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At Ben-Gurion Airport, Israelis are doing what exhausted people do: leaving for a few days.

No one should begrudge them that. Nearly three years after the October 7 massacre, Israel has inflicted serious damage on its enemies but has failed to bring its conflicts to durable conclusions. Hamas remains a threat in Gaza, Hezbollah remains a threat from Lebanon, and Iran and its proxies continue to seek revenge, even as the situation in the West Bank grows more volatile.

At home, the country is entering an election campaign without an authoritative accounting of the failures that brought it here.

People want to breathe. They want a beach, a city break, a family holiday, or simply a week in which every notification does not carry the possibility of another attack.

But boarding a plane is not an escape from being Israeli.

Terrorist organizations and lone-wolf attackers continue to seek opportunities to target Israelis and Jews abroad, particularly as the High Holy Days and the third anniversary of October 7 approach, the National Security Council warned on Sunday.

The notice did not impose new travel warnings, but it described a threat environment that has expanded alongside Israel’s continuing war fronts. Iran and its proxies remain the principal global terrorist threat to Israelis and Jews, the council said, while Hamas is investing resources in building terrorist infrastructure in Europe for possible attacks.

Antisemitic incidents up 136% since 2022

Antisemitism, meanwhile, remains far above its pre-October 7 levels and has become increasingly violent. The 2026 J7 Annual Report on Antisemitism, covering seven of the world’s largest Jewish communities, found that recorded antisemitic incidents were 136% higher in 2025 than in 2022, while violent incidents had risen by 97%.

The Foreign Ministry separately received 45 reports in one year from Israelis who experienced physical assault, verbal abuse, denial of service, or other antisemitic incidents abroad. The figure is not a comprehensive count of every incident, but it reflects a reality that travelers cannot simply dismiss.

Israelis therefore need to understand where they are going, the local threat level, and the protections available to them. They should know how to reach local authorities and the nearest Israeli diplomatic mission. Discrimination should be documented and reported, and credible threats should not be shrugged off. Nobody should be expected to tolerate abuse because of an Israeli passport or a Hebrew accent.

None of this means Israelis must accept collective punishment for their government’s policies. Antisemitism is not caused by an Israeli tourist behaving badly, and violence is never justified by boorishness.

Israelis and Jews abroad should travel responsibly 

That does not eliminate personal responsibility. Travelers should follow official warnings, protect sensitive personal information, avoid demonstrations, and exercise judgment in unfamiliar situations.

They should also respect local laws and treat those around them accordingly. Being alert does not require being confrontational, and knowing one’s rights does not mean turning every dispute into a test of national pride.

Israelis abroad are private citizens, not government spokespeople. Yet regardless of whether they welcome it, they are often readily identified with their country. Their conduct can affect not only how they themselves are treated, but also Jewish communities that will remain after they return home.

This is particularly important at a time when a minor confrontation can be recorded, stripped of context, and circulated as evidence of something much larger. Israelis should not have to perform for the approval of hostile audiences. Basic consideration is not capitulation, however, and needless bravado is not patriotism.

Travelers can reduce their exposure, but they cannot remove the underlying threats. The government cannot treat travel warnings as a substitute for reducing the dangers that increasingly follow Israelis beyond the country’s borders. Individual caution is necessary, but it cannot compensate for the absence of a national strategy capable of bringing Israel’s open fronts toward resolution.

Israelis are entitled to rest, travel, and enjoy the world without apologizing for their existence. After years of war, reserve duty, displacement, bereavement, and uncertainty, the need for respite is neither frivolous nor disloyal.

Crossing the border, however, does not erase their identity or the circumstances surrounding it. Israelis should go abroad with confidence, but also with awareness: knowing their rights, taking genuine dangers seriously, and extending to others the same consideration they rightly expect for themselves.

There may be no vacation from being Israeli. There can still be a responsible way to take one.

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Syria remains committed to a diplomatic solution with Israel, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said on Monday, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).

Shaibani made his comments during a meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the 166th ministerial session of the Arab League in Cairo, SANA reported.

“We remain committed to the option of a diplomatic solution and are working hard to achieve it, while working to end Israeli attacks, arrests, and incursions,” Shaibani said.

Syrian FM calls for exclusive control of arms

During the meeting, SANA also reported that Shaibani called for the government to have exclusive control of weaponry in order to aid in the country’s security.

“Exclusive control of arms is a deterrent decision and an absolute sovereign right of the state, so that we can protect all Syrians and build together,” he said.

He also reaffirmed Syria’s solidarity with Gulf Arab states and Jordan since the start of the ongoing war against Iran, several of which have come under fire in Iranian attacks. Shaibani condemned Iran’s attacks on the Gulf countries during the meeting.

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Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the United Kingdom’s ambassador to Israel to be ejected from the country on Monday night, following reports that the UK was planning to announce a ban on trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank on Tuesday.

“Expel the British ambassador tonight!” Smotrich posted on X/Twitter. “The British Mandate in the Land of Israel is over.”

Smotrich added that Israel would not be “a doormat trampled by an antisemitic government,” and called the UK “a country conquered by radical Islam, trying to save itself from economic and social decline by attacking Jews and the State of Israel.”

לגרש את השגריר הבריטי עוד הערב!

לא נהיה אסקופה נדרסת של ממשלה אנטישמית, במדינה שנכבשה על ידי האסלאם הרדיקלי, ומנסה להינצל משקיעה כלכלית וחברתית באמצעות תקיפת היהודים ומדינת ישראל.

המנדט הבריטי בארץ ישראל נגמר.

— בצלאל סמוטריץ’ (@bezalelsm) September 7, 2026

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also responded to the reports of the UK’s settlement trade ban by calling for Israel to recognize the Falkland Islands as “Argentine territory under occupation.”

According to Ben-Gvir, “The British are not content with merely occupying the territory; they also carry out oil drilling there and steal the money from the Argentine people.”

He also called upon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to recognize Argentina’s sovereignty over the islands, and to impose sanctions on Britain “as long as the occupation continues.”

Es hora de que el Estado de Israel reconozca públicamente que las Islas Malvinas son territorio argentino ocupado, que los británicos le roban violentamente al pueblo argentino. Los británicos no solo se conforman con ocupar el territorio, sino que también realizan allí…

— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) September 7, 2026

UK likely to announce ban following debate on Jewish safety

Earlier on Monday, sources told The Jerusalem Post about the UK’s plan to announce the ban on trade with settlements.

Tuesday’s announcement in Parliament is likely to take place in the afternoon, after a 9:30 a.m. debate on Jewish safety in Westminster Hall.

The new measures will likely include a ban on goods produced in the settlements and targeted sanctions on British institutions and individuals.

Mathilda Heller contributed to this report.

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The pro-Palestinian Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) announced on Monday that it had filed a criminal complaint against Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar with authorities in Slovenia, ahead of his expected visit to Ljubljana on September 9 and 10 for the opening of the new Israeli embassy.

The organization accuses Sa’ar of responsibility for war crimes, genocide, and torture during the war in Gaza.

At this stage, there is no indication that Slovenian authorities have opened proceedings in response to the complaint. The Foreign Ministry has not yet issued a response.

The HRF has previously lodged complaints against Sa’ar in February 2025, ahead of his visit to Brussels, and in April 2025, ahead of his visit to London.

“Universal jurisdiction exists precisely so that perpetrators cannot hide behind borders or diplomatic visits,” Natacha Bracq, Head of Litigation at HRF, stated. “We expect the Slovenian judiciary to act swiftly and decisively, ensuring that diplomatic immunity is not used as a shield against accountability for war crimes, acts of genocide, and torture.”

Sa’ar announces new Slovenia embassy

Sa’ar announced the opening of the new Israeli embassy in June, after the election of Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša.

“The election of Prime Minister Janez Janša marks a new chapter in relations between Israel and Slovenia,” he announced at the time.

“After years of the hostility of the previous government – we now have an opportunity to rebuild, strengthen, and deepen a real partnership.”

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Brig.-Gen. (res.) Ofer Winter, the chairman of the People of Israel party, fired back at Yitzhak Goldknopf, head of United Torah Judaism’s haredi (ultra-Orthodox) faction Agudat Yisrael, on Monday after he stated that UTJ would demand a full military draft exemption for any student of a yeshiva.

“Not everyone who wears black and white studies Torah,” Winter, who comes from a national religious background, said.

“There will be no government without regulating the status of those who serve. Our commitment to them is paramount.”

Winter also called for Goldknopf to stop “deceiving the public,” saying that “this system harms first and foremost the true Torah students.”

In the future, Winter stated, “Haredim will integrate into the IDF and the national service. Those who contribute to the state will receive. Those who serve more will receive much more. And those who do not serve, do not study, and do not contribute will not enjoy benefits.

“What was – will not be,” he concluded.

Winter releases People of Israel Knesset slate ahead of elections

Earlier on Monday, Winter released his party’s slate, submitting it at the Knesset along with other parties ahead of the October elections.

The submission of the list closed the door to a merger with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party (RZP). Smotrich had called on Winter to join his alliance with Zehut party leader Moshe Feiglin.

The choice not to merge also appeared to defy Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been pushing small parties to merge to avoid losing votes from the right-wing bloc if they fail to cross the electoral threshold.

Keshet Neev and Tobias Holcman contributed to this report.

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Trains will operate on a special schedule during Rosh Hashanah, Israel Railways announced on Monday.

On the eve of the holiday, Friday, September 11, trains will operate from approximately 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with increased service on the Haifa-Tel Aviv line.

Train service will resume after the holiday on Sunday, September 13, beginning at approximately 9:30 p.m.

In addition, on the Selichot days, Tuesday and Wednesday, September 8 to 9 and September 15 to 16, 2026, nighttime train service will be extended to Jerusalem’s Yitzhak Navon Station.

Gush Dan metro trains technically capable of operating on Shabbat

Last month, it was revealed that the planned Gush Dan metro trains will be highly automated, driverless, and run every minute and a half, even during peak hours, and would be technically capable of operating on weekends or holidays such as Rosh Hashanah.

Eliminating drivers would reduce the extent of Shabbat violations involved in running the network, although security and operations personnel would still be required on Fridays and Saturdays.

An NTA official stressed, however, that weekend service is only a technical possibility and that the decision will ultimately be made by the political leadership.

Udi Etzion contributed to this report.

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Israel’s Pirate Party sailed back into election season on Monday, filing its candidate list for the 26th Knesset with a familiar assortment of pirate hats and one rather unexpected recruit: Prof. Dan Ariely.

Ariely, the Israeli-American behavioral economist and best-selling author, was placed third on the party’s 25-person slate submitted to the Central Elections Committee. He also appeared at the Knesset sporting a pirate hat, keeping with party tradition.

Asked by Israeli news site Kipa why he had joined the Pirates, Ariely offered a concise explanation: “Politics is fun.”

The Pirates have been a colorful fixture of Israeli election campaigns for more than a decade.

Founded in 2012, the party first ran for the Knesset in 2013, when it received just over 2,000 votes, still its best showing to date. It has never come close to crossing the electoral threshold.

The Pirate Party advocates for Israelis to play a more direct role in its democracy

The party advocates using technology to give citizens a more direct role in government decisions.

Its representative Daniel Felber said ahead of the filing that Israel’s democracy should allow citizens to influence decisions throughout a Knesset term rather than only on Election Day.

The Pirates are unlikely to make it into the Knesset. But with Ariely on the list and pirate hats in the halls of parliament, they did manage to get noticed.

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Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) protesters demonstrated against light rail construction on Bar-Ilan Street in Jerusalem on Monday, according to the Israel Police.

Police said activists tried to block traffic and damage the construction sites, and officers began dispersing the crowd after declaring the protest unlawful.

The demonstration marks the latest in what have become regular protests against the expansion of Jerusalem’s light rail network along Bar-Ilan Street.

On August 27, hundreds of haredi individuals gathered in the same area to protest the project, with Ynet News reporting that several demonstrators tore down fences, set fire to cardboard installations, and attempted to break into the construction site.

A suspect in the alleged arson was later arrested by police and taken in for questioning. An additional suspect was arrested for throwing stones at security forces.

Haredi protests cause over NIS 400 million in damage to light rail

The protests follow an N12 News report that haredi protests have cumulatively caused over NIS 400 million in damage to the Jerusalem Light Rail’s unfinished Green Line since construction began about six years ago.

The protests have caused Jerusalem Light Rail operator Cfir to change opening dates and routing in several sections of the line, according to N12.

Walla and Alon Hachmon contributed to this report.

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National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized the High Court of Justice directive that allows Nukhba terrorists to receive visits for the first time since October 7, according to a statement released on Monday.

Ben-Gvir argued that the decision would harm Israel’s security deterrence, pointing to what he described as the impact of tougher conditions for security prisoners.

“The High Court’s directive to allow visits to Nukhba terrorists for the first time since October 7 constitutes a direct blow to the State of Israel’s security deterrence,” Ben-Gvir said.

He also linked a decline in terrorist attacks to reforms in prison conditions.

“The security reality is clear: There has been a decline of approximately 75% in terrorist attacks, according to the Shin Bet, due in part to the reform of conditions for terrorists in prison,” he said.

Ben-Gvir also accused the High Court of serving the interests of Israel’s enemies, saying, “Unfortunately, the High Court consistently serves as an address for appeals by the enemy, and as Justice Amit told petitioners in the case concerning the entry of goods into Gaza, ‘This court places itself at your disposal.’”

Prison conditions, death penalty central to Ben-Gvir agenda

As national security minister, Ben-Gvir has made tightening prison conditions for October 7 terrorists and advancing the death penalty for terrorists key priorities of his term.

When the death penalty for terrorists law first passed in April, Ben-Gvir told The Jerusalem Post that the measure would help prevent another attack like the October 7 massacre, defending it amid international condemnation and saying it would align Israel with US capital punishment policies.

Ben-Gvir has continued to present harsher prison conditions and capital punishment as central elements of his approach to deterring terrorism. Speaking in August about an execution facility being built for terrorists, he said, “I promised to worsen the conditions of terrorists in prisons – we kept it. I promised to pass the Death Penalty for Terrorists Law – we did. And now the death row and hanging facility are also starting to take shape.”

Keshet Neev and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.

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It is time for Israelis to rethink their travel plans.

Here is the problem. Since the Hamas-led terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023, Jew-hatred has increased exponentially. Places are simply less receptive to Jews, and especially Israelis. My suggestion is that Israelis travel less, or even better, they become more selective regarding where they travel. Not out of fear, but out of prudence.

This is recognition of the hostility they face, and it is a maximization of pleasure and a reduction of tension.

Zionism was a response to antisemitism.

Early Zionists realized that there was no way to eliminate Jew-hatred. That sage insight into a fear of those who are different – the Jews – has, over the decades, proven to be true. They reasoned that the best way to avoid a harmful, senseless, and destructive bias was to create an independent society that could defend itself.

The Jewish state was created on that foundation.

The model of assimilation and accommodation in host societies adopted by Jews, living in host countries for generations, developed as a survival model. They tried to keep their heads down, keep a low profile, keep to themselves, and be quiet, law-abiding citizens. 

The attempt to prove themselves loyal, however, failed. Loyalty alone was not enough. They remained outsiders. They remained unwelcome guests in country after country, decade after decade.

Jewish safety, Jewish life, could not depend on the tolerance of others. Creating a Jewish state was the solution.

Today, as those age-old tensions once again rear their ugly heads, Jews in general, and Israelis in particular, have become moving targets while abroad. Jews – even assimilated Jews, even non-religious Jews, are identifiable. And that means that, for Jews, international travel is not risk-free.

Israelis travel abroad in high numbers

A Pew Research Center study, supported by a Mako survey, reports that 92% of Israelis have traveled abroad at least once in their lives. Some 75% have traveled abroad in the past two years. While those numbers are astonishing in many ways, they are also extremely disturbing.

It is rewarding to know that Israelis, in such large numbers, have the economic capability to travel. It is admirable to know that Israelis have a zest for learning about other cultures, other cuisines, and other climates. With that, of course, comes the realization that Israelis sometimes, oftentimes, just need to get away. From the tensions. From the wars, from the internal conflicts. From October 7 and its after-effects.

Since October 7, Jew-hatred has increased exponentially. It has increased for Jews still living in host countries and it has increased for Israelis living in and passing through those countries. It has been stimulated, in some countries, by the actions and rhetoric of world leaders. It has been carried out by individuals and groups who have been swayed by the vile, vicious, blood libel untruths that a genocide is being perpetrated by the Jewish state.

Not by choice, but out of necessity, Israelis and Jews must change their ways and learn to travel selectively and intelligently. It is time to explore, enjoy, and do business in places where the hosts have proven themselves as countries willing to protect their Jewish guests. It is time to go where Jews are welcome. Passports, hotel reservations, and a cosmopolitan environment do not guarantee a cordial reception.

Modern Zionism’s founding thinkers, such as Leo Pinsker and Theodor Herzl, firmly believed that Jewish safety depended on transforming Jews from guests and minorities who petitioned for their safety, into a power that would and could defend itself in its own home.

It is a colossal mistake to think that Israel and Zionism solved the issue of antisemitism. Rather, it removed Jews from the immediate reach of antisemites and antisemitism. Jew-hatred still exists. Today, an Israeli passport does not magically shield Jews from that hatred. If anything, in certain environments it magnifies the target.

In 2025, the Anti-Defamation League recorded 6,274 attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions in the United States, the country Jews long held to be the “golden country.” While that number was down 33% from 2024, it is still way too high to be considered either acceptable or a statistical anomaly.

The Foreign Ministry recorded 45 Israelis who experienced anti-Jewish incidents between July 2025 and July 2026 while in the United States. That number included fights, spitting, verbal attacks, expulsions from cafés, refusal of service, as well as instances in which Israelis felt threatened. These are by no means all the incidents that occurred; merely those reported or needing diplomatic involvement.

Mathematically, it is highly unlikely that Israeli travelers will be attacked. Until it happens. Until it happens to you. Until you are that Israeli or that Israeli family.

The unfortunate, undeserved message that large swaths of the world have been sending out has been received. A July 2025 survey undertaken by the Israel Democracy Institute reported that 38% of respondents answered that they had changed their travel destinations to accommodate this new state of affairs.

I call that risk-based self-restraint. It is a proactive response; it is not giving the Jew-haters a victory and a reward.

Zionism never promised to eliminate Jew-hatred; it promised that Jews would no longer be defenseless.

Israel exists so that Jews have a place where the state – not a foreign government, and certainly not a hotel manager – is ultimately responsible for the security of Jews.

The writer is a columnist and a social and political commentator. Watch his TV show Thinking Out Loud on the Jewish Broadcasting Syndicate.

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A particularly moving and extraordinary solidarity event took place last night in Vienna, just days before Rosh Hashanah, when dozens of friends of Israel, community leaders, and diplomatic representatives gathered for a special evening of support for Israel and the Shalva organization.

The highlight of the evening was a performance by the Shalva band, which returned to performing in Europe after a long hiatus forced by the Swords of Iron war.

Organizers also announced plans to establish a trauma and post-trauma treatment center in Ashkelon, which will be named after the family members of the released hostage Eli Sharabi, who was murdered on October 7.

The event was led by Marie-Louise Weissenbock, head of the organization Christians on the Side of Israel in Austria, which works extensively on behalf of the Jewish community and the state.

Among the prominent guests in the hall were the Deputy Ambassador of Israel to Austria, Ilay Levi-Yudkovsky; the Chief Rabbi of Vienna, Rabbi Yaron Engelmayer; the President of the Jewish Community in Linz, Dr. Charlotte Hermann; as well as the founder of the Shalva organization, Kalman Samuels, who celebrated his birthday this evening.

A new rehabilitation center for traumatized residents of the south

In his speech, Kalman Samuels shared with the attendees the extensive mobilization of the Shalva organization since the Black Sabbath of October 7, including hosting thousands of evacuees at the National Center in Jerusalem.

Samuels revealed the new initiative that was born following a government appeal: the establishment of a dedicated family and rehabilitation center in Ashkelon for tens of thousands of residents in the south who are dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The connection to the project took a chilling and moving turn when Samuels told about the phone call received by his wife, Malki Mali Sharabi, who was released after 491 days in Hamas captivity.

Sharabi, who lost his wife, Liane, and his two daughters, Noya and Yahel, in the massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri, wanted to commemorate his loved ones through Shalva, an organization close to the family’s heart because of their longstanding commitment to volunteering with people with disabilities.

The new center, located in the Ashkelon marina, will be called the “Sharabi Family Center-Shalva”.

In a recorded and chilling message broadcast during the evening from Israel, Eli Sharabi addressed the audience and said: “I lost my wife, Liane, and my two daughters, Noya and Yahel, on October 7. They were my whole world – three amazing women who always sought to help others. This center is the way to continue their spirit, to take their love and kindness and turn them into a response for families in the south who are dealing with trauma and pain. I believe they would be proud to see their name associated with a place that brings healing to others.”

‘True ambassadors of Israel’

Deputy Ambassador Ilay Levi-Yudkovsky welcomed the initiative and thanked the organization “Christians for Israel” for their steadfast stand by the country. “In these days, when we are facing enormous challenges from our enemies alongside rising waves of anti-Semitism in Europe and the world,” the Ambassador said. “Your support and courage are more important than ever. The members of the Shalva band are our true ambassadors – representing a caring, inclusive Israel that believes that every person deserves respect, community and equality.”

Rabbi of Vienna, Rabbi Yaron Engelmayer, addressed the upcoming Rosh Hashanah prayers. “On Rosh Hashanah we pray not only for ourselves, but for the entire world to be blessed with peace and blessings,” Rabbi Engelmayer said. “This partnership, and the spirit of peace that places the weak and the disabled at the center of society, is the embodiment of the mutual guarantee and social responsibility that we hope for.”

Music, tears and hope for the future

The artistic part of the evening swept the entire audience to tears and dancing. The members of the Shalva band, including soloists Dina Samta and Eden Tehrani, performed their greatest hits – “A Million Dreams,” “Stand by Me,” and “Hallelujah.”

The band’s director, Shai Ben-Shoshan, shared candidly how the band members accompanied him through his rehabilitation process after he was seriously injured in battles in Gaza and Lebanon and returned to fight time and time again. Kalman Samuels also thanked David Fomberg for managing the band and restoring it to intensive activity during this complex period.

Another highlight was when Vienna’s chief cantor, Shmuel Barzilai, took the stage and performed “Adon Olam” with the band in a moving arrangement, and later the song”Jerusalem of Gold” was dedicated to Holocaust survivors who were present in the hall and received flowers from the band members.

The moving evening concluded with a joint singing of “Hatikva” by everyone present in the hall, connecting the local community and the ambassadors of the spirit of peace and prayer for a year of peace, healing, and security for the State of Israel.

Yohanan Samuels, CEO of Shalva, said of the event, “This evening was simply unforgettable! The energy was amazing, and we felt at every moment the warm embrace and immense love of everyone for the ‘Shalva’ organization. After too long a break, the Shalva band returned to stages in Europe – and there is nothing more exciting than showing the world again what we are capable of. People with disabilities are no different from anyone else; they are equal and inseparable from us.

We will continue to represent Israel with dignity, to inspire and work for equality everywhere in the world. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who worked hard and made this evening a reality, and I am already looking forward to the moment when we will celebrate together the opening of the ‘Shalva Sharabi Center’ in Ashkelon – which is made possible thanks to the wonderful people who support us.”

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Yishai Fleisher, the international spokesman for the Jewish community of Hebron, was given the twelfth spot in the Otzma Yehudit party list announced on Monday.

Fleisher, who was raised in the United States and is a member of the Efrat Local Council, is a widely recognized English-speaking voice for Israel abroad, with his YouTube channel having more than 300,000 subscribers.

“I’m excited. This is a big moment. You are a man of action, a man of advocacy, and an important voice for Israel around the world. I’m proud that you’re joining our Otzma Yehudit list,” said Otzma Yehudit leader and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir in a statement.

“It is a privilege and an opportunity to work alongside the Otzma Yehudit team on behalf of the Jewish people: to strengthen the State, to strengthen the connection of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel, and to bring this message to Jews and lovers of Israel around the world,” said Fleisher.

Born in Israel, raised in the US

Fleisher was born in Israel to parents who escaped the Soviet Union, while he spent almost half of his life in the United States, where he was raised.

He speaks Russian, Hebrew, and English; served in the IDF as a paratrooper; and graduated from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York.

While now dedicated to politics, his job as the Hebron’s international spokesman allowed him to show the Jewish community living in the West Bank city to visitors, journalists, public officials, and delegations.

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Canadian aviation giant Bombardier can no longer sell its aircraft in the United States, US President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post on Monday.

“NO MORE SELLING BOMBARDIER IN THE UNITED STATES!” declared Trump, describing the company’s products as “not good enough.”

He further claimed that over half of Bombardier’s revenue comes from US sources, “all while Canada blocks our GREAT American Banks, and Companies, throughout the U.S.A.”

He noted that Ottawa previously blocked US aircraft manufacturer Gulfstream Aerospace from doing business in Canada, calling the move “completely unjust and unfair!”

“If they want our Market, they must build here, and stop treating America like a ‘piggybank,’ he said. “BUY AMERICAN. FLY ON AMERICAN AIRLINERS. ENJOY AMERICAN LIQUOR AND BEVERAGES. SAIL ON LAKE AMERICA. AMERICA FIRST!”

Trump renames Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America’

The US and Canada have been locked in a trade war for over a year, with Trump renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America” on August 27, following claims that Canada has been “ripping off the US for decades.”

On Wednesday, Apple Maps officially changed the name of the lake for US users to comply with the Trump order. 

On August 22, the US imposed 50% tariffs on certain ‌Canadian imports after the two countries failed to reach a trade deal, with both trading accusations of derailing days of talks.

Ariella Roitman, Jerusalem Post Staff, and Reuters contributed to this report.

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A court on Monday extended the detention of a 20-year-old active-duty soldier from Bat Yam suspected of committing sexual offenses against minors until Thursday.

The soldier allegedly posed online as a 16-year-old boy to contact girls aged 14 and 15. Israel Police suspect that he initially contacted them on TikTok before moving the conversations to WhatsApp, where he persuaded them to send him revealing photographs. He allegedly later began extorting and threatening them.

Investigators found that the suspect knew the girls were minors. He also admitted he had concealed his real age so they would keep talking to him.

“If I had told them I was 20, they would not have spoken to me. I saw that they were minors,” he said during questioning.

The nature of the conversations allegedly changed after the girls sent him the photographs. Police suspect that he began extorting them and making serious threats.

In one exchange attributed to him, he allegedly threatened one of the girls, saying, “I will throw a grenade at you in your home. I will murder you and your family.”

The suspect is accused of sexual offenses against minors, sexual extortion, sexual harassment, and making threats. A court issued an arrest warrant on August 25, and Bat Yam police later arrested him. Following a court hearing, his detention was extended until Thursday, September 10.

During the investigation, the suspect’s mother told police that her son has special needs and attention and concentration difficulties. At his attorney’s request, he is expected to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

Bat Yam police investigators are continuing to examine the suspect’s communications with the girls and the scope of the alleged offenses. The investigation remains ongoing.

Holon resident suspected of committing offenses against minors released

A court on Monday released Erez Aviad Cohen, a 37-year-old Holon resident suspected of committing sexual offenses against minors, in a reversal that came one day after police said the evidence against him had strengthened.

Police had also told the court that Cohen was suspected of obstructing the investigation. However, Cohen was released from custody at Abu Kabir after investigators reviewed the evidence and questioned him on Monday morning, Walla reported.

Cohen was released before a hearing scheduled for Tuesday. Under the conditions of his release, he is prohibited from contacting anyone involved in the case and must report for questioning upon request.

Police said suspicions had strengthened

Police told the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court on Sunday that the suspicions against Cohen had strengthened. A police representative said that, in addition to the offenses for which he was arrested, Cohen was suspected of obstructing the investigation after allegedly deleting content from his cellphone before it was handed over to investigators.

The hearing also revealed suspicions that Cohen had posed as a 12-year-old girl since April and joined WhatsApp groups that included girls under the age of 10.

The police representative described the messages under investigation as “conversations involving persuasion, not coercion.”

Cohen’s partner also gave testimony as part of the investigation. Cohen was questioned twice and claimed that the cellphone had not been in his possession.

Police arrested Cohen on September 1 on suspicion of sexually harassing a minor or helpless person through repeated propositions or comments of a sexual nature. He was also suspected of committing an indecent act against a minor after obtaining consent through deception.

At an earlier hearing, police said they had evidence and that the case involved four complainants between the ages of 9 and 12. Investigators seized a laptop from Cohen’s home and later obtained his cellphone. Cohen provided investigators with the password to the computer.

His attorney, Omer Adiri, told the court that Cohen had no criminal record, had lived with his partner for the past year and a half, and had undergone rehabilitation, saying he “went through a process and turned his life around.”

Adiri also claimed that investigators called his client a “pedophile” during questioning. Cohen subsequently exercised his right to remain silent.

Although Cohen’s detention had been extended until September 8, police decided on Monday to release him under restrictive conditions before the scheduled hearing. The investigation remains ongoing, and police are continuing to examine the evidence and suspicions that emerged in recent days.

Cohen’s attorneys, Isabel Fuchs and Omer Adiri, said, “As we argued several days ago, once the picture became clearer, the suspicions would be disproved, and our client would be released. That is exactly what happened today. Our client was released from the police station after it became clear that the suspicions against him had no basis. We welcome the police’s decision, which examined the facts as they are and reached the necessary conclusion.”

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Likud’s top internal court ruled that the party must deliver the proposal for reserved slots to members of its secretariat by 9:00 p.m. Monday, but the deadline passed without Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Likud’s chairman, publishing the list.

The Likud legal adviser will now be required to explain why a secret ballot should not be held without collecting signatures. The dispute comes against the backdrop of MK David Bitan’s petition challenging the reserved slot for Defense Minister Israel Katz.

Netanyahu had yet to publish either the list of candidates for reserved slots or the proposed resolution concerning them, as required by the court, by the time the deadline passed.

The ruling was issued earlier Monday after a petition filed by Bitan, who argued that the names of the candidates had not been published despite an earlier court decision requiring the proposed resolution to be provided to members of the secretariat at least 48 hours before the vote.

Court member attorney Yitzhak Bam warned in his ruling that publishing the proposal shortly before the vote “could be interpreted as an improper fait accompli.”

Bam ruled that if an orderly proposed resolution was not delivered to members of the secretariat by 9 p.m., the movement’s legal adviser would be required to explain why this should not be viewed as implied consent to holding a secret ballot in the secretariat without requiring signatures from 10% of its members.

Bitan sought a declaration in his petition that the reserved slot for Katz would come from the quota of reserved slots already approved for the prime minister under an amendment to the Likud constitution, rather than being added on top of that quota, as the court had ruled previously.

Bitan argues failure to publish list interferes with preparations for vote

He also argued that the failure to publish the names of the candidates for the reserved slots impaired the ability of secretariat members to prepare for the vote.

The court rejected Bitan’s request to cancel the reserved slots, saying that the issue of Katz’s reserved slot had already been considered and that there was no basis to reopen it.

“I believe there is res judicata and no reason to discuss the matter again,” Bam wrote. “The matter is subject to the discretion of the movement chairman, and I do not think it would be appropriate for the court to express an opinion on the matter.”

Netanyahu: Tuesday morning submission leaves enough time for review

Netanyahu said later on Monday that the slate will be submitted by Tuesday morning, which he claimed would leave enough time for review before the 10:00 p.m. deadline.

Regarding publication of the list, the court noted that Likud legal adviser Ilan Bombach had said the previous ruling could not be implemented as written because of the political situation.

The ruling stated, “The 48-hour period was intended to allow members of the secretariat to consider the matter, and even to demand a secret ballot if, in their view, this is justified.”

At the same time, the court clarified that it did not believe canceling the reserved slots was a remedy justified under the circumstances.

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Almost two-thirds of Israel’s Jewish adults support forming a broad coalition after the next election, either without the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties or including them without accepting their demands on state policy based on religion, including policies on the draft, funding for religious institutions, public transportation on Shabbat, and civil marriage, according to Hiddush’s annual survey published on Monday.

The survey, conducted by the Smith Polling Institute for Hiddush, an organization advocating for religious freedom and equality in Israel, involved a sample of 800 men and women representing Israel’s Jewish population 18 and up.

It found that on every religion-and-state issue tested, the majority position was opposed to the government’s current policy, including on the haredi draft.

Some 84% of participants supported conscripting yeshiva students in some form, with 51% believing everyone should be conscripted into full regular service or essential service, and 31% believing there should be an annual quota of exemptions for outstanding students, with everyone else conscripted.

Only 16% of respondents held the position that all yeshiva students should be exempt from army service, down from 25% in 2022.

Majority of participants showed support for High Court over government policy towards draft evasion

Additionally, 66% of the participants support the High Court and Attorney General’s decision to expand sanctions against yeshiva students who don’t enlist by cutting public subsidies and increasing arrests, according to Hiddush.

Respondents were also largely in favor of cutting State funding for haredi schools that refuse to teach the core curriculum and administer external exams, with 55% believing that funding should be cut entirely and 21% believing it should be cut in half.

About 77% also believe that all ties between educational institutions and political parties should be severed, and when asked about the disparity between government funding of religious Jewish, general Jewish, and Arab schools, 70% of those with an opinion said that all discrimination within education should be eliminated, and that full funding equality should be guaranteed for all students in Israel, regardless of religion or race.

According to Hiddush, the survey’s findings “expose the wide gap between the government’s repeated claim that it represents the will of the people and the actual positions of the majority of the adult Jewish public.”

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The Haredi Public party announced on Monday that it will include Dr. Nechumi Yaffe in its list, making her the first woman to run for the Knesset with a haredi (ultra-Orthodox) party.

Dr. Yaffe is a researcher in political psychology at Tel Aviv University who has been working with Harvard University in the “Israel and the Regional Economy” initiative investigating the haredi lifestyle.

“I welcome the joining of Dr. Nechumi Yaffe to the Knesset list of the HaTzibur HaCharedi Party. Over 30 years of an educational and academic career, Yaffe has worked to advance our Charedi brothers and sisters. Together, we will merit to sanctify God’s name. This time, we take responsibility,” said party leader Moti Leitner.

Hendel-Zelekha reveal election list with Einat Wilf as key third spot pushing to pass threshold

The Reservists-Economic party, led by Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelekha, announced Monday its list for the upcoming October elections, with the main surprise being the inclusion of former member of Knesset Einat Wilf of the Labor and Independence party in the third slot.

Wilf, who served in the 18th Knesset from 2010 to 2013, is seen as one of the strong cards of the party, along with Hendel and Zelekha, due to her experience in the political arena and as an influential figure in the Israeli society.

The fourth spot went to Haviv Volibovich, with his spot expected to be the ceiling the party can reach, according to a Sunday poll published by KAN.

The poll revealed that the merger between Hendel and Zelekha pushed the party over the minimum threshold, meaning that it would get four mandates in the next Knesset.

Otzma Yehudit, Democrats unveil their lists

Otzma Yehudit also announced its list for the October election, with chairman Itamar Ben-Gvir at the lead and former Likud MK Tally Gotliv in second.

One of the main surprises was the inclusion of Hanamel Dorfman in the number seven spot, which, according to recent polls, is a realistic position to enter the next Knesset.

Yishai Fleisher, who serves as the international spokesperson for Hebron’s community, was named in the twelfth spot on the list.

In total, Otzma Yehudit is polling eight mandates, with Ben-Gvir, Gotliv, MK Yitzhak Wasserlauf, Amichai Eliyahu, Limor Son Har-Melech, Yitzhak Kreuzer, Dorfman, and Tzahi Eliyahu entering the next Knesset if the latest polls are accurate.

The Democrats, led by Yair Golan, also unveiled their list for the elections, with 20 candidates selected via primaries and the remaining 100 members elected from among party members.

The party announced that in the 99th spot it included Yocheved Lifshitz, who was kidnapped on October 7 from her home in Nir Oz along with her husband, the late Oded Lifshitz. Oded was later murdered by Hamas.

“I see a direct and clear line between October 7th and October 27th, between the abandonment of the fateful elections ahead of us and the battle for democracy and our liberal values,” she said.

Other parties that submitted their lists on Monday include Ofer Winter’s People of Israel and Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar, while the deadline to submit lists ends on Tuesday night.

Former Beit Shemesh mayor Aliza Bloch joins Blue and White

Additionally, the former mayor of Beit Shemesh, Aliza Bloch, announced Monday that she will be joining Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party for the upcoming elections.

“The State of Israel must establish a Zionist and broad government that will enable it to deal with the country’s challenges. Aliza, who has proven in her actions the ability to connect different extremes, is a significant addition to the Blue and White list,” Gantz said in a statement.

“I chose to enter the political arena for the sake of unity in the people, for the future of my children and grandchildren, and for future generations. My commitment was and remains to the value of unity and to improving the lives of the citizens of Israel,” Bloch added.

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President Donald Trump spent the early part of the Labor Day holiday posting memes on social media in support of changing the name of the state of New Mexico to ‘New America’ as tense trade negotiations with Mexico ramp up.

Trump posted several maps of the US that relabeled the land area of New Mexico as New America on Monday.

👀 pic.twitter.com/ikA0qLlQKp

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 6, 2026

The President on Sunday said he had received suggestions to change the name of the state and that he liked the idea. “So much more prestigious and beautiful for the people of that potentially incredible State. Wow, I Love It!!!”

Trump’s posts follow his decision to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America last month, after trade negotiations with Canada failed to produce a deal.

The US federal government, however, has no authority to change the name of a state.

‘New Mexico’s name isn’t up for debate’

New Mexico is currently governed by Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat. She has been on the job since January 1, 2019, and was reelected in 2022.

The governor said in a post on X that “New Mexico’s name isn’t up for debate — it’s been ours since before the United States existed.”

This post was originally published on here. 

Russia said on Monday it was closing down the German Consulate-General in St Petersburg in retaliation for Berlin’s decision to close the Russian consulate in Bonn and a Russian cultural center in Berlin.

Germany took its own measures after accusing Moscow of an attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport, an allegation Russia called an absurd fabrication.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the German consulate in St Petersburg must cease operations no later than September 18.

German cultural institutes in Russia must cease activities

It also confirmed that Germany’s Goethe-Institut cultural centers in Russia must cease their activities, with staff ordered to leave the country by September 13 at the latest.

“It was the German authorities who, once again, provoked a new round of escalation in bilateral relations,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said.

“The German government bears full and complete responsibility for the consequences,” it added.

This post was originally published on here. 

Two new petitions were filed on Monday seeking to overturn the Central Elections Committee’s decision to allow political parties to track in real time which voters have cast ballots, expanding the dispute the High Court of Justice will hear on Wednesday morning.

Both petitions ask to be heard alongside Likud’s existing case over the practice.

The hearing, scheduled for 8 a.m. before Justices Yael Willner, Alex Stein, and Khaled Kabub, will be livestreamed through the Government Press Office, the court ruled on Monday.

The information at issue does not reveal how anyone voted, which remains secret. It tells parties whether an identified person has voted, allowing campaigns to compare the information with their databases and focus calls, messages, visits, and transportation efforts on likely supporters who have not reached the polls.

On Sunday, the full Central Elections Committee voted 19-11, with three abstentions, reversing an earlier prohibition imposed by committee chairman and Supreme Court Deputy President Noam Sohlberg.

Attorney Shahar Ben-Meir, whose original complaint led to Sohlberg’s ruling, filed one of the new petitions. The other was filed by the Reservists party and its chairman, former communications minister Yoaz Hendel.

Both ask the court to cancel Sunday’s decision and restore Sohlberg’s prohibition before the October 27 election, but they place different arguments at the center of their challenges.

Ben-Meir says the committee decision breached the court-approved arrangement

Ben-Meir argues that the committee exceeded the terms of an arrangement approved by the High Court last week.

Under that arrangement, the full committee was asked to reconsider Ben-Meir’s original request and decide whether the reporting should be allowed. Sohlberg’s rulings were placed before it as his legal opinion, while all parties retained their arguments for Wednesday’s continued hearing.

Ben-Meir alleges that, after the committee rejected his request, Likud attorney Ilan Bombach introduced a new proposal setting out conditions under which the reporting would be permitted.

According to the petition, that proposal was not included on the meeting’s agenda, circulated in advance, or examined during the preceding discussion. Ben-Meir argues that adopting it breached the court-approved arrangement and denied participants a proper opportunity to address its contents.

Those allegations have not yet been decided by the court.

Ben-Meir also repeats his position that polling-station officials receive voter information to administer and supervise the election, not to support party campaign operations. He argues that the committee cannot authorize them to transfer personal information without clear legal authority.

Sunday’s decision allows reporting only from ordinary polling stations. Parties may not record the time at which an individual voted, use the information for purposes other than encouraging turnout, transfer it to another party or outside body, or retain it after the election.

Ben-Meir argues that those safeguards do not resolve the central privacy problem because the information is collected and removed from the polling station in the first place. His petition also questions how the restriction on outside transfers applies when parties use commercial companies to operate voter-tracking applications.

The Reservists party and Hendel similarly argue that the committee lacks authority to permit the reporting and that the practice violates voters’ privacy.

Their petition adds a separate claim that the decision gives established parties an unfair advantage over new competitors – which he is.

The petition would allow new parties to send observers to polling-stations

Factions represented in the outgoing Knesset appoint members to polling-station committees, giving them broad access to information about voters arriving throughout the day. New parties may send observers but, according to the petition, would have to finance their deployment across polling stations themselves.

The petition argues that established parties also hold larger voter databases and are better equipped to combine historical information with Election Day reports. Parties with geographically concentrated voting bases may likewise be able to make greater use of the information.

Reservists says the result is not merely a privacy issue but a distortion of electoral competition.

The case began with Likud’s petition challenging Sohlberg’s August 4 prohibition. Likud argued that parties had used real-time reporting openly for several election cycles and had built their turnout operations around it.

Likud also disputed Sohlberg’s authority to prohibit the practice on his own. Last week, the High Court sent the underlying question to the full committee, allowing the authority dispute to be set aside temporarily.

Sohlberg, the attorney-general, and the Privacy Protection Authority have argued that information entrusted to polling-station officials cannot be repurposed for party operations without legal authorization. Sohlberg found that previous use of the information did not make its transfer lawful.

The committee’s vote means Sunday’s arrangement currently governs the election preparations. Wednesday’s hearing will determine what legal questions remain after that decision and whether its safeguards comply with privacy and election law.

This post was originally published on here. 

A 33-year-old woman has been arrested and charged in connection with back-to-back synagogue burglaries in the Village of Monticello, Sullivan County, New York, according to its police department.

Local law enforcement reports indicate that Adalis Rodriguez-Valentin was taken into custody following an early morning response to a break-in in progress last Thursday. Police statements show that officers rushed to the Pine Knoll Bungalow Colony at 198 Forestburgh Road at approximately 2 a.m. after surveillance systems captured two individuals entering the synagogue and moving through the grounds.

Responding officers spotted the suspects shortly after arriving, which prompted a foot pursuit, the police department stated. Authorities added that Rodriguez-Valentin attempted to hide beneath a building before officers located her and took her into custody. Her alleged accomplice managed to evade capture despite a subsequent search conducted with the assistance of the New York State Police, the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, and a K-9 unit.

Suspect linked to earlier synagogue break-in by security camera footage

Investigators revealed that a review of surveillance footage from an earlier incident last Tuesday successfully linked Rodriguez-Valentin to a separate break-in at a synagogue located at 70 Wood Avenue.

Court records and police department summaries confirm that Rodriguez-Valentin has been charged with two counts of third-degree burglary.

Following her arraignment in Monticello Justice Court, she was released on her own recognizance. Local law enforcement emphasized that the investigation remains active and the search for the second suspect is ongoing.

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An international conference bringing together Jewish and Kurdish leaders, scholars, academics, journalists, activists, and civil society representatives opened in London on Sunday, marking a historic step in building strategic and grassroots solidarity between the two diasporas.

The two-day gathering, titled “Jewish–Kurdish Relations in a Changing Middle East: History, Identity and Future Cooperation,” was organized and hosted by the Jewish Kurdish Network (JKN) London, alongside co-hosting partners the London Center for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and the Tel Aviv University Moshe Dayan Center Kurdish Studies Department. Participants traveled from Israel, the United Kingdom, Europe, the United States, and across Kurdistan to attend the sessions.

Organizers highlighted that the conference explores one of the Middle East’s oldest relationships, noting that Jewish and Kurdish communities lived side-by-side for approximately 2,700 years across Kurdistan and the wider region.

Today, this shared history is reflected in a large Jewish community of Kurdish heritage living in Israel and Kurdish communities spread across the Middle East and a substantial international diaspora.

Reflecting on the significance of the event, spokespersons for the JKN stated, “For thousands of years, the ancestors of Jews and Kurds lived side-by-side. Thousands of years later, their great-great-grandchildren have come together in London because we believe that this relationship should not belong only to history.” Organizers emphasized that both Jews and Kurds understand what it means to fight for identity, survival, and self-determination, noting their aim “to take the friendship and historical connection between our peoples and turn it into something meaningful for the future, through education, research, political dialogue, cultural exchange, and stronger relationships between our diasporas.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar addressed the conference

The conference screened a special video address from Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who greeted attendees and expressed support for the event. Addressing the participants, Sa’ar highlighted the long-standing friendship between the Jewish people and the Kurdish nation in the Middle East.

He noted that the Kurdish people represent a minority, spread across four countries, who have regrettably not yet achieved political independence. He emphasized a firm belief in strengthening relations among the various minorities in the Middle East, particularly between Jews and Kurds.

Among the emotional highlights of the gathering was an address by Lisa Mira, an Israeli Jew who spends time in Iraqi Kurdistan supporting Yazidi genocide survivors.

Speaking before the room of delegates, Mira shared raw accounts of her grassroots humanitarian work and the psychological scars carried by women and children rescued from ISIS captivity.

“We are Jews, and you are Kurds, and we have to fight with all our might for this generation,” Mira told the assembly, recounting how survivors often return stripped of identity and deeply traumatized.

Regional changes add urgency to Jewish, Kurdish ties

Describing the profound responsibility shared between the two peoples, she added, “We have a generation of kids who are born in ISIS – their mother and father were the caliphate. When they were finally extracted, they have no one, but they have us.”

The conference program featured seven expert panels examining subjects such as Jewish life in Kurdistan and shared heritage; Zionism and Kurdish national identity; regional transformation and Western policy; genocide, trauma and collective memory; women and civil society; diaspora politics and advocacy; and the role of young Jews and Kurds in shaping the future.

Cultural elements were also integrated into the schedule, including a screening of Kae Bahar’s film No Friends But Mountains, as well as traditional live Kurdish music.

A central focus of the second day is scheduled to be a roundtable titled “From Dialogue to Action: Building a Long-Term Kurdish–Jewish Partnership,” which addresses how relationships established through dialogue can develop into practical cooperation involving universities, civil society organizations, cultural institutions, policymakers, and younger generations.

Kurdish-Swedish journalist and speaker at the conference, Suzan Quitaz, told The Jerusalem Post, “The former mayor of Diyarbakir presented a symbolic gift to Prof. Ofra Bengio from Tel Aviv University, whom the esteemed event dubbed the ‘Mother of the Kurds.’”

Quitaz said there were “powerful speeches of the distortion of genocide and ‘re-inventing’ to suit a current political agenda,” adding, “The feeling among attendees is that Israel is not just an ally but rather, ‘we Kurds and Jews are one family.’”

Organizers noted that the conference takes place at a critical juncture for both peoples, as the regional landscape undergoes dramatic shifts and Kurdish communities in Iraq, Syria, Iran, and Turkey face ongoing political and security challenges, while Jewish communities worldwide navigate a sharply transformed environment following the October 7 attacks.

Addressing the diversity of the participants, a spokesperson for JKN emphasized, “This conference is not about claiming that Jews and Kurds agree on everything. Neither community speaks with one voice. What matters is that we are creating a space where people can meet directly, learn from each other, and identify the areas where genuine cooperation is possible.”

She continued, “There is something very powerful about Kurdish and Jewish people sitting together and talking about history, identity, persecution, and survival – but also refusing to define ourselves only through suffering. We want to talk about what we can create together.”

The organizers hope that the London 2026 conference will mark the beginning of a more sustained international network.

“If people leave London with new friendships, new research projects, new institutional connections, and a determination to continue working together, then this conference will have achieved something important,” they said.

“We are honoring 2,700 years of shared history, but our real responsibility is to decide what the next chapter will look like.”

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Despite Israeli wins against Iran’s nuclear program in June 2025 and early 2026, multiple sources have told The Jerusalem Post that the potential future danger from that program remains real, even though there is nothing imminent.

The Post has learned that the positives are that Iran is currently not operating centrifuges to enrich uranium, that its 60% and 20% enriched uranium is not yet easily accessible, and that the vast majority of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities were made inoperable by the two major rounds of strikes.

Those are no small achievements, setting back Iran’s nuclear program in many ways even more than it was pushed back during “pause” periods from 2003-2007 and from 2015-2018, when large portions of Tehran’s nuclear program were frozen, but not broken, and other portions were still being clandestinely expanded.

Yet the Post understands that, despite these achievements, the potential nuclear threat remains more serious than hoped for in the periods immediately after the wars in 2025-2026.

Each nuclear program point has a great improvement for Israel, and each has a gap of concern.

On one hand, the vast majority of Iran’s 20,000-centrifuge fleet was eliminated or broken. On the other hand, a sizable volume of centrifuges survived deep underground.

Multiple sources have warned the Post that even if only a few hundred advanced IR-6 centrifuges can be salvaged and reconnected to their cascades at some medium-term point, that could be enough, at some later undefined point, to secretly weaponize enough uranium for a weapon.

Tehran could develop clandestine digging strategy around enriched uranium, sources warn ‘Post’

Separately, multiple sources have cautioned that Tehran could develop a clandestine digging strategy to extract its 60% and 20% enriched uranium from under rubble and underground in a way that circumvents US and other surveillance.

Regular satellite reports from the Institute for Science and International Security and others already show that the regime is constantly adding structures to cover certain areas from ongoing satellite coverage.

In these reports, the Iranians are portrayed as digging in a wide number of areas, many of which are at a distance from the primary portion of any given nuclear facility that was attacked.

It could take months or even years to dig underground from a distance in order to smuggle out the 60% enriched uranium, or in some cases 20% enriched uranium. But possibly secretly transferring as little as one-tenth might be sufficient to have a basis for a nuclear bomb.

IAEA has been blind to Iran’s nuclear program since 12-day June 2025 war, Grossi says

Keeping tabs on all of these issues is harder than ever in some ways, with the IAEA completely blind to Iran’s nuclear program since at least June 2025, according to a statement by the agency’s Director-General, Rafael Grossi, to its Board of Governors on Monday.

Grossi said, “As stated in the report…the Agency has neither received information from Iran regarding the status of its declared nuclear material or facilities nor had access to any of those facilities to conduct in-field verification activities. Therefore, the Agency was unable to discharge its safeguards responsibilities under the NPT Safeguards Agreement at declared nuclear facilities in Iran.”

Sources do not expect Iran to outplay Israeli and American intelligence, but they also do not want to underestimate the Iranians’ frequently shocking resourcefulness.

According to sources, this may mean that the crux of keeping Tehran’s nuclear program “in the box” may shift again, to some extent, from uranium enrichment to holding back any weapons group activities.

Though less in the headlines, one of the top focuses of Israeli strikes on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities was not only the enrichment sites, but also the facilities for converting enriched uranium into uranium metal and for developing hemispheres in order to place them on a nuclear warhead.

Absent these and other assets, even a significant volume of weaponized uranium does not really help Iran because it will not be able to launch the uranium on a missile at Israeli territory 1,000 or more kilometers away.

Sources have told the Post that preventing Iran from rebuilding such weapons group facilities is one of the primary missions now of Israeli intelligence. So far, the Islamic Republic has made no real progress in this area.

In essence, Iran’s nuclear program is far more damaged than some critics have said, yet there are also vulnerabilities in the surviving remainder of the program that top Israeli officials, both defense and political, were not prepared to acknowledge immediately after each operation.

This means Tehran’s nuclear program was delayed by some years, along with its ability to rebuild the parts of the program that were struck. However, in other ways, Iranian ingenuity means that Israel remains threatened, even if the danger is currently reduced and less imminent.

This post was originally published on here. 

A Canadian aesthetician and pro-Palestinian activist running for Windsor city council in Ontario’s Ward 4 district has said in circulating video footage online that Zionists “must be locked up.”

Rasha Zaid, who cooperates with the activist group Windsor4Palestine, was recorded speaking at a demonstration where she said: “Every person that announces they are a Zionist must be locked up! They are terrorists” and “We are not free until they’re not among us.”  

The video footage was shared on social media by the X/Twitter account Leviathan, an account dedicated to naming “Jihadis, Antisemites, Anarchists & other threats. Using OSINT to notify for Public Interest” in Canada.

Rasha Zaid is a Windsor based Aesthetician & leader of Windsor4Palestine who is using her skillset to run for @CityWindsorON Councillor in Ward 4, which is currently held by @markmckenzie519

A weekly protestor in Windsor for almost 3 years, Rasha Zaid has called for anyone that… pic.twitter.com/iMa1lBYrsq

— Leviathan (@l3v1at4an) June 5, 2026

Additional footage shared by Leviathan captured Zaid leading chants of “All the Zionists are racists! All the Zionists are the terrorists!” while marching with demonstrators through city streets.

Leviathan also shared screenshots ascribed to Zaid’s social media accounts that included an image, labeled “The Zionist Cycle,” claiming that antisemitism and major attacks are staged to gain global sympathy and justify military actions, while another post featured text asserting, “There is no such thing as antisemitic.”

Zaid: ‘Zionism and Judaism are not the same thing’

Zaid said in a statement to The Jerusalem Post, “Zionism and Judaism are not the same thing, and the constant conflation of the two must end because it puts Jewish people at risk by falsely suggesting that all Jewish people share the same political beliefs.”

She added that, regarding “those statements I made, I have also made that distinction very clear in many of my statements. However, when only bits and pieces of a full speech are selected and shared while the statements that provide context and clarify my position are left out, it creates a narrative that does not represent the full statement or position honestly.”

Zaid continued, “It’s simple; when you stand behind the killing of thousands of children and civilians and violations of international law, that is where my opposition stands,” and “My words are directed at people standing behind the killing of children and civilians. I am not calling for someone to be imprisoned simply for identifying as a Zionist.

“I am calling for accountability for actions and crimes, regardless of who commits them. That distinction is important, and it is precisely the context that is lost when selected portions of my statements are presented without the rest of what I said.”

Zaid’s municipal campaign website outlines her platform around community advocacy and local representation under the banner of Windsor Ward 4.

Zaid seeks Windsor Ward 4 seat in October election

Municipal election listings on the City of Windsor official portal confirm her candidacy for the upcoming October vote, where she is challenging incumbent councilor Mark McKenzie. Campaign materials emphasize grassroots engagement.

Michael Teper, president and member of the Board of Directors of several Jewish organizations in Canada, said in a statement to the Post, “I see this as part of an emerging pattern of candidates taking explicit positions not only against Israel but against Canadians who support Israel. These candidates include Paul Salvatori, who is running for mayor of Toronto, Bahira Abdulsalam, running for a seat on the Toronto Catholic District School Board, and Tamara Sargent, running for a council seat in Owen Sound.

“The anti-Zionist activists are desperate to attain any elected office that they can use as a platform for advancing their ideology.

“What troubles me is that the organized Jewish community is largely indifferent to the threat. Once this movement gains a foothold at the local government level, it can easily transmute to the provincial and federal government levels where it could severely impact Jewish life in Canada,” Teper said.

This post was originally published on here. 

Israeli clearance of rubble in Gaza could destroy valuable evidence of “atrocity crimes” and prevent the recovery of human remains, United Nations Special Rapporteur to the Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese said on Monday. 

The war in Gaza has generated around 61 million tons of wreckage and debris that could take seven years to clear, according to the UN.

Albanese said evidence should be gathered and human remains identified before full clearance started.

She issued a statement headlined: “UN expert warns Israeli rubble-clearing could erase traces of atrocity crimes” and said Palestinians should be behind any plans to remove waste.

“In devastated Gaza, rubble is not just construction waste,” she said. “It is part of a crime scene, a graveyard, and the material record of what happened during a brutal and senseless bombing campaign that lasted two years.” 

She said multiple sources had confirmed Israeli companies were involved in the clearance, without naming them. Her office did not immediately respond to questions about where that information came from.

The Foreign Ministry, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the IDF did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In the past, all have fiercely disagreed with Albanese, who has emerged as one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s military actions in Gaza.

Several countries condemn Albanese for comments

In February, Germany, France and Italy all condemned what they said were her overly negative statements about Israel, though she denied making the remarks they cited.

In July 2025, the US imposed sanctions on Albanese over what it said were her efforts to prompt the International Criminal Court (ICC) to take action against US and Israeli officials, companies, and executives.

UN experts are commissioned by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council to monitor and document specific human rights crises but are independent of the organization itself.

The October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks killed 1,200 people in Israel while another 251 were taken hostage.

More than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military campaign, according to Hamas-run Gazan health authorities.

Israel says it has gone to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties and that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields in densely populated areas.

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A majority of Israelis fear that an October 7-style terrorist attack may originate from the West Bank, according to findings released by the Jerusalem Center for Foreign Affairs and Security (JCFA) on Monday.

The findings show that 77% of Israelis, including 86% of Jewish Israelis, are afraid that Palestinian Authority security forces could conduct a large-scale attack much like Hamas did on October 7, 2023.

The study further found that 75% of Jewish Israelis, among 67% of all Israelis, oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state along the 1967 lines.

Earlier on Monday, Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that, should Israel identify a plan to launch an “October-7 style” attack, he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have directed the IDF to target senior PA officials in an “all-out war” on terrorism in the West Bank.

“If the security apparatuses of the Palestinian Authority and the bodies associated with them launch, or we know for certain that they are about to launch, an October 7-style terrorist attack against forces and Jewish settlements, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I instructed the IDF to prepare to launch an all-out war against senior officials and mechanisms of the [Palestinian] Authority, the bodies associated with them, and against all terrorist infrastructure in Judea and Samaria – in order to quickly bring about their complete defeat,” said Katz.

JCFA warns of potential for Oct. 7-style attack by PA in West Bank

The release of the findings follows the “turning the guns” warning issued by the JCFA on July 15, when a study by Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch noted the buildup of the PA’s military capabilities.

According to Hirsch’s findings, the PA security forces have grown to a size 133% larger than that permitted by the Oslo Accords, reaching a total of about 70,000 personnel, 40,000 more than the number allowed by the agreement.

The study noted that, in the West Bank, the over 50,000 armed PA personnel breach the permitted amount by approximately 400%, with their arms including rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and shoulder-launched missiles.

Four potential routes, each totaling around 22 kilometers in length, were identified by the study through which the forces could reach Israeli civilians in a relatively short period of time.

The poll was conducted in cooperation between JCFA and Lazar Research, surveying a representative sample of 703 respondents between September 2 and 4.

Miriam Sela-Eitam contributed to this report.

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Kamran Hekmati, a Jewish Iranian American citizen who had been held in Tehran’s Evin Prison, was released on Saturday, Iranian sources reported on Monday.

However, a travel ban imposed on him remains in effect, preventing him from leaving Iran and returning to his home in the United States. Iranian authorities have not yet officially announced his release.

Hekmati was arrested in July 2025 and imprisoned after a Tehran court convicted him over a visit to Israel 13 years earlier, when he traveled there to attend his son’s bar mitzvah celebration.

According to his family and organizations assisting with the case, the trial lasted about 10 minutes and was conducted without a lawyer or witnesses present.

This is a developing story.

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The nuclear reactor Syria had nearly completed in 2007 when Israeli jets destroyed it was of a type that could quickly produce fissile material usable in nuclear weapons, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi said on Monday.

The United Nations nuclear watchdog has described its recent investigation into secret nuclear activities under the Assad family’s rule as a ” historic breakthrough. The investigation uncovered around 73 metric tons of natural uranium metal, mainly in the form of reactor fuel.

In a report to member states seen by Reuters, the IAEA confirmed its previous finding that the bombed site in Syria’s eastern province of Deir al-Zor was a nuclear reactor under construction, and that fuel for it had been made in Syria, all of which should have been declared at the time to the agency.

“This is a reactor that is very efficient in the production of fissile material that could be used directly for the fabrication of nuclear weapons,” Grossi told a press conference, adding that it was “almost completed.”

“That was a very serious proliferation concern,” he said, while cautioning that the then-authorities’ intentions “cannot be judged.”

Syria’s new government committed to working with IAEA on nuclear issues

Since the ouster of former president Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, Syria’s new authorities have committed to working with the IAEA to answer questions relating to so-called nuclear safeguards – the process of accounting for and monitoring nuclear material.

“Having received the necessary access and information from Syria, …the agency has been able to clarify and resolve the agency’s questions concerning the outstanding safeguards issues related to Syria’s past nuclear activities,” Grossi said in a speech to the IAEA’s 35-nation board.

“I welcome Syria’s transparency and cooperation with the agency, which facilitates the resolution of the outstanding safeguards issues related to Syria’s past nuclear activities,” he added.

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A planned US-Saudi atomic deal does not include Riyadh signing the Additional Protocol, which gives the UN nuclear watchdog sweeping inspection powers, but something close to it on some points is in the works, the agency’s chief said Monday.

The US and Saudi Arabia reached an agreement on civil nuclear power cooperation in July that would let Riyadh enrich uranium and build nuclear reactors using US technology.

Non-proliferation groups, such as the Arms Control Association, have criticized the planned “123 agreement” for not including the Additional Protocol, which grants the International Atomic Energy Agency extra powers such as the ability to carry out snap inspections at undeclared locations.

Iran implemented the Additional Protocol from 2016 to 2021 under a nuclear deal with major powers that unraveled after the US pulled out in 2018.

Saudi’s prepare to go beyond its core obligations

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said that while the Additional Protocol would be the “ideal setup,” Riyadh was preparing to go beyond its core obligations under its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement governing relations with the IAEA.

“What is important is that in the consultations, in the preparation process, it has been possible to introduce a number of provisions to the bilateral agreement that will give the agency additional verification and monitoring authorizations,” he told a press conference.

Those would relate to activities such as uranium enrichment and the step preceding it, known as uranium conversion, as well as reprocessing, which can separate plutonium from spent reactor fuel.

“These are sensitive activities, as we all know. So for those we are going to have authorizations and capacities which are very, very similar to those that you may find in an Additional Protocol,” he said, without elaborating.

Once the details are finalized, the bilateral agreement between the IAEA and Saudi Arabia will be presented to the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors, Grossi said.

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BANJA LUKA, Republika Srpska – In the center of Banja Luka, at a memorial dedicated to those killed in the wars accompanying the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, a smaller memorial had appeared. It showed the photo of a man decked in military garb and was accompanied by floral wreaths. It was for Gen. Ratko Mladic.

The former commander of the Bosnian Serb Army died on August 27 at the age of 84. He was serving a life sentence imposed by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

Yet in Republika Srpska, the Serb-majority entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the reaction encountered by The Jerusalem Post was often far removed from the international condemnation that followed his death.

“Mladic defended us when we were under attack,” a Banja Luka resident told the Post. “He fought for Serb rights.”

Others who spoke with the Post during a visit to the city similarly described Mladic as a hero, reflecting the extraordinary divide that continues to surround his legacy more than three decades after the end of the Bosnian War.

Those feelings, often buried in the hope of looking to the future, rose to the surface again when Mladic died last week. They were visible again on Monday, when thousands gathered outside a Serbian Orthodox church in Belgrade ahead of his burial.

Mourners carried Serbian flags and photographs of the former military leader, while free buses were provided from towns in Serbia and from Bosnia for those wishing to attend. His coffin was displayed inside the church as his family received condolences.

The reverence is juxtaposed alongside a judicial record that is among the most serious to emerge from the wars that accompanied the breakup of Yugoslavia.

Mladic’s genocide conviction 

In 2017, the ICTY convicted Mladic of genocide over the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, as well as persecution, extermination, murder, deportation, and forcible transfer. An estimated 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys were killed following the fall of the town of Srebrenica in July 1995.

Mladic was also convicted of crimes connected to the campaign of sniping and shelling against civilians during the siege of Sarajevo and the taking hostage of UN personnel. His life sentence was upheld on appeal in 2021.

Mladic was, alongside former Bosnian Serb political leader Radovan Karadazic, the highest-ranking Bosnian Serb official to be convicted by the Hague tribunal. Former Serbian and Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic died in custody in 2006 before a verdict could be reached in his war-crimes trial.

President Milorad Dodik, the longtime dominant political figure in Republika Srpska, made little attempt to disguise the depth of the divide during an interview with the Post in Banja Luka last week.

“What the West and the Muslims have done is turn Gen. Mladic into an icon of identification for the Serbs, whatever anyone may think about him,” he said.

Attempts to criminalize the glorification of convicted war criminals in Bosnia have strengthened rather than diminished Mladic’s standing among some Serbs, Dodik said.

“You can prohibit someone from saying something publicly, but you cannot prohibit people from saying what they want in private conversations,” he told the Post.

Mladic’s reputation as a defender of the Serbs has survived into a new generation

What particularly concerned Dodik, though, was that the phenomenon was no longer restricted to the generation that fought or lived through the war: The fierce Serb nationalism of the 1990s has taken root among today’s youth.

“Today, these people – young people born after the war – are going into the streets and paying tribute to Gen. Mladic,” he said. “Excuse me, how am I supposed to prohibit that? Should I use force?”

The conversations the Post had in Banja Luka suggested that whatever the reasons, Mladic’s reputation as a defender of the Serbs has survived into a generation with little or no personal memory of the conflict.

Many of the people who spoke to the Post – Bosnian citizens who identify first and foremost as Serbs – expressed deep contempt for the Bosnian state and distrust of Sarajevo; politically and culturally, their eyes remain firmly turned toward Belgrade.

Dodik also rejected the international narrative surrounding Mladic’s responsibility, saying he had been made into a symbol of what many Serbs regard as the unequal treatment of the different sides in the Bosnian War.

“A myth has been created around Mladic – the image of a beast that certain liberal circles needed in order to portray him that way,” Dodik said.

This view was also expressed by others who spoke with the Post. They did not necessarily deny that crimes had been committed by Bosnian Serb forces, but they repeatedly returned to what they regarded as the unequal judgment of the war: that crimes were committed by all sides, while the Serbs alone have come to be defined by them.

Mladic’s death has once again exposed divisions that have never fully disappeared since the 1992-1995 war.

Before his death, Mladic had personally requested to be buried in Belgrade alongside his daughter, Ana, who died in 1994.

“During his lifetime, he asked to be buried in the cemetery where his daughter is buried,” Dodik said. “Among us Christians, Orthodox Christians, that is a definitive and irrevocable decision, and we cannot change it.”

Serbian-European relations suffer tension following Mladic’s death

The Serbian government’s treatment of Mladic following his death has meanwhile produced a new confrontation with Europe. EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos canceled a planned visit to Serbia last week, saying the glorification of convicted war criminals was incompatible with the principles of reconciliation and respect for victims expected of countries seeking EU membership.

Dodik characterized the criticism surrounding the funeral as “hysteria,” saying it would only reinforce the sense among Serbs that Mladic and, by extension, themselves were being treated unjustly.

“I think all of this would have passed much more peacefully if the Muslims had not started this hysteria,” he said. “Then the Serbs react in defense of their dignity.”

That sense of grievance helps to understand what was visible in Banja Luka in the days following Mladic’s death.

The legal judgment regarding Ratko Mladic was delivered long ago. His final appeal failed five years before his death, leaving in place a life sentence for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.

But judicial judgments and collective memory do not necessarily travel together.

Three decades after Srebrenica, the memorial in central Banja Luka, the conversations with residents, and now the thousands who turned out in Belgrade for his funeral demonstrate that for many Serbs, Mladic remains something very different from the man described in the judgments of The Hague.

For one resident who spoke with the Post, at least, there was little ambiguity.

“He defended us,” he said.

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Education Minister Yoav Kisch asked the High Court of Justice to preserve a system that funds party-affiliated haredi (ultra-Orthodox) schools according to the amount of core curriculum they teach, placing him directly at odds with the attorney-general.

On Sunday, Kisch asked the court to cancel an order requiring the government to justify the system and to reject a petition filed by religious freedom advocacy group Hiddush.

The dispute concerns hundreds of schools operated by the Independent Education Center and Ma’ayan Hahinuch Hatorani Bnei Yosef, which are affiliated with United Torah Judaism and Shas, respectively.

The schools are recognized by the state but are not part of the state school system. A special legal provision allows the two networks to receive funding on the same basis as state schools. Other recognized but unofficial schools generally receive 75% of equivalent state-school funding.

Hiddush argues that the networks are entitled to full funding only if they teach the full core curriculum, including mathematics, English, and science. It claims that schools have continued to receive funding despite failing to meet those requirements and that the Education Ministry’s supervision has not provided an accurate picture of what is taught.

Kisch disputes that interpretation. He defended the ministry’s practice of adjusting each school’s funding according to the proportion of the core curriculum it teaches. Under that system, a school assessed as teaching 85% of the required program may receive funding at a similar rate.

Kisch warns all-or-nothing rule could drive schools from state oversight

The minister argued that the system has encouraged schools to expand their core studies. An “all-or-nothing” rule could instead push schools out of the networks and into educational frameworks subject to fewer state requirements, he said.

Kisch also argued that previous attorneys-general and court rulings had accepted proportional funding. The attorney-general’s position is that the arrangement was, at most, temporary and never provided a permanent legal basis for funding network schools that do not meet their full obligations.

The disagreement led Kisch to obtain separate legal representation rather than join the state’s response filed on behalf of the Education and Finance ministries.

The court first sought additional information after a January 5 hearing at which the state hadn’t filed a preliminary response addressing the substance of the petition.

On January 8, Justices Dafna Barak-Erez, David Mintz, and Ruth Ronnen ordered the state to provide information already held by the Education Ministry. The court asked what core studies the schools must teach, how compliance is calculated, how teacher qualifications and external examinations are considered, and how the schools are supervised.

Court questions funding rules and oversight of haredi schools

After receiving a supplemental filing, the court issued a conditional order on February 17, requiring the government to justify its policy before the court reaches a final decision.

The court asked why each school’s funding should not depend on teaching the full core curriculum, employing suitably trained teachers, and participating in external assessment exams at rates comparable to state schools.

It also asked why the ministries should not establish school-by-school supervision that does not rely solely on self-reporting or visits arranged in advance, and why schools that fail to meet the conditions should not be removed from the networks.

Kisch’s Monday response said Education Ministry data showed substantial improvement. According to the filing, 498 of the networks’ 517 schools taught between 96% and 100% of the required core curriculum during the 2025-26 school year. Of those, 476 were assessed as teaching the full program.

Those figures are disputed. The attorney-general’s response said the ministry’s calculation method could conceal gaps in individual subjects.

Shortcomings in teacher training

ACCORDING TO the state, schools that did not teach English or mathematics in entire grades could still be classified as teaching more than 95% of the program because the ministry calculated total hours across subjects and age groups.

The state also identified shortcomings in teacher training, external testing, and enforcement.

Kisch acknowledged a shortage of trained teachers but argued that similar shortages exist in state schools. He also said teacher qualifications had not previously been treated as a direct condition for funding a school.

His filing presented different qualification rates for each subject, ranging from 4.6% for middle-school science teachers to 24.5% for general elementary-school teaching. Kisch said the ministry had introduced a multiyear training program intended to improve those figures.

The minister also said the ministry strengthened inspections and enforcement, saying that removal notices were sent to 22 schools, and two Independent Education Center schools were subsequently transferred out of the network.

Under the transition proposed by Attorney-General Gali Baharav Miara, a school that does not teach the full curriculum during the 2026-27 school year could continue receiving reduced funding only if it commits to full compliance the following year. A school that refuses would face removal from the network.

Kisch also argued that the court should exercise restraint because Israel is approaching an election and haredi education funding is politically disputed.

Hiddush rejected that position. Dr. Yifat Solel, the organization’s deputy director and the lawyer who filed the petition, accused Kisch of seeking to preserve public funding without ensuring that the schools provide the education for which the money was allocated.

The High Court must now decide whether the responses justify the existing arrangement or whether to make its order final.

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The United Kingdom will announce a ban on trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank on Tuesday, The Jerusalem Post understands.

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told the House of Commons last week the UK needs “a comprehensive reset of our policy” when it comes to the West Bank.

Miliband added that the new measures would include a ban on goods produced in the settlements and targeted sanctions on British institutions and individuals.

“We are looking, indeed, at our wider economic relationship with the occupied territories, and the different tools we have to tackle it,” Miliband explained. “We do not want British companies financing, constructing, or advertising new settlements. The work we are now undertaking is how we can stop that.”

According to late August reports from the UK, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham had considered imposing a trade embargo over the past weeks. The new sanctions regime would likely stop the exchange of both goods and services.

This is a developing story.

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Two IDF soldiers were lightly injured by a Hezbollah terrorist in the Beaufort Ridge area of southern Lebanon, their military said on Monday, noting that it struck Hezbollah targets in response to the attack.

According to the IDF, the two soldiers were attacked at close range and managed to kill the terrorist despite being injured. They were evacuated to a hospital, and their families were notified.

Targets struck by the IDF included weapons storage facilities, command centers, and additional Hezbollah terror infrastructure.

The announcement follows overnight IDF strikes in the Nabatiya area of southern Lebanon, during which the military killed several terrorists.

Hezbollah-affiliated reporter injured in IDF strike

Hezbollah-run Al-Manar reporter Ali Shabib was injured in one of the strikes and has since been evacuated to a hospital.

Like the Beaufort Ridge strikes, the Nabatiya strikes came as a response to a Hezbollah drone attack on IDF soldiers in the Ali al-Taher Ridge area. No Israeli soldiers were injured in the attack.

Eli Leon contributed to this report.

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Ofer Winter, the chairman of the People of Israel party, announced Monday his party’s complete list and closed the door to a rumored merger with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party (RZP).

“The People of Israel party was launched only two weeks ago and has already become a significant player on the political map,” said Winter in a statement, adding that a reason behind it was that the party “brings a new spirit that represents the entire spectrum of the population and leads a policy of true right-wing and military decisiveness in all sectors.”

He also said that one of the goals of his party is to push for Haredi enlistment into the IDF “without compromise and without willingness to serve as [United Torah Judaism leader Yitzchak] Goldknopf’s political pawn at the expense of the soldiers.”

The decision defied Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is pushing aligned parties to merge to avoid losing votes from the right wing if they fail to cross the electoral threshold.

“In recent weeks, Minister Smotrich has examined the possibility of adding many figures to the Religious Zionism list for the upcoming Knesset, but has waited with a decision on the matter in order to save places for a responsible unification with Ofer Winter’s party,” said RZP in a statement following the announcement.

“Minister Smotrich believed that joining forces in the national camp was more important for the good of his party and strengthening it with additional figures,” the statement continued.

“However, now that it seems that Winter has made up his mind to run independently and to gamble irresponsibly on the future of right-wing rule and the State of Israel, he will be free to once again examine the possibility of strengthening Religious Zionism through the chairman’s reserves,” it concluded.

Who is in Winter’s list for October elections?

In total, the People of Israel party shared the names of 18 candidates, with most polls currently giving them between four and five seats.

If these numbers are reflected in the upcoming election, then Ofer Winter, Yoseph Haddad, ⁠Netali Shem Tov, Eran Ben-Ari, and Fleur Hassan-Nahoum.

This is a developing story.

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A British-Israeli IDF soldier who was subjected to bogus legal proceedings in the UK has filed a complaint with the Israel Bar Association’s Tel Aviv District Ethics Committee, asking it to investigate an Israeli lawyer who provided the prosecution’s expert opinion.

As The Jerusalem Post has previously reported, UK organization the International Center of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) attempted to bring a private prosecution against a dual British-Israeli citizen (called Soldier A) who served in a reserve IDF unit after October 7, 2023.

The ICJP made the application for the summons of Soldier A on November 6, 2025, with the aim that he be charged under Section 4 of the Foreign Enlistment Act 1870.

Judge Paul Goldspring of Westminster Magistrates’ Court ultimately ruled on April 8, 2026 that ICJP’s application was “fundamentally misconceived in law,” as the FEA does not apply to dual nationals.

He also deemed ICJP’s antics “egregious” and “inexcusable” and ordered ICJP to pay costs to Soldier A.

Pomeranz provides Expert Witness Report to prosecution

In order to build the prosecution, ICJP reached out to Israeli attorney Michal Pomeranz to provide an Expert Witness Report, which she did on Oct 18, 2025, in her capacity as a member of the Israeli Bar.

Pomeranz was asked to provide testimony about the Israel Defense Forces, specifically to what extent those who agree to engage in service with the IDF can be inferred to have “enlisted in the [Israeli] military,” and whether the IDF (and therefore Israel) can be considered to be “at war”.

In the expert report, Pomeranz acknowledged that the ICJP intended to initiate a private prosecution against at least nine named British citizens known to have traveled to Israel to participate in reserve duties since 7 October 2023. As such, by providing the report, she was essentially aiding the prosecution in this attempt.

Pomeranz goes on to say that an Order 8 or what is known as “Tzav shmoneh” (referring to an enlistment order according to article 8 of the Reserve Service Law) does not explicitly apply to return to Israel for those residing abroad or traveling while they receive an order 8.  

Complaint says expert opinion helped target IDF reservists

Soldier A’s central argument in his complaint to the Bar is that Pomeranz may have violated Israeli professional ethics by providing an expert opinion that helped an organization pursue criminal proceedings against him and potentially other dual British Israeli citizens solely for serving in the IDF.

He argues that her statement about reservists not being required to return to Israel if they are abroad is “misleading.”

Citing an expert legal opinion he received, Soldier A said “a reservist may not ignore a call-up order, and certainly not an emergency call-up order.”

“As a general rule, an emergency call-up order is binding on every reservist to whom it is issued, even if he is abroad, and he may not unilaterally decide whether to report,” he wrote.

Soldier A said this point is critical because the British proceedings’ thesis sought to argue that the he “enlisted” or “accepted an engagement” when he chose to return to Israel. However, if returning to Israel is an action by a reservist subject to an existing legal obligation under Israeli law, then this is not a new enlistment and does not constitute voluntary entry into the service of a foreign military.

“Therefore, it was precisely on this point that an objective, accurate and unbiased expert opinion was of particular importance,” Soldier A said.

Complaint says report misrepresented reserve service rules

“Attorney Pomeranz’s actions are therefore serious in every respect. Not only did she provide an expert opinion in proceedings whose purpose was to turn IDF service itself into a criminal offense, an act that is improper in itself; she also presented Israeli law partially and misleadingly on a material point, in order to support the argument that reserve service by someone staying abroad is a personal choice rather than fulfillment of a legal obligation, thereby supporting the argument advanced by the ICJP.”

Soldier A proceeded to argue that the mere submission of Attorney Pomeranz’s expert opinion in the British proceedings constitutes a disciplinary offense by an attorney under the Israel Bar Association Law.

Soldier A also said that Pomeranz’s actions constitute a real harm to national security and “contains a substantial moral defect that harms public confidence in the legal profession and its practitioners.”

Accordingly, he requested that the Ethics Committee open an urgent disciplinary inquiry against Attorney Pomeranz; examine whether the expert opinion was provided in violation of her duties as an Israeli attorney; and file a disciplinary complaint against her for violation of Section 53 of the Israel Bar Association Law.

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Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have directed the IDF to target senior Palestinian Authority (PA) officials in an “all-out war” on terrorism in the West Bank, should Israel identify a plan to launch an “October-7 style” attack on Israeli forces and Jewish settlements.

“If the security apparatuses of the Palestinian Authority and the bodies associated with them launch, or we know for certain that they are about to launch, an October 7-style terrorist attack against forces and Jewish settlements, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I instructed the IDF to prepare to launch an all-out war against senior officials and mechanisms of the [Palestinian] Authority, the bodies associated with them, and against all terrorist infrastructure in Judea and Samaria – in order to quickly bring about their complete defeat,” Katz said.

We will not allow for a return of a reality of a continued intifada spanning years, as was the case in the past,” the defense minister continued.

“Instead, we will launch a comprehensive campaign against the Authority and all terrorist infrastructure in Judea and Samaria, including the elimination of senior officials, the evacuation of residents of the cities and villages from which terrorist activity will be carried out, the elimination of terrorists, the destruction of all terrorist infrastructures in place, and the remaining The IDF will be in the area to be evacuated.”

The Monday statement followed the West Bank terror stabbing attack at Maoz Yehuda Farm near Kusra that left one moderately to seriously wounded. 

“No terrorist can hide,” Netanyahu said in a separate statement. “I commend our heroic fighters who engaged the enemy and eliminated the terrorist who carried out the attack in Samaria. I wish a complete recovery to the farm owner who was wounded in the attack.”

“We will continue to eliminate terrorists, hunt down those who dispatch them, and destroy the terrorist infrastructure in Judea and Samaria. Anyone who tries to threaten the State of Israel and its citizens will pay a heavy price.”

IDF launches exercises testing military readiness on all fronts

Since Sunday, the IDF has launched several exercises to test combat readiness in case of an October 7-style attack on several fronts, including the surprise Operation Dawn 2.0 and Operations Advancing the Wall and Southern Wind in the Eilat area and along Israel’s western border.

The situation in the West Bank is particularly volatile.

On Sunday, troops from the Menashe Brigade operated in the village of Aqaba in northern Samaria. During the operation, a rocket and weapons were discovered, including an M16 rifle and large quantities of explosives intended for the production of bombs.

Sunday’s operation followed a series of foiled attacks in recent days in the West Bank, including the arrest on Friday of a five-member terrorist cell in the Qabatiya area.

A rifle and ammunition were found in the cell’s possession, and the assessment was that its members were preparing to carry out a major attack in the northern West Bank.

Avi Ashkenazi contributed to this report.

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Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot released his selection of candidates for his Knesset slate on Monday, as the party submitted its list at the Knesset ahead of the October elections. 

Second on the party’s list is former Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief Yoram Cohen. 

Zionist Home chairman Chili Tropper was also included on the list in the sixth spot.

The party submitted the list to the Central Elections Committee ahead of Tuesday’s deadline, by which all parties must do so. 

Eisenkot’s Yashar party has recently led most polls and is part of the opposition bloc seeking to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the upcoming elections.

This is a developing story.

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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the far-right AfD’s historic state election victory showed that deep reforms are needed, but he stressed that basic democratic values remain valid.

“I want to assure everyone in our country of this: Our institutions are resilient and stable. Our Basic Law protects and guarantees this order,” Merz said after what he described as the worst defeat for his party, the CDU, in decades in the election in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt.

“This message is also directed at our friends in Europe and across the globe,” he added.

Merz also stuck by his reform decisions made last year despite the election defeat. “That is what we need to deliver on now; it is what I want to deliver on, and that is the stance I am taking into talks with our coalition partner,” said Merz.

AfD’s state election win will not change Ukraine support, Merz says

Merz also said that the fact that AfD is a pro-Russia party would not change the federal government’s support for Ukraine and warned that there is a very concrete threat facing Germany’s internal security.

“And I want to make this very clear: 2,500 kilometers east of here, people are especially delighted with this election result in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt,” said Merz, in reference to Russia.

This is a developing story.

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Representatives from Kosovo signed a document confirming that it will join the International Stabilization Force (ISF), the Gazan Board of Peace confirmed in a Monday X/Twitter post.

The document was signed by US Major General Jasper Jeffers, who leads the ISF mission, and Commander of the Kosovo Security Force Lieutenant General Bashkim Jashari.

The signing ceremony, which was held in Pristina, Kosovo, was also attended by representatives of the BoP and the ISF.

“Kosovo will provide critical support for the mission of advancing [US] President [Donald] Trump’s 20-Point Peace Plan in Gaza,” the BoP’s post read.

This is a developing story.

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Small-scale protests were held by retired telecommunications workers, retired teachers and job seekers in Tehran and several other Iranian cities as the country continues to face a worsening economic crisis, according to footage published by the Human Rights Activists News Agency.

In Isfahan and Sanandaj on Sunday, retirees reportedly gathered to demand action on the cost of living crisis and pension payments that reflect the cost of living, as required under Article 96 of Iran’s Social Security Law. Many also called for the implementation of Article 111 of the law, which requires pension and disability payments to remain at or above the legal minimum wage.

Iran’s statutory base minimum wage is around 16.6 million tomans (currently equivalent to $1.66 USD, according to Coinbase) a month before benefits, according to Iranian media.

در ادامه تجمعات اعتراضی بازنشستگان مخابرات، شماری از این افراد روز جاری در شهرهای اصفهان و سنندج نیز دست به تجمع زدند. #بازنشستگان خواستار رسیدگی به مطالبات و مشکلات معیشتی‌ خود، اجرای کامل آیین نامه اجرایی، ساماندهی وضعیت بیمه های تکمیلی، اجرای صحیح طرح متناسب‌سازی و پرداخت… pic.twitter.com/Wjs0zCRcda

— خبرگزاری هرانا (@hra_news) September 7, 2026

Retired educators, telecommunications workers and job seekers also reportedly demonstrated on Sunday in Tehran, Ahvaz, Shush, Kermanshah, Dezful and Rasht.

On Monday, a group of retirees also reportedly protested in Kermanshah province, demanding action on the cost of living crisis and subsidized medical treatment under Iran’s supplementary insurance policies.

Many Iranians forgoing critical treatments as costs rise

The protests come after DW Persian reported that many people in Iran, including cancer patients, were forgoing or delaying critical treatment as healthcare costs become increasingly unaffordable. The IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency also reported that the prices of some medications had risen by 120%, while DW reported that some medications had increased in price by as much as 543%.

The cost of a monthly prescription of four NovoRapid insulin pens, for example, has risen from about 280,000 tomans after insurance reimbursement to roughly 1.1 million tomans, DW reported, citing Iranian physicians.

در ادامه تجمعات اعتراضی بازنشستگان مخابرات، شماری از این افراد روز جاری در شهرهای اصفهان و سنندج نیز دست به تجمع زدند. #بازنشستگان خواستار رسیدگی به مطالبات و مشکلات معیشتی‌ خود، اجرای کامل آیین نامه اجرایی، ساماندهی وضعیت بیمه های تکمیلی، اجرای صحیح طرح متناسب‌سازی و پرداخت… pic.twitter.com/Wjs0zCRcda

— خبرگزاری هرانا (@hra_news) September 7, 2026

Though there were no reports of violent suppression at these protests, last week Iran’s security forces opened fire on and beat demonstrators outside the Dabal Khazaei Sugarcane Agro-Industry Company and outside the Lishtar refinery project, according to footage shared by both HRANA and the Karun Human Rights Organization.

Iran’s economy continues to struggle with blackouts, water crisis, war

Iran’s economy was already struggling under years of financial mismanagement and sanctions, while the regime’s internet blackout and water crisis, as well as the war with the United States and Israel and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, have further worsened the crisis.

امروز یکشنبه ۱۵ شهریورماه، شماری از بازنشستگان فرهنگی، مخابرات و تامین اجتماعی در تهران، گروهی از بازنشستگان تامین اجتماعی در اهواز، شوش، کرمانشاه، دزفول و رشت، جمعی از معلمان در تهران، جمعی از بازنشستگان فرهنگی در یاسوج و شماری از شهروندان جویای کار در اهواز با برگزاری تجمعات… pic.twitter.com/zQx53ExQ5z

— خبرگزاری هرانا (@hra_news) September 6, 2026

Beni Sabti, an expert on Iran at Tel Aviv’s Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), told The Jerusalem Post last week that it was possible that there would be a return to protests at the size and scale of the violently suppressed January demonstrations, especially given that the “Iranian people don’t have many options to survive.”

Human rights groups say that upward of 30,000 demonstrators were killed by the regime’s security forces in January, while Iranian authorities have continued to execute people accused of being involved in the protests, using vague charges like moharebeh (waging war against God). 

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Germany is on its way to getting Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, Defense & Tech by The Jerusalem Post understands.

D&T has confirmed that the letter of intent signed by the German state of Lower Saxony, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, and Aurelius Capital is the first step toward the European nation acquiring the Iron Dome.

The agreement, signed at the factory on Monday, will see the Volkswagen site in Osnabruck developed into a center of excellence for innovative security and defense solutions. It will combine German engineering expertise, industrial capital and quality standards.

Though it is not a signed agreement, sources who have spoken to D&T have said that the plan later down the road is for Germany to procure the famous interceptor. Germany, a key ally of Israel, currently has the Arrow 3 missile defense system that is manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries. Berlin, like most of Europe has been bolstering its defenses as Russia continues it’s war against Ukraine.

Rafael has been active in Germany for over 20 years and has established a strong presence in the country with various subsidiaries including Dynamit Nobel Defence, EuroSpike and EuroTrophy GmbH.

Yoav Tourgeman, president and CEO of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, said that the partnership with Germany is part of a long-term relationship with the country “with the idea that the technology will be fully produced in Germany, to protect Germany and Europe.”

“The technology at the heart of this partnership is built for the defense of today, tomorrow, and well beyond. Our outstanding combat-proven technology evolves constantly in order to be ahead of the threats, so that highly reliable defense will always be provided,” he added.

Integral part of Israel’s missile defense array

Initially designed to shoot down short-range rockets, the Iron Dome has, over the past 15 years, become an integral component of Israel’s multi-layered defense array. 

The system’s modular architecture enables seamless integration with additional defense layers, and it can operate independently or as part of Israel’s broader air defense network that includes the the Arrow (Arrow 2 and Arrow 3) system, which intercepts ballistic missiles outside of the Earth’s atmosphere, and the David’s Sling missile defense system which is designed to intercept tactical ballistic missiles, medium- to long-range rockets, as well as cruise missiles fired at ranges between 40 to 300 km. Rafael has also manufactured the Iron Beam laser defense system, which has been operational along Israel’s northern border.

The system’s early years were defined by rapid operational learning. Iron Dome took part in a long series of conflicts and operations, from Operation Protective Edge, Operation Guardian of the Walls, Operation Breaking Dawn, Operation Shield and Arrow, Operation Swords of Iron, and Operations Rising and Roaring Lion, where it served alongside the Arrow and David’s Sling as a central pillar in the protection of Israel’s home front.

Each round of fighting was followed by a new wave of software updates, radar refinements, and interceptor improvements. 

It quickly became evident that the system was a flexible defensive layer capable of handling dense salvos, more complex trajectories, and a wider range of threats. The system’s radar was upgraded to track more targets simultaneously, its algorithms became faster and more selective, and its interceptors were refined to handle longer ranges and more demanding engagement profiles. 

Yet, despite its successes, the Iron Dome is not infallible. 

Israeli officials have consistently noted that no air‑defense system can guarantee complete protection. Some rockets inevitably penetrate the system’s defenses, underscoring the importance of measures such as early warning sirens and reinforced shelters.

Nevertheless, the system’s high interception rate has significantly reduced casualties and property damage during periods of conflict, altering both military calculations and civilian life in Israel.

An Israeli shield over Europe

Europe has increasingly turned to Israeli air defense technology over the past decade, especially after Russia invaded Ukraine and the growing demand for rapid, combat‑proven systems. 

The news comes just one week after Israel and Greece have formalized one of the largest defense export agreements in Israel’s history, a €3 billion government‑to‑government deal that will see Israel design and deliver a complete, multi‑layered national air defense architecture for the Hellenic Republic’s Achilles Shield project.

Though the Iron Dome is not part of it, the project will integrate several Israeli‑made systems into a unified national network. At its core are David’s Sling, BARAK MX, and SPYDER missile defense systems developed by the Israeli defense companies and already deployed operationally within Israel’s own air defense array. 

The package also includes MMR radars produced by IAI subsidiary ELTA for air surveillance coverage and a new national command‑and‑control system developed by Rafael to integrate all layers into a single operational picture.

The agreement represents the first time Israel will supply a complete, end‑to‑end air‑defense array to another country. According to a statement released by the Defense Ministry, the architecture is based entirely on Israeli systems and incorporates operational lessons drawn from Israel’s recent wars wherein these systems played central roles in intercepting thousands of hostile aerial targets, including drones and ballistic missiles launched by Iran, Hezbollah, and the Houthis in Yemen. 

Central European states have also moved toward Israeli systems, with the Czech Republic receiving the Spyder medium‑range system, Slovakia selecting the Barak MX, and Estonia contemplating purchasing the David Sling missile defense system as it bolsters its long-range air defenses and plans to invest over €1b. in a new long-range ground-based air defense system to protect strategic sites.

Germany has also purchased Israel’s Arrow 3 as a response to Russia’s war against Ukraine and the growing proliferation of advanced missile systems. Germany signed the $3.5b.Arrow 3 contract in November 2023, the largest defense deal in Israel’s history at the time. In December, the two countries signed a $3.1b. follow-up contract to expand interceptor and launcher stocks. 

Arrow 3, developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), is a highly maneuverable system designed to provide ultimate air defense by intercepting ballistic missiles when they are still outside the Earth’s atmosphere. 

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The UK’s Charity Commission has reopened its investigation into Save One Life, following concerns that some of its Gaza-destined funding has worked its way to Hamas.

A spokesperson for the charity watchdog told The Jerusalem Post on Monday that it takes seriously concerns raised about the potential misuse of any charity and its funds.

It noted that a regulatory compliance case was opened into Save One Life last year, but was subsequently closed after an inspection of the charity’s premises and review of the charity’s policies found no evidence to support the concerns raised.

However, the spokesperson told the Post that since then, it has identified matters “relating to due diligence and monitoring the end use of funds in Gaza which require further examination and, as such, we have re-opened our case and are re-engaging with the charity’s trustees.”

Save One Life claims to be focused on supporting the people of Gaza by providing humanitarian aid.

According to its financial filings, Save One Life UK has raised around £2 million over the last few years. In its most recent financial year, it registered a total income of £1,162,336 and spent a total of £596,330 on charitable activities and £50,570 on fundraising.

Save One Life referred to police over concerns funds were being diverted to Hamas

Last year, it was referred to counter-terror police due to concerns that funds were being diverted to Hamas officials.

The new inquiry was opened after an anonymous complainant told the Charity Commission that “Save One Life UK is sending money to Gaza via an unknown broker in Turkey. This could provide material support for a proscribed terrorist group like Hamas.”

Responding to the new concerns about its practices, Save One Life said it “categorically rejects any allegation that Save One Life has funded, supported or worked with Hamas or any other proscribed organization.”

Save One Life: ‘All funds raised by Save One Life are used solely for legitimate charitable purposes’

In a statement on Saturday, the charity said: “All funds raised by Save One Life are used solely for legitimate charitable purposes and in accordance with our governing document.”

“We have consistently cooperated fully and in good faith with the Charity Commission, providing all relevant documentation concerning our governance, financial oversight and distribution processes. Following its regulatory review, the matter was closed in March 2026. We understand that the same complainant has since raised substantially the same allegations again, including matters that have already been considered and addressed by the Commission.”

“Save One Life remains fully committed to transparency, robust governance, regulatory compliance and its charitable mission of providing vital humanitarian assistance to people in need in Gaza.”

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Only about 50 of the 435 races for the House of Representatives are expected to be competitive on the November 3 US midterm ballot, but they could decide whether Democrats gain the three seats needed to reclaim control of the chamber from Republicans.

Here is a look at some of the races that will determine the outcome:

Arizona

This battleground state includes two of the most competitive House districts in the country.

In Phoenix’s northern suburbs, Democrat Amish Shah, a former state representative and emergency-room doctor, and Republican Jay Feely, a former NFL kicker, face off for an open seat.

In a Tucson-based district, Democrat JoAnna Mendoza, a retired Marine drill instructor, is taking on Republican Representative Juan Ciscomani, a moderate.

California 

At the urging of US President Donald Trump, several Republican-led states have redrawn their district maps to boost their chances of retaining control of the House, in a departure from the usual practice of setting those boundaries once a decade to reflect population shifts.

Democratic-led California pushed through a redistricting of its own last year in response to the moves by Republican-led states, which analysts say could allow them to pick up five more of the state’s 52 seats from Republicans.

Among the most endangered Republicans is Representative David Valadao, a centrist who has survived previous close elections in this Central Valley seat. He faces Democrat Randy Villegas, a school board member.

Republican Darrell Issa opted to retire rather than run for reelection in a less hospitable seat. Republican San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond and Democratic San Diego City Council member Marni von Wilpert are competing to take his place.

Democrats are on defense east of San Francisco, where incumbent Representative Adam Gray, who won his last race by 187 votes, will try to hold off Republican Kevin Lincoln, a former mayor of Stockton.

Colorado

Republican Representative Gabe Evans won his 2024 race by less than a percentage point. He faces Democrat Manny Rutinel, a state representative. Trump’s immigration crackdown has been a major issue in this district north of Denver, which is 40% Hispanic.

Florida

Florida’s Republican-led redistricting could leave the state with a House delegation of 24 Republicans and four Democrats.

Democratic Representative Kathy Castor now must run for reelection in a Tampa-based district that includes more Republican-leaning areas. She will face Republican Mike Beltran, a former state representative.

Democratic Representative Jared Moskowitz moved to a new district along the Atlantic coast north of Miami. He will face Republican Scott Singer, the former mayor of Boca Raton.

And in a redrawn district that stretches from Palm Beach to the Gulf Coast, voters will choose between Democrat Pia Dandiya, an educator, and Republican Casey Askar, a veteran.

Iowa 

Though Iowa has trended steadily Republican over the past decade, concerns over Trump’s tariffs and higher fuel and fertilizer costs stemming from the US-Israeli war with Iran have put a range of races across the farm state in play.

Three of the state’s four House districts will be competitive this year.

In the southeast corner of the state, Democrat Christina Bohannan is challenging Republican Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks for a third time, after losing by 799 votes in 2024.

The state’s northeast corner hosts a matchup for an open seat between Democratic state Representative Lindsay James, a Presbyterian minister, and former Republican state Representative Joe Mitchell.

Democrats are running another member of the clergy, Lutheran pastor Sarah Trone Garriott, to take on Republican Representative Zach Nunn in a Des Moines-based district.

Michigan

Republican Representative Tom Barrett, narrowly elected in 2024, faces Democrat William Lawrence, a progressive climate activist, in this Lansing-area district.

New Jersey

Republican US Representative Tom Kean Jr., son of a former governor, has faced scrutiny for an extended absence from the House. Kean later said he was receiving treatment for depression. Navy pilot Rebecca Bennett is the Democratic nominee.

New York

Democrat Cait Conley, a former national security official, is challenging Representative Mike Lawler, one of the more moderate House Republicans, in this Hudson Valley district.

Ohio

Republican redistricting could complicate the reelection prospects of Democrat Marcy Kaptur, who first won office in 1982. She faces a rematch with Republican Derek Merrin, a former state representative.

Pennsylvania 

Three Republican incumbents in Pennsylvania will face tough reelection battles this year.

In an Allentown-based district, Representative Ryan Mackenzie, who is finishing up his first term, faces Democrat Bob Brooks, a firefighter union leader who is emphasizing his blue-collar background.

In a neighboring district that covers the northeastern corner of the state, Democratic Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti is challenging another freshman, Republican Representative Rob Bresnahan.

Republican Representative Scott Perry faces former news anchor Janelle Stelson in a rematch in Pennsylvania’s Harrisburg-area district after narrowly defeating her in 2024.

Texas 

Republican-led Texas imposed a new congressional map that could help the party pick up as many as five House seats. But three districts in the south of the state are shaping up as competitive races.

In a district that runs along the border with Mexico, Republican Tano Tijerina, the top elected official in Webb County, is trying to unseat Democratic Representative Henry Cuellar.

Along the southern Gulf Coast, Republican Eric Flores, a former federal prosecutor, is challenging Democratic Representative Vicente Gonzalez.

In a neighboring inland district, Democrats have recruited a Tejano musician, Bobby Pulido, to take on Republican Representative Monica De La Cruz.

Virginia 

In the Virginia Beach-area district, Republican Representative Jen Kiggans will again face Democrat Elaine Luria, whom she defeated in 2022.

Wisconsin

In western Wisconsin, Democrat Rebecca Cooke is hoping voter unhappiness with rising farm costs will help her unseat Republican Representative Derrick Van Orden.

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Veteran Israeli actor Ilan Dar, best known to generations of viewers for playing Ilan in the landmark television comedy Krovim Krovim, died at the age of 89, Israeli media reported on Monday.

Dar was a fixture of Israeli theater, television, and cinema for decades, but his role in Krovim Krovim became one of the defining performances of his career.

The sitcom, which began airing in 1983, followed an extended family living in the same Tel Aviv apartment building and became one of the most enduring programs in Israeli television history.

This is a developing story

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Germany asked the International Court of Justice on Monday to throw out a 2024 case brought by Nicaragua, which accuses Berlin of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention because it supplies arms to Israel.

Berlin suspended weapons exports to Israel for a few months in 2025, but it has since resumed. A US-backed ceasefire that took effect in October 2025 halted large-scale fighting that had devastated Gaza, but it has not ended Israeli strikes.

Nicaragua and Germany are both signatories of the Genocide Convention, which includes an obligation on states to act to prevent possible genocides – but it is unusual for the court to hear cases where neither party is directly involved in the conflict at the heart of it.

Israel rejects genocide allegations as politically motivated and says its military campaign has targeted the militant group Hamas, whose attack on Israel triggered the war in October 2023.

Nicaragua’s claim builds on the case South Africa brought against Israel for allegedly committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Argument over jurisdiction

In an interim ruling in 2024, the ICJ said it was plausible Israel violated some rights guaranteed under the Genocide Convention during its assault on Gaza.

Israel opposes the case and says it respects international law and has a right to defend itself. The main genocide case is not expected to be heard in full until late 2029.

Germany told the ICJ, also known as the World Court, on Monday that Nicaragua had not taken the proper steps before turning to the court and that much of the claim falls outside the jurisdiction it has under the genocide treaty.

“Germany respectfully requests the court to reject Nicaragua’s claims,” Julia Monar, legal adviser of the German foreign ministry, told the judges.

Nicaragua, which broke off diplomatic relations with Israel in 2024 over the war in Gaza, will have a chance on Tuesday to argue why the case should move forward.

A ruling on Germany’s objection to jurisdiction is expected later this year. Even if the case can continue, it is expected to take years before a final ruling on the merits.

The ICJ is the United Nations‘ top court, which deals with disputes between states and alleged violations of numerous international treaties. Its rulings are final and without appeal.

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Nearly nine in 10 Spaniards blame Morocco for the mass migrant crossings into Ceuta in late July, while a majority rate Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s handling of the crisis as “bad” or “very bad,” according to an opinion poll released on Monday that also showed a drop in support for Sanchez’s party.

The 40dB poll of 2,000 people for El Pais newspaper and radio station SER also recorded an increase in voting intentions for the conservatives and the anti-immigration, far-right Vox party, in line with several other polls conducted after the deadly border surge into Spain’s North African enclave.

For 89% of respondents, Morocco bore the most responsibility for the crisis, followed by human-trafficking groups (75%), the spread of disinformation on social media (74%), the migrants who decided to cross (73%) and the Spanish government (72%), the 40dB poll found.

Only 14.2% rated Sanchez’s handling of the crisis positively, with two-thirds of those surveyed saying his response was too slow.

Support for Sanchez falls following Ceuta

The combined voting intentions for the conservative People’s Party and Vox hit 50.2%, leading their potential right-wing alliance to breach the 50% mark for the first time in an opinion poll during this legislature. The center-left bloc fell to 36.1%.

The PP rose to 32.4%, from 32% in the previous 40dB poll in July, and Vox to 17.8% from 17.2%, while Sanchez’s Socialist Party dipped to 27.6% from 28%.

About 27% of respondents named Vox as the most capable party on the issue of immigration, ahead of the Socialists at 18.4% and the PP at 13.9%.

Seven out of 10 chose tighter border controls over protecting vulnerable migrants, and 82% backed increasing fences and surveillance at Spain’s borders.

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Italian technology collective Autistici/Inventati (A/I) said on Sunday it would shut down its services after a US terrorism designation led to the suspension of its .org domain and the closure of its bank account.

The closure affects about 16,000 mailboxes, 1,500 websites, 5,500 mailing lists and 10,000 blogs, according to the US State Department.

The volunteer-run provider, founded in 2001, offers privacy-focused email, websites, mailing lists and blogging services to activists, campaigners and others seeking alternatives to commercial platforms.

The United States designated the group on August 26, alleging it provided support to extremist activists and organizations through services including email accounts, websites and communications tools.

A/I rejected the designation, describing itself as a collective of volunteers and digital activists that provides digital self-defense tools for activists, individuals, groups and associations.

Website shut down after US placed server on hold

Two days later, autistici.org became unreachable after Public Interest Registry (PIR), the US-based operator of the .org domain, placed it on serverHold status. PIR said it was legally required to suspend the domain following the designation.

Banca Etica, an Italian lender where the collective held an account, subsequently suspended the account, citing sanctions-related risks. The bank criticized what it described as the use of US sanctions for political purposes.

In a statement announcing the closure, A/I said it had hoped to continue operating but could no longer do so responsibly.

“The day we discovered we had been designated a global terrorist organization, we promised that we would try to resist as long as this was possible,” the collective said.

However, it said it had “a responsibility to protect our users” and could not ignore the risk that people associated with the organization might face legal or financial consequences.

“The possibility that our work may cause legal and financial consequences to those who are close to us, or even only have something to do with us, leaves us no choice,” it said.

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The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is completely blind regarding Iran’s nuclear program and has been since at least June 2025, the agency’s Director-General Rafael Grossi told its Board of Governors on Monday.

Grossi said, “As stated in the report…the Agency has neither received information from Iran regarding the status of its declared nuclear material or facilities nor had access to any of those facilities to conduct in-field verification activities. Therefore, the Agency was unable to discharge its safeguards responsibilities under the NPT Safeguards Agreement at declared nuclear facilities in Iran.

“Consequently, we were not able to verify their status for safeguards purposes and the associated nuclear material, and as a result I am also unable to report in relation to the implementation by Iran of relevant provisions of the UN Security Council resolutions or the Board’s resolutions of November last year and June this year,” he continued.

Further, he said, “It is more than a year since the Agency lost continuity of knowledge in relation to the previously declared inventories of LEU and HEU enriched up to 60% U-235 at the declared nuclear facilities affected by the military attacks of June 2025,” referring to Israel’s war with Iran last year.

Next, he noted, “The Agency’s lack of information about these facilities and associated nuclear material and our inability to conduct verification activities at these facilities is a matter of serious proliferation concern. The situation needs to be rectified with the utmost urgency.”

Moreover, Grossi said, he called on Iran “to engage with the Agency constructively in order to make possible the full and effective implementation of Agency safeguards in Iran and to fulfill its responsibilities under the NPT Safeguards Agreement.

“A return to diplomacy and negotiations aimed at finding a solution to issues related to Iran’s nuclear program is imperative, and the Agency stands ready to support such efforts. The situation regarding Iran’s nuclear program has implications for the global non-proliferation regime,” he warned.

Iran refuses access to IAEA inspectors since joint Israel-US attacks

Since Israel and the US struck Iran in June 2025, Tehran has refused access to the IAEA to any of its nuclear facilities, claiming that the agency would pass on classified information to those who attacked it.

While Grossi at points has said that solving nuclear issues by the use of force is less productive than diplomacy, the Islamic regime has viewed his stance on American and Israeli attacks on Iran’s nuclear program in 2025-2026 as too mild, and taken offense that he has not condemned the attacks more forcefully.

However, while Grossi has complained that Iran has cut off IAEA access almost completely in 2025-2026 – with the exception of a visit to the Bushehr nuclear facility, which has never presented any threat – in fact, the Islamic Republic started to significantly limit IAEA inspector access as early as 2021.

As early as November 2021, Grossi cited the Islamic Republic’s violation of a supposed deal from September 12, 2021, to renew IAEA access to the critical Karaj nuclear site. Because Tehran reneged on the deal, Grossi said, “the lack of access to the Karaj workshop has meant that the restoration of surveillance and monitoring at all of Iran’s facilities and locations in relation to the JCPOA could not be completed. This is seriously affecting the Agency’s ability to restore continuity of knowledge at the workshop, which has been widely recognized as essential in relation to a return to the JCPOA” 2015 nuclear deal.

Iran’s IAEA obstruction predates the 2025 war with Israel

Going back further in time, Iran has accused the US of being the first to violate the 2015 deal when first-term US President Donald Trump pulled out of that deal in May 2018.

However, when Trump pulled out, he noted that the Mossad had provided tens of thousands of files of evidence of Iranian lying and cheating relating to the deal when it seized Iran’s nuclear archives in January 2018.

Although Iran was certainly complying with some significant aspects of the deal, the archives proved that the regime was also systematically seeking to hide the weapons aspects of the nuclear program from the IAEA and the West.

Currently, neither Iran nor the US is pushing for IAEA involvement until they resolve their other ongoing standoff over the Straits of Hormuz.

Israel remains concerned that whatever is left of Iran’s nuclear program after the 2025-2026 strikes has not yet been closed down as is not being overseen by IAEA inspectors. 

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At least nine people were reportedly killed and five others wounded in Israeli strikes near Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, Lebanese media outlets Al Jadeed and Lebanon 24 reported on Monday.

According to Al Jadeed, two infants were among those killed, and one of the strikes hit a residential building.

Rescue teams worked through the night among the rubble, using heavy machinery to search for people trapped beneath the debris and for additional casualties.

The Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar described the night as particularly difficult in the Nabatieh district and reported that the strikes were not limited to Kfar Roummane.

According to the newspaper, areas in Nabatieh al-Fawqa, Arab Salim, and Jabal al-Rafi were also struck, while Israeli activity was also reported in the area of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah.

IDF strikes Hezbollah command center, weapons storage facilities

On Sunday, the IDF carried out several waves of strikes in southern Lebanon in response to Hezbollah drone launches earlier in the day.

The military struck several weapons storage facilities and terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon belonging to Hezbollah, as well as a Hezbollah command center established inside a building previously used as a hospital.

The military noted that Hezbollah terrorists had recently been seen using the sites.

Earlier in the day, Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that at least four were killed and 20 people were injured in the strikes.

Miriam Sela-Eitam contributed to this report.

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

Headlines edited by Shir Perets.

Hosted and produced by Gadi Zaig.

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Reports in Yemen suggest that Yemen’s government forces have made some limited gains against the Houthis. The Houthis have dominated a swath of Yemen since 2015. They have consolidated control over the last decade and launched attacks on Saudi Arabia, Israel, and other countries. They are backed by Iran. However, Iran has fewer funds to support them, and this could cause them to suffer setbacks. 

The Houthis could still threaten the key Bab al-Mandab Strait at the entrance to the Red Sea. They could do this to try to reduce pressure on Iran. Currently, the picture of escalation is not fully clear. Both the Houthis and government forces are escalating attacks. 

Reports in regional media, including SANA in Syria and Al-Arabiya, say that Yemeni government forces had taken full control of Hays district in Hodeidah province and made gains in Taiz and Al-Jawf, as Houthi forces fired three ballistic missiles at Taiz city. The SANA report is based on Yemen’s Saba News Agency, which itself quoted a Yemeni military source as “saying government forces secured the remaining rural areas of Hays on Saturday evening. Hays city was already under government control.”

The report added that “government forces had begun operations in neighboring Al-Jarrahi district and advanced toward Houthi positions. The military reported Houthi casualties but gave no figures.” Meanwhile, in Taiz province, there were clashes on a frontline. The clashes have taken place in numerous areas. Jawf is close to Saudi Arabia in northern Yemen, whereas Taiz is in the mountains closer to Mocha and the Red Sea.

“Government forces said they captured several positions on the Hayfan front during clashes with Houthi forces,” SANA added. The report also said that the Houthis fired ballistic missiles targeting Taiz. “The attack came a day after a Houthi ballistic missile struck a civilian gathering in Taiz province, killing four people and injuring nine others, according to the agency,” SANA added.

Government continues combatting Houthi attacks, targeting Houthi fighters

In Al-Jawf, Yemeni armed forces spokesman Col. Majed al-Nuzaili said government forces targeted Houthi fighters. Government forces reported shooting down several Houthi drones on other fronts, including one east of Al-Hazm. “Fighting continues in Hodeidah, Taiz and Al-Jawf between government forces and the Houthis.”

Al-Arabiya noted that there were continuing clashes also. “Yemeni armed forces gained control of Jabal Koura in the Al-Kadha area, west of Taiz, after a bloody night of fighting against the militias.” Their report added that “a military source told Al-Arabiya/Al-Hadath that the forces had taken control of Jabal Al-Koura and a security point that belonged to the Houthis, while clashes were taking place on the hills of Al-Hanaya and the vicinity of Jabal Ghubari, west of Al-Kadha.”

The government forces also launched several other raids in various areas.  

“The Yemeni Armed Forces Media Center reported that warplanes carried out a series of raids targeting a command and control room, a thermal sensor system, and Houthi gatherings on the top of Mount Nasa in the Maris front in Al-Dhale’ province.”

It was not clear what types of air assets the government of Yemen has. “Yemeni forces announced they had taken control of the city of Hays, southeast of Hodeidah,” the report added.

The battles come in the context of a Houthi offensive aimed at cutting off access to the coastal city of Mocha. This area has been under attack for a month. A military source in the internationally recognized government, based in the southern city of Aden, confirmed that “the armed forces were able to consolidate their positions north of Hays after advancing in the area,” Al-Arabiya added.

The Houthi advance could threaten the Bab al-Mandab strait. This would give an Iranian-backed group more ways to pressure the international community. The overall picture is escalation in Yemen. There have been clashes over the last month in which Saudi Arabia has been accused of targeting Sana’a airport because Iran was trying to reopen an air corridor to the airport. The Houthis then attacked Saudi Arabia.

“These battles came in the context of the recent renewed escalation in the region between Iran and America, and since last July Yemen has returned to the forefront of regional tension, with renewed attacks and threats by the Houthis against cargo ships and maritime traffic,” Al-Arabiya said.

The reports illustrate that there is fighting at several fronts over key areas of Yemen, near the coast and near Saudi Arabia. The Yemen government is trying to use its limited air power in strikes in the governorates of Al-Bayda and Al-Jawf, as well as in Ma’rib and Taiz.

Al-Arabiya notes that the Houthis “attempted to advance towards government-held areas near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait. However, Yemeni forces repelled these attacks and made territorial gains, particularly west of Taiz and in al-Jawf. They captured Jabal al-Koura, while clashes continued on the hills.”

This post was originally published on here. 

Israel enters the final stretch of its election campaign against a turbulent backdrop. Israel’s war with Iran has yet to yield an agreement preventing Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, the arrangement on the northern border still faces serious obstacles, and Hamas’ demilitarization is hardly around the corner.

Yet for many politicians, the campaign’s defining issue is not these security and diplomatic challenges, but the “Haredi question.” The conflict over conscripting yeshiva students has prompted a broader reassessment of the relationship between Haredi society and the state.

In this atmosphere, a policy paper presented by the Israel Democracy Institute at the 2026 Eli Hurvitz Conference on Economy and Society proposes reducing public support for Haredi families according to the number of their children.

It suggests conditioning child allowances, day care subsidies, housing assistance, and child-related tax credits on maximizing earning capacity or civic participation.

The paper distinguishes between protecting children’s basic needs and publicly funding what it calls a “high-fertility pattern.”

Proposal a step backward 

This proposal is a step backward. It threatens one of Israel’s unique economic strengths while overlooking the real long-term danger: Not an excess of births, but a shortage.

The demographic crisis is no longer a distant forecast. Fertility in the European Union has fallen to roughly 1.4 children per woman, well below the replacement level of 2.1. In Italy and Spain, it is near 1.2, while South Korea’s rate has fallen below one. These countries face aging populations, labor shortages, growing pressure on pension and health care systems, and diminishing prospects for long-term growth.

Population decline can create a feedback loop. As populations shrink, the burden on younger generations grows, making it harder for young couples to raise families. Governments have tried to reverse the trend with little success.

Many countries have turned to immigration as a stopgap. Yet immigration offers only a temporary solution, as immigrants tend over time to adopt the lower fertility rates of their host countries. It can also produce integration difficulties, tensions over national and religious identity, and political polarization.

Israel’s high fertility rate a boon

Europe is discovering that immigration may fill immediate labor shortages but cannot restore the social cohesion and intergenerational confidence weakened by family decline.

Japan has chosen to limit immigration to preserve social cohesion but pays a heavy economic price as its population falls by hundreds of thousands each year.

Against this backdrop, Israel is an anomaly. Its fertility rate remains close to three children per woman, making it the only Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development country safely above replacement level.

This is not a structural weakness of the Israeli economy. It is a singular strategic advantage.

This post was originally published on here. 

SpearUAV, an Israeli defense tech company based in Tel Aviv, has close to 1,000 Viper 300 loitering munitions (LM) ready to deliver to customers around the world, the company has announced on Linkedin.

According to the company, the Viper 300 is an artificial intelligence (AI) based suicide drone that was designed for armored divisions, specialized ground forces, and tactical squads carrying out various missions – from reconnaissance and surveillance, asymmetric warfare, border patrol, homeland security, and even “the elimination of high-value targets.” 

Weighing 2.8 kilograms, including capsule and payload, the suicide drone can be folded into a capsule or backpack. It has a range of five kilometers, an endurance of 20 minutes, and troops can launch the LM while on foot or from a platform.

The Viper 300’s design allows it to hover in place, and using its AI tools, provide immediate target acquisition for precise attacks. Operators can use the system after a short training period.

While the company didn’t disclose the end-users or the contracts involved, the company wrote in a LinkedIn post that “this significant milestone reflects the trust of our growing international customer base, which recognizes the operational value of SPEAR UAVs armed VIPER 300 system and its ability to deliver precise, mission-ready, and easy-to-use capability – on time and ready for use by any soldier, mounted or dismounted. Hundreds of systems a month – and counting.”

Combat proven

The company’s unique encapsulated weapons systems can be launched from the air, ground, and from the depth of the sea from submarines. 

The Viper 300 is part of a broader group of systems, including the Viper 750 for naval use, and the Viper 1, which acts as an interceptor rather than striking targets. All are battle-proven, having been used across IDF corps and other militaries.

In June, Rafael and Spear announced a collaboration for another compact interceptor called the Iron Wasp, which can be launched from combat vehicles.

Defense & Tech by The Jerusalem Post has understood that the Viper 300 was developed with lessons learned from various combat zones, including the war in Ukraine. 

“From conflict zones like Eastern Ukraine to border regions, the VIPER 300 is an invaluable tool for capturing real-time, high-resolution intelligence without tipping off adversaries,” the company wrote on its website.

The platform’s capabilities were designed to address operational requirements that have become increasingly relevant in modern battlefield environments and provide troops with a combination of real-time intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), and precision strike capabilities, while maintaining a low operational signature.

SpearUAV was founded in 2017 in the garage of co-founder and CTO Gadi Kuperman, and CEO Yiftach Kleinman. Former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen serves as chairman of the company’s advisory committee.

This post was originally published on here. 

MAGDEBURG – The far-right AfD has scored a historic victory in Saxony-Anhalt, falling just three seats short of an absolute majority. Its rise could reshape Holocaust education and remembrance policy, while a small party critical of Israel may now hold the balance of power.

The AfD’s victory came with 43.8 percent of the vote – more than twice as much as the CDU, which received 17.2 percent. However, victory does not yet mean power: the party won 39 of the 83 seats in the state parliament, three more seats needed to secure an absolute majority.

The face of this success is 35-year-old Ulrich Siegmund. He called the election result a “mandate to govern.” Legally, however, no such mandate exists: the minister-president will be whoever can secure the necessary majority in the state parliament.

Siegmund has succeeded in giving the radical party a friendly, modern image. He smiles for the camera, films videos for social media, shares family celebrations and poses for photos with voters. One of the symbols of his campaign has been mass rides on Simson mopeds.

But Simson was founded by a Jewish family whose property was confiscated under the Nazis. The founders’ descendants protested the AfD’s use of the brand, saying that its political appropriation was a mockery of their family’s history. Siegmund, however, continued to use the mopeds as a symbol of East German pride.

Concept of ‘remigration’ for ‘insufficiently assimilated’

In November 2023, Siegmund attended a meeting of AfD representatives and right-wing extremists near Potsdam, where Austrian far-right activist Martin Sellner presented his concept of “remigration.”

The concept applied not only to asylum seekers but also to German citizens of immigrant origin who were deemed insufficiently “assimilated.” At the same meeting, Siegmund presented his “Vision 2026” – a plan for the AfD to come to power in Saxony-Anhalt.

Following the publication of an investigative report, he was removed as chair of the state parliament’s committee on social affairs. This did not hinder his political career.

Siegmund has also faced criticism over his attitude toward Germany’s Nazi past. In a 2025 interview, he was asked whether he considered the Holocaust the most horrific crime in human history.

Siegmund refused to give a direct answer, saying that he did not consider himself qualified to rank crimes in history. Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, called the response a relativization of the Shoah.

At Siegmund’s events, the host would shout “Sieg,” and the audience would respond with “Mund.” In the German context, the association with the Nazi slogan is obvious. Siegmund dismissed the criticism, asking what was wrong with supporters chanting his last name.

Following the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Siegmund also stopped short of directly condemning Hamas or expressing solidarity with Israel in comments reported by German public broadcaster MDR. Instead, he said that the state parliament was not in a position to change the geopolitical situation and that the main task was to prevent “the conflicts of this world” from spilling over into Germany.

In the run-up to the election, the Union of Jewish Students in Germany ran a campaign in Saxony-Anhalt under the slogan “Demokratiefeinde ANHALTen.” In videos published by the organization, some AfD supporters express support for Hitler’s policies. Other videos from AfD events, filmed by independent bloggers, show people performing the Nazi salute or denying the Holocaust.

At the same time, some Jewish voters themselves support the AfD, primarily because of the party’s hardline stance on migration and political Islam. There is even a small organization in Germany called “Jews in the AfD” (Juden in der AfD), whose chairman said in 2025 that it had 22 full members.

After October 7, this argument gained additional weight. Antisemitic incidents in Germany increased sharply, and the AfD regularly presents itself as a defender of Jews against so-called “imported antisemitism.”

Yet a state government cannot close Germany’s borders, independently determine federal migration policy or shape Germany’s foreign policy. It does, however, have direct influence over schools and Holocaust education, cultural policy, the police, state-level domestic intelligence and the allocation of public funds.

After the election results were announced, Schuster said he was personally appalled by the AfD’s result and singled out education policy in particular. According to him, education plays a central role in combating antisemitism, and the damage caused by an AfD government could be enormous.

The AfD wants to strengthen the state government’s influence over standardized teaching materials. The party also intends to abolish the State Center for Political Education (Landeszentrale für politische Bildung) in its current form and replace it with an institute for “civic and political education and cultural identity.”

The current center focuses on political education and funds external projects, including initiatives against racism and extremism.

AfD platform criticized German ‘guilt complex’

In its platform, the AfD argues that Germany’s approach to its historical responsibility has created a persistent “guilt complex,” weakened national pride and hindered the formation of a stable national identity.

The party also calls for a different approach to commemorating German soldiers who served during World War II, emphasizing their courage and sacrifice for their country.

Kai Langer, director of the Saxony-Anhalt Memorial Foundation, has warned that the AfD does not directly deny the Holocaust or the Wehrmacht’s war crimes, but pushes them into the past as issues that have already been “settled,” while seeking to establish a more positive national historical narrative.

The AfD also wants to cut funding for school trips to memorial sites dedicated to victims of National Socialism while devoting greater attention to the maintenance of war memorials.

One of the party’s specific targets is the German Lost Art Foundation (Deutsches Zentrum Kulturgutverluste) in Magdeburg. It funds provenance research into cultural property, including works of art seized from Jews and other victims of Nazi persecution.

The AfD promises to completely eliminate Saxony-Anhalt’s funding for the foundation. The party’s platform states that provenance research places museum collections under unjustified suspicion and that research conducted without an existing, specific restitution claim artificially perpetuates a sense of German guilt.

The German Lost Art Foundation itself has warned that the AfD’s plans would primarily affect victims of Nazi persecution and extermination and call into question a research-based culture of remembrance.

It remains unclear whether the AfD will be able to implement this program. The party holds 39 of 83 seats. The CDU, SPD, Greens and The Left together also have 39 lawmakers.

Another five seats went to the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), a party founded in 2024 by former Left Party politician Sahra Wagenknecht that combines left-wing economic policies with a hardline stance on migration and opposes arms deliveries to Ukraine while advocating closer ties with Russia.

BSW has ruled out a formal coalition with the AfD but is open to cooperation on specific issues. Even individual votes from its lawmakers could therefore prove decisive.

The party has also taken a sharply critical stance toward Israel. BSW has repeatedly called for a German arms embargo on Israel, while its Saxony-Anhalt election platform calls for an end to German arms deliveries to Israel, recognition of a Palestinian state, an end to the Israeli occupation, and the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

In 2024, Wagenknecht and other BSW lawmakers also introduced a motion in the Bundestag calling on the German government to revoke arms export licenses for Israel and impose an arms embargo over the war in Gaza.

Wagenknecht’s clashes over Israel predate the current war by many years. In January 2010, Israeli president Shimon Peres addressed the Bundestag on International Holocaust Remembrance Day. After his speech, parliament gave him a standing ovation, but Wagenknecht and two other lawmakers from The Left remained seated.

Wagenknecht later explained that she had stood during the commemoration of Holocaust victims but refused to join the ovation for Peres because of the Israeli government’s policies.

The results of the September 6 election have not yet brought the AfD to power. But nearly 44 percent of voters have made a party that seeks to reshape Holocaust education and Germany’s culture of remembrance the largest parliamentary group in Saxony-Anhalt.

This post was originally published on here. 

The IDF killed the terrorist who wounded one person in a terror stabbing attack at Maoz Yehuda Farm near Kusra in the West Bank on Monday morning, the military announced in an afternoon statement. 

IDF soldiers located the terrorist near his vehicle in the area of Qabalan. Upon being located, the terrorist attempted to stab the soldiers. An IDF commander responded with fire and killed him.

The terrorist arrived at the farm in a car, asked the victim, a man in his 20s, if he was armed, before attacking him. The terrorist then fled in a white van.

פצוע קשה בפיגוע דקירה בחוות מעוז יהודה בשומרון סמוך ליישוב מגדלים. המחבל ברח דרך ציר פיראטי שסללו ערבי האזור. צה”ל פתח במרדף. רבש”צ מגדלים קפץ למקום ועזר לפנות את הפצוע.

יוסי דגן ראש המועצה דורש סגר מלא באזור ופתיחת מבצע צבאי רחב :”ההתיישבות בשומרון ועם ישראל לא ישברו כ”כ מהר”.… pic.twitter.com/WCxbPZcIpz

— שמחה רז (@simkha0404) September 7, 2026

Israeli media reported that the victim is a resident of Migdal Ha’emek and was stabbed while in a Range Rover.

According to KAN News, the terrorist’s phone fell from his pocket while fleeing the scene and has been identified as an individual known to the security establishment.

The victim is conscious and is being treated by first responders attached to the IDF, Rescuers Without Borders (Hatzalah Without Borders) said, adding that the victim has been evacuated to the Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Campus in Petah Tikva.

Victim stabbed several times, evacuated to hospital 

“We were led to a farm where we found a young man, about 19 years old, conscious, suffering from stab wounds to the head, neck, and limbs,” said Rescuers Without Borders Magen David Adom medics Aviel Mamelia and Neria Giat. “In cooperation with an IDF medical force and together with other medics and paramedics who arrived at the scene, we provided the injured man with initial medical treatment, including stopping the bleeding, bandaging, and immobilization.”

They added that he is being transported to Beilinson’s trauma unit in a military ambulance.

The IDF and Israel Police responded to the incident, imposing a blockade on the surrounding villages.

The military’s elite undercover Duvdevan Unit, Nahal Brigade, and Unit 636 of the Combat Intelligence Collection Corps were among the forces dispatched to search for the terrorist.

Expecting a ‘full-scale operation’ against terrorism

“No terrorist can hide,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement following the attack. “I commend our heroic fighters who engaged the enemy and eliminated the terrorist who carried out the attack in Samaria. I wish a complete recovery to the farm owner who was wounded in the attack.”

“We will continue to eliminate terrorists, hunt down those who dispatch them, and destroy the terrorist infrastructure in Judea and Samaria. Anyone who tries to threaten the State of Israel and its citizens will pay a heavy price.”

Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have directed the IDF to launch an “all-out war” against terrorism in the West Bank and the bodies that enable it. 

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I instructed the IDF to prepare to launch an all-out war against senior officials and mechanisms of the PA and the bodies associated with them, and against all terrorist infrastructure in Judea and Samaria – in order to quickly bring about their complete defeat.”

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sent well-wishes to the victim and support to the security forces searching for the terrorist. 

“Am Yisrael needs a strong and united national camp that will continue to develop the farm enterprise we established in Judea and Samaria – Israel’s security belt,” he wrote in a post to X/Twitter.

“[This is] a very serious attack,” Samaria Regional Council Head Yossi Dagan said. “I expect a full-scale operation in the area to go door-to-door and collect weapons, to crush the infrastructure of the supporters of terrorism.”

“I am strengthening the hands of IDF soldiers and IDF command and praying for the recovery of the wounded,” he said, adding that he is in contact with security officials on the ground and receiving updates from the field.

“I demand that all roads in the area be closed immediately, that the terrorist be captured, and that everyone who helped him be held accountable. The settlements in Samaria and all of Israel will not surrender to terrorism. We will continue to build, strengthen ourselves, hold on to the land, and build Samaria.”

This post was originally published on here.