last week in federal court in Virginia with two counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information. FBI agents arrested Rahman on Tuesday in Cambodia and brought him to federal court in Guam to face charges.

The classified documents, attributed to the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency, note that Israel was still moving military assets in place to conduct a military strike in response to Iran’s blistering ballistic missile attack on Oct. 1. They were shareable within the “Five Eyes,” which are the U.S., Great Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

The documents, marked top secret, were posted to the Telegram messaging app in October. The original poster claimed they had been leaked by someone in the U.S. intelligence community, then later the U.S. Defense Department. The information appeared entirely gathered through the use of satellite image analysis.

Fox News

Day 405 — Thursday, November 14

I’m sure that many of you have heard of the horrifying attacks on Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam last Thursday. An antisemitism watch group has found that the attacks on Israeli Jews in the Netherlands were “orchestrated online using social media platforms including Instagram and telegram,” World Israel News (WIN) reported.

“Dozens of people were injured Thursday night when a mob of mostly Muslims attacked Israeli soccer fans outside of the Johan Cruyff Arena, the home stadium of the AFC Ajax soccer club, in Amsterdam following a match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv,” WIN detailed. “Members of the anti-Israel mob assaulted dozens of Israeli soccer fans, who had flown to Amsterdam for the match, with reports of Israelis being bludgeoned, attempted stabbings and kidnappings, attempts to run down Israelis with cars, and several instances of people being thrown into a river.”

They further went on to report that “Cyberwell, a nonprofit organization monitoring antisemitism and Holocaust denial online, said that the attacks appear to have been orchestrated and coordinated ahead of time via social media.”

CyberWell Founder and Executive Director Tal-Or Cohen Montemayor, in a statement on Friday, highlighted that “this series of coordinated attacks is the rawest example of the slogan ‘Globalization of the Intifada,’ which was amplified in the Instagram stories of some of the organizing accounts.”

“While initial evidence and reports suggest that a combination of chat platforms like Telegram, Instagram, and other social media accounts were used to target central areas of foot traffic and hotels that would be frequented by Israelis after the game, several groups, including one linked to Hamas, freely organized protests against the presence of Israeli soccer fans on Instagram and used incendiary Hamas propaganda symbols to escalate tensions, call for violence and even celebrate the targeted attacks,” CyberWell further revealed.

As noted by WIN, “[the] symbol of an inverted red triangle, used since October 7th, 2023 by supporters of the Hamas terror organization, was posted over 1,000 on social media in conjunction with the word ‘Amsterdam’ during a 24-hour period, reaching over 8,000,000 users.”

As a result, ten Israelis were hospitalized, and hundreds more were huddled in hotel rooms for hours in an effort to protect themselves from the mob.

All of this came on the eve of Kristallnacht, a Nazi pogram against the Jewish people which took place in 1938. While we are thankful the Israeli soccer fans returned home safely, it is very disturbing, to say the least, that Jewish people have once again become the targets of irrational mass hatred.

The truth is that our leaders need to put an end to all the Palestinian rallies that demonize Israel. These rallies give the fuel to what we just saw in Amsterdam.

Day 404 — Wednesday, November 13

President-elect Donald Trump has announced the nomination of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee as the United States’ next Ambassador to Israel. 

“Mike has been a great public servant, Governor and Leader in Faith for many years. He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East!” Trump said in a statement released by the Trump-Vance transition on Tuesday.

Huckabee is a staunch supporter of Israel in the Evangelical community.

Following the outbreak of the war with Hamas on October 7, he led a Christian solidarity delegation to Israel along with ALL ISRAEL NEWS Editor-in-Chief Joel Rosenberg. The two of them have also met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in December. 

Huckabee hosts a weekly program on TBN and often appears as a contributor on Fox News. He ran as a candidate for the Republican nomination for the presidency in 2008 and 2016 against Trump. His daughter, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, served in Trump’s first administration as White House press secretary and is currently the governor of Arkansans.  

Former Trump administration Ambassador to Israel David Friedman hailed the choice, writing on X: “It speaks volumes to the importance and priority that President Trump places on the US – Israel relationship that he selected his Ambassador to Israel within one week of his election. And the selection itself — Mike Huckabee is one of Israel’s greatest friends — tells us that the days of public daylight between the US and Israel are about to end!”

Huckabee’s pick is the latest in a series of appointments made by President-elect Donald Trump that are viewed as pro-Israel. The selection of Sen. Marco Rubio as secretary of state, Rep. Michael Waltz as national security advisor, and NY Rep. Elise Stefanik as UN ambassador demonstrates what many Israeli analysts see as the incoming administration potentially even more supportive of Israeli interests than Trump’s first term.

Following Trump’s announcement, prominent Israeli accounts on X have welcomed Huckabee’s nomination by posting highlights of some of his past remarks on Israel. 

“There are certain words I refuse to use. There is no such thing as the West Bank – it’s Judea and Samaria. There is no such thing as settlements – they’re communities, they’re neighborhoods, they’re cities. There is no such thing as an occupation.” 

In sharp contrast to the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden, Huckabee believes that a ‘Two State Solution’ to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is mainly a “diplomatic fantasy.” 

Addressing the likelihood of a ceasefire in the war in Gaza, Huckabee told News Nation in August: “There’s no valid reason to have a cease-fire with Hamas. They’re not capable of having an honorable negotiation.”

“This is like trying to negotiate with the Nazis in World War II. You just don’t,” he said. “You beat them. You defeat them. You eradicate them.”

All Israel News

Day 404 — Wednesday, November 13

Google’s worldwide employee base, including its Israeli contingent, received a $400 charitable giving allocation on Monday, with the option to direct these funds to organizations from a company-approved list. The inclusion of UNRWA – the UN agency whose operations in Israel were recently suspended following evidence of its personnel’s participation in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks – has sparked considerable discussion within the company.

The charitable initiative allows employees to designate their $400 donation to any organization from an extensive list of over 1000 verified charities working across various sectors. The presence of UNRWA and its affiliated organizations on this list was quickly flagged by Israeli employees and pro-Israel staff members in an internal chat channel.

The scale of Google’s charitable initiative is substantial, with allocations made to approximately 180,000 employees, representing a potential charitable impact of $72 million.

The controversy emerges against the backdrop of unprecedented legislative action in the Knesset, which last month passed two significant laws restricting UNRWA’s operations. The first legislation bars the agency from operating in Jerusalem’s Shuafat refugee camp and terminates all its activities in east Jerusalem. The second law establishes a firewall between Israeli government officials and UNRWA personnel, effectively preventing the agency’s staff from working in or accessing Gaza.

The legislative framework explicitly prohibits UNRWA from maintaining any presence, providing services, or conducting activities, whether directly or indirectly, within Israel’s sovereign territory.

Israel Hayom

Day 403 — Tuesday, November 12 

Violence erupted on the streets of Amsterdam on Monday night in the second wave of antisemitic attacks to hit the Dutch capital over the last week, according to local media reports. 

One of the city’s famous trams was set alight by rioters dressed in black and armed with fireworks, according to De Telegraaf. The rioters threw debris and shouted “Kanker Joden” (cancer Jews), but it is used to mean “f*** the Jews.” 

Rioters reportedly burned a tram in the city’s western suburbs and clashed with police earlier in the day.

A police spokesman said a tram at the ‘40-’45 Square in the west part of Amsterdam had caught fire, likely caused by fireworks thrown at it. The windows of the tram were shattered.

No one was injured in the incident, as the tram had been empty, the spokesman said. 

Masked men reportedly roamed the streets yelling “Free Palestine.” De Telegraaf reported that journalists witnessed a bystander being ripped from his bike and beaten by the rioters.

It was later reported that private vehicles and bikes were destroyed.

The young rioters reportedly actively sought to confront officers.

Geert Wilders, leader of the PVV, responded to the events by saying, “After the Jew-hunt, the Intifada.”

Wilders has been a strong defender of Israel and the Netherlands’s Jewish population while being deeply critical of Dutch immigration and integration policy.

Amsterdam was rocked by a pogrom that targeted Jews and Israelis in the city immediately after the soccer match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and the Dutch team Ajax.

Following the attack, the city announced a three-day ban on all demonstrations to maintain public order. Furthermore, the government had announced it would hold stricter border control until December 9.

Hundreds of people defied the ban, which had been upheld by a local court earlier in the day. 

Jerusalem Post

Day 403 — Tuesday, November 12 

A loud explosion sounded Tuesday morning in the city of Nesher, near Haifa in northern Israel, about half an hour after sirens sounded warning of a hostile aircraft infiltrating from Lebanon.

According to police, the UAV fell near a preschool. No one was injured, but the preschool building suffered light damage.

The children who attended the preschool were inside the building at the time of the strike, and the UAV hit a tree. The preschool’s windows shattered, but did not cause injuries.

Shortly after the sirens sounded, the IDF confirmed: “A short while ago, sirens were sounded in the Western Galilee and Upper Galilee areas, following the identification of several suspicious aerial targets that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory.”