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It would be more fun to write a feel-good column on the promise of a much better year. But reality points the other way. A convergence of trends and events – some global, some local – threatens to turn 5787 into a “perfect storm”: several forces coming together, each likely to confront us with challenges even greater than those we have already endured.

At home: political instability, intensifying internal conflict, accelerating net emigration, and continuing security threats. Abroad: artificial intelligence; a climate spinning out of control; instability in the international system and intensifying great-power competition; and, as a result of all these, the continued rise of antisemitism, which, true to form, blames Jews for every ill.

I hope I turn out to be wrong. But I may not.

The problems facing Israel in the new year

Let’s start in Israel. Elections will be held shortly after the holidays. Months of polling, including surveys conducted in recent days, point to a political deadlock. Like two wrestlers in the ring, the political “blocs” have each other by the throat, with neither able to prevail. If that holds, we can expect a replay of the election years of 2020–2023 and prolonged instability. This time, however, the social reality is more extreme – most Israelis identify the social rift as the greatest risk facing Israel –despite the immense challenges of the security environment. As conditions deteriorate, more Israelis are leaving the country, including many who are part of the backbone of the economy.

The security and foreign-policy fronts are also unstable – and in some respects, worsening. Israel has failed to achieve a decisive victory on any front. The IDF is stretched to the limit in Lebanon, Gaza, and the West Bank, while another “round” with Iran looms as a very real possibility. The security burden on military personnel and the Israeli economy is enormous – almost unprecedented.

The international outlook is no brighter. On the eve of the new year, Britain – once a close Israeli ally – imposed unprecedented sanctions on Israel. Eleven other European countries have followed suit, including major EU members. Israel’s standing in the United States is deteriorating as well. On both sides of the political divide, rhetoric toward Israel and Jews is becoming more extreme. Israel has already become a major issue in the midterm elections – not to its advantage – and as the 2028 presidential race heats up, the situation is likely to worsen. Public support for Israel is at a historic low. Then there is antisemitism. In Europe, this is old news – and the situation is bad. But over the past year, antisemitism in the United States, together with denial of Israel’s right to exist, has also surged and gained legitimacy, with such views now openly voiced by influencers and politicians. Antisemitism and rejection of Israel have become intertwined, threatening Jewish life in the Diaspora and becoming a national-security challenge for Israel itself.

Added to these are global challenges that will significantly affect Israel. The first is artificial intelligence. Many experts now expect AI to advance faster than previously thought – and to reshape our lives sooner than expected. There will be benefits, but the labor market and global economy also face the real prospect of a severe crisis – one that could last until economies and governments adapt to this new environment. Israel, whose economy is driven by its technology sector, is especially exposed.

Over all of this hangs the climate crisis. On its own, it might not drastically alter the international system. Combined with other pressures, however, it could become a major factor. Together, these trends intensify instability in the international system and sharpen great-power competition – both with consequences for Israel.

Some of these trends are beyond our control, and Israel has little influence over them. That does not exempt Israel from confronting them and preparing for their effects. Others – those directly involving Israel – are much more within our power to shape. Some result from government policy; others from external forces. But in both cases, we can do more to address them. The challenges awaiting us in 5787 could coalesce into a perfect storm. But this outcome is not inevitable; the choices we make can soften the blow. Despite it all – happy new year!

Dr. Shuki Friedman is director-general of JPPI – the Jewish People Policy Institute – and a senior lecturer in law at the Peres Academic Center.

This post was originally published on here. 

A day the world watched

September 5, 1972, should have been a day celebrating the Olympic ideal. Instead, it became one of the darkest days in the history of international sports and one of the most infamous terrorist attacks against Israelis.

Members of the Palestinian terrorist organization Black September infiltrated the Olympic Village, attacked the Israeli delegation, and took eleven Israelis hostage. All eleven were ultimately murdered. They were athletes, coaches, and officials who had traveled to Germany to compete, never imagining that they would become targets of terrorism.

The attack was carefully planned to exploit the global spotlight of the Olympics. The terrorists understood that an attack on Israel’s delegation would command the attention of millions around the world. They were right. The world watched the hostage crisis unfold, watched the failed rescue attempt at Fürstenfeldbruck airfield, and watched as 11 Israelis lost their lives.

But behind the headlines were 11 human beings.

They were not just names

Moshe Weinberg, Yossef Romano, Yossef Gutfreund, Ze’ev Friedman, David Berger, Eliezer Halfin, Amitzur Shapira, Kehat Shor, Mark Slavin, Andrei Spitzer, and Yaakov Springer were not political abstractions. They were husbands, fathers, sons, coaches, and athletes with families and futures ahead of them.

They went to Munich representing Israel and returned home in coffins. Their families did not get to watch them compete or welcome them home. Instead, they had to bury the people they loved.

That is what terrorism does. It turns human beings into targets and families into casualties.

The man I met in Beirut

My connection to Munich became personal years later in Beirut.

In December 1978, I met a striking, almost playboy-looking man at the Hilton Hotel. I had been told to go to the bar and ask for “the Red Prince.” I had no idea who I was about to meet.

During our conversation, he told me that the United States would eventually secure “land for peace.” When I asked whose land, he answered, “Israel’s.” He also told me he had received numerous warnings from the CIA about attempts by Mossad to assassinate him.

At the time, I did not understand the significance of the man sitting across from me. It was only later that I realized who he was: Ali Hassan Salameh, the man known as the Red Prince.

Salameh was a senior Palestinian operative, intelligence chief to Yasser Arafat, and a central figure in the Black September organization. Israeli intelligence accused him of helping plan the Munich massacre. The meeting had been arranged by my friend Saad Haddad, the Lebanese military officer who founded and commanded the South Lebanon Army during the Lebanese Civil War.

The long shadow of Munich

Salameh remained a powerful figure within the Palestinian movement and maintained close ties to Arafat and the Palestine Liberation Organization. Israel continued to regard him as a major terrorist target.

On January 22, 1979, just weeks after our meeting, Salameh was killed in Beirut when a car bomb exploded as his convoy passed through the city. The assassination was widely attributed to Mossad and was part of Israel’s campaign against those it held responsible for the Munich massacre.

His death could not bring the eleven Israelis home. But Munich had already changed the world. Terrorists had discovered that they could turn innocent lives into political leverage and use television and the international media as a global megaphone.

The Olympics were supposed to bring nations together in peace. Instead, they became the stage for an act of calculated murder.

The lesson we must remember

More than five decades later, the greatest danger may be forgetting what Munich taught us.

The language of terrorism changes. Organizations change. Weapons change. But the ideology that dehumanizes innocent people remains. We can debate governments, borders, negotiations, and political solutions. We can disagree passionately about policy. But there can never be a legitimate political justification for murdering innocent civilians.

Munich was not simply an attack against Israel. It was an attack against the principle that innocent people should be protected from political violence.

And the world has seen that lesson repeated many times since.

Remember the 11

I remember the 11 Israelis who went to Munich to compete and never came home. I remember their families, whose lives were permanently changed by their murders. And I remember sitting across from Ali Hassan Salameh at the Hilton Hotel in Beirut.

That encounter taught me something I have never forgotten: history is ultimately about choices. The men who planned Munich made choices. The men who carried out the massacre made choices. And the nations that watched had to decide how they would respond.

More than 50 years later, we are still living with the consequences.

Munich remain a warning about what happens when hatred becomes an ideology, terrorism becomes a political weapon, and the murder of innocent people is rationalized in the name of a cause.

We must remember the eleven because their lives mattered, their families mattered, and their memory still matters.

When terrorism is tolerated, it never remains confined to its first victims. Eventually, it threatens everyone.

Dr. Mike Evans has written 120 books and is a #1 New York Times bestselling author. He is the founder of the Friends of Zion Museum in Jerusalem, the Ten Boom Museum in Holland, and Churches United with Israel, one of the largest Christian Zionist networks in America, with more than 30 million followers.

This post was originally published on here. 

From the mid-1990s until August 2024, a running line of top Mossad and IDF officials made it their mission to block Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

When Shlomi Binder was sworn in as the Military Intelligence chief in August 2024, he took up the baton and he and his team of top intelligence officials have pursued the crusade with tremendous tenacity.

Since August 2024, the IDF intelligence team under Binder, along with the Mossad, the air force, and others has managed the bombing of Natanz, Isfahan, and dozens of other sites, and provided the critical intelligence used by the US to bomb Fordow in June 2025.

This period also led to the direct assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the dissection of Iran’s ballistic missile and wider military apparatus.

To be sure, the air force dropped the bombs, and the Mossad delivered on key special missions. But if Israel struck Iran around a staggering 4,000 times in June 2025 and around an unthinkable 18,000 times in 2026, the intelligence for well over 90% of those strikes came from Binder and his juggernaut IDF intelligence teams.

Where has IDF intelligence’s crusade left Iran’s nuclear weapons program, five months after the 2026 war and 15 months after the 2025 war?

The Jerusalem Post has learned that the positives are that Iran currently has no centrifuges enriching uranium, all or most of its more enriched uranium is not yet easily accessible, and that most of the regime’s nuclear facilities were destroyed or forced out of operation by the 2025-2026 strikes.

There has been no period of time in decades where enrichment was brought down to zero.

For decades, its facilities expanded and never really contracted, and while operations attributed to the Mossad managed to take one or more facilities offline for temporary periods, at no point was the whole active program broken or shuttered.

Even during “pause” periods from 2003 to 2007 and from 2015 to 2018, large aspects of Iran’s nuclear program were frozen, not broken, and new aspects were almost always being built, even if under the radar.

However, the Post has learned that despite these achievements, future concerns are greater than hoped for right after the 2025-2026 operations.

While the vast majority of Iran’s 20,000 centrifuge fleet was destroyed or rendered unusable, a not insignificant number of centrifuges survived deep underground.

Moreover, multiple sources have expressed concern to the Post that even if only a few hundred advanced IR-6 centrifuges (for enriching uranium) can be salvaged and hooked up again at some medium-term point, that could be enough, at some later undefined point, to secretly weaponize enough uranium for a bomb.

Also, multiple sources are worried that the Iranians could pull off some kind of clandestine digging mission to extract their more enriched uranium from under rubble and underground in a way that sidesteps US and other surveillance.

Regular satellite reports by the Institute for Science and International Security and others show that Iran has added structures on an ongoing basis to block certain areas from continuous satellite coverage.

These same open-source reports have noted the Iranians digging in a variety of areas, sometimes not all that close to the main parts of a nuclear facility that was struck.

Digging underground from a distance could take months or years to smuggle out the 60% enriched uranium, or in some areas 20% enriched uranium. But only maybe around one tenth would need to be clandestinely transferred to have a basis for a nuclear weapon.

Binder’s view is not that Iran is likely to outwit American and Israeli intelligence, but neither does he want to underestimate or discount Iranians’ often surprising and powerful resourcefulness.

That means that the key to the whole picture to some extent is again shifting from uranium enrichment to weapons group issues.

One of the highest priorities – but less reported aspects – of the Israeli attacks on Iran’s nuclear program sites was hitting not only the enrichment facilities, but also the facilities for converting enriched uranium into uranium metal and into hemispheres for use on a nuclear warhead.

Without these and other items, even large quantities of weaponized uranium will do Iran no good, because it will not be able to deliver the uranium 1,000 or more kilometers away in Israeli territory.

The Post understands that thwarting Tehran from rebuilding such weapons group facilities is one of Binder’s top focuses, and so far the regime has not made any serious progress on the issue.

All of this leaves a highly complex picture where the nuclear program is far more damaged than some critics have said, but where there are more gaps in that damage than top Israeli officials, political or defense, admitted right after each round of fighting.

Iran’s nuclear program was set back by some years, and its ability to reconstitute it was also set back. Yet in some ways, Iranian ingenuity has kept the threat alive and able to return, even if less broadly and with great difficulty.

Pickaxe Mountain

Major news was made in a July 13 interview on the Hugh Hewitt Show, when US President Donald Trump said, “We’re going to take out Pickaxe Mountain. Tell the Iranians to be ready,” while in another breath said, “We see no activity there.”

Pickaxe Mountain, once operational, will be the deepest underground nuclear facility the Iranians have ever built, significantly deeper than even the Fordow underground nuclear facility. It is hotly debated whether even the extremely unique and expensive 30,000-pound Massive Ordnance Penetrator mega bunker buster bomb could penetrate it.

The second part of Trump’s statement about Iran’s nuclear facility at Pickaxe Mountain – that there is no activity there; or as the hawkish Institute for Science and International Security has put it, that the facility is still not operational – is the major reason that neither the US president nor Israel has ordered a strike to date, despite his first statement promising to attack.

Across the board, top US and Israeli defense sources told the Post in classified briefings earlier in the summer that there was no current threat from the site, and that the best reason to target it would, at most, be to eliminate a potential future threat.

All of these views contradicted the stunning July 14 reports by The Wall Street Journal and CNN that Israeli intelligence had told the US that Iran had moved thousands of centrifuges and also enriched uranium to Pickaxe Mountain.

In an article on the issue on July 21, none of the several sources that had told the Post that there was no current threat at Pickaxe Mountain clarified the matter, despite several attempts by the Post to get to the bottom of the dispute.

Since then, the Post has more recently clarified the issue.

Both the Mossad and IDF intelligence view Pickaxe Mountain as a strategic threat that must be removed at some point, because it is so difficult to attack.

In addition, both agencies highly prefer to do so before it becomes operational and before the Iranians manage to move sufficient assets there to operate centrifuges and enrich uranium.

The Post understands that what occurred in July was that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hoped to get Trump to strike Iran, with Pickaxe Mountain being one of the top-of-the-line potential targets.

Senior Israeli defense officials leaned into the issue also because they thought it might be a unique chance to finally rid themselves of the hovering potential threat.

It remains somewhat unclear whether Israeli political officials exaggerated how operational Pickaxe Mountain was, whether one or more Israeli defense officials assisted with this, or whether American officials afterward exaggerated what they had been told.

But as of early September, the Post understands that Pickaxe Mountain remains high on Binder’s list of concerns, but that the facility is still not operational.

One recent change is that some Israeli officials have voiced to the Post greater confidence than in the past about the ability of allied air forces to disable the facility, even if destroying it might not be possible.

All of this highlights that Binder’s view is that the Iranian threat has not passed, that any agreement that gives Tehran the right to enrich to 3.67%, like the 2015 deal, would keep the threat alive, and that Israel must be ready for the real possibility of needing to attack the Islamic Republic at some point in the not-so-distant future.

What about recent talk of Russia providing Iran with supersonic missiles which will be harder for Israel to shoot down?

No one is getting too detailed on this issue yet, and some of the challenges are just starting to evolve, but it does not yet seem to be at the top of the IDF’s list of concerns about Iran.

Regime change

While Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and Mossad Director Roman Gofman still mention regime change publicly and privately, that term has mostly disappeared from the IDF lexicon.

IDF officials are no less enthusiastic about the idea in theory. Regime change has the best chance of promising a long-term end to Iran threatening the Jewish state.

But IDF high command officials, including Binder, were highly skeptical that the regime would easily and quickly fall when they went to war with the Islamic Republic in early 2026, and they believe the chances of this occurring are even more dubious now.

Neither Binder nor other top IDF officials favored the plan to try to use the Kurds to foment an internal rebellion.

While Netanyahu and top officials in the Mossad believed that, along with other moves which Trump vetoed, supporting a Kurdish internal insurgency could potentially radically alter the playing field, Binder and others viewed this move as possibly propping up the regime.

The majority of Iran – regime supporters and opposition – is Shi’ite.

Just as the Kurds often see the Iranian Shi’ites as outsider oppressors, many of the Shi’ites, even those who hate the regime, hate or distrust the Iranian Kurds even more.

In other words, Binder and others in the IDF high command worried that bringing the Kurds in as an officially Israel-US sponsored kingmaker could lead to the largest group of opposition Shi’ites changing sides back into the hands of the regime.

They also noted other major issues, such as that dropping lots of bombs makes protesting harder.

While some said that careful coordination could lead to enabling protests to grow by only bombing regime oppression forces, this never really occurred in a significant way, and most protesters were just too scared and stayed home.

Of those who did not stay home, Binder and the IDF high command would note that many of the bravest protesters were killed during the largest fight between the protesters and the regime over January 8-9 or were killed or tortured after the main war ended on April 7.

None of this means that Binder and the IDF have given up on regime change.

But they believe that it will take longer than some in the Mossad believe, and compared to Netanyahu’s promises, and that in the immediate short term it may even be difficult to make progress, with progress waiting for the medium term when protesters regain their daring.

Despite these truths, Binder and the IDF high command were highly optimistic about the jump in pressure on Iran in late August-early September, with the pace of economic deterioration jumping significantly.

They hope this elevated economic pressure will give the US the upper hand in the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz and the nuclear issue.

All of the talk about the US has also crystallized a realization from Israeli intelligence: instead of leaving the Middle East, Trump has put the American military on the front lines of managing most of Israel’s conflicts with its neighbors.

With one brief 24-hour exception, Israel and Iran have not fought since April 7, whereas Washington and Tehran have been going at it at low-grade military levels sometimes for weeks on end.

The US is managing aspects of Israel’s conflicts with Hezbollah and Hamas, and trying to encourage deconfliction and cooperation between Jerusalem and Damascus.

Lebanon

The UN has said that 360,000 Lebanese remain uprooted from their homes due to the war and the IDF security zone in southern Lebanon.

At the height of the invasion, over 1.1 million Lebanese had been uprooted.

The Post has learned that IDF intelligence estimates that around 500,000 Lebanese have still not returned to their homes, some because they cannot, and some out of fear of IDF forces nearby, or because of low-grade fighting between Hezbollah and the IDF.

This factor is the single largest pressure on Hezbollah to reduce its threat to Israel.

Despite Iranian attempts to protect Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Post learned, a little before it became public last week, that the IDF succeeded in a slow and grueling siege to defeat a sizable Hezbollah force that had been trapped in a standoff with the IDF at Ali Taher Ridge for months.

IDF intelligence correctly analyzed that while an overt and dramatic attack on Ali Taher Ridge might have given Iran an opening to attack Israel in support of Hezbollah, a quiet and gradual wearing down of those Hezbollah forces fell under the Iranians’ radar, or provided them with a face-saving outcome where they could look the other way.

Hezbollah’s FPV fiber cable drone threat is far from gone. But whenever Hezbollah has launched drones, the IDF has responded harshly, either striking a dozen Hezbollah targets or forcing another Shi’ite village to evacuate the area near where the drone launched from.

Binder and the IDF high command are skeptical that the Lebanese army will succeed in evacuating Hezbollah from southern Lebanon areas where it is still operating.

This could leave a standoff regarding how long the IDF remains in parts of southern Lebanon and regarding what conditions will be required of Lebanon-Hezbollah for ongoing partial withdrawals.

There is a similar standoff with Hamas in Gaza. However, even if no one expects Hamas to disappear, Binder and the IDF high command believe they have stronger cards to play versus Hamas given its weaker position.

Saudi-Pakistan-Turkey alliance

While much of the world has viewed the Saudi Arabia-Pakistan-Turkey alliance as another move by Riyadh to try to deter Iran from striking it in the future, as it has in 2026, Binder and the IDF high command have specific Israeli concerns.

For example, what if Iran joins the alliance? Although it was built to deter the Islamic Republic, in the messy world of Middle East politics, both sides could decide that integrating Tehran could have advantages.

These advantages for the Saudis and Iran would likely be clear negatives for Israel and could even complicate aspects of relations with the US, if Washington gives critical nuclear and F-35 weapons technologies to Riyadh.

More generally, such an alliance could reduce Israeli influence in the region.

Though highly unlikely, there is even a slim chance that Egypt could join the alliance, which could undermine decades of close Jerusalem-Cairo military cooperation, as set down in the Camp David Accords.

Artificial intelligence revolution

Binder has mostly been known to the public for transforming IDF intelligence from its pre-October 7 state of “bubble thought” and complete reliance on technology to rebuilding human intelligence collection and elevating branches that question conventional wisdom.

However, he is also engineering a new AI revolution in IDF intelligence.

The key is not only using AI to perform data mining against targets, but also to shape human-AI agent relationships so that most or all IDF intelligence officials’ strategic and tactical visions broaden to see and predict big-picture trends before they happen.

In many ways, Binder and his IDF intelligence team have brought the agency back from the brink after October 7 to new highs, now and moving into the future.

This post was originally published on here. 

Every year before Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish world turns inward for heshbon nefesh, an accounting of the soul. We examine our roots, our heritage, and the complicated cords that bind us as a people.

For decades, the relationship between Israel and the Diaspora has too often settled into a familiar pattern: Israel as the military and cultural center, the Diaspora as its financial supporter. 

Israelis went abroad as emissaries and educators; Jewish communities abroad sent money and support home.

There is another way to understand this relationship, and one of the best places to discover it is a Jewish summer camp.

For Jewish communities abroad, camp is often the defining Jewish experience of the year: an immersive world where Jewish identity, Zionism, friendship, and leadership are lived rather than simply taught. 

As Israel struggles with the trauma left by the October 7 massacre and the war that followed, there is something profound to learn from that culture of warmth, belonging, and peer-to-peer leadership.

This summer, at Hadassah Youth Neurim Village in Beit Yanai, that lesson came alive at Hallelujah Summer Camp, a flagship initiative of Netaim, the organization carrying forward the vision of the late Ofir Libstein alongside Shiri Madar, Netaim’s CEO. 

The program works with what Libstein and Madar called the “periphery of the Diaspora”: more than 150 Jewish communities around the world with fewer than 2,000 members.

Ami Magen, manager of the youth village, puts the purpose simply: “For me, the key is helping our youth rewrite their story, changing their narrative from victim to hero, from survivor to leader. 

“When a teenager realizes that even from the lowest point they have experienced, they still have something of value to give to someone else, that is the ultimate empowerment.”

At Hallelujah, Israeli teenagers – many from the war-torn Gaza border communities – encountered young Jewish leaders from Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Uruguay, Romania, and Bulgaria. 

They arrived not as donors or rescuers, but as counselors, friends, and role models.

Camp director Tomer Revivo and project initiator Doron Moshe deliberately built Hallelujah around a different leadership culture. 

Moshe had spent years as a Habonim Dror emissary in South Africa, where he encountered a looser, warmer approach to youth leadership.

“I would prefer a thousand times that the campers are 10 minutes late, or that a scheduled activity falls apart entirely,” Revivo said, “as long as we do things with warmth, coloring, and genuine human connection. We wanted to build an organizational culture of smiling and unconditional embrace.”

That philosophy was tested almost immediately.

One camper from the Gaza border communities, grieving relatives murdered on October 7, began isolating himself and lashing out. His Argentinian counselors asked Revivo to let them keep him rather than send him home. 

They took personal responsibility for him, walking with him and listening. By the end of the summer, he returned home with a notebook filled with handwritten messages of love from counselors who had refused to give up on him.

Lior Avril, an Israeli coordinator from Ashdod, watched foreign counselors give up their own breaks to sit with campers at lunch, sometimes communicating in limited Hebrew. 

During an ecology lesson, counselors from Brazil, Argentina, and Australia painted themselves blue and turned the subject into a Smurfs-themed sing-along.

Then came a harder moment. An Israeli camper directed a racial slur at a Black Brazilian counselor. Rather than demand punishment, the counselor sat with the boy for two and a half hours, discussing racism and the weight of words.

By that night’s talent show, the two were dancing together on stage.

Opening up the Israel-Diaspora relationship

Hallelujah’s phone-free week created another unexpected transformation.

“On the first day, you see children who are completely lost, sitting in corners, unsettled because they can’t take photos or check social media,” Avril said. 

“But by the second and third day, something beautiful happens. They open up. They start talking to the person next to them at the table. They start singing, laughing, and spontaneously dancing.”

For Moshe, this represents something larger than a successful camp. It reverses the traditional direction of the Israel-Diaspora relationship.

“Historically, major communities like Geneva or Glasgow were used to a very specific, patron-recipient relationship,” he explained. 

“They expected us to bring traumatized delegations from the Gaza border communities so they could fundraise for them, put them in hotels, and give them a respite park as their contribution to Israel’s rehabilitation. We flipped that script entirely.”

Instead, Netaim told those communities: “Our youth are coming to volunteer, they are coming to work, and they are coming to contribute to you.”

The exchange continues after camp. Israeli graduates can go on to volunteer in Jewish communities such as Geneva, Barcelona, and Glasgow, bringing their own energy and connection to Israel back to communities that have given so much to Israel.

The mirror works in both directions.

Boris, 19, from Curitiba, Brazil, said Israel taught him something about his own Jewish identity. “In the Diaspora, we have to actively be Jewish,” he said. “We have to actively practice and celebrate so we don’t forget, so we keep connected.”

Israeli teenagers, meanwhile, heard what antisemitism looks like when it is not a chapter in a history book. 

Lali, from Perth, described hiding her Star of David necklace and locking her community center’s doors during hostile protests. Pedro, from Rio de Janeiro, recalled a Jewish friend who opened his lunchbox at school to find a swastika drawn in ketchup.

Then there is Dora, 18, from Bulgaria. She first came to Hallelujah as a shy 14-year-old camper. This summer she returned as a counselor. Her mother told her she had come home transformed. 

Her school in Sofia later nominated her to represent Bulgarian youth at the World Zionist Congress, and she now runs social media campaigns against online antisemitism.

“The Jewish world cannot survive without Israel at its center, but Israel also needs the strength of the Diaspora,” Dora said. “Hallelujah showed me that we are one family, and we must protect Western values together.”

As we dip apples in honey this Rosh Hashanah, Hallelujah offers a powerful lesson about the Jewish people: our strength is held across borders, generations, and cultures.

“The rope of the Jewish people is held from both ends,” Moshe said. “They help us when we need it, and we must help and strengthen them.”

Perhaps that is the mirror Israel needs now. To heal its young people, it may need to look outward and rediscover what Jewish communities abroad have been practicing all along: the power of belonging, warmth, chosen identity, and one another.

Shana Tova.

The writer is a travel photojournalist, explorer, and Israeli storyteller who has led NGOs on the frontlines and brought Israel’s most pressing stories to international audiences.

This post was originally published on here. 

Less than 24 hours after the closing of the Knesset 2026 party lists, five polls published Wednesday night presented a highly fragmented political picture.

In four of them, Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party is the largest party, while in an i24NEWS poll, the Likud surged into first place by a significant margin.

Ofer Winter’s party crosses the electoral threshold in all five polls, while Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelekha’s party crosses only in the KAN News poll.

The bloc map also remains unclear: Two polls show a tie, while in the others the Zionist opposition bloc maintains an advantage, except for the i24NEWS poll, in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc strengthens significantly.

i24NEWS: Likud leads with 27 seats

The most notable poll of the evening was conducted by i24NEWS and Direct Polls. Unlike all the other surveys, the Likud led by Netanyahu was in first place with 27 seats, while Eisenkot’s Yashar received only 22. Naftali Bennett’s B’Yachad fell to 10 seats, the Democrats received 9, United Torah Judaism and Otzma Yehudit received 8 each, and the Joint List, Yisrael Beytenu, and Shas received 7 seats each. Religious Zionism and Zehut received 6 seats, Ra’am received 5, and Ofer Winter’s People of Israel received 4. The Reservists and Economic party of Hendel and Zelekha was far below the threshold with 1.4%, while Blue and White received 1.1%.

Based on the seat distribution, Netanyahu’s bloc together with Winter would receive 60 seats, the Zionist opposition bloc would receive 48, and the Arab parties would receive 12.

Channel 13: Netanyahu, Zionist opposition tie at 53 seats

The Channel 13 News poll presented a completely different picture: Eisenkot received 22 seats, while Netanyahu’s Likud fell to 19. Bennett received 13 seats, Shas 7, and Winter 4. Hendel and Zelekha received 3.2% and remained below the electoral threshold. Benny Gantz’s Blue and White and the Haredi Public party also failed to enter the Knesset.

The bloc map showed a complete tie: 53 seats for Netanyahu’s bloc and 53 for the Zionist opposition bloc, with the Arab parties holding the remaining 14 seats.

KAN News: No clear winner, Hendel and Zelekha cross threshold

The first KAN News poll following the closing of the party lists also showed no clear winner between the blocs. Yashar strengthened by one seat and reached 24, while the Likud rose to 21. Bennett’s B’Yachad received 12, the Democrats 9, United Torah Judaism 8, and Otzma Yehudit, Yisrael Beytenu, and Shas received 7 each.

Religious Zionism and Zehut received 5 seats, Winter’s People of Israel received 4, and here came the significant difference compared with most of the other polls: Hendel and Zelekha’s Reservists and Economic list crossed the threshold and received 4 seats.

The Joint List received 7 seats, and Ra’am received 5. Blue and White, the Haredi Public party, and Noam remained outside the Knesset. The bloc map: 52 seats for Eisenkot’s bloc, 52 for Netanyahu’s bloc, 12 for the Arab parties, and 4 for Hendel and Zelekha.

Channel 12: Eisenkot’s Yashar leads with 25 seats

In the Channel 12 poll, Yashar maintained first place with 25 seats, while the Likud received 21. Bennett received 13, the Democrats 10, and Yisrael Beytenu 9.

United Torah Judaism received 8 seats, the Joint List and Shas received 7 each, Religious Zionism and Zehut received 5 each, and Winter’s People of Israel strengthened to 5 seats. Ra’am closed the list with 4 seats.

Hendel and Zelekha remained below the threshold with 2.9%, Blue and White received 1.4%, and the Haredi Public party received 1%.

In the bloc map, the current coalition together with Winter received 52 seats, the Zionist opposition bloc received 57, and the Arab parties received 11.

Walla: Netanyahu bloc, with Winter, at 51 seats

The Walla poll by Lazar Research also placed Eisenkot in first place with 25 seats. The Likud received 21, Bennett’s B’Yachad 14, and Yisrael Beytenu and the Democrats 9 each. Otzma Yehudit, United Torah Judaism, the Joint List, and Shas received 7 seats each. Religious Zionism and Zehut received 5 each, Ra’am received 5, and Winter’s People of Israel received 4.

Hendel and Zelekha received 2.8% and did not cross the threshold, while Blue and White fell to 0.9%. As a result, Netanyahu’s bloc together with Winter stood at 51 seats, the Zionist opposition bloc at 57, and the Arab parties at 12. The poll was conducted the morning after the closing of the lists among 506 respondents, out of 3,603 people contacted, with a maximum sampling error of 4.4%.

Yashar leads poll average, ahead of Likud by nearly two seats

When averaging the five polls published Wednesday night, Eisenkot’s Yashar leads with an average of 23.6 seats, ahead of Netanyahu’s Likud with 21.8. In third place is Bennett’s B’Yachad with 12.4 seats, followed by the Democrats with 9.4 and Yisrael Beytenu with 8. United Torah Judaism receives an average of 7.8 seats, Otzma Yehudit 7.4, the Joint List 7.2, and Shas 7. At the bottom of the list are Religious Zionism and Zehut with 5.4 each, Ra’am with 5, and Winter’s People of Israel with 4.2 seats.

A clear picture also emerges among parties below the threshold: Hendel and Zelekha’s Reservists and the Economic party stand at an average of about 2.7% across the five polls, although it crosses the threshold in the KAN News poll and receives 4 seats. Gantz’s Blue and White remains far behind with an average of about 1.1%. The Haredi Public party receives an average of about 0.8%, and Noam for Israel is around 0.2%.

The bloc averages also show no clear outcome: Netanyahu’s bloc, including Winter, stands at 53.6 seats, compared with 53.4 for the Zionist opposition bloc. The Arab parties receive an average of 12.2 seats, leaving a gap of only two-tenths of a seat between the two main blocs.

This post was originally published on here. 

The State Attorney’s Office indicted a Tiberias resident, about 50, on Thursday over numerous sexual offenses he allegedly committed against two brothers when they were around nine years old, approximately two decades ago.

The indictment, filed in the Haifa District Court, also alleges that the defendant sexually abused the brothers’ sister several years later outside Israel.

According to prosecutors, the defendant developed a close relationship with the children’s mother and gained her trust and that of her sons while falsely presenting himself as a therapeutic professional.

Exploiting that relationship and the boys’ young age, he allegedly subjected them to sexual abuse repeatedly over an extended period, the indictment said.

Suspect prevented one brother from leaving, said to keep abuse secret

In some instances, prosecutors alleged, he prevented one of the brothers from leaving the place where they were and instructed him to keep the abuse secret.

The defendant has been charged with sodomy against a minor, indecent acts involving minors, causing a minor to commit an indecent act, and false imprisonment.

This post was originally published on here. 

Two people have been arrested in London as part of an investigation into suspected National Security Act offenses linked to Iran, British police said on Thursday.

London’s Metropolitan Police said a 42-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man were arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service.

Both have been released on bail until a date in late October.

The police said the investigation “is not connected to any of the incidents or attacks earlier this year that have been targeted at various venues and buildings linked to Jewish and Iranian communities across London.”

Wave of attacks on London’s Jewish community

Between March and May, there was a spate of incidents targeting London’s Jewish community or sites linked to Iran which began with an arson attack on Jewish community ambulances in London.

Subsequently, a synagogue and a former synagogue were targeted, as was Persian-language media organization Iran International and a memorial wall dedicated to people killed in Iran.

This post was originally published on here. 

President Isaac Herzog said that his dream was to have the president of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, join a meeting he held on Thursday with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides.

“I believe that we should move toward peace in our region while making sure that terror is shunned and removed, and that life thrives between nations and peoples for the well-being of the entire region and the world,” he said. 

He also thanked Christodoulides for his friendship with Israel.

“You’re a great friend, and we respect the dialogue with you, in openness and frankness, on the multitude of issues for discussion,” Herzog said. “I bring a message of friendship from Israel, and I hope that together we can enhance further the unique partnership between our peoples and our nations.”

Cyprus looking forward to enhancing partnership with Israel

In response, Christodoulides said that he looked forward to discussing how to enhance the two countries’ strategic partnership in tourism, trade, security, energy, and defense.

“We will exchange views on regional developments in our neighborhood and how we can work together, also with other like-minded countries, in order to create conditions of stability, security, and cooperation,” he said.

This post was originally published on here. 

A British man appeared in a London court on Thursday accused of providing information about factories that manufacture drones and offering to sabotage them on behalf of Russian intelligence.

Joshua Cammidge, 31, has been charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service and preparing an act of sabotage after contact with the GRU Volunteer Corps, which prosecutors said was controlled by Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency.

Appearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, prosecutor Warren Stanier said Cammidge was accused of providing details of four drone factories near his home in Swindon, west England, and volunteering to commit an act of sabotage.

Prosecutors say he also conducted research about a Wi-Fi jamming device and undertook reconnaissance.

Cammidge did not enter a plea, but Stanier said that in a police interview he had strenuously denied the charges and said he had had no intention of carrying out any sabotage.

Russia’s embassy in London has not commented on the case.

Stanier told the court that Cammidge, who was arrested in Swindon last week by counterterrorism officers, had been communicating between August 28 and September 3 with a British national who had gone to Russia to fight against Ukraine.

“The essence of those conversations was the location of factories in the UK which manufacture drones and the sabotage of those factories,” Stanier said.

Stanier said other conversations Cammidge had had with an ex-partner and a trusted work colleague showed he was being requested to do so by the Russian intelligence services.

Cammidge was remanded in custody and will appear at London’s Old Bailey court on September 25.

UK’s deteriorating relations with Russia

Relations between Britain and Russia have deteriorated sharply since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with British authorities increasingly warning about possible Russian espionage, sabotage and other hostile state activity.

Russia warned last month it could strike British military targets in response to Ukrainian attacks that use British-supplied long-range missiles.

“Russia is constantly probing us and testing us,” British defense minister Wes Streeting told lawmakers on Thursday.

Two years ago, the UK’s domestic spy chief said the GRU was seeking to cause “mayhem” across Europe, and there have been warnings from other European countries in recent weeks that Russia was stepping up a ‘hybrid’ war against allies of Ukraine.

Germany has blamed Russia for an attempted drone attack on a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig/Halle airport last month, though Moscow’s embassy in Berlin said the Leipzig incident was just another example of unsubstantiated accusations.

“I know people will be concerned about recent incidents across Europe, intended to sow fear, create disruption and undermine support for Ukraine. They will not succeed,” British security minister Dan Jarvis said on Wednesday.

In a separate case, Russia’s FSB internal security agency said on Thursday that it had detained a former guard at the British Embassy in Moscow who it said had collected personal data on British diplomats on behalf of Ukrainian intelligence.

This post was originally published on here. 

Social media platform X on Thursday removed an influence network comprising about 100 fake accounts with AI-generated profile pictures that operated in a coordinated manner against People of Israel chairman Brig.-Gen. (res.) Ofer Winter, according to an investigation by the FakeReporter initiative.

The investigation, which led to the network being blocked with assistance from the Israel Internet Association, found that the accounts published hundreds of posts against Winter. More than half of the posts were published within a single hour, one day after he announced the establishment of his party.

This is a developing story.

This post was originally published on here. 

At a family reunion in California in 2013, Felicita Trueblood discovered a portal to the past: a binder full of letters from her great-grandfather, a rabbi in Ukraine, from before World War II.

As exciting as the discovery was, the letters were illegible to her – until now, thanks to an artificial intelligence tool developed by Sergii Gurbych, a researcher in Lithuania who hungered for information about his own Jewish past. They unveiled a world of grief but also brought Trueblood solace, uncovering the truth about her great-grandfather’s death.

The letters, about 50 pages in total, had sat untouched for decades in her cousin’s house in Palm Springs. They were penned in Yiddish by Pavel Malisoff, Trueblood’s great-grandfather in Konotop, Ukraine – then in the Soviet Union – to his son, Trueblood’s great-uncle Solomon, who immigrated to the United States and changed his last name to Malis.

Between 1927 and 1934, the letters bridged two worlds – on one side, a father in Ukraine witnessing a community on the brink of destruction, and on the other, a son journeying from New York to California under the weight of the Great Depression. Malis died in 1985. For nearly a century, no one else read those pages.

At the 2013 reunion, none of the living family members could decipher their ancestor’s Yiddish letters, written in Hebrew script. Trueblood, who is now 75, felt compelled to take charge of the treasure trove. She grew up in San Diego with few traces of her Jewish past. Her mother, Malisoff’s granddaughter, became a Christian Scientist before marrying her father, a non-Jewish descendant of colonial Americans. Trueblood wanted to know who her great-grandfather was and the life he inhabited, long cut off from her family memory. 

“I was raised outside the Jewish community, with no day-to-day connection,” Trueblood told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “But I was always fascinated.”

Trueblood soon ran into obstacles. She found only a handful of translators who could help decipher the handwritten letters, and the cost of hiring them to work through the whole stack was prohibitively high. 

VILNISH turns handwritten Hebrew, Yiddish letters into digital text

But 13 years after inheriting the letters, she saw a Facebook post about VILNISH, a new project in Lithuania that aims to turn handwritten and historical printed texts in Yiddish and Hebrew into digital texts that can be easily searched and translated.

Gurbych, a researcher at Vilnius University’s Center for the Study of East European Jewish History, built the AI model behind VILNISH, which launched late last year. Born in Ukraine, Gurbych studied Hebrew and Yiddish alongside electrical engineering. At Vilnius University, he focuses on developing digital approaches to analyzing archival Jewish texts. 

Gurbych is particularly interested in texts written between World War I and World War II, when Jewish cultural and intellectual life flourished in Vilnius. In 1925, Vilnius became the first headquarters of the Yiddish Scientific Institute, or YIVO, which continues to preserve the Yiddish language and Eastern European Jewish heritage in New York City.

Gurbych turned to a wealth of diaries, memoirs, and other documents written by Jews in the interwar period and stored in the National Library of Lithuania. They provided the perfect material to teach a language model to recognize handwritten texts from the period. As he trains VILNISH on more and more handwriting types, it becomes a more universal tool.

Soon after Gurbych publicized the service, he began to hear from people like Trueblood, who sought to read letters left behind by their relatives. 

Their urge to connect with the past was familiar to Gurbych. His own grandfather was a Jew born in 1915 in the Polish city of Łódź. During the Holocaust, he escaped the Łódź Ghetto days before its liquidation by the Nazis, when most of the 67,000 Jews who lived there were killed. Gurbych’s grandfather settled in present-day Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. 

Gurbych is drawn to pieces of writing that evoke the atmosphere, the tastes and smells of life for Jews in Poland before their communities were destroyed.

“I want to know more about the world where my grandfather lived,” said Gurbych. “He died in 2001, and I just feel that I didn’t speak with him about this time enough. He was a person who lived in the Soviet Union, so he was just closed, and didn’t very much like to talk about his Jewish background and about life in interwar Poland.” 

Trueblood contacted Gurbych in May. Within a month, he sent her translations of all her great-grandfather’s letters. She was stunned by the vivid images of Malisoff’s life in Konotop, marked by poverty and separation. All of his 11 children were forced to relocate across the Soviet Union or immigrate to Canada and the United States.

Konotop was racked by famine during Stalin’s rapid forced collectivization of agriculture. Malisoff described “people walking half naked, hungry, with only a few coins in their pockets, without a piece of bread, without proper clothing, silently, without work and without money.” The “spiritual condition” was destroyed, he wrote, as the Sabbath, the holidays, kosher food, circumcisions and religious teaching disappeared – “as though they had never existed.” 

It wasn’t just an AI language model that supplied her these windows to the past, said Trueblood. Gurbych had the knowledge of Jewish history and religious tradition to explain the terms her great-grandfather, a rabbi, used and to point her toward the stories and texts he referenced.

“What I got back was just beautiful, because he understands the context, the history, the biblical references,” she said. 

Trueblood discovers through VILNISH how her great-grandfather died

She also made a discovery that shifted her understanding of how her great-grandfather died. Trueblood and her other living relatives knew that Malisoff had been tortured by Stalin’s regime for receiving small packages of money from family members in California. They always believed that was how he died. 

But after the letters from Malisoff stopped abruptly in 1934, other letters from his wife and children revealed the truth: Malisoff had died not from torture, but from a heart attack at 74. A letter from one of his children in the Soviet Union gave Trueblood the unexpected gift of her great-grandfather’s dignified death and memorial service. 

“Our old father of blessed memory has passed away, but his good and beautiful name has not died,” the letter said. “It lives on, and will continue to live for many years. The town paid him the highest honors. The entire town, old and young alike, accompanied him on his final journey, and he was given the place of highest honor in accordance with his good deeds.”

Gurbych hopes that VILNISH will retrieve such memories for many more people like Trueblood, while also helping academic researchers who face huge sets of archival documents in Yiddish and Hebrew that few people can read. 

The tool also has the potential to support the descendants of Jews who were persecuted during the Holocaust as they prepare materials to confirm their eligibility for repatriation or citizenship, such as synagogue records, internal rolls of Jewish communities, and other historical documents.

Trueblood was struck by how many others have yet to access threads to their past, as stacks of paper like hers sit untouched in attics and libraries.

“These letters are all over the world,” she said. “There are thousands of them out there that haven’t been translated.” 

This post was originally published on here. 

The Embassy of Afghanistan in Islamabad has expressed deep concern over the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC) decision concerning the forced return of Afghan medical students currently pursuing their studies in Pakistan.

In a statement released Tuesday night, the Afghan Embassy said the decision would significantly affect the academic progress and future of Afghan students who began their studies through lawful, established procedures.

The embassy said many students had already invested years of dedication, time, and considerable financial and personal resources and were now completing their academic programs. It urged Pakistani authorities and international bodies to protect the students’ academic rights and ensure uninterrupted studies.

The embassy further emphasized that vital areas such as knowledge, education, and human relations should remain protected from political disagreements.

Pakistan’s medical regulator ordered Afghan students enrolled in medical and dental colleges across the country to return to Afghanistan and barred institutions from admitting new Afghan students.

The PM&DC directed medical and dental institutions to require Afghan nationals previously enrolled in their programs to return to Afghanistan and complete all necessary formalities, including issuing No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to facilitate their departure. The Media Line obtained a copy of the letter.

Authority orders institutions not to admit, transfer, migrate, place Afghan nationals

The authority also ordered institutions not to admit, transfer, migrate, place or otherwise facilitate any Afghan nationals during the current academic session until further orders.

“The matter is of highest priority and relates to national policy directions,” it stated.

Pakistan has launched a campaign to repatriate Afghan nationals as diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban government have deteriorated.

Meanwhile, Mansoor Ahmad Khan, former Pakistan ambassador to Afghanistan, urged the PM&DC to reconsider its decision on Afghan medical students on humanitarian grounds and in view of the longstanding ties between the peoples of the two countries.

He said a more humane and practical approach would be to allow the students to complete their degrees and facilitate their return to Afghanistan upon graduation.

Asif Durrani, Pakistan’s former Special Representative for Afghanistan and ambassador to Iran and the UAE, called the decision “shocking,” particularly for young women already facing severe restrictions on education under the Taliban.

He said the issue was one of humanity, compassion and Pakistan’s moral responsibility, stressing that for many of these women, medical education may be their only remaining pathway to a dignified future.

“Sending them back could derail years of study and extinguish their hopes of becoming doctors,” he added.

Durrani urged Pakistan to reverse the decision and allow the students to complete their medical degrees before returning to Afghanistan.

Amnesty International South Asia, in a post on X, called the PM&DC’s decision “patently discriminatory and arbitrary.” It said the impact would be particularly severe on female students, many of whom have already been denied access to higher education in Afghanistan under the Taliban’s gender restrictions.

The human rights organization pointed out that students had spent years studying medicine and could now see their education abruptly ended, with little prospect of resuming their studies elsewhere.

It urged Pakistan to adopt a “humane and practical solution” allowing Afghan students, including women and girls, to complete their medical education.

This post was originally published on here. 

Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened to set Iran back decades if the Islamic regime attacked Israel in a Rosh Hashanah message to Iranian civilians on Thursday.

Katz threatened to attack Iranian energy infrastructure if regime leadership decided to strike Israel. 

“Any attack on Israel for any reason and anywhere will be met with a powerful response,” he said, “which will inflict severe damage on Iran that it has not yet suffered to this day, including on its central energy facilities, which provide resources and capabilities for the Iranian war and terror system and for harming the citizens of the State of Israel.”

He also said that Israel’s retaliation would set Iran’s progress back by decades, and that the IDF was “alert and ready” to carry out such a mission.

Katz wishes Iranian Jews a happy new year

In his message, he wished Iranian civilians a new year in which their country would be free of oppression and tyranny.

He also wished Iranian Jews a happy new year, telling them they were part of “a glorious Jewish history” and that they would “always be in our hearts.”

Katz concluded by wishing Israeli and global Jewry a happy new year, ending with a traditional Rosh Hashanah blessing against Israel’s enemies: “May our enemies and our haters and all who seek our harm depart.”

This post was originally published on here. 

Farah Hamed, a senior Hamas member and terrorist who carried out a 2003 attack that resulted in the murder of Shalom Har-Melech, late husband of MK Limor Son Har-Melech, was killed in an IDF strike in the Gaza Strip, Hamas announced on Wednesday.

Hamed, who killed Shalom Har-Melech in a drive-by shooting, was released from prison in the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal, in which Israel freed 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been held captive in Gaza for over five years.

Limor, who was seven months pregnant at the time, was critically injured in the attack but survived, giving birth to their daughter shortly after via emergency C-section.

“Another circle closed!” wrote Limor in a post on X/Twitter.

“Let every terrorist who murders Jews know: even if he is released, even if he flees, and even if many years pass, the long arm of the people of Israel will reach him. Thank you to the IDF fighters and the security forces who closed an important and painful circle today. May the memory of Shuli and all the Silwad murder victims be blessed.”

עוד סגירת מעגל!

פרח חאמד, מבכירי הזרוע הצבאית של חמאס ומחברי חוליית סילוואד שרצחה את האיש שלי שולי הר מלך הי״ד, ב”ה חוסל היום ברצועת עזה.

שחרורו ושחרור יתר הרוצחים הם ההוכחה לצורך הקיומי בחוק עונש מוות למחבלים אותו זכינו להעביר לפני כחצי שנה.

ידע כל מחבל שרצח יהודים: גם אם… pic.twitter.com/7a0FtBXrwa

— לימור סון הר מלך (@limor_sonhrmelh) September 9, 2026

IDF strikes continue in Gaza, three weapons facilities destroyed

On the same day as the Hamas announcement, the IDF and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) destroyed three Hamas weapons storage facilities throughout the Gaza Strip, according to a joint statement.

The facilities, which were located in three different parts of the Strip, were utilized by Hamas to “store weapons, explosive devices, anti-tank missiles, and additional military equipment,” the military said. 

This post was originally published on here. 

The UK recently escalated sanctions on goods imported from Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Within hours, 11 other countries, including Canada, France, Spain, and Ireland, moved in the same direction with their own measures.

Israel answered on the diplomatic track, recalling ambassadors, closing a consulate, and expelling British personnel from the multinational force headquartered in Kiryat Gat.

On the latest episode of The Deep Dive, host Jacob Laznik and The Jerusalem Post editor-in-chief Zvika Klein assess whether the coordinated push marks the opening of a broader international campaign against Israel’s economy, or, as Laznik argues, a largely symbolic “nothing burger” driven more by domestic politics in London and Paris than by any real intent to inflict economic harm.

The two don’t land in the same place, and that tension drives the conversation. Laznik contends the targeted market is small, the messaging outweighs the substance, and the overlooked headline is the UK’s explicit condemnation of the BDS movement even as it acts. Klein pushes back, warning of a slippery slope: BDS, he notes, once framed itself as targeting only the West Bank, and points to the earlier SodaStream boycott, which ended up costing Palestinian workers their jobs.

His sharper argument cuts at Israel itself: the country doesn’t see itself as strong as the world sees it, Klein says, and keeps responding to diplomatic pressure as though it were a military threat. The episode’s centerpiece is a live role-play in which each presses the other on what an Israeli prime minister should actually do in response, neither letting the other off easily.

The timing is what raises the stakes. With one of Israel’s most closely watched elections weeks away, both men weigh whether the 12 countries are attempting to weaken Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and whether the move could backfire by handing him exactly the external threat he needs to consolidate the right.

They disagree on the answer, and both concede the picture could shift within days depending on how far the sanctions are enforced. 

This post was originally published on here. 

The US is involved in a kind of tit-for-tat tanker war with the Iranians. What began as strikes on Iran by the US and Israel in February has shifted significantly over the last few months. One of the features of the conflict now is the battle for the Strait of Hormuz. That battle is fought in a complex environment and in a unique way.

The Iranian threat to shipping in the Gulf is complex. The Iranians have various types of drones and missiles. Iran also borders the waterway. It’s hard to defend hundreds of miles of waterway. History shows that the country bordering the waterway will have an advantage, even if it is weaker.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) has begun a new novel approach to this conflict. It is retaliating when Iran strikes at ships: The US is sinking Iranian tankers.

CENTCOM said on September 9 that “CENTCOM forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers, Sept. 8, after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the past two days. The US warship successfully evaded the attempted Iranian attacks and continued to patrol regional waters. No American personnel were harmed.”

The Iranians have responded, striking at Jordan and continuing to threaten shipping. Success in the Strait of Hormuz is measured in part by whether ships continued to transit. This depends on several factors, some of which involve international shipping and insurance.

Risk plays a big role. No captain or company wants to risk the crew of ships, even if the chances of them being sunk or struck are low.

The US has been conducting naval blockades for hundreds of years

The US has been clearing mines and finding other methods to aid shipping. It appears the US may be slowly gaining the upper hand on several levels. However, the history of naval blockades tells us that achieving success is a long haul.

Consider the US blockade of the Confederate States envisioned in the Anaconda Plan of 1861.

It envisioned blockading the Confederacy, a process that took years.

Other wars have also used blockades. Napoleon attempted a reverse blockade of Britain in 1806, essentially trying to cut off British trade with Continental Europe.

The Germans used U-boats to do the same. At the same time, the Germans were also blockaded in the First and Second World Wars, and they resorted to using various ships to run the blockade. In each instance, what history tells us is that this can take years.

Other examples abound. There was a decade-long siege of Montevideo, Uruguay, in the 20th century. If a small area of Uruguay couldn’t be reduced by blockade, what chance does Iran have? It’s possible that the decision to go to war with Iran directly could lead to a decade-long conflict.

This would be similar to what happened with Iraq after the 1991 war. The US helped secure no-fly zones in southern and northern Iraq. It was a complicated mission. The US also has experience with a tanker war, having had to deal with the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, when both sides targeted shipping.

Can the region get the tanker war right this time? Iran has kept up its warnings. It recently warned South Korea not to get involved in the Gulf conflict. Arab News also reported that Qatar has said that Gulf countries cannot rely solely on the US for security. Iran also said this week it would announce a new “restricted” zone in the Gulf.

Iran believes it has options

“The new restricted zone will begin from where the US blockade of Iran begins and extend into areas of the Gulf, Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said on Sunday in an interview with state TV. Few details were provided on the plan, but Rezaei said any ship entering the new zone would be added to a sanctions list,” Arab News noted.

The challenge now is going to be to see if Iran continues to strike at ships. Can the US go tit-for-tat with the Iranians and strike enough of their ships to make Tehran choose a new path? Even if the sinkings and strikes on the Iranian tankers do make Iran shift tactics, will the Iranians simply find a new way to cause havoc? Will they strike at energy installations, or attack Jordan more than in the past?

One thing is clear about Iran: it believes it has options.

Iran also has a long front line to exploit. Not only is the Iranian border with Iraq and the Gulf hundreds of miles long. It also has a long coastline on the Indian Ocean. In addition, it has proxies in Yemen and other places. The Houthis expanding their role in the Red Sea, for instance, can be seen as a way for Iran to open or exploit a new front.

Getting the tanker war right will be a challenge for the US because of the factors involved. The White House is already signaling that the conflict and high oil prices will continue through the midterms in November.

There doesn’t appear to be much of an appetite to try another deal with Iran. Tehran is duplicitous and isn’t willing to change yet.

Facing such an enemy will be a long road. 

This post was originally published on here. 

Wednesday, September 9, marked 50 years since the death of Mao Zedong, the Chinese revolutionary leader whose long shadow is still cast over Asian and world geopolitics.

For almost three decades after proclaiming the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in Beijing in October 1949, Mao stood at the center of a political transformation that altered China entirely and reshaped the balance of the Cold War.

Under his leadership, the world’s most populous country emerged from decades of civil war, foreign occupation and internal collapse as a Communist power determined to chart its own course, eventually challenging both the United States and, after the Sino-Soviet split, the Soviet Union for influence across Asia, Africa and the developing world.

His domestic rule brought immense upheaval and suffering, from the Great Leap Forward to the violence and political convulsions of the Cultural Revolution, which together inflicted enormous loss of life and upheaval on China. But abroad, Mao became something larger than the leader of China alone. To revolutionary movements from Vietnam to Africa and the Middle East, Maoism offered an ideology built around guerrilla warfare, peasant revolution and resistance to imperialism, while Beijing sought to present itself as the natural patron of peoples struggling against colonial or Western-backed powers.

Israel occupied a curious place within that worldview, because Mao’s China had not begun as its enemy.

A relationship with an extraordinary trajectory

In fact, the relationship followed an extraordinary trajectory. Israel was the first country in the Middle East to recognize the new Communist government, and the two countries briefly appeared to be moving toward full diplomatic relations, as Chinese officials spoke warmly of friendship with Israel and the Jewish people. Within little more than a decade, however, Mao was receiving the leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Beijing, supplying Palestinian terrorists and describing Israel alongside Taiwan as one of the West’s “bases of imperialism in Asia.”

A little over a month before Mao died in Beijing, then-Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin attempted a relatively uncomplicated gesture of international sympathy.

On July 28, 1976, an enormous earthquake had devastated the Chinese city of Tangshan, killing hundreds of thousands of people in one of the deadliest natural disasters of the 20th century. Rabin sent Chinese premier Hua Guofeng a cable expressing Israel’s sorrow over the loss of life and offering medical and other assistance to the Chinese people. Beijing sent it back.

Attached to the returned message was an explanation that, since the People’s Republic of China did not have diplomatic relations with Israel, the Chinese government could not accept the cable.

For a brief moment in the 1950’s, full diplomatic relations appeared within reach

It was a final footnote to the relationship that a quarter of a century earlier had appeared capable of ending very differently. Israel had been the first country in the Middle East to recognize the People’s Republic, Israeli officials traveled through Maoist China as guests of the government, and senior Chinese officials had spoken openly of their friendship with Israel and the Jewish people. For a brief period during the 1950s, full diplomatic relations appeared within reach.

Mao, born in Hunan province in 1893, had risen from the son of a prosperous peasant farmer to become one of the founders of the Chinese Communist Party and, eventually, the dominant figure of the Chinese revolution. After decades of civil war, Japanese occupation, the Long March, and the final defeat of Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists, Mao stood in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on October 1, 1949, and proclaimed the establishment of the People’s Republic of China.

On January 9, 1950, less than four months after Mao declared the People’s Republic, Israel formally recognized his government as the legitimate government of China. At the time, there was some Chinese sympathy for Zionism, which could be viewed through the lens of revolution and a national liberation movement that had fought British imperial rule.

The Korean War, which broke out later that year and eventually saw Chinese troops fighting American-led UN forces, complicated Israel’s efforts to develop the relationship. Israel was increasingly conscious of its close relationship with the United States, which continued to recognize Chiang Kai-shek’s government on Taiwan as the legitimate government of China and viewed diplomatic engagement with Communist Beijing with deep suspicion.

Even so, the possibility never entirely disappeared, and several years later an unlikely Israeli diplomat in Burma began trying to reopen the door.

David Hacohen, Israel’s man in Rangoon, had become convinced that the young Jewish state could not afford to neglect Asia. Beginning in late 1953, he held discussions with China’s ambassador to Burma, Yao Zhongming, and later met premier and foreign minister Zhou Enlai as the Chinese leader passed through Rangoon following the 1954 Geneva Conference.

The talks quickly became serious enough for trade to be discussed, and produced one of the stranger episodes in the story. According to Hacohen’s account, the Soviet ambassador in Burma joined the conversations and, confronted by the possibility that Washington might object to direct trade between Israel and Communist China, suggested simply sending the goods on a triangular route through Odesa and Siberia.

Beijing subsequently invited an Israeli commercial delegation to China, and in early 1955 Hacohen led a group that spent several weeks touring the country, visiting cities, factories, industrial plants and villages before holding talks in Beijing.

The reception appears to have been extraordinarily warm. A Chinese undersecretary of trade told the delegation that “the Chinese people and their government are great friends of Israel and the Jewish people,” while Hacohen returned convinced that China wanted commercial ties and would respond positively if Israel moved toward diplomatic relations.

There were discussions behind the scenes about what formal relations might look like, yet Israel hesitated. Hacohen later complained of what he called “friendly American pressure,” while Israeli diplomats in Washington worried that moving too quickly toward Mao could damage the country’s increasingly important relationship with the United States.

By the time of the Bandung Conference in April, 1955, China was moving in another direction.

Bringing together 29 Asian and African states in Indonesia, Bandung became a defining moment in the emergence of what would later be called the Third World. Israel was kept away following opposition from Arab participants, while Zhou used the gathering to cultivate governments emerging from colonial rule and to align China increasingly with their causes.

Another blow to Sino-Israeli relations was Israel’s participation alongside Britain and France in the 1956 Suez Crisis against Gamal Abdel Nasser’s Egypt, which proved particularly damaging in Beijing, where Mao’s China was attempting to present itself as one of the foremost opponents of Western imperialism. Whatever the Chinese had once made of Israel’s own struggle against British rule, the image was now of Israeli forces fighting beside two former European imperial powers against perhaps the most celebrated Arab nationalist leader of his generation.

During the following decade, that perception only hardened.

PLO greeted warmly by China’s leadership

The transformation was unmistakable in March 1965 when Ahmad Shukeiri, then chairman of the recently established PLO, arrived in Beijing at the head of a Palestinian delegation. He was given the sort of welcome usually reserved for the representatives of a state, greeted amid flags, drums and crowds before meetings with China’s most senior leadership, including Mao himself.

During his conversation with Shukeiri, Mao offered perhaps the clearest explanation of where Israel had come to sit in his conception of the world.

“Israel and Formosa (Taiwan) are bases of imperialism in Asia,” Mao said. By then, he had come to see Israel and Taiwan in much the same light: as Western-backed footholds in Asia, Israel positioned against the Arab world and Taiwan against Communist China.

Taiwan was among the defining obsessions of Mao’s foreign policy. Chiang Kai-shek and the remnants of the Nationalist government had fled there following their defeat in 1949, surviving under American protection as Mao remained determined that the island would eventually come under Beijing’s control.

China provided PLO with arms, money, military training

China’s support for the Palestinians soon extended well beyond rhetoric. The Chinese provided money, small arms, expertise and military training to Palestinian organizations, although the scale was considerably smaller than was sometimes claimed at the time. Small groups of Palestinian terrorists traveled to China during the late 1960s, where their instruction included guerrilla warfare alongside immersion in Maoist political doctrine and visits to factories, agricultural communes and revolutionary sites.

Some returned to the Middle East as instructors themselves, carrying with them an ideology then reaching the height of its global influence. Even Mao’s Little Red Book found its way onto the battlefield; following an Israeli operation against Palestinian guerrillas in Lebanon in 1972, Israeli troops were reported to have found an Arabic edition of Mao’s sayings among captured propaganda material.

Even during the years of Maoist hostility, however, Israel maintained the position it had taken in 1950 – that Beijing, rather than Taipei, was the government of China.

In October 1971, despite China’s support for Palestinian terror groups and years of bitter rhetoric against Zionism, Israel voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, which transferred China’s seat at the United Nations to the People’s Republic and expelled the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek. Israel was among the 76 countries voting in favor.

Five years later came the Tangshan earthquake and Rabin’s returned message.

Mao died several weeks afterward, on September 9, 1976. In the years that followed, China gradually moved away from the revolutionary foreign policy of the Mao era, as Deng Xiaoping placed more emphasis on economic modernization and pragmatic relations abroad. Quiet contacts with Israel developed behind the scenes, and on January 24, 1992, the two countries finally established full diplomatic relations.

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Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli (Likud) refused to apologize to Israeli residents of the Gaza border communities for the October 7 massacre in an interview with KAN Reshet Bet on Thursday, instead pointing an accusatory finger at the Oslo Accords and the disengagement.

“The oversight happened on the government’s watch, and I think (asking me to say) sorry is like blaming us, right? Like we did it intentionally, and I don’t believe in that,” Chikli stated.

“I’m saying the following: People who pushed for the Oslo Accords, who pushed for disengagement, these people need to apologize.”

Chikli said that there was a limit to how much he could listen to those who “all along, promoted exactly the things that brought us to these catastrophes.

“I opposed disengagement and the Oslo Accords. What do you mean, to ask for forgiveness from the residents of the border communities?”

Chikli says ‘underperforming’ security systems need examination after October 7

He clarified that, while he agreed that there had to be an examination into the serious security failure and some systems “underperforming,” he was not able to accept the way matters concerning October 7 were presented.

“When they present it as if I had intentionally harmed them, as if there was some kind of malice, I’m simply not there. Friends, we heard, goodbye, that’s enough,” he concluded, ending the interview.

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“Everybody’s an influencer,” says Jewish National Fund-USA CEO Russell Robinson. “But the important ones are those that decide that they’re going to stand up and turn on the light and bring people out of the darkness. These are people who are coming forward and saying, ‘I’m ready to lead.’ They lead in all different ways, and I think that we should be helping fuel their fire.”

Shaped by the aftermath of October 7, global antisemitism, and renewed debates about  Zionism, a new generation of young Zionist leaders is coming of age. With this new generation of Jewish leaders in mind, Jewish National Fund-USA and the Jerusalem Post are celebrating, for the fourth consecutive year, the next generation of ViZionaries – the 25 most influential Zionists under 46 who are going above and beyond to support the land and people of Israel.

These imaginative, bold, and creative young leaders are making their mark in diverse fields while emerging as influential voices in their communities, united by their proud and public commitment to the land and people of Israel.

Robinson explains that this year’s ViZionaries are using the power of the Internet and social media to support the Zionist idea. “If you go through the list of people who have been nominated, you see that from chefs to singers to writers – they are people who are online and talking it up.”

Defending Israel and promoting Zionism online requires a great deal of courage, says Robinson, and this year’s awardees possess that quality. “If you want to see bravery, follow these young influencers. They’re putting themselves up right in the front line of this attack without any barrier between them and the people who want to attack them. They’re doing it day after day. And I say, let’s celebrate them.”

Robinson suggests that this new generation of Zionist leaders can unite the Jewish people. “I think that we have allowed the division of walls by organizations; the division of walls by religious or non-religious;  the division of walls between right and left;  the division of walls between knowing what a Jew does in Paris to what a Jew does in New York to what a Jew does in Tel Aviv, to understanding who we are. We don’t know you, you don’t know us, and it’s a shame. I think that this new group of leaders of tomorrow is breaking down those walls, maybe because their phones don’t have walls.

“These influencers that we’re honoring this year are going to be the influencers that I believe deep in my heart will talk about shared values, common destiny, their own common language, but I believe a language of Zionism.”

A number of this year’s ViZionaries, notes Robinson, are members of other faiths, including Christianity and Islam. “That’s the beautiful thing about Zionism. If you’re a Zionist, you don’t have to be Jewish. If you’re a Zionist, you’ve got to believe in light over darkness.”

JNFuture National Chair Danielle Hankin adds that today’s young Zionist leaders are facing new and perilous challenges. “For our generation specifically, I think that the generation’s facing Israel in a very different light than they’ve had to previously. We have social media. Misinformation and antisemitism are on the rise like nothing before because of social media and the way that the world interacts now.”

Highlighting the young Zionist leaders of today is significant, she says, because “It helps those young leaders feel accomplished. It shows what an impact those young people can have and gives this group contact that they might not otherwise experience or have.”

Like Robinson, she lauds the fact that some of the ViZionaries are members of other faiths. “Some of our strongest advocates are people who have chosen to stand with Israel because they believe in values. They’re willing to speak up even when there’s nothing personally compelling them to do so. It’s just because they believe in what Israel stands for. Those voices reach audiences that sometimes the Jewish community cannot reach, and it brings Israel into different communities and cultures and faiths into conversations that demonstrate that supporting Israel is not just about being Jewish.”

Hankin shares that JNFutures enables young people to grow in Jewish leadership within the JNF-USA community.  “JNFutures allows young people to have opportunities to serve on boards, to lead missions like JLIM (JNFuture Leadership Institute Mission to Israel),  build campaigns, engage donors, participate in the conversations that we’re talking about amongst themselves, and develop relationships with the JNF-USA community, both in the United States and in Israel. JLIM (JNFuture Leadership Institute Mission to Israel) is really the first step to helping young people with passion for Israel to truly have a voice in what happens in the future going on there.”

With this year’s cadre of young Zionist ViZionaries and JNFutures, Robinson is optimistic about the Jewish future. “I met all of our young people. They’re smarter, greater, more philanthropic, more involved, and more engaged in debate than any other generation I’ve ever seen.

“We are one, and we believe in life, and they’re turning on the lights and taking those people out of the darkness. And I say, let us make sure we are not only celebrating them, but also working with them and honoring them. That’s what we’re doing with the Jerusalem Post and the Jewish National Fund-USA’s ViZionaries.”

This article was written in cooperation with Jewish National Fund-USA.

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New episodes every Sunday-Thursday.

For more news, analysis, and the latest updates, head to jpost.com.

Headlines edited by James Genn.

Hosted and produced by Gadi Zaig.

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Democrats faction head Yair Golan filed a NIS 2.55 million lawsuit against Sara Netanyahu on Thursday, accusing the prime minister’s wife of defaming him and endangering his life by implying that he knew in advance about the October 7 Hamas attack.

The suit, filed in the Central District Court in Lod, asks the court to order Netanyahu to pay damages and publish a correction and clarification.

The dispute stems from an August 31 interview with Channel 14, in which Netanyahu questioned how Golan, a former IDF deputy chief of staff, reached southern Israel on the morning of the attack.

“When you are a military officer of such a high rank and claim that you fought on October 7, you were already there early in the morning, already dressed and prepared,” she said. “At a very, very early hour, when others did not know, such as the prime minister.”

Golan argues that an ordinary viewer would understand those remarks as suggesting that he knew the attack was coming before it began, failed to warn anyone, and may even have been involved in a betrayal of the country.

Court will have to decide how a reasonable viewer would understand comments

The lawsuit also argues that Netanyahu cast doubt on Golan’s documented rescue efforts by saying that he “claims” to have fought that day.

Netanyahu has rejected that interpretation. Responding to a warning letter sent by Golan on September 1, she said her remarks had been distorted and were directed sarcastically at those who, she argued, failed to alert the prime minister promptly after the attack began.

Later in the interview, when asked about theories alleging betrayal on October 7, Netanyahu said she was “not part of any theories.” Likud said following Golan’s warning that she had not alleged a conspiracy and had, in fact, said the opposite. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later said that “there was no betrayal on October 7; there was a failure.”

The court will ultimately have to decide how a reasonable viewer would have understood the interview as a whole, not merely how either side now describes it.

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Security forces located a missing Israeli after several hours of search operations in the West Bank after he entered a Palestinian village of his own volition.

Israel Police, IDF, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), and Israel Prison Service’s initial announcement said that 53-year-old Yaniv Sardal had gone missing after last being seen on Wednesday evening in the West Bank settlement of Ariel, where he lives.

The forces launched an interdepartmental manhunt in order to locate him after he was reported to have entered an unspecified Palestinian village.

Sardal was found “safe and sound,” the joint statement said.

Police ask for information on missing Israeli’s whereabouts

As part of the search, the police sent out a search helicopter to the area, and IPS deployed its tactical Metzada Unit, which, among other things, specializes in hostage rescue operations.

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To supply sweet holiday kits to tens of thousands of Jews in the embattled country, Chabad Ukraine said it is “working under complex hardships” to give hope that “the sweet tradition of Rosh Hashanah won’t stop.”

Amid intensifying shelling in Ukraine’s cities, Ukraine’s Jewish communities remain on high alert ahead of the High Holy Days.

Kyiv’s Jewish communities have weathered repeated attacks on the capital. On August 29, Reuters reported that at least 37 people were killed after a Russian drone attack on a Kyiv-area ammunition depot sparked a detonation. Moscow’s air attacks on Kyiv and surrounding regions dragged into a third straight day, killing residents, damaging homes, and derailing daily life.

This follows an unfortunate pattern, as a Russian strike on July 2 launched 74 missiles and 496 drones overnight, killing at least 20 people and wounding more than 90, according to Ukrainian authorities, sending Jewish families back into shelters just a day after they’d returned from a respite camp run by the Jewish Relief Network Ukraine (JRNU) in the Carpathian Mountains.

However, as fighting in the country becomes routine, with the sounds of explosions having become part of daily life, community rabbis are working around the clock to produce mass amounts of kosher honey, essential to the unique culture of Rosh Hashanah.

Essential food products to be unloaded at foot of Jewish centers in various cities

The main phase of the operation has officially commenced: a fleet of massive aid trucks set out from supply centers toward dozens of Jewish communities scattered throughout the country.

Huge pallets of essential food products were unloaded at the foot of Jewish centers in various cities, then transported directly to community members’ homes through an internal, organized, and dignified distribution system.

The diverse list of food items included poultry, fresh meat, locally produced jars of honey, dairy products, canned goods, various spreads, honey cakes specially airlifted in from Israel, and festive honey pastries imported from Zaporizhzhia.

To add extra value to the package, informational pamphlets were included. Beautifully designed and adapted into the local language, they explain the meaning of the High Holy Days and include a unique, rich calendar combining Jewish content with images from community life.

‘Situation has become extreme’

Jewish communities in Ukraine are reportedly expecting record participation this year in synagogues and various holiday activities. As such, Jewish resilience continues to thrive. “We are preparing for an unprecedented number of worshippers who will come to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur prayers,” says Rabbi Simcha Levenharts, a Chabad emissary in Kyiv who is coordinating the distribution effort.

“The situation has become extreme in recent days,” Levenharts said. “Warehouses in the area have been destroyed, and the shelves in stores are simply empty. People can barely go shopping because the chains are closed for many hours because of the alarms.”

JRNU said some Rosh Hashanah supplies were brought by air from Israel, including honey cakes and other holiday goods. Communities are also distributing chicken, meat, and jars of honey.

Despite the worsening security situation, Jewish leaders say they are preparing for unusually high synagogue attendance over Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

“We are preparing for an unprecedented number of people to come to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur prayers,” Levenharts said.

“After such a long and exhausting period of war and uncertainty, people are looking more than ever for togetherness and tradition, so they don’t break and can remain strong.”

Chabad organizing massive logistical efforts to ensure holidays marked with greatest possible dignity

The JRNU, which is behind the distribution of aid packages to the country’s Jews, made a strategic decision: to produce most of the basic food and holiday products on Ukrainian soil itself, at special local factories prepared in advance for this purpose.

The Kyiv area is surrounded by logistics hubs and giant warehouses that have absorbed serious hits and daily bombardments in recent weeks, but by some miracle, the factory chosen for producing the pure honey has remained standing.

While these logistics hubs are absorbing heavy bombardment and shelling, Chabad is organizing massive logistical efforts to ensure the holidays are marked with the greatest possible dignity and to strengthen communal solidarity despite the dangers on the ground.

As the noise of the machines mixes with air-raid sirens, the production workers continue working there under constant alertness. In addition to the honey factory, which was certified kosher by Rabbi Yehoshua Vishetzki of the “Ukrkosher” kashrut system, special meat and poultry slaughter operations have also been certified kosher under strict standards, amid the chaos of war.

JRNU has spent the war years building local production and distribution infrastructure – including factories, kosher slaughter operations, and a delivery network – to sustain religious life for Ukraine’s Jewish population without relying on imports that wartime logistics make unreliable.

The honey factory near Kyiv is ostensibly one facet in that system, illustrating both the scale of the effort and the risks involved in running it inside an active war zone.

In the Jewish community of Kyiv, connecting to tradition by “manufacturing kosher food in Ukraine not only instills local pride but aids the country’s struggling economy as well”, says Chabad.org.

Drones fall near Kremenchuk rabbi’s home

The security threat has reached Jewish community leaders directly.

Rabbi Shlomo Salamon, chief rabbi of Kremenchuk, said two drones fell close to his home this week.

“Just today, a few hours ago, two UAVs fell right near our home and immediately brought us back to the difficult atmosphere of the war,” Salamon said.

“In days like these, when food warehouses are being bombed, and you can feel the shortages and uncertainty in the stores, the joy of receiving these substantial and festive food packages is enormous,” he said.

In Poltava, Chief Rabbi Yosef Segal said residents were also encountering shortages.

“Many stores are dealing with empty shelves, and there is a shortage of basic food products,” Segal said, adding that holiday food packages were providing both practical help and emotional support.

In Cherkasy, Rabbi Dov Axelrod said preparations for Rosh Hashanah were continuing despite the deteriorating security situation.

“The preparations for the holiday fill the synagogue and the community with a feeling of togetherness, family, and hope for a better and sweeter year,” he said.

Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.

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North Korea has built a new uranium enrichment facility at its main Yongbyon nuclear complex that could house up to 28 centrifuge cascades, and started operating an expanded annex at its Kangson enrichment site, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.

The Vienna-based nuclear watchdog said in a report that the findings pointed to a steady expansion of North Korea’s nuclear infrastructure at multiple locations.

In the report, dated August 28, the IAEA said it relied on satellite imagery and open-source material, including photographs published by North Korean state media, to track Pyongyang’s nuclear activities. The agency has had no inspectors in North Korea since 2009.

It identified a new two-story building at Yongbyon as the site’s second uranium enrichment facility by comparing state media photographs of a June visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with satellite images taken during the building’s construction.

Photographs from the visit indicate gas centrifuge cascades are installed on both the upper and lower floors of the main building, the report said, adding the building could accommodate up to 28 of the cascades shown in the photographs.

Expansion of North Korea’s production of weapons-grade nuclear material

The report also said there were indications that operations began in January at a uranium enrichment facility in Kangson, near the capital Pyongyang, within an annex that had been constructed in 2024.

The IAEA said the developments in North Korea’s nuclear program violated UN Security Council resolutions.

“The ongoing operation of enrichment facilities at Kangson and Yongbyon and the reported further expansion of the DPRK’s production of weapons-grade nuclear material is a cause for serious concern,” IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said in a statement to the board of governors on Monday, referring to the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The report accompanied Grossi’s statement.

Pyongyang has repeatedly rejected the agency’s authority. North Korea’s mission to the United Nations in Vienna said last September that North Korea’s status as a nuclear weapons state had become irreversible and the IAEA had “no legal right… to interfere in the internal affairs of a nuclear weapons state which exists outside the NPT,” referring to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

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A Reform government would “undo the damage done” to the UK-Israel relationship under Labour, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.

Farage spoke to the Post following a phone call with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Wednesday – a conversation Farage described as “very productive.”

During the conversation, Farage told the Post he had reaffirmed his “strong support for Israel” and reiterated the importance of strengthening the UK–Israel partnership, particularly in the fields of trade, security, technology and innovation.

Pleased to speak with Gideon Sa’ar. I emphasised the Falklands issue to him and its importance to the British people, though I understand Israel’s relationship with President Milei.

A Reform government would undo the damage caused by Labour. https://t.co/V26fBMHbWm

— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) September 9, 2026

“I made clear that a Reform government would undo the damage done to this important relationship under Labour and rebuild it on the basis of shared interests and mutual respect.”

Farage, Sa’ar discuss Falkland Islands

The two also discussed the Falkland Islands. 

Farage said he stressed the importance of Israel maintaining a position that respects British sovereignty and security interests. 

“For the United Kingdom, the safety and security of the Falkland Islanders and the defense of our sovereign territory are paramount,” he told the Post.

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After three days of escalating conflict in Yemen, where it appeared that the Saudi-backed government was making gains, the Houthis gained control of the city of Mocha on the Red Sea on Thursday. 

The advance by the Houthis was anticipated. It also appears that although the Houthis suffered some setbacks on other fronts, this offensive could have wider implications for the strategic Red Sea Mandab Straits. 

Mocha is a port city that is one of several important ports in Yemen. Along with Hodeidah, it plays a key role along the Red Sea coast. It also sits at the northern end of the Bab al-Mandab Strait. As such, this could potentially put the Iranian-backed Houthis closer to being able to close the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the way they have attempted to close the Strait of Hormuz.

Houthi control gives Iran greater influence

This would give Iran more influence in the region, even as Iran was appearing to lose out on many fronts. For instance, Iranian-backed proxies have faced setbacks in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria. They have also faced pressure to disarm in Iraq. The Houthis are one of the most powerful pro-Iranian groups remaining.

Reuters reported that the Houthis had taken Mocha on September 10. The full story of what is happening in Yemen remains to be seen because reports are not always accurate. What matters is that the Houthis are trying to increase their role along the Red Sea.

This comes amid several developments in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The Houthis attacked Saudi Arabia this week as fighting increased in Yemen. Riyadh backs the government of Yemen against the Houthis. Saudi Arabia led an intervention in Yemen in 2015.

Now, Arab News in Saudi Arabia has reported that “Saudi civil defense issued an emergency alert for ‌the ‌south western ‌province ⁠of Khamis Mushait to ⁠warn of potential ⁠danger ‌for the ‌fourth time ‌in ‌24 hours.” The General Directorate of Saudi Civil Defense said: “The danger has been lifted from Khamis Mushayt Governorate. For your safety, continue to follow the instructions of the Civil Defense and completely avoid gatherings and photography. In case of emergencies, call the number (998).” The warning had been linked to the Houthi conflict.

The Houthis had claimed to target an airbase in this part of southern Saudi Arabia near Yemen. As such, the Kingdom was being cautious. This shows that the Houthis are not wary of continuing to target the Kingdom. This comes as Pakistan has expressed support for Saudi Arabia. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey recently signed onto a defensive pact. There are questions about whether the Houthi attacks might trigger wider support for Riyadh.

Pakistan expresses solidarity with Saudi Arabia

Pakistan’s leader has expressed his “unwavering solidarity” with Saudi Arabia, after Houthi drone and missile attacks on civilian and energy facilities in the Kingdom left 73 people injured, Arab News noted. “At the same time, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said that a three-nation defense pact between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye could become operational in the event of aggression against the Kingdom.”

Many are watching closely to see if the Saudis will receive support from their new partners. Iran is also watching to see if the Houthis can continue to make gains and threaten the Bab al-Mandab strait. The threat of the Houthis may increase global insecurity and continue to roil energy markets. US President Donald Trump had said that he expects the conflict with Iran to wind down after the US mid-term elections. The high oil prices are expected to come down as well. The battles in Mocha could change this perception.

There are other issues that will affect the fate of Yemen and the Red Sea coast. Saudi Arabia has been backing the government forces in Yemen. However, the Saudis and the UAE have not agreed on policy in Yemen. This may present challenges for the frontlines around Aden and Mocha.

The Yemen government forces who oppose the Houthis face a challenge in that they control areas around the Houthis, but the Houthis control the high ground and also part of the coast. As such, the Houthis can shift forces along internal lines. The Yemen government can’t do this. They can’t move forces easily from Jawf, for instance, to Mocha. To do so would require a lot of logistics, and it’s not an easy task. As such, the Houthis enjoy some advantages in being able to shift resources from one front to another. Even when pressed, the Houthis will continue to enjoy this advantage.

The setbacks in Mocha illustrate how a forgotten and low-level conflict in Yemen can potentially reshape the region. 

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British sanctions against Israeli West Bank settlements will not prevent Israel from fighting to secure its citizens, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana (Likud) told 103FM on Thursday.

“We will continue to fight for the safety and security of Israeli citizens even if it brings condemnations, and even harsh condemnations, from some countries around the world,” he said.

“Thankfully, our closest ally is not ‘Londonistan’ but the United States of America,” he added.

He also quoted former prime minister Golda Meir, saying “We prefer your condemnations over their condolences.”

When asked whether his comments justified violence by Jews in the West Bank, Ohana rejected the suggestion and said: “I of course condemn that small group that does not represent the settlement movement.”

He said the British sanctions were not directed only against those who commit violence, but against “the settlement enterprise itself and the goods that come from there.”

Ohana accuses Mohammed Dahlan of spreading lies against Netanyahu

Ohana also addressed the recent report claiming that Netanyahu received a warning from the UAE president before the October 7 attack.

Ohana claimed that the source of the report was not the UAE president but Mohammed Dahlan. “I think the Israeli public is already immune to the lies that emerge before elections from Mohammed Dahlan, the man who wants to succeed Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] and understands that it will be easier for him to take control of the Palestinian Authority if Netanyahu is not elected,” he said.

According to Ohana, Dahlan wants to replace Netanyahu for political reasons. “The man who wants to succeed Abu Mazen and understands that it will be easier for him to take control of the Palestinian Authority if Netanyahu is not elected,” Ohana claimed.

“Israel’s enemies do not want Netanyahu. Did you hear Hezbollah’s representative in the Lebanese parliament say that they are not attacking Israel in order not to help Netanyahu? These things fall on the very attentive ears of Shlomi Eldar, who receives a salary from the ‘Darkeinu’ organization, which works together with the Democrats, and are echoed in Haaretz a month and a half before the elections.”

Bennett, former CIA director, deny report on Netanyahu, Ohana says

Ohana said that the report would result in a court hearing, claiming that it was a complete fabrication. “This information has been sitting there for three years and suddenly it appears. Suddenly we discover this now? This is fake news and, as Netanyahu said, ‘an absolute lie.’”

Asked about claims that Naftali Bennett and former CIA director Bill Burns also heard about the same conversation, Ohana said that other officials had denied the reports. “Blinken says it is completely fake and Ron Dermer said it is fake. A conversation like this between heads of state should be documented, and there is no documentation or record of it,” he said.

“The burden of proof is on whoever is bringing this report. There is a statement of claim, this is a very serious matter, and fortunately I think the Israeli public is not buying it. I do not think this report moved a single person from one camp to another,” Ohana said.

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Ofer Winter, chairman of the People of Israel party, is endangering the right-wing camp and should withdraw from the upcoming election, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana (Likud) told 103FM on Thursday morning.

“The greatest danger to the right is not the Left, it is the Right itself. In 1992, despite the fact that the right received more votes, the left formed a government,” Ohana claimed.

“There is a danger that Winter’s party will not pass the electoral threshold and will throw votes away. I remind you that Ayelet Shaked together with Naftali Bennett, with the ‘strong right’ that would fight Hamas and the High Court of Justice, did not pass the electoral threshold. So Ofer Winter will pass the electoral threshold?” Ohana queried.

Ohana said that he had called for Winter to unite, but that the deadline has passed.

“Winter needs to withdraw, he is endangering the right-wing camp. If he wants Netanyahu to be prime minister, then he should withdraw,” the Knesset speaker said.

Ohana dismisses concerns of Yashar beating Likud in polls

Later in the interview, Ohana was asked whether he was concerned that Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party had overtaken Likud in polling by around four seats.

MK Ohana dismissed the concern and argued that polls had never favored his party. “I ask you, in which election campaigns did the mainstream polls give Likud a victory? I don’t remember such a thing, and yet Likud has been the governing party for many years.”

“I remember the 2015 election, when I entered the Knesset. The most favorable polls gave us 24 seats and the toughest gave us 18 seats, and in the end we received 30 seats.”

Ohana also addressed Likud’s decline in the polls and its partnership with the haredi parties. He said, “We are paying a price for the alliances,” but defended his support for the enlistment law, claiming that if it had passed, “we would have seen thousands of haredim who do not currently enlist enlist.”

In response to his comments during the interview, Winter attacked Ohana. “Likud failed in its attempt to reserve slots for senior members of People of Israel,” he said. “The more you attack, the more we will grow and strengthen. What was will not be again.”

The People of Israel party also responded to Amir Ohana’s comments, saying that the People of Israel was seeking to refresh the government’s ranks.

“We will not sink into the politics of fear. The right must acknowledge that the public is seeking new people, those who were not part of the events that led to October 7, those who can lead to a decisive outcome in Gaza, integrate haredi (ultra-Orthodox) people into the IDF, and address everything that was not handled during the previous term.

“It is time to bring a new spirit into the right-wing camp and into the Knesset.”

People of Israel is ‘here to stay,’ party claims

The People of Israel party also said that it was not a coincidence that the Likud party had “pursued reserving slots for senior members of the People of Israel party until the last moment and failed.”

The party claimed that its field operation and 94 headquarters spread across the country were reporting a surge of young people and voters from across the spectrum, from the periphery and the center, toward People of Israel.

“We recommend that those Likud MKs internalize that People of Israel is on its way to becoming the surprise of the election. People of Israel is here to stay, and we recommend remembering that there is also a day after,” the party announced.

“It has already been proven that the more you attack, the more we will grow and strengthen. What was will not be again; we will pass a law for those who serve. We will take care of reservists and act with determination to achieve victory.”

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Fatah Reform Democratic faction leader Mohammed Dahlan rejected allegations made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday night that the exiled Palestinian politician was behind a Haaretz report accusing Netanyahu of ignoring a warning from the United Arab Emirates ahead of the October 7 attack, FRD spokesperson Dimitri Diliani told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.

Netanyahu, who has also announced plans to sue Haaretz for libel in addition to the report’s author, Shlomi Eldar, claimed that Emirati-based Dahlan was behind the “false report.”

Dahlan, according to claims published by Likud, “needs a weak left-wing government of Eisenkot, Yair Golan, Lieberman, and the Arab parties” so that he can seize control of the Gaza Strip with Hamas.

In a message sent to the Post, the FRD faction claimed that Netanyahu’s “incitement campaign” was an attempt to “drag Dahlan’s name into Israel’s election contest” in the hopes of evading serious questions about the state’s and Netanyahu’s failures and responsibilities surrounding October 7.

“Likud’s claims against Mohammed Dahlan, the head of our faction, including its allegation that he is interfering in the Israeli election, are ludicrous and misleading,” Diliani said. “They expose the confusion gripping Netanyahu and his camp. That camp stands isolated internationally and stained by the shame of the genocide perpetrated against our people.”

Diliani asserted that Dahlan has never participated in the internal political conflicts of Israel and is entirely focused on the treatment of Palestinians by Israel.

“For our people, successive Israeli governments have followed the same course whenever our rights and blood are at stake. They have spilled our people’s blood without restraint,” Diliani accused. “They have maintained the military occupation, expanded colonial settlements and denied our people their legitimate national rights.”

Only the Palestinian people can decide Gaza’s future, Diliani says

Diliani also asserted that neither the Likud Party nor Netanyahu himself will be allowed to decide the future of the Gaza Strip, insisting that only the Palestinian people can decide its future. 

“We will resist attempts to make Gaza part of Israeli election bargaining. It is an integral part of the Palestinian homeland. Netanyahu conducts his election propaganda with the blood of our innocent children and women,” Diliani said.

The United Arab Emirates has declined to confirm or deny a report alleging that Emirati President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, though sources who spoke with the Post on Wednesday claimed then-US president Joe Biden was not informed of any communication from the UAE that suggested there was prior knowledge of the attack.

Prof. Kobi Michael is a senior researcher at INSS and a visiting professor at the International Centre for Policing and Security at the University of South Wales, told the Post that he doubted Dahlan had been involved in the Haaretz report, reasoning that Dahlan would not do anything to jeopardize the trust he has built with MBZ.

Acknowledging that it was possible Dahlan received information and passed it on to MBZ, leading to the reported warning to Netanyahu, Michael said that such an outcome would indicate that the warning was given either with Hamas’s approval or behind the Islamist group’s back.

“If Dahlan was involved and did it on behalf of the request of Hamas, then he strengthened his position vis-a-vis Hamas and MBZ together,’ Michael reasoned. “If he did it behind the back of Hamas, he put his position vis-a-vis Hamas in danger.”

Far more likely, Michael said, is that Netanyahu’s accusations against Dahlan are part of a broader campaign intended to “distract attention and focus and to elaborate on the idea of external involvement in the election.”

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter if MBZ really informed Netanyahu or not,” he concluded. “Even if [he did], it was another alarm in addition to many others that the entire system didn’t receive or internalize. The entire system had the information but misinterpreted it.

“The IDF had the responsibility to be ready and to be deployed correctly and to have the right and relevant strategy to prevent any surprising attack; this is the basic responsibility of the military, mainly when the military intelligence itself issued so many alerts and warnings,” he said.

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Hezbollah’s use of cluster munitions in attacks on northern Israel on March 4 and March 15, 2026, may have constituted a war crime, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday, in a rare condemnation of the terror group.

Hezbollah launched the cluster munitions at civilian towns in northern Israel in response to the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, drawing Lebanon into renewed conflict. The terror group had already reinitiated hostilities on October 8, 2023, with intermittent ceasefires, in support of Hamas following the October 7 attack.

A cluster munition is an explosive weapon that releases dozens or hundreds of smaller submunitions over a wide area and was used repeatedly by the Islamic Republic against Israel during the March war. Though Hezbollah’s cluster munition attacks did not result in civilian casualties, Human Rights Watch noted that cluster munitions can kill and maim for decades after they are used, as many submunitions fail to explode on impact and can act as landmines.

“Cluster munitions should not be used under any circumstances, and their use may amount to a war crime,” said Patrick Thompson, crisis, conflict and arms researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Not only are they inherently indiscriminate, but unexploded submunitions can kill and injure civilians long after hostilities conclude.”

The 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, which has 112 states parties and 12 more states have signed, prohibits the use of these weapons. Lebanon is a state party held to the treaty, though Hezbollah is not formally bound by it as a non-state armed group.

Cluster munitions in civilian areas ‘a flagrant violation of international law’

“The use of cluster munitions in civilian areas is a flagrant violation of international law,” Thompson said. “Hezbollah and all parties to the conflict should abide by the laws of war.”

Researchers from the NGO visited Metula in May and confirmed Hezbollah’s use of the banned weapon after analyzing impact sites and interviewing four witnesses.

Though Hezbollah publicly claimed responsibility for the attacks on Metula in March, Hezbollah denied to Human Rights Watch that it had used or had cluster munitions in its possession.

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, HRW noted, has also confirmed that Hezbollah fired unguided rockets into populated civilian areas. These weapons indiscriminately kill and cannot distinguish between military and civilian targets, making their use a violation of the laws of war.

Multiple civilians were killed or wounded by Hezbollah’s attacks between March and June.

Hagai, a 57-year-old witness of Hezbollah’s March 4 attack, told the NGO that he remembered running to the shelter with his wife and two children at around 4 p.m. before hearing multiple explosions.

On March 4, an attack struck a residential street on the southern side of Metula near the cemetery. Hagai, 57, whose full name is not used for his safety, lives in the town with his wife and two children, and said that he and his family ran to their shelter outside their house as they heard sirens at around 4 p.m. They were instructed by authorities to remain inside for a full day as the IDF cleared his neighborhood of submunitions that fell during the attack.

The submunitions damaged his family’s two cars beyond repair, damaged 12 of his windows, cut two water pipes in half, and authorities located a submunition on his roof.

Hagai told Human Rights Watch that he continues to worry for his children’s safety.

“My son plays basketball here,” he said. “If the ball goes down the hill into the grass, I tell him to leave it. They checked the whole area for unexploded bombs, but who knows, I don’t know how thoroughly they can check the bushes.”

Approx. 50 impact craters counted near Metula

Hagai said the military counted approximately 50 impact craters. Though the road had been repaved by the time Human Rights Watch researchers arrived, the researchers were still able to identify seven impact craters consistent with submunition impacts. Having analyzed photos taken by journalists before the road was paved outside Hagai’s home, HRW also concluded that additional craters had been created by the attack.

A house 50 meters from Hagai’s was also severely damaged, with the windows broken from the impact. The anonymous homeowner said that there were multiple unexploded submunitions collected from outside her home.

HRW also found a photo released by Israel Police, showing an unexploded BRB1-type submunition from a 122 mm rocket, which held between 45-56 BRB1-type submunitions, credible even if they could not independently authenticate the image.

Though unable to independently confirm the location of the photograph, researchers did not find a version of it uploaded online before March 4, and witness reports of approximately 50 submunition impacts in Metula on March 4 are consistent with numbers reportedly contained in the BRB1 delivery system, as are the craters Human Rights Watch analyzed.

A witness to the March 15 attack also told HRW that she heard multiple simultaneous explosions and was instructed by the military to remain at home for 24 hours as the streets were being cleared of cluster munitions.

By the time researchers arrived, the road had been paved over, but they were able to identify one crater consistent with a submuntiion.

A geolocated video uploaded to Telegram on March 15 also showed approximately 30 small explosions around the entrance gate consistent with a cluster munition attack. Researchers were able to identify the area where witnesses reported seeing the cluster munition strike.

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Yemeni government forces have launched a counteroffensive against the Houthi terror group on several fronts, with senior officials describing the campaign as an effort to retake Sana’a after years of relative military stalemate.

Deputy Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Samir al-Sabri said on official Yemeni television that “the decision to liberate Sana’a has been finalized and taken decisively,” adding that government forces were advancing on several fronts. He said the objective was to restore state institutions and end Houthi control of the capital.

The Iranian-backed Houthis have controlled Sana’a since late 2014. Saudi Arabia launched Operation Decisive Storm with a Saudi-led coalition in March 2015, followed by Operation Restoring Hope the next month, but neither campaign succeeded in removing the group from the capital.

Fighting eased after a UN-brokered truce in 2022, though Yemen remained divided between Houthi-held territory in the north and areas administered by the internationally recognized government and southern forces. Calls for southern secession have further complicated efforts to rebuild a unified state.

Government officials say the current campaign has brought advances in the governorates of Al-Jawf, Al-Bayda, Taiz, and Al-Hudaydah. Those claims have not been independently verified in full, though recent reporting has confirmed intensified fighting in Al-Jawf and Al-Bayda.

Col. Majid al-Nuzaili, the official spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, said on X that “the Houthi group has attempted over the past years to impose on Yemeni society a project that transcends politics, attempting to alter the very nature of the religious, social, and cultural life that Yemenis have known throughout their history.”

He continued, “We do not want Yemen to become a replica of Iran, nor do we want to import centuries-old sectarian and historical conflicts into our country, nor do we want Yemenis to be forced to endure disputes that have never been their primary concern.”

In recent days, Saudi-backed Yemeni forces have stepped up operations against Houthi positions. The renewed fighting has coincided with Houthi missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia.

Saudi authorities said Houthi attacks on Sept. 8 struck sites in Abha, Jazan, Najran, and Khamis Mushait, injuring 73 people and causing fires and operational disruptions at energy facilities. The Houthis said the attacks were retaliation for Saudi military operations in Yemen.

Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, the Houthi movement’s spokesperson, said on X that the operations in Yemen constituted “Saudi aggression.” He asserted that “Saudi Arabia is carrying out these operations,” not the Yemeni army, and threatened further attacks if the campaign continued.

Preparations Began Early

Hamed al-Ruba’i, a retired colonel in the Yemeni army, told The Media Line, “The battle to liberate Sana’a effectively began several years ago, through preparations, unifying the ranks of the armed forces, winning over Yemeni tribes, and securing military equipment, supplies, plans, training, and other resources.”

He continued, “The plan was clear: we wouldn’t begin until we were completely ready for this battle to ensure its success. Now is the most opportune moment, as the whole world has become aware of the danger posed by the Houthi militia, after their repeated targeting of several neighboring countries, shipping in the Bab el Mandeb Strait, and maritime traffic in the Red Sea, actions carried out on Iranian orders.”

Al-Ruba’i emphasized that “the most important thing was training, effective plans, and mobilizing the tribes, as Yemeni unity is what will defeat the Houthis.”

Street Battles and Changing Tactics

Yemen’s mountainous northern provinces, including Sana’a and Sa’dah, pose a major obstacle to any attempt to dislodge the Houthis. More than a decade of air campaigns has not removed the group from its northern strongholds, leaving any offensive dependent on ground forces and local alliances.

Ahmed al-Sabahi, a Yemeni military analyst, told The Media Line, “The battle to liberate Yemen from the Houthis will depend on the armed forces’ ability to engage in street battles to eliminate what remains of them.”

He added, “Now there is a tribal army and the Yemeni army, and they all know this terrain, how to hide in it, and from where to retaliate against the Houthis. This is what we are seeing in the current operational approach.”

Mohammed al-Kamel, a military analyst, told The Media Line, “The Yemeni army has changed its war tactics against the Houthis, starting with cutting off their supply lines, launching surprise attacks, and opening multiple fronts.”

He continued, “Drones are also being used in some attacks, and there are also warplanes providing air cover for the ground forces. Therefore, the armed forces’ tactics this time are more serious in liberating Sana’a.”

Al-Kamel added, “The Yemeni armed forces may have obtained the drones from Turkey, and several other arms sources.”

He said the Houthis had “lost a significant portion of its forces due to the operations it has carried out over the past three years, including targeting ships in the Red Sea, shelling Israel, and also the attacks on Saudi Arabia. With Iran’s involvement in the war with America, it has not supplied the Houthis with the necessary weapons and sufficient equipment, and they are perhaps now at their weakest point.”

Political support and regional risks

In a Sept. 8 statement on X, the US Embassy in Yemen said, “The Houthis started this conflict and must bear the consequences of their aggression. The Republic of Yemen is the sole legitimate government and has every right to defend its people and end the Houthis’ ability to inflict terror.”

At a press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said that “the Houthis have opened a Pandora’s box for themselves.”

He added, “The Houthis prioritize their narrow, self-serving interests over the interests of Yemen and resort to violence whenever they are in a difficult position.”

Faisal bin Farhan continued, “The path for diplomacy to deal with the Houthis remains open.”

Saudi Arabia also said in a Foreign Ministry statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency that “the Kingdom reserves the right to respond to these attacks in self-defense.”

Potential Turkish, Pakistani participation

Dr. Awad al-Quraini, a Yemeni political analyst, told The Media Line, “Turkish or Pakistani forces may participate in operations to deter the Houthis, should Saudi Arabia declare that it is under attack and hostile operations, in accordance with the Mecca Agreement recently signed in Saudi Arabia.”

Al-Quraini added, “If Turkey and Pakistan enter the fray, the Houthis will fall within days. They made a mistake by targeting Saudi Arabia under this recently signed security agreement.”

He said that Turkey’s participation could involve equipment, drones, and warplanes, while Pakistan could provide ground forces.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement in August. The agreement includes collective-defense language, but the governments have not publicly defined the military commitments or procedures that would follow an attack on a signatory.

No Turkish or Pakistani deployment to Yemen has been announced.

Life under Houthi rule

Residents of Sana’a have endured severe economic hardship during more than a decade of Houthi rule, according to interviews with people in the capital. Humanitarian conditions, public services, salaries, and access to basic goods remain central concerns.

Munther Mohammed, a Yemeni citizen living in Sana’a, told The Media Line, “We are living in dire circumstances. Salaries aren’t even enough to buy bread for the entire month. There are no hospitals, no services, and none of the basic necessities for a human life. We can’t leave the governorate easily.”

He continued, “We want to get rid of the Houthis by any means necessary.”

Mohammed al-Dhubyani, a former Yemeni trader, agreed with Munther, telling The Media Line, “We pay taxes to the Houthis, and they often confiscate our goods. There are no regular salaries, and living has become difficult for everyone.”

The Houthis Say They Are Ready
Samir al-Numairi, a Yemeni journalist aligned with the Houthis, told The Media Line, “The Houthis will be able to deter this aggression. They have enough weapons, and they launched one of the largest attacks on Saudi Arabia, and they have more.”

He continued, “The Ansar Allah [Houthi] group will not submit to any compromises, and they will not sit at the negotiating table. They have significant military capabilities that they have built to deter any aggression, and they are ready for it.”

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Russian state-owned arms exporter Rosoboronexport showed off drone-like missiles for its Sukhoi Su-57 fifth-generation stealth jet fighter in Egypt ​on Wednesday as the warplane made its African air show ‌debut.

The jet roared over the arid landscape outside the El Alamein International Airport near the Mediterranean coast during the second installment of an exhibition meant to position ​Egypt as a gateway to African and Middle Eastern markets.

On ​display in Russia’s section of the airfield were S-71M and ⁠S-71K missiles, which combine features of cruise missiles and low-cost attack ​drones, according to defense industry outlets.

The airshow in El Alamein marked the ​first time the missiles were displayed publicly, though they have previously been used in combat, said a Rosoboronexport representative, who spoke on condition he not be named.

“It’s not ​a drone, it’s not a missile, it’s something [like] both,” he told ​Reuters.

The export model of the Su-57, a rival to Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II, ‌has ⁠previously been shown in China, India and the United Arab Emirates. Ukraine said it hit an Su-57 at an air base inside Russia in 2024.

Elsewhere at the airshow, China displayed its J-16 fighter jet, just weeks after the warplane took ​part in joint ​military exercises with ⁠Egypt in the aircraft’s first deployment to Africa.

Companies from Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt also featured heavily ​at the exhibition, hawking products for an era of ​war ⁠increasingly dominated by drones as military delegations from countries such as Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Kuwait browsed their booths.

Mohammed Al-Sayed, a consultant at the Egyptian private ⁠defense ​company Amstone International Group, said turnout reflected interest ​in Egypt as a gateway to African and Arab defense markets.
 

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Prosecutors were expected to notify a court on Thursday that they intend to indict Yan Shemla, a 41-year-old Beersheba resident suspected of deliberately placing sedative drugs in baby fruit purees sold in Jerusalem, police said.

Police will ask the court to keep Shemla in custody for another five days while the indictment is prepared.

The prosecutor’s statement marks the final stage of the investigation before charges are filed. 

Shemla is suspected of contaminating jars of Prinok fruit puree that were linked to the hospitalization of at least four children in Jerusalem earlier this year.

The investigation became public in June after children were taken to Hadassah-University Medical Center in Ein Kerem suffering from unusual weakness, drowsiness and apathy. Tests found benzodiazepines in their blood, while Health Ministry laboratory tests identified the sedative drugs clonazepam and lorazepam in jars of the puree.

The children were released from the hospital after observation.

The affected products had been bought at two branches of the Zol VeGadol supermarket chain in Jerusalem. The Health Ministry issued closure orders against both stores at the time but did not order a blanket recall of Prinok products, saying the evidence pointed to a localized incident.

Police said investigators reviewed hundreds of hours of security-camera footage from several locations and used technological tools to identify Shemla.

According to police, investigators initially had no clear lead because hundreds of people passed through the locations each day and the suspect had no known prior connection to the children or the products.

Police surveilled Shemla before arrest

After identifying Shemla, detectives placed him under covert surveillance, tracking his movements and routine until police believed they had gathered sufficient evidence to arrest him at his home.

Police also released security-camera footage on Thursday showing Shemla inside a supermarket around the time of the alleged acts. The publicly released footage does not show substances being placed inside the jars.

The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) assisted the investigation, police said. Thursday’s announcement did not identify a suspected motive or say that the case was being treated as terrorism.

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A 40-year-old teacher was shot in the parking lot of a school in Hura, northeast of Beersheba, on Thursday morning.

Students were in the area at the time of the shooting.

The shooter’s identity and motive remain unclear at the time of writing.

Magen David Adom paramedics arrived at the scene and provided initial medical care to the victim before evacuating them to Soroka Medical Center, Beersheba, for further treatment.

The victim was in moderate condition at the time of their hospitalization, MDA said.

The school temporarily suspended classes after the incident and released a statement cited in Israeli media.

“This is an extremely serious incident and a crossing of a clear red line. We wish to convey a clear message to students and parents alike: the school is a protected and safe space,” the school said.

“Harming a teacher or any staff member is an attack on the heart of the educational system, and we will not tolerate it. Violence is not a way to resolve disputes, is not legitimate under any circumstances, and will not be part of the agenda,” it added.

Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.

This is a developing story.

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An IDF soldier stole three M-16 rifles from Shayetet 13 Navy SEALs during the night between Wednesday and Thursday, N12 News first reported on Thursday morning.

The IDF confirmed that it was launching an investigation into the incident.

“The IDF views any incident involving the theft of weaponry with great severity and acts decisively, along with Israel Police officers, to prevent such occurrences,” the military said.

“Following the incident, a joint investigation was launched by the Military Police’s Criminal Investigation Division and Israel Police officers,” the military added.

“The investigation’s findings will be submitted to the Military Advocate-General Corps for review upon completion,” the military stated.

This is a developing story.

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When Donald Trump campaigned for a second term in the White House, he promised to be a “president of peace” who would stop foreign wars, not start them.

Now, a quarter-century after the September 11, 2001, attacks that triggered America’s global “war on terror,” he is entangled in an unpopular conflict of his own making that analysts say risks becoming his version of a “forever war.”

With the 9/11 anniversary at hand, Trump’s war against Iran is drawing comparisons in foreign policy circles to the long, divisive conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq that preceded it. It is also prompting questions about whether the US has again failed to learn the lessons of past conflicts or prepare a clear exit strategy.

“Trump has broken an important post-Iraq and Afghanistan constraint in Washington against launching another major, open-ended war in the Middle East,” said Sina Toossi of the Center for International Policy, a Washington think tank. “That could leave his successor inheriting … an entrenched US-Iran confrontation.”

Administration officials have said the war against Iran is nothing like the protracted post-9/11 engagements.

During the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US removed hostile governments, committed thousands of ground troops who took and held territory, suffered and inflicted much higher casualties, and struggled to instill Western-style governance.

US mired in war of attrition

This time, the US is relying mainly on air and naval power, operations that have damaged Iran militarily and economically but have not defeated it or spurred Iranians to overthrow their rulers as Trump initially urged.

But after six months of war, the United States is mired in a battle of attrition punctuated by bursts of hostilities – exemplified by this week’s exchange of attacks on oil tankers – while Trump tries to tighten the economic noose around Tehran.

Analysts warn it is likely to drag on well past the US midterm elections in November, when voters’ opposition to the war could threaten Trump’s Republican Party’s chances of keeping control of Congress.

And, much like those earlier conflicts, there is no obvious exit even as the economic costs weigh on US consumers.

Tehran’s disruption of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz has pushed US gasoline prices higher. The war has weakened Trump’s approval ratings and undermined Washington’s international standing, which was also one of the repercussions from the Iraq and Afghan wars.

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said Trump alone had “possessed the courage” to confront Iran over its nuclear program, that he had achieved all of his objectives, and that Iran’s economy was being crippled by stepped-up sanctions and a US maritime blockade.

She did not respond directly to Reuters‘ questions on how the Iran conflict fits into America’s legacy of post-9/11 wars.

Lessons ignored?

Analysts say Trump has failed to heed the central lessons of the post-9/11 era, which began after al-Qaeda militants crashed planes into New York’s World Trade Center and the Pentagon outside Washington, killing nearly 3,000 people.

Those include the steep political downsides of long wars and the dangers posed by an entrenched foe fighting for its survival. 

The attacks led to decades of conflict, starting with the invasion of Afghanistan, where al-Qaeda leaders were sheltering, and followed by the 2003 invasion of Iraq, based on what turned out to be faulty intelligence that it was developing weapons of mass destruction. 

The twin wars undertaken by President George W. Bush overstretched the US military and destabilized the Middle East.

The resulting US public backlash helped fuel Trump’s rise a decade ago, and he won a second term in 2024, vowing to avoid military adventurism and focus on Americans’ economic concerns.

But similar to how the Bush administration underestimated the insurgencies the US would face in Iraq and Afghanistan, Trump and his aides have miscalculated Iran’s resiliency and ability to throttle a fifth of the world’s energy shipments, analysts say.

Notably, Trump’s “Operation Epic Fury” launched alongside Israel on February 28 was not precipitated by a 9/11-type national trauma but was deemed by critics to be a war of choice. Experts have disputed Trump’s claims that Tehran’s nuclear program posed an imminent threat to the US

Iran may be taking a page from Afghanistan’s Taliban, who returned to power five years ago after a chaotic US withdrawal, that a determined foe can outlast Washington’s superior firepower while domestic pressure erodes its resolve.

The Iran conflict has also illustrated the cost of going to war with few allies on board.

Bush secured significant international support before launching his Iraq and Afghan campaigns, though that backing waned over time.

By contrast, Trump attacked Iran with little prior consultation or explanation and has found European and Asian leaders mostly resistant to his demands for assistance.

Relations with Trump had already been strained by his threat to seize Greenland, his questioning of NATO’s utility, his reduction of weapons supplies to Ukraine and his sweeping tariffs on trade partners.

High cost for allies

The conflict has also mirrored the Iraq invasion in terms of a regional spillover that seemed to catch Washington off-guard, in this case Tehran’s retaliation against US Gulf allies.

With Iran’s neighbors quietly seeking to de-escalate a conflict they never wanted, a Gulf official lamented that the administration might be making some of the same errors of the post-9/11 wars.

“What was the (US) strategy here?” asked the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Saudi analyst Aziz Alghashian described “a sense of limitation and helplessness in the Gulf about the wars that are taking place due to the whims of the United States.”

While the Iraq and Afghan wars ended as unpopular conflicts, both started with solid support at home.

Trump’s war enjoyed no such honeymoon in public opinion.

Most Americans were against it from the outset, and he has even drawn criticism from prominent figures associated with his “America First” movement.

Trump had initially expected to replicate his quick win from a January 3 raid that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. 

But the Iran campaign instead has hardened into an uneasy stalemate that has not achieved most of Trump’s shifting objectives, including shutting down its nuclear program, and has depleted the Pentagon’s missile stockpiles.

Still, Trump is not without defenders.

Mark Dubowitz, head of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, an anti-Iran think tank in Washington, denied Trump had plunged the US into an endless war and insisted he had scored successes that would eventually bring victory.

“It’s been a 47-year war waged by the Islamic Republic against America,” Dubowitz said. “And now we’ve struck back.”

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A US grant program for organizations pursuing Trump administration priorities in Europe will exclude French groups because of sensitivities over allegations of foreign interference ahead of next year’s presidential election, according to two sources.  

The decision has already been communicated to French officials, one of the sources said. It reflects a recognition in Washington that funding MAGA-aligned organizations in France could jeopardize extensive economic ties between both countries.

US President Donald Trump‘s administration has sought to support far-right parties across Europe, accusing the continent’s centrist leaders of overseeing “civilizational erasure” and “the subversion of democratic processes.”

The US State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) grant program offers between $1 million and $3 million to organizations seeking “to strengthen and develop democratic resilience, rule of law, freedom of speech and freedom of the press, and the defense of human rights in Europe,” according to DRL’s July 13 funding guidelines.

Eligible groups may also focus on “national sovereignty, migration, censorship, and lawfare challenges.”

French concerns over election interference rise

France, which faces a presidential election next April-May that could hand power to Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN), has grown increasingly worried about potential US interference in the vote. The RN has pledged a constitutional reform to ramp up deportations, restrict birthright citizenship and give French nationals priority access to public services.

In July, just days after DRL published its funding announcement, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot reacted angrily on X, writing: “France and the Europeans will not tolerate any attempt at foreign interference in their electoral processes, regardless of where it comes from.”

One French applicant, who declined to be named, said they had sought $1 million for their organization’s work on anti-censorship and freedom of speech initiatives. They were recently informed that French groups would be excluded because of concerns over foreign interference.

According to the source, US officials were particularly concerned that US-funded activities could conflict with a proposed French law that would strengthen penalties for online disinformation and foreign interference in democratic processes. The fast-tracked, government-backed bill is currently before the Senate.

Although DRL’s August deadline has now passed, the source said they may relocate their organization, potentially to Brussels, to qualify for future funding opportunities.

A State Department spokesperson declined to answer whether French groups were now excluded, saying “programs are still in active deliberation,” and adding “we do not comment on private diplomatic discussions.”

France’s foreign ministry did not respond.

Franco-American relations strained

Although several senior MAGA officials within the State Department have sought a tougher line on France over freedom of speech and tech regulation, sources say they have faced pushback from other US officials who fret about negative repercussions for US companies with significant operations in France.

The United States is France’s top foreign investor, with $107.9 billion invested in the French economy in 2024, while the two nations traded $160.9 billion in goods and services that year, according to US government data.

Still, diplomatic relations are at a low ebb.

On top of lingering issues over tariffs, the Iran war and threats to European sovereignty, Washington has yet to accredit France’s next US ambassador following public French criticism of the United States’ human rights record.

French officials have been irked by US Ambassador to Paris Charles Kushner, whose son Jared is married ​to Trump’s daughter Ivanka. He has twice failed to respond to summonses in Paris following diplomatic incidents.

They were also upset when DRL officials traveled to Paris last year to support Le Pen after a court barred her from office as part of a drive against alleged “lawfare” against conservatives.

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Deep in Arctic waters near the remote Svalbard archipelago this spring, NATO allies caught Russian subs training to unleash a secret weapon designed to disable critical undersea cables without leaving any fingerprints.

The clandestine Russian operation, described to Reuters by two Western officials, was carried out by Moscow’s GUGI undersea warfare directorate, which used deep-sea submersibles to simulate the deployment of the sophisticated and destructive technology. 

A joint operation involving Britain, Norway and the United States tracked and confronted the Russian vessels at sea, said the two officials, speaking on condition of anonymity. The vessels were prevented from completing their exercise and eventually left the area.

Britain and Norway disclosed in April that they had uncovered a covert Russian operation in Arctic waters. But the discovery of the new weapon, the location of the operation and the US involvement have not been reported.

The deep-sea face-off comes at a time when some Western intelligence officials fear the Kremlin is ramping up sabotage operations in Europe and preparing for a conflict with NATO.

Some US intelligence analysts are increasingly concerned Russia may test NATO’s mutual defense pact, known as Article 5, three US officials said. If it does, destroying subsea cables could be a critical part of that effort, the Western officials said.

Cables no thicker than a garden hose, lying on the seabed or buried just below, are critical to global internet connectivity and financial transactions. Their economic and strategic importance has made them targets in past conflicts, including in the First and Second World Wars, when they were critical to delivering orders by telegraph or telephone.

Two 1,400 km subsea fiber-optic cables linking Svalbard to mainland Norway lie as deep as 2,700 meters below the sea’s surface. They carry vast amounts of satellite data downloaded at the SvalSat satellite ground station, the world’s largest and part of NASA’s Near Space Network.

Russia’s Defence Ministry didn’t respond to a request for comment on the incident. The Kremlin consistently denies conducting sabotage operations in NATO countries or plotting any confrontation.

Some Western officials argue that Moscow’s targeting of European states has increased in recent months as the front line in Ukraine has become largely static.

Countries including Poland, Lithuania, and Romania have confirmed various violations. Most recently, an attempted drone attack on the Leipzig/Halle Airport in August triggered a series of responses from Germany, including the closure of a Russian consulate in Bonn and a cultural center in Berlin.

In August, Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe visited intelligence counterparts in Moscow, in part to warn Russia against escalating sabotage operations in Europe, said two people familiar with the matter.

Reuters couldn’t determine if Ratcliffe raised Russia’s covert subsea operations. The Kremlin declined to say what had been discussed or to provide any further details.

Arctic exercise

At the same time as the confrontations at sea, British and Norwegian officials took their findings to Moscow to show they were aware of the new technology – hoping it might make Russia hesitate to use it, the two Western officials said.

Russia didn’t damage any cables. The exercise focused on simulating the deployment of the technology in the event of a conflict with NATO, the officials said. They declined to detail how the technology works.

Asked for comment, NATO referred Reuters to Norwegian and UK authorities.

“Through our joint operation, we sent a clear message to Russia that they cannot operate covertly,” Norway’s Defence Minister Tore ⁠Sandvik said in a statement.

“We have made it unequivocally clear to Russian authorities that any attempt to target our critical infrastructure will be detected and met with consequences,” he said. “It is in no one’s interest to escalate tensions in the High North.”

Britain’s Defense Ministry pointed to April 9 statements acknowledging attempted covert activities in and near Norwegian and British waters by Russia’s Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research, known by its Russian acronym GUGI. Washington and London have both imposed sanctions on the secretive directorate.

The White House didn’t respond to a comment request. The CIA declined to comment.

Any escalation between Russia and NATO could quickly underscore the strategic importance of an icy expanse of water between the southern tip of the Svalbard archipelago and mainland Norway known as the Bear Gap, one of the Western officials said.

To reach the Atlantic, Russian nuclear submarines based in the Kola Peninsula would cross the 400-mile-wide stretch of water before passing Norway’s remote volcanic island Jan Mayen.

Britain said this week it deployed forces to Jan Mayen in August alongside Norwegian and US allies for an exercise to demonstrate NATO’s ability to operate jointly in the High North.

Norway plans to have new fiber-optic cable linking Svalbard and Jan Mayen to the mainland by 2028.

‘Burgeoning Russian threat’

NATO allies have focused on subsea infrastructure security since the 2022 destruction of three of the four Nord Stream subsea pipelines supplying Germany with Russian gas. German prosecutors have indicted a Ukrainian man who was a special forces officer at the time of the attack. Ukraine denies any role in the sabotage. 

And since 2023, more ships have sailed slowly over or near sensitive subsea infrastructure, including pipelines, power cables and telecoms cables, to map their location, an activity known as drifting.

Last year, drifting in the North Sea rose 52% to 13,079 vessels from the previous year, data from maritime risk analytics firm Windward showed, while activity in the South China Sea region jumped 88% to 18,401 vessels.

It’s not illegal to survey infrastructure in international waters, but security experts see such extensive mapping as preparation for sabotage.

The activity and suspected interference with some cables prompted new initiatives launched in January last year, including NATO’s Baltic Sentry monitoring system and the UK-led Nordic Warden, bringing navies together for increased patrols of critical infrastructure.

In the Baltic Sea – one focus area for monitoring – 2025 drifting activity was down 5% to 526 vessels from a year earlier, Windward data showed. It said at least 11 subsea cables had been damaged or cut in the Baltic from October 2023 through the end of last year.

“The current thinking is that Russia and China are probably the most active and critical underwater threats,” said Windward Chief Executive Ami Daniel.

The global network of power and telecoms cables running across seabeds is expanding each year, supported by increases in demand for data and electricity, partly driven by artificial intelligence, and some analysts say Europe remains vulnerable.

“In the last 25 years, Europe did two things simultaneously. It dramatically expanded the extent to which it relies on seabed infrastructure, and it dramatically shrunk its capacity to protect that infrastructure,” said Bruce Jones, a senior fellow with the Brookings Institution. “It’s belatedly rebuilding now, in the face of a burgeoning Russian threat.”

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Iran has 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.

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.

It has also helped China, the world’s biggest crude importer, retain access to discounted Iranian oil while shielding banks and companies that export to the Islamic Republic from international scrutiny or penalties, they said.

The US has imposed sanctions on some smaller Chinese entities that buy or facilitate shipments of Iranian oil but has stopped short of the most punishing measures that could have repercussions on the global economy.

Washington has intensified the pressure as it tries to resolve its war with Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. In August, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned countries to cut business ties with Iran or risk being forced out of the dollar-based financial system.

Reuters could not determine the impact on the barter-like arrangement of the US naval blockade imposed on Iran as part of the six-month war. No Iranian crude cargoes have successfully transited the Strait ​of Hormuz to China since the blockade was reinstated on July 14, the news agency reported last week.

China and Iran have repeatedly denounced what they regard as illegal unilateral Western sanctions and have vowed to protect their interests. The countries are longstanding economic and political partners but have said little publicly about how they keep trade flowing despite international restrictions.

Iran has used the arrangement to buy medicines, vehicles and communication equipment from China, all the sources said. The manufacturers were not dealing directly with Iran, and there is no indication they were in breach of sanctions.

The mechanism was also used at least once in the past year in connection with contracts to supply Iran with air defense equipment worth millions of dollars, the sources said.

They did not provide details about any of the alleged transactions with Chinese manufacturers, and Reuters could not independently verify that they took place.

A UN embargo on the export of most major conventional weapons to Iran was reinstated with other sanctions in September 2025 after the US withdrew from a 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and world powers during President Donald Trump’s first term, and Tehran stopped complying with some of its provisions.

Iran and China said the move by European countries to automatically restore the sanctions through a “snapback” mechanism was “legally and procedurally flawed.”

Responding to Reuters questions about the barter-like trade, China’s foreign ministry said it was “not familiar with the situation you describe.”

“China has consistently opposed unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law and have not been authorized by the United Nations Security Council,” it said.

Iran’s UN missions in New York and Geneva did not respond to requests for comment.

In response to questions to the White House, a US official said the Trump administration works with economic partners including the European Union to “deprive Iran of the material means of furthering its nuclear ambitions.” The official did not comment on the arrangement described to Reuters.

 Avoiding international banking channels

Decades of US sanctions have left Iran with few ​oil customers. China is the main buyer, accounting for more than 80% of Iran’s shipped oil in 2025, or an average 1.4 million barrels per day, according to commodities data and analytics firm Kpler.

In 2021, the two countries signed a 25-year strategic partnership accord covering sectors such as energy and infrastructure, but public details remain scarce.

The arrangement described to Reuters is one of a number of mechanisms through which Iran purchases goods and services from China without paying Chinese companies directly through international banking channels, three of the sources said.

A Western official and two other people familiar with the matter said a buyer acting on behalf of Chinese state-owned oil trader Zhuhai Zhenrong was at least until this year depositing hundreds of millions of dollars a month with an obscure, China-based financial entity known as ChuXin.

The deposits covered purchases agreed with a Hong Kong-registered company linked to Iran’s national oil company, the people said, citing material gathered by intelligence agencies. ChuXin would then send funds to Chinese exporters and companies that build infrastructure in Iran, likely via other Chinese financial institutions.

Roughly 70% of the Iranian oil proceeds handled by ChuXin are allocated to infrastructure projects, the three sources said, an arrangement first reported by the Wall Street Journal last October. The rest go into accounts belonging to a special purpose vehicle (SPV) used to pay companies that supply goods to Iran.

The Iranian sources, who are close to the country’s decision-making circle, confirmed the existence of the SPV, which has not previously been reported.

All five sources said funds in the SPV are managed by two entities: a firm acting on behalf of China’s Ministry of Commerce and one linked to Iran’s central bank. The Iran-linked firm notifies the Chinese one when Iran’s central bank authorizes importers to access funds in the SPV so payments can be sent to the suppliers, three said.

Reuters could find no record of a financial institution called ChuXin in Chinese company registries or of the firms said to be acting on behalf of China’s commerce ministry and Iran’s central bank. One source said ChuXin might only exist on a spreadsheet.

Companies with the same names as those said to be acting on behalf of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and Zhuhai Zhenrong are listed in the Hong Kong companies registry, but Reuters could find no public records of their ownership structure or business dealings. Neither responded to questions delivered to their registered addresses, which are in offices belonging to secretarial services companies.

Plausible deniability

Zhuhai Zhenrong has been a target of US sanctions over its alleged dealings with Iran. One source shared what appeared to be a July 22, 2025, letter from NIOC to the Chinese oil trader requesting confirmation of an outstanding balance – evidence, the person said, of a business relationship.

Reuters could not independently authenticate the document. NIOC and Zhuhai Zhenrong did not respond to questions about it or their alleged roles in the trade mechanism.

Iran’s central bank and China’s commerce ministry also did not respond to requests for comment.

The mechanism described to Reuters has been in place since at least 2021 and was first used to supply medicines and COVID-19 vaccines to Iran, three sources said.

As Washington has stepped up pressure on companies that do business with Iran, it has become increasingly important for trade, they said. They estimated that between $2 billion and $2.5 billion flowed through the SPV over the last year.

China is using such arrangements to push back against the US and show it cannot be coerced with the threat of secondary sanctions, said Andrea Ghiselli, an international politics lecturer at the University of Exeter who studies Beijing’s relations with the Middle East.

But he said China’s leaders do not want their banks or companies excluded from the international financial system.

“They want plausible deniability.”

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Pakistan has delivered a Saudi warning to Iran to rein in its Yemeni Houthi allies after they stepped up attacks on the kingdom, in a coordinated effort to prevent the crisis from spiraling, Saudi, Pakistani and Iranian sources said.

The Houthis struck an airbase in Khamis Mushait and oil infrastructure in nearby cities on Tuesday, wounding 73 people, in one of the biggest attacks on Saudi Arabia since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran in February.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said on Wednesday that Saudi warplanes carried out 54 airstrikes across various Yemeni provinces over the past 12 hours, adding that they would “not go unanswered and unpunished.”

The escalating conflict, which represents a second theater of war to threaten global energy supplies, comes as Iran and the United States wage their biggest declared wave of tit-for-tat attacks on shipping in the Gulf region since their war began.

Pakistan’s warning to Iran carries significant weight because of its defense pact with Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

While officials in Islamabad stressed any military role would be confined to defending Saudi territory, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said attacks spilling into the kingdom could trigger a joint security arrangement involving Riyadh, Ankara and Islamabad. 

“An aggression on one country will be considered an aggression on all three countries,” Asif said on Pakistani TV.

“There is no ambiguity or doubt… Unprovoked aggression or spillover… into Saudi Arabia will definitely make this agreement operational.”

The Pakistani defense ministry, foreign ministry and the military did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. 

Fears of proxy war turning into wider regional crisis

Pakistan’s intervention, after years of balancing ties with Saudi Arabia and Iran, has underscored the seriousness of the Houthi attacks. The message to Tehran is clear: rein in the Houthis or risk turning a proxy conflict into a broader regional security crisis, the sources said.

A senior regional diplomat said Pakistan had conveyed the message to Iran over the past 24 hours, urging Tehran to use its influence to halt Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.

A senior Iranian official confirmed that Pakistan conveyed the message to Tehran on Tuesday and Tehran’s response was that “Iran does not control the Houthis.”

However, two Iranian sources said Tehran had told the Houthis last week to carry out attacks on Saudi Arabia. Tehran promised additional funding and weapons, they said, while several Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders had traveled to Yemen to help coordinate the attacks.

The regional diplomat said Islamabad was seeking to restrain the Houthis before the escalation reached a point where Riyadh could press Pakistan to play a more active role in defending it.

“Pakistan has an agreement with Saudi Arabia, but I am hopeful the situation will not reach the point where Pakistan has to practically step in,” the diplomat told Reuters. “It will pursue a diplomatic solution for now.”

Pakistani support for Saudis

The Pakistani source said Saudi officials had met senior Pakistani and Turkish military representatives in Riyadh to coordinate their response. The three countries agreed that their troops would not enter Yemen and that any response would be launched from Saudi territory, the source added.

A second Pakistani source said no decision had been made to join retaliatory strikes, stressing that its military pact with Riyadh was defensive and limited to protecting Saudi territory. Pakistani forces could provide military, technical, ground or air support within Saudi Arabia, but would not take part in combat operations on foreign soil, the source said.

The pressure campaign waged by Iran and the Houthis could have the opposite effect to that intended by Tehran, the regional diplomat said.

By targeting Gulf security in a bid to pressure Washington over its blockade of Iranian ports, Tehran risks driving Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey and other US-aligned states into closer security coordination rather than fracturing their ties.

Trump’s blockade of Iran set to continue 

Regional officials also see little sign that Washington is prepared to relent.

President Donald Trump appears committed to maintaining the US blockade until Iran reaches an agreement with Washington, the diplomat said, while Qatar is quietly exploring new proposals aimed at bringing both sides back to negotiations.

Another regional source said Saudi Arabia’s military response would remain focused on the Houthis rather than Iran itself. Nor do Saudi officials believe Houthi attacks will achieve Tehran’s broader objective of ending the US blockade.

Riyadh is not expected to press Washington to lift the blockade, that source said, stressing that Trump believes sustained economic coercion is the most effective pathway to negotiations.

“The question is how much pain Iran can absorb, and for how long,” the source said. “Trump does not want a military solution. He wants to squeeze them through the blockade.”

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Top White House advisers, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have privately warned President Donald Trump that the conflict with Iran could extend through the remainder of his presidency, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing US officials.

The White House did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The advisers told Trump in private discussions in the Oval Office and the Situation Room that Tehran could continue to resist US pressure, potentially prolonging the conflict beyond Inauguration Day in January 2029, the WSJ added.

Trump says he expects war to end ‘immediately after’ US midterm elections

The reported warning contrasts with Trump’s own public remarks about the war. The president said on Wednesday he expected the war to end “immediately after” the US midterm elections in November, arguing that Iran was trying to influence the vote but would be unable to sustain its resistance much longer.

Speaking to reporters before departing for Dallas, Trump was asked about the continued conflict with Iran and the sharp rise in oil prices.

“I think the war will end immediately after the election,” Trump said. “I think the war will end immediately after the election because they can’t hold out any longer.”

Trump’s remarks came as oil prices climbed above $100 a barrel amid renewed US-Iran military action. He acknowledged that Americans are paying higher prices but again framed the conflict around preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. 

Idan Kweller contributed to this report.

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Two-thirds of Jewish voters plan to vote for Democrats in the coming midterms, according to a poll published Wednesday, in a sign that roiling tensions in the party over Israel have barely budged its status as the political home favored by a substantial majority of Jews.

The poll by the Jewish Voters Resource Center, which is led by prominent Jewish Democrats, showed that 67 percent of respondents planned to vote for Democratic congressional candidates in November, and that 26 percent said they would vote for Republicans.

It reflected other polling since the Oct. 7, 2023 deadly Hamas attacks on Israel, showing increased concern about antisemitism and about Israel. 

Antisemitism ranks third on important issues lists

Asked to rank their top two issues going into the voting booth, respondents made antisemitism third, after affordability and the future of democracy. Israel ranked fifth.

Much of the recent Jewish community anxiety about antisemitism and Israel has been directed at Democrats, who have elevated a number of strident Israel critics in primaries this season, including a number who refuse to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. Additionally, a number of candidates have faced Jewish community criticism for appearing with social media influencers accused of peddling antisemitic tropes. 

Still, the high ranking of concerns about democracy are huge unfavorables for President Donald Trump – and his vice president, JD Vance – who at times has been hostile to Israel and who has maintained close relationships with figures who have drawn accusations of antisemitism – suggests that Republicans are stumbling in seizing the moment of Jewish disaffection with Democrats.

Asked to rate candidates on an unfavorability scale, Trump scored 75 out of 100; Vance scored 82.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been fiercely criticized by Democrats for his conduct of the war in Gaza, scored 67 on the unfavorability scale.

Jewish history shows favor for Democrats since 1930s

Since the 1930s, Jews have voted consistently in two-thirds majorities for Democrats, with peaks in the 2000 election, when some polling showed close to 80 percent of Jewish voters favored a ticket that had the Jewish senator, Joe Lieberman, as running mate to Al Gore. 

There was some movement toward Republicans in 2012, when moderate Mitt Romney was the GOP presidential nominee facing President Barack Obama, but Trump’s election in 2016 reversed those gains.

The survey was conducted by GBAO Strategies, a polling firm that works with liberal groups and with Democrats. For this poll, it reached 800 Jewish voters via text from Aug. 26-Sept. 1 and has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.

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WASHINGTON — Somaliland is willing to contribute up to 2,000 soldiers to the International Stabilization Force planned for Gaza but is waiting for the US or Israel to ask, Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi said on Wednesday.

“If they ask, we can provide,” Abdullahi said in an interview on the sidelines of the MEAD conference, stressing that although Somaliland is not volunteering, “if they ask me, I am ready.”

Uganda has approved a contingent of some 1,200 troops, while Morocco has committed up to 500. Albania, Kazakhstan and Kosovo have also pledged personnel to the US-led force, which is intended eventually to deploy some 20,000 soldiers in Gaza.

The force’s tasks are set to include maintaining security, training Palestinian police, facilitating humanitarian aid and preventing Hamas from reestablishing its military control.

Somaliland has an army of approximately 25,000 soldiers and a coast guard of some 1,500 personnel, Abdullahi said. It has not previously contributed troops to an African Union force.

Israel the first country to recognize Somaliland independence

In December, Israel became the first country to formally recognize Somaliland as an independent state, ending the territory’s 35-year struggle without international recognition. Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991, but Mogadishu still considers it part of Somalia.

Somaliland opened an embassy in Jerusalem in June during Abdullahi’s first official visit to Israel. This was its first formally designated embassy in the world, though it also opened an embassy-like representative office in Taiwan in 2020.

Abdullahi said Israel’s recognition has already significantly raised Somaliland’s international profile, even though no other country has yet followed Israel’s lead.

“There has been much more attention paid to Somaliland following Israel’s recognition,” he said. “ Now you can find the word ‘Somaliland’ in every language in the world—in Indian, Arabic and Chinese.”

Abdullahi said that for 35 years his country has been asking the whole world to “see us,”  and now they are paying attention.

The president is expected to meet members of Congress next week, including Sen. Ted Cruz, one of Somaliland’s most vocal supporters in Washington. Cruz has called on the US to recognize Somaliland, arguing that it could serve as an important American security and diplomatic partner in the strategically significant Horn of Africa.

Abdullahi said he could not point to any American promise to recognize Somaliland, but added that his government had discussed both recognition and security cooperation with US officials.

“We are optimistic,” he said.

Israel’s recognition has, however, increased tensions with Somalia and Turkey, one of Mogadishu’s closest military, economic and diplomatic partners.

Turkey adamantly opposed Israel’s move, arguing that Somaliland remains part of Somalia and that recognizing its independence violates Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the recognition illegitimate and unacceptable and accused Israel of trying to destabilize the Horn of Africa.

Ankara operates a military base in Mogadishu. It also trains Somali troops, has supplied Somalia with armed drones and is exploring for oil and gas off the Somali coast. Following Israel’s recognition, Turkey also deployed F-16 fighter jets to Somalia, further expanding its military presence there.

Abdullahi said Turkey’s steps showed that Israel’s recognition had concrete security consequences for Somaliland.

“There is no free lunch,” he said. “Everything has some negative and some positive.”

“We created new enemies,” he added, saying countries that had not previously provided Somalia with sophisticated weaponry were now doing so.

Asked whether Somaliland faced a threat of invasion, Abdullahi said Somalia’s president and defense minister had publicly spoken about invading the territory. Somaliland has enough manpower to defend itself, he said, but needs more advanced weapons and technology.

“We need protection,” he said, adding that Somaliland is seeking assistance from Israel, the US and other allies to “balance the situation.”

The president said there is currently no Israeli or American security presence in Somaliland, but he did not rule out such a presence in the future, saying it could create both balance and deterrence.

Asked directly whether he would like an Israeli security presence in Somaliland, Abdullahi said he expected a foreign presence “maybe in the near future.”

President denies discussing Israel using Somaliland territory for operations against Houthis

He denied, however, that Israel and Somaliland had discussed using Somaliland’s territory or airspace for operations against the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen.

Somaliland and Yemen face one another across the Gulf of Aden and have been neighbors for thousands of years, he said.

“As a country, Somaliland, we don’t have any conflict with the Houthis at the moment,” he said. “We haven’t discussed possible Israeli operations against them.”

Abdullahi also denied reports that Somaliland had discussed accepting Palestinians from Gaza as part of its agreement with Israel.

“We haven’t discussed it with Israel, we haven’t discussed it with the Americans, we haven’t discussed it with anyone,” he said.

The recognition declaration signed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last year provides for cooperation in security, trade, investment and economic development, Abdullahi said. Water technology will be the top priority because Somaliland is semi-arid.

He said he met representatives of more than 100 Israeli companies during his visit to Tel Aviv, including firms interested in Somaliland’s potential oil and gas reserves.

No concrete Israeli investments have yet been made, he said, “but we expect” them.

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WASHINGTON – Israel’s retaliatory measures against Britain for banning imports from the settlements were designed to make London “wince” and have likely succeeded, former senior US official Elliott Abrams said on Wednesday.

Abrams, in an interview on the sidelines of the MEAD conference, said Israel’s decision to close the British Consulate in east Jerusalem and exclude Britain from diplomatic and security activity connected to the Palestinians would impair London’s ability to play the global role it seeks.

“I think they achieved that,” he said when asked whether Israel’s response would cause Britain diplomatic pain. Among the retaliatory steps Israel announced were ordering the closure of the British Consulate in Jerusalem within 30 days, removing British personnel from US-led coordination efforts in Gaza, ending British training of Palestinian security forces, and barring several British figures from entering Israel.

Abrams criticizes Miliband over Israel policy

Abrams, a senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and a former US deputy national security adviser in the Reagan, George W. Bush, and Trump administrations, was sharply critical of British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, particularly his accusation that Israel was carrying out “ethnic cleansing” in Judea and Samaria.

He said Miliband’s speech announcing the new policy would offend many British and Israeli Jews because, in slamming Israeli policy, he “relies on the fact that he’s Jewish.”

“He’s a Jew according to the Nuremberg Laws,” Abrams said. “But there is nothing in the way he lives his life that shows any particular involvement or affinity with the Jewish community, and I think that’s going to rankle a lot of Jews.”

Abrams said he didn’t think Miliband cared whether his words would “rankle” the local Jewish community, adding that this is “part of the problem.”

“You have a British Jewish community that’s under a lot of pressure, and not just political pressure,” he said. “I mean, they do not feel themselves to be safe physically. They don’t think their children are safe in their schools. Nothing that Miliband has done will help. It will make them feel less safe. It will make them feel the government is against them.”

Abrams said the sanctions were imposed according to Britain’s domestic political timetable, with little consideration for the anniversary of the October 7 massacre or Israel’s October 27 election.

The domestic political timetable he referred to was the British Labour Party’s annual convention to be held at the end of the month, with this move believed to be meant to placate the hard-left faction inside the party.

Abrams noted that the sanctions will be implemented in another six to nine months, leaving open the possibility that their scope could change, particularly if Israel has a different governing coalition next year.

Israel seeks to limit Britain’s diplomatic role

Abrams said that with the deterioration in diplomatic ties between the two countries, the question now was whether it would spill over into military and intelligence cooperation.

While such ties can sometimes be insulated from political disputes, he said, Israel will seek to marginalize Britain from Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy and the postwar Gaza process.

“The British, like the French, think of themselves as a global power,” he said. “Okay, not a superpower, but a country with a global role.”

If Israel tells Britain, “You just lost your role here,” and makes it more difficult for London to exert influence in Ramallah or Gaza, he said, that will matter to the British.

Abrams rejected the suggestion that Israel’s effort to deter other governments had already failed because 10 additional countries joined the British-led initiative, noting that the majority of European states, as well as Latin American and Asian states, did not join the boycott.

He said the strong Israeli reaction was meant to warn other countries that there would be a price.

He said it was likely that Britain was singled out for the harshest Israeli response because it not only imposed the measures but also actively recruited other countries to join.

“It was the British who not only did it, but then went out and tried to convince others to join them,” he said. “And I think the Israelis particularly resent that.”

Abrams warns Britain could lose influence

Last month, Israel expelled Dutch representatives from the US-led Gaza coordination center in Kiryat Gat because the Netherlands announced a ban on settlement imports.

Abrams described the group of countries now acting outside the framework of the European Union, where states including Germany and the Czech Republic can and often do block actions against Israel that need to be taken unanimously, as an “anti-Israel coalition of the willing.”

Abrams said Norway offered a cautionary example of what Britain risks. Once considered an effective mediator in conflicts worldwide, Norway lost its influence when it ceased to be neutral on the Israel-Palestinian issue.

“What have you achieved?” Abrams said he has asked Norwegian diplomats. “Nothing for the Palestinians, and you diminished your own influence.”

That, he said, was also his message to London: “What you did will not help one Palestinian, but it will diminish British influence.”

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