Yesh Atid MK Mickey Levy confirmed on Monday that he would not be on the party’s Knesset list, while assuring that he would remain within the party.

Levy also mentioned that he had met with party leader Yair Lapid, and had agreed to serve as the head of the party’s court.

“We have come a long way together. A path that has not always been easy. There have been struggles, victories, disappointments, days of joy and also days of hardship. But we have always had faith in the path, in each other, and in our ability to change,” Levy wrote.

He also thanked Lapid, as well as other members of the party, for years of collaboration and work to further their goals.

“I believe in you and am confident that the companies and members who will continue to bear the burden will lead Yesh Atid forward, and will continue to fight for the image and future of the State of Israel,” he said.

Lapid says bond with Levy is stronger than ever

Lapid responded to Levy in a post on X/Twitter, saying that conversations with him had always been among “the most moving” that he’d had in his life.

“The bond between us is stronger than ever,” Lapid concluded.

Earlier on Monday, an ex-Yesh Atid Knesset member, Yoav Segalovitz, joined the Ra’am (United Arab List) party, Ra’am chairman Mansour Abbas announced.

Segalovitz is expected to receive the second slot on the party’s slate, according to reports.

“We have work to do together,” Abbas said at a joint press conference with Segalovitz.

Keshet Neev contributed to this report.

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Multiple lawmakers and rights advocates condemned US President Donald Trump’s ally Laura Loomer on Monday over her racist comments attacking Democratic socialist Florida State Representative Angie Nixon, as well as other prominent black US politicians and a Supreme Court justice.

“Angie Nixon is a ghetto, black, communist,” Loomer, a right-wing blogger, conspiracy theorist and Trump ally, said on X/Twitter on Monday, while doubling down after previous similar comments from her sparked widespread criticism.

On Friday, she cast Nixon, US Representatives Ilhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley, former US Representative Cori Bush and US Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson – all of whom are black women – as “ghetto, entitled, race-obsessed, destructive black BITCHES who are completely unfit for the power they hold.”

Nixon recently scored an upset victory in Florida’s Democratic primary race for the US Senate.

Loomer has also often made anti-Muslim comments, ranging from calling for Muslims to be banned from holding office in the US to advocating for deporting and removing “all Muslims from America.”

US officials condemn Loomer for racism

“You attack and insult Black women because you believe peddling racism is good for your clicks and your business model,” Maryland Governor Wes Moore said in response to Loomer.

US Representative Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian American who herself has been attacked by Loomer, said “anti-Black racism goes unchecked.”

US House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called Loomer a “stone-cold racist.”

Loomer has long been one of the Republican president’s most fervent supporters and is known to have Trump’s ear.

“Black women should NEVER have to endure such hateful and degrading rhetoric for daring to lead,” prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump said on Monday.

The Council on American Islamic Relations said Loomer’s comments “are the very definition of anti-Black racism.”

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MK Tally Gotliv leveled serious accusations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and linked her placement on the Likud list to the fate of the judicial reform, the N12 news site published on Monday evening.

Gotliv also hinted at a political future outside Likud and said she was considering leaving for another right-wing party, saying “I would consider it seriously.”

“It is not for no reason that the prime minister is trying to push me aside. He knows that my placement on the list is high because I want to be justice minister, because you want me to be justice minister. But he has a deal in his hands. Write down what I am telling you: the prime minister will receive a pardon as long as there is no judicial reform, as long as there is not even the slightest change to the Supreme Court justices and their powers. And that is the painful truth,” Gotliv said in a recording.

Following the broadcast of the recordings by N12, Gotliv published a post on X/Twitter directly responding to the remarks. She wrote that her “tremendous dedication” to the prime minister and the right-wing government had always been immense, and that she had even “thrown herself on the grenade” for them.

She said that while she does not expect applause, she would certainly not agree to be a “doormat” while waging a determined battle against the power of unelected officials and what she described as the Supreme Court’s “outrageous” rulings on diplomatic, military, and political issues.

According to Gotliv, Netanyahu followed the advice of those around him to carry out a “targeted assassination” against her in the Likud primaries. However, in a “David vs Goliath” battle, and thanks to the support of right-wing Likud members, she managed to secure 12th place, only being pushed down to 20th place due to reserved slots.

Gotliv added that, to her disappointment, Netanyahu used his authority to exclude her from the Likud campaign, while campaign officials decided not to address the party’s obligation to restrain the Supreme Court’s power.

She accused campaign officials of continuing to brief against her and portray her as a weakening force within Likud, despite her election being intended to advance right-wing governance and curb what she called the Supreme Court’s reckless conduct after it acquired authority it did not possess and elevated itself above other branches of government.

Gotliv further said that Netanyahu had decided not to allow her to become justice minister or even chair the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee, and had chosen to push her into a hidden back position, which she said was his right as prime minister.

She concluded her remarks by addressing rumors about a possible political move, saying that if she received a realistic offer from a party that respected her electoral strength and her clear ability to serve as a senior minister, she would consider it seriously on behalf of her voters. However, she said no such offer was currently on the table.

Likud denies claims that Netanyahu has secret plea deal

Likud responded: “Regarding MK Gotliv’s claim that there is a hidden plea deal, this is of course an absolute lie with no basis whatsoever.”

Gotliv’s accusations come amid a dramatic decision Netanyahu made the night before the Likud primaries, which were held on August 18. After a lengthy period of hints, Netanyahu openly and unequivocally came out against MKs Gotliv and May Golan.

A strong statement from Netanyahu’s associates followed an emergency discussion he held in his office regarding the two lawmakers. The discussion was reportedly driven by concerns that the two intended to leave for Otzma Yehudit, and perhaps an even greater concern that they were damaging the Likud list.

Political sources described the move as a “dramatic political assassination attempt” by the prime minister in the final stretch before the primaries against the two MKs, whom he did not want to see placed near the top of the list.

The moves correspond with a report published in Maariv about two weeks ago, according to which the reserved slots given to Israel Katz, Gideon Sa’ar, and Haim Katz in the top 10 were intended, among other things, to push Gotliv lower on the list.

Although no official confirmation was provided at the time, it is now clear that Netanyahu was determined to prevent her from securing one of the top spots on the Likud slate.

Gotliv expresses support for Ben-Gvir’s independence from RZP

At the same time, Gotliv on Friday publicly expressed support for Itamar Ben-Gvir’s refusal to unite with Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party, despite heavy pressure from Netanyahu.

According to Gotliv, Ben-Gvir was “completely right” and should not serve as a “lifeline” for Smotrich.

Gotliv argued that the responsibility to show maturity rests with Smotrich, and suggested alternatives such as running together with Ofer Winter or Moshe Feiglin.

Alternatively, she suggested that Smotrich could receive a reserved slot on the Likud list if there were concerns that he would not pass the electoral threshold, saying the right-wing camp does not have the “privilege” of wasting votes that could lead to a government relying on Ra’am.

Meanwhile, the prime minister’s son, Yair Netanyahu, launched a direct attack against Ben-Gvir over his refusal to join a broad technical bloc.

Yair Netanyahu questioned what was behind the refusal, hinting that it was driven by “personal hatred and ego,” and recalled that he had previously worked to help Ben-Gvir when his party was close to the electoral threshold.

Netanyahu concluded with a historical warning, comparing the situation to the 1992 election. He said the split on the right at the time led to the rise of Yitzhak Rabin’s government and the Oslo Accords, and warned that Ben-Gvir could be remembered in a similar way if he continues running separately and harms the bloc.

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US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has submitted his resignation to the White House following months of tension with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

It was unclear if the White House had accepted his resignation.

Driscoll, who is considered close to US Vice President JD Vance, becomes the latest senior official who has either been fired or pushed out in Hegseth’s Pentagon.

In April, Hegseth fired US Army Chief of Staff Randy George, a major staffing change that came as the US military was fighting a major war in the Middle East.

The Army declined to comment on the news, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

White House praises Driscoll’s tenure

“Secretary Driscoll has been highly effective in advancing President Trump’s agenda to Make America Strong Again at the Department of the Army by providing outstanding leadership during historic military operations, restoring an emphasis on readiness and lethality, assisting with negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and more,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement.

Driscoll pushed for changes to Army weapons acquisition

Driscoll, who was confirmed for the top Army position in February 2025, pushed the Army to be more nimble in acquiring cheaper weapons and chastised large weapons makers.

“(The) defense industrial base broadly, and the primes in particular, conned the American people and the Pentagon and the Army,” Driscoll said last year in reference to large defense companies.

Driscoll’s resignation marks the latest senior personnel change at the Pentagon under Hegseth.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife, Sara Netanyahu, suggested in an interview on Channel 14 on Monday evening that Democrats party chairman Yair Golan had prior knowledge of the October 7 attack, echoing conspiracy theories alleging betrayal.

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

“In general, who is the prime minister who needs to know that a war is breaking out? Why inform him?” She asked sarcastically.

When asked directly about theories of betrayal, Netanyahu responded ambiguously. “I don’t want to talk. I don’t know. Let there be a real investigative committee.”

The Democrats Party responded in a post on X/Twitter, saying, “The Democrats Party strongly condemns Sara Netanyahu’s slanderous and false remarks this evening on Channel 14. Spreading conspiracy theories against Maj.-Gen. Yair Golan and tarnishing his bravery on October 7 is crossing a red line bordering on madness. While Netanyahu rushed to put on makeup and look for excuses, Yair Golan charged forward and saved lives. The facts will not change, no matter how much the Netanyahu family and Channel 14 try to rewrite them.”

Democrats MK threatens Sara Netanyahu with defamation lawsuit

Democrats MK Gilad Kariv also responded to Netanyahu’s interview, saying that after the upcoming election the party would eject “this corrupt and rotten couple” from the Prime Minister’s Office.

מסתבר שגם שרה נתניהו יודעת שיאיר גולן יצא להציל אנשים ולחלץ אותם מהתופת בזמן שהבעל הכושל, הרופס והלא כשיר שלה גמגמם בטלפון ואז נעלם לכמה שעות כדי להתאפר.

ב-27.10 נעיף את הזוג המושחת והרקוב הזה מלשכת ראש הממשלה, ונתחיל לתקן.

אגב, למרות שהיא חושבת שמישהו בחר אותה למשהו, אין לגברת… pic.twitter.com/txDdbYFZVA

— גלעד קריב (@KarivGilad) August 31, 2026

“It turns out that even Sara Netanyahu knows that Yair Golan went out to save people and rescue them from the inferno while her failed, spineless, and unfit husband stammers on the phone and then disappears for a few hours to put on makeup,” he said.

Kariv also added that Sara Netanyahu had no legal immunity, and that the Democrats party lawyers may begin preparing a defamation lawsuit against her.

Blue and White party chairman Benny Gantz also stood against Netanyahu’s statements.

“Yair Golan is a brave warrior who fought and risked his life for the State of Israel over many decades, including on October 7,” he wrote.

“Any attempt to pin a connection to treason on him – not only is it false, it harms the fighting spirit of our people.”

יאיר גולן הוא לוחם אמיץ, שלחם וסיכן את חייו למען מדינת ישראל לאורך עשורים רבים, וגם בשבעה באוקטובר.
כל ניסיון להדביק לו קשר לבגידה – לא רק שקרי, הוא פוגע ברוח הלחימה של העם שלנו.
הגיע הזמן להקים ועדת חקירה ממלכתית שתשים סוף לתיאוריות הקונספירציה, ותאפשר הפקת לקחים – כדי שלוחמים…

— בני גנץ – Benny Gantz (@gantzbe) August 31, 2026

Gantz also called for a state commission of inquiry into the massacre, to “put an end to the conspiracy theories, and allow lessons to be learned.”

Golan joined the fighting on October 7 and helped evacuate people from the area of the massacre. In a previous interview with Ben Caspit and Amit Segal, he described how the events of that day changed him.

This post was originally published on here. 

US President Donald Trump’s approval rating was stuck at the lowest level of his political career amid broad dissatisfaction over the war in Iran and the Republican’s economic stewardship, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that concluded on Monday.

Just 33% of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing in the White House – the third straight Reuters/Ipsos poll with that share of respondents giving the president a thumbs up.

Trump’s political brand looks increasingly like a potential weight on his Republican Party, which will be defending slim congressional majorities in the November 3 midterm elections.

Democrats appear more fired up about the elections, with 46% of self-identified Democrats describing themselves as “very enthusiastic” about voting in November, compared to 31% of Republicans, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll which surveyed 1,167 US adults nationwide.

Asked which party they would vote for if the congressional elections were held today, 36% of independents in the survey picked Democrats and 22% said Republicans.

Trump popularity rating remains below Joe Biden low point

Since mid-August, Trump’s popularity has held at a level it only briefly touched early in his first presidency, and well below the 47% share of Americans who approved of his performance early in his current term. His rating is lower than the low point his predecessor in office, Democrat Joe Biden hit, at 35% approval, in October 2024.

Like Biden, Trump has been dogged by widespread discontent over high levels of inflation. Gasoline prices have surged since Trump ordered the US to start bombing Iran in February, and just 36% of Americans approve of the war, the Reuters/Ipsos poll showed.

The conflict has had long lulls over the period, but in recent days the two sides have traded missile strikes and since the war’s outset Iran has largely blocked a major transit point for the global oil trade.

Some 71% of Americans – including four in 10 Republicans – disapprove of how Trump is handling the cost of living. For the last month, registered voters in the survey have been saying the Democratic Party has better ideas for the economy than the Republican Party, the first time Democrats have led on the issue in about a decade.

The four-day poll had a margin of error of 3 percentage points in either direction.

This post was originally published on here. 

Amazon.com illegally raised prices for advertisers by surreptitiously raising the minimum price required to place ads that promote their products, the US Federal Trade Commission alleged in a lawsuit filed in federal court Monday.

The agency, joined by a bipartisan group of 22 US states, said Amazon systematically inflated auction prices for advertisers without their knowledge, costing them $20 billion or more.

“Amazon has been able to generate billions of dollars in profits – at the expense of its auction advertising customers,” the FTC stated in its suit filed in federal court in the Western District of Washington state.

Advertisers suffered billions of dollars in harm from higher ad prices, while the states could seek civil penalties and attempt to recover some of that money, the FTC alleged.

Amazon denies report of FTC allegations

Amazon, in a blog post Monday, denied the report, saying its advertising policies aim to show shoppers the most relevant ads, adding that the average cost per click for advertisers remained flat from 2019 to 2024, while the sales generated from those clicks rose.

“Amazon’s approach to pricing contradicts any suggestion of consumer harm,” the company said. “We provide customers the lowest prices every day across the widest selection of products, and work to ensure our retail and grocery prices meet or beat those offered by other retailers.”

The e-commerce giant in September last year agreed to pay $2.5 billion in fines and reimbursements to Prime subscribers to settle the FTC’s allegations that it deceived its customers to generate subscriptions.

Amazon shares fell about 3% in afternoon trading.

This post was originally published on here. 

A second person is suspected of having Ebola after returning to Israel from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Health Ministry announced on Monday.

The ministry announced the first suspected Ebola case on August 11.

The latest patient, who returned to Israel several days earlier, sought medical treatment after developing a fever and other symptoms, which the ministry did not name. The Health Ministry said that this is not a confirmed Ebola case and that required tests are being conducted, with results expected in the coming days.

The person is expected to be treated in isolation at Sourasky Medical Center’s Ichilov Hospital, Tel Aviv, one of the designated centers for suspected cases of this type, with all practitioners expected to follow protocols for handling high-risk infectious diseases.

The Health Ministry emphasized that no confirmed Ebola case has been diagnosed in Israel.

The ministry stressed that Ebola is not transmitted through the air and spreads through direct contact with a symptomatic person or with blood, bodily fluids, or secretions.

Health Ministry calls on Israelis to avoid nonessential travel to areas with Ebola 

The Health Ministry said it has monitored developments since the Ebola outbreak in the DRC and has prepared to ensure the health system is ready for possible cases. These measures include issuing guidelines to medical teams and hospitals, acquiring protective equipment and specialized supplies, establishing early detection mechanisms for people returning from affected areas, and setting up laboratory testing infrastructure.

The ministry called on the public to avoid nonessential travel to areas with active Ebola outbreaks, particularly the DRC.

Travelers returning from the DRC who develop a fever or unusual symptoms within 21 days of their stay are asked to remain at home, avoid contact with others, and call the Health Ministry’s Kol Habriut hotline at *5400. 

This post was originally published on here. 

Former Yesh Atid MK Yoav Segalovitz will join the Ra’am Party slate, chairman MK Mansour Abbas announced on Monday, making him the first Jewish candidate for the religious Arab faction.

Segalovitz is expected to receive the second slot on the party’s slate, according to reports.

Abbas and Segalovitz made the announcement at a joint press conference, where Abbas stated: “We have work to do together.”

Segalovitz said the country could not bring about political change “without connection, including political connection.

“I explicitly want to break the paradigm of dividing lines and lines of discourse. I also want to break the paradigm of how political partnerships are formed.

“I am personally joining Ra’am. Some will say that this represents political weakness, but from my perspective, there is much greater strength and power in this.

“The common assertion that, after October 7, it is impossible to have a political partnership with Arab parties is absurd and false,” he added.

Segalovitz recently announced Knesset resignation

Segalovitz had recently announced his resignation from the Knesset and departure from Yesh Atid, which opposition leader Yair Lapid leads.

The addition of a Jewish candidate to the Arab party’s list has been widely seen as a way for Ra’am to be viewed as a more viable coalition partner.

In 2021, Ra’am joined the coalition during the Bennett-Lapid government, marking the first time an Arab party was a formal member of a governing coalition. The move to include Ra’am in the coalition was highly criticized.

Though Ra’am seeks to be part of the coalition again, most opposition parties in the bloc seeking to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have rejected the possibility of forming a government with any of the Arab parties. Most have said that a coalition with the Arab parties is not viable after the October 7 Hamas attacks.

Segalovitz was a former head of Israel Police’s Lahav 433 – The National Crime Unit. He had worked in the Knesset during the Bennett-Lapid government on combating violence and crime in Arab society.

There had been reports that Segalovitz would soon join the Arab party ahead of the October elections.

The other three major Arab parties – Hadash, Ta’al, and Balad – have agreed to run on a unified list, while still leaving the door open for Ra’am to join ahead of next week’s deadline for parties to submit their lists.

Despite polls showing that the Arab parties would earn more seats together, Abbas has held off on joining the Arab alliance.

The decision not to join the reduced Joint List is also widely viewed as a strategic move aimed at keeping Ra’am in contention for a place in the next coalition.

Party leaders in Netanyahu’s camp have accused the opposition bloc of seeking to form a government with the Arab parties, sharply criticizing prime ministerial candidate and Yashar Party leader Gadi Eisenkot as part of their campaign.

Likud MKs denounce Segalovitz joining Ra’am list

Following the announcement of Segalovitz’s addition to Ra’am’s list, ministers and MKs from Netanyahu’s party condemned the move.

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana (Likud) said the move was “intended to achieve one thing: To legitimize the inclusion of an Islamist list in an Eisenkot government, whose members are unable to say, ‘Hamas is a terrorist organization.’”

Meanwhile, Democrats MK Gilad Kariv welcomed the alliance, stating it was “bringing good news to the citizens of Israel, both Jews and Arabs.”

“We will do everything we can to bring about change and a new direction, and we will work together to ensure personal security, equality, prosperity and hope for all Israeli citizens,” Kariv added.

Democrats chairman Yair Golan is the sole party leader in the opposition bloc who has openly called for forming a government with the Arab parties.

This post was originally published on here. 

The Israel Navy is acting to deter Turkish maritime aggression, and in response to the Turkish navy traveling to new points of interest in Israel, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

The Israel Navy, in essence, wants to send a message to Turkey: if it thinks it can move its navy freely, it will have to think again.

The Post understands that the IDF is on high alert for any Turkish moves, whether it’s by sea, land, or air; this includes areas near Greece and Cyprus, or, in the worst-case scenario, in Syria or Gaza.

The IDF recognizes that Turkey’s navy is powerful and cannot be ignored. Still, the largest danger Turkey faces is in Syria, given the IDF’s attack on a Syrian air base to prevent Turkey from installing a new radar or other assets that may compromise Israel’s freedom of action.

Israel has also staunchly opposed Turkey’s involvement with the International Stabilization Force (ISF), a peacekeeping entity for the Gaza Strip.

The Post understands that the IDF sees Turkey as having a deep commitment to the Syrian regime –  a commitment rooted in religious doctrine. In contrast, Turkey’s commitment to Gaza is more general in nature and involves regional influence, not religion.

On July 26, the Post reported that, even as Turkey and Egypt are reconnecting in certain areas, senior Israeli defense sources sense opportunities for Israel and Cairo to work together to counterbalance Ankara’s naval interests.

Egypt, Israel may realize benefit of coordinating against Turkey

As both Israel and Egypt watched Iran tighten its grip over the Strait of Hormuz, the two may eventually agree on their shared interest in preventing Turkey from emerging as a rising power and posing a similar threat.

Until now, Israel and Egypt’s naval units have cooperated in international drills, but neither has been seriously challenged in the Mediterranean.

But that is only one narrative; there are at least two others.

Despite the optimistic narrative, Egyptian Defense Minister Ashraf Salem Zaher traveled to Ankara on July 13. This move, according to some pessimistic observers, represented a profound structural shift in the geopolitics of the eastern Mediterranean. The pessimistic narrative sees this as evidence that Egypt and Turkey are moving closer together – potentially against Israel.

This is linked to the third narrative: that, until now, Turkey and Egypt have wanted nothing to do with one another. This narrative, which was true until last year, had a historical basis. For over a decade, the conflicting ideologies between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi were permanently embedded into the regional landscape. The two seemingly had no path for reconciliation.

Sisi blamed Erdogan for supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, which took over Egypt from 2012-2013, and Erdogan blamed Sisi for ousting the Brotherhood from power.

But Turkey and Egypt have been gaining something new, particularly in recent months. Sisi is securing access to advanced military technology from Turkey without Western interference, while Erdogan has gained a partner to legitimize his maritime ambitions.

Moreover, the military cooperation between Cairo and Ankara has quickly evolved past superficial diplomacy into deep, structural integration. Their joint maneuvers over the past months showed what appeared to be an alarming level of operational alignment.

Turkey’s Anatolian Eagle aerial exercises integrated Egyptian pilots for training under simulated high-threat environments alongside Ankara’s assets. This was immediately followed by the Egyptian Golden Eagle special forces drills, which focused on command interoperability on multiple fronts.

According to some observers, these have not been routine bilateral military drills, but rather a process to synthesize the doctrines of two of the region’s most powerful militaries.

Cairo’s concerns about Ankara may align with Israel’s interests

Senior Israel Navy sources believe that, despite the two’s mended ties, Egypt’s concerns about Turkey gaining a maritime advantage work in Israel’s interests.

Sisi has strong sensitivities about ongoing issues relating to Libya and other areas in which Erdogan may have decidedly different interests.

The Post understands that, in these areas, Egypt could work together not just with Israel, but with Cyprus and Greece to counterbalance Turkey’s aggression.

In late June, Greece’s Navy Chief, Vice-Admiral Dimitrios-Eleftherios Kataras, visited Israel with Israel Navy Chief Vice-Admiral Eyal Harel. This meeting included the Shayetet 13 Navy SEALs, and the two sides deepened the joint mechanisms between their navies.

Some pessimists may view this alliance as a coalition of Israel, Cyprus, Greece, and a few European countries against Egypt and Turkey. However, regardless of the outcome between Egypt and Turkey, Israel still has its allies.

This post was originally published on here. 

Prediction market company Kalshi said on Monday it imposed a penalty of more than $71,000 on former US Congressman George Santos and permanently banned him from its platform for betting on his own attendance at US President Donald Trump‘s State of the Union address.

Santos, who was expelled from the ​House of Representatives in 2023, was also fined by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission a month ago for alleged market manipulation over the incident.

Kalshi also said on Monday it was imposing penalties and temporary suspensions on three current and former candidates for political office in Maine, California, and North Carolina who had allegedly bet on their own races.

US regulators previously fined former White House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez for allegedly wagering on information about Trump’s speeches. Attempts to reach Perez on Monday were unsuccessful.

According to Kalshi and the CFTC, Santos made false statements on social media that benefited his wagers and ​then did not attend the address, earning him nearly $18,000.

Santos ‘never intended to manipulate any market’

Joe Murray, a lawyer for Santos, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In July, Murray said Santos denied the CFTC’s allegations and settled them only to avoid drawn-out litigation, asserting that Santos never intended to deceive anyone or manipulate any market.

Trump commuted Santos’ seven-year prison sentence for fraud and identity theft last year following his guilty plea for inflating fundraising figures and falsifying donor names to secure Republican Party financial support during the 2022 election cycle.

Laurie Buckhout, the current Republican nominee for North Carolina’s 1st congressional district, said in an email that wagering on herself had been “a dumb mistake” that she had quickly worked to correct upon learning that it was improper.

Kalshi imposed a fine of about $2,600 and three-year suspension on Buckhout.

Efforts to contact Stephen Cloobeck and Ben Midgley, former candidates for governor in California and Maine, respectively, who were also penalized by Kalshi, were unsuccessful.

The boom in election betting is likely ​to test ⁠the ability of prediction markets such as Kalshi to police insider trading, according to experts and data shared with Reuters. Kalshi and rival Polymarket have said that they are equipped to identify and block suspicious activity and protect market integrity.

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Iraq has sentenced a man to fifteen years in prison for kidnapping American journalist Shelly Kittelson in late March, the victim announced on social media on Monday.

Kittelson was kidnapped on March 31, when she was targeted by Iranian-backed militias, and released in early April.

“Iraq’s Central Criminal Court has sentenced Amir Rahim Jabar Lazim to 15 years in prison under the Anti-Terrorism Law after convicting him of being one of several armed men who took me hostage in Baghdad on March 31,” read her X/Twitter post.

She added, “I am grateful to the Iraqi judiciary for its attention to my case, as well as to all those who helped get me out alive. And, of course, to those who love Iraq as much as I do and try to build a better future for it. Thank you from the very depths of my being.”

Iraq’s Central Criminal Court has sentenced Amir Rahim Jabar Lazim to 15 years in prison under the Anti-Terrorism Law after convicting him of being one of several armed men who took me hostage in Baghdad on March 31.

I am grateful to the Iraqi judiciary for its attention to my… pic.twitter.com/Hw0SWF5Nfb

— Shelly Kittleson (@shellykittleson) August 31, 2026

Rudaw media in Iraq added that “an Iraqi court has sentenced a key suspect to 15 years in prison under the country’s anti-terrorism law in connection with the abduction of American journalist Shelly Kittleson in Baghdad earlier this year, a case the US linked to the Iran-backed Kata’ib Hezbollah armed group.”

Rare prosecution of Iranian-backed militia member

The development is important because Iraq rarely prosecutes members of the Iranian-backed militias. In the past, members of the militias have sometimes been detained by authorities, but are often released. There is now pressure in Iraq for the government to rein in the militias, after the US encouraged Baghdad to make progress toward disarming the groups.

The militias have been involved in acts of kidnapping and murder for years. In 2020, Dr. Hisham al-Hashimi was assassinated by gunmen outside his home in the Zeyouneh neighborhood of Baghdad. He was a journalist and security expert. Kataib Hezbollah was also behind the kidnapping of Princeton researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov in March 2023. She was released in September 2025.

Rudaw noted that “the Central Criminal Court in Baghdad on Sunday sentenced ‘the convict – Amir Rahim Jabbar Lazem – to fifteen years in prison’ pursuant to Iraq’s Anti-Terrorism Law ‘for the crime of kidnapping the complainant – Shelly Renee Kittleson of American nationality – on March 31, 2026, in the al-Saadoun area’ in the Iraqi capital, read a copy of the ruling obtained by Rudaw.”

He has already been detained since April for the kidnapping. Other men were involved in the kidnapping. Video at the time showed other individuals. An eyewitness at the scene at the time told Rudaw that “three people surrounded her [Kittleson] and one of them grabbed her from behind.”

Kataib Hezbollah suspected to be behind kidnapping

Kataib Hezbollah, which is believed to have been behind the kidnapping, is one of the most powerful of the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. It has been sanctioned by the US as a terrorist organization. It is part of the paramilitary Popular Mobilization Forces.

Its former leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis was killed in a US drone strike in January 2020. He was driving in a vehicle alongside IRGC Quds Force head Qasem Soleimani, who was the target of the strike and who was also killed. The fact that Muhandis and Soleimani were in the same vehicle illustrates the close ties between the IRGC and Iranian-backed militias.

It does not appear Iraq will hold Kataib Hezbollah responsible for the kidnapping or other crimes. Kataib Hezbollah was also likely behind a drone attack that killed three American service members in Jordan in January 2024. It has also been behind attacks on Saudi Arabia. 

This post was originally published on here. 

The Israel Navy’s first-ever female corvette commander, Lt.-Cmdr. “R.,” has excelled in her first half-year managing her small warship and is expected to eventually earn additional promotions, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

When the IDF announced in February that it had named R. to become its first-ever female boat commander, she had already broken through a glass ceiling in the navy. It now appears that her trajectory is set to break through more barriers.

In recent years, the navy has welcomed more female sailors and officers, but in February, R. became the navy’s most prominent female.

The corvette under R.’s command is expected to be at the forefront of naval combat operations, according to the IDF.

It was already involved in attacking the Syrian navy, assassinating the political head of Hamas in Gaza, the head of Hezbollah’s aerial threats, and various other offensive and defensive operations.

The Post can confirm that under R.’s command, the vessel has continued to be involved in high-profile operations and has carried out complex missions successfully.

R. joined the navy’s commanders course in 2016 and has since fulfilled various positions, including deputy commander of a missile boat and commander of a Dvora-class vessel.

Ex-Israel Navy chief praises trailblazing female officer

In February, the commander of the navy at the time, V.-Adm. David Saar Salama, said R. was the right choice for the role based solely on her qualifications. The IDF clearly wanted to highlight the advancement of women in combat roles.

Since then, the Post has learned from R.’s current superiors that her performance leaves little doubt that she will likely be a candidate for further promotions.

This post was originally published on here. 

On the surface, it appears to be a classic case of religious conscience.

Religious soldiers operating in Gaza refuse an order to board a Namer armored personnel carrier with a female paramedic because of halachic concerns about men and women being together in enclosed quarters.

They are prepared to fight. They are prepared to risk their lives. But they are not prepared to compromise their religious principles.

Seen that way, the soldiers from the Givati Brigade’s Rotem Battalion are the victims here – dedicated fighters being punished for trying to remain faithful to halacha while defending their country.

But the story is not that simple.

According to reports, the soldiers initially tried to reach the Givati Brigade’s rabbi but received no response. They then contacted rabbis from the hesder yeshivot where they had studied, who instructed them not to enter the vehicle under those circumstances.

Later, however, the brigade rabbi became involved and reportedly ruled that the mission was permissible because of its operational importance and limited duration.

Yet that was not enough. The soldiers continued to refuse, the mission was canceled, and 16 soldiers were subsequently sentenced to terms in military prison – five for 10 days and 11 for five days.

An issue that will arise if more haredi enter the army

And therein lies the larger issue – one that the country will face with increasing frequency if, as everyone says they want, more haredim enlist in the IDF.

The soldiers involved in this incident were not haredim; they were hesder students. But the dilemma is the same: Who has the final say when the rulings of a soldier’s personal rabbi clash with those of the military rabbinate and the orders of his commanders?

The answer has to be the military chain of command, including the military rabbis whose job it is to weigh halachic considerations against operational needs.

The brigade rabbi was uniquely placed to understand both sides of the equation. He could assess the halachic problem, but he could also understand the nature and urgency of the mission – information that rabbis outside the army’s framework may not possess.

Once he ruled that the mission was permissible, that should have ended the matter.

Otherwise, the army risks creating parallel chains of command: the formal chain running from the chief of staff down through the brigade, battalion, and company commanders; and an informal chain running from soldiers to rabbis outside the military.

No army can operate that way.

A soldier may consult his rabbi about whom to marry, where to live, and a whole host of questions affecting his personal life. But when he is fighting in Gaza and receives an operational order, the army cannot wait while competing rabbinical authorities debate whether it should be carried out.

That does not mean the soldiers’ concerns should be dismissed. Far from it.

The IDF’s Joint Service Order recognizes the right of observant soldiers to serve in gender-segregated frameworks during operational activity, except in exceptional circumstances. The army itself, therefore, acknowledges that religious accommodation is not a favor bestowed upon soldiers by the good grace of an individual commander. It is part of the rules.

And that places obligations on commanders as well.

IDF needs to demonstrate common sense, sensitivity, and flexibility

As the IDF incorporates more religious soldiers and more women – both necessary because of severe manpower shortages – it will need to demonstrate common sense, sensitivity, and flexibility. Now is not the time to turn strict egalitarianism into an inviolable principle.

If a male paramedic is available and can accompany a group of hesder soldiers without compromising the mission, then common sense dictates that he should be sent.

Why create a confrontation when none is necessary? Why force soldiers to choose between their religious convictions and their military obligations if a practical solution is readily available?

But if no male paramedic is available, and the female paramedic is operationally necessary, then she should go – and the soldiers should follow the ruling of the brigade rabbi and obey their commanders.

That is the balance: accommodation wherever possible; following orders when necessary.

Common sense must also be the byword for officers commanding hesder soldiers. According to friends of those involved, the Namer incident came after previous confrontations in which the soldiers felt they had been unnecessarily asked to act contrary to Halacha.

In one such incident, they said, the company commander had ordered a training exercise on Shabbat that included evacuating simulated wounded soldiers and inserting an intravenous line. The soldiers reportedly asked that it be postponed, arguing that there was no operational need to conduct it on Shabbat. According to their account, a military rabbi later agreed there was no reason to hold the exercise then.

Those claims have not been independently established. But if accurate, they point to a serious failure of judgment by the officers.

There is no justification for creating avoidable religious friction merely to make a point, assert authority, or test the soldiers’ limits. Commanders need religious soldiers to trust that if they are ordered to violate Shabbat or enter a religiously problematic situation, it is because an operational necessity genuinely exists – not because a commander cannot be bothered to be flexible.

That trust is essential.

But it must run both ways.

Commanders need to know that when they give an operational order – particularly after the relevant military rabbi has ruled that it is halachically permissible – the order will be obeyed. Soldiers cannot treat resentment over earlier incidents as a reason to refuse a later mission.

The two issues need to be kept separate. If commanders ignored the Joint Service Order, behaved insensitively, or unnecessarily scheduled training on Shabbat, that should be investigated and addressed. But those alleged failures do not justify refusing an operational mission in Gaza.

The military was therefore right to discipline the soldiers. It cannot fight and win if soldiers unilaterally decide which orders they will obey, which missions they will join, and which rabbinical authority will have the final say.

By the same token, the IDF cannot afford to lose religious soldiers – or make the already difficult task of recruiting haredim harder – by giving them reason to fear that military service will force them to jettison Halacha.

The IDF is overstretched, understaffed, and alert on seven fronts. It has neither the time nor the luxury right now for these types of diversions.

This post was originally published on here. 

Dozens of protesters demonstrated at the entrance to Jerusalem on Monday over the decision to send Givati Brigade soldiers to prison after they refused to deploy for an operational mission with a female medic in an armored personnel carrier, Israel Police said.

During the protest, some demonstrators began intermittently blocking traffic routes in the area, including roads leading into the city, disrupting traffic and daily life, Walla reported.

Police officers worked to clear the blocked routes and direct traffic to restore public order.

Religious Zionist yeshiva council backs soldiers, calls for IDF reforms

The Council of the Hesder Yeshivot defended the Givati soldiers, saying the incident was the result of a prolonged crisis over religious accommodations in the IDF, in a letter published by the council to yeshiva rabbis and students.

The council added that its review found the incident followed a breach of trust with direct commanders, which it said stemmed from failures to follow religious guidelines and military orders while presenting soldiers with a misleading picture of the situation.

“We call on the army to get to the bottom of the matter and address issues such as these with the required seriousness,” the council wrote.

The council said the severe punishment imposed on the soldiers did not match what it described as the broader picture that emerged from its review.

According to the council, religiously observant soldiers serving in combat units have been repeatedly forced to deal with situations involving mixed-gender service that it said do not comply with Jewish law, their spiritual values, or the IDF’s Joint Service Order.

“The fact that soldiers are repeatedly forced to choose between their faith and their loyalty to the army places soldiers in an impossible conflict that harms both the IDF and the soldiers themselves,” the council said. “A functioning IDF must be based on trust.”

The council said the soldiers involved in the incident belonged to an outstanding company that had fought bravely, suffered wounded soldiers during combat, and had already faced the complexities of mixed-gender service.

“Even if a mistake was made in the decision, it cannot be viewed as an isolated incident disconnected from the broader challenging reality,” the council said.

This is a developing story.

This post was originally published on here. 

A majority of the “connected” US Jews surveyed would prefer Israel’s current opposition to emerge victorious in the upcoming October elections, according to a new poll by the Jewish People Policy Institute published on Friday.

The survey, which defined “connected” American Jews as “those with relatively strong ties to the Jewish community, Israel, and/or Jewish identity,” found that 54% of respondents had a “clear preference” for the current opposition.

The next-largest group, 24%, said it was not their place to express a preference. Another 14% favored the current coalition, while 8% had no preference.

While only 8% of respondents held Israeli citizenship and were eligible to vote, interest in the election was high among those polled, with 78% saying they followed election news either very or somewhat closely.

“The strong interest of American Jews in elections in Israel demonstrates the importance of Israel to them, at least in two respects,” JPPI President Prof. Yedidia Stern told The Jerusalem Post.

One of those reasons, Stern said, is that Israel’s actions can shape how American Jews are perceived, meaning Israeli election results may have “practical implications for the status of Jews in the US.”

The other, he said, is that Israel remains central to the identity of many American Jews. He added that JPPI surveys suggest the war has “strengthened Jewish identity” among a substantial segment of the community.

Interest in the election was even higher among respondents eligible to vote in Israel.

Among that group, 92% said they were following election coverage, including 63% who said they were following the upcoming election “very closely” and 29% who said they were following it “somewhat closely.”

Survey panel of US Jews skews Democratic

The survey primarily reflected the views of “connected” Jews, and the panel also had a Democratic majority. Sixty-two percent of respondents said they voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 US presidential election, while 30% said they voted for Donald Trump.

The survey was not representative of all American Jews.

Asked what that limitation might mean, Stern said it was reasonable to assume that Jews who are not connected to the community may not constitute a group particularly distinct from non-Jewish Americans as a whole.

“However, I have no way of knowing whether this is indeed the case,” he added.

Preferences in the Israeli election also closely tracked respondents’ political orientations.

Among those who identified as “strong conservatives,” only 8% preferred the opposition, while 56% favored the coalition. Among Trump voters, 43% favored the coalition.

Support for the opposition rose steadily as respondents moved left politically: 21% among those who leaned conservative, 49% among centrists, 71% among those who leaned liberal, and 78% among those who identified as strong liberals.

Just under three-quarters, or 74%, of Harris voters preferred an opposition victory.

Among respondents outside the United States, 49% of Canadian respondents and 57% of UK respondents also said they preferred an opposition victory. JPPI cautioned, however, that the findings from those countries should be viewed as indicative because of their smaller sample sizes.

Among US respondents eligible to vote in Israel, 55% preferred an opposition victory, more than double the 26% who favored the current coalition.

This post was originally published on here. 

Central Elections Committee chairman and Supreme Court Deputy Chief Justice Noam Sohlberg’s personal security was reportedly increased on Monday ahead of the elections.

Reports did not provide additional details about the situation, though the Central Elections Committee stated that Sohlberg was being provided with security “in accordance with security needs and the directives of the Israel Police.”

“Naturally, we cannot provide further details regarding the security arrangements,” the statement added.

Police did not immediately respond to The Jerusalem Post’s request for comment on the matter.

Sohlberg security update came after Eisenkot security increase

The reported change in Sohlberg’s security came the day after the Advisory Committee for Personal Security decided to recommend Yashar Party leader Gadi Eisenkot, a prime ministerial candidate, with increased security provided by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency).

Eisenkot is a leading rival candidate to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the October elections.

The committee’s recommendation came after the Shin Bet decided not to provide Eisenkot with its security last week, despite Yashar warning that threats against Eisenkot were escalating and calling for the decision to be reversed.

Meanwhile, the Advisory Committee for Personal Security decided not to recommend Shin Bet protection for Democrats Party Chairman Yair Golan.

The left-wing party said that the decision was made over political considerations.

“The decision to provide security to Gadi Eisenkot while, at the same time, abandoning the security of Democrats Party chairman Yair Golan exposes the truth: the considerations are political,” it said.

The party added that two of the three members of the Advisory Committee for the Security of Public Figures were Netanyahu’s political appointees.

“Now they are refusing to provide security to the person Netanyahu and his ‘poison machine’ have singled out as a central target of their campaign of incitement and delegitimization against the change bloc,” the party stated.

“The refusal to provide security to Golan is a political decision that serves the campaign of incitement and allows it to continue.

“Responsibility for Yair Golan’s safety and life rests with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Shin Bet Director David Zini. If they fail to separate politics from their duty to protect human life, we will demand that the High Court of Justice compel them to do so,” the party added.

Zini previously decided against assigning security to Eisenkot

Last week, Zini clarified that he alone decided against assigning security detail to Eisenkot.

Netanyahu had instructed Zini to ensure that Eisenkot receives security protection “at an appropriate level, according to need.”

In response, he was told that the Shin Bet was doing everything possible and was operating in accordance with the rules and the law.

The Central Election Committee later confirmed that Zini had informed Sohlberg that the Shin Bet “does not possess intelligence indicating any intention” to target or harm Eisenkot.

Sohlberg also requested that the Shin Bet chief inform the committee should such intentions be identified later during the election season, further stressing that he does not hold the authority to demand security detail be given to the Yashar leader.

Eisenkot’s staff had argued that the private security already assigned to him was insufficient and that “the physical threat against him is increasing every day.”

Avi Ashkenazi and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.

This post was originally published on here. 

Finland is sending seemingly contradictory messages on Israel, ending its multi-year funding agreement with UNRWA while quietly deepening defense cooperation with the Jewish state,  even as Helsinki has become increasingly critical of Israel’s war in Gaza.

The contrast has become increasingly striking. Over the past week, Finland announced it has chosen not to renew its multi-year funding agreement with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) after it expires this year.

Finnish Foreign Trade Minister Ville Tavio said that this does not signify a reduction in Finland’s humanitarian efforts in Palestinian territories, as it will instead contribute to organizations like the World Food Program.

It was later quietly confirmed that Finland has extended a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for defense cooperation with Israel over the next decade, including research and development (R&D), cooperation, and procurement of defense equipment.

The MoU was approved by Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen in early 2024, but was not made public. The agreement will last until 2034.

Some of these developments can be seen as slightly contradictory to Finnish foreign and domestic policy in recent years. Finland has been actively critical of Israel’s military efforts in Gaza, and just recently signed a statement condemning the E1 settlement project. Yet, it signed the MOU and procured Israel’s David’s Sling air defense system in 2023 for €316 million.

UNRWA funding was previously suspended in January 2024, then restarted, and now stopped again.

So what’s going on?

Elections shaping Finland’s policy with Israel

“Basically, I think it comes down to domestic politics in Finland and the approaching elections [next April],” Dr. Timo Stewart told The Jerusalem Post on Monday. Stewart is a Finnish political scientist and senior researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, specializing in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Western policy in the Middle East, and the role of religion in conflicts and politics. 

He explained that the minister in charge of all the development cooperation funds from which the UNRWA funding comes is Ville Tavio, the minister for trade from the right-wing populist Finns Party, which is part of the coalition. His party has long been critical of UNRWA and, according to Stewart, is “happy to see UNRWA from Israel’s perspective.”

Tavio was responsible for previously freezing the funding back in 2024, but after reviews concluded that they had enough evidence to be confident that the funds aren’t being misused.

As the current funding agreement is coming to an end at the end of this year, all Tavio is doing is saying he is not renewing it for another five years.

“This is something that he can do as minister for foreign trade and development, but which is at odds with what the foreign minister [Elina Valdemar] has been saying over the past couple of years.”

Stewart said this is unusual in the sense that foreign policy in Finland is generally something that the Finnish government aims to have a fairly high degree of consensus on.

“Israel-Palestine-related issues during the term of this government have been something of an exception,” he told the Post.

He cited various examples of this, including the governmental row over whether recognize a Palestinian state or not. It was ultimately decided not to.

Stewart said the context for Tavio’s UNRWA decision is that the Finns Party is “trying to burnish its image as a party with strong policies of its own and being the anti-immigration party in Finland.”

“They want to show that they’re tough on their themes, and with UNRWA being quite unpopular with their voter, it pretty much explains the UNRWA decision.”

Shift among Finns over Israel-Palestine

While Stewart said Israel-Palestine “isn’t exactly the number one concern for Finns,” there has been a shift in Helsinki’s policy – in many ways in seemingly opposite directions.

“After October 7th, it’s been in the news a lot. And it has moved up quite a bit on the list of issues that the government has had to discuss,” Stewart said.

“It’s just been a very polarizing issue. There’s a great many Finns who feel quite strongly one way or the other. And this has also meant that it’s been more present in inter-government dynamics and also the dynamics between the opposition and the government.”

The Finns Party, for example, has used the topic of Israel for voting traction, he explained.

“They’ve identified Israel as sort of engaged in a similar fight against immigration and Islamism or terrorism or Islamist terrorism,” Stewart told the Post.

The Finns Party also has a significant voter base among Christian Zionists, and so pro-Israel or at least not pro-Palestine rhetoric works in their favor.

Outside the Finns Party, Stewart said there has been “a marked shift in the general population, becoming quite a lot more critical towards Israel than they used to be.”

“The government has tried to do a balancing act and in some instances has actually deepened cooperation with Israel,” he added.

Defense is one of Finland’s top priorities 

This links to the topic of the MoU.

Stewart explained that the reason Finland is concerned about its own defense is because of Russia, which it has seen as an increasing existential threat since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Since the Russia-Ukraine war began, Finland has significantly scaled up its military readiness, defense spending, and manpower plans. Finland maintains a core wartime strength of 280,000 to 300,000 troops, but it has increased the number of reservists participating in mandatory refresher training exercises by roughly 50%. Its defense spending has also risen past 2.5% of its GDP. Furthermore, shortly after the invasion of Ukraine, Finland officially joined NATO.

As such, having defense systems like David’s Sling is of paramount importance to Finland due to the relative advancement of Russian missiles and drones. Finland has already faced drone incursions from Russia.

Regarding the MoU, Stewart said it was not classified information; the government just likely chose not to advertise it “at a time when events in Gaza were in the news all the time, and Israel was seen as a bit of a risky trading partner in weapons trade.”

Now it has been made public, “the opposition has latched onto it,” he said.

“There’s been this dual messaging, whereas there’s actually quite a lot of defense cooperation going on between Finland and Israel, but the government has been trying to downplay it somewhat. And this memorandum seems to confirm that there is actually quite a lot going on.”

Another reason for the secrecy is that Finland takes a fairly cautious stance when it comes to foreign policy, typically following in the wake of its EU partners, Steward said.

“Looking at the EU spectrum, Finland has been somewhere in the middle, maybe a little bit on the cautious side in a lot of the statements. There’s been harsh criticism, yes, but usually only when the key EU partners or a clear majority of EU countries are also saying the same thing. Finland hasn’t been an outlier like Spain, Ireland.”

The same governmental split discussed earlier regarding UNRWA has implications for weapons procurement.

“The military and the defense ministry will choose to buy weapons that they think are best for Finland, and then the foreign ministry pursues the foreign policy that they think is in line with Finland’s interests and values. And you could see a clash when it comes to arms trade with Israel.”

Another reason that Israel is in the spotlight in the Finnish government is because of Israel’s relations with Russia, and its decision to cease exporting certain weapons to Ukraine.

“If Israel is not supplying weapons to Ukraine because it does not want to antagonize Russia, is it possible that Finland might run into similar difficulties should we have need of weapons?”

In February 2022, then President of Finland Sauli Niinistö said, “Even in the best of circumstances, the dire asymmetry of the relationship makes Russia a potential existential threat to Finland. The core of Finland’s foreign and security policy has always been about the management of this threat.”

It would appear the Israel MoU is just one of the ways Helsinki is aiming to do that.

This post was originally published on here. 

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir approved a new head of the IDF’s Central Command, responsible for the West Bank, in a wider deal involving dozens of other senior appointments with Defense Minister Israel Katz.

Maj.-Gen. Dado Bar Kalifa, who is currently the head of the IDF’s Manpower Directorate, will replace Maj.-Gen. Avi Bluth in January, according to the announcement.

On the one hand, Zamir has backed away from his position that he would not make any changes at the level of major-general and the IDF General Staff before a new government is in place in 2027.

On the other hand, since Bar Kalifa will not replace Bluth before January 2027, Zamir can claim he held his ground in a conflict with Katz.

Further, Katz appeared to approve dozens of new senior appointments which he might otherwise have been able to stall to pressure Zamir.

On August 3, Katz stated his intention to appoint Bar Kalifa as the new head of the IDF’s Central Command during a live interview with Channel 14’s “The Patriots.”

Zamir immediately rebuked Katz and said that he would not allow such a change and that Katz lacked the authority to fire Bluth without his approval.

Bar Kalifa appointment comes amid conflict between IDF chief, defense minister

The fight between Katz and Bluth came as the defense minister had regularly hamstrung the IDF central commander’s tools for combating Jewish extremist violence against innocent Palestinians, while the two had been united at least in fighting Palestinian terror.

Katz told Channel 14 at the time that he viewed Bluth as overly harsh in efforts to combat Jewish extremist violence. 

At the time, the defense minister tried to maneuver, noting in a statement that as of the end of April, Zamir had recommended that Katz appoint Bar Kalifa as the Commander of the IDF’s Central Command.

“After it finished dismantling the IDF from the outside and ensuring mass draft evasion, the October 7 government has decided to dismantle the IDF from the inside and ensure total chaos,” former prime minister Naftali Bennet said in a post on X/Twitter at the time.

He continued to promise the Israeli public and all IDF soldiers and reservists that “reinforcements are on the way,” asserting that “soon we will replace them and together we will fix it.”

Meanwhile, most of the Israeli defense establishment does not view Bluth as too harsh, but rather accuses Katz of tying his hands.

In fact, Jewish extremist violence has reached new levels since Katz became defense minister and rolled back administrative detention of Jews.

Recently, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has mostly avoided the issue, has also condemned Jewish extremist violence in Judea and Samaria.

In contrast, Katz has rarely commented on the issue, seemingly more concerned about his political standing in the Likud, and is trying to transfer the issue to the police, though experts say this could be unworkable given that the IDF would still be in the West Bank to contain Palestinian terror.

This post was originally published on here. 

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir approved a new head of the IDF’s Central Command, responsible for the West Bank, in a wider deal involving dozens of other senior appointments with Defense Minister Israel Katz.

Maj.-Gen. Dado Bar Kalifa, who is currently the head of the IDF’s Manpower Directorate, will replace Maj.-Gen. Avi Bluth in January, according to the announcement.

On the one hand, Zamir has backed away from his position that he would not make any changes at the level of major-general and the IDF General Staff before a new government is in place in 2027.

On the other hand, since Bar Kalifa will not replace Bluth before January 2027, Zamir can claim he held his ground in a conflict with Katz.

Further, Katz appeared to approve dozens of new senior appointments which he might otherwise have been able to stall to pressure Zamir.

On August 3, Katz stated his intention to appoint Bar Kalifa as the new head of the IDF’s Central Command during a live interview with Channel 14’s “The Patriots.”

Zamir immediately rebuked Katz and said that he would not allow such a change and that Katz lacked the authority to fire Bluth without his approval.

Bar Kalifa appointment comes amid conflict between IDF chief, defense minister

The fight between Katz and Bluth came as the defense minister had regularly hamstrung the IDF central commander’s tools for combating Jewish extremist violence against innocent Palestinians, while the two had been united at least in fighting Palestinian terror.

Katz told Channel 14 at the time that he viewed Bluth as overly harsh in efforts to combat Jewish extremist violence. 

At the time, the defense minister tried to maneuver, noting in a statement that as of the end of April, Zamir had recommended that Katz appoint Bar Kalifa as the Commander of the IDF’s Central Command.

“After it finished dismantling the IDF from the outside and ensuring mass draft evasion, the October 7 government has decided to dismantle the IDF from the inside and ensure total chaos,” former prime minister Naftali Bennet said in a post on X/Twitter at the time.

He continued to promise the Israeli public and all IDF soldiers and reservists that “reinforcements are on the way,” asserting that “soon we will replace them and together we will fix it.”

Meanwhile, most of the Israeli defense establishment does not view Bluth as too harsh, but rather accuses Katz of tying his hands.

In fact, Jewish extremist violence has reached new levels since Katz became defense minister and rolled back administrative detention of Jews.

Recently, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has mostly avoided the issue, has also condemned Jewish extremist violence in Judea and Samaria.

In contrast, Katz has rarely commented on the issue, seemingly more concerned about his political standing in the Likud, and is trying to transfer the issue to the police, though experts say this could be unworkable given that the IDF would still be in the West Bank to contain Palestinian terror.

This post was originally published on here. 

Israel Police arrested a man in his 40s from southern Israel on Monday in connection with the baby food sold in Jerusalem grocery stores, which was found to contain strong sedatives when tested earlier this year.

Police arrested the suspect at his home and took him for questioning, police added. He will be brought before the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, where police will request an extension of his detention.

Police said they are also still investigating other lines of inquiry in the case, which may lead to additional arrests.

Dangerous sedatives found in Prinok baby puree in Jerusalem supermarkets

At the outset of the investigation in June, the Health Ministry confirmed that laboratory tests found clonazepam (sold under the brand names Klonopin or Klonex) and lorazepam in jars of Prinok baby fruit puree sold at two branches of Zol Begadol, a discount supermarket chain in Jerusalem.

The products were purchased at the chain’s Mahaneh Yehuda branch at 113 Jaffa Street, and at another branch at 214 Jaffa Street, both in the center of the capital.

Clonazepam (sold under brand names Klonopin or Klonex) and lorazepam (sold under brand names Ativan or Lorivan) belong to the benzodiazepine family, a class of prescription drugs used as sedatives, anti-anxiety medications, and other treatments.

According to the Health Ministry, a total of five tainted products were found during the investigation, with three handed over by customers and two found on store shelves. All five showed signs of tampering prior to purchase.

Three toddlers hospitalized by contaminated baby food

Three small children, aged 3 years and under, were hospitalized in June after consuming the purees; doctors found traces of benzodiazepines in their blood and were ultimately able to discharge them from the hospital in stable condition.

KAN News reported that police actually opened an investigation into the matter in May after two other children were hospitalized after consuming Prinok baby food. The report claimed that the Health Ministry did not ask police to test a suspicious jar of the puree. Police added that they alerted the Health Ministry to the issue after the May incident and did not receive further instructions on how to handle the tainted product. 

Tzvi Jasper and Goldie Katz contributed to this report.

This post was originally published on here. 

Israel Police arrested a man in his 40s from southern Israel on Monday in connection with the baby food sold in Jerusalem grocery stores, which was found to contain strong sedatives when tested earlier this year.

Police arrested the suspect at his home and took him for questioning, police added. He will be brought before the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, where police will request an extension of his detention.

Police said they are also still investigating other lines of inquiry in the case, which may lead to additional arrests.

Dangerous sedatives found in Prinok baby puree in Jerusalem supermarkets

At the outset of the investigation in June, the Health Ministry confirmed that laboratory tests found clonazepam (sold under the brand names Klonopin or Klonex) and lorazepam in jars of Prinok baby fruit puree sold at two branches of Zol Begadol, a discount supermarket chain in Jerusalem.

The products were purchased at the chain’s Mahaneh Yehuda branch at 113 Jaffa Street, and at another branch at 214 Jaffa Street, both in the center of the capital.

Clonazepam (sold under brand names Klonopin or Klonex) and lorazepam (sold under brand names Ativan or Lorivan) belong to the benzodiazepine family, a class of prescription drugs used as sedatives, anti-anxiety medications, and other treatments.

According to the Health Ministry, a total of five tainted products were found during the investigation, with three handed over by customers and two found on store shelves. All five showed signs of tampering prior to purchase.

Three toddlers hospitalized by contaminated baby food

Three small children, aged 3 years and under, were hospitalized in June after consuming the purees; doctors found traces of benzodiazepines in their blood and were ultimately able to discharge them from the hospital in stable condition.

KAN News reported that police actually opened an investigation into the matter in May after two other children were hospitalized after consuming Prinok baby food. The report claimed that the Health Ministry did not ask police to test a suspicious jar of the puree. Police added that they alerted the Health Ministry to the issue after the May incident and did not receive further instructions on how to handle the tainted product. 

Tzvi Jasper and Goldie Katz contributed to this report.

This post was originally published on here. 

For most people who grew up in Blacksburg, Virginia, the place to be on Saturday isn’t synagogue – it’s a Virginia Tech football game. 

My parents, Shosh and Joseph, had different ideas for me. They raised me to be deeply connected to both Judaism and Zionism. The passion they instilled in me is what carried me through making aliyah, a long career in the Jewish world, and to earlier this month, when I officially became a member of Knesset representing Yesh Atid (B’Yachad). 

Much has been written lately in these pages about mending ties between Israel and world Jewry. Given my own personal experience and background, these issues have always been and will continue to be at the core of my work in public life. 

Walking into the Knesset earlier this month, I carried with me not only the lessons my parents taught me. I carried with me what I’ve heard from the countless young Jews I have met – not just Israelis, but Jews from around the world – who care deeply about this country, but feel they don’t have a place in the conversation. 

I carried with me what I’ve heard from Israelis and Jews from around the world who struggle deeply with the way this country they love rejects their way of living as non-Orthodox Jews.

But lost in much of this dialogue is what comes before talking about operative solutions to the crisis – and it is a crisis – in relations between Israel and world Jewry. We have to understand that this crisis in recent years doesn’t begin and end with this government’s direct failures on this front – and won’t be solved just by handling “Diaspora issues” differently. 

Yes, there have been many such direct failures. Today, we have a Diaspora Affairs minister who thinks his job is hanging out at far-right conferences. We have a government that won’t condemn attacks on Reform synagogues lest they anger extremists in their coalition. We have a coalition that voted to impose a prison sentence for prayer at the Egalitarian Western Wall.

But discussing these failures in a vacuum misses the point. Ultimately, these examples are actually symptoms of a greater problem that is the true core of most of the challenges facing ties between Israel and world Jewry in recent years. That disease is the general divisiveness, chaos and disorder that have taken hold on this government’s watch. 

Repairing ties between Israel and world Jewry in the coming years, therefore, will not only require reversing the aforementioned direct failures and charting a new course, as important as that will be. And it will require far more than taking technical steps, forming committees, or making aspirational statements. 

It will require Israel fundamentally getting its house in order in a way that makes the type of damage done by this government impossible for years to come. 

Simply put, those who care about the future of ties between Israel and world Jewry need to pay attention not only to the next government’s direct work in this area, but to two other key policy areas that will help lay the groundwork for long-term repair, growth, and stability in these ties. 

The first is ensuring Israeli kids’ education includes not only academic excellence but instills values, among them a deep sense of belonging and understanding of their place in the Jewish people beyond Israel’s borders and acceptance of others, including Jews and non-Jews who think and practice differently. 

Because when we promote the values in Israel’s Declaration of Independence – democracy, Judaism, equality, and freedom – we strengthen the foundations of Israeli society and lay the groundwork for decades of future strong ties between Israel and Jewish communities around the world. 

Achieving this isn’t just a matter of adjusting curriculum, but includes key technical steps. For example, by better integrating technological tools like AI into classroom instruction, we will free up teachers to do what a good educator can: impart values and life skills.

Also, by turning 12th grade into a year focused on preparation for the army and life beyond school, we will provide greater opportunities for such values education. 

Next, those same values cannot only be taught in schools – they have to be anchored in law. One of the top priorities that former prime minister Naftali Bennett has laid out for our next government is finally adopting a constitution in the spirit of our Declaration of Independence. 

Israelis and Jews around the world being confident that Israel’s democratic character is firmly anchored and that liberal values and the rule of law will always be upheld here – that is perhaps the most critical foundation for the future of ties between Israel and world Jewry.

B’Yachad’s diplomatic vision

Just recently, former prime minister Yair Lapid laid out B’Yachad’s diplomatic vision alongside former prime minister Naftali Bennett. As part of that vision and as an integral element of Israel’s national resilience, he emphasized the importance of strengthening ties between Israel and world Jewry, particularly with non-Orthodox communities. 

The tangible steps he laid out there – from respecting non-Orthodox Judaism to folding the Diaspora Affairs Ministry into the Foreign Ministry as well as engaging young Jews from countries worldwide as “young ambassadors” for ties between their communities and Israel – will, of course, be vital to repair the damage done to these ties in recent years. They are a must. 

But as he concluded his remarks, a smart Israeli foreign policy, including our relations with the Diaspora, begins with smart domestic policy. Anyone who cares about the future of relations between Israel and world Jewry must know that repairing those ties starts in large part with real repair at home here in Israel. 

I am grateful to Lapid for the opportunity to serve, and helping bring about this repair will be my focus in Knesset as an olah who didn’t move here just to be part of Israel’s story, but to help shape it. 

B’Yachad, we will fix what’s broken and get Israel back on track. 

The writer is a Knesset candidate on the B’Yachad list.

This post was originally published on here. 

For most people who grew up in Blacksburg, Virginia, the place to be on Saturday isn’t synagogue – it’s a Virginia Tech football game. 

My parents, Shosh and Joseph, had different ideas for me. They raised me to be deeply connected to both Judaism and Zionism. The passion they instilled in me is what carried me through making aliyah, a long career in the Jewish world, and to earlier this month, when I officially became a member of Knesset representing Yesh Atid (B’Yachad). 

Much has been written lately in these pages about mending ties between Israel and world Jewry. Given my own personal experience and background, these issues have always been and will continue to be at the core of my work in public life. 

Walking into the Knesset earlier this month, I carried with me not only the lessons my parents taught me. I carried with me what I’ve heard from the countless young Jews I have met – not just Israelis, but Jews from around the world – who care deeply about this country, but feel they don’t have a place in the conversation. 

I carried with me what I’ve heard from Israelis and Jews from around the world who struggle deeply with the way this country they love rejects their way of living as non-Orthodox Jews.

But lost in much of this dialogue is what comes before talking about operative solutions to the crisis – and it is a crisis – in relations between Israel and world Jewry. We have to understand that this crisis in recent years doesn’t begin and end with this government’s direct failures on this front – and won’t be solved just by handling “Diaspora issues” differently. 

Yes, there have been many such direct failures. Today, we have a Diaspora Affairs minister who thinks his job is hanging out at far-right conferences. We have a government that won’t condemn attacks on Reform synagogues lest they anger extremists in their coalition. We have a coalition that voted to impose a prison sentence for prayer at the Egalitarian Western Wall.

But discussing these failures in a vacuum misses the point. Ultimately, these examples are actually symptoms of a greater problem that is the true core of most of the challenges facing ties between Israel and world Jewry in recent years. That disease is the general divisiveness, chaos and disorder that have taken hold on this government’s watch. 

Repairing ties between Israel and world Jewry in the coming years, therefore, will not only require reversing the aforementioned direct failures and charting a new course, as important as that will be. And it will require far more than taking technical steps, forming committees, or making aspirational statements. 

It will require Israel fundamentally getting its house in order in a way that makes the type of damage done by this government impossible for years to come. 

Simply put, those who care about the future of ties between Israel and world Jewry need to pay attention not only to the next government’s direct work in this area, but to two other key policy areas that will help lay the groundwork for long-term repair, growth, and stability in these ties. 

The first is ensuring Israeli kids’ education includes not only academic excellence but instills values, among them a deep sense of belonging and understanding of their place in the Jewish people beyond Israel’s borders and acceptance of others, including Jews and non-Jews who think and practice differently. 

Because when we promote the values in Israel’s Declaration of Independence – democracy, Judaism, equality, and freedom – we strengthen the foundations of Israeli society and lay the groundwork for decades of future strong ties between Israel and Jewish communities around the world. 

Achieving this isn’t just a matter of adjusting curriculum, but includes key technical steps. For example, by better integrating technological tools like AI into classroom instruction, we will free up teachers to do what a good educator can: impart values and life skills.

Also, by turning 12th grade into a year focused on preparation for the army and life beyond school, we will provide greater opportunities for such values education. 

Next, those same values cannot only be taught in schools – they have to be anchored in law. One of the top priorities that former prime minister Naftali Bennett has laid out for our next government is finally adopting a constitution in the spirit of our Declaration of Independence. 

Israelis and Jews around the world being confident that Israel’s democratic character is firmly anchored and that liberal values and the rule of law will always be upheld here – that is perhaps the most critical foundation for the future of ties between Israel and world Jewry.

B’Yachad’s diplomatic vision

Just recently, former prime minister Yair Lapid laid out B’Yachad’s diplomatic vision alongside former prime minister Naftali Bennett. As part of that vision and as an integral element of Israel’s national resilience, he emphasized the importance of strengthening ties between Israel and world Jewry, particularly with non-Orthodox communities. 

The tangible steps he laid out there – from respecting non-Orthodox Judaism to folding the Diaspora Affairs Ministry into the Foreign Ministry as well as engaging young Jews from countries worldwide as “young ambassadors” for ties between their communities and Israel – will, of course, be vital to repair the damage done to these ties in recent years. They are a must. 

But as he concluded his remarks, a smart Israeli foreign policy, including our relations with the Diaspora, begins with smart domestic policy. Anyone who cares about the future of relations between Israel and world Jewry must know that repairing those ties starts in large part with real repair at home here in Israel. 

I am grateful to Lapid for the opportunity to serve, and helping bring about this repair will be my focus in Knesset as an olah who didn’t move here just to be part of Israel’s story, but to help shape it. 

B’Yachad, we will fix what’s broken and get Israel back on track. 

The writer is a Knesset candidate on the B’Yachad list.

This post was originally published on here. 

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told The Jerusalem Post in an interview on Monday that he was hopeful that Turkey would decide to become a stabilizing force in the Middle East.

“I don’t think we know the full extent of it – whether they are helpful or not,” the ambassador told the Post. “Let’s hope that they will decide to be helpful.”

The ambassador’s comments come weeks after an Israeli air strike on Syria’s Abu al-Duhur airbase earlier this month, shortly before Turkish troops and air defense systems were deployed to the base. Following the strike, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “Israel will continue to act forcefully against any attempts by Turkey to undermine stability in the region and against any threat to its security.”

Huckabee’s comments were made as part of a special interview that will be published in The Jerusalem Post’s Frontlines section on Friday, ahead of the US Embassy in Israel’s 250th Independence Day event set to take place at Jerusalem’s Museum of Tolerance.

The ambassador described the strike as a warning attack.

“For those who are familiar with American baseball, I’ll give you an analogy: When the batter steps up to the plate and he crowds it, which means he gets a little closer than he really should be, a pitcher, particularly in the major leagues who knows how to control the ball, will throw one that’ll come right across his chest and sometimes touch his jersey… The point he’s making is, back away from the plate. You’ve proven your point, but I’m about to prove mine. If you don’t step back from the plate, the next one is going to hit you hard.”

Huckabee explained that, in his view, the fact that Israel did not take any lives or destroy significant infrastructure – with only the airport’s runway being hit – was similar to a baseball pitcher brushing a batter back and sending a warning shot.

“It’s sort of like the pitcher in baseball brushing the batter back and saying, ‘Okay, you’re moving into an area you’re not supposed to be in, and we don’t think it’s a good idea for you to encroach closer and closer to us. So here’s a warning.’ And like in baseball, the message is: ‘Now back up and let’s continue the game.’”

Turkey’s criticism of Israel on the rise

In recent months, senior Turkish officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, have sharply criticized Israel. Among other statements, Turkey’s foreign minister said that Israel is “a problem for all of humanity” and that it has become “a burden and a weight that humanity can no longer bear.”

“Certainly, we have concerns when we hear some of the comments that come out of Turkish officials,” the US ambassador told the Post. 

He added, “There’s also genuine concern about the avenue of financing that comes through Turkey to Hamas in Gaza. That’s a serious issue that we monitor and care deeply about. The last thing anyone in the Middle East needs is anything to give it a greater level of destabilization.”

The ambassador stressed that President Donald Trump is attempting to bridge the differences between the two countries.

“He has good relations with President Erdoğan; they seem to have a good rapport. But President Trump has an excellent relationship with Prime Minister Netanyahu. He bridges that gap somehow.”

US working to open dialogue between Israel, Turkey, and Syria

Since the airport strike, the US administration, led by its envoy to Turkey and Syria, Ambassador Tom Barrack, has been working to establish a mechanism aimed at easing tensions between Israel, Turkey, and Syria. 

Last week, a meeting was held between Mossad chief Roman Gofman and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani in an effort to prevent further tensions and resume dialogue between the two countries. 

“The last thing anyone in the Middle East needs is anything to give it a greater level of destabilization, so everyone is working hard to try to keep people talking to each other,” the ambassador told the Post.

Huckabee added that when tensions arise, de-escalation requires the establishment of a mechanism “which now we’ve done, so that there’s communication between Israel, Turkey, the United States, Syria, and Lebanon, making sure that before things spin out of control, there are conversations that hopefully bring the temperature down.”

This post was originally published on here. 

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told The Jerusalem Post in an interview on Monday that he was hopeful that Turkey would decide to become a stabilizing force in the Middle East.

“I don’t think we know the full extent of it – whether they are helpful or not,” the ambassador told the Post. “Let’s hope that they will decide to be helpful.”

The ambassador’s comments come weeks after an Israeli air strike on Syria’s Abu al-Duhur airbase earlier this month, shortly before Turkish troops and air defense systems were deployed to the base. Following the strike, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “Israel will continue to act forcefully against any attempts by Turkey to undermine stability in the region and against any threat to its security.”

Huckabee’s comments were made as part of a special interview that will be published in The Jerusalem Post’s Frontlines section on Friday, ahead of the US Embassy in Israel’s 250th Independence Day event set to take place at Jerusalem’s Museum of Tolerance.

The ambassador described the strike as a warning attack.

“For those who are familiar with American baseball, I’ll give you an analogy: When the batter steps up to the plate and he crowds it, which means he gets a little closer than he really should be, a pitcher, particularly in the major leagues who knows how to control the ball, will throw one that’ll come right across his chest and sometimes touch his jersey… The point he’s making is, back away from the plate. You’ve proven your point, but I’m about to prove mine. If you don’t step back from the plate, the next one is going to hit you hard.”

Huckabee explained that, in his view, the fact that Israel did not take any lives or destroy significant infrastructure – with only the airport’s runway being hit – was similar to a baseball pitcher brushing a batter back and sending a warning shot.

“It’s sort of like the pitcher in baseball brushing the batter back and saying, ‘Okay, you’re moving into an area you’re not supposed to be in, and we don’t think it’s a good idea for you to encroach closer and closer to us. So here’s a warning.’ And like in baseball, the message is: ‘Now back up and let’s continue the game.’”

Turkey’s criticism of Israel on the rise

In recent months, senior Turkish officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, have sharply criticized Israel. Among other statements, Turkey’s foreign minister said that Israel is “a problem for all of humanity” and that it has become “a burden and a weight that humanity can no longer bear.”

“Certainly, we have concerns when we hear some of the comments that come out of Turkish officials,” the US ambassador told the Post. 

He added, “There’s also genuine concern about the avenue of financing that comes through Turkey to Hamas in Gaza. That’s a serious issue that we monitor and care deeply about. The last thing anyone in the Middle East needs is anything to give it a greater level of destabilization.”

The ambassador stressed that President Donald Trump is attempting to bridge the differences between the two countries.

“He has good relations with President Erdoğan; they seem to have a good rapport. But President Trump has an excellent relationship with Prime Minister Netanyahu. He bridges that gap somehow.”

US working to open dialogue between Israel, Turkey, and Syria

Since the airport strike, the US administration, led by its envoy to Turkey and Syria, Ambassador Tom Barrack, has been working to establish a mechanism aimed at easing tensions between Israel, Turkey, and Syria. 

Last week, a meeting was held between Mossad chief Roman Gofman and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani in an effort to prevent further tensions and resume dialogue between the two countries. 

“The last thing anyone in the Middle East needs is anything to give it a greater level of destabilization, so everyone is working hard to try to keep people talking to each other,” the ambassador told the Post.

Huckabee added that when tensions arise, de-escalation requires the establishment of a mechanism “which now we’ve done, so that there’s communication between Israel, Turkey, the United States, Syria, and Lebanon, making sure that before things spin out of control, there are conversations that hopefully bring the temperature down.”

This post was originally published on here. 

Ra’am Party leader MK Mansour Abbas announced on Monday that former Yesh Atid MK Yoav Segalovich will join the Arab party’s slate ahead of the upcoming elections. 

Abbas and Segalovich made the announcement in a joint press conference.

Segalovitz had recently announced his resignation from the Knesset and departure from the Yesh Atid Party, which opposition leader Yair Lapid leads.

The addition of a Jewish candidate to the party’s list has been widely seen as a way for Ra’am to be viewed as a more viable coalition partner ahead of the elections.

In 2021, Ra’am joined the coalition during the Naftali Bennett-Yair Lapid government, marking the first time an Arab party was a formal member of a governing coalition. The move to include Ra’am in the coalition was highly criticized.

Though Ra’am seeks to be part of the coalition again, most opposition parties in the bloc seeking to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have rejected the possibility of forming a government with any of the Arab parties.

Segalovitz was a former head of Lahav 433. He had worked in the Knesset during the Bennett-Lapid government on combating violence in Arab society.

There had been ongoing reports that Segalovich would soon join the Arab party ahead of the October elections. 

This is a developing story.

This post was originally published on here. 

John Galliano withdrew from a planned exhibition of his work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in response to a rapidly escalating controversy over the museum’s decision to honor the fashion designer despite his history of antisemitic and racist remarks.

Galliano said Monday that, after discussions with the Met and others involved in the exhibition, he had decided that it was best for the show not to take place “at this time.” He said he remained accountable for the pain caused by his past words, particularly to Jews and Asians, and recognized that an exhibition honoring his work could be painful for some. The Met said it agreed with his decision.

The reversal came less than a month after the Met announced that Galliano would be the subject of its spring 2027 Costume Institute exhibition, a rare honor that would have made him only the third living designer to receive a solo show there. The exhibition was to open in conjunction with the Met Gala, one of New York’s biggest annual cultural and celebrity events. 

Criticism of Met Galliano exhibition increased in recent weeks

Opposition to the exhibition appeared to mount steadily in recent weeks. Early public pushback came from Dana Thomas, Galliano’s biographer, who wrote in an August 6 New York Times guest essay that the Met had made a serious error in choosing to honor him. The criticism then broadened, with Jewish leaders, museum donors and New York politicians publicly urging the museum to reconsider.

Those criticizing the exhibition were New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, who called the decision deeply painful for Jewish New Yorkers. Prominent Met donor Alice Tisch described the planned exhibition as a “whitewash,” according to the Times.

The reversal is also a setback for Anna Wintour, Condé Nast’s chief content officer and the driving force behind the Met Gala. She had championed Galliano for decades and was among the Met figures most closely associated with bringing the exhibition to the museum.

The controversy was complicated by the fact that some prominent rabbis had actually met with Galliano before the exhibition was announced and had come away believing that his repentance was sincere, as JTA reported earlier this month.

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, said Galliano had shown the contrition necessary to earn his return to the fashion world. Rabbi Joshua Davidson of Congregation Emanu-El, a Reform synagogue in New York, likewise said he was convinced by Galliano’s statements of remorse and his efforts to educate himself about Judaism and the Holocaust. Neither rabbi endorsed the Met’s decision to honor Galliano, however. Rather, both told the museum that if it proceeded, it had a responsibility to make Galliano’s antisemitic conduct and the lessons of his repentance an explicit part of the exhibition.

That distinction was reflected in the Met’s original plans. Andrew Bolton, the Costume Institute’s curator, said in announcing the exhibition that it would address Galliano’s antisemitic and anti-Asian conduct, as well as his firing from Dior, a hate speech conviction in France, and his subsequent treatment for addiction and public acknowledgment of his actions. 

Galliano fired by Dior in 2011, convicted of hate speech

Galliano, among the most celebrated designers in the world, was fired by Christian Dior in 2011 after a video surfaced showing him praising Hitler and making antisemitic remarks in a tirade in a Paris cafe, and directing an anti-Asian slur at the partner of a Jewish woman. A French court convicted him of making public insults based on race, religion, and ethnicity.

After entering treatment for substance abuse, he embarked on a process of rehabilitation and eventually returned to the fashion industry. Abraham Foxman, then national director of the Anti-Defamation League, met privately with Galliano repeatedly; in 2013 the ADL said that Galliano had demonstrated “true contrition.”

After the initial announcement of the exhibition, Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and national director of the ADL, noted that the organization had “long since accepted his apology,” but added that he understood “why some Jews may question the decision to include Galliano’s work in an exhibit given the massive spike in antisemitism in recent years.”

In a statement Monday, Greenblatt appeared to take a harder line in welcoming Galliano’s withdrawal. 

“With antisemitism at crisis levels, the Met honoring John Galliano at this moment was misguided, and even Galliano ultimately recognized what the Met should have done from the start,” Greenblatt wrote on X/Twitter. “This was the wrong move at the wrong moment. Timing matters.”

Galliano’s withdrawal leaves the Met without a planned spring 2027 Costume Institute exhibition. The museum said information about a replacement exhibition and the 2027 Met Gala will be announced later.

This post was originally published on here. 

John Galliano withdrew from a planned exhibition of his work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in response to a rapidly escalating controversy over the museum’s decision to honor the fashion designer despite his history of antisemitic and racist remarks.

Galliano said Monday that, after discussions with the Met and others involved in the exhibition, he had decided that it was best for the show not to take place “at this time.” He said he remained accountable for the pain caused by his past words, particularly to Jews and Asians, and recognized that an exhibition honoring his work could be painful for some. The Met said it agreed with his decision.

The reversal came less than a month after the Met announced that Galliano would be the subject of its spring 2027 Costume Institute exhibition, a rare honor that would have made him only the third living designer to receive a solo show there. The exhibition was to open in conjunction with the Met Gala, one of New York’s biggest annual cultural and celebrity events. 

Criticism of Met Galliano exhibition increased in recent weeks

Opposition to the exhibition appeared to mount steadily in recent weeks. Early public pushback came from Dana Thomas, Galliano’s biographer, who wrote in an August 6 New York Times guest essay that the Met had made a serious error in choosing to honor him. The criticism then broadened, with Jewish leaders, museum donors and New York politicians publicly urging the museum to reconsider.

Those criticizing the exhibition were New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, who called the decision deeply painful for Jewish New Yorkers. Prominent Met donor Alice Tisch described the planned exhibition as a “whitewash,” according to the Times.

The reversal is also a setback for Anna Wintour, Condé Nast’s chief content officer and the driving force behind the Met Gala. She had championed Galliano for decades and was among the Met figures most closely associated with bringing the exhibition to the museum.

The controversy was complicated by the fact that some prominent rabbis had actually met with Galliano before the exhibition was announced and had come away believing that his repentance was sincere, as JTA reported earlier this month.

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, said Galliano had shown the contrition necessary to earn his return to the fashion world. Rabbi Joshua Davidson of Congregation Emanu-El, a Reform synagogue in New York, likewise said he was convinced by Galliano’s statements of remorse and his efforts to educate himself about Judaism and the Holocaust. Neither rabbi endorsed the Met’s decision to honor Galliano, however. Rather, both told the museum that if it proceeded, it had a responsibility to make Galliano’s antisemitic conduct and the lessons of his repentance an explicit part of the exhibition.

That distinction was reflected in the Met’s original plans. Andrew Bolton, the Costume Institute’s curator, said in announcing the exhibition that it would address Galliano’s antisemitic and anti-Asian conduct, as well as his firing from Dior, a hate speech conviction in France, and his subsequent treatment for addiction and public acknowledgment of his actions. 

Galliano fired by Dior in 2011, convicted of hate speech

Galliano, among the most celebrated designers in the world, was fired by Christian Dior in 2011 after a video surfaced showing him praising Hitler and making antisemitic remarks in a tirade in a Paris cafe, and directing an anti-Asian slur at the partner of a Jewish woman. A French court convicted him of making public insults based on race, religion, and ethnicity.

After entering treatment for substance abuse, he embarked on a process of rehabilitation and eventually returned to the fashion industry. Abraham Foxman, then national director of the Anti-Defamation League, met privately with Galliano repeatedly; in 2013 the ADL said that Galliano had demonstrated “true contrition.”

After the initial announcement of the exhibition, Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and national director of the ADL, noted that the organization had “long since accepted his apology,” but added that he understood “why some Jews may question the decision to include Galliano’s work in an exhibit given the massive spike in antisemitism in recent years.”

In a statement Monday, Greenblatt appeared to take a harder line in welcoming Galliano’s withdrawal. 

“With antisemitism at crisis levels, the Met honoring John Galliano at this moment was misguided, and even Galliano ultimately recognized what the Met should have done from the start,” Greenblatt wrote on X/Twitter. “This was the wrong move at the wrong moment. Timing matters.”

Galliano’s withdrawal leaves the Met without a planned spring 2027 Costume Institute exhibition. The museum said information about a replacement exhibition and the 2027 Met Gala will be announced later.

This post was originally published on here. 

Every Israeli agrees on one thing: These are the most fateful elections in the history of the State of Israel. 

The agreement ends right there. The real argument is about what kind of Israel each of us wants. 

In practice, very few will vote for what they actually desire, and fewer still vote for what they believe that future should be. This is the great contradiction of our political moment. We announce a historic hour, and then we walk up to the ballot box like gray clerks filling in a form.

As elections approach, most Israelis become amateur analysts. They calculate the electoral threshold, weigh surplus vote agreements, assemble and dismantle coalitions, and in the end, they slip a ballot into the envelope for a party or a leader they do not really believe in. 

Millions leave the polling station disappointed, and then spend the next four years wondering why reality is so grim. The answer is simple. You, the voter, are responsible. Tactical voting produces petty politics, and petty politics produces yet another generation without a horizon or a vision.

I have one question for everyone who talks about the change bloc. What change, exactly? An end to the occupation? Serious political negotiations? Perhaps an end to the wars we ourselves have initiated across the region? A withdrawal from Lebanon, Syria, Iran, or at least Gaza? 

Not a chance. All of it is off the table, and every one of the candidates leaves it unmentioned, even in a whisper.

As for reining in the pogromists in the territories, the settlers who murder, burn villages, and drive shepherds off their land, there is nothing to discuss at all. Dismantling settlements is on nobody’s agenda. 

Even gradually phasing them out, the most minimal step anyone could imagine, is missing from every platform and every speech. That silence is a declaration in its own right.

When they say change, they mean more of the same, minus the daily havoc of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the coalition of corruption and extremism. 

They offer themselves as tidier, more respectable managers of the very same filth, the same social gaps, the same cruel and distorted economy. Removing Netanyahu and his far-right allies from power would be a welcome and necessary change. But it must be the starting point of change, not its end goal.

Israel’s new operating system

Only one party offers exactly what most voters in the change bloc actually want.

Peace as an aspiration and negotiations as a practice. An end to the occupation. Justice for all. Social equality. Affordable housing. Rent control. A minimum wage that makes a decent life possible. And an uncompromising struggle that runs from the street into the government, all the time, for all of us. 

That party is A Place For Us All, and it says out loud what so many people whisper to themselves on their way to the polls.

This alternative is precisely the one everyone has declared war on. You are wasting votes, they tell us. Really? The real wasters of votes fall into two categories. The first are the illusionists who win the public’s trust and then, for an entire term, do one thing only: secure themselves a seat for another term of nothing at all. 

The second are those with no hope, no energy, and no enthusiasm to offer. Because of them, masses stay home on Election Day for one simple reason. They have nobody to vote for. Those are the votes that go to waste, the ones that never leave the house.

We are the real thing. Values without compromise. Proven resilience in every struggle that demands courage. Human solidarity that leaves nobody out. We bring young people into a life of political responsibility. We bring back to the ballot box large numbers of voters who gave up long ago because conventional politics bored them into despair.

We are the ones we have been waiting for all these years. We will keep fighting for a better public life and for tangible social gains. In the Knesset and outside it. In the streets and in the corridors of power. Because this struggle is bigger than any single election campaign.

We are Israel’s new operating system. The purple sunrise rising against all the sad sunsets of the bloc of sorrow and apology. On Election Day, you can cast your vote based on petty calculations, or you can cast it based on great faith. Only one of the two can give birth to a new reality.

The writer is a Knesset candidate for A Place For Us All.

This post was originally published on here. 

Professor Ada Yonath, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009 and the Israel Prize in Chemistry in 2002, died on Monday at age 87.

Born in Jerusalem, Yonath worked at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot’s Structural Biology and Chemistry Department, where she led the Ribosome Group, according to the institute’s website.

A ribosome is a “tiny particle made up of RNA and proteins that specialize in protein synthesis and are found free or bound to the endoplasmic reticulum within cells,” according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.

She was the daughter of Polish immigrants, whose father tried to earn a living by running a grocery store, despite having qualifications as a rabbi, according to a biography on the Nobel Prize website.

The Yonath family moved to Tel Aviv after her father passed away, and Ada studied chemistry at the bachelor’s and master’s level at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, graduating in 1962 and 1964, respectively. She later earned her PhD from the Weizmann Institute in 1968, researching X-ray crystallography.

She was elected a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities in 2000 and the US National Academy of Sciences in 2003, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.

“An organism’s vital functions are managed by large, complex protein molecules produced in cells’ ribosomes. There, genetic information from messenger RNA is translated into chains of amino acids that then build proteins. In the 1970s, Ada Yonath began a project that culminated in 2000 in her successful mapping (together with other researchers) of the structure of ribosomes, which consist of hundreds of thousands of atoms, using x-ray crystallography. Among other applications, this has been important in the production of antibiotics,” the Nobel Prize biography said, describing her work.

“Professor Yonath is an example and a role model for how scientific vision, courage in choosing a great scientific question, and dedication to a goal can lead to tremendous success and expand the boundaries of knowledge for the future of all humanity. May her memory be a blessing,” the Weizmann Institute said in a statement.

“Ada was an exceptional scientist who never hesitated to choose a path that others considered impossible and to pursue it for decades with determination, curiosity and courage. Her breakthrough in the study of the ribosome transformed our understanding of one of life’s most fundamental processes and opened up new possibilities for combating antibiotic resistance,” Weizmann Institute President Prof. Alon Chen said.

“But Ada’s legacy extends far beyond her scientific achievements. She showed generations of scientists what can be accomplished when one dares to ask big questions and persists in the search for answers. Ada was an Institute Professor – the highest title the Weizmann Institute bestows on a select group of outstanding scientists – and she continued to conduct research and publish papers, run an active laboratory and maintain scientific collaborations until the very last days of her life,” Chen added.

This is a developing story.

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A digital billboard truck sponsored by the Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation (CAEF) appeared outside the intersection of Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue West in Toronto on Sunday, displaying images and details of individuals recently arrested or sentenced by police on hate crime charges from recurring incidents during pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the heavily Jewish neighborhood.

Michael Teper, president of CAEF, described the mobile billboard campaign in a statement to The Jerusalem Post as an experiment to shift the community’s approach to public demonstrations near local Jewish institutions.

“Our focus at this point is to make the expression of antisemitism in Canada expensive, risky, career-terminating, and potentially involving jail time,” Teper said. “We’re no longer being nice and polite about it, and if the folks on the other side of the street insist on committing crimes including hate crimes, then we will hold our police accountable to ensure that they are charged and that they are prosecuted.”

Images of the mobile billboard shared on X/Twiteer show the truck displaying a roster titled “Recently Sentenced Ontario Antisemitic Criminals” alongside specific bail conditions and mugshots of individuals charged by law enforcement. The text displayed on the digital screens included warnings directed at activists, reading, “Don’t Want to be on this List? Obey the Law!” and featuring the CAEF slogan “Making Antisemitism Expensive, Risky, Career-Terminating… and Involving Jail Time.”

Additional graphic slides shared on social media in connection with the campaign stated, “We call the September 11, 2001, Attacks Acts of Terrorism. We call the October 7, 2023, Mass Rape Attacks in Israel Mass Rape Attacks. We report October 7 Rape Deniers to professional regulatory bodies. We are the Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation, not the CBC.”

The deployment of the mobile billboard follows mounting community outrage over inflammatory rhetoric at the weekly protests held at the Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue West intersection. The demonstrations have drawn intense community concern and scrutiny for months, leading to police interventions after clashes between pro-Palestinian protesters and pro-Israel counter-protesters.

Toronto police arrest two pro-Palestinian activists for willful promotion of hatred

Subsequent investigations by the Toronto Police Service Hate Crime Unit led law enforcement to arrest multiple individuals, including Daniela Bonamico and Shahram Nayeb-Yazdi, who were charged with willful promotion of hatred and public incitement of hatred after investigators alleged they retrieved antisemitic signs from a storage locker before marching toward counter-protesters.

The tensions at the weekly site intensified further after video footage circulated on social media capturing a speaker addressing the crowd through a megaphone. In the footage, the speaker claimed that “the Zionists are the most kicked-out people for their mischief. For raping children, killing children, exerting magic, black magic,” while also calling for the annihilation of Israelis.

The remarks sparked immediate condemnation from major Canadian Jewish organizations, including the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), B’nai Brith Canada, and the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC), who issued a joint statement declaring that “what happened at Bathurst and Sheppard this weekend was blatant antisemitism” and calling on the Toronto Police Service to investigate the incident.

The local controversy unfolds against a broader national surge in antisemitic incidents targeting Jewish and Israeli institutions across Canada in recent months. Advocacy groups have documented a sharp rise in hostile encounters, ranging from vandalism and targeted harassment to attacks on community infrastructure, deepening anxieties among Jewish Canadians regarding public safety and the limits of freedom of expression during political demonstrations.

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An Australian judge rejected the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism and ruled that “Fuk Israel” graffiti is not antisemitic.

NSW Supreme Court Justice Desmond Fagan made the statements in the recent State of New South Wales v Farhat ruling.

The case concerns an Australian man – Mohommed Farhat – who committed a series of vandalism offenses in November 2024. This included spray-painting slogans such as “PKK” and “PKK coming,” referring to the Turkish Kurdistan Workers’ Party (although Fagan concluded that Farhat didn’t know what the abbreviation stood for) and “Fuk Israel” on vehicles and buildings in Sydney suburb Woollahra, and setting fire to a vehicle.

He pleaded guilty and received a 20-month prison sentence.

The NSW government subsequently sought an extended supervision order (ESO) under the Terrorism (High Risk Offenders) Act 2017. An ESO would have imposed 55 conditions on him after his sentence expired, significantly restricting his liberty.

To obtain the ESO, the state had to establish to a “high degree of probability” that, if released without supervision, Farhat posed an unacceptable risk of committing a serious terrorism offense.

The state argued that the graffiti was evidence of an antisemitic ideological motivation and potentially of an ideology associated with Hezbollah, and therefore relevant to assessing whether Farhat might commit terrorism offenses in future.

Fagan rejected the application.

‘F*** Israel’ not antisemitism

He concluded that “Fuk Israel” slogans were “crude expressions of political hostility to the State of Israel, [and were] not antisemitic according to the ordinary understanding of that concept in the Australian community.”

Fagan said that the fact that the slogans were graffitied in a locality where a high proportion of residents may be Jewish “does not imbue the curse with an antisemitic character.”

He also said that Farhat “did not understand the slogan to convey hostility to Jews as Jews and he did not intend to express hatred of Jews.”

His main argument was that “disparagement of Israel is not antisemitic because the Jewish people are not equivalent to the State of Israel,” and that “many Jewish people criticize Israel.”

The judge then cites the Jewish Council of Australia as an example of an anti-Israel Jewish organization, despite it being small and fringe, while decrying the Executive Council of Australian Jewry as a “transparently pro-Israel lobbying organisation.”

This sparked significant outrage from mainstream Australian Jewish groups.

IHRA doesn’t reflect established usage of term ‘antisemitic’

“The good Jews testify; the bad Jews lobby, and procedural justice, which required giving the ECAJ an opportunity to contest the charge, was blatantly ignored,” said ECAJ.

Another controversial part of Fagan’s ruling is the part about the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism.

Fagan said that the IHRA formulation “does not reflect the established usage and understanding of the term ‘antisemitic’ in Australia” and therefore he did not use it to determine whether the slogans spray-painted by the defendant were antisemitic.

“The IHRA core text is so verbose and imprecise that it could not realistically be attributed to the ordinary, reasonably informed member of the Australian public,” Fagan added.

“The IHRA formulation propounds a concept different from that which ‘antisemitism’ has long been understood to describe and appropriates that word to the novel concept.”

His language remained unusually polemical for a common-law judge.

He argued that IHRA’s 11 examples are designed to include criticisms of Israel “that could not be regarded as hostile to Jews as Jews.”

“The [purpose of IHRA] is to graft onto the community’s abhorrence of antisemitism a parasitic rejection of protest against Israel,” he said.

The Greens party celebrated the ruling.

“The IHRA definition of antisemitism is an imprecise and wide-ranging definition which has no place in prosecutions and the justice system of New South Wales,” said Greens MP and spokesperson Sue Higginson.

“Justice Fagan has rightly decried the IHRA definition as incomprehensible to the ordinary and reasonable member of the Australian public.”

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The impact of a widespread malfunction at Israel’s desalination facilities reached central Israel on Monday, with residents of Givatayim warned that water supply disruptions could occur in the coming hours, including reduced water pressure and even outages in certain areas.

A message sent to residents stated: “Following problems with the water supply in the national water network, disruptions to water supply may occur in the coming hours, including reduced pressure and water outages in certain areas. We ask the public to conserve water as much as possible and use water only for essential needs until normal operations resume.”

The warning came amid an unusual disruption to Israel’s national water network, after five of the country’s six desalination facilities were forced to shut down. According to Water Authority Director-General Yehezkel Lifshitz, severe seawater turbidity that began over the weekend and moved from south to north has prevented the facilities from filtering water and operating normally.

Five of six desalination facilities shut down

The Water Authority estimates that the turbidity is linked to stormy conditions in the eastern Mediterranean. An initial assessment also suggests that it may have been caused by a significant algae buildup drifting from the Nile region.

A dedicated vessel was sent offshore to collect samples and examine the composition of the material causing the turbidity.

The effects of the malfunction were initially felt mainly in southern Israel and in the agricultural sector. Farmers in the Eshkol Regional Council were asked to immediately reduce their use of freshwater for agriculture and gardening, while the Ramat Negev Regional Council decided to temporarily halt agricultural water supplies and reduce irrigation in gardens and public areas.

Meanwhile, Mekorot was instructed to increase the use of available production and drilling resources across the national water network in order to reduce the shortage created by the desalination shutdown.

The Water Authority estimated that some of the facilities may return to operation in the coming hours as the sediment settles and seawater clarity improves.

Gezer Regional Council imposes water restrictions

The Gezer Regional Council instructed residents to immediately halt watering private gardens and agricultural areas on Monday after failures at Israel’s desalination facilities caused a nationwide disruption to the regular water supply.

In a notice issued at 3:50 p.m. on Monday, the council stated: “Due to a nationwide disruption in the regular water supply, as a result of malfunctions at the national desalination facilities, residents of the council are asked to immediately close the taps and water systems designated for home gardens and agriculture.”

Water associations were instructed to stop irrigating agricultural areas and public spaces to ensure enough water remained available for private use.

“Reducing water use for gardening and agricultural needs is necessary in order to maintain continuity of household water supplies,” the notice said.

At the time of the announcement, the council said that the only community within its jurisdiction experiencing a water outage was Karmi Yosef, but warned that additional communities could be affected by the disruption.

“We ask all residents to act responsibly and conserve water as much as possible,” the council said.

The council added that it would provide further updates as needed.

Jerusalem, Rishon Lezion warned of possible water disruptions

Residents of Jerusalem and Rishon Lezion were also warned of possible water supply disruptions on Monday after malfunctions at Israel’s desalination facilities affected the national water network.

The Hagihon water company, which serves Jerusalem, said that disruptions to desalination facility operations could lead to water outages and interruptions in the capital.

“We are working with the relevant authorities to reduce disruptions and restore regular water supply as soon as possible,” the company said in a message to customers.

Hagihon said customers affected by the malfunction would receive individual notifications and added that there was no need to stockpile water at this stage.

“If supply disruptions occur in your area, we will update you regarding the locations of water distribution points and their operating hours,” the company said.

The company also urged residents to follow updates on its website and through its customer service center.

Meanwhile, residents of Rishon Lezion were warned of possible disruptions following a nationwide water supply issue involving Mekorot, Israel’s national water company, and in accordance with Water Authority instructions.

The Maniv Rishon water corporation said that Mekorot and the Water Authority had issued a nationwide request for residents to conserve water and avoid nonessential uses, including filling pools, washing reservoirs and watering gardens.

Maniv Rishon said it was prepared for such situations and had been working since the morning to maintain a continuous water supply as much as possible, in coordination with the Rishon Lezion Municipality, the Water Authority and Mekorot.

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California Legislature has given its final approval for the Safe Worship Zone Act, which creates a 100-foot zone around entrances to houses of worship so no one can approach congregants within eight feet without consent.

The bill passed the Senate floor 34-0, with six abstentions on Thursday evening, and the Assembly floor 49-2, with 28 abstentions on Monday. It now heads to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk.

The act was authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan and sponsored by Jewish California, ADL, JCRC Bay Area, and Jewish Federation LA. It is modeled on Colorado’s bubble zone law around reproductive health clinics, which has been upheld by the US Supreme Court.

The Safe Worship Zone Act does not harm the constitutional right to protest or the right to assembly, but it ensures that people can enter and leave their house of worship without being surrounded, blocked, confronted, or intimidated.

“Every Californian, no matter their faith, should be able to walk to their place of worship without fear of being surrounded or intimidated,” said David Bocarsly, CEO of Jewish California.

“This bill faced sustained, organized opposition, and it passed because lawmakers listened to people of every faith who said the same thing: let us pray in peace. We’re grateful to Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan and to our interfaith partners for standing behind this effort,” he added.

“California is sending a clear message: everyone has the right to practice their faith safely and freely,” said Bauer-Kahan.

“The rise of antisemitism is undeniable, and our communities must be protected. AB 2664 gives communities an important tool to push back against harassment and intimidation, and protect the sanctity of our houses of worship.”

Newsom has until September 30 to sign or veto the legislation.

CAIR California opposes Safe Worship Zone Act

The California branch of the Council on Arab and Islamic Relations (CAIR) opposed the act, saying it would “put peaceful protesters and community advocates at risk for engaging in lawful First Amendment activity in public spaces around religious institutions.”

It argued that houses of worship do not only host religious services, but often also host political speakers, advocacy events, community forums, political rallies, and commercial events featuring “foreign military personnel, extremist speakers, or real estate companies involved in settlement activity in the occupied West Bank.”

“California can protect houses of worship without giving religious institutions special exemptions from public accountability or undermining First Amendment rights,” it said.

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Argentine soccer player Lionel Messi announced on Monday that he was retiring from the Argentine National Team in a handwritten letter posted on social media, in which he said that the death of his father was what pushed him to make this decision.

“It was a decision that hurt – and still hurts deep down – but I understand that the time has come. I swear to you that I always gave it my all – not just in these last few years when we won everything, but before that too; I always fought and left everything on the field for this jersey, to bring you joy and make you feel proud to be Argentine through football,” the 39-year-old posted on Instagram.

“There is not much less, and I need to start closing some stages,” he continued. “I loved, love, and will continue loving this national team. I will miss hearing the fans from inside the pitch. Now I become one more from the crowd, supporting and cheering in the good and the bad.”

Messi also thanked his family, team members, trainers, and directors. “I take with me memories and unforgettable moments,” he wrote.

He then concluded, “I leave with peace of mind and pride, knowing that my teammates and I gave you all dreamlike moments. It was incredible to experience it with you. I love you all! Thank you, God, for making me Argentinian. ¡Vamos, Argentina! (Go, Argentina!)”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Leo Messi (@leomessi)

Decision taken following his father’s death

In the final paragraph of the letter, Messi said he wrote the words two days after losing the World Cup final to Spain, but made the decision a week later, after his father’s death.

The Instagram post also included a picture of the handwritten letter and a video of Messi during his 20 years playing for Argentina.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Leo Messi (@leomessi)

Messi had already retired from the Argentine national team in 2016, after losing his third straight final against Chile in the Copa America.

Back then, he was only 28, and most sports analysts said the retired because the lacked titles rather than because of physical limitations.

He came back in 2018 for the World Cup and won three tournaments in the final years of his international career, including a World Cup title in 2022.

In the last World Cup, he had his best statistical tournament, with eight goals and four assists, and reached the final, where Argentina lost to Spain.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Modi’in’s two train stations will face service disruptions this weekend as part of efforts to connect the new Track 431 project to the existing railway network, according to the Israel Railways website on Monday.

The service cuts affecting the Modi’in Center and Pa’ate Modi’in railway stations mirror disruptions in recent weeks as Israel Railways pushes ahead with the project, intended to connect Rishon Lezion to Modi’in and Jerusalem.

As part of the planned service disruptions, trains will not run between Modi’in and Ben-Gurion Airport from Thursday at 10:00 p.m. until Sunday at 4:00 a.m. 

The railway noted that the line between Modi’in Center and Jerusalem Yitzhak Navon will run normally on Thursday night and Friday, while a free shuttle service will run between the Modi’in stations and Ben-Gurion Airport; the schedule is available here.

In addition, the Modi’in stations will be closed entirely on Saturday night, meaning the Modi’in-Jerusalem line will also not run, the railway said, though it was unclear if the closure is related to the Track 431 project.

Project completes rail ring around Gush Dan, includes longest bridge in Israel

The project runs largely inside the right-of-way of Highway 431, from which it gets its name. Upon its expected completion in 2028, Track 431 is anticipated to connect Jerusalem directly to the Shfela region and Israel’s southern coast, as well as Rishon Lezion to Modi’in, at a cost of NIS 3.5 billion.

Once completed, it will join the existing Track 531, a loop line that connects Herzliya to Rosh Ha’ayin and Bnei Brak via Ra’anana and Petah Tikva, forming a complete railway ring around the congested Gush Dan region. The Eastern Rail Line, which was partially opened on June 28, connects the eastern end of the Track 531 loop to Israel’s North and, eventually, South, bypassing the congested Tel Aviv Ayalon rail corridor.

Regarding the Ayalon corridor, a fourth track is being built to further increase railway capacity, with the projects complementing one another to strengthen Israel’s rail system.

The 30 km line includes several station renovations and the addition of two new stations. One of these stations, Rishon LeZion – Tashach, will be located along a 3.5 km. bridge, the longest in Israel. 

Existing Rishon Lezion stations under renovation, Ramle receives new station

The existing Rishon Lezion stations are being renovated to accommodate the new line, while a second Ramle station is being built south of the city to complement the existing station near the Ramle central bus station, which lies on the Beersheba-Lod-Tel Aviv line.

In February, the project reached a major milestone with the breakthrough of the Mevo Ayalon Tunnel, which connects the new Rishon LeZion – Tashach station to the coastal track, allowing trains to continue to Rishon Lezion – Moshe Dayan station and beyond.

The tunnel, which passes under Highway 20, stretches 400 meters and is one of two tunnels in the project; the other, the Ramla South Tunnel, has already been completed.

Track 431 is part of Israel Railways’ “Connecting Israel” master plan for a rail service spanning from Kiryat Shmona in the North to Eilat in the South, with annual ridership expected to reach 300 million by 2050.

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Soldiers from the IDF’s Force 100 who were implicated in the Sde Teiman Affair filed a lawsuit for NIS 18m. against a total of 17 individuals and institutions, enlisting the help of the legal aid organization Honenu, according to Israeli media reports on Monday.

The lawsuit reportedly alleges false accusations, a widely publicized wrongful arrest, the leaking of investigative materials, defamation stemming from the publication of the video and the subsequent criminal proceedings, as well as the manner in which the leak investigation was handled.

The Force 100 soldiers are suing former military advocate-general Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, Channel 12 News reporter Guy Peleg, the IDF, the Military Police, and the Israel Police, in addition to several other defendants. 

Honenu did not immediately reply to The Jerusalem Post’s request for comment.

The timeline of the Sde Teiman Affair

The Sde Teiman Affair investigation centers on a July 2024 incident at the Sde Teiman detention facility, in which IDF reservists were accused of severely abusing a Palestinian detainee from Gaza.

The alleged assault, which occurred during the early months of the war, was investigated by the Justice Ministry’s Police Investigation Department (PID) and later led to indictments against several soldiers.

The case drew heightened public attention about a month later, when video footage documenting the alleged abuse was leaked to the media and aired by television outlets, despite an active investigation and ongoing legal proceedings.

In February 2025, the military court, headed by Tomer-Yerushalmi, filed an indictment against five soldiers accused of allegedly abusing a Palestinian detainee at Sde Teiman. The indictment charged the suspects with offenses of aggravated injury and aggravated assault.

Tomer-Yerushalmi’s replacement, Maj.-Gen. Itay Offir, canceled the indictment in March, saying that the evidentiary difficulties in the case, combined with the scandal surrounding the leaked video, led to the former prosecutorial team itself being probed, making it too difficult to continue.

In February 2026, police announced the conclusion of their investigation into Tomer-Yerushalmi’s leak of the Sde Teiman footage. Israel Police head Daniel Levi recommended appointing a senior external professional to review the case at that point, adding that he decided to adopt the High Court of Justice’s position of waiting for the Justice Ministry’s legal adviser’s opinion on a suspected conflict-of-interest issue.

Sarah Ben-Nun, Shir Perets, and Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.

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Leaders and lawmakers gathered in Las Vegas over the weekend for the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) Annual Leadership Summit, where prominent speakers condemned the rise of global antisemitism, reaffirmed support for Israel, and lauded US President Donald Trump as a historic champion of the Jewish community.

The conference opened on Sunday at The Venetian Resort, drawing attendees, activists, and officials to strategize ahead of the upcoming midterm elections and address security concerns facing Jewish communities. RJC Chairman Norm Coleman kicked off the proceedings by emphasizing the importance of the political moment and the need to protect the US-Israel alliance.

“We can move this forward, we can do the things that need to be done to ensure a bright future for this country, a bright future for the US-Israel relationship, a bright future for Jews where our kids don’t have to worry about being harassed on college campuses,” Coleman told the audience.

House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain also addressed the gathering on Sunday, delivering a sharp rebuke of rising anti-Jewish hostility and criticizing public officials who remain silent. “Jewish Americans are being targeted, harassed, and insulted on our campuses, in our cities, and in political debates today,” McClain stated, pointing to FBI hate crime statistics and adding that “silence is agreement.” McClain further called for accountability on university campuses, declaring that “federal funding is a privilege and if you can’t protect your students then that funding should be revoked.”

Leo Terrell, Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the US Department of Justice, also spoke at the summit, addressing the legal and civil rights dimensions of the rising tide of hate. Terrell emphasized that combating anti-Jewish bigotry requires aggressive federal oversight and enforcement. “The fight against antisemitism is not just a Jewish issue; it is an American issue,” Terrell told attendees, stressing that the administration remains fully committed to prosecuting civil rights violations and protecting religious freedom nationwide. 

Focus on antisemitism, anti-Jewish hostility

Throughout the summit, speakers turned their focus to anti-Jewish hostility and the security environment following the October 7, 2023, attacks. House Republican Jewish Delegation senior member Congressman David Kustoff addressed delegates, warning that domestic incidents demonstrate the reach of extremism.

Citing an arrest in his home community of Memphis involving a threat against a synagogue, Kustoff stated, “Antisemitism is hatred, and hatred has no place in the United States of America, not in our schools, not on our college campuses, not in our communities, and not anywhere else in our country.” He added, “America should never apologize for standing with Israel as it protects its people. Our military cooperation must continue, our intelligence cooperation must continue, and our commitment to Israel’s security must remain unshakable.”

Lawmakers also directed praise toward President Trump, crediting his administration with shaping American policy in the Middle East. Congressman Randy Fine of Florida addressed the gathering, highlighting Trump’s actions regarding Israel. “We must always remember that he did the impossible; he brought back every single living hostage from Gaza,” Fine said, stating that “Donald J. Trump will be remembered as a warrior for the Jewish people.”

Fine also discussed political attacks during his recent primary campaign against opponent Dan Bilzerian, telling attendees, “When the Nazi who ran against me targeted me, my sons asked me why this was happening to us. I told them simply because God knows that we are strong enough to take it.”

Political shifts, Congress polarization

Other speakers focused on political shifts within Congress and polarization surrounding foreign policy. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan discussed the bond between Washington and Jerusalem. “There is a special bond, a special bond between these two countries, both created with a purpose, and we can never let that bond be broken,” Jordan remarked.

In addition to policy discussions, the summit featured musical performances celebrating Jewish heritage, including a set by country artist Troy Breslow, who performed his song “Zion” and shared reflections from his travels performing for Jewish communities abroad.

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Ali G’s comeback has already sparked controversy. After nearly 20 years away, actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen is bringing one of his most controversial satirical characters back to the screen in a new film. He now faces a global campaign calling for a boycott over the character’s use of “racist stereotypes.”

The new film, Ali G: Who Iz I?, was filmed in complete secrecy over the past year, according to the British newspaper the Daily Mail. The movie marks Baron Cohen’s directorial debut.

The mockumentary follows the character’s life since “the world went to hell,” alongside his pregnant girlfriend, played by actress Morgana Robinson. The film is scheduled to open in theaters on October 23 through Amazon MGM Studios, but it has already triggered a storm of criticism.

Ali G is a cover to laugh at Jamaican culture. The character enforces harmful stereotypes of how a Jamaican man behaves in society.

Many people don’t find it problematic because he’s a white man pretending to be Jamaican and the jokes on him.

Perhaps a parable will help: if a… pic.twitter.com/xDiF0RZCbH

— NewsCord (@newscord_org) August 29, 2026

NewsCord, a British media monitoring platform, launched a campaign just one day after the trailer was released, urging movie theaters worldwide to refuse to screen the film. As of Sunday, campaign organizers said more than 41,000 emails had been sent to 15 major movie theater chains.

The activists accuse Baron Cohen of using satire as a cover to promote racism. “Ali G is a cover to laugh at Jamaican culture,” the campaign wrote on X/Twitter. “The character enforces harmful stereotypes of how a Jamaican man behaves in society.”

“Ali G smokes weed, is a misogynist, and does nothing meaningful in life,” the campaign added. “He does this because he thinks this is what a Jamaican does. The world laughs at Ali G, but the real butt of the joke is Black people, and specifically Jamaicans.”

The campaign also cited previous criticism of the character, including comments by Black comedians who called Ali G “an alibi for racism” in 2000. It also referenced author Jeanette Winterson, who questioned how the character differed from racist minstrel shows.

Sony Pictures UK’s slogan for the film, “He’s back. We’re not responsible,” only added fuel to the controversy.

Baron Cohen’s sarcastic response to Ali G controversy

Baron Cohen, 54, responded defiantly on X with his characteristic sarcasm, writing, “In an age where a comedian’s career can be ended by a single un-PC joke, I thought I’d play it safe and bring this guy back.”

In an age where a comedian’s career can be ended by a single un-PC joke, I thought I’d play it safe and bring this guy back. https://t.co/8ckR5pQZQt

— Sacha Baron Cohen (@SachaBaronCohen) August 25, 2026

UK Cinema Association CEO Phil Clapp addressed the boycott campaign in an interview with Variety, stressing that movie theaters do not serve as censors. “They are there to entertain the widest possible audience, not to determine the audience’s taste,” he said.

Variety: Picturehouse has not agreed to boycott Ali G film

Variety also debunked reports that the Picturehouse cinema chain had already agreed to boycott the film. The reports were based on an automated customer service response to requests for screenings that had not yet been scheduled.

Ali G first appeared on the UK’s Channel 4 in the late 1990s before becoming a cultural phenomenon. Baron Cohen retired the character in 2007 after becoming too recognizable. It remains to be seen whether audiences and critics will be as forgiving of Ali G’s return.

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British Jewish community leaders have raised strong concerns on Sunday with the UK government over potential plans to ban or restrict trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank, after recent high-level meetings between community representatives and government officials, including a meeting on Friday between Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband.

The diplomatic friction follows UK warnings of upcoming measures targeting settlement expansion, prompted by the Israeli government’s publication of tenders for the E1 construction project. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar responded sharply to the UK’s position, arguing that blaming only Israel while ignoring Palestinian extremism has fueled antisemitic hatred against the British Jewish community.

Major British Jewish organizations issue coordinated statement

In response to the looming trade restrictions, major British Jewish organizations issued coordinated statements. Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis detailed his discussions following his meeting with the Foreign Secretary, stating, “I welcomed the opportunity on Friday to meet with the Foreign Secretary, the Rt Hon. Ed Miliband. While we share fervent hopes for a future of peace and security in the Middle East, I explained why I believe the UK Government’s intended sanctions will be counter-productive and even endanger such a vision of peace.”

The Chief Rabbi added that many in the community view the measures with deep dismay, warning they risk spiraling into a de facto boycott of Israel and threatening the livelihoods of tens of thousands of Palestinian workers.

Mirvis also noted that “these measures will also disproportionately affect British Jews because of our close religious, family, charitable and educational ties to Israel,” and cautioned that domestic political considerations are driving foreign policy at the expense of regional peace and community safety. He further stated that the policy will not influence Israeli decision-making as intended, but will instead embolden the tiny minority who support criminality while penalizing countless others.

Board of Deputies President Phil Rosenberg stated, “We have engaged with the government in recent days, alongside community partners, regarding potential steps by government in relation to settlement activity.”

“We have urged the government to avoid irreversible steps that could further damage the UK-Israel relationship and have a harmful impact on the UK Jewish community, especially in the run-up to an Israeli election that has the potential to bring significant political change,” he added.

Rosenberg emphasized that while the community overwhelmingly condemns violence by extremist settlers, the proposed policies risk harming legitimate religious connections and encouraging a wider boycott movement that rejects Israel’s existence and marginalizes British Jews.

JLC: ‘Why is Israel being singled out?’

Similarly, the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) released a statement questioning why Israel is being singled out for economic action while previous punitive measures have failed to influence conditions on the ground.

The JLC warned that as Israel approaches pivotal elections on October 27, further interventions will only embolden extremist factions. The organization further cautioned that broad, untargeted measures “may inadvertently become a wider boycott of Israel, giving legitimacy to those who reject Israel’s very existence, and placing increased scrutiny on British Jews at a time when antisemitism in the UK is more prevalent and more violent than ever.”

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Senior US military influencers were discreetly placed in government positions as part of a covert Pentagon operation, The Washington Post reported on Monday, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter and corroborating material.

According to the report, the influencers in question have worked to push against criticism of the Trump administration while advancing the positions of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, being assigned as “special government employees (SGE)” or “highly qualified experts (HQE).”

The report noted that HQEs are permitted to work either part-time or full-time with no compensation limitations, whereas SGEs may work up to 130 days per year. 

The sources, which named two of the influencers as US Air Force Col. (ret.) Rob Maness and US Army Col. (ret.) Kurt Schlichter, told the Washington Post that several of the veterans are in positions powerful enough to potentially influence policy changes. 

Both Maness and Schlichter, as well as US Army Col. (ret.) Thomas Anderson, have active government email addresses with a “.civ” suffix, indicating they are civilian rather than military employees, according to Pentagon records reviewed by the Washington Post.

Retired US military officers with thousands of online followers

In terms of online influence, Schlichter has over 620,000 followers on X/Twitter; Maness has over 135,000; and Anderson, now an attorney, retains over 323,000 under the pen name Cynical Publius, the report noted.

The records further showed that the retired officers, who served for several decades prior to their online presence, are employed in the office of Defense Under Secretary for Personnel and Readiness Anthony Tata.

According to the Washington Post, Tata’s office has been tasked with tackling several issues central to conservative politics, including “woke” college ideology and COVID vaccine policies for American soldiers under former US president Joe Biden.

Anderson and Pentagon spokesperson Joel Valdez declined to comment to the Washington Post, while Maness and Schlichter did not respond to requests for comment.

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday that his country backed every peace effort to end the war in Ukraine, the Interfax news agency reported.

Modi and Putin met in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek as part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit.

This is a developing story.

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Hostilities that flared overnight between the United States and Iran remain a “limited and contained confrontation,” a senior Iranian source told Reuters on Monday, adding that Tehran was ready to deliver a harsh response if attacked again.

The source, who has direct knowledge of Iranian decision-making and declined to be named, said that conditions in the Strait of Hormuz “will become worse for vessels that violate” rules set by Tehran for passage through the waterway, adding that no target in the region was beyond Tehran’s reach.

This is a developing story.

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Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan claimed on Monday that the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement signed by his country with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan wasn’t directed towards any country, while also saying that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “an enemy of security and humanity.”

He also claimed that Netanyahu had “commited the crime of genocide.”

“The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement is not directed against a specific country,” Fidan said, adding that its member states are considering establishing a “reciprocal alliance that is capable of solving problems and is open to expansion.”

“The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement is based on the principle of defense and complements the NATO alliance,” he continued.

Fidan also said that a roadmap was being worked on for the process of other countries joining the pact.

Fidan spoke at a press conference after the first meeting of the committee established as part of the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, which brought together Sunni Muslim US allies “concerned by regional conflict.” The three countries signed the agreement on August 7 in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Islam’s holy city.

This is a developing story.

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US President Donald Trump claimed that “Iran is officially a Failed Nation” in a Monday post on Truth Social, the day after the US struck Iranian military assets for the first time in weeks.

“They have no Navy, they have no Air Force, they have no currency, they are not paying their soldiers or police, Inflation is at 300%, and their leadership is in total disarray and incapable of properly representing the country,” Trump added.

He continued to claim that the only thing Tehran still has is “fake news from the USA,” a willingness to kill anti-regime protestors, and “a good line of b******t.”

In reference to the killing of anti-regime protestors, Trump claimed that over 100,000 have been killed and asserted that the regime in Tehran must be tried for war crimes.

Trump says US will respond to strikes on military assets in Jordan

Also on Monday, Trump said that the US will respond to Iran’s overnight missile attack against American military assets in Jordan, telling Fox News reporter Trey Yingst during a phone call that the US is “going to hit them hard.”

President Trump says the United States will respond to the Iranian missile attack on U.S. forces overnight.

“We’re going to hit them hard,” President Trump told Fox News. “There will be a response.” pic.twitter.com/sjLOLSxm4g

— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) August 31, 2026

He confirmed to Yingst that all but one of the missiles were intercepted by US air defense systems, and the one unintercepted missile was allowed to pass through Jordanian airspace after it was determined that it would not hit anything significant.

Tehran launched the strikes after the US struck two launchers on Iran’s Larak Island that were seen preparing to fire towards the Strait of Hormuz.

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