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David Burck is not a politician. Where a seasoned statesman might have reached for a carefully crafted talking point, Burck offered direct, nuanced answers to The Jerusalem Post’s questions.

Maybe this is what will resonate with voters in Florida’s Republican Primary on August 18.

While Burck’s bid to represent Florida’s 22nd Congressional District may seem to have come out of nowhere, he has spent nearly two decades in public service.

He joined the US Marine Corps’ Military Police in 2008. He served for five years before returning to civilian life and joining the West Palm Beach Police Department as a municipal police officer.

His jump from law and order to political life came in response to the 2020 riots, which began in protest of the police killing of George Floyd.

“I saw what was happening, and I felt this calling, which is what’s got me really involved in the political space,” Burck told the Post on Wednesday. “I felt this real need to figure out what the problems are.”

He said he “realized this was just an outgrowth of the culture war, the riots that happened in 2020. 

“And that’s how I got involved with Turning Point USA,” Burck said.

“I feel like the same thing is happening right now with the antisemitism and the disdain for Israel,” he continued. “Is this just a kind of a continued outgrowth of the leftist rot that’s been happening in the West?”

Regarding Turning Point USA, Burck detailed how he began fundraising for popular conservative voice Charlie Kirk, whom he described as a dear, close friend. Kirk was assassinated in September of last year.

Assisting everyday citizens in seeing the big picture

Local issues are rarely confined to the communities they affect and are often shaped by geopolitical forces far beyond the attention of the average worker, Burck said.

A key point of his campaign is tackling the cost-of-living crisis in Florida, a crisis partially shaped by the Strait of Hormuz closure.

While acknowledging that members of the “donor class” view US President Donald Trump’s Memorandum of Understanding as a catastrophic move that hands billions of dollars to a regime that funds regional instability, Burck said that the average working American is more likely to focus on the financial realities affecting them and their families.

Drawing on his military background and his understanding of negotiations involving the Islamic Republic, Burck said he regarded the deal as less than ideal.

He added that, as someone attentive to the needs of his community and the local economy, he can understand why others view the situation as untenable.

Balancing these two realities, Burck could only say that Iran should not be understood as a good-faith actor in negotiations, but Trump had earned enough trust that one should assume he had some greater outcome in mind.

“I definitely have to trust the president’s judgment on it. He’s obviously been a fantastic leader in making these gut calls, making very instinctual [decisions]. He is driven largely by his instincts, and his instincts are saying this is going to be overall beneficial,” Burck reconciled.

“If we’ve learned one thing throughout this, it’s that President Trump makes these calls, and largely they work out. Don’t know how, but it’s the grace of God,” the statesman said.

“He just wills it into existence … He did it when he was indicted … when he was facing all these felony counts … back when he was running against Hillary [Clinton] in 2016; he just somehow bends reality to whatever he conceives it to be,” he continued.

Still, Burck said the US would need to negotiate the nuclear issue with “real teeth.” He said that Iran has previously misled the international community about its missile capabilities and pointed to what he described as its growing military reach into Europe.

He also questioned whether a country so rich in oil had any legitimate need to enrich uranium for the sole purpose of civilian energy production.

Warning that a nuclear-armed Iran would pose a serious risk to global security, Burck said that this was a risk that Trump was no doubt keeping in mind when it came to the MoU.

He went on to say that had a neighboring country attacked the US as Hamas did on October 7, or as Hezbollah did on October 8, America would have “100% responded in kind.”

Part of Americans’ detachment from the situation, he said, was the fact that Iran’s threats felt too far and the US was privileged enough not to live under the constant threat of attacks.

The tension between free speech and hate speech

Another key point that has already drawn criticism is Burck’s position as a free speech absolutist. 

In 2023, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation aimed at strengthening penalties for hate crimes against the Jewish community in Florida, a move that some critics contrast with Burck’s broader approach to speech protections.

His position has prompted criticism in parts of the Florida press, where some commentators have accused him of being an antisemitism apologist because of this approach.

Burck strongly refuted this accusation, levied by journalist Grayson Bakich, telling the Post of his love for the Jewish community and, as a Christian Zionist, for Israel. He also discussed his experiences attending Shabbat alongside his Jewish friends.

“I’m a Bill of Rights absolutist. I think that I’m very weary, cautious, when it comes down to enacting anything that infringes slightly upon any of those Bill of Rights, because anytime you see more power [given] to the government, it just never goes the way that it was originally intended,” he said.

As an example, he offered the instance of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court trials that followed September 11, which became part of America’s national security policy.

“That has become this amorphous surveillance state where it was used against President Trump in 2016, and it just continues,” Burck said.

“The Fourth Amendment continues to get trampled and violated … I’m cautious about it feeding any more ground to the government,” he added.

The Post raised questions about where national security concerns should come into play. Since Hamas’s October 7 attack, US college campuses, including in Florida, have seen demonstrations and expressions of support for the terrorist group that carried out the assault, which also included the killing and abduction of American citizens.

Burck asserted that it was both the right and the obligation of educational institutions to shut down demonstrations clearly supporting terrorist organizations.

“They have that ability to do that just as quickly as they’ll shut down anything that’s Right-leaning, like when they barred Kirk or Ben Shapiro from coming to speak on campus,” Burck said.

‘Qatar not a good actor’

Though Washington has embraced Doha as a close ally, despite its ongoing support of terrorist organizations across the Middle East, Burck was clear that he felt Qatar was behind much of the campus unrest.

“Qatar is not a good actor. They’re playing both sides. They’re giving money to these American universities to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars,” he said. “So, when we see this come up, [we know] why no one’s calling it out.”

Qatar was the largest foreign source of gifts and contracts to American universities in 2025, delivering funding exceeding $1.1 billion, the US Education Department confirmed in February.

Eventually, Burck said, these students, groomed with Qatari resources, would become legislators and the center of “corporate and cultural spheres of influence,” which, he added, is what made Kirk’s work so necessary.

“It’s education outside of your typical channels, and I think it’s an honest and earnest dialogue. I think that’s maybe the nice way of looking at it, hoping that people will be good actors when they have a conversation,” Burck said.

His admiration for Kirk was evident in both what he said and how he said it. While he criticized New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s support for Democratic congressional candidates Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier, who won their party primaries in NYC on Tuesday, he was also clearly willing to challenge figures within his own political camp.

“What’s happened in the wake of [Kirk’s] passing is that you’ve got all of these bad voices that have just been sucking up the attention,” he noted.

“They’re coming out, and they’re saying stuff that is extremely toxic for our movement … like general bad life advice, bad policy advice, bad framing for young people. I hate it,” Burck continued. 

“I really hate to see it, because [Kirk] was loved by the youth, and he was giving sound life advice. It wasn’t like a doomer, black pill approach [extreme pessimism]. He was a happy warrior. Now it’s all doom or black pill stuff,” Burck said. 

With Kirk now gone, Burck said he felt a responsibility to carry forward what he described as involvement in the ongoing “culture wars.” 

The US and Israel are the only two pillars of Western civilization still standing, according to Burck.

“Throughout the course of human history, we’ve objectively never had it so good,” he said. “We’re at an existential kind of point in the West as a whole as we go away from the ideas that have made us great, and we see it in Europe, and we’ve seen it here bubbling domestically in the United States,” he went on to say.

“I just feel like if I didn’t do my part to try to stem that tide in any way, shape or form, I’d be failing my son, the future generations out of the West, and America specifically,” Burck maintained. 

“I think it’s high time for us to definitely codify our relationship even more with Israel; we need it. Europe is a rump of itself, it’s a husk, and it’s not going to get any better. And really, the only true Western ally that we have left is Israel,” he said. 

While he had not yet had the privilege of visiting Israel, Burck said, he was looking forward to the situation calming down enough that he could cross it off his bucket list and visit along with his wife and 14-month-old son.

“I need to go look as a believer in Christ. I want to get out there, and I’ve heard so many great things,” he said. 

“We need to keep this relationship thriving. I think that we’re going to work through this. I can understand why the people of Israel feel betrayed right now, but you know, Donald Trump’s done so many fantastic things for Israel, and I don’t think that he would do anything that would put Israel at a disadvantage,” the statesman said.

“Personally, I don’t believe so. I think this is just a part of the process of negotiating with the terrorist regime and the largest state sponsor of terrorism. I feel like Israel and the United States are just kind of like the two last vestiges of the best of the West.”

David Burck is not a politician. Where a seasoned statesman might have reached for a carefully crafted talking point, Burck offered direct, nuanced answers to The Jerusalem Post’s questions.

Maybe this is what will resonate with voters in Florida’s Republican Primary on August 18.

While Burck’s bid to represent Florida’s 22nd Congressional District may seem to have come out of nowhere, he has spent nearly two decades in public service.

He joined the US Marine Corps’ Military Police in 2008. He served for five years before returning to civilian life and joining the West Palm Beach Police Department as a municipal police officer.

His jump from law and order to political life came in response to the 2020 riots, which began in protest of the police killing of George Floyd.

“I saw what was happening, and I felt this calling, which is what’s got me really involved in the political space,” Burck told the Post on Wednesday. “I felt this real need to figure out what the problems are.”

He said he “realized this was just an outgrowth of the culture war, the riots that happened in 2020. 

“And that’s how I got involved with Turning Point USA,” Burck said.

“I feel like the same thing is happening right now with the antisemitism and the disdain for Israel,” he continued. “Is this just a kind of a continued outgrowth of the leftist rot that’s been happening in the West?”

Regarding Turning Point USA, Burck detailed how he began fundraising for popular conservative voice Charlie Kirk, whom he described as a dear, close friend. Kirk was assassinated in September of last year.

Assisting everyday citizens in seeing the big picture

Local issues are rarely confined to the communities they affect and are often shaped by geopolitical forces far beyond the attention of the average worker, Burck said.

A key point of his campaign is tackling the cost-of-living crisis in Florida, a crisis partially shaped by the Strait of Hormuz closure.

While acknowledging that members of the “donor class” view US President Donald Trump’s Memorandum of Understanding as a catastrophic move that hands billions of dollars to a regime that funds regional instability, Burck said that the average working American is more likely to focus on the financial realities affecting them and their families.

Drawing on his military background and his understanding of negotiations involving the Islamic Republic, Burck said he regarded the deal as less than ideal.

He added that, as someone attentive to the needs of his community and the local economy, he can understand why others view the situation as untenable.

Balancing these two realities, Burck could only say that Iran should not be understood as a good-faith actor in negotiations, but Trump had earned enough trust that one should assume he had some greater outcome in mind.

“I definitely have to trust the president’s judgment on it. He’s obviously been a fantastic leader in making these gut calls, making very instinctual [decisions]. He is driven largely by his instincts, and his instincts are saying this is going to be overall beneficial,” Burck reconciled.

“If we’ve learned one thing throughout this, it’s that President Trump makes these calls, and largely they work out. Don’t know how, but it’s the grace of God,” the statesman said.

“He just wills it into existence … He did it when he was indicted … when he was facing all these felony counts … back when he was running against Hillary [Clinton] in 2016; he just somehow bends reality to whatever he conceives it to be,” he continued.

Still, Burck said the US would need to negotiate the nuclear issue with “real teeth.” He said that Iran has previously misled the international community about its missile capabilities and pointed to what he described as its growing military reach into Europe.

He also questioned whether a country so rich in oil had any legitimate need to enrich uranium for the sole purpose of civilian energy production.

Warning that a nuclear-armed Iran would pose a serious risk to global security, Burck said that this was a risk that Trump was no doubt keeping in mind when it came to the MoU.

He went on to say that had a neighboring country attacked the US as Hamas did on October 7, or as Hezbollah did on October 8, America would have “100% responded in kind.”

Part of Americans’ detachment from the situation, he said, was the fact that Iran’s threats felt too far and the US was privileged enough not to live under the constant threat of attacks.

The tension between free speech and hate speech

Another key point that has already drawn criticism is Burck’s position as a free speech absolutist. 

In 2023, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation aimed at strengthening penalties for hate crimes against the Jewish community in Florida, a move that some critics contrast with Burck’s broader approach to speech protections.

His position has prompted criticism in parts of the Florida press, where some commentators have accused him of being an antisemitism apologist because of this approach.

Burck strongly refuted this accusation, levied by journalist Grayson Bakich, telling the Post of his love for the Jewish community and, as a Christian Zionist, for Israel. He also discussed his experiences attending Shabbat alongside his Jewish friends.

“I’m a Bill of Rights absolutist. I think that I’m very weary, cautious, when it comes down to enacting anything that infringes slightly upon any of those Bill of Rights, because anytime you see more power [given] to the government, it just never goes the way that it was originally intended,” he said.

As an example, he offered the instance of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court trials that followed September 11, which became part of America’s national security policy.

“That has become this amorphous surveillance state where it was used against President Trump in 2016, and it just continues,” Burck said.

“The Fourth Amendment continues to get trampled and violated … I’m cautious about it feeding any more ground to the government,” he added.

The Post raised questions about where national security concerns should come into play. Since Hamas’s October 7 attack, US college campuses, including in Florida, have seen demonstrations and expressions of support for the terrorist group that carried out the assault, which also included the killing and abduction of American citizens.

Burck asserted that it was both the right and the obligation of educational institutions to shut down demonstrations clearly supporting terrorist organizations.

“They have that ability to do that just as quickly as they’ll shut down anything that’s Right-leaning, like when they barred Kirk or Ben Shapiro from coming to speak on campus,” Burck said.

‘Qatar not a good actor’

Though Washington has embraced Doha as a close ally, despite its ongoing support of terrorist organizations across the Middle East, Burck was clear that he felt Qatar was behind much of the campus unrest.

“Qatar is not a good actor. They’re playing both sides. They’re giving money to these American universities to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars,” he said. “So, when we see this come up, [we know] why no one’s calling it out.”

Qatar was the largest foreign source of gifts and contracts to American universities in 2025, delivering funding exceeding $1.1 billion, the US Education Department confirmed in February.

Eventually, Burck said, these students, groomed with Qatari resources, would become legislators and the center of “corporate and cultural spheres of influence,” which, he added, is what made Kirk’s work so necessary.

“It’s education outside of your typical channels, and I think it’s an honest and earnest dialogue. I think that’s maybe the nice way of looking at it, hoping that people will be good actors when they have a conversation,” Burck said.

His admiration for Kirk was evident in both what he said and how he said it. While he criticized New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s support for Democratic congressional candidates Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier, who won their party primaries in NYC on Tuesday, he was also clearly willing to challenge figures within his own political camp.

“What’s happened in the wake of [Kirk’s] passing is that you’ve got all of these bad voices that have just been sucking up the attention,” he noted.

“They’re coming out, and they’re saying stuff that is extremely toxic for our movement … like general bad life advice, bad policy advice, bad framing for young people. I hate it,” Burck continued. 

“I really hate to see it, because [Kirk] was loved by the youth, and he was giving sound life advice. It wasn’t like a doomer, black pill approach [extreme pessimism]. He was a happy warrior. Now it’s all doom or black pill stuff,” Burck said. 

With Kirk now gone, Burck said he felt a responsibility to carry forward what he described as involvement in the ongoing “culture wars.” 

The US and Israel are the only two pillars of Western civilization still standing, according to Burck.

“Throughout the course of human history, we’ve objectively never had it so good,” he said. “We’re at an existential kind of point in the West as a whole as we go away from the ideas that have made us great, and we see it in Europe, and we’ve seen it here bubbling domestically in the United States,” he went on to say.

“I just feel like if I didn’t do my part to try to stem that tide in any way, shape or form, I’d be failing my son, the future generations out of the West, and America specifically,” Burck maintained. 

“I think it’s high time for us to definitely codify our relationship even more with Israel; we need it. Europe is a rump of itself, it’s a husk, and it’s not going to get any better. And really, the only true Western ally that we have left is Israel,” he said. 

While he had not yet had the privilege of visiting Israel, Burck said, he was looking forward to the situation calming down enough that he could cross it off his bucket list and visit along with his wife and 14-month-old son.

“I need to go look as a believer in Christ. I want to get out there, and I’ve heard so many great things,” he said. 

“We need to keep this relationship thriving. I think that we’re going to work through this. I can understand why the people of Israel feel betrayed right now, but you know, Donald Trump’s done so many fantastic things for Israel, and I don’t think that he would do anything that would put Israel at a disadvantage,” the statesman said.

“Personally, I don’t believe so. I think this is just a part of the process of negotiating with the terrorist regime and the largest state sponsor of terrorism. I feel like Israel and the United States are just kind of like the two last vestiges of the best of the West.”

Paul Goldenberg remembers sounding alarms 20 years ago and warning the Jewish community, “The storm is coming.”

Unfortunately, at the time, most people didn’t listen to this decorated law enforcement and globally recognized security professional.

The Magazine spoke with Goldenberg over several months as he traveled through Sweden, Germany, Poland, and Canada. Interviews ended abruptly when Goldenberg was pulled away for security matters. 

He had just returned from Belfast, where he was on the ground with his son, Alex Goldenberg, a social media threat expert, during the recent anti-immigration riots. Sounding calm and in control, it’s easy to forget the extreme danger of his occupation. Since his days walking the beat on the police force in Irvington, New Jersey, and going deep undercover in Miami, Goldenberg has always lived a life on the edge, battling crime and corruption to make the world safer.

Now the deputy director of the Rutgers University Miller Center on Policing, he reflected on his colorful past, dispersing serious topics with humor. He told of how he infiltrated a Jamaican posse in Miami and got them to sing “Hava Nagila,” and how his mother helped law enforcement translate a Russian mobster who spoke Yiddish, until she stopped out of guilt because he was Jewish. Goldenberg led the investigation of the mob family that The Sopranos was based on, and was a consultant for the television show.

His undercover identities as a long-haired gun-runner, and jewelry store and Jamaican bar owner taught him how people operate psychologically. Although these were different worlds, it was the “same human dynamics.” He said his work became “less about infiltrating criminal organizations and more about embedding myself within communities under threat.”

Regarding the current antisemitic protests across Europe and the United States, Goldenberg said that police on the front lines are “terrified by what they’re seeing,” and empathize with the Jewish community because they are also recipients of the hatred. “Many of the people at those protests who hate Jews hate the police just as much, because of the uniform they wear and the profession they chose… They’re dehumanizing police the same way the Nazis dehumanized the Jews,” he said.

For almost 30 years, Goldenberg has been on the ground in the US, Paris, Denmark, Sweden, Croatia, and other regions in the world within 24 hours of some of the worst targeted terror attacks. 

To keep communities safer behind the scenes, Goldenberg has been working “quietly” with Israeli police for the last 40 years. He brought the first US counterterror policing unit to train on the ground in Israel, and since 2001, he has organized more than 15 police missions to Israel, and worked with Israeli intelligence to help secure Diaspora communities. He is currently collaborating with Israeli police on counter-UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) drone technologies.

Building bridges with police

Three months before 9/11, David Harris, former CEO of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), accompanied Goldenberg to a clandestine meeting with CRIF, the official Jewish organization in Paris, with Jewish leaders. When Goldenberg discovered that their relationships with law enforcement were nonexistent, his mission became to build bridges between the Jewish and policing communities.

The United States Congress recognized Goldenberg for his work. In 1998, he was appointed head of the transnational policing program for the Office for Security Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the world’s largest government security initiative, where he advised European governments and NGOs for four years.

In 2008, Goldenberg stood in front of a Jewish kindergarten in Paris surrounded by barbed wire, along with tanks and soldiers from a special brigade armed with automatic rifles. “They were not guarding some diplomat. They were guarding French Jewish children.” He remembers saying to himself, “We can never let this happen in the United States. Never.”

Goldenberg’s first security assessment of a Jewish community in the US was just before 9/11. As an adviser to the AJC, Harris asked him to go to Spokane, Washington, with Steven Pomerantz, a former FBI assistant director, to increase police involvement in protecting the Jewish community. 

A remote synagogue was being threatened, and 26 years ago, police did not understand the repercussions of antisemitism like they do today, Goldenberg explained. The Jewish community in Spokane was in great peril, as it is located approximately 37 miles from Hayden Lake, Idaho, an area Goldenberg said used to be “the epicenter of neo-Nazis.”

Goldenberg and Pomerantz arranged for the Spokane police to meet with local Jewish leaders. “There was no organization at that time that really engaged or knew how to initiate a true security program, where you build capacity between the Jewish community and the police,” Goldenberg recalled.

Shortly after this trip, they met with Malcolm Hoenlein, former executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, and Steve Hoffman, president emeritus of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland. They envisioned a national organization dedicated solely to protecting the Jewish community. The experience at Spokane, compounded with other national and international terrorism events, resulted in the 2004 founding of the Secure Community Network (SCN), North America’s largest security organization dedicated to keeping the Jewish community safe through intelligence and law-enforcement liaisons. 

“In the shadow of hate, it was really the birth of security for the American Jewish community,” Goldenberg observed.

Today, SCN has grown to have a $35 million budget with over 130 full-time employees, including former FBI agents, SWAT commanders, and police chiefs, who work with Jewish Federations in the US and Canada.

Regardless of security measures in place for the Jewish community, Pomeranz emphasized the importance of protecting oneself. He worries for the future of his grandchildren in the US. “In retrospect, this is like my worst nightmare come true,” he stated.

Goldenberg doesn’t believe the term “antisemitism” is strong enough to convey the level of hate and violence it connotes. “We saw a transition in 2003,” Goldenberg explained. With the rising popularity of social media came a more dangerous virtual climate that has since translated into real life. “It went from graffiti on the sides of synagogues to armed assaults by people wearing camouflage and carrying AR-14s,” he said.

Developing prevention programs

While leading the SCN, Goldenberg worked across Europe as the chief police adviser to the OSCE, helping secure Jewish and other vulnerable communities. He developed hate-crime prevention programs, and created the first definition of antisemitism from a law enforcement context. He observed that in many European countries, the police viewed Jewish communities and their synagogues as extensions of the State of Israel, rather than part of their own country.

Jonathan Biermann, an attorney and deputy mayor of a district in Brussels, said that Goldenberg was one of the first law enforcement agents to raise awareness of the need for a trusted relationship between Jewish and other religious communities and the police. In 2015, Goldenberg invited him to a conference with the International Association of Chiefs of Police at FBI headquarters in Washington, DC, focused on protecting places of worship. 

Biermann commented, “What was really fantastic was that he was able to put in the same room very high-ranking law enforcement officers with community, spiritual, and religious leaders from different faiths, saying, ‘We are sharing the same worries, we are facing the same enemies.’”

The security concerns Goldenberg has been telegraphing to the Jewish community are spreading to people of other faiths in Western countries. Goldenberg explained that while serving on the Department of Homeland Security Advisory Council, he led a subcommittee on targeted violence against religious communities. 

“I had the opportunity to visit religious institutions that were attacked, where lives were lost. It’s not only Jewish institutions, but Sikh temples, mosques, and churches,” he said. Lessons from those conversations helped shape national homeland security policy. Goldenberg was named America’s Most Influential Person in Homeland Security in 2024 and 2021.

Biermann relayed how Goldenberg was instrumental in creating programs so that religious communities could safely express their faith and unite with allies. Animated films and campaigns like “If You See Something, Say Something” helped to educate the public and changed the perception of the Jewish community as being isolated. 

“That became an opportunity for us to build bridges with other communities, saying ‘If you are not safe in your church, in your mosque, in your synagogue, then we are not safe in our place of worship,’” Biermann said.

On January 9, 2015, Goldenberg came to Paris when a kosher supermarket was sieged; four people were murdered, and 15 were taken hostage. John Farmer, founding director of the Miller Center on Policing and Community Resilience at Rutgers University and a former New Jersey attorney-general and the chief counsel of President George W. Bush’s 9/11 commission, said that thanks to Goldenberg’s connections, they were embedded with the Jewish community in Paris, and there was an amazing response time. 

“Every Jewish-owned business in Paris was closed within an hour,” Farmer said.

After the March 22, 2015, ISIS terror attacks at the Brussels Airport and the Maelbeek metro, where 36 people were killed and over 300 injured, Goldenberg, Biermann, and Farmer were called in by the Brussels police to create dialogue, diffuse tension, and cultivate trust between Jewish and Muslim communities and police.

Regarding the future of Jewry in Brussels, Biermann said, “If we decide to leave, the society will collapse… if the society doesn’t want its Jews anymore, then it’s not a democratic and open-minded and liberal community, which is the essence of European democracies.”

Goldenberg added that if antisemitic attacks against Jews continue to increase, “the answer cannot be fear, retreat, or the surrender of identity… We have endured throughout history because we refused to disappear.” He said to remember that we have the State of Israel.

Remembering past tragedies

Farmer and Biermann have attended the International March of the Living (MOTL), an educational program that brings nearly 10,000 people from around the world, including Holocaust survivors and their families, to Auschwitz and Birkenau every year on Holocaust Remembrance Day. This year, more than 130 chiefs, sheriffs, commissioners, commanders, and law enforcement leaders participated in the 3-km. march.

Founded 35 years ago, MOTL is a three-day event where survivors share their stories and people from all backgrounds and religions walk arm in arm on the “Road of Death” to pay homage to those who were tragically murdered. Together, they take a powerful stand against antisemitism and Holocaust denial.

Goldenberg said that “one of his proudest moments” was when he stood with 130 police senior executives at Auschwitz this past Holocaust Remembrance Day. Since 2024, Goldenberg has been chair of the International Police Delegation of MOTL.

Last year, Rutgers University’s Miller Center, the University of Virginia’s Center for Public Safety and Justice, and the Global Consortium for Law Enforcement Training Executives launched a police educational program developed by Goldenberg and his team, “Operationalizing Never Again: The Role of Law Enforcement in the Holocaust and Contemporary Genocide.” As part of the program, police chiefs and officials on the march confront the horrors that resulted from the complicity of police in the past and vow never to allow it to happen again.

Goldenberg added, “Thanks to Paul Miller, who established the Rutgers University Miller Center on Policing. Without his support, we wouldn’t have been able to do any of the work that we do.”

Jochen Kopelke, president of the European Federation of Police Unions and the Federal Chairman of the German Police Union, opted not to wear his uniform on the march because of  “personal insecurity… That’s where people from your police force in the past committed crimes as cruel as nobody could imagine.”

Although Kopelke was initially shy about talking with Holocaust survivors because he is German and the past weighs heavily on his shoulders, his hesitation soon dissipated. “When you say hello, and you tell them that you’re a German police officer and you regret [what happened], and you will support [them], they are so open,” Kopelke said.

He described how 26 police officers met with Auschwitz survivors of the recent terror attacks in Bondi Beach, Australia, Great Britain, and Washington, DC. “That makes it very emotional. They are so thankful and grateful… You see how essential it is to fight for Jewish life, to protect Jewish life,” Kopelke added, “They put a mission in my heart.”

Phyllis Heideman, president of the International March of the Living, marched with Kopelke and observed how he was “intellectually, professionally, and emotionally moved by the experience of walking along the path of death.” 

Holding back tears, she described how survivors opened up to officers with heartbreaking honesty about how they were rounded up as teenagers by police officers they knew their entire lives, and acknowledged that now these officers are there to support and protect them.

Heideman recalled seeing survivors holding the officers’ hands, kissing and hugging them. She said they couldn’t thank the officers enough, “because they are the living witnesses of the complicity of law enforcement during the Holocaust.”

Commenting on the current climate of antisemitism in Germany, Kopelke observed: “Everything that we had in the past in Germany is coming back to European capitals.” He credits Goldenberg for bringing his mission to unite police with vulnerable communities to the people. He urges the Jewish community not to be afraid to develop relationships with law enforcement.

Heideman explained that police participation in the March of the Living has led to the formation of the Jewish Troopers Association of New Jersey, a nonprofit organization founded in 2024 that connects Jewish police officers with local Jewish communities. She said the experience of seeing gas chambers and a crematorium on the march strengthened the resolve of the officers to fight antisemitism. 

“[They returned] to their jurisdictions with a greater commitment to their roles as protectors of all their constituents,” she said.

Heideman described how the powerful visual display of 130 officers on the march in “gorgeous, if not frightening” uniforms with medals of honor offered her solace and comfort. “They want to help us live safely and survive this current wave of antisemitism,” she said. “I cannot tell you the respect, the regard, and the love I have for each of these officers from every continent around the globe, who walk together with thousands of participants – both Jewish and not – from over 100 communities worldwide.”

She expressed her sincerest gratitude for Goldenberg and his Transnational Law Enforcement Delegation. “Paul Goldenberg has a higher place in heaven because of his devotion in organizing and orchestrating this incredible delegation to bear witness to the darkest chapter in history.

“He’s a great ally of humanity. He is impacting the global narrative, and he is certainly amassing goodwill for the Jewish people among international law enforcement – police chiefs, sheriffs, all people who now want to say, ‘You can’t get away with this rampant spire of hate. Enough is enough!’”

Goldenberg envisions hundreds of police executives walking side by side during the 2027 March of the Living. He wants to expand the “Operationalizing Never Again” initiative into an international professional development program for policing, to remind law enforcement how important they are to sustaining democratic values.

“When they fall, democracy falls,” he said.■

Paul Goldenberg remembers sounding alarms 20 years ago and warning the Jewish community, “The storm is coming.”

Unfortunately, at the time, most people didn’t listen to this decorated law enforcement and globally recognized security professional.

The Magazine spoke with Goldenberg over several months as he traveled through Sweden, Germany, Poland, and Canada. Interviews ended abruptly when Goldenberg was pulled away for security matters. 

He had just returned from Belfast, where he was on the ground with his son, Alex Goldenberg, a social media threat expert, during the recent anti-immigration riots. Sounding calm and in control, it’s easy to forget the extreme danger of his occupation. Since his days walking the beat on the police force in Irvington, New Jersey, and going deep undercover in Miami, Goldenberg has always lived a life on the edge, battling crime and corruption to make the world safer.

Now the deputy director of the Rutgers University Miller Center on Policing, he reflected on his colorful past, dispersing serious topics with humor. He told of how he infiltrated a Jamaican posse in Miami and got them to sing “Hava Nagila,” and how his mother helped law enforcement translate a Russian mobster who spoke Yiddish, until she stopped out of guilt because he was Jewish. Goldenberg led the investigation of the mob family that The Sopranos was based on, and was a consultant for the television show.

His undercover identities as a long-haired gun-runner, and jewelry store and Jamaican bar owner taught him how people operate psychologically. Although these were different worlds, it was the “same human dynamics.” He said his work became “less about infiltrating criminal organizations and more about embedding myself within communities under threat.”

Regarding the current antisemitic protests across Europe and the United States, Goldenberg said that police on the front lines are “terrified by what they’re seeing,” and empathize with the Jewish community because they are also recipients of the hatred. “Many of the people at those protests who hate Jews hate the police just as much, because of the uniform they wear and the profession they chose… They’re dehumanizing police the same way the Nazis dehumanized the Jews,” he said.

For almost 30 years, Goldenberg has been on the ground in the US, Paris, Denmark, Sweden, Croatia, and other regions in the world within 24 hours of some of the worst targeted terror attacks. 

To keep communities safer behind the scenes, Goldenberg has been working “quietly” with Israeli police for the last 40 years. He brought the first US counterterror policing unit to train on the ground in Israel, and since 2001, he has organized more than 15 police missions to Israel, and worked with Israeli intelligence to help secure Diaspora communities. He is currently collaborating with Israeli police on counter-UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) drone technologies.

Building bridges with police

Three months before 9/11, David Harris, former CEO of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), accompanied Goldenberg to a clandestine meeting with CRIF, the official Jewish organization in Paris, with Jewish leaders. When Goldenberg discovered that their relationships with law enforcement were nonexistent, his mission became to build bridges between the Jewish and policing communities.

The United States Congress recognized Goldenberg for his work. In 1998, he was appointed head of the transnational policing program for the Office for Security Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the world’s largest government security initiative, where he advised European governments and NGOs for four years.

In 2008, Goldenberg stood in front of a Jewish kindergarten in Paris surrounded by barbed wire, along with tanks and soldiers from a special brigade armed with automatic rifles. “They were not guarding some diplomat. They were guarding French Jewish children.” He remembers saying to himself, “We can never let this happen in the United States. Never.”

Goldenberg’s first security assessment of a Jewish community in the US was just before 9/11. As an adviser to the AJC, Harris asked him to go to Spokane, Washington, with Steven Pomerantz, a former FBI assistant director, to increase police involvement in protecting the Jewish community. 

A remote synagogue was being threatened, and 26 years ago, police did not understand the repercussions of antisemitism like they do today, Goldenberg explained. The Jewish community in Spokane was in great peril, as it is located approximately 37 miles from Hayden Lake, Idaho, an area Goldenberg said used to be “the epicenter of neo-Nazis.”

Goldenberg and Pomerantz arranged for the Spokane police to meet with local Jewish leaders. “There was no organization at that time that really engaged or knew how to initiate a true security program, where you build capacity between the Jewish community and the police,” Goldenberg recalled.

Shortly after this trip, they met with Malcolm Hoenlein, former executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, and Steve Hoffman, president emeritus of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland. They envisioned a national organization dedicated solely to protecting the Jewish community. The experience at Spokane, compounded with other national and international terrorism events, resulted in the 2004 founding of the Secure Community Network (SCN), North America’s largest security organization dedicated to keeping the Jewish community safe through intelligence and law-enforcement liaisons. 

“In the shadow of hate, it was really the birth of security for the American Jewish community,” Goldenberg observed.

Today, SCN has grown to have a $35 million budget with over 130 full-time employees, including former FBI agents, SWAT commanders, and police chiefs, who work with Jewish Federations in the US and Canada.

Regardless of security measures in place for the Jewish community, Pomeranz emphasized the importance of protecting oneself. He worries for the future of his grandchildren in the US. “In retrospect, this is like my worst nightmare come true,” he stated.

Goldenberg doesn’t believe the term “antisemitism” is strong enough to convey the level of hate and violence it connotes. “We saw a transition in 2003,” Goldenberg explained. With the rising popularity of social media came a more dangerous virtual climate that has since translated into real life. “It went from graffiti on the sides of synagogues to armed assaults by people wearing camouflage and carrying AR-14s,” he said.

Developing prevention programs

While leading the SCN, Goldenberg worked across Europe as the chief police adviser to the OSCE, helping secure Jewish and other vulnerable communities. He developed hate-crime prevention programs, and created the first definition of antisemitism from a law enforcement context. He observed that in many European countries, the police viewed Jewish communities and their synagogues as extensions of the State of Israel, rather than part of their own country.

Jonathan Biermann, an attorney and deputy mayor of a district in Brussels, said that Goldenberg was one of the first law enforcement agents to raise awareness of the need for a trusted relationship between Jewish and other religious communities and the police. In 2015, Goldenberg invited him to a conference with the International Association of Chiefs of Police at FBI headquarters in Washington, DC, focused on protecting places of worship. 

Biermann commented, “What was really fantastic was that he was able to put in the same room very high-ranking law enforcement officers with community, spiritual, and religious leaders from different faiths, saying, ‘We are sharing the same worries, we are facing the same enemies.’”

The security concerns Goldenberg has been telegraphing to the Jewish community are spreading to people of other faiths in Western countries. Goldenberg explained that while serving on the Department of Homeland Security Advisory Council, he led a subcommittee on targeted violence against religious communities. 

“I had the opportunity to visit religious institutions that were attacked, where lives were lost. It’s not only Jewish institutions, but Sikh temples, mosques, and churches,” he said. Lessons from those conversations helped shape national homeland security policy. Goldenberg was named America’s Most Influential Person in Homeland Security in 2024 and 2021.

Biermann relayed how Goldenberg was instrumental in creating programs so that religious communities could safely express their faith and unite with allies. Animated films and campaigns like “If You See Something, Say Something” helped to educate the public and changed the perception of the Jewish community as being isolated. 

“That became an opportunity for us to build bridges with other communities, saying ‘If you are not safe in your church, in your mosque, in your synagogue, then we are not safe in our place of worship,’” Biermann said.

On January 9, 2015, Goldenberg came to Paris when a kosher supermarket was sieged; four people were murdered, and 15 were taken hostage. John Farmer, founding director of the Miller Center on Policing and Community Resilience at Rutgers University and a former New Jersey attorney-general and the chief counsel of President George W. Bush’s 9/11 commission, said that thanks to Goldenberg’s connections, they were embedded with the Jewish community in Paris, and there was an amazing response time. 

“Every Jewish-owned business in Paris was closed within an hour,” Farmer said.

After the March 22, 2015, ISIS terror attacks at the Brussels Airport and the Maelbeek metro, where 36 people were killed and over 300 injured, Goldenberg, Biermann, and Farmer were called in by the Brussels police to create dialogue, diffuse tension, and cultivate trust between Jewish and Muslim communities and police.

Regarding the future of Jewry in Brussels, Biermann said, “If we decide to leave, the society will collapse… if the society doesn’t want its Jews anymore, then it’s not a democratic and open-minded and liberal community, which is the essence of European democracies.”

Goldenberg added that if antisemitic attacks against Jews continue to increase, “the answer cannot be fear, retreat, or the surrender of identity… We have endured throughout history because we refused to disappear.” He said to remember that we have the State of Israel.

Remembering past tragedies

Farmer and Biermann have attended the International March of the Living (MOTL), an educational program that brings nearly 10,000 people from around the world, including Holocaust survivors and their families, to Auschwitz and Birkenau every year on Holocaust Remembrance Day. This year, more than 130 chiefs, sheriffs, commissioners, commanders, and law enforcement leaders participated in the 3-km. march.

Founded 35 years ago, MOTL is a three-day event where survivors share their stories and people from all backgrounds and religions walk arm in arm on the “Road of Death” to pay homage to those who were tragically murdered. Together, they take a powerful stand against antisemitism and Holocaust denial.

Goldenberg said that “one of his proudest moments” was when he stood with 130 police senior executives at Auschwitz this past Holocaust Remembrance Day. Since 2024, Goldenberg has been chair of the International Police Delegation of MOTL.

Last year, Rutgers University’s Miller Center, the University of Virginia’s Center for Public Safety and Justice, and the Global Consortium for Law Enforcement Training Executives launched a police educational program developed by Goldenberg and his team, “Operationalizing Never Again: The Role of Law Enforcement in the Holocaust and Contemporary Genocide.” As part of the program, police chiefs and officials on the march confront the horrors that resulted from the complicity of police in the past and vow never to allow it to happen again.

Goldenberg added, “Thanks to Paul Miller, who established the Rutgers University Miller Center on Policing. Without his support, we wouldn’t have been able to do any of the work that we do.”

Jochen Kopelke, president of the European Federation of Police Unions and the Federal Chairman of the German Police Union, opted not to wear his uniform on the march because of  “personal insecurity… That’s where people from your police force in the past committed crimes as cruel as nobody could imagine.”

Although Kopelke was initially shy about talking with Holocaust survivors because he is German and the past weighs heavily on his shoulders, his hesitation soon dissipated. “When you say hello, and you tell them that you’re a German police officer and you regret [what happened], and you will support [them], they are so open,” Kopelke said.

He described how 26 police officers met with Auschwitz survivors of the recent terror attacks in Bondi Beach, Australia, Great Britain, and Washington, DC. “That makes it very emotional. They are so thankful and grateful… You see how essential it is to fight for Jewish life, to protect Jewish life,” Kopelke added, “They put a mission in my heart.”

Phyllis Heideman, president of the International March of the Living, marched with Kopelke and observed how he was “intellectually, professionally, and emotionally moved by the experience of walking along the path of death.” 

Holding back tears, she described how survivors opened up to officers with heartbreaking honesty about how they were rounded up as teenagers by police officers they knew their entire lives, and acknowledged that now these officers are there to support and protect them.

Heideman recalled seeing survivors holding the officers’ hands, kissing and hugging them. She said they couldn’t thank the officers enough, “because they are the living witnesses of the complicity of law enforcement during the Holocaust.”

Commenting on the current climate of antisemitism in Germany, Kopelke observed: “Everything that we had in the past in Germany is coming back to European capitals.” He credits Goldenberg for bringing his mission to unite police with vulnerable communities to the people. He urges the Jewish community not to be afraid to develop relationships with law enforcement.

Heideman explained that police participation in the March of the Living has led to the formation of the Jewish Troopers Association of New Jersey, a nonprofit organization founded in 2024 that connects Jewish police officers with local Jewish communities. She said the experience of seeing gas chambers and a crematorium on the march strengthened the resolve of the officers to fight antisemitism. 

“[They returned] to their jurisdictions with a greater commitment to their roles as protectors of all their constituents,” she said.

Heideman described how the powerful visual display of 130 officers on the march in “gorgeous, if not frightening” uniforms with medals of honor offered her solace and comfort. “They want to help us live safely and survive this current wave of antisemitism,” she said. “I cannot tell you the respect, the regard, and the love I have for each of these officers from every continent around the globe, who walk together with thousands of participants – both Jewish and not – from over 100 communities worldwide.”

She expressed her sincerest gratitude for Goldenberg and his Transnational Law Enforcement Delegation. “Paul Goldenberg has a higher place in heaven because of his devotion in organizing and orchestrating this incredible delegation to bear witness to the darkest chapter in history.

“He’s a great ally of humanity. He is impacting the global narrative, and he is certainly amassing goodwill for the Jewish people among international law enforcement – police chiefs, sheriffs, all people who now want to say, ‘You can’t get away with this rampant spire of hate. Enough is enough!’”

Goldenberg envisions hundreds of police executives walking side by side during the 2027 March of the Living. He wants to expand the “Operationalizing Never Again” initiative into an international professional development program for policing, to remind law enforcement how important they are to sustaining democratic values.

“When they fall, democracy falls,” he said.■

In recent weeks, US Vice President JD Vance has made statements and suggestions implying that the military aid provided by the United States to Israel gives Washington the right to demand that Israel follow American policy. He has even hinted at restrictions or delays in weapons deliveries if Israel does not act in accordance with US wishes.

This is a troubling view. At best, it reflects only a partial understanding of reality. At worst, it represents an unfair attempt to exert political pressure by presenting an incomplete picture.

US military assistance to Israel currently stands at approximately $3.8 billion a year. The current agreement, signed in 2016 and covering the decade from 2019 through 2028, totals about $38 billion. Contrary to the impression sometimes created, however, this is not money sent to Israel without anything being received in return. It is a strategic arrangement that clearly serves American interests.

Over the years, senior American officials have described Israel as “the American aircraft carrier that cannot be sunk.” That description did not emerge by accident. Israel is the strongest and most stable US ally in the Middle East, a region in which Washington invests enormous resources to preserve its influence and protect its allies.

When Israel acts against Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, or the Houthis, it is not defending only itself. Its actions also contribute to the security of moderate Arab states and to the protection of American interests throughout the region. Israel helps defend international trade routes, preserve the stability of global energy markets, and contain extremist forces that threaten the regional order.

In other words, Israel performs a role that would otherwise require a far broader, more expensive, and more dangerous American military presence.

The American public repeatedly hears that the United States gives Israel billions of dollars. What is mentioned far less often is that nearly all of that assistance must now be spent on American defense products. 

Israel uses the funds to purchase American-made F-35 and F-15 fighter jets, Apache helicopters, radar systems, advanced munitions, precision-guided bombs, and communications equipment.

The significance is clear: the money does not remain in Israel. It flows back into the American economy, strengthens the US defense manufacturing supply chain, and supports tens of thousands of jobs across the United States. Major companies such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, RTX, Northrop Grumman, and General Dynamics benefit from orders worth billions of dollars.

Portraying the assistance as an act of one-sided generosity, therefore, misrepresents the facts. In practice, it is also an American jobs program.

Israel’s contributions

There is another element that is often overlooked: Israel’s security and technological contribution to the United States.

For years, Israel has served as a unique operational laboratory. Weapons systems, missile defenses, cybertechnology, artificial intelligence, and intelligence capabilities are tested under real-world conditions. The operational experience gained in Israel is shared regularly with American defense agencies and contributes directly to the capabilities of the US military.

Since the October 7 attack, Israel has become an especially valuable source of operational knowledge for Western militaries. Its experience confronting underground terrorist infrastructure, drone attacks, rocket and missile fire, and the integration of artificial intelligence into the battlefield provides lessons with few equivalents anywhere in the world.

Those lessons are now being studied by American defense institutions and are influencing the development of future US military doctrines.

Systems such as Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow 2, and Arrow 3 were developed through Israeli American cooperation. Some of their components are manufactured in the United States and others in Israel. The knowledge accumulated through their development also serves American forces and helps protect US interests around the world.

Israel’s intelligence contribution is equally significant. Over the years, Israel has provided critical information about Iran, terrorist organizations, weapons smuggling, and international threats. Senior American officials have repeatedly acknowledged that Israeli intelligence has helped prevent attacks and save lives, including the lives of American civilians and soldiers.

Vance should understand that military assistance to Israel is not a one-sided burden on the American taxpayer. He should also examine the cost of the American military presence in the Middle East.

Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest American military base in the region, houses thousands of troops, aircraft, and operational headquarters. The cost of operating and maintaining it is estimated at about $1 billion a year. That is in addition to the enormous sums spent on bases, logistics, and American forces deployed throughout the region.

Israel, by contrast, does not require the permanent deployment of American troops on its soil. It provides the United States with intelligence, technology, operational experience, and a first-rate regional deterrent capability.

In many respects, Israel gives Washington strategic advantages that would otherwise require much greater American investment.

The real question, therefore, is not how much aid to Israel costs, but how much it would cost the United States to protect the same interests without Israel as a central strategic partner.

When statements are made suggesting that the United States “controls” Israel through military assistance, it is worth asking who truly benefits from the agreement.

Israel receives advanced weapons and maintains a qualitative military advantage. The United States gains a stable ally in a sensitive region, high-quality intelligence, technological innovation, regional influence, and a stronger defense industry.

This is not a relationship between a benefactor and a recipient of charity. It is a strategic, security, and economic arrangement from which the United States benefits no less than Israel.

The state of Israel was established so that the Jewish people would no longer depend on the decisions of others when it comes to their security. Israel’s government is elected by Israeli citizens, and its first duty is to protect them.

When American officials suggest that weapons deliveries could be conditioned on compliance with a particular policy, they are effectively asking a sovereign country to surrender its independent security judgment. It is doubtful that the United States would accept similar treatment from another country.

Investing in security

The simple question should therefore be directed to Vance: How would the United States respond if, following a ceasefire imposed from abroad, hundreds of American civilians were killed in terrorist attacks or missile strikes? Would Washington accept a situation in which a foreign power prevented it from defending its own citizens?

The answer is obvious.

Before threatening a weapons embargo or using military assistance as an instrument of political pressure, it is worth studying the facts.

The alliance between Israel and the United States is not based on pity or one-sided generosity. It is based on shared interests, shared values, and clear mutual benefit.

Military assistance is not a gift. It is an American investment that produces substantial strategic, security, and economic returns. Anyone seeking a serious discussion about the future of relations between the two countries must recognize that aid to Israel is not merely support for an ally. It is also an American investment in its own security.

The facts show that this is one of the most successful, stable, and mutually beneficial strategic partnerships the United States has maintained in recent decades.

The author is the CEO of Radios 100FM, an honorary consul, deputy dean of the consular diplomatic corps, president of the Israeli Radio Communications Association, and vice president of the Ambassadors Club. He previously served as a military affairs correspondent for Israel’s Army Radio and as a television correspondent for NBC News.

As we are in the middle of the FIFA World Cup, I suffer sleepless nights and struggle with serious depression. In the name of Zeus, why is it that time after time we, Jews, find ourselves not at the center of these games? It is outright antisemitic!

Let’s be honest. Everyone knows the Jews run the world. We dominate the White House, control the financial world, and nearly win all the Nobel Prizes. Our country is bigger than China, and we occupy more foreign territory than any other country in the world. 

We are by far the most irritating people on the planet. With such a reputation, the FIFA World Cup should be child’s play. So, why are we not even in the running?

So, I went to Beitar Jerusalem’s locker rooms and put my ear to the wall. Then I traveled to the Hapoel Tel Aviv team, once more pressing my ear to listen. Finally, with that same ear, I walked into the rooms of Maccabi Haifa and listened again. My conclusion – there is only one way to fix this: 

Jewish football players need serious rabbinical advice. 

As everyone knows, I am Dutch, and was a close friend of the most famous Dutch football player ever, Johan Cruyff. This grants me the moral obligation to give Israeli football players such as Yossi Benayoun and Mordechai Spiegler a few tips. That they shall know and learn! 

One doesn’t just run after a ball. One identifies with it and gets into its kishkes

First of all, soccer is a romance between the player and the ball. The real Jewish soccer player must fall in love with the ball and sense where the leather wants to go. He needs to understand its difficulties and needs, and comprehend its relationship with other balls. 

One doesn’t just run after a ball. One identifies with it and gets into its kishkes (guts). One caresses and kisses the ball ad infinitum. 

And then this: The player must not wish to toot his own horn. He must be preoccupied with only one thought: I am nothing, the ball is everything. I must cede my personality to it. I have to be the ball. Once that happens, the goal is suspended in the air, ready to be plucked. 

Let me tell you something of my own experience with Cruyff.

When we played on the Dutch team called Ajax, there was one thing we both knew: you have to let the ball do the work. To put it in layman’s terms, you must stand exactly in the spot where you know the ball will come. True, it isn’t there yet. It may take 20 minutes. Just have patience.

I remember how Cruyff and I stood in the middle of the field while others would be chasing the ball. We simply waited, motionless. We ordered a coffee and exchanged a dvar Torah. Cruyff would stand with his head bowed, as if listening to something. 

And indeed he was. He was listening to the movements of the ball – its groans, its pleas. Then he would draw himself up and say to me, “Cardozo, in 18 minutes the ball is here.” And so it was. Yes, I stood offside, and the goal didn’t count, but that’s of little importance. What mattered is the gesture.

Our boys have to be much better prepared

ANOTHER THING: our boys have to be much better prepared. They must study the grass type on the soccer field, the quality of air to be expected, and the direction of the wind. In what language will the fans be shouting? What types of musical instruments will they use to encourage their favored team?

Israeli grass, for example, is different from the grass in Mexico. The Mexican stalk has 15% higher glucose than the Israeli one, while its strands grow in the opposite direction from those in Jerusalem. This is because Jews read their language from right to left. Over the course of hundreds of years, the shouting of Hebrew in the stadium caused a genetic mutation, making the grass grow against the natural order of things.

Why is this important? Because when you want to kick the ball to the nearest soccer player, you need to know whether the grass is your enemy or your friend. Does it accommodate the ball, or frustrate it? It’s all about friction and pressure. 

And we Jews know about these things. Our entire history has been one of constant friction, with each other and with the world. They have kicked us around left and right. But we have become immune and have outlived all our enemies. So, some Jews think that the ball, too, is immune. But it’s not. It is sensitive to the core and just wants to score.

And let us not forget about the famous Mexican Aztec Death Whistle, also called Ehecachichtli, blown by tens of thousands of fans in the stadium. Jews think it’s comparable to the shofar, but it isn’t. The shofar demands serious self-contemplation, while the task of the Ehecachichtli is to irritate and kill the opponent.

Jews may think these are trivialities that don’t matter at all. Wrong again. 

And that’s where we, the rabbis, come in. Our advice is indispensable. We rabbis have studied the Talmud and know that trivialities are the stuff of the world. We have contemplated and debated every detail of human existence, just as scientists dedicate their lives to studying the habits of insects or the properties of a plant. 

To them, every minutiae is significant. They diligently inquire into the most intricate qualities of things, because God is in the details. And so it is with us, the rabbis. We are experts in how to make a problem out of every solution. Therefore, we are unbeatable, even immortal, and know exactly what soccer is all about.

So, what needs to be done to ensure that next time, we Jews win the FIFA World Cup?

The first thing we must do is send a group of Jewish scientists – botanists, geologists, and meteorologists – to wherever the next World Cup will be held. They will need to test the ground and look into seed time, growing power, root substances, and above all, the pigment of the chlorophyll pellets. 

Similarly, they must examine the air quality and the various types of wind. Is there upbeat wind, or downbeat air? It is crucial to put all these winds and air substances in special wind sacks and send them for analysis to the Meteorological Center in Beit Dagan, located near Rishon Lezion.

Together with a keen understanding of the emotional makeup of the ball and its neshama (soul), we Jews will be able to start playing soccer properly and win every World Cup. Sure, we need to say some of King David’s Psalms – just in case. As is well known, it works wonders!

Of course, the United Nations and the Palestinians will object and claim that we didn’t play fair, that we occupied the ball and denied it its freedom. 

But we all know the real reason why they do not allow us to play at the FIFA World Cup. It is not because we are not good enough but because we Jews have outlived all our enemies. And the world is afraid that we will again win all the games and put all of them to shame. Out of our unprecedented humility, we will not make an issue out of it. But we know better.

After all, “He who laughs last, laughs best.”

Inspired by Dutch humorist Godfried Bomans (1913-1971).■

The writer is the author of many books, including the bestseller Jewish Law as Rebellion. Find his weekly essays at www.cardozoacademy.org.

Given US President Donald Trump’s sterling record in confronting Iran – no other US president has actually gone to war against the radical Islamist regime and repeatedly backed Israel’s wars of defense against Iran – one wants to give Trump the benefit of the doubt now, too, when he seeks to defang Iran diplomatically.

But the trash-talking about Israel by Trump and especially by his Vice President, JD Vance, makes this hard to do.

Dr. Michael Doran of the Washington-based Hudson Institute argues, almost convincingly, that Trump is buying time, not surrendering to Iran.

The ceasefire agreement Trump signed with Iran is minimally meant to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and immediately bring down oil prices, he says. Convincing the Iranians to reopen the Strait required many US concessions.

With midterm elections looming, the political math was unforgiving, and Trump calculated that American retreat, however inelegant and unfortunate, was preferable for the time being.

But according to Doran, that does not mean Trump has gone wobbly. The agreement does not mark a definitive and permanent surrender, leaving Iran free to behave as it pleases.

If Iran seeks to revitalize its nuclear program and protect it with a shield of ballistic missiles, or aggressively ride herd on Arabian Gulf oil shipping, Trump’s record suggests that he will strike Iran again – Doran insists.

Note, for example, that Trump is not withdrawing US forces from the region (including Israel), and the US Mideast military footprint remains massive. So, the credibility of an American military threat remains strong.

This sunny analysis could be correct, especially if one accepts the premise that domestic politics is the main driver of Trump’s ceasefire gambit. It is also possible that the US military needs an interregnum to rearm and reorganize (just as the IDF and IAF need time to bulk up and restock for the confrontations likely ahead in 2027).

The risks behind the US’s deal with Iran

But Trump is prone to conjuring up huge and historic “peace” deals, believing his own rhetoric even when it flies in the face of reality, and then moving on – leaving allies on their own to deal with messy, very warlike, aftermaths. See Ukraine and Gaza, and now perhaps Lebanon and Iran too.

Moreover, the concessions given by the US to Iran – such as accepting as “understandable” Iran’s ballistic missile array aimed at Israel and Arab allies of America, and the hundreds of billions of dollars of oil sales revenue and Western investment in Iran now allowed or promised by Trump – legitimize the ayatollahs and strengthen the IRGC’s hold on the country for the long term.

And linking Hormuz to Israeli operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon is a cardinal sin. What will come next? Iranian demands that Israel withdraw from Jerusalem, dismantle settlements in Judea and Samaria, and facilitate the establishment of a Palestinian state – or else Iran will re-shutter Hormuz and strangle Western economies?

Thus, in the real world – not an imaginary world of grand civilizational peace and a “new era of US-Iranian relations with some very nice and responsible Iranian leaders” who whimsically reflect “regime change” in Tehran, according to Trump – America’s “temporary concessions” to Iran are not easily reversible.

Nevertheless, one could and should give Trump the benefit of the doubt. As I wrote in early June, working with him over the next 30 months to complete the campaign more decisively against Iran remains the right and necessary exigency.

His style is irritating, and apparent dithering is dangerous, but Trump continues to show a basic understanding of the need to reshape the global strategic architecture by eviscerating Iran. For Israel, bobbing and weaving with Trump on all key regional issues is hard but remains necessary.

What casts a dark shadow over the above assessment, and which suggests darker influences at work, is the gushing embrace by the Trump Administration of nefarious players like Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, and Syria. Trump does not yet comprehend that these are the governments who make-up the next anti-American and anti-Israel regional strategic syndicate that will pose real peril.

These are America’s new best friends? The emir of Qatar, whose Al Jazeera broadcast network backs Iran and Hamas and continues to agitate for the slaughter of Americans across the Mideast, and who funds the worst Islamic armies in the region?

The president of Turkey, who hosts and sponsors Hamas terrorist leaders and talks openly about nuclear annihilation of Israel, and who has thrown a monkey wrench into every Western effort against Iran?

Worse still are a series of gratuitous and unjustified comments by Trump and Vance that castigate Israel.

Does the prime minister of Israel, leading his country across seven confrontation fronts against genocidal assaults and acknowledged by Trump as a “great wartime leader,” deserve derision as a “hothead,” as the most irresponsible regional actor? 

On what basis does Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa deserve greater respect as someone who can get a better handle on Hezbollah, if Israel can’t do the job without killing everyone else”?

Channeling the sinister tales against Israel spread by his podcaster friend Tucker Carlson, JD Vance went further, suggesting that Israelis and Americans critical of the US “concession” to Iran, which has handcuffed IDF operations against Hezbollah, are simply being bloodthirsty.

“You’re a country of (only) nine million people. You can’t just kill your way out of solving every single national security problem that you have,” Vance said.

These are monstrous comments, especially regarding Lebanon, where Israel has gone to enormous lengths to target Hezbollah with precision attacks that minimize civilian casualties, just as Israel did against Hamas in Gaza!

And just to be sure that everybody understands Israel’s vassal status in his eyes, Vance scolded specific Israeli critics of the ceasefire deal, adding that “Donald J. Trump is the only head of state in the world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time, and he happens to be the head of state of the world’s superpower. (So) If I were in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have left in the entire world.”

The contempt for Israel evident in Vance’s comments, his seeming glee at Israel’s isolation, and his nasty dismissal of the legitimacy of dissent from the current policy direction are unnerving.

He seems to revel in highlighting and amplifying divergence in interests between Washington and Jerusalem: “We can get to a long-term settlement to Iran’s nuclear deal. Now, Israel may like that, they may not like that. But fundamentally, we think this is in the best interest of the United States of America.”

There is no appreciation here of an ally, Israel, which fought heroically side-by-side with American forces and was essential, indeed primarily responsible, for the success that America achieved against Iran. We hear no understanding whatsoever for Israel’s critical need to crushingly destroy the Iranian terrorist armies, Hamas and Hezbollah, still attacking Israel across its southern and northern borders.

Instead, we hear this: You, Israel, and your “[expletive-deleted] crazy” leader should just shut up. America has decided to call off the war/s, and you had better play ball or else.

Coming from Trump, Israel can chalk up the rebuke to his vainglorious and imperious style and then move past this to cooperate with him on many indeed shared future challenges. Coming from Vance, the slam down sounds much more menacing and patently prejudicial.

The writer is managing senior fellow at the Jerusalem-based Misgav Institute for National Security & Zionist Strategy. The views expressed here are his own. His diplomatic, defense, political, and Jewish world columns over the past 30 years are at davidmweinberg.com.

‘Do Kaftar” (“Two Doves”) is a sad love song that every Iranian child knows. Fun fact: if you look for it on YouTube, you will find the mournful ballad sung by men only. That is because women in Iran are forbidden to sing in public. The haunting words start (translated from Persian):

“Two doves, by sorrow torn apart, took flight, Two lovers, cruelly severed, lost to sight, One sought solace in flames, a fiery nest, The other soared beyond, to realms divinely blessed.”

The lyrics, penned by poet Qahar Asi, were released as a folk song by singer Farhad Darya in 1988. Asi was killed in 1994 in Kabul by a rocket during the Afghan Civil War.

Israeli drag queen Nona Chalant teamed with exiled Iranian singer Jeanette R. Yehudaiyan and music producer Sailo (Lidor Saadia), a renowned deejay, to create a techno dance version of the song that they call “a powerful call for peace, freedom, and the ultimate bridge between ancient culture and the modern world.”

“When I was 11 or 12 years old, a man I had seen around our neighborhood in Tehran knocked on our door,” recalled Yehudaiyan. “He told my mother that he was the director of the state radio’s children’s choir, and that he had heard me singing in the yard and thought I had a unique voice. He asked to have me join the children’s choir to sing on Iranian radio.”

Her father discouraged her from joining.

“From that moment on, I realized that a girl like me had no place there,” Yehudaiyan continued. “I was a curious girl, eager for knowledge, and wanting more. For years, I fought to immigrate to Israel. It was a struggle against circumstances, against social conventions, and also against my own family. 

“Finally, when I was 15, my father agreed to sign my release through the Youth Aliyah, on the condition that I be educated in a religious institution.

“The separation was difficult. I left behind not only a family, but also a language, landscapes, smells, and sounds. Perhaps that is why, when I arrived in Israel, I locked away inside myself everything that reminded me of the home I had left. I stopped speaking Persian, I stopped listening to Persian music, and I stopped singing.

“Only many years later did I realize that you cannot truly separate from your roots. The voice I had tried to silence waited patiently, and when it returned, it brought back with it not only the music, but also parts of myself that I had left behind,” she concluded.

Finding Her Voice

Yehudaiyan, who fled from Iran without her parents at age 15, said the message is very close to her heart. She was 30 when her parents were finally released from Iran and allowed to go to Israel.

“When I was a girl in Iran, I wasn’t just fighting for the right to sing,” Yehudaiyan explained. “I was fighting for the right to be who I am. That is why I feel there is a profound connection between that little girl who heard the door close in the face of the conductor who came to bring her to the choir, and the woman who believes today that every single person deserves a space where their voice can be heard.”

“When I watched the students and young people in Iran taking to the streets to make their voices heard, I felt a deep connection to them – not from a political standpoint, but from a recognition of the value of human freedom,” she added.

Nona Chalant, also known as Ronny Chokron, one of Israel’s leading and most established drag artists with a 15-year career on stage, performs on weekends and is a kindergarten teacher by day. He said Jeanette’s story and the song touched him deeply. 

“When Jeanette sings it in the traditional Persian genre of singing, it is about a captured couple of doves – forbidden love and freedom and love without boundaries,” he said. “I had a vision that this could fuel a revolution, the song being so part of the culture. 

“Add to that a Persian/Israeli woman singer, and me as a drag queen, with the message of no boundaries – it is the very resurrection of freedom. We know who we are and we know we are always changing. We take a familiar traditional and beautiful song to remind the listener that new times can still reflect tradition.”

Chokron said that Iran has a robust underground nightlife, and he thinks the song, with its rhythmic beat and Persian lyrics, female and drag queen collaboration will be a tremendous success – as well as a supportive boost to the Iranians who dare to dance.

“If I’m right, I think it will get to the underground nightlife there. In the underground scene, they can listen to women singing and they can dance. The intention is to encourage them that we know there is a world there – waiting to emerge, and this revolution is happening. We see you, and we support you,” he said.

Today in Iran, solo public singing by women is effectively illegal and heavily policed. Many Iranian women defy this through underground performances or online sharing, often at personal risk.

Female singer Hiwa Seyfizade was arrested mid-performance in Tehran in 2025, while others faced detention after viral videos (e.g., Zara Esmaili, Parastoo Ahmadi) and Instagram accounts of female singers are regularly shut down.

Music producer Lidor Saadia (Sailo) worked with the singers to put together a mesmerizing club track that seamlessly blends ancient cultural roots with a fresh, driving electronic sound. Sailo is known for creating much of the music in the club scene, working with stars like Dana International, Rita, Deborah Cox, and Sarit Hadad. Chokron started as a fan and was very excited about this, their first collaboration.

 “At the end of the day, there is something magical and unifying about nightlife,” explained Nona Chalant/Ronny Chokron. “The dance floor is a sanctuary where people let everything go and seek pure joy. At nightclubs, people come to free themselves. They want to be happy. Like in the kindergarten class – they come to play and have fun.”

The beat goes on…

As the song rolls out, the hope is that it goes viral and finds its way to the people who desperately need to hear the message.

“We just released the song for deejays without telling the story yet,” continued Chokron. “We reached out to deejays and influencers in Iran. We are hoping to get a video to them. We aren’t alone in our efforts. There are other people also who are working to free them. 

“Because I’m a nightlife person, I know the nightlife is there. We need the music to set them free – for the women who want to sing, or the gay clubber in the closet who is at a party, underground. This song will open something in their heart. Now is the time to spill out freedom and get rid of the ‘war, war, war’ mantra,” he said.

“When I hear Jeanette singing, I feel that the Iranian people are our soul cousins. This is our way in,” he added.

Fortunately, Yehudaiyan was able to reclaim her talent after her husband’s work took her to West Africa, where her connection to music rekindled, and she suddenly began to sing. 

“With tears streaming down my face relentlessly, I felt that a deep part of me had been waiting all those years to return home,” she explained. “When I returned to Israel, I already had a profession, academic degrees, and a job at Hadassah Ein Kerem, but I knew I had to give this voice a place too. I decided that I wanted to sing.”

This song, she said, has special meaning to her.

“To me,” she explained, “‘We Were a Pair of Doves’ (“Zug Yonim Hayinu”) is much more than a love song. It is a song about captivity, loss, and longing, but also about the inner freedom of the spirit. One can hear in it the story of two lovers who were separated, but it can also be seen as a metaphor for exile, displacement, and the yearning for a lost home. Perhaps that is why the song continues to move people even today.”

“When I recorded it, I thought of everyone who has ever been forced to part from a place, a person, or a life they once knew. For me, it is a song that reminds us that even after separation and heartbreak, the memory, the love, and the inner voice continue to live on inside us,” she said.

“Today, I no longer have any family members or acquaintances left in Iran. However, despite the distance and time, Iran continues to live within me through the language, the memories, the culture, and above all, through the music,” she concluded. ■

To hear the song: open.spotify.com/track/6gRAtghF7mCikgbbTLLwvE?si=MeSAXe5VRKOWe-Is5-nrOA&nd=1&dlsi=88e39b8dca404f20

74 lashes for ‘offending public decency

There will be no golden buzzer for Parastoo Ahmadi, an Iranian singer, composer, artist, and filmmaker, known for her folk and traditional Persian music, who built a following on social media by sharing songs about cultural heritage and personal expression. 

Instead, per an announcement on Instagram by a videographer familiar with the case, on June 18, 2026, Ahmadi and seven to eight members of her production team were sentenced by a criminal court in Qom province to 74 lashes each. They also received two-year bans on leaving Iran and on performing artistic activities.

“This is exactly why we created (the song) ‘Freedom,’” explained Sailo (Lidor Saadia), producer of the recently released song that he hopes will inspire Iranian underground fans. “No artist should be punished for singing, expressing themselves, or simply being who they are. The track was born out of solidarity with those fighting for freedom and human dignity, and unfortunately its message is as relevant today as ever.”

“A society is measured by its ability to preserve human dignity even when it disagrees with a person’s actions or beliefs,” said singer Jeanette Yehudaiyan. “Music is meant to give voice, hope, and connection between people, not to become a reason for humiliation or violence. I feel deep sorrow whenever artists, or any human beings, are subjected to punishments that may harm their bodies, dignity, or freedom.”

Ahmadi is charged with “offending public decency” for singing and for her appearance at historic Deir-e Gachin Caravanserai – an empty music venue where she filmed a music video, wearing a sleeveless dress and no hijab. She is also charged with publishing “vulgar and immoral content” online.

The video immediately went viral, garnering millions of views. But it also apparently caught the attention of the “politeness police,” known as the Prosecutor’s Office for Moral Security, a specialized Iranian security branch dealing with “morality” and public decency cases.

Ronny Chokron added, “It is deeply distressing and infuriating that in the year 2026, women are still being punished for their fundamental freedom of expression. This relentless pursuit in the name of religious authoritarianism causes us to lose sight of the most vital human values: freedom, mutual respect, and empathy.”

“Our creation is simply a reminder to echo peace.” – J.S.

An aircraft about the size of a car crashed into Beijing’s tallest building, CITIC Tower, on Friday, two bystanders told Reuters, as police closed off roads around the skyscraper and stopped passersby from filming the scene.

The building, known as CITIC Tower or China Zun, is a 108-story skyscraper in Beijing’s central business district. It is the headquarters of the state-owned conglomerate CITIC Group.

There was a heavy police presence at the site, with some approach roads closed to cars. Police prevented some people from taking pictures and asked others to delete those they had taken while ushering people away from the building.

Two glass panels on a high floor were damaged. There was no immediate official comment. Beijing’s municipal government did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment from Reuters outside of business hours.

Witnesses heard a loud crash

A courier whom Reuters spoke to near the building said he had rushed over to CITIC Tower around 6 p.m. local time (1000 GMT) from a nearby location after hearing a loud crash as a aircraft about the size of a car hit the building.

“It was so loud – louder than fireworks,” he said.

He said he had shot a video of the aircraft sticking out of the building, but later deleted it because he was scared of getting caught by police.

Another courier whom Reuters spoke to said he had come to the scene after seeing unverified social media images showing wreckage of a small aircraft on a road next to the building.

Social media posts of the building on Friday were quickly removed from Chinese social media. A search of the building’s name on the Xiaohongshu app returned only posts dated Thursday.

Dozens of police cars and several fire trucks lined the roads around the building.

A police officer told Reuters journalists to depart from the scene. Asked why they had to leave, the police officer said: “We all know why!”

A heated exchange took place during an Israeli cabinet meeting on Thursday evening after several ministers said they had received phone calls from soldiers claiming that their operations in southern Lebanon were being restricted.

Minister Orit Strock said the soldiers felt “like sitting ducks at a shooting range,” while Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf added that “the soldiers are not allowed to respond beyond the Yellow Line.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz rejected those claims, telling ministers that “there are no restrictions on the soldiers’ operational freedom.”

“There are advantages and disadvantages to the ceasefire, but we are not putting any soldier at risk,” Katz said. Netanyahu added, “Whenever there is an immediate threat on the ground, our soldiers respond.”

Responding to the ministers’ complaints, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said: “It was the political leadership that requested the ceasefire. If the directives change, we will act accordingly.”

Washington talks focus on southern Lebanon 

Meanwhile, in Washington, talks between Israel and Lebanon are set to continue on Friday on a pilot initiative under which the Lebanese Armed Forces would enter designated areas in southern Lebanon and begin removing Hezbollah’s presence.

“There is a positive atmosphere in Washington. No agreements have been reached yet, but the expectation is that they will be,” a source familiar with the negotiations told The Jerusalem Post.

The main point of contention is the location of the pilot project. Israel initially opposed conducting it along the Yellow Line – the current operational line in southern Lebanon held by IDF forces.

However, current assessments suggest Israel may carry out a limited withdrawal from a specific section, allowing the Lebanese army to enter with US support and demilitarize the area. The pilot is also expected to include additional areas in southern Lebanon where the IDF is not currently deployed.

Following protests by haredi (ultra-Orthodox) demonstrators that disrupted traffic across the country this week and caused major congestion, a counter-protest took place on Friday.

Between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., hundreds of protesters are expected to arrive in Bnei Brak for a demonstration against inequality in the burden of service. During the protest, they plan to disrupt traffic at the city’s entry points. Participants are expected to include reserve soldiers, active-duty soldiers, mothers of combat troops, and residents of Kfar Yona, Kfar Saba, and other cities.

According to organizers, the protest has been coordinated with police and will take place simultaneously at several locations. The main gathering point will be at the Coca-Cola Bridge, from where protesters will march on foot toward Bnei Brak. At the same time, drivers have been instructed to enter the address “Rabbi Kahaneman 120” into Waze and drive repeatedly at a slow pace until 4 p.m. The message accompanying the protest reads, “The convoy of draft dodgers will not disrupt the lives of citizens.”

At the same time, a convoy of vehicles departed from a parking lot near Prison 10 in Kfar Yona toward Bnei Brak. Residents of Kfar Yona, along with those from Kfar Saba and the surrounding area, joined the convoy, saying they had experienced traffic disruptions over the past week due to Haredi protests.

Among the protest leaders is the chairman of the “Free Seculars” movement, Ilai Harsgor Hendin, who said he believes the public has reached a breaking point.

“Haredi leaders have stretched the rope too far. From now on, they will understand the consequences of their actions. What applies to Bnei Brak applies to Kfar Yona and Tel Aviv. We will no longer accept institutionalized draft evasion while our soldiers are falling in Lebanon. We will not accept continued looting of public funds or discrimination between Haredim and the rest of the population. It is time for the residents of Bnei Brak to feel the anger of secular Israelis, and this is only the beginning.”

Bnei Brak residents prepare for Shabbat early due to protest

“Within less than an hour, hundreds of people are expected to arrive who are saying enough to draft evasion from the IDF while our soldiers are fighting,” Harsgor Hendin added. 

“Enough wasting public money and a situation where those who work, serve, and pay taxes are also stuck for hours in traffic because of road blockages. It is time for the residents of Bnei Brak to feel what we feel. We are already hearing about residents in the city who have begun preparing early for Shabbat due to concerns about expected disruptions.”

Among the protest organizers are also 19 year old Yekutiel Epstein from Kibbutz Nachshonim, who serves in mandatory IDF service in the West Bank, and attorney Ayelet Hashachar Saidoff, head of the “Mothers on the Front” movement. “Just as the Haredim use timing to take away our freedom, we will respond in the same way at times that are difficult for them,” Epstein said.

“The goal is for them to understand what it feels like when your life is stopped because of road blockages.”

Saidoff said the protest was born out of growing frustration.

“We are mothers, reservists, and residents of Kfar Yona and Kfar Saba, telling them, enough. They think they are the masters of the land, and it is time for a response. If time and again they are allowed to disrupt everyone’s lives, we also have the right to protest. We want them to understand what it feels like when your way home is blocked.”

Additional protests to operate within Bnei Brak

According to organizers, in addition to the march and vehicle convoy, additional protest points will operate within Bnei Brak, with their exact locations not disclosed in advance.

“It is time to respond,” they said. “Our goal is not revenge, but to send a clear message: those who repeatedly disrupt the public’s life cannot expect no response.”

In the coming hours, it will become clear whether the counter protest remains within the defined limits or leads to broader traffic disruptions. For the organizers, the message is clear: if haredi protests have become part of the routine, those who serve in the IDF, go to reserve duty, and carry the burden are now also seeking to make their voices heard on the same roads.

The Jerusalem Grand Slam 2026 will bring together approximately 76 athletes from 29 countries on Thursday, June 25, at the National Stadium in Givat Ram, Jerusalem, as the city hosts one of Israel’s leading international athletics competitions. 

Organized with the involvement of the Jerusalem Municipality and the Israel Athletics Association, the event will feature competitors from Europe, North and South America, and Africa alongside many of Israel’s top track and field athletes. 

Athletes from countries including the United States, Canada, Brazil, France, Greece, Ukraine, Hungary, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Ethiopia, and Uganda are expected to participate. The program will also include a 4×100-meter relay featuring national teams from Ukraine, Lithuania, and Poland. 

Among the Israeli competitors scheduled to take part are Blessing Afrifah, Yonatan Kapitolnik, Adva Cohen, Omri Shiff, Romi Tamir, Alina Drotman, and Mercy Afrifah. 

For many athletes, the competition represents an opportunity to achieve qualification standards and collect ranking points ahead of the European Championships in August. 

The Jerusalem Grand Slam will be hosted at the Givat Ram Stadium

Now entering its third consecutive year, the Jerusalem Grand Slam has continued to expand its international profile and strengthen Jerusalem’s role as a venue for major sporting events. 

Last year’s edition produced a notable achievement when Omri Shiff set a new Israeli record in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 49.82 seconds, ending a 34-year wait for a new national mark in the event. 

In addition to the athletics competition, organizers said a family fan zone will operate at the stadium, offering interactive activities and entertainment for visitors. 

Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion said the event reflects “Jerusalem’s growing status on the global sports map,” adding that the city has continued to attract international athletes and invest in sports infrastructure. 

Ami Baran, Chairman of the Israel Athletics Association, said the participation of athletes from 29 countries carries “great significance” and reflects efforts to continue bringing major international sporting events to Israel. 

The Jerusalem Grand Slam 2026 is scheduled to take place at the National Stadium in Givat Ram on Thursday, June 25. 

There was a time when Britannia ruled the waves. Now the waves rule Britannia. 

Like a storm-tossed ship’s terrified passengers, the kingdom that once dominated the world has just thrown another of its admirals overboard, abandoned by the masses, the elites, the media, and his own political peers. 

Yes, Keir Starmer’s two-year premiership lasted longer than Rishi Sunak’s 18 months, not to mention Liz Truss’s 50 days, but with one decade’s seventh prime minister set to enter 10 Downing Street, something is obviously wrong in His Majesty’s realm. What is it? 

Starmer’s downfall was not about his executive performance. On all his main tasks – immigration, growth, and social policy – his delivery was reasonable. 

Immigration, which peaked at 944,000 in 2023, last year plunged to 171,000; the economy grew faster than the rest of the seven richest democracies; and social reforms included a 4.1% raise in minimum pay, railway nationalizations, and raised taxes on gambling, expensive houses, and private schools. 

The better explanation is Labour’s defeat in last month’s local elections

Like these measures or not, that’s what Starmer was elected to do. Why, then, did he fall? The one scandal pundits mentioned, his appointment of the disgraced Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington, is unconvincing. Yes, it showed mistaken judgment, but it was no Profumo Affair, in which the government fell in 1963 after it emerged that the secretary of defense had slept with a Soviet spy. 

The better explanation is Labour’s defeat in last month’s local elections, which made its lawmakers panic. But that’s where the deeper questions arise: why panic – there are more than three years until the next general election – and why behead the party leader? 

And the answer is that the panic is because the British establishment, both Labour and the Conservatives, faces a challenge they do not know how to confront, other than to decapitate one leader after another.

Replacing the leader assumes that the voters have a problem with their leader’s identity. If only it were so. The British voters’ problem is not their leader’s identity, but their country’s direction. 

It takes no historian to link British politics’ instability to the great event that opened its decade of revolving leaders: Brexit. That jolt, say Brexit’s opponents, was so massive that it debilitated British politics. Well, they are wrong. The problem was the people’s feelings, which their vote expressed, and the politicians failed to detect. 

The London-based political and cultural elites had lost touch with the industrial and rural parts of their land. Having underestimated the alienated population’s size and pain, they were stunned once they met the masses’ wrath in the polls. 

And then, faced with Brexit’s statement, a massive effort was launched to doubt the majority’s judgment, dilute its verdict, and test its will. That’s what the first post-Brexit prime minister, Theresa May, who had opposed the idea all along, tried to do. But even when the baton passed from her to one of Brexit’s key supporters, Boris Johnson, he failed to present an alternative path: say, a grand free-trade deal with the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. 

Fear, the feeling the drove Brits to vote for Brexit

Brexit was only technically about policy. Europe gradually threatened its members’ sovereignty and challenged the very concept of national will.  But underneath this rational layer bubbled what mattered most – feelings. And the feeling that drove the Brits to vote for Brexit was the same feeling that in the recent local elections made them snub Labour: fear. 

The British are fearful, and the fears that drove them to destabilize their political system are not only theirs, but also those of much of the free world, from Germany, Italy, and France to the United States. 

Across the West, millions live in growing fear. They fear that the postwar world they inherited is cracking in its every layer. Economically, they fear for their jobs, housing, and savings. Socially, they feel invaded by immigrants. And culturally, they feel that their parents’ traditional values are being replaced by postmodern alternatives, which they resent. 

Whether or not these feelings are justified is beside the point. What matters is that the security, pride, and sense of belonging with which Western citizens emerged from World War II have given way to rapidly spreading feelings of insecurity, alienation, and steadily eroding dignity. 

That, and not the charisma of this or that candidate, is what led millions of Brits to vote for Brexit; that is what made them unseat the Tories, and that is what made them defeat Labour’s municipal candidates last month. 

The man who benefits from this gathering anger and despair is Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK. He is what the British establishment really fears. 

Historians will agree that, whatever this rabble-rouser’s role in making Brexit happen, he did not cause the earthquake he so shrewdly exploited. The earthquake was caused by generations of politicians across the rich world, who invited from the poor world millions of hewers of wood and drawers of water without preparing for their full social absorption. 

That is why millions of Brits now wonder what will be left of the British nation, culture, and character in several decades. Judging by Starmer’s resignation speech, that British character is still alive and well. Citing the doubts that grew over his leadership, the departing leader said: “I have heard the answer… and I accept that answer with good grace.” 

That grace is part of a culture; a British culture; the British value of assuming responsibility, the way foreign minister Peter Carrington resigned after Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, and the way prime minister David Cameron resigned after the Brexit poll, which he had called, and resulted in his “Remain” campaign’s defeat. 

Starmer cleared the stage with humility, responsibility, and grace because that is the uniquely British value of public responsibility, a value that a rapidly changing Britain may or may not preserve, but here in the Jewish state,  has yet to arrive. 

www.MiddleIsrael.net

The writer, a Hartman Institute fellow, is the author of the bestseller, The Jewish March of Folly (Yedioth Books 2026), now available in English on Amazon.

Magen David Adom (MDA) marked Israel’s National Paramedic Day on Thursday by honoring 20-year-old Druze paramedic Ghadir Saleh, whose path from aspiring international violinist to emergency medical responder has made her a prominent figure within the organization. 

Saleh, from the northern Druze city of Maghar, now volunteers on Magen David Adom Mobile Intensive Care Units after completing the organization’s paramedic training program as part of her National Service.

Before entering emergency medicine, Saleh pursued music, playing the violin from the age of nine and representing Israel on several international delegations. After graduating from high school, she taught violin to at-risk youth and children on the autism spectrum through the Ministry of Education. 

She said her career plans changed after a doctor advised her to reduce the strain on her hands. 

“I’ve been playing since I was nine years old. I represented Israel on several international delegations around the world, and I never imagined I would pursue anything other than music,” Saleh said. 

MDA Honors Druze Paramedic Ghadir Saleh

A serious accident at age 16 also influenced her decision to become a paramedic. 

“When I was injured in the accident, the people around me didn’t know how to help. They didn’t even know they should call 101, MDA’s emergency hotline. Throughout my recovery, which involved countless hospital visits and medical examinations, I kept thinking about how important it is to know what to do in situations like that,” she said. 

Saleh said she later enrolled in MDA‘s intensive paramedic course, describing it as demanding while also helping her develop professionally and personally. 

Today, she serves on mobile intensive care units across Israel and said she has received strong encouragement from both her family and the Druze community. 

“I want to help people and save lives. The Druze community is known for being traditional, but in the end, it doesn’t matter what religion I am or what religion my patient is. It’s about one person helping another,” she said. 

Although she continues to play the violin, Saleh said emergency medicine has given her a new sense of purpose, adding that helping others and serving her country has become her greatest source of fulfillment. 

The number of articles published over the last week accusing Donald Trump of “betraying” Israel by signing an MoU and now entering negotiations with Iran deserves a serious conversation.

Not because criticism of the deal is illegitimate – there are real and troubling questions about what this agreement will mean for Iran’s nuclear program, its ballistic missile arsenal, the fate of the highly enriched uranium, and the regime’s continued sponsorship of Hezbollah and Hamas. 

Those concerns are justified. But the emotional reaction in Israel to what Trump has done reveals something deeper: an expectation that Trump’s actions regarding Iran were somehow about Israel.

It is as if everything Trump did over the past year and a half was understood through one lens and one lens only: Israel. It is as if none of it had to do with American national security, freedom of navigation, energy markets, regional stability, or the broader Western interest in preventing Iran from crossing the nuclear threshold. It was all supposedly done on behalf of one country and its 10 million citizens.

That is why the language being used now has become so overheated. Yediot Ahronot ran an op-ed titled “Trump betrayed Israel. Netanyahu must not blink.”

Israel Hayom published a piece under the headline, “You could have been the greatest president of all, but you failed.” On Channel 14, one of the leading anchors declared, “Trump betrayed the State of Israel. We won the war, and the US lost it.”

US prioritises its own interests

People are entitled to be angry about the deal and are entitled to believe that Trump stopped it prematurely and that the terms are too soft. But this sense of emotional betrayal – as if Trump owed Israel something and then broke a personal promise – is absurd. It reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of how alliances work, and of how American presidents make decisions.

Former defense minister Avigdor Lieberman put it well in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal this week. He argued that while the deal may be bad, and while Israel will still need to do what is necessary to defend itself, there is no reason to come up with claims against the US. 

Washington, he explained, acts according to American interests, not Israeli ones. That should be obvious. But in the current atmosphere, it is worth repeating.

This matters because it helps explain what happened over the course of the war. When the joint campaign began on February 28, the interests of Israel and the United States were aligned almost completely.

Both countries wanted to strike Iran hard, degrade its military, damage its missile program, and try to topple a regime that had spent years destabilizing the region while racing toward nuclear power.

Once Iran effectively weaponized the Strait of Hormuz, though, the interests diverged. Trump’s focus shifted, and his priority was no longer regime change or even the degradation of Iran’s military. It became about reopening Hormuz, stabilizing energy markets, and ending a conflict that was taking too long and was becoming more expensive than he had imagined at the outset.

That was the moment Israel should have recognized that the two countries were no longer operating under the same interests. It should have understood that there was a divergence and that the mission now needed to shift to preserve operational gains and minimize the strategic damage of an eventual American decision to stop.

Instead, Israel appears to have kept pushing for more strikes and to keep trying to weaken the regime. The problem was that Trump was no longer there. He was looking for an exit ramp.

This is what makes the Israeli handling of the last phase of the war so perplexing. Two weeks ago, senior officials in the Prime Minister’s Office were still trying to downplay the tension with Washington.

They insisted there was no real divide, that relations had not changed, and that any disagreements were technical rather than substantive. That is obviously not the case. Officials in Washington are now speaking openly about growing frustration and anger with the Israeli side.

None of this should have been hard to predict. Trump was never built for long, drawn-out military adventures. He likes quick operations, dramatic shows of force, and clean endings he can easily sell as victories. He is far more comfortable with a Venezuela-style in-and-out strike than with a protracted regional campaign.

The immediate challenge is obvious. Israel has to ensure that whatever emerges from the deal does not erode its operational freedom, particularly in Lebanon. It has to prevent a situation in which a ceasefire there is dictated by Iran and then enforced by Trump.

But there is also a larger strategic question, and it is one Israel should already be asking: what opportunities exist now, precisely because the war is winding down and because the US is looking for a new regional framework?

One obvious place to start is I2U2 – the forum that brings together India, Israel, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates.

Established after the Abraham Accords, I2U2 was supposed to serve as a platform for joint economic, energy, and infrastructure initiatives linking South Asia, the Gulf, and Israel.

It never fulfilled its promise. But now, after the Hormuz crisis underscored just how vulnerable the region’s trade routes remain, it needs to be urgently revived.

At the center of that effort should be IMEC, the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor. The basic idea is straightforward: create a route for goods, energy, and commerce to move from India through the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, into Israel, and from there to the Mediterranean and Europe.

In other words, reduce dependence on choke-points like the Hormuz by creating a new economic route through the region.

This is exactly the kind of initiative Israel should be championing right now. It would increase Israel’s value to the US and the Gulf not only as a military partner, but as a logistical and economic hub. It would allow Israel to say that its role in the region is not just about fighting wars, but also includes building the infrastructure of a more connected Middle East.

And yet, there is still no one in the Israeli government actually in charge of it. Ask around, and you will get a different answer depending on the ministry.

There is someone at the Foreign Ministry, someone at the Transportation Ministry, someone at the Defense Ministry, someone at the National Security Council. Everyone is involved, which in Israel usually means no one is in charge.

That matters because IMEC is a massive bureaucratic, legal, logistical, and diplomatic undertaking.

If rail cargo enters Israel from Jordan through the Jordan Valley, who handles customs? Who is responsible for security screening? How does the cargo reach the ports? What tax regime applies? What regulatory framework governs transit? 

This requires a coordinator with the authority and mandate to bring the different ministries together, negotiate the bilateral and multilateral agreements that will be needed, and drive the project to execution.

There are other opportunities as well. Last year, the Azerbaijani company SOCAR bought a stake in Israel’s Tamar gas field, creating an important partnership linking Azerbaijan, the UAE, and Israel. Azerbaijan has long tried to play a mediating role between Israel and Turkey.

Before October 7, those efforts were beginning to bear fruit – Netanyahu met Erdogan on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Herzog visited Ankara, and there were plans for additional high-level meetings in Asia in the weeks that followed.

Since October 7, of course, Israeli-Turkish relations have reached new lows, and while they might seem lost, there may also be room for de-escalation. Economic interests have a way of reopening doors, and Azerbaijan – because of its ties to both countries and stake in Israel’s strategic gas field – could be uniquely positioned to help lower the temperature and eventually rebuild some channel of communication.

These are only two examples, but they point to the larger lesson. Israel cannot remain trapped in the language of betrayal. It cannot spend the next six months nursing grievances over what Trump did or did not do. What Israel needs now is a plan to preserve its freedom of action and to use the new regional situation not only to fight better wars, but to create a stronger strategic position for the years ahead.

The writer is a co-founder of the MEAD Forum, a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute, and former editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post. His latest book (with Amir Bohbot), While Israel Slept, is a bestseller in the United States.

Treatment of a 2,700-year-old standing stone at Tel Eton, located east of Hebron, may provide evidence for the biblical King Hezekiah’s debated religious reforms, according to a new study.

Hezekiah is described as having implemented sweeping religious reforms across his kingdom, including eliminating local places of worship and centralizing religious activity in Jerusalem.

Despite the biblical accounts, scholars have long since debated if the reforms’ descriptions are accurate or if they reflected a later ideological shift in perspective. 

While most discussions of Hezekiah’s reform have focused on the remains of temples and public spaces of worship, Professor Avraham Faust of Bar-Ilan University’s General History Department focuses the discussion to how religious change affected the everyday, personal life.

The stone, known also as a massebah, was discovered during excavations of the ancient Judean settlement, inside a large residence named by archaeologists as “Building 101,” or the Governor’s Residency.

No obvious practical purpose

Standing at approximately 1.4 meters high and weighing 750 kilograms, the stone was set in the building’s largest room, directly opposite the entrance to remain visible to any passerby.

However, as the stone served no obvious practical purpose, and since standing stones in the ancient near East have often been found in relation to ritualistic activities, archaeologists assumed it to be religious in nature.

“The location of the stone suggests that it played an important role in the lives of the building’s occupants,” explained Faust.

Later though, before the destruction of Tel Eton by the Assyrian Empire in the late eighth century BCE, the stone was moved. Rather than displaying it in a place of prominence, residents of the ancient settlement laid it on its side and incorporated it into a stone platform.

Notably, researchers did not identify evidence that the stone had been damaged during the shift in position or otherwise – a distinction that is highly significant, Faust argues.

“Those responsible for changing religious practices may have wished to eliminate the stone’s ritual function, and perhaps wanted the old ritual objects desecrated, but the people who carried out the change seem to have treated it with respect,” he said. “They removed it from use without destroying it, effectively neutralizing its cultic significance while preserving the object itself.”

Discussion of ancient Judean religion must move to the personal sphere

It is important to note that while Faust does not claim evidence that the stone was decommissioned under Hezekiah’s reforms, he does argue that the find “aligns well with other archaeological evidence from the same period” and strengthens the possibility of active religious reform.

Further, he emphasizes that in order to understand ancient Judean religious development, historians and archaeologists must look past the official public cultic spaces and into more personal, non-ritual spaces for evidence that may have been previously overlooked.

“Finally, I would like to reiterate that the above discussion calls for the shift of scholarly focus from the study of cultic buildings to the investigation of domestic contexts,” Fuast wrote in the study. “Given the paucity of Iron Age Israelite temples, such a move appears essential.”

“Hopefully, more attention will be given to the architectural history of structures and, subsequently, more evidence will be brought to light also about changes to cultic practices in domestic contexts, even when cultic objects have been removed due to the reform.”

The study, titled “Hezekiah’s Reform? A View from Tel ‘Eton on the Religious Development in Judah”, was published in June 2026 in the Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology.

In my teen years in London, which coincided with the wave of Palestinian terrorism of the 1970s, I had a poster on my bedroom wall. At first glance, the image looked like a packet of ring-shaped POLO mints – whose advertising slogan was “The mint with a hole.” On my poster, the brand name was replaced with the letters “PLO” and the wording read: “Mints look good with holes in them, people don’t,” accompanied by a call to ban Yasser Arafat’s murderous terrorist organization.

The world and I have now reached the age when social and political messages are found on social media walls rather than bedroom walls, so I’m thinking of creating a meme inspired by that poster: Instead of mints, I would have a block of Swiss cheese with the slogan: “Cheese looks good with holes in it, peace deals don’t.”

Signed unceremoniously last week in Lucerne, Switzerland, the Memorandum of Understanding between the US and the Islamic Republic of Iran created fallout that continues to be felt in the Middle East and beyond. The lakeside backdrop to the talks and signing ceremony looked calm and placid. Looks, as we know, can be deceiving. So can smiles and promises. The holes might swallow us up.

The deal is as kosher as a Swiss cheese and ham sandwich. Iran is calling the shots. Instead of protecting Israel from terrorists in Lebanon, it protects terrorists in Lebanon from Israel and the Lebanese government; instead of weakening Iran, it strengthens the Islamic Republic; instead of defending the West from a radical jihadist regime, it saves the leadership from defeat – and provides it with billions of dollars to rebuild its global terrorist network.

It seems US Vice President JD Vance, the main name behind the deal, forgot that it is the loser who is meant to accept defeat, not the victor.

With Qatar and Pakistan theoretically representing Lebanese interests, and the US team – including Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff – representing Israel, the main parties affected were deliberately left out of the negotiations. I wondered whether the situation might have been different had not the prime minister’s trusted adviser Ron Dermer, who knew his way around Washington, recently retired from public life.

I SPENT part of this week at the JNS International Policy Summit held at the Waldorf Astoria in Jerusalem. Speaker after speaker stressed the necessity of dismantling radical ideologies; creating defensible borders; strengthening Israeli and Jewish identity; fighting antisemitism; being more proactive in tackling the bias in international courts and international organizations; protecting US-Israel ties; fostering the relationship between Jews and Christians; and the need to expose false narratives about Israel.

Among the proposals was the creation of a unified body to deal with “Narrative warfare” – “The Eighth Front.” Special Envoy for Trade and Innovation at the Foreign Ministry Fleur Hassan-Nahoum said: “The main problem is that the government of Israel has not yet realized that we are in a hybrid warfare. There is also the narrative war, which unfortunately, nobody has decided… should be part of a national security doctrine. All we have are many disjointed solutions, most coming from the bottom up.”

She stressed the need to treat “narrative warfare” as a serious strategic challenge following the Iranian-funded, Hamas-led October 7, 2023, invasion and massacre of some 1,200 people and abduction to Gaza of 251.

In general, there was agreement to continue the shift seen post-October 7 – to judge an enemy by its capabilities.

When Lt. Col. (res.) Sarit Zehavi, founder of the Alma Research and Education Center, co-hosted a panel with Dan Diker on regional security, and spoke about “defensible borders,” she was talking about something very close to home. The Hezbollah tunnels discovered in recent days are just a few miles from the Israeli border community where she lives with her family.

Military analyst and author Yaakov Lappin noted that the MoU is the big test of Israel’s security doctrine and that the security doctrine must be non-negotiable, “and not let jihadists build terrorist capabilities.”

Geneva-based UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer said his organization will act for the indictment of Philippe Lazzarini, the outgoing commissioner-general of UNRWA, when his term ends shortly. Neuer accused UNRWA under Lazzarini of playing a role in enabling and perpetuating Hamas terrorism, including on October 7 and the aftermath, regarding the hostages held in Gaza, for instance.

In a forum on “Justice and Accountability,” Arnold Roth stressed that second word, “accountability.” It has been 25 long years since his 15-year-old daughter, Malki, a US citizen, was murdered along with 15 others, including six other children, in the Sbarro pizzeria bombing in August 2001. 

Ahlam Tamimi lives freely in Jordan

Ahlam Tamimi, the woman behind the bombing, is living freely in Jordan despite this being a violation of the Hashemite Kingdom’s cornerstone 1995 treaty with the US. Roth and his wife seek support for their call to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to press Jordan into compliance with the treaty, so that Tamimi can stand trial in Washington on terror charges issued there in 2013.

As often is the case in such conferences, it was the new and unexpected that stood out. Ambassador and Columbia University professor Michael Shlomi called for “cultural intelligence,” sadly lacking in the events surrounding the MoU. He noted that Vance arrived at the room in Lucerne, where the “peace talks” were held, 30 minutes before the Iranian team. The US lost its standing as its team sat around waiting. The fate of Israel and the region is being determined in Washington and European cities where they literally don’t understand the language and culture of the Middle East, he noted.

During a panel on the challenges facing Israeli democracy, Efrat Last, a speech therapist by training and director of international relations at Netsach Israel, a right-leaning leadership NGO, had some important words to say. She described treating a Jewish teenager who was not familiar with the Hebrew word “chazan” (the cantor who leads prayers), and hadn’t heard of the “Shema,” the prayer which serves as a declaration of Jewish faith.

“Democracy isn’t merely a set of procedures. At its core, it’s a national self-determination, but this requires a ‘self.’ A people must know who it is before it can govern itself,” she said.

Media attention and public concern focus on the lack of education in the “core subjects” in Israeli ultra-Orthodox schools, where, in many cases, the graduates are not equipped to work in the modern world. However, many secular schoolchildren are graduating without knowing the basics of their own religion and history, and without a fundamental understanding of who they are.

The dominant narrative presents Israelis as “colonizers” rather than the indigenous people whose ancestors prayed in Hebrew in Jerusalem before other monotheistic religions had been born. Knowing who we are and why we’re here is essential for our survival. Knowing your own culture is the intelligent thing to do.

THE SITUATION is not all bleak; the fallout from the Iran deal could create new opportunities and alliances. Israel is the only Jewish state, but it is not the only country worried about the boost Iran has just received. This could be a time of strengthening ties with the Abraham Accords countries and expanding the 2020 agreement to new members. India, concerned about Pakistan’s extraordinary new elevated status as mediator, might also be open to furthering the already strong bonds with Israel.

The nascent Isaac Accords, drawn up by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Argentina’s President Javier Milei, with US mediation, could also take on new members in South America, where a wave of more conservative governments is coming into power, including this week in Colombia.

I would not look to the leadership change in the UK for salvation.

Nice words alone, in Switzerland or anywhere else, will not bring security. Only getting rid of the jihadist regime in Tehran and removing the terrorist threat of its proxies can do that. 

The world needs to wake up and realize the dangers if a future deal leaves as many holes as the Swiss cheese MoU – the nature of terrorism is to fill the vacuum. The holes aren’t empty threats.

Throughout history, the Jewish people have often been a common target of the nations of the world. Time and again, deep rivalries and longstanding disputes were set aside when an opportunity arose to act against the Jews.

This phenomenon finds striking expression in this week’s Torah portion. The Torah describes an unusual alliance between two rival nations – Moab and Midian – which united out of fear of the growing strength of the people of Israel. The midrash highlights the extraordinary nature of this partnership:

“The elders of Moab and the elders of Midian went together” (Numbers 22:7). They had never before made peace with one another, as it is written, “who defeated Midian in the territory of Moab” (Genesis 36:35). Yet when they came to fight against Israel, they made peace with one another.

As part of this scheme, Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab, turned to Balaam, son of Beor – Midian’s leading religious figure, who held the highest status of a “prophet” among the nations of the world. Balak expressed his fear of Israel’s growing power and asked Balaam to use his spiritual influence to curse the nation and bring about its downfall.

God warns Balaam not to curse Israel

The story then takes an unexpected turn. God warns Balaam not to curse Israel. Even when he is ultimately permitted to accompany Balak’s emissaries, he is told that he may speak only the words placed in his mouth from Heaven. Unaware of this limitation, Balak leads Balaam to various vantage points overlooking the Israelite camp in the wilderness, hoping he will pronounce his curse from there. Yet time after time, blessings emerge from Balaam’s mouth instead of curses.

Our sages teach in Tractate Ta’anit (20a) that even when a wicked person offers a blessing, it is not necessarily a simple blessing, for additional meanings may be hidden within his words. Balak, however, does not understand this. He becomes furious: he hired Balaam to curse, yet Balaam keeps blessing. Eventually, they part ways, and each returns home.

The climax comes when Balaam gazes upon the camp of Israel, and his perspective suddenly changes. As the Torah states:

“Balaam raised his eyes and saw Israel dwelling according to its tribes, and the spirit of God came upon him” (Numbers 24:2).

What exactly did he see that brought about such a profound transformation?

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki – Rashi – explains:

“He sought to cast an evil eye upon them, but he saw that each tribe dwelt separately and was not intermixed. He saw that their tent openings did not face one another, so that one could not peer into his neighbor’s tent. It entered his heart not to curse them.”

This admiration gave rise to one of the most famous statements ever made about the Jewish people:

“How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel” (Numbers 24:5).

Behind these words lies a profound moral principle. The people of Israel were encamped in the wilderness – millions of individuals gathered in a relatively small area – yet the camp was arranged so that the entrances of the tents did not face one another. The message was simple: a person does not intrude into the life of his neighbor. Every family retained its own space, dignity, and privacy. This outlook places human dignity at the center and teaches that modesty and discretion are the foundation of communal life.

Ironically, this was what impressed Balaam more than anything else. He came from a world where curiosity about others, constant comparison, gossip, and preoccupation with other people’s lives were an integral part of reality. Before him stood a nation that had succeeded in building a society based on mutual respect and modesty.

Balaam understood that a nation that places human dignity at the center of its values – whose people neither intrude upon one another’s lives nor turn their private lives into a public spectacle – is a model society. Such a people should not be cursed; on the contrary, they deserve to be blessed, so that many nations may adopt their values and follow their example.

This message is especially relevant in our own era. The modern world provides unprecedented access to the lives of others. Gossip columns and an endless stream of digital information have made the personal lives of many people public property. At times, it seems that curiosity has overtaken the right to privacy, and that intruding into another person’s space has become entirely acceptable.

In contrast, Jewish tradition presents a different vision. It values personal modesty and meaningful inner growth that is not displayed for public attention. Such conduct is fitting for a people who serve God rather than the people around them.

These subtle patterns of behavior are becoming increasingly rare in today’s world. They may sometimes seem like manners from a bygone age. Yet if even the wicked Balaam was compelled to acknowledge the beauty of this way of life and bestow his blessing upon it, that itself testifies to its power and value.

It is a timeless message: a society that respects personal privacy and cultivates modesty, sensitivity, and consideration for others is a healthier, nobler, and more moral society. We must safeguard these values with great care, and in doing so merit the fulfillment of the blessing: “How goodly are your tents, O Jacob.” ■

The writer is rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites.

The IDF Southern Command is preparing for violent demonstrations and riots along the Gaza Strip’s Yellow Line this coming Friday, Walla. learned on Wednesday. 

The preparations began after word spread in recent weeks that Arabic-language social media pages identified with Fatah had launched a campaign calling for protests against Hamas on Friday.

Various Palestinian spokesmen said the protest was focused on the harsh living conditions in the Gaza Strip, but also on the delay in advancing the second phase of the agreement, which includes rebuilding homes and infrastructure and ending the fighting, while placing the blame on Hamas’s leadership.

A repeat of the unrest at the fence, only without a fence. Senior Hamas figures identified the campaign against them, some of it being run by Fatah activists from the West Bank, and acted on two fronts.

The first was the execution of collaborators, involving public violence and abuse, to deter the public from rising up. The second was the launch of a counter-campaign, encouraging calls to hold demonstrations in the Gaza Strip against Israel, and even against US envoy to the peace government Nikolai Maladinov, because of the failure of talks between Hamas and the US mediated by him.

In the past, Hamas used the same method of killing and abusing Palestinians. Trump warned Hamas against doing so, and the terror group stopped. But now, because the Gaza Strip is no longer a focus for the White House, Hamas security mechanisms are operating without fear.

IDF estimates that Hamas will push Gazan protests near Yellow Line 

According to assessments in Southern Command, the most likely scenario is that Hamas will try to push the protests from the center of Gaza City toward the Yellow Line, only this time, unlike 2017 to 2019, there is no fence.

According to military officials, the campaign is receiving broad attention on social media and is also becoming part of public discourse among residents of Gaza, unlike previous campaigns.

Military officials said they are not yet able to assess the public response to the demonstrations, but said that over the past month, there have been friction incidents on the Yellow Line, and IDF forces have not rushed to open fire because they feared the people involved were civilians.

“The sequence of events is reminiscent of the events in 2017,” said a military source from Southern Command.

“Sinwar led the internal protests against Hamas toward the fence in order to exhaust the IDF, get it used to friction, and lead the political leadership in Jerusalem to an arrangement.” As a result, the IDF intends to reinforce forces in line with the situation assessment.

Several police documents on the security for the October 7, 2023, Nova music festival have been deleted from the Israel Police computer system, KAN News reported on Thursday.

The documents were deleted sometime in January 2024, and it is unknown who removed them and whether copies still exist.

In screenshots shared by KAN, the list of police documents related to the Nova music festival begins on September 6, 2023, with Magen David Adom’s approval for the event. A day later, a document was filed formally requesting permission to host the party.

Throughout the remainder of the time leading up to the Nova festival, documents detailing security plans for the event were submitted, including those from law enforcement and fire brigades.

Documents on Nova festival filed after Gaza war started

However, KAN revealed that at least 20 documents were removed from the system, including files labeled as “Event requirements.” The documents had been submitted to the police computer system beginning on September 20, with some submitted on October 5 (the day the festival began) and on October 13 and 29 (after the war began).

“The information presented in the report indicates a fundamental lack of understanding in the police system,” the police responded to the report.

“Its entire purpose is to cast blame on the activities of the police, while its police officers and commanders are the ones who saved the State of Israel from the expansion of the massacre and saved many citizens at the risk of their lives and the loss of 58 police officers and fighters.”