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President Isaac Herzog said the upcoming Israeli elections “are not a civil war” in an interview on 103FM on Wednesday.

Speaking in a tense and open conversation before Yom Kippur, Herzog emphasized that despite increasingly harsh rhetoric and deep divisions within Israeli society, maintaining red lines remains an absolute boundary. He also addressed tensions around the judicial system, mediation efforts currently under consideration, and the challenges posed by internal and external threats, while calling for calm ahead of the election.

Herzog discussed threats to the rule of law and harsh campaign videos, including one released by the Religious Zionist Party (RZP). He said he would not accept harm to the foundations of democracy.

“Elections are a proper, magnificent, democratic process, in which people can express themselves and make decisions that affect their fate by casting a ballot at the polling station, and not through violence, crudeness, or processes that are dangerous,” he said.

“It is difficult for me to see a scenario in which the election results are not accepted,” he continued.

“Elections are not a civil war, not even in AI videos. Nothing will help anyone. We will continue living together the day after, and I think it is legitimate to raise an agenda, present plans, and propose bills. I think it is very dangerous to go to places that could cause people to do dangerous things.”

The president also criticized political leaders and the media.

“During elections, leaders, parties, and politicians greatly radicalize their positions, and that is dangerous,” he said. “They use a platform called the media, which benefits from it because it sells.”

Herzog disputes account of ‘NAZA’ film, says IDF subject to legal oversight

Herzog also addressed the controversy surrounding the documentary film NAZA, saying that the military’s operations are subject to legal oversight.

“I can tell you with certainty, not an assessment, with certainty, that there is close legal oversight for every significant combat unit,” he said.

“There is a complex process for approving operations, which takes into account harm to uninvolved people and innocent civilians.”

“I personally know of operations and actions that were delayed or canceled because of this consideration, and of cabinet decisions that were analyzed in depth with significant backing from the attorney general regarding military operations,” added Herzog.

When asked about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trial and efforts to reach a possible settlement, Herzog revealed details behind his mediation proposal. He said he received conflicting legal opinions, but argued that the complexity of the case and its impact on the country led him to propose mediation.

“Because of the complexity of this issue and the need to try to reach a plea deal and end this case, which has a very negative impact on the country, I proposed mediation at the President’s Residence several months ago, mediation under the auspices of the President’s Residence, what is called negotiations or dialogue to reach agreements.”

The president said Netanyahu “did not respond at all” to the proposal. “He did not answer yes, and he did not answer no. I am leaving the door open to the possibility that the sides will eventually come to me for dialogue, for the possibility of mediation in this case.”

Herzog: West Bank settler violence directly harms Israel

Regarding violence in Judea and Samaria, Herzog took a firm stance and described the situation as direct harm to the state.

“First, I view this with very great severity and deal with it extensively,” he said.

“There are many arrests; there is a lot of dialogue,” he continued. “I think the immediate solution from an operational perspective is to tighten the connection between the IDF, the police, the prosecution, enforcement authorities, and local authorities. There is a possibility to do this.”

The president also criticized the phenomenon, calling Jewish terrorism “a terrible stain on the face of the state and also something that harms its sovereignty.”

Asked whether he believes the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief is not handling rioters forcefully enough, Herzog responded: “Absolutely not. I place my full trust in the head of the Shin Bet.”

Amid criticism over the lack of a state commission of inquiry into the failures of October 7, Herzog said an independent investigative body must be established as soon as possible.

He explained the delay, saying that Israel “must remember that we are at war. We must remember that the High Court of Justice ruled out the possibility that the State Comptroller would investigate this.”

He added that, however, “From the perspective of natural justice for Israeli citizens, it is only right that after the elections an independent and impartial commission of inquiry can finally be established so that we can investigate this thoroughly.”

Herzog concluded the interview by discussing his daily meetings with bereaved families and wounded people, delivering a message of unity ahead of Yom Kippur.

“I meet a great deal, a great deal of pain and concern,” said Herzog. “The concern for Israel’s unity, the fear that someone here will break the rules in a way that will not allow for Israel’s unity and will endanger us from within.”

“That is why I am being interviewed by you on the eve of Yom Kippur, because we will engage in self-reflection and we have much for which we must atone,” he concluded. “We have much to be proud of and much to be proud of ourselves for, but we have also learned from our heritage and tradition to look deeply and see where we erred, and what we need to ask forgiveness for.”

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Documents released by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Wednesday following a Freedom of Information request revealed a long list of expenses recorded during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s visits to the United States in 2025, including more than $13,000 for hair and makeup during one trip, a $500 “smoking fee,” $295 to repair an embassy door, and $125 for a traffic ticket.

The documents were provided to attorney Elad Mann of the Hatzlacha organization following a request filed under the Freedom of Information Law. They include billing tables, delegation lists, and schedules from the prime minister’s visits.

Some details were redacted on national security grounds. The PMO also clarified that in some cases, the process of reviewing the bills has not yet been completed.

During Netanyahu’s visit to Washington in February, one of the most prominent entries in the expense report was a $6,772 charge for a makeup artist, alongside $6,747 for a hairdresser, totaling $13,519.

That visit also included a $25,000 charge for the prime minister’s suite, $511.50 for food in the suite, and approximately $298 for laundry.

One of the smaller entries, however, stands out: $500 listed as a “smoking fee – conference room, press conference with the prime minister.”

The report also lists additional expenses for lighting and photography, transportation, work rooms, refreshments, and equipment the delegation used during the visit.

Over $6,000 spent for makeup artist and hairdresser

Charges for a makeup artist and hairdresser appeared again during a visit in April. This time, $3,036 was recorded for the makeup artist and another $3,036 for the hairdresser, for a combined total of $6,072.

The same report includes $1,228 for “printers + toners” and approximately $240 for a “whiteboard + corkboard.”

The largest charge during that visit was $51,661 for Washington’s Watergate Hotel, while the total itemized charges in the report came to approximately $128,900.

In the report covering Netanyahu’s July visit, a particularly large charge of $172,701.60 appears for the Willard InterContinental hotel in Washington.

Among the many entries, however, is a far smaller one: $295 to a locksmith company, described as “repair of embassy entrance door – malfunction during prime minister’s visit.”

The documents also include purchases from Amazon, Costco, Target, and Staples, as well as expenses for refreshments, office equipment, vehicles, customs, and overtime.

The July visit’s expense report totaled approximately $373,700.

Another unusual entry appears among the expenses from Netanyahu’s trip to New York and Washington in late September: $125 under the description “traffic ticket – prime minister’s visit 09.25.”

During that trip, the prime minister’s suite at the Loews Regency in New York cost $5,999 per night, for a total of $41,993.

The PMO explained in the documents that the visit took place during the UN General Assembly, when demand for hotel rooms in New York is particularly high, and rooms are booked far in advance.

The schedule attached to the documents shows that the visit included, among other events, meetings with the presidents of Paraguay, Serbia, and Argentina; an address to the UN General Assembly; a meeting with the United Arab Emirates foreign minister; and an interview with Fox News.

Netanyahu later flew to Washington, where he met US President Donald Trump at the White House.

The highest nightly price for the prime minister’s suite among the documents released was recorded during an end-of-year visit to Florida: $10,000 per night, for a total of $50,000.

According to the table, a regular room for members of the delegation cost approximately $250 per night on average.

The official schedule shows that during the visit, Netanyahu met, among others, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Trump, and spoke by phone with Vice President JD Vance.

The visit later included interviews with Fox News and Newsmax, a meeting with Steve Wynn, dinner at Larry Ellison’s home, meetings with evangelicals and elected officials, and Netanyahu and his wife attending a New Year’s event at Mar-a-Lago.

The delegation list for the Florida visit includes dozens of names and positions from the PMO, the public diplomacy apparatus, foreign relations, and logistics, alongside additional officials whose details were redacted.

PMO: Figures do not necessarily represent final bills in every case

Despite the extensive detail, the PMO cautioned that the figures do not necessarily represent final bills in every case.

In its response to the Freedom of Information request, the office said that the prime minister’s overseas visits are not paid for directly by the PMO, but through the Foreign Ministry and its missions.

Before a visit, an estimated cost is transferred, but suppliers’ invoices and receipts are collected only after the trip ends.

According to the PMO, the process can take “many months,” and payment is transferred to the Foreign Ministry only after the expenses have been reviewed.

Among the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on hotels, flights, and logistics, it is the smaller entries in the documents that provide some of the most unusual glimpses into the expenses behind the prime minister’s trips: a makeup artist, a hairdresser, a smoking fee, a faulty door, and a single traffic ticket.

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Pop artist Peter Max, whose dreamy, boldly colored works provided an artistic backdrop for the 1960s US hippie movement and made him a commercial art powerhouse, died on Monday at a hospital in Manhattan at the age of 88, a spokesperson for his family said on Wednesday.

Born Peter Max Finkelstein in Berlin in 1937 to a Jewish family, Max spent his earliest years as a refugee from Nazi Germany. His parents fled with him to Shanghai, where thousands of European Jews found refuge during the Nazi era.

In 1948, the family left Shanghai for the newly established State of Israel, eventually settling in Haifa. Max lived in Israel for roughly three and a half years, learned and spoke Hebrew, and began taking painting lessons there under a Viennese artist. He later said that his Jewish upbringing included the observance of holidays such as Passover, Purim, and Yom Kippur.

Max described the Jewish communities of Shanghai, Israel and later Brooklyn as formative influences on his life and art. “I think that my Jewish heritage shaped me as an artist most by the love and caring I got from the Jewish community,” he said in a 2017 interview with the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle. 

His refugee story also remained part of his public legacy. Material connected to Max has been displayed at the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum, which documents the community that sheltered Jews fleeing Europe.

A Jewish immigrant whose work helped define American pop culture

A 2022 account of Max’s later life described him as a Jewish immigrant whose psychedelic work became one of the defining visual signatures of American popular culture.

Max’s visions, often influenced by his love of astronomy, were everywhere in the ’60s and ’70s and almost as much a part of the decade’s youth culture as sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. They were like artistic renderings of an acid trip and were, in the vernacular of the time, really groovy.

The colors were vibrant and the images surreal: cosmic landscapes and starbursts, doves and floating peace symbols, kaleidoscopic butterflies, puffy clouds and other flower-power imagery. Rock stars such as the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and Mick Jagger were Max’s portrait subjects, as well as his friends.

His ties to Israel continued to surface in his work. Among his Jewish and Israeli-themed pieces was “36 Rabins,” a series of portraits of assassinated prime minister Yitzhak Rabin. 

President Ronald Reagan was a fan, and Max donated a painting of the Statue of Liberty to the Reagan Presidential Library.

“His decorative posters show Max to be a visionary fascinated by time, space and evolution,” a 1967 Village Voice critique said. “A psychedelic skyline prophesizes the day when skyscrapers may be temples, when the Rockefeller Center’s Rainbow Room may be used for meditation.”

Max is survived by his daughter, Libra, and his son, Adam.

“My father was my best friend. I feel incredibly blessed to have been so deeply loved and to be his daughter. I hope that alongside his remarkable artistic legacy, people will remember his kindness, his gentleness, and how much he genuinely cherished putting joy into the world,” his daughter said in a statement.

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Israeli hi-tech entrepreneur Eyal Waldman warned that Israel could face serious political and economic consequences if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wins the upcoming election, telling Maariv that continued political instability could drive more skilled Israelis to leave the country.

“If Bibi (Netanyahu) wins the election, I believe Israel will be in serious trouble: without a properly functioning police force and without a Supreme Court. Israel may cease to be a democracy. The departure of talented people from the country will increase. Those who are less talented will remain because they have no choice, and the economy will deteriorate,” Waldman said.

Waldman also expressed concern about long term developments involving parts of the settler movement and the haredi community, arguing that a change in government was necessary.

“I think we are facing a serious long term problem in terms of what is happening with some of the settlers in the territories and with the haredim. The solution is to have a different government. I hope Eisenkot wins the election, and then everything will be different.”

Waldman would enter politics if it was only option ‘to save the country’

Waldman, whose daughter Danielle and her partner were murdered in the Nova music festival massacre on October 7, said he had received several offers to enter politics.

“I received several offers to enter politics, but not from Bibi, not from Smotrich, not from Ben Gvir, not from Goldknopf, and not from Shas. If I thought that was the last thing left to do to save the country, I would go into politics.”

Waldman, the founder of semiconductor company Mellanox Technologies, has long been a prominent figure in Israel’s hi-tech sector and in public debate.

In 2024, he was at the center of a controversy over an attempt to prevent him from receiving the Israel Prize for entrepreneurship after he was identified with the Kaplan anti-government protest movement. The effort was unsuccessful, and Waldman ultimately received the prize.

Selling Mellanox to Nvidia was ‘right decision’

Waldman currently focuses his business activities through Waldo Holdings, a private investment company. He previously sold Mellanox to Nvidia for $7 billion.

“My investments are very diversified. I have real estate in Israel and around the world, investments in debt funds, private equity, and of course I also have enormous exposure to Nvidia. As part of the deal to sell Mellanox to Nvidia, I received part of the consideration in shares. I am very pleased with the investment.”

Waldman said he now viewed the Mellanox sale as the right decision, despite initially preferring to hold off on a deal.

“It is true that I would have preferred to wait and not sell, but today I think the deal was excellent, and the board’s decision was correct, including for all the shareholders. Nvidia, under the management of Jensen Huang, will expand its operations in Israel beyond the development center and will build a center in Tivon with 10,000 employees.”

Waldman also said he had been more optimistic than analysts about Nvidia’s growth and profitability, particularly as artificial intelligence continues to drive demand.

“Unlike the analysts, I expected an improvement in Nvidia’s profitability and business. The reports show how the world of AI is contributing to the company’s profitability. This is only the beginning, and AI has not even begun to realize its potential.”

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Four years ago yesterday, Mahsa Jina Amini died in a Tehran hospital after being detained by Iran’s morality police for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly. She was only 22 years old.

On Wednesday, the anniversary of her death was marked across parts of Iran by a general strike. Videos from the country’s Kurdish regions showed rows of shuttered shops in Saqqez, Amini’s hometown, as well as Sanandaj, Kamyaran and other cities. Security forces and riot police were deployed, while routes toward Aichi Cemetery, where Amini is buried, were reportedly blocked.

Four Kurdish political prisoners also announced a hunger strike to mark the anniversary, while rights groups reported arrests in the days preceding it.

That the authorities continue to take such precautions four years after the death of a young woman from Kurdistan illustrates how potent her name remains in Iran.

Amini’s death on September 16, 2022, sparked demonstrations across the country and gave the world the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom.” Women removed and burned their headscarves, and protesters filled streets from Tehran to the Kurdish West.

Demonstrations in Iran brutally crushed

The demonstrations were eventually crushed. Hundreds were killed, thousands were arrested, and several protesters were subsequently executed. The regime survived the uprising, although Iranian society did not emerge unchanged.

The difference is perhaps most visible among women. Four years later, women can regularly be seen in parts of Tehran and other major cities walking through shopping centers, sitting in cafes, and using public transportation without the mandatory hijab.

The authorities have continued trying to enforce compulsory veiling through arrests, prosecutions, surveillance cameras, warning messages, vehicle seizures, and pressure on businesses. The law remains, although the sight of women openly disregarding it has become considerably more commonplace than it was before Amini’s death.

There is a danger, however, in allowing the hijab to become the sole measure of the movement she inspired.

“In my view, one reason the name of Jina Amini and the Woman, Life, Freedom revolution has endured is that this revolution should not be reduced to the issue of the hijab,” Yasser Fattahi told The Jerusalem Post.

Fattahi’s family experienced the violence that accompanied those first demonstrations firsthand. His father was killed while trying to save a young woman who had been shot following Amini’s funeral.

“Women’s problems are not limited to the hijab,” Fattahi said. “Freedom does not simply mean having the freedom to choose whether or not to wear a hijab. This is the most basic of women’s rights.”

His words are especially poignant when looking at Iran four years later. Women continue to face extensive discrimination, political prisoners remain behind bars, and executions continue at an alarming rate.

Renewed nationwide protests leave 40,000 reportedly dead

Earlier this year, another wave of nationwide protests was met with lethal force and mass arrests, which left at least 40,000 reported dead. Economic hardship, political repression, and demands for greater personal freedom remain familiar features of Iranian life.

There is also now a generation of young Iranians whose formative years have been shaped by everything that followed Amini’s death. A girl who was 14 in September 2022 is 18 today. She has spent her adolescence watching women challenge compulsory veiling, schoolchildren confront authorities, protesters face execution, and successive periods of unrest shake the country.

The huge demonstrations of autumn 2022 are gone from Iran’s streets, and the Islamic Republic has repeatedly demonstrated that it possesses both the means and the willingness to suppress organized opposition. Four years later, however, the grievances that drove Iranians onto those streets remain readily apparent.

Wednesday offered another small indication of that. In Saqqez and elsewhere, shopkeepers were prepared to close their businesses to commemorate a woman whose death the authorities would undoubtedly prefer to consign to history.

Mahsa Amini never saw the movement that grew from the outrage over her death or the millions of people around the world who came to know her name. The Iran of September 2026 remains repressive, and many of the freedoms demanded by those who marched in 2022 remain unrealized.

The shuttered shops in her hometown on Wednesday showed that four years after her death, Mahsa Amini remains a powerful symbol of the freedoms many Iranians are still demanding.

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US Donald Trump has an unprecedented track record of opposing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when it comes to advancing the interest of the American people, Vice President JD Vance said during a virtual address Tuesday at a Los Angeles-based technology summit.

More than any president in the last 40 years Trump “has shown a willingness to actually part ways with ‘Bibi’ Netanyahu when he feels like the interests of the American people are different from the interests of the government of Israel,” Vance told the All-In Summit on technology.

The claim that Trump is the “one president” who would differ with Netanyahu is one that would surprise many watchers of the US-Israel relationship.

The most significant US-Israel rupture since 2009, when Netanyahu was first elected prime minister, was with President Barack Obama in 2015 over Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran. 

Gap between US, Israeli interests continues increasing, Vance says

Vance’s comments were the latest in a series he has made emphasizing the widening gulf between Jerusalem and Washington as November midterm elections approach and at a time when Netanyahu’s popularity in the United States is at a low after three years of Middle East wars.

A Pew poll from the end of March, when the United States was actively at war with Iran, found that 60% of US adults unfavorably view Israel and that 59% lacked confidence in Netanyahu’s handling of world affairs, an increase of 7% in both categories. 

Republicans are scrambling to shuck off unpopular policies and associations, fearing the party will lose control of Congress in the midterms, a result that would cripple Trump’s agenda in the final two years of his presidency.

“I find it a little ironic … that you have Democrats criticizing Donald Trump for his relationship with Bibi when Donald Trump is the one president of the last 40 years who’s been willing to say, you know what, yeah, Bibi is a good partner, but also Bibi and I have a different opinion on this, or Bibi’s wrong about this, or maybe Bibi’s right about this from the perspective of Israel. But the American people need us to go in a different direction,” Vance said.

Trump has often touted himself as the president who has done the most for Israel, including relocating his country’s embassy to Jerusalem and rupturing Obama’s Iran deal, during his first term in 2018 and securing the release of the Gaza hostages in 2025 during his second, nonconsecutive term.  The war he and Netanyahu launched against Iran in February is the first ever joint US-Israeli military action.

The friendship between the two leaders is a highly public one, with Netanyahu enjoying more White House visits than any other world leader. Each has made the close ties central to their electoral campaigns. Netanyahu pitches himself as the world leader most influential with Trump, while Trump’s evangelical base lauds his closeness with Israel. 

Emphasizing differences between US, Israel

Vance, however, has often taken a harsher line, including accusing Israel of trying to manipulate US public opinion on the Iran war.

“Israel has been an important partner when it comes to military technology, when it comes to intelligence sharing, but also sometimes the United States doesn’t always agree with Israel,” Vance said on Tuesday.

Serious differences have emerged since the joint US-Israel goals in the Iran war – to change the regime and end once and for all Iran’s potential to acquire a nuclear weapon – have foundered.  Among these has been the US decision to end the Iran war without a clear plan to block the Islamic Republic’s path to nuclear weapons and its agreement to enter into a civilian nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, without insisting on a normalization deal with the Jewish state.

“We cannot let our Middle Eastern foreign policy be subservient to the state of Israel,” Vance told the All In Summit.

Pro-Israel figures object to Vance’s attitude towards Israel

Vance has also ruffled American Jewish feathers by refusing to disavow media personality Tucker Carlson, who has promoted conspiracy theories about Israel and Jews. 

Vance’s remarks rankled pro-Israel figures who have otherwise been supportive of Trump’s policies. 

“American foreign policy should be subservient to no country,” Jonathan Schanzer, the executive director of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, an influential think tank that backed the Iran war, wrote on X/Twitter. “Why does the VP feel compelled to call out Israel in this respect? Why not call out the Qataris, or the Saudis, or Ukraine? Odd how this keeps happening.”

Heather Johnston, a Christian evangelical who founded the US Israel Education Association, accused Vance on X of catering to Israel haters.

“Our US foreign policy has never been subservient to Israel’s foreign policy,” she said, attaching a clip of Vance’s remarks. “He knows that. Why would he need to say that unless he’s trying to politically gain some points with Israel haters?”

The accusation hit a nerve. Vance’s communications director Taylor Van Kirk quoted Johnston’s tweet, and posted the entire exchange on X. “Let’s all take a moment to actually watch this exchange in full, where the VP was specifically asked about Israel,” Van Kirk said.

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Yair Golan

On the morning of the October 7 massacre, Yair Golan picked up his weapon, got in his car, and sped south to rescue dozens of Supernova music festival-goers targeted by Hamas gunmen.

Since then, he has made it his mission to unite Israel’s fractured Left.

After taking over from Merav Michaeli as Labor leader in 2024, Golan sought to revive a flailing Israeli Left, diminished further after Meretz failed to cross the electoral threshold in the 2022 election, and wounded by a Labor Party that fell to a record-low four seats in the 25th Knesset.

Golan’s answer was to rebrand the struggling Labor Party as the Democrats. The former IDF deputy chief of staff, who served under Gadi Eisenkot, vowed to prevent another split on the Left, quickly securing a merger with Meretz for the upcoming October 27 election.

Golan, who has historically supported a two-state solution, has adopted a more balanced approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, arguing that the approach taken on the matter should be more nuanced in a post-October 7 world. Under his leadership, the Democrats committed to a list incorporating gender parity through a zipper system – in which the list must switch back and forth between a candidate of one gender and a candidate of the other – while also guaranteeing representation for the rural sector and minority communities, including an Arab candidate, in a realistic slot.

Golan is notably one of the only party leaders in the opposition bloc that has actively called to form a coalition with the Arab parties.

Gilad Kariv

While Golan focused on reshaping Israel’s only left-wing party, MK Gilad Kariv emerged as the Democrats’ leading and most vocal presence in the Knesset.

As a member of the Knesset’s National Security Committee, Kariv led the opposition’s parliamentary fight against National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s death penalty bill, filing a High Court petition against what he called an “immoral” and “disgraceful” law.

As chairman of the Aliyah, Integration, and Diaspora Affairs Committee, Kariv convened the panel more than a dozen times in an effort to push police action to locate nine-year-old Haymanot Kasau, who has been missing since 2024, frequently clashing with the national security minister in the process.

Advocating for the unconditional release of all Gaza hostages, Kariv regularly attended protests alongside hostage families and his fellow Democrats lawmakers, often calling for a ceasefire deal and asserting Israel’s “national and moral responsibility” to return all hostages to their families.

Kariv has also repeatedly warned Israel’s government over inaction he said was leading to a “tsunami” of emigration from the country. “To all the Israelis who left the country, the fix is on the way,” he said. “And we need you with us to bring it.”

The party held its primaries in July to decide its Knesset slate ahead of the election, drawing more than 114,000 voters, in what Golan hailed as an “unprecedented democratic surge.”

Having revived and united the Left, Golan and Kariv now face the tall task of turning that resurgence into political power, putting their policies at the forefront of Israel’s next coalition – and returning to the decision-makers’ table.

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The United States remains committed to disarming Hamas, and Defense Minister Israel Katz’s statement claiming that “everyone understands” that it will not happen goes against the Board of Peace’s efforts, a source close to the BoP told KAN News on Wednesday.

“There is no need to believe or guess,” the source told KAN News. “Only to cooperate with the Peace Council’s plan to remove Hamas from all its weapons and rule in Gaza. According to the plan, either Hamas will disarm itself of all its weapons voluntarily, or the IDF will disarm it by force, with international backing.”

A source in Washington also told KAN News that US President Donald Trump remained fully committed to his 20-point plan to disarm Hamas, claiming that afterward, “Israeli forces will withdraw and the International Stabilization Force will work with the Palestinian police to assume responsibility for Gaza and ensure that it will be a safe place for its residents and neighbors.”

The source also reacted to Katz’s statements on Palestinian emigration from Gaza, saying that the US’s stance remains against the policy of removing residents from the Gaza Strip.

Katz’s comments were made earlier on Wednesday, in response to People of Israel chairman Ofer Winter, who had criticized the Israeli government for not yet fully eliminating Hamas.

In a post on X/Twitter, Katz says that Winter is “not up-to-date,” claiming that 70% of Gaza was destroyed and that the IDF surrounds the remaining 30% and is working to eliminate the remainder of Hamas.

Katz says emigration from Gaza will be advanced after US promotes it

In a later post on X, Katz moderated his stance, no longer claiming that the disarmament of Hamas would not happen, and specifying that targeted strikes against Hamas figures are made “in accordance with enabling political conditions.”

הביקורת המסולפת של עופר וינטר נגד הממשלה וצה”ל בעקבות חיסול מח”ט רפיח של החמאס אמש, זהה לזו של כל הלשעברים יושבי האולפנים בעלי התפיסה הביטחונית המיושנת שמתעלמים מההישגים הגדולים באיראן, בעזה, בלבנון ובסוריה כדי לתקוף את הממשלה. בדיוק כמוהם הוא תוקף במקום לשבח.

וינטר לא מעודכן…

— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) September 16, 2026

He also stated that emigration from the Gaza Strip would only be advanced “when the US administration decides to return to the initiative and promote it by convincing countries to absorb the migrants.”

Winter responded, asking Katz, “How can it be that after three years of war and five divisions fighting in Gaza, there is no resolution, Hamas is still on its feet, there is no voluntary emigration despite a blank check from the Americans that you threw in the trash, and we are still sending Hamas hundreds of supply trucks every day?”

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Saudi Arabia struck the Al-Barh bridge in southwestern Yemen early on Thursday morning, Ynet reported citing the Houthi-linked news channel Al-Masirah.

Two airstrikes were carried out on the bridge, the reported said, adding that this was the second time Al-Barh had been targeted in the last two days.

Additionally, the Houthis claimed to have shot down a Saudi drone in the eastern Saudi Arabian city of Haradh, Iranian state media Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported on Wednesday evening.

Saudi planes have carried out 40 airstrikes across Yemen in the last 24 hours, IRIB added.

The strikes come amid escalating conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen.

This is a developing story.

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Security and rescue forces were dispatched to Netanya after several residents reported hearing an explosion, the National Fire and Rescue spokesperson said on Thursday. 

Initial reports from the scene show that a tear gas grenade was thrown at the house, the statement added.

No injuries were reported.

This is a developing story.

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Thousands of seminary girls were recruited for a mass fundraising campaign for Keren Olam Hatorah, a haredi (ultra-Orthodox) organization that supports yeshivas after the Israeli government cut their budgets due to the draft issue, KAN News reported Wednesday.

KAN reported that 25,000 girls participated in the phone-calling campaign, raising over NIS 11 million. Each girl was given a personal fundraising goal of NIS 8,400.

During the campaign, rabbis gave speeches to the seminary students from behind a curtain.

One rabbi, a spiritual leader for the Degel HaTorah party, told the girls that “the more embarrassed you are, the greater the mitzvah.”

The girls were not compensated for their fundraising activities, KAN reported, which occurred at the expense of a school day.

High Court blocks law shielding draft evaders from arrest, investigation

Earlier this month, the High Court of Justice unanimously struck down a law shielding haredi yeshiva students from arrest, investigation, and other proceedings over draft evasion, finding that the coalition had used a fundamentally defective legislative process to deprive the IDF of central enforcement tools.

Eight of the nine justices went further in the verdict, ruling that the law’s substance was also unconstitutional because it protected one group from criminal enforcement while leaving intact the legal obligation to report for military service to the group’s members.

This law never took effect. Justice Ofer Grosskopf froze it on July 15, one day after it passed, and the full nine-justice panel maintained that freeze following a hearing later that month.

Sarah Ben-Nun contributed to this report.

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The Central District Court in Lod sentenced Alexander Granovsky of Petah Tikva to 13 and a half years in prison on Wednesday for carrying out paid assignments for an Iranian agent, including setting vehicles on fire and photographing locations at the request of his handler. The prosecution said it was the harshest sentence so far in a series of cases against people recruited by Iranian agents through social media.

Judge Merav Grinberg approved the sentence agreed by the prosecution and defense. Granovsky had pleaded guilty to contact with a foreign agent, passing information to an enemy, nine counts of arson, and multiple counts of defacing property. He also received suspended prison terms.

According to the indictment, Granovsky communicated via Telegram with a person acting on behalf of Iranian intelligence from late November 2024 until his arrest on December 15. He first sprayed slogans against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in public places. He later set fire to nine vehicles, following instructions for carrying out and recording the acts. Payments for some of his assignments were sent to a digital wallet.

Granovsky also photographed the neighborhood where Blue and White faction head Benny Gantz lives, as well as the smokestacks of Tel Aviv’s Reading power station, sending the images to his handler. He went to a power station in Hadera at the handler’s request but left without taking the requested photographs, citing security at the site and demanding more money.

The handler then sought further assistance. Granovsky bought IDF uniforms and supplied details of two people with criminal records, according to the indictment. He told the handler he would not kill or wound anyone.

Defense cites financial motive and remorse

The defense urged the court to accept the agreed sentence, arguing that Granovsky acted for money rather than ideology and citing his drug addiction and mental health difficulties. Granovsky expressed remorse and said he had not intended to harm state security. The prosecution also supported the agreement, while stressing that he knew he was working for an Iranian-linked operative during wartime.

Grinberg said that Granovsky’s guilty plea and acceptance of responsibility counted in his favor. She nevertheless found that acting for financial gain did not lessen the gravity of conduct that endangered the public and state security. The prison term will be counted from his December 15, 2024, arrest.

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The ability to turn online activity and organization into real-world violence, including attacks against synagogues and elected officials, is the most serious domestic threat currently facing the United States, FBI Director Kash Patel told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.

The hearing was the Judiciary Committee’s annual FBI oversight hearing, with Patel appearing as the bureau’s sole witness. Asked by Republican Sen. Darlin Graham of South Carolina about the leading domestic threat, Patel said the primary mechanism was the “cyber landscape,” adding that “the single greatest threat” was the ability to carry out violence through online spaces, whether against children, houses of worship or elected officials.

Patel stressed that he was not necessarily referring to cyberattacks in the sense of hacking computer systems, but rather to the use of the internet, social media and encrypted applications for radicalization, planning and coordinating acts of violence.

One example he cited was a plot foiled in June against the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House. The US Justice Department said at the time that five people had been arrested and charged with planning an attack against elected officials and participants at the event.

According to the indictments, those involved moved their communications to encrypted chats and planned to use explosive-laden drones to create chaos, followed by snipers who would fire on people fleeing the scene. In some of their communications, the suspects also discussed harming members of Congress whom they claimed were connected to the pro-Israel lobby.

Patel’s emphasis on houses of worship is particularly relevant to the Jewish community in the United States following several significant incidents this year in which the internet played a role in either the threat itself or the radicalization process.

On March 12, 41-year-old Ayman Mohammed Ghazali of Dearborn Heights attacked Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan. Following an investigation, the FBI determined that the incident was “an act of terrorism inspired by Hezbollah” aimed at the Jewish community and the large Michigan synagogue.

FBI: Ghazali searched online for synagogues, Jewish institutions prior to attack

According to the FBI’s findings, Ghazali began consuming pro-Hezbollah and Iranian content online as early as January. In the days before the attack, he searched online for synagogues and Jewish institutions in the Detroit area, and later searched phrases including “largest gathering of Israelis in Michigan,” “Orthodox synagogues,” and “Israelis near me.” He also looked up planned events at Temple Israel.

On the day of the attack, Ghazali arrived at the synagogue in a Ford F-150 pickup truck containing commercial fireworks and containers filled with flammable material. He rammed the entrance door, opened fire from inside the vehicle and exchanged gunfire with security personnel.

Children and staff were evacuated from the building, and no worshipers or employees were killed. The attacker died during the incident.

During the investigation, the FBI found that minutes before the attack, Ghazali sent videos to his sister in which he described the synagogue as “the largest gathering place for Israelis in the state of Michigan,” said he had prepared his vehicle for the attack, and that he intended to “kill as many of them as possible.”

The bureau said it found no evidence that he had accomplices and concluded that the attacker had been inspired by Hezbollah ideology.

Other incidents this year have also highlighted the connection between antisemitic threats and online activity. In March, a Chicago resident was indicted after, according to the Justice Department, posting on X/Twitter that he intended to “shoot inside a synagogue.” The information was forwarded to the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center.

In April, a US soldier stationed at Fort Polk was charged after authorities said he threatened in Discord conversations to enter a synagogue with an AK rifle and kill Jews. According to the Justice Department, the investigation was opened after the FBI received an online tip.

Lone extremists, small groups most difficult to identify, FBI warns

The FBI has previously warned that extremists acting alone or in small groups who become radicalized online and target “soft targets” such as houses of worship are among the most difficult threats to identify in advance.

In June 2025, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security issued a joint warning about heightened threats to Jewish and Israeli communities in the United States, cautioning that foreign terrorist organizations could exploit events in the Middle East to encourage violence inside the US.

Patel stressed during the hearing that confronting the threat requires closer cooperation between the FBI and state and local police departments. Following the Michigan attack, the FBI also called on houses of worship and schools to work with law enforcement authorities and participate in training for responding to shooting incidents.

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After four matches, it’s hard not to be impressed by Maccabi Tel Aviv’s play so far this season.

The yellow-and-blue are a perfect 4-0, with wins over Israeli league heavyweights Maccabi Haifa, Hapoel Beersheba and Hapoel Tel Aviv, including a convincing 4-1 derby victory at Bloomfield Stadium. Kenny Miller has his squad running on all cylinders, and Maccabi appears to be a clear step above the other “big” teams in the league.

While Maccabi did win by three goals, it took the yellow-and-blue quite a while to finally put Hapoel away. The score remained 2-1 for more than a half before two late goals finally sealed the deal. Stav Turiel was sent off after receiving a second yellow card, as the referee once again had too much influence on the game, just as the officials did the previous week in Beersheba. But it is what it is, and the Reds played the yellow-and-blue tough until they finally conceded.

Unlike Beersheba’s Ran Kozuk, who had some choice words for the officiating, Hapol Tel Aviv’s Elyaniv Barda did not want to criticize the referees, instead saying that both of Turiel’s yellow cards could have been avoided.

Back to Maccabi, however, the team sits comfortably atop the table with a perfect 12 points. The yellow-and-blue will have a chance to head into the international break with five wins from five when it visits Maccabi Netanya on Saturday night. Netanya is coming off a brutal 2-0 loss to newly promoted Hapoel Ramat Gan in a game in which the Diamond City squad never quite looked right.

But what has really helped Miller’s squad has been the addition of Gaby Kanichowsky, who has changed the complexion of Maccabi’s gameplay. That was especially evident in his first two games back in the Holy Land after spending last season abroad in Hungary with Ferencvaros. Add another newcomer in top-flight veteran James Tavernier, who has also looked good since his arrival, and what Maccabi has is a well-oiled machine.

Gaby Kanichowsky’s Impact on Maccabi Tel Aviv

Miller had plenty to say about his new midfielder Kanichowsky and how he sees No. 16 fitting into the team with such ease.
“It’s an incredible season. Gaby’s come in and he’s obviously really familiar with the club. He’s played with a lot of these players as well before he left, and he’s fitted seamlessly into that midfield. What it does is it gives us a really, really good balance within the three players that we’ve got [in the midfield].”

As for Tavernier, it’s rare to have such a talent and an established star come to Israel, but here he is, thanks in part to his former teammate and current Maccabi bench boss, Miller. Tavernier explained why he decided to sign with the State Cup holder while also sharing warm words about his new home.

Players of Tavernier’s caliber coming to Israel should never, ever be taken for granted. Even in a good and quiet season, it would be rare for a player of his stature to be playing in Israel, and that was made crystal clear to the former Rangers star by the warmth he has received from the fans, the club, and those around him.

Having players such as Kanichowsky and Tavernier also helps the rest of the squad, whether it’s taking advantage of Kanichowsky’s incredible vision and passing ability or Tavernier’s leadership and the quality he brings to the team. That, in turn, has allowed Miller to heap praise on other players, including Osher Davida, who scored Maccabi’s second goal and continues to create havoc on the right flank – as well as in front of the Hapoel Tel Aviv fans with an Eran Zahavi-inspired goal celebration.

“As a staff, we know the qualities that Osher has. They kept telling me that two seasons ago he had a wonderful season and he had good numbers and goals and assists, and we want him to get back to that level. I think our two wingers are right at the top of their game at the moment. They’re always contributing goal chances, assists, and it was another really, really positive performance from both our wingers, as it was for everybody. The team performances over the last few weeks have been excellent. But in terms of Osher, he’s in a really good place.”

“We need to keep pushing him,” Miller continued. “We need to keep working with him to make sure he keeps that level up. He said to me about two seasons ago that he was better than he is at the moment, then he’s a very, very good player. So we’ve got him in a good place, as we have the whole group, and it’s about keeping it up. It’s about keep pushing, enjoy it, understand why we’re winning, and then move on to the next game. We’ll enjoy this, we’ll move on, as it’s about going and making sure it’s five out of five.”

Young star Noam Ben Harush elevating his play

Noam Ben Harush, who shifted from right back to left back with the arrival of Tavernier and the departure of Roy Revivo, has been a revelation as well. After spending time with both Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Haifa, the 21-year-old was also part of the youth national team program. He has been playing so well that there is talk that Israel National Team head coach Ran Ben Shimon is planning to call him up for the four Nations League games that will be played at the end of September and early October.

“Every game he’s played this season, whether it be from the start or coming on, he’s been top,” Miller said of Ben Harush. “So, he’s taken that slot at the moment, and this is what you want. As a coach, you want players to take the jersey, keep the jersey by performing and doing the work, again, not just in games.”

“We see the performances that the players are putting in, but that’s down to the work that we put in every single day. And Noam, at the moment, he’s taking that opportunity to play left back. It’s not his position, but he’s been really, really good in that for the last two or three games. The jersey at the moment is his, and it’s up to someone else to show they’re better.”
Of course, getting up for a big game – especially a derby – should be easy. Even Miller wanted to get out onto the pitch and turn back father time.

“It’s a fantastic fixture, it really is. The one thing I would say about our fans at home and away, to be honest, but particularly at home, is when you’ve got 30,000 there supporting you, they create an incredible atmosphere for the team and for the players to go in. What player wouldn’t want to play in front of that type of atmosphere and environment tonight? It’s an incredible place to be. I would much rather be on the field where you can actually impact it!”

“As a coach, it’s a bit different. You still enjoy it, and it’s an amazing atmosphere to be part of, but there’s a lot of nerves and things that are going through your mind because you can control so much. It’s an incredible place to play this derby in front of our own fans. I always say it, it’s never taken for granted, the support that they bring from the first whistle to the last, and it was nice to send them home happy.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv aim to remain undefeated against Netanya

Next up is Netanya, and Miller wants to get that fifth win and go into the break with a big smile on his face. Sure, there is still plenty to do, but getting off to such an incredible start against the teams Maccabi has already faced and defeated is exactly what the club wanted. Now it’s on to the next one in what is a marathon, and Miller is well aware that the championship isn’t won after just a handful of games.

“It’s a long, long way to go. We’re really, really happy with the start, and I said it before, it looked a tough start on paper. But we’ve come through the first four games with maximum points, and again, for me, you move on to the next game now. That’s it. All eyes go on Saturday. It’s as simple as that.”

See more Israeli sports coverage at www.sportsrabbi.com/en

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Israel is facing a global attack in the form of propaganda against the country and the IDF, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed during the cornerstone-laying ceremony for a memorial dedicated to Arabic-speaking Christian soldiers on Wednesday.

“The State of Israel and Israeli soldiers are portrayed not only as perpetrators of war crimes, which is the most absurd thing imaginable to say about the most moral army in the world, but they are also portrayed as persecuting minorities,” he said.

Netanyahu said that Israel was actually an “island of tolerance” in the region.

“The State of Israel is the only place in the Middle East where the Christian community flourishes and grows,” he said. 

“Everywhere else, they are persecuted, they emigrate, or they are slaughtered. Only here do they find their place, a home we all share.”

Memorial for Christian IDF soldiers shatters lie about Israel, Netanyahu says

He warned that, as lies about Israel are repeated, they become more and more accepted as the truth.

“That is why we came here today, to shatter that lie,” he explained. “We are shattering it through this very ceremony and through the very fact that we do not merely protect Christians, and I am referring specifically to the latest lie: Christians protect us! All of us, together.”

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Saudi Arabia is facing growing pressure from multiple directions as the Houthis in Yemen expand their capabilities and Iran threatens vital infrastructure, and that is causing “great anxiety and pressure” in Riyadh, a source close to the Saudi government has told The Jerusalem Post.

“They’re surrounded from the south and the north and the east,” the source said, adding that the Houthis and the Iran-backed Hashd al-Shaabi in Iraq are major security concerns.

At the same time, Iran poses a different kind of threat, with Riyadh concerned that a direct confrontation could expose critical infrastructure, including desalination facilities, to Iranian missile and drone attacks, the source said, adding: “They definitely thought that they were vulnerable, and they were against the war between Israel-US and Iran.”

Nevertheless, the Saudi approach has been markedly different toward the Houthis, whom Riyadh appears to have initially underestimated.

“I think they miscalculated,” a diplomat in the region told the Post. “They really thought that they had Yemeni forces who could really stand up to the Houthis.”

Riyadh has adopted two fundamentally different approaches toward its adversaries.

With Iran, the preferred strategy is negotiation and mediation rather than direct military confrontation. That is largely because of concerns over the potential consequences of an Iranian attack on Saudi infrastructure.

Houthis progressing along Red Sea coast

The calculation is different regarding the Houthis.

“When it comes to the Houthis, they have a much more aggressive, forward-leaning, military solution,” the source close to the Saudi government said.

Saudi Arabia is supporting Yemeni forces opposed to the Houthis while also providing air support.

But Riyadh’s initial reluctance to employ air power more aggressively allowed the Houthis to make significant gains along Yemen’s Red Sea coast.

The Tihamah coastal plain is largely flat rather than mountainous, making it particularly vulnerable to air power.

“It could have easily been stopped with air power,” the diplomat said, citing platforms such as Apache helicopters and C-130 gunships.

Instead, Riyadh initially relied on anti-Houthi Yemeni forces to halt the advance.

“They had confidence that the Yemeni anti-Houthis would stop them, and there was a kind of hesitancy or reticence to get involved,” the diplomat said.

That hesitation gave the Houthis crucial time to consolidate their position.

“That gave the Houthis the 24 hours they needed to take over the entire coast,” the diplomat said, adding that the decision was a “huge mistake.”

The Saudis, it seems, are deeply disappointed with the performance of forces led by Tariq Saleh, which failed to prevent the Houthi advance despite receiving training, funding, and weapons from Gulf states.

The forces were initially supported by the United Arab Emirates and later by Saudi Arabia, the source close to the Saudi government said.

“In hindsight, they think that the Tariq al-Saleh forces who didn’t fight, despite being paid and trained and armed,… must have disappointed them,” the source said.

Riyadh is now making greater use of air power. The Houthis have claimed more than 40 airstrikes over the past 24 hours.

The shift in approach has so far helped prevent the Houthis from expanding eastward toward Marib and capturing additional territory around Taiz and other parts of Yemen.

Trump refuses to strike Houthis

US President Donald Trump has refused to conduct airstrikes against the Houthis. While CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper did visit Saudi Arabia over the weekend, US officials also met in Oman with Houthi representatives, who reportedly gave them a commitment not to target US ships.

So, why is the US not assisting with the Houthis?

“If it’s for technical, strategic, and military reasons, I can understand,” the source close to the Saudi government said. “If it’s a political chasing away of America, then that’s really problematic.”

Trump’s approach toward Riyadh could be influenced by a number of factors, including disagreements over Saudi support for US-led regional security initiatives.

Trump might believe the Saudis have not been sufficiently supportive, or he could view the US military presence in the region as overextended.

Trump’s strategic thinking is often difficult to predict, the source stressed.

“He’s very capricious,” the source said, adding that a decision to reduce US support could have consequences beyond the immediate political dispute.

Israel assisting Saudi Arabia against Houthis, diplomats say

Despite the growing pressure, Saudi Arabia remains pragmatic in its foreign and security policy, including publicly seeking greater assistance from Israel, the source said.

Israel is assisting Saudi Arabia, with CENTCOM mediating the sharing of intelligence on the Houthis, diplomats in the region told the Post.

“If it gets really bad for the Saudis and they need help, and they’re not going to get it from anyone else,” Riyadh could potentially reconsider its current positions, the source said, adding that its decision-making would ultimately depend on the nature and severity of the assistance required.

“It depends on the nature of the help they need and how desperate they get,” the source said. “The Saudis are ultimately very pragmatic. Regime survival comes before anything else.”

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The US Federal Reserve (Fed) raised interest rates on Wednesday and flagged further increases in borrowing costs in the coming months, with new US central bank chief Kevin Warsh joining a unanimous decision that effectively acknowledges the Trump administration’s so-far inability to control inflation.

While US President Donald Trump had promised to lower prices on his watch, the combined impact of his global import tariffs, an energy shock following the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran, and capital spending from the artificial intelligence boom has kept price pressures intense enough that the Fed felt it needed to raise its benchmark overnight interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to the 3.75%-4.00% range.

New policy projections showed 16 of 18 policymakers anticipate at least one more quarter-percentage-point hike by the end of this year, with only two seeing rates remain stable from here. Warsh apparently again did not submit a rate projection.

US dollar rises against euro following Warsh’s first policy shift

This is the first policy shift under the new Fed chief, who took office in late May after Trump selected him with the expectation that he would cut rates.

The US dollar rose against the euro after the Fed’s announcement, while US Treasury bond yields held largely steady, having already weakened in anticipation of the hike. After hitting a 19-year high above 5% on Monday, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was trading at 4.958%, compared to 4.946% just before the announcement.

The 30-year bond yield dipped to 5.312% after trading at 5.327% just before the announcement. Stocks were mostly higher, with the S&P 500 index up 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.7%.

Market bets on a rate hike at the Fed’s next meeting in late October ticked up to 56.5% from 54% before the hike, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.

“The Federal Reserve’s decision today to raise interest rates by a quarter percentage point reflects its continued focus on addressing persistent inflation. While inflation has moderated from peak levels, it has remained elevated enough to prompt additional action from the Federal Open Market Committee,” said Michele Raneri, head of US research and consulting at TransUnion in Chicago.

The Fed’s new policy statement and economic projections, by contrast, show the central bank opening the door to tighter monetary policy through next year, with the policy rate rising to the 4.00%-4.25% range by the end of this year and ending 2027 at the same level.

“Today’s policy action will support a timelier return to the Committee’s 2% goal,” the central bank said in its policy statement after the end of a two-day meeting.

While the statement withheld forward guidance on upcoming policy decisions, as is Warsh’s preference, the decision is likely to ease doubts that the Fed chief would hold off on tighter policy out of deference to Trump, a lingering question during his first months in office.

The statement dropped a previous reference attributing current elevated inflation to “supply shocks,” particularly in the energy sector, a nod to concerns among policymakers, including Warsh, that price pressures were too broad to be comfortable with.

Warsh is scheduled to hold a press conference beginning at 2:30 p.m. local time to elaborate on the decision.

Rate increase to determine results of upcoming US midterm elections

The rate increase was announced less than two months ahead of midterm elections that will determine whether Trump’s Republicans maintain control of Congress for the final two years of his presidency. The Republicans are facing an uphill battle with voters angry about gasoline prices that are about a third higher than a year ago and interest rates on home mortgages that have been rising steadily this year. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is approaching 7%.

Policymakers’ new quarterly economic projections raised inflation estimates, as measured by the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, to 3.7% versus the 3.6% projected at the Fed’s June meeting. Inflation is not projected to return to the 2% target until 2029, a year later than previously expected.

Economic growth was raised slightly from 2.2% to 2.3%, while the unemployment rate is expected to end the year at 4.1%, versus the 4.3% projected in June.

Warsh’s characterization at his press conference of the logic behind the rate increase and the likelihood of further action will be important in shaping the reaction in financial markets that have been raising yields on long-term US Treasury bonds. The rate hike on Wednesday was widely expected, but investors will look to the Fed chief for more information on what might prompt further increases in borrowing costs.

Warsh has pledged to lower inflation back to 2% “clearly and at sufficient speed” by raising rates as needed.

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Israel is considering additional steps against the Netherlands over its decision to ban trade in Israeli products from the West Bank, east Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights after a court in The Hague rejected a legal attempt to stop the measure, a diplomatic source said on Wednesday.

According to the source, Israel’s policy on the matter has not changed: Israel has acted, is acting, and will continue to act against those who act against it, and diplomatic and economic measures taken against Israel will be met with a response.

The Dutch ban is expected to take effect on September 22. Jerusalem views it in the context of a series of measures promoted by the Netherlands in recent months that Israel has described as hostile. The Dutch government itself has said it intends, through the move, to increase pressure on the Israeli government and avoid economically contributing to the continued expansion of Israeli settlements.

Before adopting the measure nationally, the Netherlands sought to advance similar steps at the European Union level. After failing to secure the required majority, it decided to act independently.

Israel already responded with a practical step when the decision was made in The Hague. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approval, decided to remove Dutch representatives from the international support center for Gaza in Kiryat Gat.

Sa’ar’s announcement at the time said the decision was made following a “series of anti-Israel measures by the Dutch government,” the latest of which was the trade ban. The Dutch Embassy in Israel and the United States, which plays a central role in the Kiryat Gat mechanism, were informed of the decision.

The original announcement also said that the representatives had been asked to leave Israel within a week. The Dutch side later clarified that the two would not be required to leave their other diplomatic posts, but that their participation in the Kiryat Gat center would end.

The Kiryat Gat center, which involves the United States and other countries, coordinates on Gaza and issues related to stabilizing the Gaza Strip and its future. The removal of the Dutch representatives also highlighted one of the tools Israel can use in response to diplomatic measures against it: restricting foreign countries’ participation in regional mechanisms that require Israeli consent.

Sa’ar said at the time: “Our clear message: Anyone who acts against Israel will have no foothold in the region. Israel will not allow measures against it to go unanswered.”

The Foreign Ministry statement linked the Dutch government’s policy to what it described as an “unprecedented wave of antisemitism and boycotts” in the country.

After the court rejected the request to prevent the ban from taking effect, a diplomatic source said Israel is now considering additional measures against the Netherlands beyond the decision already taken regarding Kiryat Gat.

The source did not specify which measures were under consideration, and no additional decision has been announced so far.

Israel considering retaliatory measures against more countries

The Netherlands is not the first country whose representatives have been barred from the mechanism. Israel previously prevented Spain from participating in the Kiryat Gat center amid the diplomatic crisis with Madrid.

Reports later said Israel was considering using the same measure against additional countries. A diplomatic source denied at the time that Israel intended to take action against Germany and Italy, which the source described as friendly countries, and said reports to that effect were “fake.”

Israeli officials said at the time that a disagreement with a friendly country does not, by itself, lead to retaliatory measures like those taken against the Netherlands and Spain.

Despite concerns that the Dutch precedent could encourage other governments to follow suit, Israeli diplomatic officials do not currently expect an automatic “domino effect” across Europe.

They said decisions on such matters are largely shaped by domestic political circumstances, including the composition of the government, the balance of power in parliament and the pressures exerted on political leaders in each country.

In their assessment, therefore, the Dutch ban’s entry into force does not in itself indicate that other European countries will follow the Netherlands.

Jerusalem is continuing to monitor similar initiatives in other countries and within EU institutions. The volume of trade directly affected by the Dutch ban is relatively limited, while Israeli officials are more concerned that other governments could adopt the approach chosen by The Hague: after failing to secure agreement for the measure at the EU level, the Netherlands decided to impose the restrictions independently.

Pro-Israel demonstration expected on Thursday in Amsterdam

A demonstration in support of Israel and the Jewish community is expected to take place in Amsterdam’s Dam Square on Thursday, where opposition to boycotts and sanctions against Israel is also expected to be voiced.

The event was planned before the court decision, but its organizers had already addressed the expected ruling and the trade ban, linking the rally to the public and political climate surrounding Israel in the Netherlands.

Organizers are preparing to bring participants from across the country through a network of about 35 bus pickup points.

Among the announced speakers are SGP party leader and member of parliament Chris Stoffer, Interprovincial Chief Rabbi Binyamin Jacobs, and Jewish and Christian representatives.

The event is also expected to include the unfurling of an Israeli flag covering about 600 square meters and the singing of “Hatikvah.” At the same time, a call has been issued for a pro-Palestinian counter-demonstration expected to begin about half an hour before the pro-Israel rally.

The Dutch ban is set to take effect on September 22 unless a legal or diplomatic development changes the situation before then. Israel is also awaiting the completion of discussions over the nature of its response.

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Hebron’s Jewish community completed a four year restoration of the Tomb of Yishai and Ruth atop Tel Hebron in the West Bank on Tuesday.

The work was spearheaded by the community’s international spokesperson, Yishai Fleisher, a member of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party.

He also serves as a member of the Efrat Local Council, and is a widely recognized English-speaking voice for Israel abroad, with his YouTube channel having more than 300,000 subscribers.

The tomb is believed by Jewish sources to be the burial place of the biblical King David’s father, Yishai, and his great-grandmother, Ruth the Moabite.

“The location of the site in Hebron, city of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, the first acquisition of the Jews in the Land of Israel, made by our forefather Abraham,  carries important spiritual significance,” explained Fleisher. “There is a connection between the Tomb of Yishai and Ruth and the Cave of the [Patriarchs].”

“The sources state that there are four ‘wheels’ in the Chariot of the G-d: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David. Why specifically David? Because David is the one who fulfills the dream of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, the dream of a united and strong people in their land, living in holiness.”

Bringing Safed to Hebron

Fleisher, working closely with a team of historians and artisans, drew up a design drawing on the turquoise color usually associated with Safed, departing from the site’s traditional browns and greens. 

“We wanted to bring the sanctity of Safed’s turquoise into the heart of Hebron,” Fleisher said. 

The graves of Yishai and Ruth themselves were redesigned using stone, calligraphic inscriptions, a Star of David, and a wheat motif to represent Ruth’s biblical story.

Renovations for the tomb, as well as the establishment of a new synagogue and study hall at the site, were completed using mainly local Hebron stone, wrought iron, and wood.

The project cost roughly one million dollars fundraised by Fleisher from donars around the world. 

Connecting site to younger generations

Additionally, a chamber dating back to the Byzantine and medieval periods was restored and converted into a a working studio, where a scribe writes on parchment using traditional methods, in view of visitors.

The completed site also includes shaded seating areas, water fountains, restrooms, a small event hall, a courtyard, parking, and direct access to the Tel Hebron archaeological park.

“If young people saw the place as it used to be, they wouldn’t connect to it, and they wouldn’t feel that this is a place of holiness,” Fleisher stated. “My view is that these places we love, places that are our heritage, need to be beautiful, need to expand the heart, to believe that this is truly something great.”

“I’m looking forward to applying my experience in beautifying Hebron to beautifying the whole Land of Israel through the Knesset.”

Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.

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“I feel so bad taking all this blood, Imma [Mom],” said Yonah Brief, the wounded Duvdevan medic who was receiving a transfusion. “I just want to give it back.”

Several months after the October 7 massacre hero’s death on November 25, 2024, Yonah’s wishes became a reality: The Brief family set up a national Duvdevan blood drive that collected 480 gallons of blood in the first year.

Yonah, from Modi’in, spent 417 days in the ICU. After being hit by 13 bullets, 11 bouts of pneumonia, two amputations, and catastrophic liver and kidney failure, his impact lives on.

Yonah is one of 35 soldiers from the Modi’in community laid to rest since the October 7 massacre. Today, their memories adorn the paths all over Modi’in’s public landscape thanks to the support and involvement of Rochester’s Jewish community.

The initiative was facilitated by the Modi’in-Rochester Partnership, also known as Partnership2Gether (P2G), which celebrated its 23rd year in August.

A singular goal: To work together and create communal depth

After the October 7 massacre, P2G collaborated with Mayor Haim Bibas and the Modi’in Municipality to create misholim, a series of paths and public markers bearing the names and stories of Modi’in’s and Rochester’s fallen.

Featuring a QR code linking the soldier’s story, the placement of paths are deliberate.

Eden Zimri, who served as a commander in the Artillery Corps’ drone unit, was killed on October 7. She is commemorated on the IDF Nahal Oz outpost’s path, which runs between her home and the community pool, where she once swam.

Eitan Auster, a commando squad leader in the Egoz special unit, is commemorated on the path to the synagogue.

The path commemorating Brief, who was active in Bnei Akiva, leads to the local youth group’s center.

Families are approached on their own timeline and allowed to grieve before any public honor is offered. The proposal was extraordinary for David and Hazel Brief, Yonah’s parents.

“Many other bereaved families have to struggle against their city or town to even name a bench in their son’s name,” they said in a statement.

The paths have become a part of daily life in the community. Today, families of the fallen sing, dance, and celebrate around their loved ones.

Some families feel closer to their loved ones by the path than by other conventional places, Avni said. For example, on Remembrance Day, Eitan Auster’s mother chose to honor her son by the path rather than going to Mount Herzl Military Cemetery.

The initiative also honored the greater Rochester community in Upstate New York. Yonatan Dean Chaim, an oleh (new immigrant) and convert who moved from Rochester to Ramat Gan to serve in the IDF, was killed during Operation Swords of Iron, the Israel-Hamas War. In response to a request in Summer 2025, P2G facilitated the construction of a path in his memory.

For Zigi Avni, a member and chairman of the partnership, misholim demonstrates exactly how P2G is unique among the other 44 Israeli-American city partnerships.

The program’s projects emphasize in-person relationships over online alternatives, and both communities engage with efforts to connect, he said. The initiative now boasts at least five different programs, he added.

According to Dr. Hila Hadas, CEO of mental-health organization Enosh and co-founder of P2G, the goal “is to create depth in each community and work together.”

The Journey for Identity, where youth from both communities come together to learn and reflect on their unique Jewish identity through a three-week summer trip to Rochester, Poland, and Israel, directly encapsulates this vision.

Zoe Linnett, 18, from Modi’in recalls the culture shock of experiencing Rochester’s community. She said the trip “sparked an ember… that Israel fanned into a flame” after touring Israel and the October 7 massacre sites.

Long conversations about identity brought the cohort closer to each other and to Jewish pride, Linnett said.

Hadas said: “We aren’t trying to make anyone more religious or make aliyah.”

The question that continues to permeate every conversation until today, she said, is: “What does it mean to be a Jew in today’s world for me?”

Sixty percent of US adults hold an unfavorable view of Israel, according to a Pew Research study conducted in March after the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.

Nevertheless, even when once unquestionable support and fundraising falter, the partnership remains steadfast in answering this question, Hadas said.

P2G’s involvement with misholim and the Federation of Rochester’s $350,000 donation recognized an ever-evolving need.

 “A few years ago,” before October 7, “just donating money was enough,” Avni said. “It’s not the same anymore.” Now we need “the spirit, the ideas, the partnership.” Money “is not everything.”

Martin Zand, a professor and the target of a pro-Palestinian poster on Rochester University’s campus, said he actively defends and empathizes with his brothers and sisters in Israel. That comes from “recognizing that we are fighting different battles – one a physical battle, and the other an equally existential battle.”

Despite the different traumas and lived experiences, through efforts to understand and accommodate each other, Israeli and Diaspora communities continue to prove how we are indeed our brothers’ keepers, he said.

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A Jewish man who has been imprisoned in Iraq for 11 years was released today following a coordinated international effort.

Israeli-Canadian Benjamin Hassin, now in his early 30s, was released from prison in Sulaymaniyah on Wednesday.

Hassin was born in Iraqi Kurdistan and immigrated as a child first to Israel and then to Canada, before again returning to Israel as a teenager.

✡️🇮🇶 JEWISH PRISONER FREED AFTER DECADE IN IRAQ

– Binyamin Chasin, also known as Binyamin ben Limor, spent nearly 10 years imprisoned in Iraq under threat of execution after being convicted in the death of a taxi driver.

– A global Pidyon Shvuyim campaign raised $250,000 for a… pic.twitter.com/jCfIAh24bG

— Belaaz News (@TheBelaaz) September 16, 2026

In 2014, he reportedly flew to Kurdistan to visit his grandparents. There, according to Yeshiva World News, he joined local Kurdish Peshmerga militia who were defending their towns from ISIS.

In 2015, on leaving for Israel, Hassin was allegedly accosted by a taxi driver who heard him speaking Hebrew, realized Hassin was Israeli, and threatened to kill him. Hassin, who was armed, claimed he shot the driver in self-defense. The driver died a few days later from the injuries, and Hassin was arrested and charged with murder. He was also sentenced to death.

Sentenced to death, the matter of his imprisonment not public for over a year

The matter of Hassin’s imprisonment was not publicly disclosed until over a year later, when then-Deputy Minister for Regional Cooperation Ayoub Kara posted a video on social media saying he was in close collaboration with Hassin’s father, Ilan Hassin, to secure his son’s release.

Following that point, international Jewish groups joined in to secure his release.

In November 2025, Hassin’s death sentence was annulled after a sulha agreement, and $250,000 in funds were raised at the request of the Iraqi authorities. Renowned lawyer Alan Dershowitz said the money was used to persuade the family of the alleged victim to accept the sulha.

He, however, remained in prison until today.

The success is being attributed to former Israeli foreign ministry official Eyal Sisso and lawyer Alan Lowy, the latter of whom is reported to have flown regularly to Sulaymaniyah, near the Iranian border, to negotiate the release.  

Lowy and Hassin are currently on the way to Israel.

Nevertheless, after 11 years in jail, and having reportedly experienced torture, physical abuse and severe mistreatment, Hassin will have to restart his life.

The Jerusalem Post confirmed that Hassin has been accepted into the Aish HaTorah Foundation Program in Jerusalem on his arrival.

In a letter to Hassin, Aish Yeshiva director Rabbi Dovid Rosman said he was pleased to inform the former of his acceptance.

In the car following his release, Hassin could be seen saying the Jewish “Sheheyanu” prayer.

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“We don’t sit in boardrooms waiting to make decisions,” says Yael Eckstein, President and Global CEO of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ). “We’re boots on the ground. We can approve things in a second and identify new opportunities just as quickly. By opportunities, I mean ways to help more people.”

Helping people is the watchword of the IFCJ. Since the organization’s founding in 1983 by her late father, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, z”l, The Fellowship has been a leader in Jewish-Christian relations, building bridges of goodwill that have led to greater understanding and cooperation between members of these faiths.

With Rosh Hashanah approaching, Eckstein highlights the IFCJ’s operations in the past year and discusses her plans for the coming one. “The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, as it says in our name, stands for these values of saving lives, preserving lives, helping people who need us, both in the Jewish community and the Christian community,” she says.  To that end, this year, The Fellowship, in partnership with the IDF, provided humanitarian aid to persecuted Christian and Druze communities in Syria, bringing 1,500 food boxes to families living in extreme poverty, and providing medical supplies for villagers. The Fellowship airlifted supplies to the village of Suwayda, located in southern Syria near the Jordanian border, where more than 1,700 people had been killed by Syrian security and military forces. Moreover, The Fellowship decommissioned five Magen David Adom (MDA) ambulances, established two regional medical clinics in villages located in the buffer zone, and delivered shipments of life-saving medical equipment and medications to hospitals in the As-Suwayda region.

Eckstein points out that people must recognize that Israel stands for peace, for helping people in need, and that it stands with persecuted Christians the same way Christians around the world have stood with Israel.

The primary focus of IFCJ’s activities is, of course, in Israel, and Eckstein reports that The Fellowship has identified the need to provide increased assistance to hospitals throughout the country. “As technology advances, as budgets are under more pressure because of the war, with so much money going to security, hospitals are getting less funding, while the needs are getting higher. The Fellowship realized that we wanted to help hospitals in many ways directly connected to the security situation.”

In July, IFCJ donated $1 million to modernize the trauma and emergency medicine department at Nazareth Hospital, which treats approximately 100,000 patients each year. “In Israel, we don’t decide who’s receiving aid by religion or religious affiliation or even location.” Says Eckstein. “We go according to need.”

Previously, she explains, the trauma and emergency medicine department at Nazareth would first diagnose patients, and only then transport them to specific sections of the hospital for treatment, which often took time and ended in death. “The center there has now been upgraded,” she reports, “so that patients can receive all of their treatment in the trauma center. They can even perform surgery in the emergency room trauma center. You have all the X-rays, all the CTs, all the heart monitors; everything you could need is there. In one place, you get the diagnosis immediately, instead of taking time that costs lives.” In February of this year, the IFCJ upgraded the Fortified Trauma Center at Shaare Zedek Medical Center with the same capabilities.

Discussing the significance of the improvements that The Fellowship sponsored at the Nazareth Hospital EMMS, Eckstein says, “It’s amazing to see the people of Nazareth who have been living here for generations and how much they believe in bridge building, and how they believe in helping anyone who comes through their doors. These are Christian Israeli doctors and workers who were going with full emotion through all the victims of terror that they treated – when a missile struck a house, and they treated those inside. They felt connected from the first second until today, as if they were treating their own children. Many times hospitals in the periphery are neglected and have lower budgets. But in a way, they are even more important because there are fewer hospitals in the periphery than in the center, and they need to be upgraded to save lives.

“To be able to go to Nazareth, a town that is so special and holy to Christians around the world, and to come as a Jewish woman and sit side by side with a Christian man is deeply meaningful to me. My family has lived in Jerusalem for eleven generations, and his family has lived in Nazareth for generations. Coming together to save lives, to stand with the Christian community, and to tell them we are here for them is truly beautiful and powerful. I believe this is how we pave the way for peace – by bringing people together and building bridges between communities, rather than waiting for someone else to make it happen. We, the people, can make it happen.”

Another crucial improvement funded by The Fellowship was directed to Schneider Children’s Hospital in Petah Tikvah, where the center sponsored the creation of a fortified pediatric dialysis unit that ensures that kidney patients can receive necessary treatment, even during rocket and missile attacks. “I was there and saw the incredible reality of children getting dialysis during the attacks and not needing to move and being protected,” says Eckstein.

One of the most innovative medical projects that The Fellowship has sponsored is the Back to Life Center at Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer. The Center, the first facility of its kind in Israel, is dedicated to the rehabilitation, treatment, and long-term support of freed hostages, their families, and the families of those murdered in captivity, in the wake of the events of October 7.

The former hostages and their families, Eckstein explains, have unique needs that can only be provided by a medical center designed for them. “We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that they, their families, their loved ones can heal in the best way possible.”

The Fellowship’s support of the Center, says Eckstein, is a “big hug from Christians and Jews around the world telling them we didn’t forget you and we’re going to continue to stand with you. When they were in captivity, The Fellowship was supporting their families. Every single holiday, we gave them grants and cards and stood with them for whatever they needed. When bodies were returned, we helped with setting up food at Shiva houses. Through every stage, we wanted these people to know that we stand with them and that Christians around the world stand with them, and we aren’t going to back out now.”

Eckstein says that The Fellowship’s funding of the Center epitomizes its ability to adapt quickly to new realities. “The string that ties all this together is that we go where there’s a need. Four years ago, there was no line in our work plan or budget to have a center for hostages.” 

The Fellowship has also made a significant impact by supporting eight trauma and resilience centers in the south and one in the north. The project began over a decade ago in the Gaza Envelope, says Eckstein. “There are very unique needs for this population suffering from PTSD who are still living under the threat of terror, still running from the rockets, and still facing the threat of intrusion.”

The Israeli government has set aside funding for these resilience centers, she shares. But, she continues, there are not enough therapists to serve the population, and physically, there is not enough space to treat them.  To provide immediate assistance, The Fellowship began constructing yurts, portable, round tents made of a wooden frame covered with felt or animal skins, where sessions are held.

Turning her attention to the Diaspora, Eckstein discusses the rise in antisemitism in recent years, citing one study that says that 46% of adults globally hold antisemitic attitudes. She points out how The Fellowship is uniquely suited to fight this phenomenon. “After October 7, when we saw the rise of antisemitism, we realized that we have a unique angle and a unique understanding of the Christian community. This partnership is based on something spiritual. It’s not based on anything besides a deep spiritual belief that this is right. We believe that we have to fight this with spiritual unity, information, engagement, and mobilization. And so we’ve been working with Christians to educate other Christians.”

In October 2024, a year after anti-Israel riots and protests broke out in the US, The Fellowship initiated the “Flags of Fellowship” project. More than two hundred and twenty churches, seminaries, and synagogues throughout the United States planted 1,200 mini Israeli flags in their front yards, in commemoration of the tragic events of October 7. Many churches, she explains, installed the flags as part of a special ceremony conducted by their youth groups. “It’s very ceremonial as far as passing this message and this partnership on to the next generation,” says Eckstein, who adds that the flag program presents a powerful message both for the Jewish community and the general community at large. “At a time when global antisemitism continues to rise at unprecedented levels, Flags of Fellowship gives people a meaningful way to say: ‘The Jewish people are not alone.”

This year, more than 2,500 churches, synagogues, universities, and organizations are participating in the project. The program is expanding to Latin America, South Africa, the UK, India, and more, as a visible show of Christian and Jewish solidarity with Israel, to plant 3 million Israeli flags globally. “These deep relationships and bonds have been formed through this very grassroots movement of planting an Israeli flag and letting the world know, including the Jewish community, that we’re not alone, “ says Eckstein. 

Eckstein then shifts the discussion from antisemitism to aliyah. “Aliyah was the first project that The Fellowship had when my father started the organization 43 years ago,” she notes. “Nobody could have ever believed or anticipated that we’d be bringing home lost tribes from India and from Ethiopia and during an intense war, bringing Jews home from the former Soviet Union, when once again we have Jewish refugees and internally displaced people. Unfortunately, we have had to expand the list of countries that we help Jewish people come home from based on threats.” 

This year, nearly 600 members of the Bnei Menashe community from India, descendants of one of the Lost Tribes of Israel, arrived in Israel through a major initiative supported by The Fellowship. By the end of 2026, the community is expected to number 1,200, with the rest of the community expected to follow by 2030. The Fellowship is also expanding its aliyah efforts to include South Africa, where many families are facing uncertainty and increasing antisemitism.

Before Rosh Hashanah, The Fellowship has been distributing over $10 million in aid to all the different target markets or populations that they serve – the elderly, the poor, victims of terror, and miluim families who have lost their businesses. “We distribute clothing and food, in the most dignified manner,” says Eckstein, “through digital cards, which enable them to go shopping and choose what they want.”

As our conversation concludes, Eckstein points out that despite the alarming rise in antisemitism around the world, the Jewish people have many friends. “I would encourage everyone to remember that we have hundreds of millions of Christians around the world who stand with Israel and the Jewish people. Instead of trying to change the minds of those who hate us, I want to encourage Jews around the world to invest in the friends we have, nurture those relationships, and continue building bridges. We need to keep standing together and doing what The Fellowship does best – bringing Jews and Christians together to save lives. I believe that if we focus on the good, grow the light, and strengthen this sense of brotherhood, that is what we will see in our future. And I believe that future will be good.”

This article was written in cooperation with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

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Democratic and Republican US senators asked US President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday to declassify and release all information about a proposed agreement with Saudi Arabia on civil nuclear energy, including two classified “side letters” reached with Riyadh.

In a letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Energy Secretary Christopher Wright, which Reuters saw, the senators noted that the government has reached dozens of these so-called 123 nuclear agreements with other countries without withholding such information.

“Access to the full text is required for the Senate and the public to have a clear understanding of the commitments being made on the nation’s behalf and those being made by Saudi Arabia to the United States,” the letter said.

The State and Energy departments did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Democrats Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Ed Markey of Massachusetts led the letter, and 13 other Democratic senators, one independent who caucuses with Democrats, and two Republicans, Rand Paul of Kentucky and John Kennedy of Louisiana, signed it.

Trump sent the proposed agreement with Saudi Arabia to Congress in August, opening a 90-day window for lawmakers to review it and an opportunity to pass a resolution of disapproval.

Lawmakers have since pushed to declassify the side letters, reached alongside the proposed deal, and release the related documents.

Trump says Saudi nuclear deal only possible if Riyadh normalizes Israel relations

The nuclear agreement has also raised questions about whether Saudi Arabia would get the deal without normalizing relations with Israel. Trump has said it will only go into effect if Riyadh does, but congressional aides have said nothing in the pact addresses that issue.

The letter sent Wednesday did not mention the Israel issue.

The 30-year nuclear deal calls for the construction of AP1000 reactors, a project worth tens of billions of dollars that would benefit Westinghouse, jointly owned by Canada-based Cameco and Brookfield Asset Management.

Deal faces criticism for not preventing Saudi uranium enrichment

Some Democratic lawmakers and nonproliferation advocates have criticized the nuclear pact for not barring ​Saudi Arabia from enriching uranium or reprocessing nuclear waste, two potential pathways for making a nuclear weapon. The United Arab Emirates agreed to such measures, known as the gold standard, in its 2009 civil nuclear deal with Washington.

The Trump administration says the deal has nonproliferation measures required by ⁠law.

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Hamas’s October 7 massacre was not designed to scuttle normalization ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia. It was planned long before talk about diplomatic ties between the two countries gained momentum.

But the attack did disrupt those ties, and from Hamas’s perspective, that was a very welcome side effect.

Before October 7, normalization between Jerusalem and Riyadh appeared to be a question not of if but of when. After the fallout from the attack, Saudi Arabia hardened its position, insisting that there could be no agreement without meaningful movement toward the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The strategic logic driving the two countries together, however, never truly disappeared. Israel and Saudi Arabia still share many of the same enemies, face many of the same threats, and look to the US to help construct a regional framework capable of confronting them.

Ironically, it may be one of the regional wars spawned by October 7 – the Houthis attacking Saudi Arabia in support of Iran in its war with the US – that resuscitates Jerusalem-Riyadh ties.

Organized by CENTCOM, Middle East military commanders, including Israel, meet in Germany

Axios reported Tuesday on a meeting organized by US Central Command among the military commanders of Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, and Egypt in Germany last week to discuss tensions in the region.

And that was before the Houthis’ push toward Bab el-Mandeb Strait and attacks not only on Saudi oil facilities but also toward Mecca. Saudi air defenses intercepted a drone south of Islam’s holiest city on Tuesday.

There is more than a little irony in Saudi Arabia looking toward Jerusalem for help protecting Mecca. Yet that is where the region’s shifting alliances may now be leading: The country that presents itself as the guardian of Islam’s holiest sites may increasingly need the intelligence, technology, and missile-defense capabilities of the Jewish state to help defend them.

Neither Saudi nor Israeli officials are talking publicly about the meeting in Germany or about any cooperation – intelligence or otherwise – between the two countries. But it beggars belief that no such cooperation is taking place.

Indeed, Saudi Arabia’s immediate security needs may be creating facts on the ground that diplomacy has not yet acknowledged.

Saudi Arabia needs more than defense promises

Even though the Saudis recently signed the Mecca Defense Alliance with Pakistan and Turkey, under the rubric that an attack on one is an attack on all, neither country has exactly rushed to Saudi Arabia’s defense against attacks from an Iranian proxy.

Defense pacts on paper are one thing. The ability to detect an incoming drone, track a missile, share intelligence in real time, and intercept a threat before it hits an oil installation – or approaches Mecca – is something else entirely.

In these areas, Israel has a great deal to offer. Just look to the UAE, where Israel reportedly moved advanced air-defense assets and personnel during the war with Iran.

Even before the meeting in Germany, a recently retired senior official in Israel’s intelligence community said at the MEAD conference in Washington last week that Israeli-Saudi cooperation is “very good.”

Israeli intelligence official says Israel, Saudi Arabia have much in common

The official said the two countries have much in common in the region and expressed hope they would find the common ground needed to reach a normalization accord quickly.

Fighting the Houthis might – if leveraged correctly – provide precisely that common ground. It could give Riyadh a compelling reason to show greater flexibility on its demand for movement toward a Palestinian state before normalizing ties with Israel.

That does not mean Saudi Arabia will suddenly abandon the Palestinian issue. Nor does it mean that secret security cooperation will automatically produce open diplomatic relations. But shared threats have a way of clarifying interests, and interests – more than sentiment – ultimately drive states into new alliances.

That the US convened the meeting in Germany is also consistent with what has been developing in the region for some time.

US intermediates Israeli-Saudi military cooperation

A recently retired senior US military official at the MEAD conference spoke not of direct bilateral Israeli-Saudi military cooperation, but of a US-led architecture that enables countries that may not trust one another – or maintain formal diplomatic relations – cooperate indirectly through Washington.

In this model, Washington collects radar and intelligence information from different countries, processes it through American systems, and redistributes it under separate bilateral agreements.

That arrangement lets countries benefit from one another’s capabilities without publicly acknowledging the cooperation. It provides Saudi Arabia with access to Israeli intelligence and technology while sparing Riyadh, at least for the time being, the political cost of admitting that it is working with Israel.

The US official said every Arab country hostile to Iran wants Israeli cooperation despite the domestic political cost.

In other words, while Ireland won’t use an Israeli-made component in its new government jet that would allow it to land in the fog, the Gulf states are eager for Israeli technology to help protect themselves from Iran and its tentacles.

Arab governments may not be able or willing to acknowledge cooperation with Israel publicly. But they do recognize and are eager to benefit from the country’s intelligence and technological capabilities.

For months, there has been talk about a new regional security architecture. Then came the Mecca agreement, and it appeared that the Saudis were looking elsewhere rather than toward an American-Israeli-based system.

Pakistan, Turkey are not providing Saudi Arabia with the material assistance it needs

But Pakistan and Turkey are not providing Saudi Arabia with the material assistance it needs as it faces off against Iran and its Houthi proxy, and Riyadh is discovering that declarations of solidarity from distant partners are a pale substitute for real-time intelligence and proven defensive capabilities from countries confronting the same enemy.

This new regional security architecture may indeed finally take off, with the Houthis providing the impetus.

It is worth remembering that Israel had deep security cooperation with the UAE long before the Abraham Accords. In fact, one could argue those ties built trust between the two countries and ultimately paved the way for formal diplomatic relations.

The same pattern could now emerge with Saudi Arabia. Quiet cooperation builds familiarity, familiarity builds trust, and trust can eventually make possible what once seemed politically unthinkable.

The Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia will likely push Israeli-Saudi security cooperation up several notches. Might that, in turn, become the precursor to normalization?

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Norwegian Jews decried a proposed law that would make certain forms of trade with Israeli settlements a criminal offense with up to 3 years in prison, calling it “deeply troubling” and “dangerous.”

Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide made the announcement in an interview with the country’s public broadcaster, the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK), earlier this week. The consultation deadline on the bill is to be on Saturday.

He also told NRK he believed Israel had become “far too accustomed to being able to intimidate Western countries by saying they were antisemitic if they criticized Israel for abuses and violations of international law.”

“Now the Teflon coating that Israel has had in many ways is gone.”

Speaking to The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday, Ester Nafstad, co-founder of Kos & Kaos (the Nordic Jewish network), said: “The proposed ban is presented as a political signal, but a law carrying potential prison sentences cannot be treated as merely symbolic.”

Penalties range from fines to three years in prison

Under the proposal, intentional violations could result in up to three years’ imprisonment, while even negligent violations could carry a sentence of up to six months.

Nafstad said that criminal liability requires clear boundaries and a serious assessment of the consequences – including for Palestinians whose livelihoods depend on economic interaction with Israelis – but that she does not believe the proposal has been sufficiently examined.

Nafstad told the Post that the proposal is creating “real anxiety” among Norwegian Jews.

“Many fear that their family, religious or communal ties to Israel could expose them to scrutiny or investigation, even when they have no economic connections to the West Bank or to Israeli settlements,” she said.

“Whether or not that is the government’s intention, such fears must be taken seriously when introducing criminal legislation directed exclusively at Israel and Israelis.”

Nafstad responded to the specific comment by Barth Eide about Israel believing it can “frighten” Western countries by saying they were antisemitic if they criticized Israel.

She said this sentence was “deeply troubling.”

“Eide could have argued for stronger criticism of Israeli policies without invoking antisemitism at all,” she said. “Instead, he lends authority to the idea that accusations of antisemitism are primarily a cynical political weapon used to frighten critics into silence. That does not primarily harm the Israeli government; it harms Jews and educators who are trying to make society recognize antisemitism when it actually occurs.”

Norwegian Jewish author, podcaster, and public speaker Henrik Beckheim also spoke to the Post about Barth Eide’s comment.

“[This is] delegitimizing when Jews call out antisemitism for what it is. Just accusing us of pulling ‘the antisemitism card’.”
Beckheim called Barth Eide the “most dangerous man in Norway’s government since Quisling.”

Concerns grow over potential impact on Jewish community

Israeli educator On Elpeleg, who lives in Norway, said: “This action by the Norwegian government against Jews in Judea and Samaria is not only aimed at ethnically cleansing Jews from their historical homeland, but also risks criminalizing Jews in Norway and spreading hostility toward Jews in Norway.”

“This is a very worrying and dangerous development for Jews in Norway, especially when the government still does not designate Hamas as a terrorist organization,” he said.

Last week, 11 countries joined Norway in confirming their intention to impose national restrictions on trade in goods from Israeli settlements: Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

The 12 nations jointly said that the Israeli government’s actions in the West Bank “damage the possibility of realizing the two-state solution.”

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his intention to propose a law to revoke the Israeli citizenship of anyone “smearing” the IDF in a Wednesday post on X/Twitter.

Netanyahu also said he would introduce a second law that would increase the amount people could be sued for slandering the IDF by 20-fold.

“Their place is not with us,” Netanyahu said. “We will hit them both in the citizenship and in their pockets.”

אנחנו נשמור על הלוחמים הגיבורים שלנו. נשלול אזרחות למי שיכפיש את חיילי צה״ל בעולם – ונפגע לו עמוק בכיס. pic.twitter.com/ziS6N37Jpe

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) September 16, 2026

He also said that he expects all Knesset factions who say they support the Zionist concept to back the two laws.

Among the examples he gave for harmful incidents of this nature were Democrats head Yair Golan saying in 2025 that “a sane country does not kill children as a hobby,” former Military Advocate General Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi releasing what he called a “fake video” showing IDF soldiers committing acts of rape, and the recent NAZA documentary by Israeli directors and journalists Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, which alleges that Israel’s military operations have resulted in systematic mass civilian casualties.

Miki Zohar thanks Netanyahu for pushing to revoke ‘NAZA’ creators’ citizenship

Culture Minister Miki Zohar thanked Netanyahu for his announcement regarding the two documentary creators, saying it was “time to put an end to this disgrace.”

אני מודה לראש הממשלה נתניהו שהודיע כי יקדם את שלילת האזרחות הישראלית ליוצרי הסרט נז״א. הגיע הזמן לעשות סוף לביזיון הזה. pic.twitter.com/7rnWt6Fohe

— Miki Zohar מיקי זוהר (@zoharm7) September 16, 2026

On Monday, Zohar had said he would “act immediately” to revoke the citizenship of the two directors, saying that “The burning self-hatred of the creators, who are willing to harm their homeland to garner applause from antisemites worldwide, is inconceivable and constitutes an act of treason against the state.”

Miriam Sela-Eitam contributed to this report.

This post was originally published on here. 

Pastor Jack Graham has spent decades using his national platform to encourage Christians to stand with Israel and the Jewish people. Through his preaching, writing, media ministry, and leadership of one of America’s largest churches, Graham has consistently emphasized the biblical significance of Israel and the importance of combating anti-Semitism. 

Graham has led and participated in numerous initiatives that strengthen relationships between evangelical Christians and the Jewish community while encouraging his congregation to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and support Israel during times of crisis. Raised in a Christian home in Texas, Jack Graham’s faith was shaped by Scripture and the Southern Baptist tradition. 

Years of ministry and repeated visits to Israel deepened his conviction that Christians have a biblical responsibility to stand with the Jewish people, a message that has become a hallmark of his preaching and leadership. His unwavering advocacy has made him one of the most respected Christian voices championing Israel today.

This post was originally published on here. 

Lou Engle’s passion for Israel grew out of his commitment to prayer, revival, and biblical prophecy. Influenced by the modern prayer movement and relationships with Messianic Jewish leaders, he has spent decades encouraging Christians to embrace God’s covenant with Israel and pray for the Jewish people. 

Engle has become one of the most recognizable voices in the global prayer movement, frequently calling Christians to intercede for Israel and the Jewish people. Through large-scale prayer gatherings and international ministry events, he has consistently emphasized God’s covenantal relationship with Israel while encouraging Christians to reject anti-Semitism and stand in solidarity with the Jewish community. 

His passion for prayer, revival, and biblical reconciliation has inspired countless believers worldwide to develop a deeper appreciation for the Jewish roots of the Christian faith and to actively support Israel.

This post was originally published on here. 

Through The Moderate Case podcast and his growing public platform, Jacob Smith has become an emerging Christian voice advocating thoughtful engagement with Israel, Jewish-Christian relations, and the fight against anti-Semitism. 

Smith’s support for Israel has been shaped by his study of Scripture, church history, and the Jewish roots of the Christian faith. Through thoughtful dialogue and careful biblical engagement, he has encouraged a new generation of Christians to reject anti-Semitism and cultivate meaningful friendship with the Jewish people.  By encouraging respectful dialogue grounded in biblical conviction and historical understanding, Smith has challenged audiences to reject polarization while affirming the importance of standing with the Jewish people. 

His commitment to informed conversation, moral clarity, and principled support for Israel has helped cultivate a new generation of Christian advocates dedicated to strengthening Jewish-Christian friendship.

This post was originally published on here. 

CeCe Winans, one of the most celebrated gospel artists of her generation, has long used her influence to express Christian solidarity with Israel and the Jewish people. Her support flows from her deeply held biblical faith and her belief in the enduring covenantal relationship between God and the people of Israel.

Beyond her internationally acclaimed music ministry, Winans has participated in events and initiatives that encourage Christians to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and to stand with the Jewish people in times of uncertainty. Through her public witness, she has consistently emphasized the shared spiritual roots of Christianity and Judaism, encouraging audiences around the world to reject anti-Semitism and to affirm Israel’s significance within the biblical narrative. 

Her voice has helped inspire countless Christians to view support for the Jewish people as an expression of faith, compassion, and biblical conviction.

This post was originally published on here. 

Heather Johnston has dedicated much of her public ministry to strengthening understanding between Christians and the Jewish people while encouraging practical support for Israel. Motivated by a conviction that Christians are called to bless and stand alongside the Jewish people, she has become a respected advocate for Christian-Jewish friendship and education.

Through speaking engagements, teaching, leadership, and partnership with pro-Israel initiatives, Johnston has encouraged thousands of Christians to deepen their understanding of the Jewish roots of their faith, confront anti-Semitism, and actively support Israel through prayer, advocacy, and humanitarian engagement. 

Her work has focused not only on expressing solidarity during times of crisis but also on fostering enduring relationships built on mutual respect, historical understanding, and a shared commitment to the flourishing of the Jewish people.

This post was originally published on here. 

Emory University launched a new academic center earlier this month focused on developing practical, government-level strategies to combat rising antisemitism.

The Emory Policy Institute on Countering Antisemitism, known as EPICA, was founded and is led by Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, a University Distinguished Professor, Holocaust historian, and former US special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism under the Biden administration.

Funded by private donations, the institute is designed to bridge rigorous academic scholarship with public policy, operating under the belief that anti-Jewish hatred poses a fundamental threat to democratic societies.

Reflecting on her transition back to academia after nearly three years in diplomacy, Lipstadt told The Jerusalem Post, “When I finished at the State Department, a number of people, both from within universities and from the world of diplomacy, said to me, ‘Deborah, you have a unique perspective on the issue of antisemitism, anti-Zionism, and Jew hatred, which is a term I prefer nowadays, in that you bring to it decades of scholarly experience, you also bring to it a face-to-face encounter in the lawsuit that you faced with David Irving, and you’ve now been in the diplomatic world for close to three years, so you understand how diplomacy works, what governments can do and what governments can’t do, what are the limits, what are the possibilities. Don’t just squander that or write a book and think that’s enough.’ So I turned to Emory University, Emory College, and they were enthusiastic about my building something that would address this issue, that would involve students as well, but also have a research element.”

EPICA to include undergraduate fellowship program

The institute’s core mission centers on conducting interdisciplinary research, facilitating public dialogue, and training the next generation of policy leaders. A key component of EPICA’s educational programming is an undergraduate fellowship starting in January 2027.

The fellowship will allow third- and fourth-year students in good standing to engage directly with policymakers, participate in study trips to Washington, DC, and complete summer internships on Capitol Hill and at policy think tanks.

Student fellows will produce research related to the Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism, an international framework introduced by Lipstadt in a 2024 speech in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and endorsed by dozens of countries and multilateral organizations.

The framework includes recommendations for governments and international bodies, including adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism as a framework.

Institute will support ongoing fight against antisemitism ‘virus’

Lipstadt emphasized to the Post that the institute deliberately chose the word “countering” instead of “combating,” explaining that “combats would just suggest a winner, and I don’t think that there’s a winner in this.” Instead, she views the initiative as supporting an ongoing fight against a virus that extends far beyond immediate horizons.

“It’s a counter-effort, it’s an ongoing fight,” Lipstadt noted. “This is a virus that mutates and lives long beyond and beyond anywhere we can look at today.”

Lipstadt stated that through the institute’s efforts, “I would hope that the research that would come out, that the students’ experience, that the work that they will do, would compel increasing numbers of universities to take this issue seriously.”

Lipstadt added that addressing governments also means looking broadly at institutional policies.

“When I say governments, I’m not just talking about federal governments, but even universities, how can they address this? How can they counter this? How can they recognize that this is a dangerous and serious issue? And so that’s what we will be working on,” Lipstadt concluded.

This post was originally published on here. 

Of all of the battle spaces of the last three years, from Gaza to Syria to the West Bank to Lebanon, the Ali Taher Ridge battle was the most complex to win, Egoz Special Forces Commander Lt.-Col. “M” told The Jerusalem Post in a rare on-record interview on Wednesday.

The operation to capture the ridge at the edge of the IDF’s zone in southern Lebanon lasted months, as dozens of terrorists, estimated to number around 50, were entrenched inside the tunnel until the IDF took control on September 3.

M viewed the defeat of Hezbollah at Ali Taher by his forces and IDF Division 36 more generally as a major setback to the terror group and to Iran “both on a symbolic and command and control operational level.”

The IDF carried out the operation to destroy the 14 tunnel routes on the ridge, stretching about 5.4 km in total and built with Iranian help over 20 years, using a staggering 1,100 pounds of explosives, under the codename “Chisel of Flames.”

M told the Post that the challenges were multifaceted.

How did an elite IDF unit win the battle of Ali Taher Ridge?

First, he said that the ascent of the 600-meter-high ridge was extremely difficult and contained very few paths.

This made it easier for Hezbollah to booby-trap access routes to its underground lair.

Next, M said that the volume of explosive drones that were sent to attack the Egoz special forces was unprecedented.

“The ridge and lair were totally Iranian, with Hezbollah forces, one of the largest underground complexes in Lebanon,” with command and control authority over the entire Nabatiah area, said M.

He added that, “From the Ali Taher Ridge command center, Hezbollah managed all of its long- and short-range firepower attacks on the IDF as well as on Israeli civilians in northern Israel. Hezbollah felt very safe here and thought they were immune,” to assault.

But M said his Egoz commandos ” went in hard and fast, initially with small groups of forces to surround and cut off the area. Then we sent small probing forces into the very complex underground headquarters from which there were dozens of terrorists, rockets and drone threats regularly.”

Next, M said that to avoid the myriad boobytraps Hezbollah set for them, his special forces had to use a variety of advanced technologies as well as super-honed field skills, such as being able to practically see and smell traps and drones moments before they struck.

It helped, M noted, that the Egoz special forces achieved complete surprise against the Hezbollah forces at Ali Taher by using various tactics to distract them from the commandos’ approach until it was too late.

This meant that when Hezbollah started using more drones and firepower, they did not know where to direct their fire, M explained.

M said that in many instances the gunfights were so close that his commandos “saw the fear and surprise in the enemy’s eyes up close.”

Despite the surprise, M credited the Hezbollah fighters in the complex with “fighting back more fiercely than in any other battle in Lebanon – they know how important the battle was.”

Yahalom Tunnel Special Forces Capt. “D” told the Post that the area near Hezbollah’s lair and inside were covered in surveillance cameras and a variety of short-range and long-range improvised explosives so that anyone entering might think they were safe after getting past one explosive, only to fall victim to the next one.

Next, D said that his Yahalom forces used a wide range of techniques to analyze all the different pieces of the Ali Taher Ridge tunnel network until they could break it down into exactly which sections they wanted to take over and which sections they could just dynamite and cut off.

To do this, D said they brought in top experts from across the IDF to develop the best and most creative plan.

D added that there were literally dozens of times during the battle over Ali Taher when he could have been killed if something had gone slightly differently.

In one example, D noted that he was centimeters away from stepping on a well-camouflaged mine, but had a sixth-sense feeling that something was suspicious about the topography and stepped back from what would have been a fatal move forward.

In another incident, a drone struck the vehicle he had been traveling in only moments after he exited, destroying the vehicle but leaving him unharmed.

Both M and D said the large boulders in the terrain were a special challenge, but that Egoz and Yahalom rose to the occasion, clearing the way for additional forces and blowing up the entire complex.

In addition, both M and D talked about Iran’s heavy contributions to the technological and tactical construction of the complex, making it unique in southern Lebanon.

Moreover, D described a creative process for rapidly moving explosives from nearby trucks deep into the Hezbollah headquarters, both for efficiency and so that the terrorists could not intervene.

Questioned about the difficulties of the Israeli security cabinet and Trump administration at one point ordering a pause from operations against Hezbollah at Ali Taher so as not to undermine the broader ceasefire with Iran, M said that the IDF and political echelon were fully coordinated at all times.

“Wherever and whenever an area was defined at a battlespace, we did everything to arrive at the desired outcome,” said M.

Until the IDF destroyed the complex, it had served as the “nerve center” for the Badr Unit, and Hezbollah had no infrastructure of a similar scale north of it until reaching the Dahiyeh neighborhood of Beirut.

According to the IDF, the operation began with the crossing of the Litani River and an attempt to surprise Hezbollah.

The IDF carried out deception operations designed to make the terror group believe that soldiers were preparing to cross in another area, while at the same time opening a hidden bypass route over several days.

While most Hezbollah fighters were killed, some did manage to escape given the large number of tunnel shafts connected to the network.

Aspects of the operation were also conducted gradually so there was no dramatic single moment until it was too late in order to lure Iran into complacency when Hezbollah started to desperately call for help.

M concluded, “After what we did to them here, they understand we can get to them anywhere.”

This post was originally published on here. 

Ed Sheeran’s four supporting acts for his US tour quit on Wednesday after the singer dropped rapper Macklemore from the lineup, The Telegraph reported.

According to the report, Irish folk band Beoga, one of the acts, claimed “Zionist lobbies” had silenced Macklemore, saying that speech is important “as a means of progressing the plight of the Palestinian people.”

The other three artists who quit the tour include Finneas, Lukas Graham, and Aaron Rowe, according to The Telegraph. Finneas, who is pop star Billie Eilish’s brother, said that “artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed.”

The report cited Rowe as accusing Israel of “genocide,” citing his Irish status as meaning he and his people “know all too well about genocide, forced famine and violent occupation.”

He added that he could not “allow billionaires to use their positions of power to silence the rightful voices of those who speak up against Israeli genocide.”

AOC boycotts Sheeran, accuses Robert Kraft of censorship on Gaza ‘genocide’

Earlier on Wednesday, US Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) said she is boycotting Sheeran over the Macklemore controversy, accusing pro-Israel philanthropist Robert Kraft of attempting to censor speech on “the genocide in Gaza.”

“When you see what Robert Kraft did, to line up all of the stadiums, to censor speech in that one specific way… it doesn’t stop there,” she said in an interview with TMZ. 

🗣️ Rep. AOC tells @hicharliecotton she is boycotting Ed Sheeran because she says he’s complicit in Robert Kraft and other stadium owners’ efforts to silence Macklemore. pic.twitter.com/zuISc3zaFs

— TMZ (@TMZ) September 15, 2026

AOC added that she doesn’t know what Sheeran’s responsibility is in the controversy, but says the “right thing to do is to speak out about it.”

“At what point does it stop?” asked AOC. “I have a huge amount of empathy for he situation… but we need to be clear about how dangerous pof a precedent this is.”

This post was originally published on here. 

The Jerusalem District Court convicted four residents of Jerusalem’s Beit Safafa neighborhood on Wednesday in a case involving an alleged Iranian-directed plan to kill an Israeli nuclear scientist and his family, the State Attorney’s Office said.

The four pleaded guilty under a plea agreement to offenses concerning their own roles in the case; none was convicted of planning the killing. Proceedings against three other defendants, including the man prosecutors say received the assassination assignment, are continuing.

Mamdouh Khader and Omri Abu Hamida were convicted of failing to prevent a terrorist act. Mahmoud Khader and Muhammad Taha were convicted of helping another defendant maintain contact with a foreign agent.

According to the amended indictment, a person acting on Iran’s behalf contacted defendant Rami Alyan in September 2024 and offered payment for assignments. Prosecutors allege that Alyan was later told to form a cell to kill the scientist and his family.

Khader and Abu Hamida joined a drive to the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot. During the journey, another defendant told the passengers that the trip was part of an assignment from the Iranian contact, the indictment said.

Convicted for failing to take steps to prevent assassination plan

Security personnel refused the group entry, and two other defendants filmed the entrance. After they returned to Jerusalem, Abu Hamida asked why the Iranians wanted the footage and was told that someone at the location was a person they wanted to kill. Khader and Abu Hamida took no steps to prevent the plan, according to the indictment.

Mahmoud Khader admitted helping to spray and photograph writing in Jerusalem. He also drove another defendant to collect two stun grenades and helped obtain a fake police license plate intended for footage that would appear to show an attack on a patrol car.

Taha admitted arranging for a stun grenade to be thrown at an empty home in Katanna (Jerusalem) and filming it to make it appear that a Jewish home had been attacked. He sent the footage to the defendant in contact with the alleged Iranian operative. Taha also held the phone used for that contact to make it harder to locate, the indictment says.

Arguments on their sentences will be heard on a date yet to be set, while the cases against Alyan, Abd al-Rahman Alyan and Muhammad Khatib continue.

Taha also held the phone used for that contact to make it harder to locate, the indictment says.

Arguments on their sentences will be heard on a date yet to be set, while the cases against Alyan, Abd al-Rahman Alyan and Muhammad Khatib continue.

This post was originally published on here. 

Israeli AI language-learning company Loora has raised $22 million in a Series B funding round, bringing its total funding to more than $43 million, the company announced Tuesday.

The round was led by Union Tech Ventures, with participation from vgames and existing investors Emerge, Hearst Ventures and QP Ventures.

Loora, which uses artificial intelligence to provide personalized English-speaking practice, said it would use the funding to expand research and development and accelerate growth in the US, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

The company also plans to roughly double its workforce over the next six months, primarily by hiring for AI research and development and learning-science positions.

Founded in 2020 by CEO Roy Mor and CTO Yonti Levin, Loora has more than 15 million users worldwide, according to the company.

Mor and Levin met during their military service and served together in Sayeret Matkal, the IDF’s elite special operations unit.
The company previously raised $9.25 million during its seed round and $12 million in Series A funding in 2024. The latest investment brings its total disclosed financing to approximately $43.25 million.

AI as an English tutor

Loora’s app lets users practice spoken English through conversations with an AI tutor and receive feedback on grammar, pronunciation, and fluency. The system adapts conversations to a user’s proficiency level and interests.

The app is aimed primarily at adults seeking to improve their spoken English, including for job interviews, professional presentations, and workplace conversations.

Loora said users have held more than 200 million conversations with its AI system. It said revenue has more than doubled during the past 12 months, with annual recurring revenue now in the tens of millions of dollars.

Those financial figures were provided by the privately held company and are not independently disclosed.

Loora also said it had built a business-to-business operation over the past year and now works with more than 100 companies, governments and universities.

According to Loora, 72% of its users say career advancement is a primary reason for learning English, while its typical user is between 25 and 55 years old.

Loora targets limits of traditional language apps

The company is betting that conversational AI can address one of the central limitations of conventional language-learning software: giving users frequent opportunities to speak rather than primarily completing vocabulary and grammar exercises.
Loora says its system uses information from previous conversations to adjust lessons and identify areas where an individual learner needs more practice.

The company says its database now includes more than 200 million learner interactions, which it uses to analyze engagement and refine the way the AI tutor responds.

Some users appear to be treating the AI less like a conventional language course and more like a conversation partner.

One German user spent roughly 40% of his conversations discussing politics, according to data released by Loora. An Indian user discussed 38 subjects over 49 conversations, ranging from water sports to philosophy.

Another user logged practice sessions on 1,377 consecutive days.

English proficiency as a path to economic opportunity

Mor said the company sees English proficiency primarily as an economic and professional issue.

“People who already know English tend to underestimate the scale of the opportunities it creates,” he said. “For most of the world, English is the most significant gateway to advancement, a better job, a place at university or an entirely different future.”

Loora says its service costs about $10 a month in some markets, compared with substantially higher rates for one-on-one instruction.

Roxanne Horesh, a partner at Union Tech Ventures, said the investment firm was attracted to Loora’s combination of AI personalization and repeat usage.

“What stood out to us was the combination of mission and execution,” Horesh said.

She said the challenge extended beyond creating an AI capable of holding a conversation to developing a system that could track individual learners, measure their progress, and adjust instruction over time.

This post was originally published on here. 

Seven House Republicans joined Democrats on Tuesday night in backing a resolution directing US President Donald Trump to remove American forces from hostilities against Iran unless Congress formally authorizes the war.

The vote expands the number of Republicans willing to break with the administration over the conflict.

The House approved H.Con.Res. 93, introduced by Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, by a 220-204 vote, the third time the House has approved a war powers resolution aimed at curtailing US involvement in Iran.

The seven Republicans who voted with Democrats were Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Warren Davidson of Ohio, Tom Barrett of Michigan, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, and Iowa Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn.

Iran must be held accountable for killing Americans, supporting terrorism, threatening the Strait of Hormuz, and pursuing nuclear weapons. Iowa has already paid a devastating price, including two service members killed by an Iranian drone in Kuwait. Congress owes them, their…

— Congressman Zach Nunn (@ZachNunn) September 16, 2026

Four Republicans had supported the previous House effort in June, meaning Tuesday’s vote marks a further, though still limited, widening of GOP opposition to continuing the war without explicit congressional authorization.

Mace had signaled months earlier that she was prepared to back such a measure. In March, she told Axios she would “most likely” support the next House war powers resolution, saying the war with Iran needed to end.

The resolution invokes Section 5(c) of the 1973 War Powers Resolution and directs Trump to remove US forces from hostilities with Iran unless Congress declares war or specifically authorizes the use of military force. It preserves Trump’s ability to keep forces necessary to defend the US or an ally from imminent attack, subject to the law’s reporting requirements.

The legal force of such congressional efforts has long been disputed, and previous resolutions have not changed the course of US military operations. The Senate would also have to act for Congress to present a unified challenge to the administration.

In June, the Senate approved a similar resolution by 50-48, the first time such a measure cleared the chamber during the conflict. A day later, a separate, nearly identical measure failed 47-50-1 after an intense confrontation between Trump and Republican senators. Sen. Bill Cassidy reversed his position after receiving a White House briefing, while Sen. Rand Paul voted present, saying he wanted to give the president room for diplomacy.

The latest House vote comes less than seven weeks before the November 3 midterm elections, as the conflict approaches its seventh month. Trump said last week he believes the war will end “immediately after” the election, arguing Iran is struggling to withstand US economic pressure and is trying to influence the vote.

The monetary cost of a prolonged conflict with Iran

The congressional fight comes amid growing concern over the financial and military cost of the conflict. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the war had cost the Pentagon approximately $38 billion as of August 1, with additional costs of roughly $2b.-$3b. per month depending on the intensity of operations.

A Pentagon inspector general report released this week documented significant strain on US forces and inventories. Iranian attacks damaged or destroyed hundreds of structures at American bases across the Middle East. The extensive use of munitions has also created strategic shortfalls and exposed bottlenecks in the US defense industrial base, pressure that is especially acute in air and missile defense, where replenishing interceptor stocks is expected to take years.

What does the vote mean for Israel?

H.Con.Res. 93 deals specifically with the participation of US forces in hostilities against Iran. It does not address the annual Foreign Military Financing program for Israel, nor does it touch Israeli military operations, bilateral intelligence cooperation, or other US-Israel defense programs.

The more immediate issue for Jerusalem is not whether the House vote removes the American military presence, but whether Washington can sustain current regional operations while replenishing weapons stocks and securing additional funding. That distinction matters because American air and missile defense systems form part of a broader regional architecture that also helps protect Israel from Iranian missiles and drones.

For Israel, there are therefore two separate Washington debates to watch: one constitutional – whether Congress can force Trump to seek explicit authorization for continued hostilities – and one operational – whether the US will have sufficient funding, interceptors and precision munitions to sustain the campaign if it continues. Tuesday night’s vote resolved neither.

But the rise from four Republican defectors in June to seven this week shows that GOP opposition to continuing the war without explicit congressional authorization has broadened, even if it remains limited. The overwhelming majority of House Republicans, however, still stand with Trump on the conflict.

This post was originally published on here. 

US Senator for Nevada Jacky Rosen called for a major expansion of federal security funding for religious institutions on Monday, warning that American Jewish communities are facing an unprecedented wave of threats and violence during the High Holy Days.

Speaking on the Senate floor, Rosen, co-founder and co-chair of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, highlighted the severe financial and psychological toll facing congregations as they mark Rosh Hashanah and approach Yom Kippur.

Citing data from a recent Anti-Defamation League report, she noted that 2025 was the third-highest year on record for antisemitic incidents in the US, with physical assaults against Jewish individuals reaching historic highs.

According to FBI data, “Jewish Americans were the target of nearly 70% of religiously motivated hate crimes in the country in 2025, despite making up just 2% of the population,” Rosen noted during her address.

The senator pointed to a string of violent attacks across the country over the past year, including a historic synagogue firebombing in Jackson, Mississippi, and vandalism at congregations in Austin, Texas; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Hot Springs, Arkansas; and Oak Park, Michigan. She also referenced an attack in West Bloomfield, Michigan, where a man drove his car into a building housing a synagogue and preschool before opening fire.

Reflecting on her recent visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum in Poland, Rosen warned against societal indifference to rising prejudice. “The Holocaust did not only happen because of the Nazis, but because of millions of people who also kept silent in the face of dehumanization and prejudice,” she stated.

Rosen: Security expenses are largest portion of congregations’ operational budgets

Drawing on her prior experience as the president of the largest Reform synagogue in Nevada, Rosen emphasized that security expenses now consume the largest portion of many congregations’ operational budgets. She cited a study from the Jewish Federations of North America showing that the Jewish community now spends an average of $1 billion a year on security.

“In the United States in 2026, we have Americans who have to worship behind locked doors and bulletproof glass protected by armed guards just to be with their family and friends and pray,” Rosen said.

Rosen pushes Congress to reform Nonprofit Security Grant Program 

To address the mounting crisis, Rosen urged Congress to fully fund and reform the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which helps at-risk houses of worship offset security costs like hiring guards, installing cameras, and reinforcing doors.

She highlighted her bipartisan legislation, the Jewish American Security Act, introduced alongside Senator James Lankford, which aims to nearly triple funding for the program and establish a new Department of Justice grant initiative to help state and local law enforcement protect vulnerable houses of worship.

“We cannot wait for the next attack, we cannot wait for another synagogue to be targeted, and we cannot wait for another family to be afraid just to walk through the doors of their own house of worship,” Rosen concluded.

This post was originally published on here. 

The IDF killed a Nukhba commander in the Khan Yunis area last week who had been involved in the abduction of several Armored Corps soldiers during the October 7 massacre, the military announced on Wednesday.

According to the IDF, the terrorist, Jihad Samih Mahmoud Ismail, had taken part in the killing of Capt. Omer Neutra, St.-Sgt. Oz Daniel, and Sgt. Shaked Dahan. Neutra and Daniel’s remains were taken into Gaza, as was Sgt. Nimrod Cohen, who was alive.

The IDF also said that Ismail had been involved in multiple ambushes against Israeli soldiers over the course of the war against Hamas.

Neutra immigrated to Israel from the United States and enlisted in a combat unit as a lone soldier.

He and Daniel were buried in November 2025 after being returned during the first phase of the US-brokered Gaza deal.

“My Omer, after more than two years… finally, you are home – [in] the home that you chose, in the country that you chose to defend,” Ronen Neutra, his father, said during his burial.

Daniel, 19, was due to begin officer training shortly after October 7. He was a huge fan of music and playing his guitar.

In Daniel’s final moments, he attempted to steal a grenade from his captors, trying to fight against them, before being shot to death in the struggle.

Cohen was released by Hamas, alive, on October 13, 2025.

In February 2026, he announced his intention to complete his military service with the IDF.

By the time he was kidnapped, Cohen had done 10 months of the two years and eight months that Israeli men are required to serve. “I didn’t really do my service, the way I see it. I served for 10 months until I was kidnapped,” he said.

IDF kills Hamas Rafah Brigade commander

On Tuesday, the IDF and Shin Bet (Israeli Security Agency) issued a joint statement, saying that they killed Hamas’s Rafah Brigade commander, Nael Abu Obeid, in a strike in the southern Gaza Strip.

Abu Obeid was a key figure among Hamas leaders, according to a statement from the IDF, and previously served as the deputy commander of the Rafah Brigade and commander of the Tel al-Sultan and Yibna Battalions.

Amir Bohbot, Tobias Holcman, and Esther Davis contributed to this report.

This post was originally published on here. 

Michigan Attorney-General Dana Nessel is telling Jews something deeply disturbing: we may need to sacrifice our own safety and even our own future for “humanity.”

That is a terrible message. It is also far outside the Jewish tradition she claims to be invoking.

Speaking to Jewish Democrats on August 30, Nessel said, “It is perhaps up to us now to follow in [Queen Esther’s] path and sacrifice the comfort, safety, and security and even the very future of our own people in exchange for the opportunity to save the rest of humanity.”

But Nessel is not speaking for Jewish history when she says this. She is a radical outlier using Queen Esther to make an argument that turns Esther’s story upside down.

Esther did not sacrifice the Jewish people to save everyone else. She risked herself to save the Jews of Persia.

Nessel went even further, asking, “What good is defending the historic homeland of our ancestors and demanding that candidates acknowledge its right to exist if the planet upon which it rests is no longer inhabitable?”

Why should Jews have to choose?

Jewish safety and concern for humanity are not opposites. Protecting Jews is not selfish. Protecting Israel is not selfish. And Jewish lives are not bargaining chips that can be sacrificed for some larger cause.

Nessel also accused Republicans of supporting “selfishness” that is supposedly a “direct abdication of our responsibilities as Jews.” But there is nothing selfish about Jews wanting to stay alive.

Every human life has value

Jewish law makes this clear: if attackers demand that a group hand over one innocent person or everyone will be killed, that person cannot simply be handed over. Every human life has value. We do not decide that one innocent person can be sacrificed because someone claims it will save a larger number.

Nessel’s argument is also based on a false choice. Protecting Jews and Israel does not mean turning our backs on humanity.

The Jewish people have spent generations helping humanity. Jewish scientists Jonas Salk and Dr. Albert Sabin developed polio vaccines that reduced polio by 99%. Jewish public health scientist Dr. Israel Kligler helped lead the first successful campaign to eliminate malaria. 

Israeli Jews pioneered drip irrigation, desalination, and wastewater recycling. Jews make up less than 0.2% of the world’s population yet have received 26% of Nobel Prizes in Medicine.

When polio appeared in Gaza in 2024-2025, Israel facilitated pauses in its fight against Hamas so more than 600,000 Gazan children could receive polio vaccinations.

And when Jews were falsely blamed for the Black Death, murdering Jews did nothing to stop the plague. More than 500 years later, Jewish scientist Waldemar Mordecai Haffkine developed the first vaccine for the bubonic plague.

So who is really helping humanity?

The answer is not the people who murder Jews. And it certainly should not be Jews who are told to stand aside while their own safety is put at risk.

That brings us to Abdul Mohamed El-Sayed.

To Nessel’s credit, she has resisted the rush by too many Democratic leaders to endorse El-Sayed. She has also warned that politicians who threaten Israel’s existence as a Jewish state can put Jews in the Diaspora at greater risk.

She is right about that.

But then Nessel tells Jews that they may need to sacrifice their own safety and even their future for “humanity.” That makes no sense.

El-Sayed’s record shows exactly why Jewish safety matters.

He repeatedly dodges the simple question of whether Israel has a right to exist while saying he would be happy to discuss a Palestinian right to exist. He falsely accuses Israel of genocide and apartheid. He has pledged to follow Sharia law in everything he does. 

He has campaigned alongside extremist, open Jew-hater, and America-hater Hasan Piker, who said America deserved 9/11 and that the October 7 mass rapes of Jewish women and children did not matter.

El-Sayed also called for reducing police funding.

Most disturbing, El-Sayed justified the vehicle-ramming terror attack on a Michigan synagogue preschool that endangered 140 Jewish toddlers and teachers and injured a security guard. The attacker was a Lebanese-American Muslim tied to Hezbollah.

El-Sayed responded, “hurt people hurt people” and “violence begets violence.” That is not an excuse for terrorism against Jews.

His later statement that “what I was trying to say is that there is a broader question of the responsibility” did not change what he had said. It was another attempt to justify Muslim terrorism against Jews.

Nessel should understand what is at stake.

Jewish safety is not some selfish side issue. It is not something Jews should be ashamed to defend. And Jews should never be told that protecting ourselves makes us enemies of humanity.

We do not need to prove that Jews have invented enough medicines, saved enough lives, or helped enough people to deserve safety. Jews deserve safety because Jews are human beings.

Nessel should retract her dangerous message that Jews may need to sacrifice their own safety and future for the rest of humanity. And she should stop pretending that this is what Jewish history teaches.

It is not.

Queen Esther risked her life to save her people.

Michigan Attorney-General Dana Nessel told Jews to sacrifice themselves and their homeland to feed the antisemites hijacking her political party.

Morton A. Klein is the national president of the Zionist Organization of America. Elizabeth (Liz) Berney, Esq., is the ZOA’s director of research and special projects.

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More Palestinians in the West Bank believe Israel does not have a right to exist (46%) than those who believe it does (41%), according to a new poll published by the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) on Tuesday.

The survey, which interviewed 400 Palestinians by telephone between June 27 and July 2, 2026, with a margin of error of 4.9%, also found that 42% believed it was possible to bring about the end of Israel’s existence, while only 32% said it was impossible.

More than a quarter (27%) favored a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while 22% supported a single binational state with full equal rights, and 26% preferred a single Palestinian state without Jewish presence. Only 17% said they would like to see a Palestinian state that permitted Jews as residents or citizens.

Despite a significant portion of Palestinians not recognizing Israel’s right to exist, more than half (52%) said they would prefer negotiations as a way to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while only 12% said they preferred armed resistance.

Over half of respondents say diplomatic efforts more fruitful than violence

Additionally, 57% were of the opinion that violence had failed and that international diplomatic efforts were more fruitful.

Given that more than half (57%) of the Palestinians polled said they believed violence had failed and that international diplomatic efforts were more fruitful, it makes sense that 40% of those polled said Hamas should disarm and the majority preferred for Hamas not to govern the Gaza Strip.

The most popular choice for the administration of the Gaza Strip is the current US-backed National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, which was selected by 32% of respondents. An additional 21% favored the Palestinian Authority, while 21% favored a Fatah-Hamas unity government, and only 5% chose Hamas as the preferred sole authority.

Marwan Barghouti preferred replacement of Mahmoud Abbas

Asked about who they thought should replace PA President Mahmoud Abbas, imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti was preferred by 34% of those polled, followed by Abbas’s deputy, Hussein al-Sheikh, who received support from just 8% of the respondents.

Unemployment was the greatest concern among 97% of those polled, while 96% also identified settler violence as a major issue. 14% reported that they had been a direct victim of settler attacks, 22% said they heard first-hand testimony from someone they knew who had experienced harm, and 33% said they were exposed to cases of settler violence through the media and social networks.

The majority, 91%, also expressed concern regarding IDF operations in the West Bank, while 60% said they had a low or very low sense of personal security.

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Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot denied on Wednesday that he promised to bring Ra’am into a future coalition or government, saying his party did not discuss the composition of a future government during a meeting with Bedouin local authority heads.

The denial followed an N12 report in which northern Bedouin local authority heads who met Eisenkot on Tuesday claimed he had promised to bring Ra’am into a government he would lead.

Mu’id al-Heib, head of the Tuba-Zanghariya Local Council, told Radio Nas that Eisenkot had said contacts were underway with Ra’am and that he would work to include the party in his next government.

The party shared footage of Eisenkot’s meeting with the Bedouin leaders

Yashar rejected the report outright, and also released footage of Eisenkot’s meeting with northern Bedouin local authority heads, which took place on Tuesday.

Yashar also distributed a separate clip of remarks by Eisenkot from the meeting and a clip of remarks by al-Heib.

The party stressed that Eisenkot did not discuss the makeup of the next government at any point during the meeting.

“Throughout the entire meeting, as well as during the meal that took place afterward and was also documented, Eisenkot did not refer at all to the structure or composition of the next government,” Yashar said.

“Any other publication on the matter is a complete lie.”

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San Diego County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating vandalism cases targeting two homes in Imperial Beach where swastikas and antisemitic graffiti were drawn.

According to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a residence in the 100 block of Elm Avenue shortly after 2:30 p.m. on Saturday – during Rosh Hashanah – where a swastika and antisemitic messaging had been marked on the exterior of the home using a black permanent marker.

Two San Diego-Area Homes Defaced With Swastikas on Rosh Hashanah

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday that two incidents of vandalism occurred in Imperial Beach in San Diego County on Sept. 12, the first day of Rosh Hashanah. In both cases, the home had been… pic.twitter.com/wQXvaSOAcZ

— Jewish Breaking News (@JBreakingNews) September 15, 2026

Second property vandalized on same day

Later that same day, authorities received reports of similar vandalism at a second property located in the 700 block of Seacoast Drive, where a swastika and additional graffiti were discovered on a window.

Detectives assigned to the Imperial Beach Sheriff’s Substation have launched an investigation into the incidents.

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Syria‘s parliament voted on Wednesday to abolish an Assad-era terrorism court and nullify the legal effects of its rulings, state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV reported, in one of the first significant legislative moves by the country’s new assembly.

The Counter-Terrorism Court was established in 2012 as then-president Bashar al-Assad sought to suppress an uprising against his rule, and it was used to prosecute thousands of Syrians for terrorism-related offenses.

The move formalizes the court’s abolition after Syria’s new authorities had already treated it as defunct. In June 2025, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a decree dismissing 67 judges who had served in what he described at the time as the “abolished Counter-Terrorism Court.”

Syria’s March 2025 constitutional declaration had also called for abolishing the effects of what it described as unjust rulings issued by the court, including returning confiscated property.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee said in 2024 that the 2012 law establishing the court failed to adequately provide key judicial guarantees and raised concerns over arbitrary detention, torture or ill-treatment, and the court’s independence. It also noted that the court could depart from ordinary procedures during prosecution and trial.

UN: Assad government used court to prosecute tortured detainees 

The UN’s International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism said in a 2024 report that the Counter-Terrorism Court formed part of the judicial system through which detainees held by Assad-era security agencies could be prosecuted. The report documented widespread and systematic torture and ill-treatment across the government’s detention system.

Wednesday’s vote came during the opening weeks of the first parliament formed since Assad was toppled in December 2024. The chamber convened for the first time in July.

The vote is among the assembly’s first major legislative decisions after it spent its initial sessions establishing its internal rules and committees. It held a hearing this week with Syrian Education Minister Mohammad Abdul Rahman Tarkou over the state of the country’s schools and is due to question the energy minister on Thursday over a sharp rise in fuel prices.

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The IDF informed residents of northern Israel that it would be striking sites in southern Lebanon on Wednesday.

In a message received by northern residents, the IDF warned about loud explosion noises that would be heard across the region.

Later, Lebanese reports alleged that the IDF had struck in the village of Al-Mansouri and in Nabatiya.

This is a developing story.

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The Justice Ministry’s Legal Aid Department opened 154,552 files in 2025, with family and debt matters accounting for most of its caseload, according to its annual report published on Wednesday.

Personal-status matters made up 35% of the files opened, and debts accounted for 30%, the report’s breakdown shows. Civil matters accounted for a further 10%, and National Insurance matters for seven percent. The figures describe files opened during the year, rather than the number of people represented or the outcomes of their cases.

The report also describes legal work arising from the October 7 attacks and the war. It says the department opened more than 3,500 files for bereaved families, families of hostages and returnees, and families of people murdered in the attacks between October 2023 and the second half of 2026. 

The department says it assists eligible immediate family members with benefits, inheritance, banking, housing and insurance matters, among others. Returned hostages can also seek help with legal needs connected to their captivity or the war. Assistance under this program is provided without a financial means test.

Some families are pursuing recognition as victims of hostile acts after witnessing attacks on relatives by telephone, messages or video.

Dozens of bereaved and hostage families appealing decisions

The department says it represents dozens of bereaved and hostage families appealing decisions by the approving authority.

It argues that relatives who witnessed the attacks remotely should be eligible for recognition; according to the report, the appeals remain pending before an appeals committee at the Tel Aviv District Court.

The report also points to a 2025 Supreme Court ruling in a debt case handled by legal aid. A woman whose actual earnings were below minimum wage challenged a monthly payment set during her debt proceedings.

The court held that minimum wage could not simply be treated as proof of what she earned or could earn, and sent the matter back for an assessment of her individual circumstances. The ruling did not itself set a new payment amount.

In another development, a law passed in December 2025 allows people aged 65 and over to seek legal aid in specified cases of alleged financial exploitation without a financial means test. The exemption applies to those cases, rather than to every legal matter involving an older person.

The wartime recognition appeals remain an open question. Their outcome will determine whether the families bringing those claims qualify for recognition on the basis of what they witnessed remotely.

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In an emotional moment at the world premiere on Sunday of Avi Nesher’s Our Loves at the Toronto International Film Festival, the audience gave the film a lengthy standing ovation, which happened again at the second screening on Tuesday.

A third screening is coming up on September 19, and all three screenings sold out.

The Toronto International Film Festival is the largest and most prestigious festival in North America.

Nesher describes his film as the story of  “six people who thought they were having the worst day of their lives on October 6, 2023,” and Our Loves goes on to follow them through the Hamas massacre on October 7. It features a cast of Israel’s top stars, including Shalom Michaelshwilli, Magi Azarar, and Yaniv Biton, with several newcomers, including Daniel Gimpel and Noa Cohen. Biton, Cohen, and Gimpel accompanied Nesher to the screenings and joined him on stage afterward.

Alongside the enthusiastic response in the theater, the film has also received positive reviews and reactions following its Toronto debut, a particularly significant achievement given the current anti-Israel climate, especially since it was the only Israeli movie at Toronto this year, a festival that used to show multiple Israeli films every year.

Early buzz around the film

The movie was the subject of articles in Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, two important film industry publications.

“Can you believe it?” Nesher said after the second screening. “Maybe we did, in our own way, initiate the beginning of change. We had a sold-out premiere and also an amazing second screening – a full house again and another standing ovation at the end of the film.”

Our Loves will have its Israeli premiere on September 26, when it will be the opening-night movie at the Haifa International Film Festival, and will open in theaters around the country on October 15. Its release dates around the world will be announced soon.

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Chester Zoo blamed a computer error after its website advertised tickets for a “child predator tour,” an unfortunate name for a guided experience showcasing tigers, lions and other predatory animals.

The 90-minute private bus tour at the zoo in Cheshire, England, was quickly renamed after visitors spotted the wording and mocked it online.

A zoo spokeswoman said the mistake was “due to our default naming convention in our system”, but it was “quickly changed”.

The listing was intended to promote a tour featuring the zoo’s Sumatran tigers, lions, rhinos and Komodo dragons. Tickets for children were priced at £25, but appeared online as tickets for a “child predator” tour. Adult tickets, costing £30, were similarly advertised as “adult predator” tickets.

The wording quickly caught the attention of visitors online.

“I hope this has been cleared by Cheshire Police – seems a bit dangerous,” one person remarked.

Another wrote: “Staggering – how did that get approved?”

Visitors will be in no danger of child predators while on the tour

The attraction itself promises visitors an early, crowd-free look at some of the zoo’s best-known animals from an electric tour bus.

“Discover the predators of the animal kingdom, and their prey in our brand new guided tour,” the zoo’s website said.

“You’ll be the first visitors in the zoo as you board our electric tour bus and enjoy 90 minutes of the zoo all to yourself.

“Come face to face with some of the zoo’s most iconic animals, away from the crowds, including our family of Sumatran tigers.

“Your expert tour guides will be on hand to share fascinating facts about some of nature’s most effective hunters.”

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Even an attack on Islam’s holiest city has not been enough to unite the Middle East in responding to the Iranian axis, Bahraini political analyst Dr. Ahmed Alkhuzaie told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday, a day after Saudi Arabia said its air defenses had shot down a Houthi drone south of Mecca.

Alkhuzaie claimed that Middle Eastern states have been too dysfunctional for years now and were left unable to respond to the threats posed by the Iranian axis.

After choosing their political “ideology over sustainability and even religion,” he claimed that only Morocco and Jordan had been able to align themselves with the Gulf states. He argued that Lebanon is preoccupied with reasserting sovereignty domestically, Egypt has been focused on its financial difficulties and other regional concerns, while countries such as Algeria have other allegiances to consider, particularly after severing diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates last week.

With the current lack of alignment in mind, Alkhuzaie predicted that there would be yet more reshuffling in the conventions and alliances that span across the region, including the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement signed by Riyadh, Islamabad and Ankara last month.

“I can see some Arab nations getting closer to Israel, being pragmatic enough to serve the main purpose that is sovereignty over mediocrity,” he theorized.

Growing hopes of expansion of Abraham Accords

Despite once promising that it would be the last country to normalize relations with Israel, there are growing hopes that Kuwait may join the Abraham Accords. Yossi Shelley, Israel’s ambassador to the UAE, told KAN on Tuesday that another country, possibly Kuwait, could join the accords within four to six months. The comments come despite Kuwait’s 2021 amendments to its Israel boycott law, which introduced more punitive measures against those who engage socially or economically with Israeli citizens or entities.

The Houthis attack on Mecca, though dismissed by the group’s spokesperson Yahya Saree, has demonstrated to Muslims across the region that “this is not a religious war as Iran is portraying it,” he said.

The attack on the birthplace of the Islamic prophet Mohammed and the home of the Kaaba (the center of Islam’s most important mosque) clearly communicated that neither the Houthis nor Iran “care about religion as they advertise,” he said.

With this gap in narrative and action clearly visible, Alkhuzaie said it was predictable that the Houthis would deny responsibility for the attack. However, he believed that the Houthis would blame Israel for the attack as a way to cause more incitement and justification for the axis’s attacks on American assets. 

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Saudi Arabia faces a potential two-front conflict as it weighs what to do about the Houthi advance. The Houthis swept down the coast of the Red Sea and took islands near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. Meanwhile, the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq attacked the key East-West pipeline in Saudi Arabia.

The Houthis then attacked Saudi Arabia as well and even threatened Mecca on September 15.

Saudi Arabia has been in talks with US Central Command (CENTCOM), other Gulf states, and partners about what to do next. Reports even suggest Israel and Saudi Arabia could have new interests in common. However, it doesn’t appear the US will challenge the Houthis.

The US is monitoring the situation, and the Houthis are spreading messaging to the White House that they are not seeking confrontation. Riyadh now appears more alone than before.

The other Gulf states were considering a meeting in Oman with Iran. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has praised Oman, months after US President Donald Trump had threatened Oman.

What comes next?

Reuters reported that the Houthi advance represents one of Saudi Arabia’s most serious setbacks in Yemen in years. The offensive illustrated weaknesses in Saudi Arabia’s assessments and the command structure of the Saudi-backed Yemen government fighters in Yemen. Saudi Arabia’s crown prince went to Cairo this week. Egypt could back a Saudi response.

The Houthis maneuvered tens of thousands of fighters into position last week around September 8 before their offensive. Media in the region initially suggested Houthi setbacks. Saudi-backed Yemeni forces subsequently collapsed during the offensive on the Red Sea. Riyadh knows it will not get major Western backing. It is in the same position it was in 2019 after the Iranian attack on Abqaiq.

The Houthi gains also have broader strategic implications. Control of territory overlooking Bab el-Mandeb could enable the group to threaten shipping and Saudi energy exports while expanding connections toward the Horn of Africa. Currently, the Houthis have not done much, but their presence means they can strike easily. This is a Sword of Damocles hanging over the Bab al-Mandeb.

The Houthis have launched attacks on Saudi Arabia over the last month. Over the last two months, they also sought to invite Iranian regime members to Sana’a, provoking Saudi Arabia. Iran is showing that although isolated by a US blockade, it can strike elsewhere.

As such, the Iranians now put Saudi Arabia in a multi-front bind. Saudi Arabia is a wealthy country, and it has many strategic sites. It has more to lose than the Houthis or Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. Recently, the Houthis said they fired dozens of drones and missiles at the kingdom, prompting the Saudi Civil Defense to issue brief alerts in the neighboring cities of Khamis Mushait and Abha, according to reports at Arab News and Al-Arabiya.

“Iran does not interfere in Yemeni affairs,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told reporters on Monday. They claim the Houthis are “entirely independent actors who make their decisions based on their own interests.” The Houthis are upping their rhetoric.

Houthi strikes target air hangars, radars, ammunition

The Houthis’ military spokesman Yahya Saree said this week that the group’s strikes targeted “fighter jet hangars, radars, runways, ammunition depots” at King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait. The Houthis claim Saudi Arabia has carried out 300 airstrikes.

The Houthis have shown they can weather the storm and make advances in the past. Formerly known as Ansar Allah, they emerged from Yemen’s Zaydi Shi’ite community in the north of Yemen. The movement fought a series of wars against Yemen’s government between 2004 and 2010.

After the upheaval of the Arab Spring, the Houthis expanded beyond their traditional stronghold in Saada and seized Sanaa in September 2014. Yemen’s President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi eventually fled, setting the stage for regional intervention.

In March 2015, Saudi Arabia assembled a coalition of Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, to intervene in Yemen.

The war initially pushed the Houthis back from southern Yemen, but the group retained Sanaa and much of the northern highlands.

Years of airstrikes and ground fighting failed to dislodge them. However, there was a crisis with Qatar in 2017, and the Saudi focus on Yemen shifted.

The Houthis developed increasingly sophisticated missile and drone capabilities. Iranian technology and weapons transfers helped transform their capabilities.

UN investigators have documented Iranian-origin missile components and UAVs and concluded that the Houthis could not produce many of their more sophisticated systems without foreign support. By 2017-2021, the Houthis were often launching ballistic missiles and drones deep into Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi-UAE coalition increasingly fractured over the last two years. Abu Dhabi backed southern forces, called the Southern Transitional Council, while Riyadh continued supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government.

The UAE reduced its direct military presence beginning in 2019. A UN-mediated truce beginning in April 2022 largely ended Houthi cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia.

Beginning in late 2023, the Houthis launched missiles and drones toward Israel to back Hamas. Israel carried out strikes on the Houthis as well. The US tried to protect shipping in the Red Sea. In March 2025, the Trump administration even carried out strikes on the Houthis.

However, the Houthis have shown, time and again, that they can emerge from these blows. 

This post was originally published on here.