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Lawmakers in the Michigan House of Representatives have introduced a resolution urging the US government to back Israel’s right to statehood and take measures to prevent Hamas from eliminating the Jewish state on Tuesday.

House Resolution 372, introduced by Rep. Gina Johnsen and sponsored by Rep. Joseph Fox and Rep. Tim Kelly, is officially described as “A resolution to urge the United States government to take action to support Israel’s right to statehood and prevent Hamas and other groups from succeeding in their efforts to eliminate the only Jewish state, and to call on the Governor to review department policies to ensure they are not antisemitic.”

The resolution traces the historical context behind the measure, noting that “The Jewish people are native to the Land of Israel. However, throughout history and across the reign of multiple kingdoms, the Jewish people were persecuted and expelled from the Land of Israel, forced to live as minority diaspora communities in other lands.”

The text highlights that “This genocide provided new urgency to re-establish a Jewish homeland for the Jewish people, where they would not be a vulnerable minority, where they could freely practice their faith, and where something like the Holocaust could never happen again.”

Resolution labels threats to Israel’s existence as antisemitism

The measure further points out that once Israel was established, “other countries and terrorist entities continued to attack Israel, reject its right to exist, and call for its destruction,” while adding that the events of October 7 “demonstrate that Israel continues to face existential threats to this day.” 

The resolution emphasizes that “The State of Israel has a right to exist, and denying this is a form of antisemitism.”

The resolution stated that “When public officials use antisemitic rhetoric, it has harmful effects on the Jewish community and our broader society. The espousal or endorsement of such beliefs is anti democratic and contrary to the founding principles of our nation and the state of Michigan, and the use of such harmful language can be a precursor to further human rights abuses.”

The text formally requests that the state governor conduct a comprehensive review of department policies and administrative guidelines to ensure they remain entirely free from antisemitism.

Following its formal introduction on the House floor, the measure was referred directly to the House Committee on Government Operations for further review and committee consideration on Tuesday.

The Beersheba District Court increased Guy Haddad’s sentence from five-and-a-half to seven-and-a-half years in prison for stealing five vehicles from Kibbutz Be’eri days after the October 7 massacre, ruling that the original punishment did not reflect the exceptional severity of the crimes.

In a decision handed down Wednesday and publicized Thursday, Judges Gilat Shalev, Itay Bresler-Gonen and Fani Gilat Cohen accepted the state’s appeal against the sentence, while rejecting Haddad’s appeal.

Haddad, the owner of a towing company, was convicted by the Beersheba Magistrate’s Court of conspiracy to commit a felony and five counts of vehicle theft following a full trial.

The court found that Haddad and another man used their work as volunteers at a logistics center established near Sde Yoav to help soldiers and residents of the Gaza border communities. That role gave them access to areas closed by the military after the Hamas attack.

On October 18 and 19, 2023, they entered Be’eri under the pretense of removing residents’ vehicles, loaded five vehicles onto tow trucks, and took them from the kibbutz. Some were later transferred to Palestinian Authority territory and could not be returned to their owners, according to the judgment. Fictitious sale documents were used for at least one vehicle.

NIS 25,000 fine and NIS 5,000 to each affected owner

The Magistrate’s Court sentenced Haddad to five-and-a-half years in prison, a suspended sentence and a NIS 25,000 fine. It also disqualified his driver’s license and ordered him to pay NIS 5,000 to each of the five vehicle owners.

Haddad argued on appeal that the evidence did not prove he had planned the thefts, that testimony against him was unreliable, and that he had received inadequate legal representation at trial. He also challenged the severity of his sentence.

The District Court rejected those arguments, saying that the trial court examined the evidence in detail and that there was no basis to overturn its factual findings or its assessment of the witnesses.

That evidence included testimony from the man who acted with Haddad, other volunteers, military and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) personnel, communications records and video footage. The judges said it established that Haddad had initiated and directed the thefts rather than merely carrying out towing work authorized by others.

The court also rejected Haddad’s claim that failures by his previous lawyer had undermined the trial. His former attorney told the appellate court that no additional witnesses whom the defense had wanted to call were left unheard, and the judges found no indication that different representation would have changed the result.

The prosecution argued that the original prison term was too lenient because Haddad had exploited both the access and the trust given to him as a volunteer.

The case was distinguished because it happened directly after Oct. 7

The District Court agreed, distinguishing the case from an ordinary vehicle theft, as the offenses were committed while Israel was still reeling from the October 7 attack, residents had been evacuated, and volunteers and security forces were working across the Gaza border area, the judges wrote.

They said the thefts harmed not only the vehicle owners but also the public trust on which emergency volunteer work depends. The court also pointed to the planning involved, the five vehicles taken over two days, and the fact that some could not be recovered.

The judges added two years to Haddad’s sentence, with credit for time already spent in custody. The suspended sentence, fine, license disqualification and compensation orders remain unchanged.

Jonathan Karlinsky, an Israeli-Ukrainian hassid who was arrested while crossing the Ukraine-Romania border after Rosh Hashanah and drafted into the Ukrainian army, has been located at a detention facility near Odessa, the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine (FJCU) announced on Thursday.

Karlinsky is currently awaiting transfer to a military base near the city of Kharkiv, where he is expected to serve as an army medic, several dozen kilometers away from the front lines where combat is actively taking place between Ukrainian and Russian forces.

After his location was ascertained, local rabbis, including those from Chabad, were able to assist in ensuring Karlinsky received kosher food, a prayer book, and the Arba Minim (Four Species) used on Sukkot.

Karlinsky also sent a video to his family in which he said he was in good condition and being treated fairly.

According to his family, “We tried to secure his release, but it wasn’t feasible. His medical expertise, combined with the Ukrainian army’s growing shortage of medical personnel, meant the army needed him immediately and could not let him go. Furthermore, he had previously served in the Ukrainian army – before becoming religious and immigrating to Israel – so, from their perspective, he belongs to them.”

Ukraine-Russia war is existential, FJCU chairman says

Rabbi Meir Stambler, Chairman of the FJCU, said that Ukraine was unable to provide exemptions to any potential soldiers due to the ongoing war with Russia.

“Ukraine is engaged in a very difficult war against an aggressive enemy that has been striking people, buildings, schools, hospitals, and more for nearly five years,” he said. “People are being killed every day, resulting in a severe shortage of manpower. Every Ukrainian citizen is needed here, so obtaining exemptions is impossible.”

Stambler drew a comparison to Israel’s wars with Hamas and Hezbollah, calling it an existential war.

At the same time, Stambler added, “Ukraine is doing everything it can, and we are deeply grateful for its consideration of the needs of all religions and every individual soldier. Karlinsky stated that, for religious reasons, he did not wish to carry a weapon; the authorities accommodated this request and assigned him to a medical role. Perhaps later on, we will be able to integrate him into the Ukrainian military rabbinate.”

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian spoke at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. It was a potentially momentous occasion. Nearby, according to reports, Iranian mediators headed by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were in a meeting room and sending someone back and forth to speak to an American delegation.

Pezeshkian was aware that this was a chance to stand on the world stage and make Iran’s position clear. Channeling a well-known line from the series Game of Thrones, he said Iran would not “bend the knee.” It’s not clear whether he is a fan of the show and borrowed the phrase or whether it is a Persian saying.

Iran’s president knows that the US-Iran war is not popular in the United States. It is not popular in Iran either. He is aware that Parliament Speaker Mohammed Baqer Ghalibaf has supported talks with the US, but he also knows there are others in the Iranian leadership who want war.

While the United Nations is relatively friendly territory for Iran, Pezeshkian was also entering a lions’ den because – similar to the Irish commander Michael Collins entering into talks with the United Kingdom in 1921 – he risked becoming the fall guy back home.

Pezeshkian’s told the UN General Assembly US President Trump is ‘a bully’

“It must be understood by [US] President [Donald] Trump and those who seek to bully us that we are ready for dialogue and diplomacy and negotiations but without the language of force,” Pezeshkian said.

His speech was interpreted by commentators as demonstrating defiance.

“Masoud Pezeshkian turned the tables on Donald Trump, describing the US as the true bully and terrorist in the Middle East while insisting that Iran had always shown a commitment to the negotiating table,” The Guardian reported.

Trump had used bellicose language as he stood at the UN podium on Tuesday, threatening that Iran could be annihilated if it didn’t make a deal.

In response, Pezeshkian said: “The resistance of the Iranian people will only increase in the face of sanctions, increased pressure, increased bullying. It cannot be the case that everyone benefits from the Strait of Hormuz while we are denied access.”

“The US president described us as terrorists,” he said. “We have been the victims of terrorism.”

Pezeshkian held up a photo of former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28, along with photos of children killed during the war as the result of a strike on a primary school in Minab and a sports complex in Lamerd.

“Our innocent people have been the targets of cowardly attacks and aggressions imposed on our country,” he said. “And we defended ourselves with utmost strength.”

Defending Iran on the international stage while being attacked at home

Pezeshkian faced online pushback from Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) members in Iran, while his supporters depicted him as holding up a shield and being shot in the back with arrows. He was considered to be defending Iran while being attacked at home.

Pezeshkian is not the first one to be put in this position. As noted, the Irish leader Collins was also attacked for defending his country and bringing home an agreement. He was subsequently killed in the Irish Civil War and accused of having let the British continue to control Northern Ireland.

Similarly, German officials were accused by Nazi forerunners of stabbing their country in the back in the 1920s.

In another analogy, Cherokee Treaty Party leaders were hunted down and murdered in 1839, four years after they agreed to a deal that caused the Cherokee to be forced westward by the US government.

At the UN General Assembly, Pezeshkian sought to be as defiant as possible to avoid being perceived by the IRGC generals as selling out Iran.

Michigan Democratic Party senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed evaded an audience member’s direct request to unequivocally condemn the Iranian regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) during a University of Michigan town hall event titled “Students vs. Billionaires” on Wednesday, at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor. 

The event was part of a statewide campus tour organized by More Perfect University to engage voters across Michigan.

Abdul can’t even condemn the IRGC, a group that murdered an estimated 40,000 Iranian civilians in the last year alone.

Abdul can’t condemn Hamas, the IRGC, the Houthis, or the enemies of America.

We deserve better. pic.twitter.com/sgPzbpkpUD

— Democrats For Mike Rogers (@DemsForMike) September 24, 2026

During the speaking event an attendee wearing a Michigan Persians sweatshirt confronted El-Sayed regarding his past silence on the regime’s violent suppression of dissidents and protesters. The attendee specifically pointed to leaked audio from earlier in the year where El-Sayed allegedly stated he did not want to comment on the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei because “there are a lot of people in Dearborn who are sad today.”

“My cousin was hunted in the streets of Iran by the IRGC because her hijab wasn’t on right,” the audience member stated at the event. “My uncle was sentenced to die, received 50 lashings by Ali Khamenei’s government.”

The questioner pressed El-Sayed to break his silence, asking if he regretted that silence and if he would denounce the IRGC. “I haven’t heard anything from you about the protesters, Abdul,” the audience member said. “That silence had a gaping hole in our community and I want to ask if you regret that silence, I want to ask if you renounce the people that held vigils, that supported this terrorist for all that he’s done. I wanted to ask if you stand unequivocally against the IRGC, against the Islamic Republic of Iran that has killed 50,000 protesters, Abdul, I haven’t heard anything from you about the protesters, Abdul, please.”

El-Sayed redirected the discussion to US military intervention in the Middle East

Responding to the inquiry during the town hall event, El-Sayed avoided condemning the IRGC directly and instead shifted the discussion toward foreign policy and military intervention, telling the crowd that “for too long and too often, when we think about our role in the world, we have turned ourselves into the world’s policeman.”

El-Sayed addressed the risks of foreign entanglements and regime change initiatives rather than addressing the audience member’s demand to oppose the Iranian military branch. “One can disagree with the governance of a foreign country, one can stand in solidarity with freedom and democracy movements, but my worry is one when one decides that we are going to go in and take out the leadership of a foreign government,” he said.

While stating that he stands with freedom and democracy movements, El-Sayed argued that foreign intervention often serves corporate interests regarding natural resources rather than supporting democratic outcomes. “I will always stand for and with democratic movements, always,” El-Sayed said. “But I also don’t believe that we were in the right to go to war to topple the government of Iran. It was not our responsibility to do it.”

As El-Sayed continued explaining his position on foreign leadership and military action, the audience member interrupted from the floor to point out that the candidate still had not directly answered the question regarding the IRGC, shouting, “You still haven’t said it though, we’re dying, the IRGC, do you stand with us?”

In response, El-Sayed reiterated his stance against foreign regime change efforts, telling the crowd that “the US has no, we should not be in the business of regime change,” while adding that “once you start putting our resources toward regime change in foreign countries, more often than not the regimes that we seek to change are the ones in which there is a natural resource interest and it becomes a ploy for the interest of our corporations and that’s what I worry about.”

US Vice President JD Vance was allegedly the anonymous senior administration official behind a Politico report that the White House later cited as an example to justify stripping the outlet of its press access, media newsletter Status reported Wednesday.

The identification adds a new element to the dispute over President Donald Trump’s decision to ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House. The administration accused the outlets of publishing false or misleading reporting and, in Politico’s case, pointed to six articles that it said had threatened national security or spread falsehoods.

One of those articles, published in June, quoted an unnamed “senior administration official” who assessed the likelihood of reaching a preliminary agreement with Iran at between 80% and 85%. According to Status, the official was Vance, who had spoken to reporters during a background briefing authorized by the White House. Status was not a participant in the call and therefore was not bound by the briefing’s anonymity agreement, the publication said. The White House declined to comment on Status’s identification of Vance.

The Washington Post separately established that the remarks did not originate from an unauthorized leak. The Post reviewed a White House invitation to the briefing and a recording of the call, reporting that a White House aide instructed participating journalists that the discussion was “on background, attributable to a senior administration official.”

The Post did not independently identify the official as Vance. It updated its report after Status published its account, attributing the identification of the vice president to the media newsletter.

Vance reportedly behind White House press pool ban on CNN, MS NOW, Politico

The distinction is significant to the sourcing dispute because Politico’s anonymity was imposed as a condition of the White House-organized briefing rather than independently granted by the outlet to a source who approached it privately. Other news organizations, including the Associated Press, Bloomberg, and CNBC, also reported comments from the same call while identifying the speaker only as a senior administration official, according to the Post.

The White House’s letter to Politico was filed in federal court as part of the administration’s defense of its decision to revoke the outlet’s access. The letter accused Politico of failing to meet professional standards and cited its use of anonymous sources, publication of alleged falsehoods involving national security, and publication of sensitive or classified information. The June Iran report appeared on a six-item list of examples.

Trump announced the ban on September 18, accusing CNN, MS NOW and Politico of repeatedly reporting what he called “fake news.” Reporters from the affected organizations were subsequently denied entry to the White House grounds and had their credentials deactivated.

CNN, MS NOW, and Politico then filed a federal lawsuit challenging the restrictions, arguing that the administration had violated their First Amendment rights and deprived them of due process.

The administration maintained in court that access to the White House is a privilege rather than an entitlement and argued that the president has authority to suspend media organizations’ access. Vance separately defended the administration’s action earlier in the week, saying the outlets remained free to report on the White House but were not entitled to what he described as special access.

The legal dispute shifted again on Thursday, when US District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the administration to immediately restore the three organizations’ White House press passes and temporarily blocked enforcement of the ban for 14 days. Kelly said the record did not support the administration’s argument that allowing the outlets back into the White House would endanger national security.

The ruling means CNN, MS NOW and Politico are set to regain White House access while their lawsuit proceeds, even as the circumstances surrounding the Politico article cited by the administration have raised a separate question over the White House’s use of background briefings and its subsequent criticism of anonymous sourcing.

A day after Iran’s president gave a speech at the UN General Assembly in which Iran said it would not bend the knee to the US, Iran carried out a new attack on the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq.

Iran has targeted the region with more than 1,000 drone and missile attacks since February. It has sought to strike at Kurdish dissident groups as well as US diplomatic facilities and other sites.

The goal of Iran is to deter Kurdish groups and also send a message that it can strike where it wants.

The local Kurdish Rudaw Media Network reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had fired three drones at a village near Soran in the Erbil province in the early hours of Thursday, wounding one Peshmerga.

The report also noted that the attack, which was launched against a location belonging to the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) on the outskirts of Soran, came hours after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held indirect talks with US negotiators about a possible end to the war.

It is clear that Iran is sending a message that it will continue its attacks even amid negotiations. Iran may even continue the attacks if there is a deal.

Kurds vote for independence in northern Iraq

Iran believes it has a right to carry the war into Iraq and spread terror in the Kurdistan Region. The attacks have also happened a day after the anniversary of an independence referendum in the region in 2017.

In 2017, Kurds went to the polls in northern Iraq and voted for independence. This led to an attack by Iraq on Kirkuk and Iranian-backed militias attacking Kurds.

Rudaw says that a source told them that three drones targeted a location in the village of Dilizian at around 2 a.m. on Thursday, adding that the drones were fired from the Iranian side near the Haji Omaran border crossing.

Meanwhile, the KDPI confirmed that one of its sites had been targeted near Soran.  The attack also follows an announcement that the Kurdish Peshmerga, the armed forces of the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq, have been unified.

The Kurds want closer security work with Baghdad, and they want air defenses. The problem is that Iran has shown that it continues to influence Iraq and has a free hand in attacks. The attack on September 24 is clearly part of the Iranian message.

A day after Iran’s president gave a speech at the UN General Assembly in which Iran said it would not bend the knee to the US, Iran carried out a new attack on the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq.

Iran has targeted the region with more than 1,000 drone and missile attacks since February. It has sought to strike at Kurdish dissident groups as well as US diplomatic facilities and other sites.

The goal of Iran is to deter Kurdish groups and also send a message that it can strike where it wants.

The local Kurdish Rudaw Media Network reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had fired three drones at a village near Soran in the Erbil province in the early hours of Thursday, wounding one Peshmerga.

The report also noted that the attack, which was launched against a location belonging to the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) on the outskirts of Soran, came hours after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held indirect talks with US negotiators about a possible end to the war.

It is clear that Iran is sending a message that it will continue its attacks even amid negotiations. Iran may even continue the attacks if there is a deal.

Kurds vote for independence in northern Iraq

Iran believes it has a right to carry the war into Iraq and spread terror in the Kurdistan Region. The attacks have also happened a day after the anniversary of an independence referendum in the region in 2017.

In 2017, Kurds went to the polls in northern Iraq and voted for independence. This led to an attack by Iraq on Kirkuk and Iranian-backed militias attacking Kurds.

Rudaw says that a source told them that three drones targeted a location in the village of Dilizian at around 2 a.m. on Thursday, adding that the drones were fired from the Iranian side near the Haji Omaran border crossing.

Meanwhile, the KDPI confirmed that one of its sites had been targeted near Soran.  The attack also follows an announcement that the Kurdish Peshmerga, the armed forces of the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq, have been unified.

The Kurds want closer security work with Baghdad, and they want air defenses. The problem is that Iran has shown that it continues to influence Iraq and has a free hand in attacks. The attack on September 24 is clearly part of the Iranian message.

The US Senate health committee will hold a confirmation hearing on Thursday for Heidi Overton, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the embattled FDA, as it also weighs advancing his surgeon general nominee.

Trump nominated Overton, a White House policy aide, in August, turning to an “America First” ally to steady an agency shaken by staff losses, low morale and fights over vaccines, the abortion pill and drug approvals.

If confirmed, Overton will take over a Food and Drug Administration that has lost more than 3,000 staff over the past year, including division heads, and is under pressure to rebuild confidence among industry and public-health groups.

The agency, responsible for regulating and approving all drugs, treatments and vaccines, has faced concerns that it has become too political.

Overton, a preventive medicine physician and deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, previously worked at the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank. Her nomination coincides with new initiatives from Trump health officials on autism, vaccines and the abortion pill.

Overton to be pressed on vaccines

Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, the panel’s Republican chairman and a physician increasingly critical of the administration’s approach to immunization, is likely to press Overton on vaccines.

She spoke at a White House event last month where Trump signed an executive order seeking to cut back the childhood vaccination schedule and split the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine into three shots, a move physicians’ groups and vaccine makers strongly oppose.

Overton is also likely to be pressed on whether she would defy Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist, or Trump, if ordered to take actions she deems unscientific or illegal. That question has become a fixture of recent confirmation hearings for Trump health nominees.

Overton’s anti-abortion views are expected to draw Democratic scrutiny and opposition from abortion-rights advocates. Overton called the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade “a huge victory for life,” and anti-abortion groups have welcomed her nomination.

Politically motivated fight over abortion pill

If confirmed, Overton would inherit an FDA review of the abortion pill mifepristone that abortion-rights groups say is politically motivated and that could lead to tighter restrictions on the drug. The agency faces an October 7 deadline to update a federal court on its progress.

The committee is also scheduled to vote on Nicole Saphier, a radiologist and former Fox News contributor, for surgeon general.

Saphier, Trump’s third nominee, was grilled last week on childhood vaccines, voicing support for immunization as she seeks a role in an administration pursuing sweeping changes to vaccine guidance. Pressed by Cassidy to say vaccines do not cause autism, a debunked link that Kennedy has promoted contrary to scientific evidence, she eventually agreed they do not.

The United States has had no surgeon general since Trump took office in January 2025, and the FDA has lacked a permanent leader since Dr. Marty Makary resigned in May after clashes with White House officials.

The US Senate health committee will hold a confirmation hearing on Thursday for Heidi Overton, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the embattled FDA, as it also weighs advancing his surgeon general nominee.

Trump nominated Overton, a White House policy aide, in August, turning to an “America First” ally to steady an agency shaken by staff losses, low morale and fights over vaccines, the abortion pill and drug approvals.

If confirmed, Overton will take over a Food and Drug Administration that has lost more than 3,000 staff over the past year, including division heads, and is under pressure to rebuild confidence among industry and public-health groups.

The agency, responsible for regulating and approving all drugs, treatments and vaccines, has faced concerns that it has become too political.

Overton, a preventive medicine physician and deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, previously worked at the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank. Her nomination coincides with new initiatives from Trump health officials on autism, vaccines and the abortion pill.

Overton to be pressed on vaccines

Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, the panel’s Republican chairman and a physician increasingly critical of the administration’s approach to immunization, is likely to press Overton on vaccines.

She spoke at a White House event last month where Trump signed an executive order seeking to cut back the childhood vaccination schedule and split the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine into three shots, a move physicians’ groups and vaccine makers strongly oppose.

Overton is also likely to be pressed on whether she would defy Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist, or Trump, if ordered to take actions she deems unscientific or illegal. That question has become a fixture of recent confirmation hearings for Trump health nominees.

Overton’s anti-abortion views are expected to draw Democratic scrutiny and opposition from abortion-rights advocates. Overton called the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade “a huge victory for life,” and anti-abortion groups have welcomed her nomination.

Politically motivated fight over abortion pill

If confirmed, Overton would inherit an FDA review of the abortion pill mifepristone that abortion-rights groups say is politically motivated and that could lead to tighter restrictions on the drug. The agency faces an October 7 deadline to update a federal court on its progress.

The committee is also scheduled to vote on Nicole Saphier, a radiologist and former Fox News contributor, for surgeon general.

Saphier, Trump’s third nominee, was grilled last week on childhood vaccines, voicing support for immunization as she seeks a role in an administration pursuing sweeping changes to vaccine guidance. Pressed by Cassidy to say vaccines do not cause autism, a debunked link that Kennedy has promoted contrary to scientific evidence, she eventually agreed they do not.

The United States has had no surgeon general since Trump took office in January 2025, and the FDA has lacked a permanent leader since Dr. Marty Makary resigned in May after clashes with White House officials.

Tehran will attack the airports of neighboring countries that cooperate with US sanctions against Iranian airlines, Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said in an interview with state television on Wednesday.

The threat came after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Monday that all Iranian airlines would be forced to stop operating by Wednesday, while countries allowing air services that enable the continued flights would face secondary sanctions.

“If a country cooperates with or embarks on adventures with the United States, its airports will no longer be able to operate flights,” Rezaei threatened.

WATCH: Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, tells state TV that if neighbouring countries cooperate with the US by stopping Iranian flights, Iran will ensure their airports cannot function. https://t.co/bGyL05KyH9 pic.twitter.com/Dx5WYZlxZQ

— Arab News (@arabnews) September 23, 2026

Georgia and Azerbaijan both confirmed that flights from Iranian airlines were suspended, and a travel agent in Tehran told Agence France-Presse that flights to Baghdad, Muscat and Qatar were also halted.

Turkish Airlines, AJet and Pegasus have canceled flights to and from Iran, though Iranian airlines have been allowed to continue operating between the two countries.

Tehran flights continue to various destinations despite sanctions

FlightRadar24 also published data suggesting that a flight operated by the sanctioned Mahan Air flew from Tehran to Guangzhou, China, after the Wednesday deadline came into effect, with additional flights listed to Bangkok, Phuket, Shanghai, and Kabul.

Despite the threat indicating a shift in Iran’s narrative from attacking US assets to openly admitting to targeting the states themselves, Bahraini political analyst Dr. Ahmed Alkhuzaie told The Jerusalem Post that he suspected public opinion in regional states had not changed significantly.

Alkhuzaie predicted that although Iran’s threats would be “taken seriously,” “they won’t comply” with the demand.

Iran will likely make a show of force against Bahrain or Kuwait before other Gulf states to try to force compliance, he suggested. 

Tehran will attack the airports of neighboring countries that cooperate with US sanctions against Iranian airlines, Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said in an interview with state television on Wednesday.

The threat came after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Monday that all Iranian airlines would be forced to stop operating by Wednesday, while countries allowing air services that enable the continued flights would face secondary sanctions.

“If a country cooperates with or embarks on adventures with the United States, its airports will no longer be able to operate flights,” Rezaei threatened.

WATCH: Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, tells state TV that if neighbouring countries cooperate with the US by stopping Iranian flights, Iran will ensure their airports cannot function. https://t.co/bGyL05KyH9 pic.twitter.com/Dx5WYZlxZQ

— Arab News (@arabnews) September 23, 2026

Georgia and Azerbaijan both confirmed that flights from Iranian airlines were suspended, and a travel agent in Tehran told Agence France-Presse that flights to Baghdad, Muscat and Qatar were also halted.

Turkish Airlines, AJet and Pegasus have canceled flights to and from Iran, though Iranian airlines have been allowed to continue operating between the two countries.

Tehran flights continue to various destinations despite sanctions

FlightRadar24 also published data suggesting that a flight operated by the sanctioned Mahan Air flew from Tehran to Guangzhou, China, after the Wednesday deadline came into effect, with additional flights listed to Bangkok, Phuket, Shanghai, and Kabul.

Despite the threat indicating a shift in Iran’s narrative from attacking US assets to openly admitting to targeting the states themselves, Bahraini political analyst Dr. Ahmed Alkhuzaie told The Jerusalem Post that he suspected public opinion in regional states had not changed significantly.

Alkhuzaie predicted that although Iran’s threats would be “taken seriously,” “they won’t comply” with the demand.

Iran will likely make a show of force against Bahrain or Kuwait before other Gulf states to try to force compliance, he suggested. 

The Central Elections Committee rejected two attempts to bar Otzma Yehudit from the October 27 election on Thursday, one day after it voted to exclude Ra’am, the Joint List and two Joint List candidates under the same constitutional provision.

Nineteen committee members opposed disqualifying Otzma Yehudit, 10 supported the move, and one abstained.

The two days of hearings placed Section 7A of Basic Law: The Knesset at the center of the election campaign. It permits a party or candidate to be barred on three grounds: rejecting Israel’s existence as a Jewish and democratic state; inciting racism; or supporting armed struggle against Israel.

The committee voted Wednesday to disqualify Ra’am and the Joint List by identical votes of 18-5, with one abstention, despite the attorney-general’s position that the evidence against both lists was insufficient. It also voted 19-5, with two abstentions, to disqualify Joint List candidate Ofer Cassif, again contrary to her position.

Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh’s case was different. The Attorney-General’s Office said there was a basis for the request after finding his explanations for an article published immediately after the October 7 massacre unsatisfactory. Committee chairman and Deputy Supreme Court President Noam Sohlberg took the exceptional step of joining the vote, which ended 31-4 in favor of disqualification.

Disqualification application lies on alleged denial of democracy, racial incitement

The cases are not legally identical, and each depends on the evidence presented against that particular party or candidate. They also follow different routes to the Supreme Court: The disqualifications of Cassif and Abu Shehadeh require the court’s approval, while decisions concerning Ra’am, the Joint List and Otzma Yehudit can be challenged through appeals.

Thursday’s applications against Otzma Yehudit, filed separately by the Democrats and by the Zulat Institute for Equality and Human Rights with several former senior public officials, alleged denial of Israel’s democratic character and incitement to racism.

Their central claim was that the committee should consider not only the party’s platform and statements, but what its representatives had done with government power. They alleged that party members had repeatedly undermined the rule of law and weakened democratic institutions.

They also cited material they said demonstrated sustained incitement against Arab citizens, including alleged identification with the outlawed Kach movement, support for a man convicted of support for Amiram Ben-Uliel, who was convicted of murdering three members of the Palestinian Dawabsheh family in the 2015 Duma arson attack. 

Otzma Yehudit rejected the allegations as a political effort to remove it from the election. Ben-Gvir accused the Democrats of trying to “eliminate” him politically and said the party would continue its campaign.

Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara opposed disqualification, but warned that the evidence was highly troubling and brought the party dangerously close to Section 7A’s prohibited territory.

The legal gap between approaching that boundary and crossing it is deliberately wide. The Supreme Court has reserved disqualification for extreme cases supported by a “critical mass” of clear, convincing and unequivocal evidence. The prohibited objective must be central rather than marginal or theoretical, and generally reflected in repeated efforts to put it into practice.

Ben-Gvir remarks about Arabs ‘troubling’

The attorney-general’s representative said most of the statements attributed to Ben-Gvir were old and had already been examined by the Supreme Court. The newer remarks were troubling, she said, but Ben-Gvir had maintained that they were directed at enemies or terrorists rather than Arabs as a group. The evidence therefore did not reach the required threshold for barring the entire list.

Baharav-Miara also separated the election question from pending proceedings over Ben-Gvir’s continued service as national security minister. Allegations that he damaged the independence and nonpolitical character of the police are being examined in those cases; they do not, without more, establish that Otzma Yehudit must be excluded from the election.

The panel separately rejected an attempt to bar the Religious Zionist Party from running in the elections. The Attorney-General’s Office, which supported the decision, posited that there was not enough evidence to move against RZP. 

The last request the committee heard on Thursday was from Otzma Yehudit to bar The Democrats from the elections. The committee rejected it 2-14, as coalition representatives boycotted the vote after Ben-Gvir refused to withdraw it. 

The individual decisions against Cassif and Abu Shehadeh must now be reviewed by the Supreme Court. Ra’am and the Joint List are expected to appeal their exclusions. Thursday’s decisions approving Otzma Yehudit, RZP and The Democrats will stand unless they are challenged through the separate appeal procedure prescribed for party lists.

The Central Elections Committee rejected two attempts to bar Otzma Yehudit from the October 27 election on Thursday, one day after it voted to exclude Ra’am, the Joint List and two Joint List candidates under the same constitutional provision.

Nineteen committee members opposed disqualifying Otzma Yehudit, 10 supported the move, and one abstained.

The two days of hearings placed Section 7A of Basic Law: The Knesset at the center of the election campaign. It permits a party or candidate to be barred on three grounds: rejecting Israel’s existence as a Jewish and democratic state; inciting racism; or supporting armed struggle against Israel.

The committee voted Wednesday to disqualify Ra’am and the Joint List by identical votes of 18-5, with one abstention, despite the attorney-general’s position that the evidence against both lists was insufficient. It also voted 19-5, with two abstentions, to disqualify Joint List candidate Ofer Cassif, again contrary to her position.

Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh’s case was different. The Attorney-General’s Office said there was a basis for the request after finding his explanations for an article published immediately after the October 7 massacre unsatisfactory. Committee chairman and Deputy Supreme Court President Noam Sohlberg took the exceptional step of joining the vote, which ended 31-4 in favor of disqualification.

Disqualification application lies on alleged denial of democracy, racial incitement

The cases are not legally identical, and each depends on the evidence presented against that particular party or candidate. They also follow different routes to the Supreme Court: The disqualifications of Cassif and Abu Shehadeh require the court’s approval, while decisions concerning Ra’am, the Joint List and Otzma Yehudit can be challenged through appeals.

Thursday’s applications against Otzma Yehudit, filed separately by the Democrats and by the Zulat Institute for Equality and Human Rights with several former senior public officials, alleged denial of Israel’s democratic character and incitement to racism.

Their central claim was that the committee should consider not only the party’s platform and statements, but what its representatives had done with government power. They alleged that party members had repeatedly undermined the rule of law and weakened democratic institutions.

They also cited material they said demonstrated sustained incitement against Arab citizens, including alleged identification with the outlawed Kach movement, support for a man convicted of support for Amiram Ben-Uliel, who was convicted of murdering three members of the Palestinian Dawabsheh family in the 2015 Duma arson attack. 

Otzma Yehudit rejected the allegations as a political effort to remove it from the election. Ben-Gvir accused the Democrats of trying to “eliminate” him politically and said the party would continue its campaign.

Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara opposed disqualification, but warned that the evidence was highly troubling and brought the party dangerously close to Section 7A’s prohibited territory.

The legal gap between approaching that boundary and crossing it is deliberately wide. The Supreme Court has reserved disqualification for extreme cases supported by a “critical mass” of clear, convincing and unequivocal evidence. The prohibited objective must be central rather than marginal or theoretical, and generally reflected in repeated efforts to put it into practice.

Ben-Gvir remarks about Arabs ‘troubling’

The attorney-general’s representative said most of the statements attributed to Ben-Gvir were old and had already been examined by the Supreme Court. The newer remarks were troubling, she said, but Ben-Gvir had maintained that they were directed at enemies or terrorists rather than Arabs as a group. The evidence therefore did not reach the required threshold for barring the entire list.

Baharav-Miara also separated the election question from pending proceedings over Ben-Gvir’s continued service as national security minister. Allegations that he damaged the independence and nonpolitical character of the police are being examined in those cases; they do not, without more, establish that Otzma Yehudit must be excluded from the election.

The panel separately rejected an attempt to bar the Religious Zionist Party from running in the elections. The Attorney-General’s Office, which supported the decision, posited that there was not enough evidence to move against RZP. 

The last request the committee heard on Thursday was from Otzma Yehudit to bar The Democrats from the elections. The committee rejected it 2-14, as coalition representatives boycotted the vote after Ben-Gvir refused to withdraw it. 

The individual decisions against Cassif and Abu Shehadeh must now be reviewed by the Supreme Court. Ra’am and the Joint List are expected to appeal their exclusions. Thursday’s decisions approving Otzma Yehudit, RZP and The Democrats will stand unless they are challenged through the separate appeal procedure prescribed for party lists.

Whenever an image crisis involving Israel erupts, like after the film NAZA won a major prize at the Venice Film Festival, there are often cries of “Where is the hasbara?” It is as if hasbara were a miracle cure: take two pills in the morning, and everything will be fine.

It doesn’t work that way, and let me start with the word itself.

I have not found another country that uses a term exactly equivalent to the Israeli concept of hasbara, which literally means “explanation.” Rather, formulations such as “public diplomacy” and “strategic communications” are used to describe efforts that are aimed not only at governments but also at foreign publics.

The word hasbara suggests that if only we explain things properly, the problems will disappear. But persuasion requires something more: a policy that can be explained and defended.

Consider a few questions, in both domestic and foreign affairs, that even the most talented spokesperson would find difficult to answer.

Interlocutors might ask: If the government opposes violence by Israelis in the West Bank, violence that even US Ambassador Mike Huckabee, a strong supporter of Israel, has described as involving “Israeli terrorists,” why does it continue? 

Or: If Israel continues its de facto annexation of the West Bank, how does it envisage the future of the millions of Palestinians living under its control? Does it intend to grant them equal rights, thereby changing the country’s Jewish character? If not, what will their status be?

While “but they…” may sometimes be true, it does not answer the questions.

A donor who contributes to Israeli social causes may ask about the future of the economy, given the growth of the ultra-Orthodox sector and the benefits it receives, despite its limited participation in the workforce. Saying: “That’s democracy” may be legally correct, but it is unlikely to persuade that donor to continue investing.

In addition to explicable policies, there must be those who do the explaining. After years in which the Foreign Ministry has suffered budget cuts, Israel’s diplomatic network shrank, and the ministry and plum positions abroad are treated as a political prize, who is supposed to do the explaining? 

Imagine a different response

There is another question: What, and whom, should Israel respond to, and how?

Anyone who has represented Israel abroad knows that it is simply impossible to respond to everything. Every reaction has to be weighed against its potential benefit and damage. Responding can keep an issue on the agenda; ignoring it can suggest unwillingness to confront criticism. How does one decide? Carefully.

Like the many senior Israeli officials who rushed to respond to NAZA, I have not seen the film. But I understand that it raises serious allegations, while also being subject to professional criticism. 

So, imagine that, instead of the prime minister and many others responding as they did – from designating the filmmakers “traitors” to demanding that their citizenship be revoked – only one or two official bodies, perhaps the IDF Spokesman’s Unit and/or the Foreign Ministry, had responded, with everyone else referring questions to them.

Imagine also that the designated responders had said that conclusions cannot be drawn from anonymous testimony, but that Israel would, of course, thoroughly investigate any information concerning potentially unlawful conduct, and hold those responsible accountable.

And then imagine that Israel had actually conducted such a thorough investigation and taken action against anyone found to have committed wrongdoing.

In such a scenario, two groups would have been deprived of headlines: the politicians who rushed to speak out, and the filmmakers, who received publicity they could only have dreamed of. Israel, meanwhile, would have gained.

But that requires management and coordination, which are sadly lacking, and, above all, politicians who look beyond their political base and instead consider the public interest.

There is no question that Israel faces ongoing challenges that have nothing to do with its own policies or conduct, including the actions of antisemites and others who seek to undermine it. But that does not erase the problems created by Israel’s own actions.

At the start of a new year, one can hope that Israel’s leaders will put the country’s interests first, and that they will act wisely and effectively to pursue consistent, coherent, and defensible policies.

Otherwise, hasbara is little more than propaganda: a futile attempt to fill a vacuum created by the absence of policies that can be convincingly explained and defended.

The writer was Israel’s first ambassador to the Baltic states after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, ambassador to South Africa, and the congressional liaison officer at the Israeli embassy in Washington. She is a graduate of Israel’s National Defense College.

Ursula von der Leyen made a striking proposal in Strasbourg on September 16. With Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in attendance, the European Commission president opened the door to Canada becoming what she called the European Union’s first “associate member.”

There is only one problem. The European Union has no such status.

Associate membership does not appear in the EU treaties. There is no established package of rights and obligations attached to it, no predetermined place for an associate member in the Union’s institutions, and no agreement about how much access to the Single Market it would entail. Von der Leyen supplied a name before Europe had designed the institution.

But Brussels does not need to start with a blank sheet of paper.

It should look at Israel.

Canada may indeed become the first country formally granted whatever new status the EU eventually calls “associate membership.” But it would hardly be the first country to inhabit the space between membership and an ordinary third-country relationship. Israel has spent nearly seven decades constructing one version of such a relationship: integration without membership.

The story began almost as soon as the European project itself. In April 1958, only months after the Treaty of Rome entered into force, Israel became the third country, after Greece and the United States, to request the establishment of a diplomatic mission to the European Economic Community in Brussels. Full diplomatic relations followed in February 1959.

And Israel wanted more than trade.

From the beginning, Israeli policymakers sought association with the emerging Community. The Israeli ambition was substantially political as well as economic. Israel eventually accepted agreements that fell short of association, but the larger objective was to secure a recognized place alongside the developing European project.

What Israel was asking Europe in the late 1950s sounds surprisingly familiar in 2026: how close can a non-member country come to the European project without actually joining it?

The answer emerged gradually rather than through grand constitutional design.

Over the decades, Israel and Europe built their ties layer by layer. The 1995 EU-Israel Association Agreement, which entered into force in 2000, established the central institutional framework. The European Neighbourhood Policy later added an Action Plan intended to bring Israel closer to European policies and programs. Cooperation expanded into research and innovation, aviation, pharmaceuticals, education and regulatory cooperation.

Israel’s largest trading partner

Today those ties reach remarkably far. The EU is Israel’s largest trading partner, accounting for 31.7% of Israel’s trade in goods in 2025, worth €43.3 billion. Israel participates in Horizon Europe. The EU-Israel aviation agreement connects the Israeli and European aviation markets, while another agreement facilitates trade in pharmaceuticals. Israel also participates in the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean system of rules of origin.

This is not EU membership. But neither is it a conventional relationship between two separate markets.

Nearly two decades ago, Joel Peters and I described the logic behind this arrangement as “integration without membership.” We proposed a Euro-Israeli Partnership that would sit deliberately below full membership while moving beyond the existing Association Agreement. It envisaged deeper political cooperation, Israeli participation in European agencies and programs, gradual convergence with relevant parts of the European acquis, and greater access to the Single Market.

The objective was not to prepare Israel for eventual accession. It was to recognize that European integration need not end at the Union’s formal borders.

Israel is not the only precedent. Switzerland offers the EU’s most developed example of sector-by-sector integration outside membership, with extensive agreements connecting it to large parts of the Single Market and numerous European programs. But Switzerland is geographically and economically embedded in Europe. Israel offers a different lesson: a country outside geographical Europe, with no realistic membership perspective, can nevertheless become deeply connected to selected parts of the European system.

That distinction suddenly matters far beyond Israel.

Carney has ruled out Canadian EU membership. What Ottawa is seeking instead is what he has called a “unique alliance,” extending across trade, defense, technology, energy, and critical minerals. Canada has already moved closer to European defense structures through its participation in the EU’s SAFE defense program.

Here the analogy with Israel has limits. Israel’s integration has developed overwhelmingly through economic, regulatory, scientific, and sectoral cooperation. It does not provide a blueprint for the defense and security dimension that Canada and the EU are now considering. If associate membership eventually encompasses defense procurement and strategic coordination, Brussels will be constructing something new.

But the Israeli experience does offer a model for how such a relationship can be constructed.

Closer ties do not have to be all or nothing. They can proceed sector by sector. Research systems can connect without political membership. Aviation markets can open. Regulations can converge in selected areas. European programs can admit non-member states. New areas of cooperation can be added as political circumstances and mutual interests change. None of that necessarily requires the full institutional rights of an EU member state.

The Israeli case also cautions against romanticizing such arrangements. EU-Israel relations are currently experiencing a period of severe political strain. EU institutions have debated Israel’s compliance with the human-rights provisions of the Association Agreement and possible restrictions on parts of the relationship over the war in Gaza.

That does not invalidate the model. It demonstrates something important about it. Deep institutional ties do not eliminate political disagreement. They create structures within which cooperation, conditionality, and conflict can coexist.

Canada has, therefore, exposed a gap in the EU’s institutional architecture. There are countries that may want much more than a trade agreement without seeking membership. Switzerland demonstrates how far that principle can extend within Europe. Israel demonstrates that it can extend beyond it. Canada may now add a strategic and defense dimension neither model fully provides.

Canada could still become the first country formally designated an EU associate member. But it would enter territory Europe has been exploring for decades.

The Canadian question is how a country can move much closer to the EU without becoming a member of it.

The name may be new. Much of the model is not.

The writer is a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) and a professor of European studies and international relations in the Department of Politics and Government at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

A widening gap has emerged between Israeli and American Jews over whether Israeli government policy contributes to the rise in global antisemitism, according to the September 2026 Jewish People Voice Index published by the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) on Thursday.

The findings showed that despite a continued sense of partnership and strong cultural connection, a growing share of engaged American Jews attribute waves of antisemitism around the world to policies pursued by the Israeli government.

According to the index, two out of five American Jews, 39%, said Israeli government policy contributes “to a large extent” to the increase in antisemitism worldwide, a sharp rise from 31% who held that view in September 2025.

Another 35% said Israeli policy contributes “to some extent,” while only 23% rejected any connection between the two, down substantially from 32% a year earlier.

Among Israeli Jews, however, the picture was nearly the reverse. Data from the Israeli Society Index showed that 44% of Israeli Jews rejected any link between state policy and antisemitism, while only 28% said policy contributes to it to a large extent.

The divide in perceptions also translated directly into differing views over whether Israel should change its policies in response to antisemitism.

Some 28% of American Jews surveyed said Israel should change its policies “to a large extent” because of the waves of antisemitism, up from 21% last year. Among Israeli Jews, only 17% supported such a change.

At the same time, 57% of Israeli Jews said policy should not be changed at all, compared with 37% of American Jews.

Cautious optimism, less pessimism about Israel’s future

Ahead of Rosh Hashanah 5787, the index also examined attitudes toward Israel’s future.

Israeli Jews proved considerably more optimistic, with 43% predicting a positive future for the country, compared with only 19% of American Jews.

At the same time, the American results showed some recovery from last year’s low point. In September 2025, 38% of American Jews said Israel was in a “decline that will continue.” That figure fell to 25% this year, nearly identical to the 24% recorded among Israeli Jews.

Uncertainty was also notably higher among American Jews. Some 16% said they did not know how to assess Israel’s situation, compared with just 3% of Israeli Jews.

The political divide among US Jews was reflected clearly in the findings. Among respondents who described themselves as strongly conservative, 51% expressed substantial optimism about Israel’s future.

Among those identifying as strongly liberal, however, the share of optimists fell to just 4%, while half, 50%, said they feared a continued decline.

Language as a bridge: Hebrew, Yiddish and community connection

On the cultural level, the index examined proficiency in Jewish languages among Jews who have a connection to the community, described in the survey as “engaged.”

The data showed that half know hundreds of Hebrew words or more. Some 13% said they speak Hebrew fluently, 15% said they know at least 1,000 words, and 22% said they know hundreds of words.

Only 2% said they did not know a single word of Hebrew.

Yiddish had a more modest standing. Some 18% said they knew at least several hundred words, while the largest group, 36%, said they knew only dozens of words.

The survey found a direct correlation between Hebrew proficiency and the strength of respondents’ connection to Israel.

Among Jews who had previously lived in Israel, half said they spoke Hebrew fluently, and another 25% knew at least 1,000 words. Among those who had never visited Israel, one-third (33%) knew only a few words.

A significant correlation was also found with religious affiliation. All haredi (ultra-Orthodox) respondents (100%) and 76% of Orthodox respondents knew hundreds of Hebrew words or more, compared with only 28% of Reform Jews. A similar trend emerged for Yiddish.

JPPI President Prof. Yedidia Stern said the findings illustrated that ties between Israel and Diaspora Jewry were not one-dimensional.

“The index illustrates that the relationship between Israel and Diaspora Jewry is not one-dimensional. On the one hand, we are seeing a widening of the gap in perceptions regarding the connection between Israeli government policy and antisemitism; on the other hand, Jews in the US are less pessimistic about the future of the state compared with last year, and the Hebrew language continues to be a central component of their identity. The conclusion is that one must know how to distinguish between criticism of government policy and the degree of connection, affinity, and commitment to Israel and Jewish identity,” Stern said.

JPPI’s Jewish People Voice Index was conducted by institute fellows Shmuel Rosner, Noah Slepkov and Yael Levinovsky, under the statistical supervision of Prof. David Steinberg.

Former prime minister and B’Yachad party chairman Naftali Bennett presented northern local authority leaders on Wednesday with his party’s proposed “Confrontation Line Law,” which would expand the area eligible for state assistance and increase tax and municipal tax benefits for residents and businesses.

Bennett toured Israel’s northern border together with fellow party members Keren Turner, Bruria Naim-Arman, and Nisan Zeevi, who has led efforts to rehabilitate communities along the confrontation line and, according to the party, would oversee implementation of the law in a future government.

Bennett held lengthy discussions with local authority heads, heard their concerns, and told them that his support for northern communities during the recent war, which included dozens of visits to communities along the confrontation line, would be translated into legislation after the elections.

According to the party, the proposed legislation could affect the lives of approximately half a million Israelis.

The draft “Confrontation Line Law” is based on two existing legislative frameworks: the Tekuma Law, from which it adopts mechanisms for rehabilitation, budgeting, and implementation, and legislation providing assistance to Sderot and communities in the western Negev, which the party said provides a precedent for tax benefits, municipal tax discounts, and regional incentives.

The proposal would combine those frameworks with the existing Tenufa Directorate and government decisions, creating what the party described as a single, stable and binding legal framework for rehabilitating northern Israel.

Confrontation line would be extended to include Safed, add’l communities

Under the proposal, the confrontation line would be expanded from communities located within 0-9 km. of the border to those within 0-12 km. The change would include Hatzor Haglilit, Safed, and additional communities within the designated national priority area, making them eligible for assistance programs and benefits.

The plan would also increase tax benefits for residents by adding between four and six tax credit points or, alternatively, introducing a graduated five-year tax exemption track.

According to an example provided by the party, a person earning approximately NIS 20,000 per month could receive benefits worth up to NIS 8,000-NIS 15,000 annually under an expanded tax-credit system.

The proposal also includes incentives for businesses operating in the region.

Corporate tax would be reduced by between five and 10 percentage points for companies with substantial activity in the designated area. According to the party’s example, a company earning an annual profit of NIS 1 million could receive an additional benefit worth NIS 50,000-NIS 100,000 per year.

The party said that under the current system, relatively few companies receive tax incentives under the Law for the Encouragement of Capital Investments because they are unable to meet the requirement that 25% of their production be exported.

The proposed law would also establish a special tier under the Law for the Encouragement of Capital Investments, with corporate tax rates of between 0% and 4%, depending on a factory’s location.

The party argued that the current system, under which the level of benefits is the same for communities classified as Priority Area A+, does not sufficiently encourage exporting manufacturers to relocate to or operate in communities along the confrontation line.

State-funded municipal tax discounts

The proposal would also provide state-funded municipal tax discounts of 45% for residential properties and 39% for businesses, with the state fully compensating local authorities, in a model similar to that used for communities surrounding the Gaza Strip.

According to the party’s examples, a family paying NIS 8,000 annually in municipal taxes would save NIS 3,600, while a business paying NIS 100,000 would save NIS 39,000.

“Rehabilitating the confrontation line and propelling it forward is an important national mission,” Bennett said. “We have built a team of people who know how to get things done and who are capable of repairing the country from day one, without a grace period. Nisan, a man of the North and one of the leaders of the struggle to rehabilitate this region, will lead this important fight from within, just as he has done as a citizen in recent years. Together, we will repair things and build a prosperous future here.”

B’Yachad candidate Nisan Zeevi said the proposal would, for the first time, bring a Tekuma-style law to northern Israel.

“While everyone talks about the ‘what,’ we are also proposing the ‘how’: The Confrontation Line Law will enshrine the budgets and promises that were given to us and have not been fulfilled to this day. There are 360,000 residents along the confrontation line who need real solutions from the state, not more government decisions that are not implemented on the ground,” Zeevi said. 

“This is not another election promise to the residents of the North, but a declaration of commitment that will be implemented as soon as possible by the best people of action in the State of Israel. Together, we will repair things. Just as was done with the Tekuma Law in the South, we will advance a Tekuma law for the North that will change the face of the region for generations.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a “paper sultan,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday after Erdogan’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.

Katz accused Erdogan of financing and embracing Hamas, and claimed that he dreams of “restoring the Ottoman Empire” in a post on X/Twitter.

“Now he’s signed the ‘Mecca Agreement’ to defend Saudi Arabia,” he said, “But when the Houthis fired missiles at Mecca and it was time to honor his word, he vanished into thin air.“

ארדואן @RTErdogan הוא סולטן של נייר שחזק בנאומי הסתה אנטישמים אבל חלש במעשים. אני מציע לו שיפסיק להתעסק עם ישראל. מדינת ישראל חזקה ויודעת לדאוג לעצמה – אנחנו לא הכורדים וחסרי הישע בהם הוא מתעלל בטורקיה גם בעצם הימים האלה

השבוע עמד ארדואן על במת האו”ם ונשא נאום אנטישמי ומסית שבו…

— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) September 24, 2026

He also told the Turkish president to stop picking fights with Israel.

“Israel is strong and knows how to protect itself. We’re not the Kurds and the desperate people he still oppresses in Turkey today,” he said.

Erdogan calls for UN Security Council reform, condemns Gaza situation

Erdogan told the UNGA on Tuesday that the UN had become unable to fulfill its duty of preserving peace and called for reform of the Security Council.

He also condemned the situation in Gaza, saying, “No one who holds humanity, compassion, and mercy in their heart, with a sense of justice and conscience, can turn a blind eye” to what was happening there.

He urged countries that do not recognize a Palestinian state to review their position and for all nations to increase pressure on Israel to end the war in Gaza, which he called “our time’s most inhumane, most embarrassing concentration camp.”

Reuters contributed to this report.

Russia is likely to intensify its hybrid war against the West in the coming months, Denmark’s defense intelligence service said in a new threat assessment on Thursday.

Hybrid warfare and sabotage on European soil gained renewed attention after Germany recently blamed Russia for an attempted drone attack at the Leipzig/Halle Airport, prompting European Union members to call for new sanctions against Russia.

Moscow has repeatedly denied any involvement in hybrid warfare, sabotage operations in NATO countries, or plotting any confrontation.

The Russian embassy to Denmark did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

More frequent attacks expected from Russia

The defense intelligence service said Russia will carry out more frequent attacks against the West and NATO “with greater consequences for the countries targeted than in the past.”

It added that there was “a low but growing risk” that Russia would launch a limited military attack against one or several NATO countries that border Russia.

“A limited military attack would be a desperate move on Russia’s part and, like the intensified hybrid attacks, could potentially take place in the coming months,” it said.

Such attacks could include isolated strikes with long-range weapons like drones or missiles on infrastructure supporting Ukraine, or false-flag operations using Ukrainian-made drones, intelligence service chief Thomas Ahrenkiel said at a press conference.

He said Russia could also deploy a limited number of troops into a NATO border area, potentially under the pretext of protecting Russian minorities.

“The aim is not to take over the country, but to divide NATO,” he said.

A Russian frigate last week fired two flares towards a Danish military helicopter sent to photograph it in international waters off Denmark, with one narrowly missing the aircraft, according to the Danish military.

In a separate statement on Thursday, the Danish Resilience Agency said it was likely that Russia would attempt to carry out destructive cyberattacks against Denmark, and it raised its threat level.

Otzma Yehudit, founded in 2012, is one of many parties vying for citizens’ votes in the elections for the 26th Knesset, which will be held on October 27.

The party, whose name translates to “Jewish Power,” is led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and is consider the farthest-Right party in the Israeli political spectrum. It has its roots in the political movement founded by students of Rabbi Meir Kahane. 

In the 2022 election, Otzma Yehudit ran as part of a joint list with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party and Noam, led by MK Avi Maoz. The list won 14 seats, with six allocated to Otzma Yehudit. 

For the 2026 election, however, Ben-Gvir chose to run separately from Smotrich, arguing that the two parties appeal to fundamentally different electorates. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later called on them to reunite, but Ben-Gvir rejected the proposal.

Its Knesset list, finalized in September, has Ben-Gvir first and followed by former Likud MK Tally Gotliv, who joined Otzma Yehudit after a public falling-out with Netanyahu. Gotliv had accused Netanyahu of sabotaging her bid in the Likud primaries, leading to her exit from Israel’s ruling party.

She is followed by Development of the Negev and Galilee and National Resilience Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf, Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, MKs Limor Son Har-Melech and Yitzhak Kreuzer, and newcomers Hanamel Dorfman and Tzahi Eliyahu.

Otzma Yehudit is currently polling at around eight-to-10 seats.

Ben-Gvir’s ambitions – and Otzma Yehudit’s red lines

Otzma Yehudit’s clearest political red lines have concerned the composition of any future government, particularly the inclusion of parties outside Netanyahu’s right-wing camp.

Ben-Gvir has opposed a unity government that would bring opposition parties into a coalition with the current right-wing bloc. During the election campaign, he accused Netanyahu of planning to form a “left-wing government” with his main political opponent, Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party, while excluding Otzma Yehudit.

He has also sought to prevent Arab parties from entering the next Knesset. Ben-Gvir recently petitioned the Central Elections Committee to bar Ra’am and its leader, Mansour Abbas, from running in the upcoming elections, referring to the party as “Hamas-supporting terrorists” and “wolves in sheep’s clothing.”

Where Otzma Yehudit stands on Gaza, the West Bank, and Palestinian statehood

Otzma Yehudit’s political platform is overwhelmingly focused on Israel’s immediate security environment, with Gaza, terrorism, and Israeli control over security policy among the party’s central issues.

According to Ben-Gvir, the party’s central mission for the next Knesset is to pursue a harder-line security policy, particularly regarding Gaza and terrorism. Otzma Yehudit’s members consistently frame the party’s approach around Jewish national sovereignty, a forceful response to terrorism, expanded backing for soldiers and police, and opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Ben-Gvir has argued that Israel should move from what he calls a policy of “containment” to offensive action against terrorism. In 2023, the party boycotted coalition activity over what it described as the government’s insufficient response to terrorism and its “containment policy.”

Gaza has been one of the central issues in Ben-Gvir’s security platform. He has called for a substantially more aggressive military response, saying in August that Israel should carry out nightly strikes killing dozens of Gazans.

Ben-Gvir has argued that Israel should seek a complete military victory rather than agreements that leave Hamas in place. He has previously opposed ceasefires and hostage agreements that he believes leave Hamas intact and has advocated for a complete Israeli military victory.

Ben-Gvir and Otzma Yehudit have repeatedly challenged government decisions they considered insufficiently aggressive toward Hamas or other terrorist organizations. In 2025, for example, the party temporarily left the coalition over a hostage-ceasefire agreement and returned only after the government resumed military operations in Gaza.

In September 2026, Ben-Gvir unveiled the “Disengagement 710” plan, which calls for encouraging the voluntary emigration of Gaza residents and establishing a government ministry to implement the policy. The proposal envisions 250,000 departures during the first year and 1.86 million over seven years.

Regarding the West Bank and the issue of Palestinian statehood, Ben-Gvir and Otzma Yehudit have repeatedly pushed for security policies centered on Israeli control rather than negotiations leading to Palestinian statehood. Additionally, Ben-Gvir’s political camp has expressed consistent support for extending Israeli sovereignty over territory claimed as part of the Land of Israel.

Ben-Gvir’s positions have at times put him at odds with the government’s diplomatic considerations. His opposition to ceasefires and hostage agreements, as well as his positions on Gaza, have generated tensions with Israel’s international partners.

Ben-Gvir’s domestic agenda and push for political power

Beyond security and foreign policy, Otzma Yehudit has used its position in government to push changes to the justice system, strengthen its political influence, and advance its vision of Jewish sovereignty.

The party’s record in government has largely reflected those priorities.

Ben-Gvir has supported the government’s 2023 judicial reform and opposed efforts to soften the legislation. After the Knesset passed the law limiting the courts’ use of the reasonableness standard in July 2023, the first major judicial-overhaul law passed as part of the reform, he called its passage “just the beginning” and said the remainder of the reform should pass.

The national security minister has also supported changing the way judges are selected, while Otzma Yehudit has sought greater political influence over judicial appointments. The party’s coalition agreement guaranteed it a position on the Judicial Selection Committee, and MK Kreuzer was elected as the coalition’s representative on the committee in 2023.

The party has also used its coalition leverage to oppose government legislation and increase its influence over coalition policy and government spending.

Ben-Gvir has repeatedly clashed with Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara and supported efforts to remove her. In 2024, most of the Otzma Yehudit faction voted against coalition legislation in protest after the government failed to dismiss her.

Later in 2024, Ben-Gvir instructed Otzma Yehudit ministers and MKs to vote against the government’s 2025 budget after negotiations over additional funding for the National Security Ministry broke down.

The party sponsored and successfully passed the death penalty for terrorists bill, which passed its final readings in March 2026 by a vote of 62-48, with one abstention, and subsequently entered into law.

However, no executions have been carried out under the law to date.

Otzma Yehudit has also focused on issues of Jewish sovereignty and religious-national policy.

Ben-Gvir has made repeated pilgrimages to the Temple Mount, and in July 2026, said that Jews praying there felt they were “the rightful owners” of the site.

The party has also opposed government actions it regards as restricting Jewish settlement in the West Bank. 

In 2023, Otzma Yehudit boycotted a Knesset session partly over the evacuation of settlers from Evyatar, describing it as contrary to coalition agreements and right-wing policy.

What a vote for this party is likely to produce

A vote for Otzma Yehudit would put Ben-Gvir and his party in a position to seek significant influence in a future right-wing government. The party is seeking to emerge from the election as an independent force on the Right, rather than as part of a broader Religious Zionist list, giving Ben-Gvir greater leverage in coalition negotiations if a right-wing government is formed.

Despite public spats, the party remains strongly aligned with Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc, and Ben-Gvir has argued that a strong Otzma Yehudit is necessary to form another fully right-wing government.

Ben-Gvir has already signaled that he intends to use the party’s strength to demand senior positions in a future government.

He has said he would seek the defense minister portfolio and called for Gotliv to become justice minister, although Likud officials have pushed back against those demands, saying that the party does not intend to relinquish either portfolio in future coalition negotiations.

The party’s record and campaign positions also indicate the areas in which it would seek to exert influence: a harder military line in Gaza, opposition to Palestinian statehood, stronger powers and resources for security institutions, greater political influence over judicial appointments and opposition to efforts to limit the government’s authority, and a more assertive approach to Jewish sovereignty at contested religious sites.

A vote for Otzma Yehudit is therefore specifically a vote for Ben-Gvir’s faction and its priorities, while also determining how much influence the party could have in shaping the composition and policies of a future right-wing government led by Netanyahu.

Yemen’s Saudi-backed government forces repelled overnight attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis on a key supply route to the southern port city of Aden, where the internationally recognized administration is based, government sources said on Thursday.

The steep, winding mountain pass, known as Hejat al-Abd, is a lifeline for forces fighting on behalf of Yemen’s government, which has been hemmed in by a lightning Houthi advance this month linked to the Iran war.

The road is also critical for goods entering Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city, and its southern and western rural areas. It is the only route for residents seeking to travel abroad, with no commercial flights operating from Houthi-controlled areas.

The Houthis have kept up pressure on government forces as they seek to consolidate gains made nearly two weeks ago, when their offensive along Yemen’s western coast brought them to the shores of the Red Sea’s strategic Bab el-Mandeb waterway.

Flare-up in Yemen’s civil war broadens Middle East conflict

Seizing parts of the Taiz-Aden road could allow the Houthis to tighten their grip around Taiz and deal another blow to the government, which has struggled to regain the initiative since losing the western coast.

The latest fighting marks a sharp escalation in Yemen’s civil war, which had largely been frozen since a 2022 truce. The Houthis seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention the following year in support of the internationally recognized government.

Fighting has flared along several old front lines in recent weeks, including around Taiz, as the Houthis swept south along Yemen’s Red Sea coast.

The group seized the port of Mocha before taking the remaining Red Sea coastline and islands, extending its control to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the mouth of the Red Sea.

Bab el-Mandeb is one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints, connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and forming a key artery for trade between Asia and Europe via the Suez Canal.

About 7% of global oil output passed through the strait in June, according to Kpler data cited by Reuters.

The Houthi advance along the Red Sea coast also threatens a key alternative route used by Saudi Arabia to export oil when shipments through the Strait of Hormuz are disrupted.

More than 700 people have been killed and thousands wounded in the latest fighting, according to the United Nations. Nearly 130,000 Yemenis have been displaced within the country, while more than 3,000 have fled by boat across the Red Sea to Africa.

IDF reservist Neria Leiter, an American citizen and son of Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, was seriously wounded in a car-ramming terrorist attack at Maccabim (Bell) checkpoint on Route 443 near Modi’in-Maccabim-Re’ut on Wednesday.

In 2023, one of Leiter’s other sons, Maj. (res.) Moshe Yedidya, was killed in Gaza. He was a company commander in the 551st Brigade’s 697th Battalion.

Neria Leiter is currently in serious condition and is being treated at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. In a Wednesday night statement, the hospital announced that Neria had undergone a multi-hour brain surgery, alongside other treatments, and that “his condition remains very serious, and his life is in danger.” 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Neria Leiter’s family at the hospital before leaving for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). At the same time, Yechiel Leiter is returning to Israel from the United States. He will not join Netanyahu at the UNGA on Thursday.

“I am grateful to the IDF, to the medical team at Shaare Zedek who are now fighting to save the life of Neria Dov ben Chana, and for the prayers of the people of Israel,” Leiter wrote on X/Twitter on Wednesday. “I believe in the power of prayer, and I believe that when the people of Israel unite, miracles happen. Neria needs a miracle.”

“Neria continued to serve in the reserves after losing his older brother, Moshe Yedidya Leiter, of blessed memory. Since October 7, he has served hundreds of days in the reserves on multiple fronts.

“Palestinian terrorism seeks to uproot the people of Israel from their land. They choose death – we choose life,” Leiter said.

I am grateful to the IDF, to the medical team at Shaare Zedek who are now fighting to save the life of Neria Dov ben Chana, and for the prayers of the people of Israel.

I believe in the power of prayer, and I believe that when the people of Israel unite, miracles happen. Neria…

— Ambassador Yechiel (Michael) Leiter (@yechielleiter) September 23, 2026

In a post on X, Netanyahu said he and his wife, Sara, “together with all the people of Israel, are praying for a miracle. Yechiel, my dear, we are all with you.”

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said that he is standing with Leiter and his family.

“Pray for Yechiel Leiter & entire family. They lost a son in Gaza, killed by Hamas. Now a Palestinian terrorist attempts to murder IDF soldiers at a checkpoint. Standing w/ Yechiel Leiter,” Huckabee wrote on X.

Yechiel, my dear friend, my heart is with you, Chana, and your entire family,” Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, shared on X. “All of Israel is praying for your son, Neria Dov ben Chana, who was critically wounded in today’s heinous terrorist attack. May God heal him and give your family strength.”

Defense Minister Israel Katz sent his support to Leiter’s family and prayers for Neria’s speedy recovery.

“Yechiel, I stand with you and your family, and I pray alongside the entire nation of Israel for your son’s recovery,” Katz said. “I commend the heroic fighters who eliminated the terrorist. To the soldiers of the IDF and the security forces: I believe in you and trust you; we will not allow terror to rear its head.”

“Yechiel, you are a warrior, and your sons are warriors,” wrote Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on X. “My heart and prayers are with you.”

יחיאל, אתה לוחם ובניך לוחמים.
לבי ותפילתי איתך. ❤️ https://t.co/almRgh2Mdq

— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) September 23, 2026

President Isaac Herzog also offered a “prayer for the complete and speedy recovery of Neria Leiter, a reservist soldier who was run over today in a heinous terror attack at the Maccabim checkpoint.”

“Neria Leiter is the brother of Major Moshe Leiter, of blessed memory, a hero of Israel who fell at the beginning of the Swords of Iron War in Gaza,” Herzog wrote in an evening statement. “We send our wishes for a complete recovery to Neria, and strength to his wife and to his parents, Hannah and Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s Ambassador to the United States.”

“Neria is fighting for his life at this very hour, and we will pray for his recovery. We all stand with this dear family and send them our strength.”

Police Commissioner Daniel Levi, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Economy and Industry Minister Nir Barkat, and Ofir Akunis, Israel’s consul general in New York, also offered Leiter their support. 

“We join all the residents of Samaria in praying for the victim’s recovery and offer our support to his family during this difficult time,” Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan said. “The Council will assist the victim’s family, and together with the community, we will embrace and support them in every way possible. The entire nation of Israel is united in prayer for his recovery.”

“We must respond to murderous terrorism with a firm hand and restore deterrence. We send our support to the security forces on the front lines who are protecting the citizens of Israel.”

IDF troops kill 29-year-old terrorist 

The terrorist was killed by IDF troops who were at the scene as he attempted to flee. He has been identified as Muhammad Mahmoud Suleiman, 29, a resident of Beit Ur al-Tahta.

According to KAN News, Suleiman was very familiar with the area and carried out the attack on his own using a stolen Israeli license plate taken from a car that had been taken off the road several months ago. 

He is not known for prior security-related offenses, had not applied for a work permit within Israel, and was not supposed to be inside the Green Line, KAN reported, citing security officials. 

IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) have reportedly questioned Suleiman’s family members as part of the ongoing investigation into the attack.

Israel Police stated that the terrorist had hit a police patrol vehicle belonging to the Judea and Samaria District. An officer and a soldier were inside the vehicle as part of a joint operation.

“United Hatzalah’s dispatch center sent us to the scene of a vehicular ramming attack near Bell checkpoint,” United Hatzalah paramedics Itzik Kara and Netanel Cohen said. “Assisted by IDF medical teams, we provided initial medical treatment at the scene, including respiratory support, the administration of life-saving medication, bandaging, and splinting to a man who was subsequently transported to the hospital in serious condition.”

Palestinian shot after reported car-ramming attack attempt near Hebron

Earlier on Wednesday, two Palestinians reportedly attempted to run over the owner of a farm in the Hebron Hills.

The farm owner began shooting at them in accordance with the “suspect arrest procedure,” wounding one of the individuals in the leg, according to reports.

IDF troops were deployed to the area, N12 News reported, adding that the incident is under review.

Avi Ashkenazi contributed to this report.

In a recent interview I gave to the Lebanese journalist Maria Maalouf, I argued that the Quran can be read as a Zionist document. This claim caused quite a stir, yet it built a crucial bridge between Zionism and Islam, which is essential for establishing peace in our region.

On the most fundamental level, Zionism seeks to answer two questions: What is the land of the Jews, and to whom does the Land of Israel belong?

The Zionist answer, of course, is that the Jews belong to the Land of Israel, their historical home and motherland, and that the land belongs to them: not only by virtue of a religious promise, but also due to the historical right of an indigenous people to their homeland.

Although loud and aggressive voices create the impression of an absolute frontal clash between the Zionist vision and Islam, a reading of the Quran reveals a surprising agreement between Zionism and Islam on these two foundational issues.

The Quran itself recognizes the Children of Israel’s right to their land. It states explicitly, through the words of Moses (peace be upon him), who is recognized as a central and important prophet in Islam: “O my people, enter the Holy Land which Allah has assigned to you and do not turn back [from fighting in Allah’s cause] and [thus] become losers” (Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:21).

Likewise, the promise of the Children of Israel’s return to their land appears as a divine promise: “And we said after Pharaoh to the Children of Israel, ‘Dwell in the land, and when there comes the promise of the hereafter, we will bring you forth in [one] gathering’” (Surah Al-Isra 17:104).

What the Quran says about the connection between Jews and Zion

Thus, the Quran can be read as a text that confirms the first covenant and the Children of Israel’s right to the Land of Israel.

What is the place of the Children of Israel? The Quran agrees with Zionism that they must be in the Land of Israel.

To whom does the Land of Israel belong? The Quran answers in a verse directed at the Children of Israel: “The Holy Land which Allah has assigned to you.”

At the very least, the Quran makes it impossible to honestly claim that the Jewish connection to the Holy Land is foreign to Islam.

So on this issue too, there is an agreement between the Quran and Zionism. It is astonishing to see how Quranic commentators from extremist Islamic schools of thought evade these verses, despite their unequivocal nature.

We could sum up the matter here and determine that these verses alone are enough to establish a practical agreement between Zionism and Islam.

Fortunately, however, there are deeper layers for us to explore. For many, Zionism is perceived not merely as an agreement on the right of the Children of Israel to a national home in their historical land, but also as a general affinity or affection for Jews or Israel.

Paradoxically, today, Americans or Europeans who respect the Jews’ right to a national home or are perceived as friendly to Jews are negatively labeled as “Zionists,” usually by individuals identified as Islamists.

Yet the Quran does not settle for merely recognizing the Children of Israel; the Children of Israel are so central to the Quranic narrative that Surah 17 is traditionally known as both Al-Isra and Bani Isra’il.

When delving into a third question: How does the Quran relate to the Jews? A picture emerges that is significantly different from the one portrayed in the media.

The Quran does not reduce Jews to “infidels.” It recognizes them as “Ahl al-Kitab” (People of the Book) – a community possessing revealed scripture and sharing belief in the God of Abraham.

The Quran deals with the history of Moses (peace be upon him) and the Jewish people, not just the history of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and defines an attitude of recognizing the Torah as a revelation from God, containing “guidance and light.”

The Quran tells of Jews who came to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and asked him to judge between them. Regarding this, the Quran states: “But how is it that they come to you for judgment while they have the Torah, in which is the judgment of Allah?” (Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:43).

In the story of the birth and deeds of Moses (peace be upon him), the Quran notes that Allah chose to empower the oppressed people of Moses: “Indeed, Pharaoh exalted himself in the land and made its people into factions, oppressing a sector among them, slaughtering their [newborn] sons and keeping their females alive.

“Indeed, he was of the corrupters. And we wanted to confer favor upon those who were oppressed in the land, make them leaders, and make them inheritors. And establish them in the land and show Pharaoh and Haman and their soldiers through them that which they had feared” (Surah Al-Qasas 28:4-6).

But in my eyes, perhaps the most important quote that has eluded us in the Quran says: “And do not argue with the people of the scripture except in the best way, except those who commit injustice among them … We believe in what has been revealed to us and what was revealed to you. Our God and your God is one” (Surah Al-’Ankabut 29:46).

Just as in Judaism, the “Love your neighbor as yourself” notion provides a fundamental, one-legged basis for understanding the essence that allows Muslims to coexist alongside Jews, this verse provides a one-legged basis that can allow Jews to coexist alongside Muslims with dignity (if only everyone acted according to these verses).

Beyond the Quran

In these verses and many others, the Quran lays a clear foundation for accepting the Children of Israel in general and their return to their land in particular.

But beyond the religious significance and the quoting of important verses, how can we build a shared vision in which all the peoples of the Middle East can take part?

An initial answer to this question has emerged in recent months in Sweida and Khan Yunis. Israel is protecting the Syrian Druze in Sweida from jihadist attacks – a military defense that carries a diplomatic price.

It is the exact same type of backing that would be given to a Jewish Diaspora community located outside Israel’s borders, and it is happening even though the Druze in Syria were historically considered loyal to the Assad regime and were not friendly to Israel.

This path is in its infancy, and many challenges still lie ahead. Still, from a historical perspective, this is a moment that expands Zionism beyond the Jewish people and places the Druze on the table as full partners of the State of Israel – even when they are not its citizens.

This partnership is not limited to the Druze. In an anti-Hamas enclave east of Khan Yunis in Gaza, another experiment is beginning to take shape. Palestinian clans and local organizations that oppose Hamas and choose a vision willing to include Israel as a legitimate and friendly state are receiving Israeli backing.

This allows them to provide their people with security, and even education and a network of social services amidst the madness of Gaza.

The message radiating from these activities to the region is that the door is open, and Israel’s umbrella is not limited to Jews alone. It can expand to encompass partners in this vision. For many, this is a novel idea that could lead to a rethinking of the current paradigm.

However, Zionism is not only the question of a national home for the Jewish people, and in 2026, it is not merely the aerial cover of the IDF.

It is a proven blueprint, the only one of its kind in the world, for the national revival of a refugee people, exiled from its land, who returned and within less than a century lifted themselves from the brink of annihilation to become a hi-tech and agricultural superpower blooming in the desert.

Against the backdrop of the region’s challenges, Moses (peace be upon him) is relevant not only to the future of the Jewish people’s relations with its neighbors, but so are Theodor Herzl and David Ben-Gurion. Many are reading Herzl’s writings in the Middle East in recent years, from Damascus to Tehran, and asking themselves – what can we learn from this?

Thus, one can identify today more and more people in the Middle Eastern public sphere who define themselves as Muslim Zionists, Lebanese Zionists, Iranian Zionists, Alawite Zionists, Kurdish Zionists, and other new formations we have never seen before.

When they testify about themselves as being “Zionists,” they often do not mean solely that they support Israel’s right to exist, based on confirming Quranic verses or for other reasons.

They mean the vision they share with Zionism and the inspiration they draw from it as a doctrine for rebuilding a nation.

They relate to the sense of mission of a people stepping up to build its future; to groundbreaking leadership like that of Ben-Gurion, who set out to make the desert bloom; to a vision like Herzl’s, looking a thousand years into the future; to the way emissaries moved between communities with a new idea, how communities mobilized, and how mechanisms were established overnight to rebuild a shattered nation.

The idea currently passing the test in Sweida and Khan Yunis is that Israel can provide security for its partners.

The greater test will arrive in the near future: Can the Zionist idea provide the necessary blueprint for rebuilding Sweida and Khan Yunis according to the Israeli model, as free (though not necessarily independent) societies, tolerant in nature, and advancing toward prosperity?

If Zionism can pass this test, it will transform from a national idea belonging to a specific nation into an idea of shared national revival and development, capable of taking many peoples under its wings.

The writer is the author of the book The Abrahamic Revolution and is the CEO and co-founder of the Abrahamic Movement.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to arrive in New York on Thursday for an unusually brief visit centered on his address to the UN General Assembly, with plans to spend only about six hours on US soil before returning to Israel that same evening.

Netanyahu is expected to land at a military airfield in New Jersey, travel to Manhattan, address the General Assembly, and then head back to Israel. His meeting schedule will also be unusually limited compared with previous UN visits. Netanyahu will not meet US President Donald Trump or Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The Prime Minister’s Office said Netanyahu’s meetings would include the presidents of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Panama, and Ethiopia; the vice president of Colombia; and the prime ministers of Greece, Slovenia, and Papua New Guinea.

Netanyahu’s speech is expected to begin at around 2 p.m. New York time, or 9 p.m. Israel time, and he will be the second-to-last speaker in the morning session. Only a few hours will separate his landing from his appearance at the podium.

The drive from the military airfield in New Jersey to the UN headquarters could take about two hours. Under the current plan, shortly after arriving in the US, Netanyahu will head to the UN building. After his speech, he will leave for the airport.

The brief visit also reflects concerns about security incidents and protests expected to accompany Netanyahu’s arrival in New York, according to officials familiar with the preparations. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli protest activists are expected to gather, while Jewish groups are also preparing demonstrations in support of Netanyahu.

Netanyahu will also not take Israeli journalists aboard the Wing of Zion aircraft on this trip.

Ahead of his departure, Netanyahu addressed his expected speech.

“You hear the terrible lies being spread there; I will fight for the truth,” he said. “There will also be surprises.”

UNGA speech expected to focus on Iranian threat, include visual aids

Iran is expected to be at the center of the speech, which is set to last about 40 minutes, an unusually long address for the General Assembly. Netanyahu is expected to discuss Iran’s efforts to rebuild its nuclear program and missile capabilities and, according to officials familiar with the preparations for the speech, present new information about Iran and its reconstruction efforts.

His team is also preparing visual aids relating to the Iranian threat, continuing a tradition from Netanyahu’s previous UN speeches, most notably his 2012 “bomb” speech.

Netanyahu is expected to go a step further this time and explicitly address the possibility of the regime in Tehran falling.

His remarks come against the backdrop of intelligence assessments in Israel and the US according to which continued economic pressure, sanctions and damage to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ sources of funding could undermine the regime’s stability.

Netanyahu is also expected to address the Iranian people directly. The speech is expected to include messages directed at Lebanon and additional Arab countries, as well as references to international criticism of Israel, the International Criminal Court in The Hague, and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Netanyahu will deliver his speech as New York serves as the scene of intensive diplomatic contacts surrounding Iran.

The Trump administration has signaled that the possibility of a diplomatic channel with Tehran remains on the table, while the US president has held talks in the city with leaders and representatives from Gulf states on Iran and the future of the regional campaign.

Those contacts will form the backdrop to the forceful messages Netanyahu is expected to deliver from the UN podium.

Netanyahu’s meeting schedule during the current visit is far more limited than during his previous trips to the General Assembly.

Several plans considered ahead of the trip have already been dropped. Netanyahu will not continue to Texas for a visit to SpaceX, and a possible meeting with Elon Musk, which was discussed during earlier stages of planning, will also not take place.

Behind the scenes, officials tried to arrange meetings for the prime minister with officials from Gulf states, but as of Wednesday night, those efforts had not come to fruition.

Netanyahu not expected to hold diplomatic meetings during US visit

According to the current schedule, Netanyahu is expected to hold almost no diplomatic meetings during the few hours he spends in the US.

This marks a significant change from Netanyahu’s previous visits to the General Assembly.

Over the years, UN week has also served as an opportunity for him to hold a marathon of meetings with US presidents, European leaders, Arab heads of state, and leaders from Asia, Africa, and South America.

In September 2023, just weeks before October 7, Netanyahu met in New York with then-US president Joe Biden, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and then-German chancellor Olaf Scholz, among others.

His subsequent visits also included diplomatic meetings alongside his UN speech. The current schedule looks markedly different.

The atmosphere awaiting Netanyahu inside the UN building is also expected to be tense.

He will take the podium after a series of speeches containing sharp criticism of Israeli policy. Last year, his speech was accompanied by a mass walkout by representatives, while many delegations were absent or left the hall during his address.

Alongside the content of the speech, attention will also be focused on events inside the hall and which delegations remain present while Netanyahu speaks.

From the UN podium, Netanyahu is expected to respond to international criticism of Israel, devote a substantial portion of his remarks to Iran, and reveal the “surprises” he hinted at before departing for the US.

Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.

The alleged marriage of a three-year-old girl to a 60-year-old man for 2.5 million Pakistani rupees, around $9,000, has drawn attention to child marriage and the traditional practice of walwar in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan.

Police in the border city of Chaman arrested the girl’s father, Abdul Baqi, after the case surfaced on social media. The 60-year-old man, identified as Salah Uddin, remains at large.

Walwar is a Pashto term for money paid by a groom or his family to the family of a bride.

At the time police intervened, the alleged marriage existed only on paper because the full walwar payment had not been made. According to The Media Line’s reporting, once the agreed amount was paid, the arrangement would have taken effect, and the 3-year-old would have been regarded as Salah Uddin’s wife.

That did not necessarily mean she would immediately have begun living with him. But she could have remained bound to the arrangement for years if payment was delayed. If her family later attempted to arrange a different marriage after she reached adulthood, the unresolved agreement could have triggered a serious dispute between the families, potentially including violence.

Balochistan case draws widespread outrage

The case drew widespread attention online, prompting Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti to direct authorities to investigate. Police acted after the allegations became public rather than waiting for a formal complaint from a relative.

Israr Ahmed Umrani, assistant inspector general of Balochistan Police for gender issues, told The Media Line that police arrested the girl’s father after receiving information about the case and were pursuing the man identified as her alleged husband.

Umrani said the investigation was continuing and that authorities firmly opposed child marriage.

Chaman Police Subdivisional Police Officer Abdul Jabbar Khan told The Media Line that “a case had been registered on behalf of the State in connection with the incident. Police are looking for the 60-year-old suspect who absconded.”

Khan said the 3-year-old girl, Babbo, and her mother had been placed under police protection.

Asked how many walwar-related cases were currently registered with his police unit, Khan said this was the only one.

The investigation has also become linked to the killing of the girl’s older sister, Shukria Bibi, about two weeks earlier in Kuchlak, on the outskirts of Quetta.

Dispute may have led to murder of child

According to Khan, police allege that Baqi had previously arranged Shukria’s marriage, when she was 13, to Kamran, Salah Uddin’s son, in exchange for a walwar payment of 1.5 million rupees.

Months later, Khan said, Baqi allegedly arranged for his 3-year-old daughter to marry Salah Uddin for 2.5 million rupees. Police say Salah Uddin subsequently demanded that Baqi send his 8-year-old daughter instead.

Khan said a dispute between the families followed, and police were investigating whether it was connected to Shukria’s killing.

Quetta police arrested Shukria’s husband, Kamran, on suspicion of killing her. Police say Kamran told investigators that he became enraged after his wife looked outside through a doorway, then struck her with an iron rod, killing her.

In a Pashto-language interview with a local vlogger before his arrest, Baqi said he had arranged Shukria’s marriage for 1.5 million Pakistani rupees in walwar.

He alleged that she was subjected to violence after the marriage and that her father-in-law, Salah Uddin, repeatedly pressured him to arrange the marriage of another minor daughter.

Baqi said he eventually agreed to marry his 3-year-old daughter to Salah Uddin for 2.5 million rupees, saying poverty and his desire to obtain a home had influenced his decision.

Balochistan law prohibits child marriage. The Balochistan Child Marriages Restraint Act, 2025, sets the minimum marriage age at 18 and makes it a criminal offense for an adult man to enter into a child marriage.

An adult man convicted under the law can face two to three years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of 100,000 to 200,000 Pakistani rupees. Similar penalties can apply to those who perform, conduct, direct, promote or assist such a marriage.

Police can investigate cases and make arrests without a warrant, and such cases cannot be ended through a private settlement between the parties.

Child marriage remains a substantial problem across Pakistan despite a long-term decline. The Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey for 2017-18, the most recent national survey used for the country’s child-marriage prevalence estimate, found that 18.3% of women ages 20 to 24 had been married by age 18 and 3.6% by age 15. UNICEF’s Child Marriage Data Portal estimates that about 20.5 million girls and women living in Pakistan were married before age 18, including about 5 million who were married before 15.

The figures also show wide differences by geography, wealth and education. UNICEF’s latest available subnational data, from 2018, put the prevalence of marriage before 18 among young women in Balochistan at 21.6%, compared with 18.3% nationally. Across Pakistan, the rate was 21.6% in rural areas and 12.5% in urban areas. It reached 34.1% among the poorest households, compared with 7.3% among the richest, and 33.7% among women with no schooling, compared with 7.5% among those with secondary education or higher.

Yet the existence of laws against child marriage does not mean authorities learn about every case.

There are no reliable province-wide figures showing how widespread walwar remains across Balochistan or how often it involves minors. Interviews conducted for this report indicate that the practice persists mainly in remote, predominantly tribal communities, particularly along or near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, while becoming less common in cities.

Families may never report such arrangements to police or other state institutions, making the practice difficult to measure.

Enforcement can also run up against a social order in which tribal norms and customary authority strongly influence family decisions. In some remote communities, those traditions can carry greater practical weight in daily life than formal law or religious principles, allowing illegal marriages to be arranged beyond the immediate reach of the state.

Authorities have not publicly specified which provisions of the 2025 law, or any other statutes, have been invoked against Baqi or Salah Uddin.

Critics say walwar becomes especially problematic when the payment is treated primarily as income for the bride’s family, leaving girls with little or no say in marriages arranged on their behalf. They say it can contribute to forced marriages and large age disparities between brides and grooms.

Allauddin Khilji, resident director of the Aurat Foundation in Balochistan, a civil society organization focused on women’s rights and violence against women and girls, said the case appeared to be closely connected to walwar.

Khilji described the practice as a serious problem in tribal society and said disputes surrounding it could contribute to domestic violence and, in some cases, killings.

Balochistan has not enacted legislation specifically prohibiting walwar itself, Khilji said, though child marriages resulting from such arrangements can be prosecuted under the province’s 2025 child marriage law.

He said one obstacle to legislation targeting walwar was the difficulty of challenging deeply rooted tribal traditions and winning support in the provincial assembly, where many members come from influential tribal families.

Khilji cautioned against treating walwar as representative of Pashtun or Baloch culture as a whole, saying the focus should instead be on practices that contribute to coercion, exploitation and child marriage.

Imran Takkar, a child rights activist based in Peshawar, told The Media Line that “such insane marriages” deprive children of fundamental rights to education, protection, recreation and a safe childhood.

Takkar said such cases were not simply social issues but serious child-rights concerns that could violate child-protection laws and Pakistan’s obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Pakistan ratified in 1990.

He called for nationwide awareness campaigns drawing on religious teachings, Pakistan’s Constitution, existing laws and the country’s international human-rights commitments, as well as better training and coordination among officials and organizations responsible for child protection, justice and accountability.

Hazar Khan Baluch, a Quetta-based political observer, told The Media Line that “the practice persists because of widespread poverty, limited income opportunities and unemployment, which can leave families financially dependent on receiving walwar.”

But Baluch said money was not the only factor.

Social pressure can encourage families to seek such payments, he said, with some fearing criticism or loss of status if they marry their daughters without receiving walwar. In some communities, large payments can also become a source of prestige.

Family authority and customary expectations can reinforce the practice even when financial need is not the sole consideration.

Opposition to walwar exists, Baluch said, and some families that have moved to urban areas have abandoned it. He called for greater access to education and sustained public awareness campaigns to reduce practices that can leave girls vulnerable to coercion and abuse.

The Media Line also spoke with Islamic cleric Hafiz Iqbal Muhammed about whether walwar and the marriage of young girls have a religious basis.

He said that “Islamic teachings do not prescribe walwar or any similar bride-price customs, as these practices hold no basis in the core principles governing Islamic marriage.”

Muhammed said marriage in Islam is based on mutual consent and that cultural customs cannot override rights granted under Islamic teachings.

“Islamic law fundamentally recognizes a woman’s right to consent to marriage and strictly forbids forcing her into a union against her will,” he said.

Muhammed said customs followed in the name of tradition should not be confused with religious requirements.

Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, whose son Neria was seriously wounded during a car-ramming terror attack on Wednesday, said that his son’s life was still in danger during a Thursday press conference outside the hospital where he was being treated.

“His life is still in danger,” Leiter said. “This experience is different from the night when I received the knock on the door, when my eldest son fell in combat. He died instantly, and there was no possibility of bringing him to a hospital and allowing Israel’s doctors to save his life. There was also no possibility for us to gather around his bedside, recite Psalms, and rally the people of Israel to pray for his recovery.”

He said that he had feared that he would land in Israel without any hope, but was heartened to hear that Neria’s condition had stabilized, adding a request that the public continue praying for his recovery.

His daughter, Leiter added, had given birth the day before after visiting her brother, and was in the same hospital as Neria, only 40 meters away.

“On a personal and more public note, I received the news in New York yesterday, immediately after an interview in which I was asked about the violence in Judea and Samaria,” he also added.

Shaare Zedek Medical Center said that Neria’s condition was stable after several examinations and surgeries, but that his condition was still defined as serious, and his life remains in danger.

Neria seriously wounded in car-ramming three years after his brother killed in Gaza

Neria, an IDF reservist, was seriously wounded in a car-ramming terrorist attack at Maccabim (Bell) checkpoint on Route 443 near Modi’in-Maccabim-Re’ut.

In 2023, one of Leiter’s other sons, Maj. (res.) Moshe Yedidya, was killed in Gaza. He was a company commander in the 551st Brigade’s 697th Battalion.

Miriam Sela-Eitam and Maariv contributed to this report.

The Foreign Ministry on Thursday urged Israelis in Ecuador to exercise increased caution after authorities in the South American country declared a nationwide red alert over the developing El Niño weather phenomenon.

Ecuador’s National Secretariat for Risk Management declared the red alert across the country on August 29, ordering provincial and local emergency committees to strengthen preparations and response measures. Ecuadorian authorities have said the alert is intended to accelerate preparedness and does not mean that severe rainfall will immediately affect every part of the country.

El Niño is a climate phenomenon caused by unusually warm surface waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. The warming alters rainfall, temperature, and wind patterns and can produce sharply different conditions across affected regions.

In Ecuador, the phenomenon could bring heavy rain, flooding, rising river levels, and landslides in some areas, while other parts of the country could face unusually dry, hot conditions. Ecuador’s official El Niño monitoring portal currently lists the country at red-alert level, while the latest available technical bulletin said the phenomenon was in its initial stage of development. 

Foreign Ministry warns Israelis in Ecuador to avoid travelling to areas in danger of flooding

The Foreign Ministry advised Israelis in Ecuador to follow instructions from local authorities and avoid traveling through areas vulnerable to flooding, landslides, or strong water flows.

Travelers were specifically warned not to cross rivers, streams, or flooded roads, even when the water appears shallow.

The warning comes as governments and emergency agencies prepare for the wider effects of a strengthening El Niño weather pattern. The phenomenon has been associated with increased risks of extreme rainfall and flooding in parts of the Americas, while contributing to hotter and drier conditions elsewhere.

Earlier in September, Israeli authorities also conducted drills to prepare for the possible effects of a particularly strong El Niño event, including scenarios involving floods, strong winds, infrastructure disruption, and interruptions to electricity and water supplies.

The World Meteorological Organization has warned that strong El Niño conditions could increase the risk of extreme weather around the world, while climate models have pointed to potentially significant effects during the second half of 2026 and into 2027. 

In an emergency, travelers in Ecuador can contact the local emergency service by dialing 911.

The emergency line of the Israeli Embassy in Quito is *+593-2-397-1500*, a number also listed by the embassy as its emergency contact.

Israelis can also contact the Foreign Ministry Situation Center at *02-530-3155* or by fax at *02-530-3896*. The ministry has previously published the same Situation Center telephone and fax numbers in its guidance for Israelis in Ecuador. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s circle is concerned that Ofer Winter could join forces with Avigdor Liberman after the election, and for now the Likud’s approach toward him remains unchanged, according to officials familiar with the party’s campaign strategy.

Officials seeking to change the policy toward Winter reject that assessment, pointing out that polls count him as part of the Netanyahu bloc and that he has not distanced himself from it.

There is also no need to make an immediate decision regarding a surplus-vote agreement. The deadline for notifying the Central Elections Committee of such an agreement is October 16, 11 days before the election.

As long as Likud continues trying to persuade Winter to withdraw, an agreement with him is not on the table. The party could still change its policy toward him through October 16.

A party official estimated that upcoming polls showing Winter winning six seats could change the internal debate in Likud and make it more difficult to maintain the assumption that pressure could force him to withdraw.

Likud leans on increasing party voter turnout

Likud also believes that increasing turnout among party supporters could significantly strengthen its position. Campaign officials are also concerned about the possibility that Winter will remain in the race until the end, come close to the electoral threshold but fail to cross it, causing votes equivalent to several Knesset seats to go to waste.

According to an official familiar with the campaign’s work, that concern emerges from internal polls conducted by Shlomo Filber and presented to Netanyahu and his circle.

Officials familiar with the election campaign said Likud had identified areas where the party received strong support in the previous election, but overall voter turnout was low. As an example, they cited polling stations where Likud received about 50% of the vote while overall turnout stood at roughly 35%.

Campaign officials believe that some of the voters who did not turn out in those areas were Likud supporters who simply stayed home. Better mobilization of that pool, according to the campaign’s assessment, could be worth two to three Knesset seats for the party. The calculation is based on voting patterns in the previous election.

Likud officials said some of those identified are elderly voters who have difficulty reaching polling stations. Others stayed home for more routine reasons, including distance, lines, fatigue, or the feeling that a single vote would not change the result.

Campaign invests in bringing supporters to polling stations

The officials said that even people who intend to vote and say in advance that they will do so sometimes ultimately decide not to go to the polls on Election Day. The campaign intends to invest significant effort in bringing those supporters to polling stations throughout the day.

Officials familiar with the campaign’s field operations said that restrictions on the use of Elector would require more intensive work on the ground. Under Likud’s plans, personnel will be stationed near polling places to keep records, while reports will be received on who has already voted and a telephone campaign center will operate as backup.

The campaign plans to monitor turnout throughout the day among supporters identified in advance, determine which of them have not yet reached the polls, and activate its voter-mobilization operation accordingly.

Likud officials believe the effort can be carried out despite the restrictions on Elector. Officials familiar with the plans said it would require more intensive work by campaign personnel and could even, from an organizational standpoint, “turn out for the better” because it would require an “extra effort” in the field.

Campaign officials describe their outlook as one of “cautious optimism,” in part because they believe a significant number of supporters who did not vote in the previous election can be brought to the polls this time. The possibility that Winter could withdraw from the race is also affecting the campaign’s assessments.

The cornerstone of Eilon Moreh’s new “Joshua Trail” was laid on Wednesday, marking the first stage of the Tourism Ministry’s new Biblical Trails in Judea and Samaria initiative to develop tourism in the West Bank.

It will combine the area’s landscape and scenery with sites connected to its historical and biblical heritage.

The NIS 3.2 million tourism project will include an accessible promenade and suspension bridge connecting the Eilon Moreh Heritage Center with the summit of the Mount Kabir Nature Reserve. In Genesis, the area of Eilon Moreh is the place where Abraham receives the promise from God that his descendants would be given the Land of Israel.

Tourism Minister Haim Katz was joined by Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, Samaria Regional Council Head Yossi Dagan, and Tourism Ministry director-general Michael Izhakov for the trail’s cornerstone-laying ceremony.

Judea and Samaria Regional Cluster Director-General Keren Gefen, Eilon Moreh Heritage Center Director Shira Simchi, and Samaria Tourism Director Lilian Zitman also attended the ceremony, as well as Beni Katzover, one of the leaders of the original Eilon Moreh nucleus (garin).

Making West Bank accessible

The project is being jointly carried out by the Tourism and Heriage Ministries, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA), the Samaria Regional Council, the Judea and Samaria Regional Cluster and the Elon Moreh Heritage Center.

“In Samaria, the story is found on the ground, in the places where the events that shaped our history took place,” Katz said. “Developing tourism is part of building the country. Every trail we develop and every site we make accessible connects more people to the area, strengthens settlement and generates growth.”

“Samaria can and should become Israel’s Tuscany. It has landscapes, vineyards, wineries, history and heritage that cannot be found anywhere else.”

Dagan praised the establishment of the trail as another “moving step in building the country.”

“This place, where the forefathers of the nation walked, will now become accessible and welcoming to large numbers of visitors from across Israel,” stated Dagan. “Our response to every challenge is to continue building and continue developing tourism in the heart of the land of the Bible.”

He thanked Katz, Eliyahu, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for their partnership and commitment to the region.

Gov’t allocates funding to develop heritage sites, hotels in West Bank

The move comes as part of a wider trend of governmental moves to promote tourism and preserve heritage sites in the West Bank. 

In August, the steering committee approved the allocation of NIS 113 million to develop over 70 heritage sites across the West Bank as part of an initiative proposed by Smotrich.

The funding is set to advance several projects meant to strengthen tourism in the region, including the preservation of heritage sites, making them accessible to the public, rescue excavations, and the development of infrastructure.

Earlier, in July, the government approved the allocation of approximately NIS 27 million to develop and construct hotels in the West Bank to promote tourism in the area and transform the region from a “day-trip destination” into a destination for overnight stays.

As part of the decision, the ministry is expected to promote statutory planning for hotel development. It will also take steps to enable the realization of development rights and the marketing of land plots, based on a mapping study that the Tourism Ministry said it will conduct.

To do this, the government is expected to allocate NIS 7m. from the Tourism Ministry’s ongoing budget to be distributed equally between 2026 and 2030.

Likud has weakened in recent weeks as Ofer Winter draws support from undecided right-wing voters, while the opposition bloc is also eroding, pollster Dr. Menachem Lazar told 103FM on Thursday.

“Likud has indeed been weakening in recent weeks. In our latest poll a week ago, it fell to 18 seats,” Lazar, CEO of Lazar Research, told Nissim Mishal and Anat Davidov. “Already during the large protests against the judicial reform, Likud lost its 30-seat majority. It dropped to the 25-26 seat range, and then October 7 came and initially cut it to around 17-18 seats, which is basically where it stands in the polls today.”

“What has happened over the past month, since the candidate lists were submitted, is Ofer Winter, who is eating into the coalition bloc, eating into Likud and bringing it down to around 18 seats,” Lazar said.

“If Likud is aiming to be the largest party, or at least the party closest to the largest party on the other side, which is Eisenkot’s Yashar, then the panic is justified. But if Likud is aiming to preserve its bloc, the balance between the blocs has remained more or less at the same level for quite a long time, at around 50 seats. Our latest poll also shows them at 50 seats. On Wednesday, we saw 51. So in that respect, it is stable. The dilemma is what kind of campaign to run.”

Regarding the aggressive approach Likud has taken toward Winter, Lazar warned that the strategy could prove risky.

‘A very big gamble’

“In my view, it’s a very big gamble, because Ofer Winter is gathering votes from what I call disappointed Likud voters. Or some would call them disappointed Netanyahu voters, or right-wing voters who say that it is difficult or impossible for them to vote Likud after October 7, after the past three years,” he said. 

“If Ofer Winter weren’t there for them, they might have stayed home. I don’t think they would have switched sides. There is almost no movement from one side to the other. Maybe one seat’s worth of them could have moved to the other side, which is also very significant in the political reality.”

The picture, Lazar said, is also complicated on the other side of the political map.

“That bloc, including its largest parties, has also been weakening in recent weeks. Yashar dropped to 23 seats, B’Yachad dropped to 13 seats. The same process is happening there. There is almost no movement between the sides,” he said.

“You could say that Ofer Winter perhaps took about one seat, maybe even less than that, from the other bloc. He is mainly relying on undecided voters. The story here is the undecided voters. There is still a significant group of around 8%, which is 10 seats. The question is who will manage to get them out of the house and convince them to vote, and then where they will go to vote.”

Confusion among supporters over who they want as Prime Minister

Lazar concluded by explaining that the question the opposition must ask is which party will emerge the largest.

“So on the one hand, that may create confusion among supporters who don’t know whom they want as prime minister, Naftali Bennett, Gadi Eisenkot, perhaps Avigdor Liberman. On the other hand, this bloc has a banner saying, ‘We are going to replace Netanyahu, no matter who does it.’ So that may also be a dilemma,” he said.

“There is also the Reservists and Economic Party. In the latest poll, it crossed the electoral threshold, but like Ofer Winter, it is still not in a safe zone. Here too, there is a question of whether to go after it head-on or use it to gather votes that otherwise might not have gone to this bloc.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia “will not end this war without pressure” in his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday.

He noted that, while he believes that this upcoming winter could be difficult for Ukrainians, his army will make Russia’s winters difficult as well.

“Ukrainians understand that this winter could be very harsh for us. But in response, we will have no choice but to make it painful for Russia too,” he said.

“No Russian official ever imagined that ‘Army General Winter,’ which had fought on Russia’s side for centuries, would one day switch sides and support those defending themselves from Russia. We will make that happen this winter if Russia continues to target our energy system and our heating,” Zelensky said.

He also called for robust diplomatic efforts to help de-escalate the war before winter sets in.

Zelensky: Putin is ‘patient zero’ that needs to be stopped before he leaves behind more evil

Zelensky then called Russian President Vladimir Putin “patient zero” and added that “the longer Putin is able to wage war, the more evil he will leave behind in this world.”

He also stressed that more sanctions against the Kremlin were needed, along with continued support for Ukraine.

“Yes, sometimes it may seem that Ukraine is focused only on war because we speak about weapons, we speak about defense, and sanctions against the aggressor. But Ukrainians did not choose this war. We choose not to die, not to lose our country, our families, not to lose our independence, our freedom,” he said.

Shortly before Zelensky addressed the assembly, Russia launched an attack on Kyiv, killing at least two people.

 The attack lasted from morning into the evening in one of the heaviest strikes since Russia began hitting Kyiv and nearby areas with faster and high-flying jet drones that are harder to intercept.

“Every such attack happens because the pressure on the aggressor has never become total, and Russia believes it can continue to bet on ballistic terror,” Zelensky said.

“Right now, the United States has an opportunity to respond strongly. We need ballistic interceptors to protect lives.”

Zelensky says Ukraine released two North Korean soldiers to South Korea

Zelensky also revealed that Ukrainian troops recently captured two North Korean soldiers, but sent them to South Korea. 
“One of them, when he realized he was going to be taken prisoner, tried to kill himself. He was shocked that fate didn’t let him die. This is how they raise people in the north,” he said.

South Korea did not confirm any details about the North Korean soldiers out of concern for their families still inside the DPRK.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Iran is receiving substantial support from China, including the provision of intelligence and electronic components for military purposes, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

According to WSJ, citing Iranian customs data, China has shipped around 1,300 shipments to Iran’s defense ministry containing “dual-use” components and chemical compounds that could be used for drones, missile guidance systems, and ballistic missiles.

The WSJ also cited US officials as saying that Chinese banks and front companies had assisted Iran in avoiding US sanctions, providing billions of dollars to the regime.

Iranian officials did not respond to WSJ requests for comment.

Trump reluctant to jeopardize relationship with Xi Jinping

US President Donald Trump has been reluctant to confront China’s aid to Iran, the WSJ reported.

According to people familiar with the discussions, Trump said that a top priority was maintaining a good relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of the United Nations General Assembly.

Michigan Democrat Sen. Elissa Slotkin confronted Trump over this in a letter sent on Friday, which the WSJ saw. 

Ellis urged Trump to focus on China’s aid to Iran during his talks with Xi.

“There is now a large and growing body of evidence that Chinese companies are helping Iran target and kill American troops, keep Iran’s drone and missile programs alive, and sustain Iran’s economy,” she wrote.

A US Treasury spokesperson told the WSJ that the Trump administration “has repeatedly targeted malign Iran-related activity that exploits or transits China’s jurisdiction and will continue to do so.”

Iran receives satellite imagery of US base from China

Earlier this month, the WSJ revealed that Iran had obtained high-resolution satellite imagery of a US base in Jordan from Chinese sources before launching the missile attack that killed three American soldiers in July.

The WSJ reported that Washington has drawn a direct line between the Chinese-sourced imagery and the July 17 strike on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, but did not confirm direct involvement from the Chinese government. 

Iran has also used a barter-like arrangement to bypass sanctions on its oil sales and buy billions of dollars’ worth of goods from China, including military gear, two senior Iranian sources and three other people familiar with the matter told Reuters earlier this month.

The secretive trade mechanism, in which Iranian oil is exchanged for credits for Chinese imports, has provided a financial lifeline for Tehran in recent years as the United States stepped up economic and military pressure over its nuclear program, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

In July, Reuters reported that Iran was expected to receive within weeks a first shipment out of up to 400 Chinese-made shoulder-fired air-defense missile launchers, as it rebuilds its defenses amid war with the United States.

The purchase, valued at $60-70 million, is one of Tehran’s largest-known efforts to strengthen its short-range air defenses since the outbreak of its war with the US and Israel, which exposed gaps in Iran’s ability to protect military sites and strategic infrastructure.

Reuters and Asher Smith contributed to this report.

There are portraits you can never look at the same way twice.

In September 2024, when we opened the Faces of October 7th exhibition in Jerusalem, one unbearable question hovered over some of the faces on display: Would they come home?

Two years have passed. The faces remain the same, but beside some of them, a new chapter has been written. Some returned from captivity alive and are now relearning what freedom means.

Others were brought home to Israel for burial, to the families who had waited for them. Some families continue to live with an endless absence, while new stories of courage and sacrifice have become part of Israel’s painful mosaic.

Between the exhibition we presented in 2024 and the one we are opening now, it is not just the words beside the portraits that have changed. We, too, have changed.

The story of these portraits began with a spur-of-the-moment decision. On October 6, 2023, graffiti artist Benzi Brofman was invited to paint live at the Unity Festival in Re’im. Abandoning his original plan, he decided to return home that day rather than stay for Shabbat. Hours later, the place where he had stood and painted became part of the site of the deadliest massacre in Israel’s history.

Once he recovered from the initial shock, Benzi did what he knew best: he painted. He set aside his commercial work and began creating, voluntarily and in collaboration with the families, portraits of those murdered, hostages, and fallen IDF soldiers. In each portrait, he captured a direct, piercing gaze that is impossible to avoid.

The portraits on display represent the full spectrum of our October 7 story: hostages who returned alive and those brought home for burial, young people who went to dance at the Nova festival and never returned, families murdered in their homes, civilians killed while trying to save others, fallen IDF soldiers, and innocent civilians.

Behind every portrait is an entire world. A person who loved, laughed, dreamed, and made plans for the following day. A family that still wakes each morning to a reality it did not choose.

The war that began on October 7 did not remain within Israel’s borders. Its reverberations reached university campuses, newsrooms, parliaments, and social media platforms around the world. Alongside the war on the ground, another front opened: a battle over facts, over memory, and over the Israeli peoples’ very right to tell the world what happened to them.

We have watched denial, conspiracy theories, and disinformation spread like wildfire.

Victims have been asked to prove their pain, images have been stripped of context, and terrorist organizations have been treated by many as credible sources. Before families had even begun to process the disaster, they were forced to watch the world cast doubt on their stories.

Actively remembering 

At StandWithUs, we confront this reality every day. Around the world, our staff works with students, youth, educators, communities, and leaders. We research and refute false information, develop educational resources, bring personal testimony to audiences, and give supporters of Israel the knowledge and tools they need to speak out based on facts.

Israel advocacy is not an attempt to erase complexity, nor does it require agreement with every decision made in Israel. It is a basic insistence that any discussion begins with the truth, and that even amid political disagreement, we do not lose the ability to see human beings.

The exhibition connects the portraits with personal stories, video, interactive installations, and a virtual reality experience. Above all, it asks us to stop, for even just a moment, and resist the urge to move on.

Memory is not passive. To remember is to look, to listen, and to tell. It is to ensure that even when the world’s attention shifts to the next crisis, the people of October 7 do not become a footnote.

I invite the public to visit the exhibition, look them in the eyes, and leave with a renewed commitment to telling their stories. The struggle for truth and memory is not taking place only overseas. It begins here, with each and every one of us.

The Faces of October 7th exhibition will be on display from September 23 to October 8 at the StandWithUs Katz Education Center, 2 George Washington St., Jerusalem. For details and registration, visit the exhibition website: www.standwithuscenter.com/facesofoctober7

The writer is the associate director of StandWithUs Israel.

Pakistan conducted airstrikes on 10 locations in Afghanistan that it said were being used to launch and store drones, some of which had been used against Pakistan a day earlier, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Thursday.

The strikes come as tensions escalate between the allies-turned-foes, who have long been at odds over attacks by Islamist militants, which also triggered their worst fighting in years in February.

Islamabad accuses Kabul of harboring militants who stage cross-border attacks, but Afghanistan’s Taliban government denies harboring anti-Pakistani insurgents and says militancy is Pakistan’s internal problem.

Pakistan’s air defense systems detected drones launched from Afghan territory on Wednesday, which were tracked and neutralized before they could reach any of their intended targets, Tarar said in a post on X/Twitter.

Pakistan then conducted the “precision aerial and drone strikes” on 10 locations, which were “limited to identified military objectives” linked to the attempted attacks, he said.

Afghan Taliban will be met with ‘firm and resolute response’

“Any further provocative act by Afghan Taliban will be responded with firm and resolute response,” the minister said.

The Pakistani airstrikes were conducted in several areas of the southeastern Khost province, Mustaghfir Gurbaz, spokesperson for the Khost governor, said.

There were no casualties, he said.

An attack on a police facility in northwestern Pakistan last week, which killed at least 24 people, has reignited fighting between the countries after nearly three months of relative calm.

Pakistan’s government earlier this week also said it had launched airstrikes in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region, killing 28 militants, while Afghan Taliban officials accused Islamabad of killing three civilians in overnight strikes on Afghan territory.

The worst single incident, however, occurred in March, when more than 400 people were killed in a Pakistani airstrike on Kabul, which the Afghan Taliban said hit a drug rehabilitation center.

Islamabad denied the charge, saying it “precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure.”

A tunnel at least 25 meters deep that was still under excavation was uncovered in Qalqilya on Wednesday during an operation by Israel Police and Border Police officers, police said. The officers also found the start of another excavation nearby, along with weapons and other equipment. Police arrested four suspects and took them for questioning.

Officers from the Samaria District crime-fighting unit and Border Police discovered the tunnel during a targeted intelligence operation in the West Bank. The officers entered Qalqilya and searched a location identified through intelligence. During the operation, they found the tunnel, which police said reaches a depth of at least 25 meters.

During the search, officers seized an M16 rifle, a sniper rifle, ammunition, and magazines. They also found phones, a DVR device, and fertilizer, a substance that police said could be used to prepare explosive devices. Police arrested four suspects found at the site and took them for further questioning.

Police said operations against such infrastructure would continue.

“Israel Police will continue to act proactively to uncover excavation infrastructure and weapons in the Samaria area, locate those involved and bring them to justice,” police said.

Serious security incident endangering Israeli citizens

The discovery of the tunnel raised concern among heads of local authorities near the seam line. Kfar Saba Mayor Rafi Saar described the incident as “serious” and said it demonstrated what he viewed as the danger facing residents of the area.

“This is not a theoretical warning, this is a security reality that requires determined action,” Saar said.

Drom Hasharon Regional Council head Oshrat Gani Gonen also warned about the significance of the findings.

“A tunnel near Qalqilya is an incident that cannot simply be ignored,” she said. “This is further evidence that the threat to seam-line communities is becoming increasingly established just across the fence.”

Gani Gonen also referred to the weapons and other threats in the area.

‘Meters from our homes’: Tunnel, drones, weapons

“We are looking at what is happening meters from our homes: a tunnel, drones, weapons, and terrorist infrastructure. As far as we are concerned, every one of these things is the crossing of a red line.”

She said the events of October 7 required a change in the way such threats are addressed.

“No one can afford anymore to close their eyes to incidents like these, minimize them or settle for saying that the area is under control. The responsibility is to identify the threat before it becomes a disaster.”

The council head added that local authorities in the area had, in her words, been forced for years to fight for funding for security systems in seam-line communities.

“This danger is not theoretical. It is right before our eyes. The seam line is a front, and it must be treated as a front, with forces, equipment, technology, and budgets. This has to happen now, not after the next incident.”

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) cut its forecast for Turkey’s economic growth in 2026 to just 2.7% on Thursday, below the 3% threshold and the country’s lowest growth rate since 2020, as the economic fallout from the war in Iran and rising energy and fertilizer prices weigh on the outlook.

The organization, which published its latest economic outlook under the title “Navigating Successive Shocks,” also lowered Turkey’s 2027 growth forecast to 3.6%. In its previous forecast, the OECD had projected growth of 3.1% in 2026 and 3.8% in 2027.

Despite pressure from energy and fertilizer prices, the OECD expects Turkey’s disinflation process to continue, with inflation projected at 31.5% in 2026 and 24.7% in 2027. At the same time, monetary policy easing in emerging economies such as Turkey and Brazil is expected to support economic growth.

Globally, the organization slightly raised its 2026 economic growth forecast to 2.9%, up 0.1 percentage points from its June projection, after the global economy expanded by 3.4% in 2025.

Global economies remain strong despite Middle East conflicts

Although growth slowed in the first half of the year, many economies remained resilient despite geopolitical risks in the Middle East, while the growing strength of artificial intelligence continued to support investment, manufacturing, and trade.

The US economy is projected to grow by 2.2% in 2026 and 2.1% in 2027. The eurozone is expected to grow by just 1% in each of those years, while China’s economy is forecast to expand by 4.5% in 2026 and 4.2% in 2027.

India is expected to post the highest growth rate this year, at 7.8%, followed by Indonesia at 5.2%. Saudi Arabia, by contrast, is projected to record the sharpest contraction, shrinking by 1.8% following a decline in oil production and exports against the backdrop of the war in the Middle East.

The OECD warned that the global economic outlook depends largely on reaching a sustainable resolution to the war in the Middle East. Production bottlenecks have increased refinery margins and put pressure on consumer prices.

At the same time, energy and agricultural commodity prices have remained high, partly because of supply disruptions linked to extreme weather.

The organization said significant uncertainty continues to hang over its forecasts, particularly in energy markets. Global inflation is expected to accelerate in the short term before moderating in 2027. While a rapid normalization could ease pressure on the economy, further prolonged disruptions could push prices higher and constrain economic growth.

Two senior officials at the heart of Iran’s military and national security establishment are among the eight people set to face trial in absentia over their alleged roles in the 1994 terrorist bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. 

Argentine Federal Judge Daniel Rafecas issued the 648-page ruling Monday, formally processing the suspects and ordering an asset freeze of up to $500 million for each. The ruling attributes different roles to the suspects, ranging from senior Iranian officials who allegedly made and facilitated the decision to carry out the attack to individuals accused of providing diplomatic and operational support.

Ahmad Vahidi, the current commander-in-chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, are among seven Iranian citizens and one Lebanese national formally charged in the case.

The other defendants are former Iranian intelligence minister Ali Fallahian; former foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati; former Iranian diplomat Hadi Soleimanpour; former cultural attaché in Buenos Aires Mohsen Rabbani; former embassy official Ahmad Reza Asghari; and alleged Hezbollah operative Salman Raouf Salman, also known as Samuel Salman El Reda.

The judge charged the defendants with aggravated homicide and injuries motivated by racial or religious hatred. He classified the bombing as both a crime against humanity and an act of genocide.

Deadliest terrorist attack in Argentine history

The July 18, 1994 bombing of the AMIA building killed 85 people and injured over 300, remaining the deadliest terrorist attack in Argentine history.

The ruling was handed down after almost seven months of Iran’s war with the US and Israel, with the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program at the center of international debate.

Argentine President Javier Milei, known for his pro-Israel views, noted the prosecution in his remarks Wednesday at the annual United Nations General Assembly and placed it in the context of the threat he said Iran poses to the West.

“We have also made a geopolitical choice: We have aligned ourselves unequivocally with the West, with the United States and with Israel, countries with which we share a deep affinity of values and strategic complementarity,” he said.  “That is why we condemn the Iranian regime’s attacks on the State of Israel, we have designated Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization, and continue to seek justice for the two attacks carried out on Argentine soil in 1992 and 1994.” 

The indictments followed a unanimous ruling also on Monday by the federal appeals court upholding the constitutionality of applying Argentina’s trial-in-absentia law⁠ to the AMIA case. The legislation, enacted in 2025, allows proceedings involving terrorism and crimes against humanity to continue when defendants deliberately evade Argentine justice.

The Jewish umbrella organization DAIA welcomed the decision. “Thirty-two years after the bombing of the AMIA-DAIA building, Argentina’s courts have taken a major step in the pursuit of truth and justice,” it said in a post on X/Twitter. The post featured photos of the suspects formally charged by an Argentine judge under the headline “Historic Event.”

AMIA, in a statement posted Tuesday, said the decision marks “a decisive milestone in establishing the truth about the worst terrorist attack suffered by our country.” The trial date has not yet been set, but experts quoted by Argentine media estimate that it will take place next year. It would be the first trial in absentia in Argentina’s history.

American defense technology company Ondas is continuing to expand its operations in Israel and has signed an agreement to acquire three defense technology businesses for a total of $56 million.

The acquisitions of Insignito, Ottopia Defense and Caribou Labs will expand the company’s integrated autonomous defense systems platform by adding resilient communications and remote control for unmanned systems, as well as navigation and communication capabilities for environments where GPS and other systems are disrupted.

Ondas said the deal is intended to strengthen its “systems‑of‑systems” approach, combining sensing, connectivity, navigation, and autonomy across aerial and ground systems.

“These acquisitions reflect our strategy of assembling the critical technologies required to make autonomous systems more capable, resilient, and scalable in contested environments,” said Eric Brock, chairman and CEO of Ondas Inc. “Together, these businesses give Ondas more to sell and more ways to win.”

The three acquired companies collectively add acoustic sensing, resilient communications, and GPS‑independent navigation technologies to Ondas’ portfolio. 

Integration plans

The acquisitions are part of Ondas’ broader push to build a vertically integrated defense technology company spanning the development, manufacturing, and deployment of autonomous systems. Its portfolio includes autonomous drones, counter-UAS systems, robotic ground platforms, unmanned aircraft, and systems for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions.

Insignito’s systems include passive acoustic tools capable of detecting and classifying drones that evade radar; Ottopia provides communications and teleoperation software designed to maintain real‑time links with unmanned platforms in degraded or bandwidth‑limited environments; and Caribou provides positioning and identification technologies built for GPS‑denied or electronic‑warfare conditions. 

Several of these capabilities are already deployed in active conflict zones.

Ondas said it intends to integrate the three companies’ technologies across its existing platforms. The company said the combined capabilities will support development of more resilient autonomous systems and expand opportunities across defense and security markets.

“Our shared vision is to enable unmanned military power at scale: autonomous systems working together across domains, with people commanding, supervising, and intervening when needed. Joining Ondas gives us the opportunity to bring that vision to a very, very broad range of platforms and missions,” Amit Rosenzweig, CEO of Ottopia Defense, wrote on LinkedIn.

Ondas said the $56 million purchase price that will be paid in cash or stock represents less than three times the expected 2027 revenue of the businesses. Earnout payments of up to $32 million may be made through 2028 if performance milestones are met.

The company also issued inducement equity awards to 37 employees joining Ondas through the acquisitions. The grants include 2.98 million restricted stock units with varying vesting schedules and 80,000 stock options priced at $7.72 per share.

Founded over a decade ago in the United States, Ondas has been on a buying spree of Israeli defense companies over the past year, acquiring over a dozen companies in the military robotics and drones fields.

Last week, it acquired Israel’s Gate Technologies and its Polish manufacturing partner, Bron Technologies, which specialize in developing and manufacturing electronic devices and advanced electronic fuzing systems for munitions. The deal, valued at approximately $205 million, expands the company’s portfolio beyond robotics and drones.

A federal judge ordered US President Donald Trump on Thursday to restore White House access for journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico, saying his ban on the three media outlets was likely unconstitutional.

In a major setback for Trump in one of his biggest battles with the media, US District Judge Tim Kelly issued his order in a lawsuit that the news organizations filed contesting the ban that the Republican president announced on September 18.

Kelly ordered the Trump administration to immediately return the outlets’ press passes and blocked officials from enforcing the ban for 14 days. The judge rejected the government’s assertion that the ban was motivated by national security concerns.

“The record lacks factual support for defendants’ contention that the revocation of plaintiffs’ hard passes will in fact protect national security or that national security will be endangered if the court orders their passes reinstated while this litigation proceeds,” he said, adding that Trump himself had stated the ban was due to “alleged lack of truthfulness and negativity” of the outlets’ reporting.

The White House and representatives for the outlets did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Outlets banned by White House sued Trump over First Amendment protections

Trump had said on social media that the three outlets “shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES,” and Justice Department lawyers had sought to justify the ban on national security grounds.

The three outlets sued Trump and other members of his administration in federal court in Washington on Monday, saying the ban violated the US Constitution’s First Amendment protections for free speech and a free press, as well as their due process rights. They requested a temporary restraining order that would immediately reinstate their White House access while their legal challenge plays out.

The legal battle has unfolded just weeks before the November 3 midterm elections in which Trump’s fellow Republicans are fighting to retain control of Congress. Trump’s job approval ratings are at record lows in opinion polls amid concerns over issues such as the Iran war and inflation.

Kelly said at a Wednesday hearing that two precedents from the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit made clear that journalists are entitled to due process before their White House press passes can be revoked. The judge added that it did not appear that the White House had given the targeted news outlets a meaningful opportunity to contest the revocation of their access.

Access to the White House: A privilege or a right?

A lawyer for the news outlets told Kelly that they were banned without legally required advance notice or opportunity to contest the decisions, which he said were unprecedented, unreasonable and severe punishments.

A Justice Department lawyer told the judge the Trump administration provided a sufficient explanation for the revocation of the press passes in letters sent to the news outlets on Tuesday. But the judge signaled skepticism of that argument, noting that the letters were sent after the revocation occurred and the lawsuit was filed.

In a legal filing on Tuesday, the Justice Department argued that access to the White House is a privilege, not an entitlement, and that the president has the authority to suspend access by news organizations.

A coalition of press freedom groups and dozens of news organizations filed a legal brief on Wednesday supporting the three news outlets. They asserted that “stripping journalists and news outlets of their rights because of perceived editorial viewpoint violates decades of Supreme Court jurisprudence.”

The brief was signed by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Reuters, the Washington Post, and Fox News, among others.

Hundreds of members of New York’s Jewish community competed against standstill traffic, security details and dozens of black SUVs Wednesday night to reach Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza near the United Nations. 

Their plea? For world leaders at the global body’s annual UN General Assembly to take antisemitic violence seriously.

“This week world leaders are gathered in our city, right down the street at the United Nations, to discuss global challenges,” Eric Goldstein, CEO of the UJA-Federation of New York, said in his opening remarks. “But we know that they are not addressing the rampant proliferation of antisemitism across the world.”

Organized by UJA and the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, the evening rally featured a number of interfaith speakers, as well as survivors of various antisemitic hate crimes around the world from Nova to Bondi Beach.

Devorah Halberstam, whose son Ari was murdered on the Brooklyn Bridge in 1994 in a terror attack, gave an impassioned speech, imploring world leaders to “tell your people: Take this message back to your countries. Antisemitism must stop. Not tomorrow. Not when it becomes politically expedient. Right now.”

‘Deliberate passivity in the face of antisemitism’

A number of speakers Wednesday night criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, questioning whether he could truly be a mayor to New York City’s Jews who fundamentally disagree with him on Israel. Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt called out a more general “deliberate passivity in the face of antisemitism,” likening it to complicity. 

Also speaking Wednesday was George Zamot, a UPS driver who intervened in July’s stabbing attack on the Upper West Side, in which a Jewish man and an Asian man were injured.

While some speakers focused on the dangers of antisemitism, a few addressed moments of community that resulted from such terrible events. 

In a display of unity, Nova music festival survivor Shalev Biton gave remarks while also translating the remarks of Younes Alkarnawi, the Bedouin man who saved his life.

The rally’s audience dwindled as the evening wore on, and a small group of counterprotestors from the anti-Zionist group Neturei Karta became increasingly loud.

The demonstration follows recent public gatherings addressing antisemitism in New York City, including a prayer vigil held last week by two Orthodox Jewish day schools outside Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s official residence. 

It also marks a pivot toward more community advocacy within the scope of UJA’s work. (70 Faces Media, the parent company of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and New York Jewish Week, receives UJA funding.) 

In an interview earlier this week with eJewishPhilanthropy, UJA’s executive vice president for community strategy and external relations, Hindy Poupko, called the Wednesday evening rally “an attempt to ensure that our narrative doesn’t get drowned out during this UN week.”

Around 66,000 residents now live in the Tekuma region, approximately 5,000 more than on the eve of the October 7 massacre three years ago, according to figures published by the Tekuma Directorate on Thursday.

The increase in the Tekuma region – made up of Sderot, Eshkol, Sha’ar HaNegev, Sdot Negev, and Chof – represents growth of about 10%, at a rate 2.5 times the national average, while more than 90% of the region’s residents have already returned to their communities.

Alongside the return of residents who were evacuated, thousands of new residents have moved to the region since October 7. Sderot, the largest city in the area, now has a population of around 40,000. The Tekuma Directorate has set a goal of doubling the region’s population by 2033.

Most of the evacuated communities have already returned to their homes, but the process is still underway in four communities. In Kissufim, more than 96% of residents have returned, while the return to Holit began at the end of August. Residents of Kfar Aza are expected to begin returning at the end of September.

In Be’eri, the return is expected to begin at the end of December and continue through July 2027. The kibbutz’s reconstruction budget stands at NIS 473 million and includes the renovation of hundreds of residential and public buildings, alongside the construction of new housing units.

Reconstruction of Nir Oz continues ahead of residents’ 2027 return

Reconstruction and construction work is continuing in Nir Oz ahead of the residents’ expected return during 2027. The reconstruction budget stands at NIS 232 million. So far, 10 new housing units have been built and around 30 others renovated, with dozens of additional units planned for construction.

Around NIS 57 million has been allocated for the reconstruction of Holit. The work includes the rehabilitation and renovation of 110 residential and public buildings, as well as upgrades to water, sewage, and electricity infrastructure.

In Kfar Aza, the reconstruction budget stands at NIS 211 million. Under the plan, around 280 buildings are being renovated, and 98 housing units are being rebuilt.

The multi-year plan for the rehabilitation and development of the Tekuma region totals approximately NIS 17 billion. By the end of 2025, NIS 11.6 billion had been committed in practice, with a further NIS 2.8 billion earmarked for commitment during 2026. Around NIS 3.18 billion was allocated to reconstruction and the return of residents, including funding for temporary housing.

Homes, security, education, healthcare funded

Alongside the reconstruction of homes and communities, funding has also been allocated to security, education, and healthcare. By the end of June 2026, around NIS 880 million had been invested in security, including upgrades to fences, gates, protective systems, and community defense arrangements.

Around NIS 1 billion has been invested in education, while more than NIS 466 million had been invested in healthcare by the end of 2025.

Tekuma Directorate head Aviad Friedman said that alongside the continuing reconstruction work, the goal was to generate further growth in the region.

“Our mission is to create the conditions that will allow the region to continue rehabilitating, growing, and attracting new residents,” he said.