All News (Page 58)

The head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, Roman Gofman, held a phone call with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani last week in which they discussed Turkey’s military presence in Syria, three people familiar with the matter said.

The call, which the sources said took place on August 14, came days before Israel launched airstrikes on a Syrian military airbase in the north of the country on Tuesday.

It marks one of the highest-level contacts yet between Israel and the new Syrian government since the fall of former dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2014.

The Israeli prime minister’s office, which handles queries regarding Mossad, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did a spokesperson for Shaibani.

This is a developing story.

This post was originally published on here. 

Election campaigns do not bring out the better angels of our nature. Just look at National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

On Tuesday, Ben-Gvir uploaded a video of a gallows being constructed in a maximum-security prison for Palestinian terrorists.

“I promised to worsen the conditions of terrorists in prisons – we kept it,” Ben-Gvir said in the macabre clip. “I promised to pass the Death Penalty for Terrorists Law – we did. And now the death row and hanging facility are also starting to take shape.”

Ben-Gvir said the facility would include viewing booths, just like those in the US, for the families of terror victims.

Reasonable people can debate whether Israel should have the death penalty for terrorists. Legislation pushed by Ben-Gvir to that effect passed the Knesset earlier this year.

But reasonable people do not glorify executions, take public joy in them, or circulate videos of gallows under construction.

Ben-Gvir’s celebration of the death penalty

Ben-Gvir has repeatedly crossed the line between advocating capital punishment and celebrating it.

He wore a gallows pin to promote the death penalty legislation, cracked open champagne bottles when it passed, and received a birthday cake from his wife with a gallows depicted in the frosting. The video was the latest appeal to a political base he apparently believes finds this type of imagery appealing.

Nor was this an isolated incident.

Just days earlier, Ben-Gvir appeared on former hostage Rom Braslavski’s podcast. When Braslavski said he wanted to execute captured terrorists with his own hands, Ben-Gvir replied that seeing him do so was “one of my greatest dreams.”

That exchange, coming just days before the gallows video, showed what this was about. This is not a sober argument for capital punishment as a deterrent or an instrument of justice. It is the public celebration of death, a reveling in revenge.

What is the problem (beyond the grotesque and un-Jewish spectacle of taking public delight in executions)?

The problem is that it is not only Ben-Gvir’s base watching these videos. So is the rest of the world. And many decent people, not antisemites or rabid anti-Zionists, must be asking: What has gotten into Israel? How can a liberal democracy engage in this Iran-style glorification of hangings?

Netanyahu’s silence on Ben-Gvir

The question of how Israel can allow this, however, is slightly misplaced. The more pertinent question is how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can allow it.

Netanyahu cannot control everything Ben-Gvir says or does. But he can condemn it, distance his government from it, and make clear that this is not the face Israel wishes to present to the world. Instead, for nearly four years, he has allowed Ben-Gvir to remain a public relations train wreck, careening from one damaging spectacle to another without being called to account.

Remember the last flotilla, which Israel successfully stopped, only to face widespread condemnation after Ben-Gvir taunted the bound detainees? Israel gained nothing, and lost a great deal, from that stunt. The same is true of the gallows video.

Yet Netanyahu stays quiet, letting Ben-Gvir rant and rave and then blaming Israel’s plummeting popularity on Qatari, Russian, and Chinese bots.

The bots don’t help. But neither does Ben-Gvir.

Instead, he sullies Israel’s reputation as an enlightened country in an especially harsh neighborhood, determined to retain its humanity even while endlessly fighting enemies who have lost theirs.

Huckabee warns against giving critics ammunition

The danger of handing Israel’s enemies ammunition extends beyond Ben-Gvir. Jewish extremists harming and harassing Palestinians in Judea and Samaria also chip away at Israel’s image.

That point was made clear this week by United States Ambassador Mike Huckabee, one of Israel’s strongest friends and a man whose support for the country is beyond question.

In an interview with Kan 11 on Tuesday, Huckabee again described the actions of Jewish criminals in Judea and Samaria as terrorism.

“Somewhere in the hearts and lives of these thugs who are carrying these things out, they think they’re helping Israel, and they think they’re helping the Jewish people,” he said. “They are hurting Israel. They’re hurting its reputation, and they are hurting the Jewish people.”

Asked what Israel could do to shore up its standing among the American public, Huckabee, while acknowledging that those who are antisemitic and hate Israel will not be persuaded, recommended three steps.

The first, he said, is to have people come and see Israel for themselves. The second is to develop a “fight-back” messaging and communications strategy.

“And the third thing – and I think maybe this is, you know, a very important one – is that Israelis have to be careful not to give ammunition to their critics,” he said. “Why would you help your enemies hate you more?”

That question applies directly to Ben-Gvir.

His antics give ammunition to those seeking to harm, delegitimize, blacken, and demonize Israel. He is not responsible for the hatred of Israel, but he repeatedly hands Israel’s enemies material they can use to spread it.

True, the country is in the midst of an election campaign. But that does not excuse Ben-Gvir’s excesses, nor does it excuse Netanyahu’s refusal to speak out against them.

The election will come and go. But the images of Ben-Gvir marketing the gallows to voters will remain. So will the impression of Israel they leave behind.

And that is a danger.

This post was originally published on here. 

The final 155 beagles from Ridglan Farms, a Wisconsin facility that bred dogs for biomedical research, have been relocated to a Florida rescue, completing the release of more than 2,000 dogs from the facility this year, CBS News reported on Wednesday.

The dogs were transferred to Big Dog Ranch Rescue, marking the end of a months-long effort to relocate the animals as Ridglan faced scrutiny over its treatment of dogs.

Wisconsin’s Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection investigated Ridglan between 2024 and 2025 and identified 494 violations, according to CBS. 

In January 2025, a judge found probable cause to believe that Ridglan had committed crimes under Wisconsin animal-cruelty laws and appointed a special prosecutor to investigate the alleged violations.

Ridglan later reached a settlement to avoid criminal prosecution and agreed to surrender its state license to sell dogs. The company has denied violating state or federal animal-welfare laws and disputed allegations that it mistreated the animals.

However, US Department of Agriculture records reviewed by CBS showed that federal inspectors cited four violations at Ridglan’s breeding facility and two at its research facility during inspections over the past decade. None were classified as critical.

Ridglan chose beagles to test on due to their forgiving temperament

Ridglan said it had a “well-documented history of exemplary animal care” and described the USDA as the “leading authority … that ensures animals involved in biomedical research are well cared for under strict federal guidelines.” The company said federal inspectors had found only non-critical issues at its facilities.

The USDA told CBS that it works with state authorities “to maximize enforcement outcomes” and had taken “swift and meaningful steps to strengthen oversight,” including implementing recommendations from the inspector general.

“They choose beagles because they’re easy to handle and they’re so forgiving. You hurt them one day, and they’re going to forgive you the next and let you do it all over again. This is inhumane,” Big Dog Ranch Rescue founder Lauree Simmons said, explaining that the breed’s temperament made it one of the best for research purposes.

“For me, it’s never enough until animal cruelty ends,” she added. “I’ll do this till the day I die.”

The arrival of the final 155 dogs brings the Ridglan relocation effort to an end, but the broader dispute over how research animals should be regulated, and how quickly science can move away from their use, remains unresolved.

This post was originally published on here. 

City University of New York (CUNY) has agreed to disclose information about its investment holdings and contracts with 30 companies with alleged ties to Israel.

This brings a multi-year dispute to an end. In 2024, CUNY law student Sarah Southey filed a FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) request asking to view CUNY’s holdings.

In 2025, the Supreme Court of the State of New York approved the request. CUNY subsequently appealed this.

On Tuesday, CUNY agreed to a settlement and to provide all its stock and bond holdings for every fiscal year since January 2020. This is to be done in the next 15 days.

While the new settlement does not specifically mention Israel or name the companies, Southey’s 2024 filing previously requested holdings related to dozens of companies such as Dell, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Elbit, Barclays, and IBM.

Although CUNY for Palestine and CUNY Law Students for Palestine have described the disclosure as a “victory,” the settlement agreement stipulates that Southey was acting as an individual. None of the other CUNY groups are bound to the agreement, and Southey graduated from CUNY Law in May 2026.

‘New chapter in divestment campaign’

Nevertheless, CUNY Law SJP and CUNY SJP stated, “This victory marks the beginning of a new chapter in our divestment campaign. We will soon know the exact amount of money that CUNY directly invests in companies complicit in Israeli colonialism and the exact amount it must divest.”

Southey called it “a major victory in CUNY4Palestine’s years-long campaign for CUNY to disclose and divest from companies complicit in Israel’s colonization of Palestine.”

“In these records, CUNY must show exactly how much of our money, public money, it is spending on companies profiting off of genocide and occupation. Investments reflect values, and we will not stop fighting until the CUNY Board of Trustees fully divests our money from companies that are enabling and aiding the colonization of Palestine.”

Happy for the disclosure of investment records

Veronica Salama, senior staff attorney at the New York Civil Liberties Union, which acted as Southey’s counsel, said: “While we’re grateful that the largest, urban public university in the country will finally disclose its investment records, it is outrageous that our client had to file this lawsuit in the first place.”

“Investment records disclosure is a basic responsibility and function of a public institution, and CUNY students, faculty, and the entire campus community are entitled to transparency and equal treatment from their administration – no matter their viewpoint or their purpose in seeking those records. CUNY cannot pick and choose which viewpoints to respect and which to dismiss when it comes to records disclosure.”

This post was originally published on here. 

Residents of the settlement of Afeka, south of the Hebron Hills, were evacuated after a fire was detected in the woods near the area on Wednesday. 

Firefighting teams and aircraft are working to contain the blaze.

The Israel Police said that it had blocked the Highway 60 in order to allow the firefighting operations and asked the public to avoid the area.

The Israel Fire and Rescue Authority said that, due to the winds, there are fears the fire could reach the settlement.

“In my assessment of the situation, I ordered the dispatch of firefighting aircraft from the ‘Elad’ squadron, in addition to the dispatch of additional teams to the scene of the incident,” said Reshef Liran Ben-Rasah, shift commander.

In total, four firefighting aircraft are operating at the scene. Preliminary reports indicate that the fire is expanding fast, and the work was focused on preventing the flames from reaching the settlement.

West Bank settlements report wildfires in several areas

Earlier this month, the Israel Fire and Rescue Authority responded to a fire that sparked near the Beit Dror settlement in the West Bank on Thursday, along with several other fires in the region.

The blaze began in an open area and spread toward the settlement due to the wind.

Firefighters established a defensive line around the houses in the settlement, and additional teams arrived on the scene to assist.

This post was originally published on here. 

Jared Kushner’s visit to Israel was mainly to talk about Gaza. He should have come with a much broader message from US President Donald Trump.

The immediate American objective should not be to resolve every outstanding issue between Israel and the Palestinians before the Israeli election. That is unrealistic. Nor should Washington expect to complete the regional peace architecture it hopes to build in the coming weeks.

The task now is simpler and more urgent: Do not allow Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government to create new facts, ignite new fronts, and destroy the possibility of regional diplomacy before Israelis go to the polls.

Kushner’s visit came at a particularly sensitive moment. The Trump administration is trying to advance its Gaza initiative, including a transfer of civilian governance to a Palestinian technocratic body, Israeli withdrawal linked to security arrangements, and reconstruction. Netanyahu has publicly resisted important elements of the American plan, especially the sequencing between Israeli withdrawal and Hamas disarmament.  

Gaza is only part of the problem

But Gaza is only one part of the problem. The West Bank is deteriorating rapidly. Settlement expansion has reached unprecedented levels and settler violence has sharply increased.

In Kusra, Israeli troops recently clashed with settlers while trying to dismantle an outpost established directly in front of Palestinian homes. The settlers resisted the army, the army gave in to the settlers, and Palestinian residents described being trapped and terrorized for days. The Israeli army is essentially providing protection for the violent settlers. 

But Kusra is not the issue. It is a symptom of the issue.

The real problem is that the settler movement, backed by powerful members of Netanyahu’s government, is pursuing a clear political project: to make Palestinian statehood impossible by creating irreversible facts on the ground.

Members of Netanyahu’s government, apparently with the support of the prime minister, are working overtime to create the provocations that would lead to an explosion of Palestinian violence, providing the pretext to launch a massive Israeli military operation against the Palestinians in the West Bank. This is what Netanyahu believes he needs prior to the Israeli elections. 

Trump needs to understand that this is not only a Palestinian problem. It is becoming an American strategic problem. Trump wants regional peace. His administration wants Israel integrated more deeply into the Arab world. It wants Saudi-Israeli normalization. It wants Arab governments to invest in Gaza’s reconstruction and participate in new security arrangements. It wants a Palestinian governing alternative to Hamas. It wants a Middle East defined increasingly by trade, investment, and cooperation rather than permanent war.

The settler movement and their political backers in the Israeli government want something fundamentally different. They want permanent Israeli control over the West Bank, continuing settlement expansion, further Palestinian displacement, and ultimately the elimination of any viable territorial basis for Palestinian independence.

Those two visions cannot coexist.

The United States cannot ask Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab states to participate in a new regional order while Israel’s government simultaneously empowers people whose stated objective is to prevent a Palestinian political future.

Nor can Washington tell Palestinians that they must choose a political alternative to Hamas while allowing Israel to demonstrate every day that peaceful Palestinian politics leads nowhere. If we want Palestinians to reject Hamas, there has to be something credible for them to choose instead.

That does not require a final-status agreement tomorrow. It does require preserving the possibility of one.

No new fires

For the period between now and the Israeli elections, Trump should impose a very simple rule on Netanyahu: No new fires.

First, Netanyahu must rein in the settlers. Not another statement of condemnation after an attack. Not another promise that violence is being investigated. Actual enforcement. Trump should demand that Israelis who attack Palestinians should be arrested and prosecuted. Palestinian villages should be protected. Unauthorized outposts should be removed. Government ministers should not be allowed to turn ideologically motivated land seizures into national policy.

The state must reassert its authority. Israel cannot demand “one authority and one gun” from Palestinians while enabling armed Israelis who behave as if the laws of the state do not apply to them.

This is not to equate settlers with Hamas. Hamas committed the atrocities of October 7 and has deliberately targeted Israeli civilians. The comparison is about something else entirely: the monopoly of legitimate force. A functioning state cannot allow private ideological movements to use violence to determine borders.

Second, Trump must prevent Netanyahu from escalating Gaza unnecessarily before the election. The future of Gaza is unresolved. The American plan remains under negotiation. There are difficult questions involving Israeli withdrawal, security arrangements, Palestinian governance, reconstruction, and the future of Hamas’s weapons.

Those questions can continue to be negotiated.

What must not happen is another Israeli military escalation that creates new realities on the ground, expands occupation, undermines emerging Palestinian institutions, or makes withdrawal even harder after the election.

The objective for the next weeks should be stabilization. Hold the line. Stop the provocations. Build the mechanisms that may eventually allow a different reality to emerge.

Then let Israelis vote.

Third, the same restraint must apply to Lebanon. The danger of renewed war there is real. Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon on August 15 killed at least 11 people in the most serious escalation since the June truce. Israel said it was retaliating against Hezbollah; Lebanese officials said civilians, including children, were among those killed. The broader US-backed framework is supposed to lead toward Hezbollah’s disarmament and an Israeli withdrawal, but it remains fragile.  

Israel obviously has legitimate security concerns regarding Hezbollah. But legitimate security concerns do not mean that every military response is strategically wise. Over the next weeks, neither Israel nor Hezbollah should be permitted to drag the region back toward full-scale war.

This is where American power matters. Trump does not need Netanyahu to make peace before the Israeli election. He needs Netanyahu not to destroy the possibility of peace after it. The distinction is crucial.

Israel is going into an election while Netanyahu is simultaneously prime minister, wartime leader, and candidate. Every decision involving Gaza, Lebanon, or the West Bank will inevitably be viewed through the lens of domestic politics. That gives Washington every reason to prevent Israeli electoral calculations from dictating American regional strategy.

After the election, everything can be reassessed. Who governs Israel? What coalition is possible? What does the Israeli public want after three years of war? What is possible in Gaza? What kind of Palestinian leadership can emerge? What is Saudi Arabia prepared to do? How far can the regional normalization process go? Those are questions for the day after Israelis vote.

But if the weeks before the election are used to expand settlements, tolerate settler violence, provoke another explosion in Gaza, or slide into renewed war in Lebanon, the political landscape after the election may be dramatically worse than the one we have today.

That is why Trump’s messages to Netanyahu matter: Rein in the settlers. Stop unilateral moves in the West Bank. Do not reignite Gaza. Do not allow Lebanon to return to war. Do not create irreversible facts during an election campaign.

The United States should make clear that it will reassess the entire regional strategy after Israelis choose their next government. Until then, the objective is preservation.

Trump’s immediate Middle East mission is not to make the final deal. It is to prevent Netanyahu and his partners from burning down the possibility of one.

The writer is the Middle East director of the International Communities Organization and the co-head of the Alliance for Two States.

This post was originally published on here. 

A UK court was told on Tuesday that Tony Greenstein, a prominent Jewish anti-Zionist activist and founding member of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), issued a “rallying cry” inviting support for Hamas on October 7, 2023.

Local UK media reports outlined that the charges stem from three posts published on Greenstein’s X/Twitter account on October 7, 2023, the day of the Hamas-led attack on Israel, which prosecutors argued breached the Terrorism Act 2000 by intentionally encouraging support for a proscribed terrorist organization.

Prosecutors point to Greenstein’s October 7 posts

Legal representatives detailed the contents of the posts during the court hearings, pointing to specific messaging where Greenstein allegedly wrote, “Please share. Full support for the Gaza ghetto uprising.”

Prosecutors argued that the posts also contained links to a blog which included the line, “The time to fight is now. Whatever criticisms one can make of Hamas, we should congratulate them on this well-planned and audacious attack on the Zionist enemy.”

During the hearing, prosecutor Kate Temple-Mabe argued that although Greenstein did not explicitly name Hamas in his X posts, his reference to the “‘Gaza ghetto uprising’ – in that specific context, on that specific date – can only have meant support for Hamas.”

Prosecutors maintained that his language went beyond political dissent, representing a “clear invitation of moral or intellectual support” for a proscribed organization.

Defense argues posts were political expression

Greenstein’s defense counsel contested the allegations, asserting that the statements formed part of broader anti-Zionist political expression, legitimate commentary, and analysis regarding the Middle East conflict rather than an invitation to unlawful terrorist support.

During his police interview, it was noted that Greenstein indicated he did not support everything Hamas stands for, and his lawyers argue that the words used were not intended as an invitation to support.

Greenstein, a 72-year-old activist and writer, has a history of political controversy, including his expulsion from the Labor Party in 2018 over allegations of antisemitism and a subsequent suspended prison sentence in September 2023 for an action targeting an Israeli defense contractor.

Campaign Against Antisemitism responds to trial

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said in a statement to the Jerusalem Post, “Tony Greenstein has long courted controversy, and indeed one of his better-known interventions came when he sued us for labeling him a ‘notorious antisemite.’ His libel claim against us humiliatingly backfired after the High Court ruled it was permissible for us to describe him as such. Any alleged support for a terrorist organization is a serious charge, and we are following the case closely.”

The trial continues as the court examines the specific wording of the contested posts and the broader context in which they were disseminated.

This post was originally published on here. 

The 10-year memorandum of understanding between the United States and Israel, signed in 2016 and worth $38 billion, expires in 2028, and discussions about its successor are already underway.

This past January, Israel became the first country to sign a joint declaration with the United States on artificial intelligence and critical technologies.

In Congress, Section 224 of the House defense authorization bill would create a standing framework for joint development and co-production in missile defense, AI, autonomous systems, and cybersecurity. The direction is clear. What remains open is how broadly it will be applied.

Both governments have already recognized the value of cooperation and joint development. The opportunity now is to extend that approach beyond defense and create additional mechanisms for collaboration in civilian and dual-use technologies.  That mechanism does not need to be invented. 

The Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation, BIRD, has been operating since 1977 as a government-to-government platform funded equally by both countries and designed to connect the American and Israeli innovation ecosystems for the benefit of both economies.

The record demonstrates the value of the model. Over its lifetime, it has supported more than 1,200 joint ventures, invested more than $450 million, and helped generate more than $10 billion in direct and indirect sales, most of them in the US.

The benefits flow in both directions. American companies gain access to Israeli technologies, research capabilities, and development teams. Israeli companies gain access to American market knowledge, manufacturing capacity, commercial infrastructure, and customers. 

The products are developed and commercialized jointly rather than created in one country and simply purchased by the other.

BIRD is not the only possible mechanism for joint innovation, nor should every form of cooperation operate through a single institution. 

Its importance to the current discussion is that it provides nearly five decades of evidence for a broader principle: governments can help companies with complementary capabilities find one another, share development risk, and bring technologies to market together.

That principle can be applied more widely.

Maintaining strong cooperation

Artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biotechnology, energy, water, food security, and advanced manufacturing are becoming central to economic resilience and international competitiveness. Many of the technologies developed in these fields have both civilian and security applications.

A broader framework could make it easier for companies and research institutions to identify partners, conduct joint testing, and move projects from research to commercial deployment. It could also support cooperation in regulation, manufacturing, and market access, where promising technologies often encounter their most significant barriers.

This does not require replacing or weakening existing defense cooperation. It requires ensuring that the broader relationship also includes clear and durable mechanisms for civilian and dual-use innovation.

The framework that follows the 2016 memorandum should therefore recognize joint technological development as an additional pillar of the relationship.

It should encourage co-development and co-production, attract private investment, and measure success through commercial outcomes such as products launched, markets entered, revenues generated, and long-term partnerships created.

It should also fund BIRD at a level that reflects its record and enables it to support more collaborations in fields of shared technological and economic importance. A platform that has demonstrated its ability to connect companies, attract private investment, and generate commercial activity should be equipped to address the scale of the opportunities now emerging.

Strong defense cooperation will remain essential. Alongside it, a broader commitment to joint innovation can help both countries develop the technologies, companies, and industries they will need in the decades ahead.

The writer is executive director of the Israel-US Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation, BIRD.

This post was originally published on here. 

Watch this episode without interruptions.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Fourth Quarter founder Dr. Yoav Heller said his emerging political party aims to break Israel’s political polarization by bringing new leaders and ideas into the Knesset, while leaving open the possibility that the movement could ultimately decide not to run.

Speaking in an interview with The Jerusalem Post‘s editor-in-chief Zvika Klein, Heller said the Fourth Quarter began four years ago as a grassroots movement focused on reducing polarization and developing policy proposals through dialogue among Israelis from across the political spectrum.

The decision to enter politics was backed by 69% of the movement’s activists, he said. However, he acknowledged that limited name recognition remains a challenge and said the party could seek a partnership with an established politician, form an alliance with other new political forces, or run independently with several better-known candidates.

He added that the movement would not stand in the way of a broader political merger if its participation threatened its viability.

“I’m not going to be the obstacle,” Heller said.

Position on political boycotts

Heller also rejected political boycotts as a basis for forming Israel’s next government. While saying he believes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should leave office, Heller said that if voters choose Netanyahu, the political system should respect the result. He was sharply critical of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, whom he described as a major problem for Israeli politics, while also criticizing the The Democrats party, but opposing their exclusion from a future coalition.

Heller said his preferred government would take a hawkish approach to defense while advancing several major domestic reforms. Those include an agreed judicial reform leading toward a constitution within five years, tackling organized crime in Arab society, creating a new framework of civic responsibility and state benefits, and seeking major improvements in Israeli education.

If given a ministerial role, Heller said his first choice would be the Justice Ministry, with judicial reform his first priority. He also stressed that any government must govern for Israelis who did not vote for it, arguing that the executive branch represents the entire country rather than only its political base.

This post was originally published on here. 

A new national faculty audit found that over half of the university faculty and related program records it examined across Jewish Studies, Israel Studies, Hebrew language, and Holocaust and Genocide Studies were associated with documented anti-Israel public positions.

The study was conducted by the Olam, an institutional intelligence platform for Israel and the global Jewish economy, and published in early August.

According to the report, the research analyzed 2,499 faculty members and institutional entries across 313 American universities, cross-referencing names and program listings against nine documented public petition campaigns and organizational records spanning from May 2021 through the spring of 2026.

Introducing the scope of the project, Ronn Torossian, Publisher of The Olam, stated in a comment to the Jerusalem Post that the audit represents “the largest audit ever undertaken of Jewish Studies and Israel Studies faculty in the United States,” claiming the report reveals that “more than half the professors in America teaching about Judaism, the Hebrew language, the State of Israel, and the history of the Holocaust have publicly positioned themselves against the Jewish state.”

Audit finds anti-Israel positions among faculty records

The research alleged that 1,298 of the analyzed entries, or 51.9 percent, featured documented anti-Israel public positions as defined by the study’s criteria. Among individual educators specifically identified as teaching in the relevant fields of Jewish, Israel, Hebrew, or Holocaust studies, the audit claimed that 401 out of 1,014, or 39.5 percent, held such positions. The study reported particularly high concentrations at Ivy League universities, where Torossian noted that “72.3 percent of audited faculty records have documented anti-Israel positions.”

To establish these metrics, the study classified an anti-Israel stance based on specific public actions, such as leadership roles in groups like Faculty for Justice in Palestine (FSJP) or Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), alongside signing petitions that endorsed academic boycotts, characterized Zionism as “settler colonialism,” labeled Israel an apartheid state, or it’s described its military actions as genocide.

The researchers noted they deliberately excluded mainstream political criticisms, such as opposing specific government policies, advocating for a two-state solution, or demanding accountability for civilian casualties, that reflect ongoing debates within Israeli society itself.

“These professors are the people hired to teach the next generation about Judaism, the Hebrew language, the State of Israel, and the history of the Holocaust,” the report stated, arguing that the documented positions fell outside the consensus of mainstream Zionism.

Endowed chairs appear among petition signatories

The audit identified 14 holders of endowed chairs, positions funded by donors often intended to strengthen Jewish scholarship, who appeared among the signatories of these examined campaigns.

Highlighting this aspect, Torossian pointed out that “fourteen endowed chairs – positions funded by Jewish philanthropists specifically to strengthen Jewish scholarship – are held by faculty openly opposed to Israel,” adding that donors established these funds to strengthen Jewish education, “instead, many now fund scholars who describe Zionism as ‘settler colonialism,’ endorse academic boycotts of Israeli universities, and use language like ‘Jewish supremacy’ to describe the Jewish state.”

Beyond academic boycotts and political definitions, the evaluated petitions also encompassed broader advocacy, including protests against administrative discipline targeting pro-Palestinian organizers and pushback against the alleged weaponization of antisemitism claims.

Furthermore, the report claimed a significant escalation in petition activity, noting that the March 2025 “Not in Our Name” letter, which was initiated by New England faculty and staff to protest campus crackdowns and the alleged weaponization of antisemitism claims, gathered over 3,400 academic signatures to become the largest single petition in the documented record.

How the faculty audit was conducted

The methodology involved compiling rosters from publicly available university websites between July and August 2026, including every institutional member program of the Association for Jewish Studies and every US center or chair listed by the Association for Israel Studies.

The researchers stated they matched faculty names to petition signatories using university affiliation, department, academic title, and full name.

The study authors acknowledged limitations, noting that their audit captured only publicly available positions and did not account for faculty who may have held private views, nor did it capture Hebrew language instructors, who they stated rarely signed political letters.

Addressing the implications of the data, Torossian stated, “The question before Jewish families, donors, and institutional leaders is straightforward: Will we demand transparency about who teaches these subjects and what they publicly believe? Will endowments established to strengthen Jewish education actually accomplish that mission? The Olam created this study to answer these questions with data. The findings are now public. What institutions, families, and donors choose to do with this information is their decision.”

This post was originally published on here. 

Opposition leader Yair Lapid presented a six-point plan for rebuilding Israel’s foreign relations at the B’Yachad National Security Conference in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, warning that the country’s international standing had entered a “disaster zone” and that foreign policy must be treated as an integral part of national security.

Lapid said Israel’s diplomatic relationships could bolster its access to advanced weapons, intelligence cooperation, technology, energy, scientific partnerships and global markets.

He rejected the argument that the October 7 massacre alone explained Israel’s diplomatic decline, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of worsening the crisis through “negligence, arrogance, and amateurism.”

Lapid criticized the rotation of three foreign ministers over three years, the absence of a permanent head of Israel’s national public diplomacy apparatus, and Netanyahu’s handling of relations with US President Donald Trump.

Despite this, he argued that the damage could still be reversed, as many foreign governments distinguish between Israel and its current government.

“The positive part is that this means that things can be fixed,” Lapid said. “There is long-term damage, but with the right management, the direction can be reversed in a relatively short time.”

First policy: Rebuilding relations with Washington

Lapid said Israel’s first foreign policy priority must be restoring bipartisan support in the United States.

He pointed to the July US House vote on military aid to Israel, in which an amendment sponsored by Rep. Thomas Massie (R- Kentucky) to cut off aid to Israel was defeated 314-104. Of those supporting the measure, 103 were Democrats.

Additionally, Lapid cited polling showing weakening support for Israel among younger Republicans, arguing that the country is “in a disaster zone, and this disaster is not just because of antisemitism, it’s not just because of the American left, and it’s not just because of Qatar’s influence.”

Israel should work not only with Democrats and Republicans in Washington, he said, but also conduct targeted outreach to younger Americans, Hispanics, African-Americans, evangelicals, academics and liberal Jewish communities.

He also rejected the suggestion that Israel should allow its current security memorandum of understanding with Washington, which provides $38 billion over 10 years, to expire in 2028 without replacement, calling the abandonment of the agreement “a serious mistake by Netanyahu.”

Lapid proposed negotiating a new memorandum while also establishing a separate scientific and technological agreement covering small modular nuclear reactors, quantum technology and semiconductors.

Second policy: Rebuilding relations with Europe, NATO

The second policy Lapid presented was rebuilding relations with Europe, particularly Germany, while deepening cooperation with NATO and engaging directly with public opinion in countries that have been highly critical of Israel, including Spain, France and Ireland.

Lapid criticized Israel’s diplomatic withdrawals from hostile capitals, saying Israel should maintain representation even where relations are difficult. Israel closed its embassy in Dublin in December 2024 after accusing the Irish government of pursuing extreme anti-Israel policies.

“We don’t run away from a fight,” Lapid said. “We stay on the battlefield even when it’s difficult.”

Third policy: Repairing relations with Diaspora Jewry and regional ties

Lapid named repairing relations with Diaspora Jewry as the third policy, describing the Diaspora as “family” and a strategic asset.

He called on Israel to show greater respect for Reform and Conservative Judaism, merge the Diaspora Affairs Ministry into the Foreign Ministry, restore the post of special envoy to combat antisemitism, and establish a network of young Jewish “ambassadors” around the world.

Fourth policy: Integrating Israel into the Middle East

The fourth policy, he said, should involve deeper Israeli integration into the Middle East, with Egypt and the UAE serving as central partners.

Lapid called for the revival of projects connected to the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, the Negev Forum and I2U2, as well as efforts to forge a common regional approach toward Iran.

He also emphasized the importance of a peace agreement with Saudi Arabia as a major strategic objective, while warning that Israel must oppose uranium enrichment on Saudi soil because of the risk of triggering a regional nuclear arms race.

At the same time, Lapid renewed his demand that Qatar be declared an enemy state, accusing Doha of supporting Hamas, funding terrorism and contributing to efforts to delegitimize Israel. Lapid introduced legislation seeking such a designation in February.

Lapid also called for a clearer policy toward Turkey, particularly over its activities in Syria. He said Israel must make clear that it will defend its interests while establishing a mechanism to prevent unnecessary direct confrontation between the two regional powers.

“We do not need to create more and more regional conflicts, but to prevent them,” he said.

Fifth policy: Economy and public diplomacy

Lapid’s fifth policy included integrating Israel’s economic and foreign policy more closely.

He proposed establishing an interministerial team bringing together the Foreign, Finance, Economy and Defense ministries with the Israel Innovation Authority to promote Israeli technology and defense industries abroad.

Modern diplomacy, he argued, requires Israel to manage complex relationships with states that may cooperate with Jerusalem in some areas while maintaining close ties with its adversaries.

India, he said, was a prime example because of its extensive security and economic relations with Israel alongside its ties with Iran.

Sixth policy: Complete overhaul of Israel’s public diplomacy operation

Lapid’s sixth policy called for a complete overhaul of Israel’s public diplomacy operation, with greater emphasis on younger audiences, social media, and skilled communicators.

He accused government ministers of damaging Israel’s international standing through inflammatory statements and said Israeli officials failed to mount an adequate public diplomacy campaign alongside military operations.

“Good public diplomacy cannot rescue bad policy,” Lapid said earlier in the speech, arguing that Israel’s communications strategy could succeed only as part of a coherent foreign policy.

Beyond the six priorities, Lapid called for greater engagement in the Indo-Pacific region, including technological and security dialogues with Singapore, Japan and South Korea, as well as efforts to create a diplomatic opening with Indonesia.

Lapid concluded that Israel’s domestic political character was inseparable from its ability to build partnerships overseas, saying the country must present itself as democratic, liberal, technologically advanced and governed by the rule of law.

“We need to give the world the opportunity to love the State of Israel and to want to work with us,” he said.

“We need an advanced, liberal, technologically-driven and smart domestic policy, which can be transformed into a foreign policy that will strengthen the State of Israel against its enemies and strengthen our alliances with our friends.”

This post was originally published on here. 

The IDF announced on Wednesday that the Air Force struck two Hamas commanders, one of whom participated in the October 7th Massacre, in Nuseirat. 

The IDF noted that it later struck a Hamas commander in the Tuffah area of Gaza, and that both of the terrorists planned to attack soldiers in the Strip. 

According to Reuters, citing the Hamas-led Health Ministry, an airstrike at a police post in Gaza City killed nine Palestinians.

The attack in Nuseirat killed one Palestinian, medics told Reuters, with Wednesday’s death toll rising to at least 10.

The military said that prior to the strike, steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians, including the use of precise munitions and aerial surveillance.

IDF seals Gaza tunnels belonging to Hamas

Also on Wednesday, the IDF announced that it had sealed two tunnels belonging to Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF’s Gaza Division Combat Engineers were deployed to seal the tunnels, which had a combined length of more than two kilometers.

Drone footage released by the IDF shows the tunnels running underground at length, packed with sandbags.

The IDF also said that troops operating in the area are working in accordance with the ceasefire agreement, while maintaining that the IDF continues to work to remove immediate threats.

Jonah Davidov contributed to this report.

This post was originally published on here. 

Hadash, Ta’al and Balad signed an agreement on Wednesday to run together in the upcoming election, reviving the Joint List after weeks of negotiations and internal disputes.

On Tuesday night, Ta’al chairperson MK Ahmad Tibi withdrew his opposition to a framework proposed by the “Reconciliation Committee,” which was tasked with reuniting and restructuring the Joint List. The assessment among those involved says all sides ultimately compromised to complete the alliance before the official deadline for submitting candidate lists at the beginning of September.

The agreement signed by the three parties remains subject to formal approval by their respective institutions, and an official announcement is expected in the coming days. Accordingly, Ta’al’s party committee is expected to decide on Wednesday to convene the party’s general council.

Last Sunday, the committee presented its proposed framework, but Tibi opposed it and left the meeting. The following Saturday, the secretariats of Hadash and Balad met separately, and both announced their support for the proposal.

Earlier this week, Hadash’s Prof. Yousef Jabareen and former MK attorney Osama Saadi, a close associate of Ta’al chairman MK Ahmad Tibi, met privately over coffee. Sources familiar with the negotiations described the meeting as positive, and on Tuesday evening Ta’al reportedly signaled that Tibi was prepared to accept the framework he had rejected the previous week.

As part of the arrangement, Tibi is expected to receive the position of chairman of the Joint List parliamentary faction, the post of Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, and membership on a prominent committee such as the Knesset Finance Committee.

The breakthrough reportedly centered on the reserved slot for Ta’al’s second representative. Under the current framework, that candidate is assigned the ninth position on the list, and Ta’al had pushed aggressively to improve that placement, at one stage nearly causing the negotiations to collapse. According to the emerging agreement, and unsurprisingly, Saadi is expected to be Ta’al’s second candidate. However, the sides have not yet reached a final understanding on all outstanding issues.

According to the proposed framework, the candidate list would be:

Prof. Yousef Jabareen (Hadash)
Dr. Ahmad Tibi (Ta’al)
Sami Abu Shehadeh (Balad)
Jaafar Farah (Hadash)
Bakr Awawdeh (Balad)
Dr. Ofer Cassif (Hadash)
Youssef Atawna (Hadash)
Dr. Maha Karakbi (Hadash)
Ta’al candidate
Dr. Nahaya Washahi (Hadash)
Hassan Nasasra (Balad)
Ta’al candidate
Iyas Nattour (Hadash)

Election poll showed Joint List, Segalovitz with Ra’am would give Arab faction combined 14 Knesset seats

A Maariv poll published last Friday examined a scenario in which Hadash, Ta’al and Balad unite on a single list while Yoav Segalovitz is placed second on Ra’am’s slate. Under that scenario, the united Arab list would win eight seats, while Ra’am would increase its representation to six seats, giving the Arab parties a combined total of 14 Knesset seats.

In the same scenario, Eisenkot’s Yashar party would fall to 22 seats, Likud would receive 20 seats, and Bennett’s B’Yachad party would win 13 seats. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition bloc would decline to 47 seats, the Zionist opposition would hold 55 seats, and Zionist Home-The Reservists would remain at four seats.

This post was originally published on here. 

Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 103 prisoners of war each, officials from both sides said on Wednesday, with Ukrainian intelligence saying another swap was expected before the end of the month.

Kyiv and Moscow have carried out regular POW exchanges throughout the war that started with Russia’s invasion of its smaller neighbor in 2022, while remaining far apart on terms for any peace deal.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram the brought home included servicemen from the Armed Forces, the State Border Guard Service, and the National Guard.

On the Russian side, Interfax news agency cited the Russian Ministry of Defence for news of the exchange.

Ukranian prisoners of war released from Russia say it’s ‘wonderful’

“It’s a wonderful day. I’ve returned home. I haven’t done anything heroic, and I don’t consider myself special,” Dmytro, 29, a Ukrainian who was a prisoner for three years, told Reuters.

“I want to tell the families of the men who are still being held: keep believing and don’t lose hope,” he added.

Another Ukrainian serviceman, heading home after 28 months, Anton Tymofienko, 43, recalled his time in captivity.

“The most we received were letters from relatives … Otherwise, we had no information,” he said. Neither gave details of where they had fought in the war.

Ukraine’s military intelligence head Oleh Ivashchenko said that another exchange was expected before the end of the month.

“In the next exchange, we expect the return of defenders who have been held for a prolonged period, including those who fought in the defense of Mariupol,” he said, referring to the port city that Russia besieged early in the war.

This post was originally published on here. 

Shortly after the destruction of the First Temple, in the Greek city of Athens around the year 500 BCE, the process of democratic voting began. Soon after, other Greek city-states followed suit. 

Voting was not open to all. It was a privilege given only to members of the ekklesia – an assembly of the eligible male citizens of Athens. Most often, the vote was conducted via raising the right hand for the voters to signify their choices.

Sometimes, votes were cast by casting pebbles. White stones, when dropped into a container, signified a favorable decision. If a voter was not in favor, black stones were cast. The pebbles were then counted.

In those days in Athens, on important issues, a quorum of 6,000 citizen voters was required.

Jewish history records the Jewish style of voting and decision-making, which did not follow Greek tradition. 

The Mishna, as well as other rabbinic works, detail voting procedures that were revolutionary for their time and that were handed down for generations. They were so proper and even-handed that they influenced democratic procedures today.

Much was done by consensus, by the majority.

The Sanhedrin, a rabbinical court of 71 who functioned as judges and jury, were those who voted. Smaller cities had courts with 23 rabbis and/or judges who judged and voted. Even smaller towns had courts of 3 people. 

Voting by the Sanhedrin was not ad hoc; it followed a procedure. The judges had a seating order. For obvious reasons, there were always an odd number of judges in every Sanhedrin.

Member judges of the Sanhedrin were seated in a semi-circle in order of seniority. First was the av beit din (chief judge), and next to him sat the nasi (president) of the court. Then, seating was in order from most senior to most junior.

They spoke and voted in a prescribed manner, always in the same order. The most senior member was first, the most junior was last – with one exception: the capital case.

In a capital case, where a person’s life was at stake, the junior members spoke and voted first, and senior judges went last. That reverse order assured that everyone voted according to their conscience. 

It was an assurance that senior judges could not influence younger members, and that it was their decision – not reliance on the influence of their mentors in their decision-making.

In a capital case, there was a presumption of innocence, and the defendant’s defense went first. Additionally, the defendant could not be convicted on a simple majority of one. In these cases, the court needed to convict with a majority of at least two.

In one very unusual incident, the disciples of Beit Shammai packed the court and did not permit the disciples of Beit Hillel, their nemesis, to attend. 

According to one recorded description, disciples of Beit Hillel were actually assaulted – and some were even killed – by the disciples of Beit Shammai.

As described in both the Babylonian Talmud and, in a slightly different version in the Jerusalem Talmud, that court met in the attic of Rabbi Hananya ben-Hezekiah. The Talmud refers to this day as one as awful as the day the golden calf was made.

In another outstanding vote, there was a case in which the vote was all against one. 

The entire court ruled against Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus on the kosher status of an oven. According to the record, even a heavenly voice came to testify on Rabbi Eliezer’s behalf, and that, too, did not sway the vote.

Jewish councils and where it meets us today

During the medieval period, the Jews had councils like SHUM (Speyer, Worms, and Mainz) in Germany. From 1580 to 1764, there was the Council of Four Lands in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which consisted of delegates who were sent to represent their communities. 

Smaller communities sent a single delegate, but larger cities – like Krakow, Poznan, and Lviv – sent two. In 1759, in Amsterdam, they had the Mahamad, a merger of communities. These representatives decided and voted on issues, including the excommunication of Baruch Spinoza on July 27, 1656.

We know this because we have the actual records and notes as well as the votes on these issues. Many communities had notebooks that recorded the events of the community. 

They recorded the names of those who visited and what occurred during those visits. We have the numbers and the vote tallies on issues voted on by the Jewish community in Amsterdam.

It was the Zionist Congress that voted on issues that determined the future of the Jewish people. In order to vote, you needed to donate one shekel – that’s all, a single shekel. 

In 1903, the Sixth Zionist Congress voted to accept the Uganda Plan in a vote of 295 to 178. In 1905, that decision was reversed by an overwhelming majority.

A short while later, in 1908, the New York Kehillah in NYC was created, representing 222 organizations. Jews in America were on the path to assimilation. They were workers and union members. 

Many Jews were actually the founders and backbones of the unions.

The unions wanted their members to vote, and it was the Jewish membership that taught their fellow workers about the power of democracy and democratic voting. Because of the unions, members were taught how to read, organize, and get safer jobs and better pay.

And it all started with the raising of a hand.

The writer is a columnist and a social and political commentator. Watch his TV show Thinking Out Loud on JBS.

This post was originally published on here. 

“We have to walk six segments a day, including steep and difficult climbs, sometimes in severe heat conditions of about 40 degrees Celsius, just to reach the dining room,” soldiers from the Golani Brigade stationed at Camp Filon told Walla, claiming that the difficult conditions pushed some of them to avoid meals.

According to the letter, which revealed the severe conditions at the base located near the Galilee, the soldiers are forgoing meals or ordering food from outside the base due to the heavy schedule, the intense heat, and the physical exhaustion required to reach the dining room.

One of the soldiers also said that, while all of the soldiers in regular service are forced to reach the site on foot, commanders and higher officers are allowed to go in vehicles.

‘We want basic logistical support’

“We are proud of our service and do our job to the best of our ability, but we believe that basic logistical support such as access to meals is an integral part of caring for the health and well-being of the soldiers,” one of the soldiers wrote.

The soldiers asked for help raising awareness of the issue so they could receive an appropriate response from the relevant authorities.

Walla sent a question regarding the matter to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit on Tuesday, but no response has yet been received.

This post was originally published on here. 

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot condemned violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank on Wednesday, saying it justified France’s recent sanctions against National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

“What is happening today in the West Bank is utterly disgraceful and should fill us all with revulsion,” Barrot wrote on X.

Ce qu’il se passe aujourd’hui en Cisjordanie est proprement indigne et devrait tous nous révulser. C’est la raison pour laquelle nous avons sanctionné le ministre Ben Gvir dont les propos récents sont insupportables et inhumains.

C’est aussi pourquoi j’ai poussé pour que des… pic.twitter.com/WvBJ7sDZMu

— Jean-Noël Barrot (@jnbarrot) August 19, 2026

“This is why we have sanctioned Israeli minister Ben-Gvir, whose recent comments are unacceptable and inhuman,” added Barrot.

France points to Kusra violence as justification for banning Ben-Gvir

France announced in May that it was banning Ben-Gvir from French territory.

Barrot reiterated that additional sanctions could be imposed on Israeli settlers deemed to be involved in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Britain, Canada, France, and Norway announced coordinated sanctions in June against Israeli networks involved in financing, enabling, and carrying out violence in the West Bank.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry rejected the measures in June, saying the governments imposing them had failed to control antisemitism and were fueling it through such sanctions.

The sanctions were part of a broader international effort targeting Israelis and organizations accused of involvement in West Bank violence. Six countries, including Australia and New Zealand alongside Canada, France, Norway and the UK, announced coordinated measures in June, targeting individuals and entities they accused of abuses against Palestinian civilians. France had also imposed travel restrictions on Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Barrot’s comments also came amid renewed international scrutiny of events in Kusra, near Nablus, where Israeli settlers had encircled three Palestinian homes for more than a week. IDF troops were deployed to the area, while the conduct of settlers there drew an unusually sharp condemnation from US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.

Israeli officials and settlement leaders have also criticized the violence surrounding Kusra. Ben-Gvir said some settlers establishing outposts needed to be stopped, while Yesha Council chairman Yisrael Gantz called the incident improper and unacceptable. The IDF also increased its presence in the village as authorities sought to prevent further friction, according to reporting on the security response.

The issue predates the latest incidents. IDF figures presented earlier this year showed that attacks by extremist Jewish settlers against Palestinians and Israeli security forces rose by 27% in 2025, amid growing international pressure on Israel to take action against those responsible.

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank, territory captured by Israel in the 1967 war, alongside millions of Palestinians.

Nearly all countries and a range of UN bodies consider the settlements to be in violation of international law, although Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical ties to the land.

This post was originally published on here. 

The recent tragic death by suicide of Bar Asraf at the grave of his murdered girlfriend, Liron Barda, was a profound blow to Israeli hearts and psyches.

It confronted us once again with the ongoing suffering that flows beneath all our heralded resilience.

Reading one particular quote from Asraf’s sister, Lihi, pierced my soul and would not let go:

“We were at my brother’s wedding. He apparently started to feel lonely. You couldn’t tell. He was always happy and laughing.”

He felt lonely. No one could tell.

A large and important study of online mental health support, conducted by the University of Haifa and Ben-Gurion University, analyzed real-time helpline data following the October 7 massacre.

It found that, over time, expressions of suicidality and depression decreased, while loneliness became a dominant concern – especially among women and younger users of the service.

What is loneliness? Language struggles to express its pain.

Loneliness can come from having too few social contacts – what we might call social isolation. But, as we see with Asraf, a person can be surrounded by family and friends and still experience a profound sense of loneliness.

It is the exquisitely painful feeling of disconnection.

It can feel like emptiness or hollowness within, as if something is missing. It is feeling unseen or misunderstood, as though no one can really know what you are experiencing. It is feeling like an outsider, even among friends.

Sometimes loneliness is experienced physically: a heaviness in the chest, a lump in the throat, restlessness.

Sometimes it is the profound feeling of missing someone specific, or simply missing the feeling of being close to someone.

Like physical pain, loneliness is a warning that something is wrong.

Loneliness tells us that an emotional need is not being met, much as hunger tells us that a physical need is not being met.

So loneliness is a symptom.

But it is also a risk factor – for physical as well as psychological disorders.

Loneliness shortens lives.

The relationship between loneliness and mental illness is bidirectional. Loneliness can precede some disorders, especially depression.

But depression, anxiety, and other conditions can also cause people to withdraw, interpret social interactions more negatively, and feel even more alone.

People with chronic mental illness, or those who are neurodivergent – on the autism spectrum, for example, or with ADHD – may experience significant loneliness because they feel they don’t “fit.”

Social and communication difficulties can generate a sense of isolation even when someone appears socially active. Relationships may exist, yet still feel effortful or performative, or even unsafe.

What can be done?

The news of Asraf’s death was followed by a media focus on Israel’s “mental health issues.”

But that phrase encompasses an enormous range of conditions and experiences: neurodivergence and psychosis, acute and chronic illness, anxiety and depression, and trauma-related symptoms.

As disparate as these issues are, they nevertheless share a through-line – an experience so common that its power is often underestimated: loneliness.

What can we do? We, mental health professionals, can begin by focusing more attention on our patients’ experiences of loneliness, recognizing that it transcends diagnostic categories.

And for the rest of us, please remember this: hunger is a signal to act. It tells us to find food. Loneliness is a signal to act, too.

If you are lonely, tell someone. Don’t wait until you have the right words. Don’t assume that no one wants to hear.

And if you suspect someone else is lonely, don’t wait for them to tell you. Call. Visit. Invite them for coffee. Ask the question one more time, and stay long enough to hear the real answer.

Because loneliness is often invisible.

Bar Asraf was at his brother’s wedding. He was surrounded by people who loved him. He was happy. He was laughing.

No one could tell.

That is why we have to look.

The writer is a psychologist with the Tikva Helpline, available 24/7 at 074-775-1433, and podcast host of The Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas.

This post was originally published on here. 

Renowned author Shulamit Lapid has been awarded the prestigious Dahlia Ravikovitch Prize for Lifetime Achievement, headlining the newly announced 2025/26 ACUM Prize laureates.

The announcement arrives as ACUM, the Israeli association that protects copyright, celebrates its landmark 90th anniversary.

The winners will be officially honored at the 70th ACUM Awards Ceremony on Monday, October 19, at the Creative House at Tel Aviv Port.

Shulamit Lapid honored for impact on Hebrew literature

Lapid, a beloved household name across the country, the wife of the late politician Tommy, and the mother of opposition leader Yair, is the standout name on the roster.

Best known internationally for her foundational pioneering saga Valley of Strength (translated into English via The Toby Press), Lapid revolutionized Hebrew literature.

Her work has brought female historical narratives to the forefront of a historically male-dominated field, making her a household staple for anyone exploring Middle Eastern and Jewish literature.

The selection committee, comprising prominent cultural figures Hannah Goldberg, Yehudit Katzir, and Shai Schneider Eilat, lauded her as “one of the most prominent and significant voices in contemporary Hebrew literature,” noting her profound impact on charting Israeli identity.

Gideon Lewensohn, Nurit Zarchi also recognized

Joining Lapid in the lifetime achievement category is celebrated composer and author Gideon Lewensohn, who will receive the Paul Ben-Haim Prize for Lifetime Achievement in Concert Music.

Lewensohn is a foundational figure who helped launch the composition program at Bar-Ilan University.

The committee highlighted his “dramatic imagination, rare textual sensitivity,” and a distinct personal language that bridges compositional precision with cultural memory.

The ACUM Board of Directors also announced a special award for legendary poet and writer Nurit Zarchi.

As the author of over 160 books, Zarchi is an international heavyweight in children’s and fantasy literature, having been nominated for the global Hans Christian Andersen Award.

Her avant-garde poetry, academic essays, and boundary-pushing fiction have had a profound impact on generations of Hebrew readers, and they are frequently studied globally for their linguistic innovation.

ACUM recognizes Israeli composers

The Mark Kopytman Prize was awarded to composer Sarit Shley Zondiner for “Poems of Jerusalem.” This daring avant-garde piece adapts the universally translated verse of iconic poet Yehuda Amichai.

Designed for a global audience, it fuses traditional choral arrangements with electric guitars, digital electronics, and video art.

Similarly, the Menahem Avidom Award went to Omri Avraham for “Time Passes By,” an instrumental ensemble piece earning praise for expanding the boundaries of acoustic expression by manipulating tempo and ambient, newly discovered sounds.

This post was originally published on here. 

The IDF’s Military Advocate-General’s Corps on Wednesday issued its first landmark war crimes report since October 7 regarding over 150 probes, addressing the World Central Kitchen (WCK) saga, the Islamic Red Crescent saga, and three other major cases.

The investigations of IDF Military Advocate-General Maj.-Gen. Itay Offir and his staff into five major cases resulted in the opening of two criminal probes, two disciplinary probes, and the closure of one of the cases.

The Jerusalem Post understands that, over time, additional update reports will be issued, but this is the first step after heavy global criticism of Israel and the IDF for not issuing final reports until now, despite grave cases against them in international judicial bodies.

Further, the update that 150 cases are under criminal investigation is a significant jump from the around 100 number told to the Post on June 18.

Investigating the World Central Kitchen incident

In the WCK saga, on April 1, 2024, the IDF accidentally and mistakenly killed seven international food aid workers.

According to the report, the WCK hired armed security guards without coordinating that specific issue with the IDF.

The IDF probe admits that its surveillance officials misidentified these WCK security officials as Hamas and then also misidentified other WCK officials afterward, who were unarmed and entered the WCK vehicles at a midpoint in their travel, as armed.

This detail has massive importance, as previously several of the most senior IDF officials told the Post and other reporters that one of the main justifications for the attack was that there was at least one Hamas fighter involved, along with other officials who were mistaken for Hamas officials.

Next, the report criticizes the WCK for being unreachable for 30 minutes when the IDF tried to call to clarify the situation.

Ultimately, the IDF decided to uphold the prior decision of then-IDF chief Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi that while tragic, the errors should lead to disciplinary measures, but were not a crime.

Regarding the WCK incident, a fascinating twist is that Offir himself did not make the decision, which the Post first reported exclusively on June 18.

In prior roles as the Defense Ministry legal adviser, Offir apparently worked closely with IDF Col. Nochi Mendel, one of the key commander-suspects, on several projects.

Although this does not necessarily violate the “conflict of interest” definition to technically disqualify him from rendering a decision the way it would if the two were family members, Offir did not feel like he could objectively judge Mendel, or at least wanted to remove even any perception of favoritism.

For that reason, IDF Chief Prosecutor Col. Eli Levertov issued the decision regarding WCK.

Levertov became IDF chief prosecutor in August 2025, only around two months before Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi’s resignation as the IDF MAG prior to Offir.

The killing of Hind Rajab

Regarding the second file, the killing of nine members of the Hamada family, including the famous Palestinian child Hind Rajab in Gaza City on January 29, 2024, Offir decided that the IDF officials involved in coordinating the arrival of an ambulance to save Rajab after the initial attack were, at a minimum, grossly negligent.

On that basis, he has ordered that the probe be continued as a full criminal probe.

Rajab became famous worldwide because she called outside officials for help, and recordings show her surviving an initial strike on her family.

However, the later strikes either killed her or killed the rescuers who were sent to save her, until she died of her initial wounds.

The Post has learned that while the entire incident will be probed, the most serious part of the investigation will be the second strike on the rescuers sent to save Rajab.

This means that the IDF officials most in potential trouble would not be those who fired on the rescuers, but the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) officials who sent a Google Maps document to the rescuers telling them that if they took the specific designated path, they would be safe.

The IDF MAG Corps alleges that COGAT did not send this information to the IDF officials on the ground, which likely led to the mistaken killing.

Such negligence could rise to such a high and deadly level as to be potentially criminal, even if unintentional.

At the same time, the Post understands that none of the COGAT officials involved have been criminally investigated to date, such that their defense lawyers may be able to claim that they do not remember the details in order to try to avoid prosecution or conviction.

While Offir has only been in office since November 2025, the probe of this case was dragged out for an extensive period of time by Tomer-Yerushalmi.

The Post has not succeeded to date in getting responses on such issues from Tomer-Yerushalmi since her resignation.

Investigating an incident surrounding the Islamic Red Crescent

On March 23, 2025, the IDF mistakenly killed 15 Palestinians connected to the fire department, ambulances, and the UN (the paramedics case) in Tel Sultan in Rafah who were on their way to rescue various Palestinians.

According to Offir, there were three separate incidents in which the IDF successively fired on different cars of rescuers as part of an ambush which they thought they were springing on Hamas an hour after a Hamas car had passed through their ambush area.

Although the IDF has connected six out of the 15 rescuers to Hamas after the fact, the MAG ordered a criminal probe to continue, in addition to censuring the commander of the IDF’s 14th Brigade (a Colonel rank) and firing the deputy commander of the IDF Golani Brigade’s Reconnaissance Battalion (a Major rank).

The Post has learned that the most serious part of this incident was the third attack, in which time had passed, and various indicators could have made the attacking forces avoid an additional ambush in the area.

However, those involved in the attack will not be fired or suspended per se just because they are being criminally investigated at this stage, though some may already have been released from service.

Further, in April 2025, the IDF admitted that in the paramedics incident in southern Gaza it mistakenly killed 15 International Red Crescent medics and wounded another when it misidentified them as Hamas terrorists despite the fact that they were unarmed and driving in ambulances, leading to the firing of the deputy Golani Brigade commander (a Major rank), and the censuring of a brigade commander (a Colonel rank).

In April 2025, the IDF issued interim findings on a variety of incidents at the time, collected by the General Staff’s Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism, headed by Maj.-Gen. (Res.) Yoav Har-Even, which have been presented to the IDF Chief Staff, Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, and to representatives of the UN.

The IDF said at the time that it “regrets this serious incident and continues to conduct thorough review processes to draw operational lessons and evaluate additional measures to prevent such events in the future.”

“We express our deep sorrow for the loss and send our condolences to the family. As part of the IDF’s commitment to transparency and dialogue with international entities, the IDF has shared the findings gathered thus far with the UN. The IDF places great importance on continued engagement with international organizations, as part of efforts to enhance coordination, apply lessons learned, and prevent similar incidents from recurring in the future,” said the military.

Two incidents involving Doctors Without Borders

There were also two decisions regarding two separate incidents in which the IDF mistakenly killed two different pairs of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) officials.

The first was an incident on February 20, 2024, in Khan Yunis in which the clarity of the identity of the two MSF officials was hazy, with the military believing them to be Hamas officials.

Accordingly, Offir ordered disciplinary measures against the IDF officials involved in the attack, but not a criminal probe.

The second incident was on November 18, 2023, when the IDF mistakenly killed two other MSF officials in Gaza City.

Offir decided that since the tragic deaths were not from direct fire, but from indirect fire, the case would be closed completely without criminal or disciplinary consequences.

IDF legal sources acknowledged that the decisions took too long, but that this was a time to at least issue as many decisions as possible after the longest and most complex war in Israel’s history, which in many ways still has not ended.

Further, they said that a hard decision against IDF soldiers is critical to defend Israel against the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, as well as to preserve receiving military weapons overseas from the US and other allies.

This post was originally published on here. 

Two tunnels belonging to Hamas were sealed in the Gaza Strip, the military announced on Wednesday.

The IDF’s Gaza Division Combat Engineers were deployed to seal the tunnels, which had a combined length of more than two kilometers.

Drone footage released by the IDF shows the tunnels running underground at length, packed with sandbags.

The IDF also said that troops operating in the area are working in accordance with the ceasefire agreement, while maintaining that the IDF continues to work to remove immediate threats.

Other actions taken in Gaza this week

This week, the IDF struck a cafe in northern Gaza City port, killing several Hamas commanders who were meeting there to plan imminent attacks against Israeli forces in the Strip.

Six people in total were killed, with at least 10 others wounded in the strike.

A Gazan terror cell in Khan Yunis was also struck by the air force last week, which was likewise planning and preparing an operation against the military.

The IDF has been ordered to halt its attacks in the Gaza Strip, with the exception of terrorists who are known to be planning to carry out imminent strikes.

Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.

This post was originally published on here. 

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana (Likud) said he was “glad and proud” that the coalition had refused to comply with a High Court of Justice ruling ordering a repeat election for the state comptroller, according to a recording shared by KAN Reshet Bet on Wednesday.

Speaking to Likud activists ahead of the party primaries, Ohana declared that the refusal to hold another vote was a success for the party.

“We succeeded in drawing a red line for the High Court. The High Court ruled: The Knesset will hold repeat elections for the position of state comptroller. There is a ruling! And what is the answer to a ruling issued without authority and contrary to the law? Enough!” Ohana said in the recording.

“We told them: The Knesset has spoken; there will be no more elections. There has never been a Knesset that quote-unquote dared to defy the supreme ruler, the Supreme Court. I am glad and proud that this Knesset did so,” he said.

“It is unclear to us what is new about the Knesset speaker’s consistent position that the Knesset will not meekly accept being trampled,” Ohana’s office said in response to KAN’s request for comment.

Comptroller role remains empty following ‘Selfiegate’ scandal

In July, the High Court ordered that a new Knesset vote be held for the position of state comptroller after declaring attorney Michael Rabello’s election invalid following photos shared by Likud members revealing their votes, compromising the secrecy of the ballot.

The Knesset has not yet held another election, and with Rabello’s entry into office frozen and former comptroller Matanyahu Englman’s term ending, the country has been left without a state comptroller.

After the vote was invalidated, Israel First party chair MK Sharren Haskel signed a sworn affidavit and later testified to Lahav 433 that members of the New Hope-United Right faction were required to film themselves voting for Rabello as state comptroller and show the footage to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as proof of how they voted.

Sarah Ben-Nun contributed to this report.

This post was originally published on here. 

One of the downsides, among many, of living in a country involved in perpetual wars as we here seem to be, is that it is easy to forget there are thousands of other things going on simultaneously that are positive, worthy of praise, and even a cause for amazement. 

Much of it seems counterintuitive, but then again, our whole success here often appears to be counterintuitive.

An item appeared recently in C-TECH, a dedicated English-language technology and start-up news channel published by the financial daily Calcalist, about Israeli defense giant Elbit.

It indicates that the company has an order backlog worth $32 billion, mostly built around airborne lasers for use in asymmetric warfare.

That number is simply amazing for a country our size and worthy of further exploration. 

Israel’s annual GDP is $720b., which means that Elbit has an order backlog equal to 4.4% of Israel’s GDP. In itself, $32b. is also larger than the GDP of Armenia, Jamaica, Brunei, Lebanon, and the Bahamas, to provide some perspective.

Founded in 1966 as Elbit Computers Ltd. to build electronic and computer systems, the company has grown into a major defense supplier, with its recent growth aided by the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, as well as a broader European military buildup. 

All of this continues to translate into a growing demand for Israeli-made weapons, electronic warfare systems, and other defense technologies.

Calcalist noted that the $32b. backlog “gives Elbit an unusually large amount of work already contracted for future years, but it also illustrates the scale of the transformation underway in the defense industry. 

“Governments are not simply replacing weapons consumed in recent conflicts. They are investing in new capabilities, expanding ammunition stocks, and upgrading military systems designed for increasingly complex battlefields.”

However, that demand has been only one element of Israel’s industrial growth even during a time of war. There are other indicators of growth as well, illustrated, for example, by the large foreign investment in, and buyouts of, Israeli companies just during this past July, to wit.

China’s Tencent is in negotiations to acquire SuperPlay, a top-performing mobile gaming studio, from Israel’s Playtika for an estimated $1-1.5 billion.

Singapore’s BandLab Technologies acquired Israel’s Aiode, an AI-powered digital music studio, for tens of millions of dollars. 

The deal adds Aiode as a third primary platform alongside BandLab and Cakewalk, focusing on ethically sourced, fully licensed audio-to-audio models created in direct collaboration with professional session musicians.

Cisco, headquartered in California, made a $150-200 million strategic investment in Israeli cybersecurity start-up Zafran, extending its total funding significantly.

California’s Cribl acquired Israel’s CardinalOps, an AI-native detection engineering start-up, in a deal estimated to be about $100m. The acquisition expands Cribl’s footprint into security operations (SecOps) and establishes a new office in Tel Aviv as well.

Another California firm, Instacart, acquired Arpalus, an Israeli artificial intelligence and computer vision start-up, for an undisclosed sum estimated in the tens of millions of dollars. 

The deal marks Instacart’s first acquisition of an Israeli company and aims to boost real-time supermarket shelf intelligence and inventory accuracy.

California’s ServiceNow acquired Israeli start-up ai.work for a reported tens of millions of dollars. 

Founded in 2024 by former WalkMe executives, ai.work built an enterprise AI agent platform designed to automate internal service and operational workflows across complex business systems.

Looking into the future

What is really interesting in all of this is that so many countries that have been critical of our activity in Gaza and other locations over the past three years have no hesitation in coming to Israeli companies to buy our technology – even while they erroneously accuse us of genocide and apartheid. 

Clearly, we produce what the world’s governments want even if they disagree with our politics.

For Elbit, the record backlog is an opportunity, but it also creates a manufacturing challenge. Elbit has been expanding its production infrastructure as orders accumulate. 

According to reports by the company, Elbit added approximately 2,000 employees over the previous year and plans to recruit another 2,000, including for the expansion of its Ramat Beka complex.

The company has previously said that some production lines increased output as much as tenfold as demand surged. That expansion is necessary if Elbit is to turn its backlog into revenue without allowing production bottlenecks to erode profitability.

All of this bodes well for future growth. 

Informed analysis indicates that Israel’s economy in 2027 is projected to experience a strong growth rebound of about 4.4% to 5.6%, driven by recovering private consumption, stabilizing post-conflict normalization, and a rebound in construction and tourism. 

Inflation is expected to hover near a stable 2.1%, while the fiscal deficit narrows to roughly 4.2% of GDP.

As we approach a new year, let us hope that the economists are correct and that this counterintuitive country that we call home will continue to prosper in every way possible.

The writer, a 42-year resident of Jerusalem, is a former national president of the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel, a past chairperson of the board of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, and a Board Member of the Israel-America Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM).

This post was originally published on here. 

Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered that former prime minister Imran Khan be transferred to Shifa International Hospital immediately for a comprehensive medical examination. 

The court also directed the formation of a medical board to assess his health and ordered that he be kept under tight security at the hospital. It further stressed that his transfer should not be politicized and directed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) not to allow rallies, demonstrations, or protests outside the hospital. 

Court seeks details of all cases registered against Khan

Shifa International Hospital is a leading private tertiary-care hospital in Islamabad, with a team of internationally trained specialists and advanced medical facilities. 

The court sought details of all cases registered against Khan, along with his complete medical records, and ordered the Adiala Jail superintendent to appear at the next hearing. 

During the hearing, the court also considered a request by Khan’s sister, Uzma Khan, to meet him. Her lawyer, Uzair Bhandari, told the court that she should be allowed access because she is a doctor. He also said Khan had been kept in solitary confinement for a prolonged period and had not been allowed to meet his sisters. 

Justice Shahid Waheed expressed concern during the hearing that Khan’s medical reports could be used for political purposes. The court was told that Khan’s sister would cover the cost of his treatment at the private hospital. 

PTI Secretary-General Barrister Salman Akram Raja assured the court that the party would not use the reports for political purposes. The court subsequently stressed that Khan’s health matters should remain separate from political activities. 

Khan’s levels of stress and anxiety were significant enough to require medical intervention

According to a medical report submitted by Adiala Jail authorities, Khan was experiencing “severe” symptoms of anxiety. The report was submitted in response to a petition Raja filed concerning Khan’s health. 

An official familiar with the situation told The Media Line that the medical reports submitted to the Supreme Court showed that Khan’s unstable and poorly controlled blood pressure, combined with significant psychological stress and anxiety, warranted serious attention. 

The official said that while the government-provided medical record did not indicate an acute cardiac condition, it showed that Khan’s levels of stress and anxiety were significant enough to require medical intervention. 

Khan, 73, has been imprisoned since August 2023. He was diagnosed earlier this year with a retinal condition in his right eye that his lawyers warned could result in permanent vision loss. 

His family and party have repeatedly raised concerns about his physical and psychological well-being and called for access to independent medical care. 

PTI has repeatedly demanded that Khan be treated at Shifa International Hospital by doctors of his choosing rather than at government medical facilities. His sisters, who are doctors, have also sought access to him. 

Authorities, however, have maintained that medical facilities are available to Khan at Adiala Jail. 

This post was originally published on here. 

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett’s B’Yachad party held a security and foreign policy conference on Wednesday, where he outlined four “security concepts,” calling for them to be broken.

Israel will define Qatar as an enemy country, he said.

Israel will also insist on removing Qatari and Turkish influence from the Gaza Strip, coordinating with Egypt instead, he stated.

AI to become more important than nukes, Bennett says

“In the not-too-distant future, AI capabilities will be even more important than nuclear weapons,” Bennett said.

“Artificial intelligence is the next arms race of superpowers, and despite the current government’s lag in the last four years, we will not let Israel fall behind,” he stated.

Bennett also addressed threats from Iran and its regional proxies.

“If Hezbollah shoots at us, we will shoot at Iran. A strike by Iran’s proxies within Israel’s borders will result in retaliation within Iran’s borders,” he said.

Additionally, the approximately half-million illegal weapons circulating within Israel should be treated as a security threat, not a criminal one, he said. The IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) should declare places with such weapons as closed military areas until the weapons are removed, he added.

This post was originally published on here. 

Syria says the sharp increase in wheat production during the 2026 season could allow it to significantly reduce its reliance on imports and, at least as far as the Syrian Grain Establishment’s needs are concerned, potentially eliminate them altogether this season. 

Such a shift could ease pressure on the country’s limited foreign currency reserves and reduce one aspect of Syria’s direct economic dependence on Russia, a major supplier of wheat used in the country’s bread system for years. 

Purchases of domestically grown wheat by the Syrian Grain Establishment have reached about 2.7 million tons, exceeding the agency’s stated annual requirement of roughly 2.55 million tons. That has prompted officials to say the establishment no longer needs to sign new import contracts for the current season. 

But the announcement that imports are no longer needed raised new questions about what the claim of self-sufficiency actually means. On August 11, a new shipment of wheat arrived at the Port of Tartus through Pier 4. The identity of the importer and the original source of the wheat were not immediately clear, nor was it known whether the shipment was linked to a contract signed before the Grain Establishment announced that it had covered its requirements, or whether it was intended for needs outside the establishment’s purchases.  

The shipment does not necessarily contradict the establishment’s statements. It could be tied to an earlier contract, intended for strategic reserves, or consist of varieties and quantities not covered by domestic procurement. But its arrival highlights the need to distinguish between the Grain Establishment covering its own requirements and Syria as a whole ending wheat imports. 

The latest harvest follows a difficult 2025 agricultural season

The improvement in this year’s harvest follows an exceptionally difficult agricultural season in 2025, when drought caused wheat production to fall sharply and increased Syria’s need for imports. According to Agriculture Ministry data, wheat production that season stood at around 934,000 tons. 

For 2026, however, the ministry estimates a final production figure of more than 3 million tons, driven by improved rainfall and the return of large areas to cultivation, particularly in regions that have traditionally served as major centers of grain production. 

But the official figures raise a fundamental question: Does the Syrian Grain Establishment’s ability to meet its needs mean that Syria has actually regained wheat self-sufficiency? 

Economist Yafa Nawaf told The Media Line that the Grain Establishment’s purchases reaching roughly 2.7 million tons are not, by themselves, enough to conclude that the country has restored self-sufficiency, because that figure represents what the agency purchased from farmers rather than total national production or the country’s overall consumption. 

The Grain Establishment says its annual requirement is about 2.55 million tons. On that basis, Nawaf said, the agency can meet its own needs without importing wheat this season. 

The picture becomes more complicated, however, when those figures are compared with earlier estimates placing Syria’s total annual wheat consumption at around 4 million tons. 

Nawaf said the difference—about 1.45 million tons between the Grain Establishment’s stated requirement and the estimated national consumption—suggests that the two figures measure different things. 

“The first figure most likely refers to the quantities the government establishment needs to supply flour and bread through its own system, while the second includes the country’s overall consumption and other uses of wheat,” she said. “Therefore, the claim that imports are no longer needed may be accurate in terms of the Grain Establishment’s requirements for the 2026 season, but it is not sufficient on its own to prove that Syria has achieved full national self-sufficiency.” 

According to Nawaf, establishing self-sufficiency at the national level would require a clear wheat balance showing total production, existing stocks, consumption, quantities reserved for seed, losses, and volumes traded outside the government procurement system. 

That distinction is important because the Grain Establishment purchasing more than its own annual requirement does not necessarily mean that the country’s total domestic wheat supply covers every form of consumption. 

The surge should be interpreted cautiously, Nawaf says

The 2026 season nevertheless represents a dramatic change from the previous year. If production indeed surpasses 3 million tons after reaching only around 934,000 tons in 2025, wheat output has more than tripled in a single year. 

Nawaf said the surge should be interpreted cautiously because a substantial part of it resulted from improved rainfall and the return of large areas to cultivation, rather than solely from permanent structural improvements in Syria’s agricultural sector. 

Farmers’ ability to repeat current production levels will also depend on whether wheat remains economically viable. 

According to the Ministry of Economy and Industry, figures cited for the current season show that the wheat purchase price was set at about 46,000 new Syrian pounds per ton, with an additional bonus of 9,000 pounds, bringing the total return to roughly 55,000 pounds per ton. 

Nawaf noted, however, that a higher nominal purchasing price does not necessarily guarantee that wheat farming will remain profitable next season. Final production costs depend on the prices of seed, fertilizer, fuel, irrigation, harvesting, and transportation. 

That becomes particularly relevant in years with less rainfall, when farmers must rely more heavily on irrigation and absorb the additional costs. 

Nawaf said sustainably eliminating the need for wheat imports depends on more than one successful season. It requires continued support for producers, access to fertilizer, seed, and fuel at affordable prices, and investment in irrigation networks, dams, and storage capacity. 

Without those measures, she said, self-sufficiency could remain dependent on rainfall and fluctuate sharply from one agricultural season to the next. 

The importance of this year’s wheat season extends beyond food security to the finances of a country with limited access to foreign currency. 

Syrian political activist Mufida Ankair, who lives in Germany and follows changes in Russia’s presence in Syria, told The Media Line that Damascus’ ability to reduce or halt wheat imports could ease significant pressure on its foreign currency reserves. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization had estimated that Syria would need to import around 3 million tons of wheat during the 2025-2026 season after drought sharply reduced domestic production. 

At international prices of approximately $250 to $300 per ton, importing 3 million tons could cost between $750 million and $900 million, before shipping, insurance, and financing expenses. 

Ankair said replacing a large share of those imports with domestic production could save Syria hundreds of millions of dollars while also reducing its exposure to fluctuations in international commodity prices and disruptions in global supply chains. 

Reduced import requirements also carry broader implications for Damascus’ relationship with Moscow. During the war and its aftermath, Russia became a major wheat supplier to Syria, and grain shipments developed into part of a broader network of economic and political ties between the two countries. 

But Ankair cautioned against interpreting reduced reliance on Russian wheat as the beginning of an economic separation between Syria and Russia. Russia remains an important supplier to Syria in other sectors, particularly energy, she said, while commercial, military, and logistical ties between the two countries extend far beyond grain. 

“Reduced dependence on Russian wheat lessens one form of Syria’s direct reliance on Russia, but it does not mean that the economic relationship between the two countries has ended or fundamentally changed,” she said. 

This post was originally published on here. 

Malta has decided to recognize all Israeli travel documents, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced Wednesday following a discussion with his Maltese counterpart.

“This important step will enable all Israelis who wish to travel to beautiful Malta to do so,” said Sa’ar.

“Israel warmly welcomes this decision, and I thank Minister Chris Fearne for his efforts in making it possible.”

Israelis have, until now, been able to travel to the European nation with a passport. Now, Israelis with an alternative to a passport can also travel to Malta.

Malta was the one Schengen country that did not recognize Teudat Ma’avar

The Teudat Ma’avar – the Israeli Travel Document in Lieu of National Passport – is not automatically treated by every country as equivalent to an Israeli passport.

For years, Malta was the one Schengen country that did not recognize this Israeli travel document.

A report by Henley Global in January 2026, citing International Air Transport Association (IATA) data, said the Israeli Travel Document in Lieu of National Passport is accepted for visa-free entry by all Schengen Area member states except Malta.

The Jerusalem Post reached out to the Malta MOFA regarding the reason behind the change. 

This post was originally published on here. 

The government plan to populate the contentious area of E1, located between Ma’aleh Adumim and Jerusalem, moved one step closer to fruition this week, when Ma’aleh Adumim Mayor Guy Yifrach announced the launch of the area’s first 1,400 housing units.

“This is tremendous news for Ma’ale Adumim, and major news for the State of Israel as a whole,” said Yifrach in a statement on Tuesday announcing the upcoming marketing of the units.

The E1 corridor is comprised of some 12 square kilometers inside the jurisdictional boundaries of Maale Adumim, and any construction there would become part of the existing settlement city.

Plans approved by the Civil Administration’s Higher Planning Committee in August 2025 would see 3,412 housing units ultimately built in E1, which would increase Ma’ale Adumim’s population, already one of the largest  Jewish cities in the West Bank, by some 12,000 from its current 38,000.

Thanking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Yifrah said, “the construction of the E-1 neighborhood is vital to the future of Ma’ale Adumim, to its continued growth, expansion, and the strengthening of its position as a strong city in Israel.

“We have come a long way to reach this moment. There were obstacles, there were delays, and there were those who thought it would never happen. But we believed, we persevered, we took action, and we never
gave up.”

E1 construction faced decades of US opposition over West Bank location

Yifrach was referring to the decades-long opposition against building in the region by successive US administrations prior to US President Donald Trump, due to the area’s sensitive location that provides a corridor between the southern and northern West Bank.

Ma’aleh Adumim, some eight kilometers from Jerusalem, is in the national consensus of remaining part of Israel if an eventual Palestinian state is ever established. But E1 has proved far more contentious.

The plan to build the area was first developed by the Shamir government in 1991 and advanced by the Rabin government in the mid-1990s in an effort to create Israeli territorial contiguity around Jerusalem.

The plan was halted under the Rabin administration due to American objections, which have remained constant since then. 

There have been periodic attempts to revive the plan, including by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in 2004, but opposition from the US and the European Union has continued to shut down the efforts.

When Smotrich approved building on E1 last summer, he said it would provide the final nail in the coffin of aspirations for a Palestinian state.

“From the Palestinian perspective and that of the international community, this is a critical area. Without it, the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital is simply impossible,” he said at the time.

“Those around the world who try to recognize a Palestinian state will see our response on the ground – not with documents or declarations, but with facts: homes, roads, and Jewish families building their lives here. They will talk about a Palestinian dream – and we will continue to build a Jewish reality,” he said. “This reality buries the idea for good – there is nothing to recognize,” Smotrich added.

EU foreign policy chief Kallas says E1 plan would divide West Bank

Following Smotrich’s announcement, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that the E1 plan undermines the two-state solution, and, if implemented, would “permanently cut the geographical and territorial contiguity between occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank and sever the connection between the northern and southern West
Bank.”

In March 2025, the security cabinet approved the building of a new road which would connect the Palestinian villages of a-Za’im and al-Eizariya near Ma’aleh Adumim and would provide an alternative solution for Palestinians to drive between the northern and southern West Bank.

Detractors say that the road will not be enough to prevent Israel from effectively blocking a Palestinian state from having any contiguity. Undeterred, Yifrah lauded the upcoming campaign to sell the first homes in E1.

The first 1,400 housing units are only the beginning,” he said. “We will continue to build, develop, expand, and move Ma’ale Adumim forward.”

This post was originally published on here. 

Frank Beard, the longtime drummer for the rock group ZZ Top, has died at the age of 77, the band said on Tuesday.

Beard died in hospice care at his ranch in Richmond, Texas, with family members at his side, according to the group’s statement.

His cause of death was not disclosed.

Beard was the drummer of the band known for hits such as “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Legs” for 56 years. The trio of Beard, guitarist Billy Gibbons, and bassist Dusty Hill was among the most enduring lineups in music history. They first played together in 1970 and continued until Hill’s death in 2021, when Elwood Francis joined the group.

“Today, Elwood and I lost a great friend and collaborator, and the world lost one of the most naturally innovative drummers and a great and true son of Texas,” Gibbons said in a statement. “His signature backbeat was key to keeping ZZ on top. The band of which he was a part for six decades is going to keep on keeping on as he had wished.”

ZZ Top cancels several performances following loss of team member

The band said it would cancel Tuesday’s show in Salt Lake City and Wednesday’s performance in Colorado Springs but return to the stage in Austin, Texas, this weekend.

ZZ Top gained fans in the 1980s as one of the bands showcased on MTV during the heyday of music videos. The group became known for the flowing beards of its members, though drummer Beard was seen mostly clean-shaven.

The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

“All I have to say is that most of my life has been a pleasant surprise, and so is this. Thank you,” Beard said at the induction ceremony.

This post was originally published on here. 

At least 21 people died and four others were injured in a head-on collision between a bus and a truck in the BR 373 road in the state of Parana, Brazil, the road operator said on Wednesday in an X post.

This is a developing story.

This post was originally published on here. 

MK Tally Gotliv attacked Benjamin Netanyahu’s inner circle following the Likud primary results, criticized the small number of women on the party list, and called on the Prime Minister to reserve spots for additional female candidates. At the same time, she declared, “I should be the justice minister” in an interview on 103FM on Wednesday.

“I have no doubt that thanks to the blessings of my special-needs daughter, I succeeded like David against Goliath. This is her victory, thanks to her. I reached 12th place in the primaries. There were backroom deals against me – all the local authority heads, all the labor unions. It was said out loud,” she said with visible emotion.

Regarding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s inner circle, she stated: “I agree with Guy Levi that the prime minister did not intervene; it was his surroundings. I don’t bow my head to anyone. No one gives me orders, with all due respect: those surrounding the prime minister don’t understand,” she said.

“I am not naming names; I am telling the prime minister’s circle: be careful not to cause him to fail.”

“You are not the prime minister; maybe it went to your head a bit. You really aren’t,” MK Gotliv added. “I am here, and thank God, the people have spoken.”

MK Gotliv criticizes lack of women in Likud list

“You want a poster-child woman, as the song goes,” she said regarding the low representation of women on the list.

“What kind of woman is capable of taking so much? In principle, you enter a party with primaries. Why would a career woman want to enter this? It’s hard to remember that these are just background noises. You need immense resilience,” she said.

Later, she called on Netanyahu to intervene in the composition of the party list. “With all due respect to names and reserved spots, I tell the prime minister: there is no such thing as having only two women up to the 20th spot. Bring back Keti Shitrit and May [Golan]; bring back Osnat Zohar, who was elected and deserves a reserved spot. Bring back strong women who are not tokens.”

Regarding her personal campaign, she said: “I was always ranked high, and I don’t let my complexities as a woman affect me. I will condition myself to push through the hardship,” she said. “Failure isn’t easy, heartbreaks aren’t easy, but from heartbreaks, you only grow.”

Dismisses claims of organized haredi voting harming her position

Gotliv dismissed the claim that organized haredi (ultra-Orthodox) voting harmed her. “You have 76,000 voters, and out of those, there are 3,000 haredim, and many haredim voted for me personally,” she said.

“At Israel Aerospace Industries, there are registered Likud members who don’t necessarily vote Likud, and when they come, they receive the designated slip,” she added.

“It’s still democratic if you say the slip is acceptable to you, if you decide you are allowed to be a puppet,” she said, regarding organized voting mechanisms.

When asked about the role she is aiming for, she answered, “It’s not what I would want; it’s what I should be.”

“I should be the Justice Minister. Unlike bombastic declarations, my familiarity with the judicial system runs so deep. I pose a threat to the senior legal junta, and you saw what I did with my knowledge,” she insisted.

“With the persecution I experienced, at least I brought [Attorney-General Gali] Baharav-Miara, who pursued me, and her colleagues to their knees,” she added.

“I am the Shimon Peres of female candidates. I failed time after time with a sea of heartbreaks, so what happened? Don’t be afraid to shatter glass ceilings. Failure is not easy, but failures don’t define you – they only propel you forward. To every woman out there: you are responsible for shattering glass ceilings,” she said.

This post was originally published on here. 

The Islamic Republic is establishing a new prosecutor’s office for “moral security” in Tehran to handle “violations and crimes against public morality,” including hijab non-compliance and social media posts critical of the regime, according to recordings released by Iranian media of Tehran Prosecutor Ali Salehi speaking at a meeting of the judiciary’s High Council.

He said the office’s first actions will include taking measures against stores selling “unconventional clothing” and monitoring cyberspace.

The office will reportedly be staffed by 12 judges.

Announcement comes amid the renewed presence of morality police

BBC Persian reported that the announcement comes amid the renewed presence of morality police and heightened street harassment of women perceived to be violating Iran’s compulsory dress code, including women seen with their hair uncovered or wearing short sleeves.

Salehi alleged the office had already helped in the arrest of two influencers who, according to him, had “mocked” the Arbaeen ceremonies (a religious ceremony marking the 40th day of mourning for Imam Hussein) online.

“Today, the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Moral Security in Tehran is seriously following up on issues and cases in this area with its concerned judges; the monitoring unit located in this prosecutor’s office is also continuously reviewing content published in cyberspace so that legal action can be taken against those who publish immoral content,” he said. “In this regard, recently, following the publication of an offensive video regarding the Arbaeen ceremony of Husseini in cyberspace by a woman and a man, the issue was immediately placed on the agenda of the Tehran Prosecutor’s Office, and by order of the judicial authority, their page in cyberspace was blocked, and the defendants were arrested and detained.”

Social media users were made to publish apology videos on their accounts

An animal-rights influencer was reportedly arrested for using a religious song, “Let’s Go to Najaf,” which had been associated with the ceremonies, in a video of herself feeding stray dogs, according to BBC Persian.

Notably, several social media users were made to publish apology videos on their accounts for posts relating to support for the exiled crown prince or Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman who was murdered in 2022 after being abducted by the morality police for wearing the hijab incorrectly.

Despite Salehi’s comments, the Iranian legal network Dadbaan insisted in a statement that “merely publishing content in cyberspace or choosing a type of attire cannot, without the existence of explicit legal provisions and the fulfillment of the elements of a crime, serve as the basis for detention, blocking accounts, or imposing restrictions on citizens. The legal principle of the legality of crimes and punishments also requires that vague titles such as ‘moral security’ not be turned into tools for expanding the scope of criminal intervention in private life and freedom of expression.

“Crackdowns on attire, lifestyle, business activities, and published content in cyberspace have previously become one of the methods of exerting social pressure on citizens. The expansion of constant monitoring and judicial action in this area signals the transformation of the criminal justice system into a tool for controlling everyday behaviors and social suppression, further restricting privacy and individual freedoms.” 

This post was originally published on here. 

Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party has taken a one-seat lead over Likud, emerging as the largest party with 24 seats following Monday’s Likud primaries, according to a KAN News poll published Wednesday.

Likud remained in second place with 23 seats, followed by Naftali Bennett’s B’Yachad party in third with 14 seats.

Despite the shifts in individual party strength, the overall bloc picture remains unchanged from the previous poll. The current coalition would win 52 seats, compared with 57 for the opposing bloc, while the Arab parties would retain a combined 11 seats.

Likud’s primaries were more contentious and competitive than in previous years, following changes that expanded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s control over the party’s Knesset slate. Last month, the Likud Central Committee approved a controversial measure granting Netanyahu the authority to determine eight of the first 30 slots on the party list.

Energy Minister Eli Cohen secured the top spot on Likud’s Knesset slate, followed by Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Transportation Minister Miri Regev, and coalition chairman Ofir Katz in second through fifth place.

Forty-four percent say Likud’s primary list is no different from previous slate

The poll also asked respondents whether the Likud list elected in the primaries was better or worse than the party’s previous Knesset list. Forty-four percent said there was no difference between the two, while 24% said they did not know.

Eighteen percent said the new list was better, compared with 14% who said it was worse. Among respondents who intend to vote for Likud in the upcoming election, 41% said the new list was better than its predecessor.

The poll also asked whether Religious Zionist Party chairman Bezalel Smotrich should be given a reserved spot on the Likud list. A majority of 62% opposed the move, while 14% supported reserving a place for him and 24% said they did not know.

Democrats win 10 seats as smaller parties remain largely stable

For the rest of the slate, the poll also showed that the Democrats, led by Yair Golan, would win 10 seats, followed by Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit and Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu with nine seats each. United Torah Judaism, led by Yitzhak Goldknopf, would receive eight seats, while Arye Deri’s Shas would win seven.

Hadash-Ta’al, led by Yosef Jabareen and Ahmad Tibi, would remain stable at six seats, while Mansour Abbas’s Ra’am would receive five. Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party would gain one seat compared with the previous poll, bringing it to five.

Parties currently polling below the electoral threshold include the Zionist Home-
The Reservists party, which fell by 0.1 percentage points from the previous poll to 2.9%, followed by Balad, led by Sami Abu Shehadeh, at 2.1%, the Unity party of Gilad Erdan and Yuli Edelstein at 1.6%, and Benny Gantz’s Blue and White at 1.4%.

The poll was conducted on August 18, 2026, by the Kantar Institute. A total of 2,327 people were invited to participate in the poll, of whom 558 men and women aged 18 and over actually responded. The poll was conducted using an online sample and also included the Arab sector. The sampling error is ±4.2%.

Keshet Neev, Shir Perets, Tal Spungin, and Avi Solomon contributed to this report.

This post was originally published on here. 

Prominent Israeli businessman and philanthropist Dr. Shmuel Harlap passed away Tuesday night at his home at the age of 82, surrounded by his family.

Harlap was one of the most prominent and influential business figures in Israel as chairman of Colmobil, an importer of Mercedes, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Jaecoo, Omoda, and ORA.

He was a tech investor, philanthropist, and marathon runner. “His story is an extraordinary one in the local business landscape, blending the worlds of academia and philosophy, business management, groundbreaking tech investments, writing on social and economic affairs, and his identity as a marathoner and a man of giving,” his family stated.

Born in 1944, Harlap held a Ph.D. in philosophy from Harvard University and earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he also taught in the late 1970s.

In the early 1980s, Shmuel joined the leadership of the family business. Initially alongside his brother Yoav, and later with his son Asaf, he served as active chairman, steering Colmobil’s expansion. The acquisition of the Mitsubishi franchise in 1988 and Hyundai in 1994 transformed the company from a small auto importer into the largest player in the market, now also operating in energy, recycling, and real estate.

A Key Early Investor in Mobileye

Harlap was one of the earliest investors in Mobileye, helping the company off the ground and connecting it with major global automaker groups. When Intel acquired the company, his stake was valued at about $1 billion. He subsequently invested in additional companies, including the Israeli eVTOL (“flying car”) developer AIR.

In recent years, alongside his wife Anat, he stood behind some of the largest and most significant philanthropic donations made in Israel to science and medicine. In 2023, he donated 120 cars to residents evacuated from communities near the Gaza border following October 7. In 2025, the couple donated $10 million to the Weizmann Institute of Science after Iranian missile strikes severely damaged the institute.

Shortly thereafter, Anat and Shmuel Harlap announced a donation of approximately 600 million NIS to Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Campus, Petah Tikva – the largest single donation ever made to the Israeli healthcare system. The funds are designated for constructing a new heart and brain medical center named “Hope Tower” (Migdal HaTikva). The couple intentionally chose not to name the tower after themselves, reflecting a philanthropic philosophy centered on the public good rather than the donors. Inspired by their move, several other donors significantly increased their contributions to Israeli healthcare.

Alongside business and philanthropy, Harlap was a prolific writer and an independent public voice. Over the years, he published dozens of articles and op-eds in the Israeli media covering economic, social, political, and technological issues. His writing drew from a unique combination of academic rigor and rich business experience, offering a broad vision for Israel’s future and the key forces shaping Israeli reality.

Harlap was also committed to physical fitness and competitive sports, completing three full marathons – his first in New York at age 60 – and competing in the European Indoor Rowing Championships.

“Shmuel was the intellectual among the importers – a wise, broad-minded man who was also deeply involved in public commentary. He was an exceptional competitor, tough yet a true gentleman. He left a lasting impression on the Hyundai Group leadership as well. In recent years, he stepped back for the younger generation and was deeply concerned about the country’s future. I will miss him; people like him won’t come around again. It’s a real pang in the heart. I wish his son Asaf the best in taking the business forward,” fellow automobile importer and businessman Rami Ungar (importer of Kia, KGM, and Seres) told Walla.

Shmuel Harlap is survived by his wife Anat, his children Asaf and Goni, and seven grandchildren.

This post was originally published on here. 

Think of Floridian politics, and one does not often evoke the word “sane.” The state, which helped propel George W. Bush to the presidency in 2000 after a major recount dispute, has seen its fair share of political chaos over the years.

Tuesday’s primaries offered plenty of evidence for why. In one congressional district, social-media provocateur Dan Bilzerian ran a campaign in which he spoke openly of a “Jewish problem,” called his Jewish opponent a “fat Jew,” and released a music video invoking Adolf Hitler in approving terms. Elsewhere, Republican Rep. Cory Mills, already facing House ethics investigations and allegations of sexual misconduct that he denies, was thrown out by his own party.

Amid the circus, something rather sensible happened

Then, amid the circus, something rather sensible happened – Bilzerian was crushed in an embarrassing defeat, which hopefully puts an end to any future political aspirations for the social media personality.

Rep. Randy Fine, the Jewish Republican incumbent in Florida’s 6th Congressional District, took nearly 57% of the vote, while Bilzerian managed less than 19%.

Fine is hardly a poster boy for moderation – some of his own rhetoric about Muslims and Palestinians has repeatedly crossed lines and attracted criticism from both parties – but this was not a competition for civility. Voters were given the chance to vote for a candidate who had made unambiguous antisemitism and anti-Israel views a central part of his political identity, and Florida’s voters acted accordingly and rejected him overwhelmingly.

Fine was not the only pro-Israel victor on Tuesday night. Across the state and across the political divide, prominent Jewish incumbents with strong records of support for Israel survived.

Democratic Rep. Lois Frankel took around three-quarters of the vote in her primary for the 23rd congressional district. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Florida’s first Jewish congresswoman, won a difficult race in unfamiliar territory (20th district) after redistricting dismantled her old seat. Her leading ideological challenger, Elijah Manley, had attacked her support for Israel and the backing she has received from AIPAC. Wasserman Schultz won with just under half the vote; Manley finished far behind with less than 15% of the vote.

Jared Moskowitz also survived a challenge from the Democratic Left. His opponent, Oliver Larkin, was backed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and opposed US military aid to Israel. Moskowitz, a Jewish Democrat and one of Israel’s more outspoken supporters in his party, won with roughly 63% of the vote.

Hostility toward Israel has become a badge of political identity on the Left

These are very different politicians from across the political spectrum campaigning on different platforms, but at a time when antisemitism has become increasingly brazen on parts of the American Right, while hostility toward Israel has become a badge of political identity among parts of the progressive Left, Florida voters were presented with several unusually clear tests. In race after race, candidates who believed attacking Jews, Israel, AIPAC-funding or the pro-Israel establishment would carry them to victory came up short.

The same picture extended to the race for governor.

Florida, the third-most populous state in America with more than 23 million residents, will choose in November between Republican Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly. They disagree sharply on Donald Trump, Iran, and much else, but both are supporters of Israel.

In a state whose relationship with Israel has become unusually close under Governor Ron DeSantis, this would be a positive and important continuation. Whoever replaces him will come from a very different political background, but neither major party has nominated a candidate seeking to tear that relationship up.

There were other interesting election results from Tuesday night in Florida too. Democratic socialist Angie Nixon’s surprise victory over Alex Vindman in the Senate primary reminded us that Florida has not suddenly or completely rejected the progressive Left.

But Vindman’s defeat had more to do with resources and organizing than with Israel. He sat on a $16 million war chest but spent just $2.2 million on ads, leaving him flat-footed against Nixon’s grassroots, DSA-backed campaign — the same playbook that has toppled establishment favorites in Democratic primaries elsewhere this cycle.

On Tuesday, Floridians were offered unequivocal antisemitism on the Right, efforts to turn hostility toward Israel into an electoral weapon on the Left, and scandal and political theater almost everywhere in between. For once, sanity was allowed to reign supreme.

This post was originally published on here. 

Turkey firmly rejected on Wednesday what it called “untenable allegations” by Israel regarding its military position in Syria, after Israel bombed a Syrian air base near the Turkish border and said Syria was on the verge of permitting Turkish troops to deploy there.

Israel carried out airstrikes against the Abu al-Duhur base near Aleppo on Tuesday, drawing condemnation from Turkey and criticism from a US envoy who called the attack an “unnecessary escalation.”

In a statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said late on Tuesday that Syria was on the verge of violating a “status quo agreed with Israel in security matters” by allowing Turkish troops to deploy at the airbase, adding that such a deployment would threaten Israel’s security and it would not tolerate this.

The untenable allegations put forward by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office are intended to legitimise Israel’s unlawful airstrikes targeting Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The imputations voiced stem from Netanyahu’s intent to pursue expansionist and…

— Republic of Türkiye Directorate of Communications (@Communications) August 19, 2026

In response, Turkey’s presidency said the “imputations” from Netanyahu’s office stemmed from his intention to pursue “expansionist and destabilizing policies” ahead of elections in Israel, adding that lasting regional peace could only be achieved if Israel respected international law and abandoned its “aggressive and coercive policies.”

“The untenable allegations put forward by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office are intended to legitimize Israel’s unlawful airstrikes targeting Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” it said on X, without explicitly referring to any potential deployment plans.

“Turkey will resolutely continue to cooperate with the Syrian Government on a legitimate basis for the establishment of peace, stability, and prosperity in Syria, and will never allow the destabilization of Syria.”

Israel, Turkey tensions escalate over competing military presence in Syria

The strikes on Tuesday follow worsening security tensions between Israel and Turkey and increasingly sharp rhetoric between the two countries over Syria, where both countries’ militaries are active.

Turkey, which has NATO’s second-largest army and has emerged as one of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s main allies, accuses Israel of trying to destabilize Syria and undermine its new administration, repeatedly calling for international pressure and measures on Israel to respect Syria’s territorial integrity.

Ankara has been training Syria’s army, helping it rebuild its state institutions and infrastructure, and providing military and diplomatic support.

US seeks expanded coordination to avoid Israel, Turkey incidents in Syria

Last year, Turkey and Israel, also sharply at odds over the war in Gaza, established a line of communication to avoid any incidents in Syria.

Tom Barrack, the US special presidential envoy for Syria and Iraq, told Reuters after the strikes on Tuesday that Washington was working to establish a deconfliction mechanism among Israel, Turkey and Syria, and added the US already facilitates an information-sharing and dialog mechanism among the parties.

This post was originally published on here. 

Watch this episode without interruptions.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

The Jerusalem Post’s new culture program, The Jerusalem Playlist, launched this week with a look at Israeli cinema, Jewish identity in France, and an unusual Jerusalem art exhibition featuring artists on the autism spectrum.

The program, produced by Gadi Zaig, and hosted by Jerusalem Post culture writer and film critic Hannah Brown and social media manager Ezra Taylor, opened with a discussion on Our Loves, the latest film by veteran Israeli director Avi Nesher, which is set to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The drama begins on October 6, 2023, following several characters who believe they are experiencing the worst day of their lives before the events of October 7 transform their stories. Brown said the film differs from earlier productions about the massacre by introducing fictionalized characters grounded in extensive research rather than recreating specific individuals’ experiences.

International producers Fox Entertainment and Access Entertainment have joined the project, giving the film a path toward theatrical distribution outside Israel, including in the US and Europe.

Looking at French Jewish cinema as well

The episode also examined Just an Illusion, a French Jewish film by directing partners Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache. The semi-autobiographical story follows a Jewish boy growing up in a Mizrahi family in 1980s Paris while preparing for his bar mitzvah and navigating family life, friendships, and questions of French, Jewish, Moroccan, and Algerian identity.

The film has sold around two million tickets in France and recently opened in Israel, with a US release expected later this year.

Brown also discussed Feelings in Between, an exhibition at the Jerusalem Theater featuring collaborative works by artists on the autism spectrum, including her son. The exhibition, which runs through the end of August, challenges assumptions about autism by showing artists choosing to create works together.

This post was originally published on here. 

The United Arab Emirates has suspended “all trade, commercial exchange and financial transactions with Iran” after the Islamic Republic attacked a number of UAE-owned tankers and rejected new talks with the United States, the UAE’s Foreign Ministry announced late on Monday night.

Only shortly before the UAE Foreign Ministry’s Director of Strategic Communications Afra Al Hameli made the statement, Iran fired two missiles toward the UAE, one of which fell within Emirati territorial waters while the second landed outside its territory.

The decision follows a spate of attacks on UAE-owned tankers and Tehran’s rejection of talks with the US. Shortly before the statement, Iran fired two missiles at the UAE. One landed in Emirati territorial waters, while the second landed outside its territory.

Iranian FM denied that Iran was behind the launches

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei on Tuesday denied that Iran was behind the launches, claiming, according to state media, that the “allegation runs counter to the principle of good-neighborliness and undermines ongoing efforts to strengthen trust among regional countries and prevent a further escalation of insecurity in the region.”

Despite Baghaei’s comment, the Islamic Republic has launched numerous attacks on countries across the Middle East since February 28, when the US and Israel attacked the Islamic Republic. According to The National, at least a dozen people have been killed in the UAE during the conflict and more than 200 injured.

“The United Arab Emirates rejects all claims regarding the status of its economic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, while reaffirming its steadfast commitment to dialogue, co-operation and regional integration as essential means to enhance peace, stability, and prosperity in the region,” Hameli said in a statement posted on X. 

This post was originally published on here. 

Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara on Wednesday proposed postponing the decision to establish a commission of inquiry into the October 7 Massacre until a new government is formed.

She said the election period would get in the way of a decision and noted that the current government had not established one anyway.

Following her statement, the Movement for Quality Government decried the decision, stating, “It is impossible to determine that a state commission of inquiry is essential for uncovering the truth, to warn that the delay may already cause harm to the investigation, and in the same breath propose postponing it again.”

The next government may not be formed for many months, more than three years after the October 7 disaster. The truth cannot wait for the political quagmire. Every day that passes makes it more difficult to uncover the truth, draw lessons, and determine responsibility for the gravest failure in the country’s history.”

Shortly after the Knesset’s dissolution in July, the government informed the High Court of Justice that it had been unable to complete legislation establishing its proposed commission of inquiry into the October 7 massacre “due to the constraints of the Knesset’s schedule,” and that the lawmakers had left for the election recess.

Gov’t previously stated commission proposal would be revived next term

At the time, the government told the court it would revive the proposal after the October 27 election, while asking the court to dismiss petitions seeking a state commission of inquiry and leave the issue to the voters.

Since the October 7 massacre, the subject of a commission of inquiry into the events has reached the Knesset floor several times, including just two weeks before the Knesset’s dissolution, when the plenum passed in its first reading a coalition bill seeking to establish a politically appointed investigative committee to probe government failures during the October 7 massacre.

Majority of Israeli society supports commission of inquiry into October 7 massacre

A Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) Israeli Society Index published in May revealed that nearly two-thirds of Israelis (63%) support the immediate establishment of a commission of inquiry into the October 7 massacre, and the position is shared by a majority in both the Jewish (62%) and Arab (67%) sectors.

In general, some 15% of Israelis believe that forming the committee should be delayed until the war has fully ended, while even fewer (11%) believe that the decision on when to establish the committee should be left up to the government’s discretion.

Regarding the type of inquiry committee to form, 46% of respondents prefer a state commission of inquiry, while  40% prefer a national inquiry committee.

Sarah Ben-Nun and Keshet Neev contributed to this report.

This post was originally published on here. 

Israeli authorities detained the Palestinian Authority’s Jerusalem Affairs Minister, Ashraf Hassan Abbas al-Awar, at his home in the Silwan neighborhood in east Jerusalem on Wednesday morning, the PA’s official news agency WAFA reported.

Awar was taken for questioning, according to the reports.

The reasoning behind the detention is unclear, and The Jerusalem Post reached out to the IDF and Israel Police for confirmation.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa appointed Awar as Jerusalem Affairs Minister in 2024.

This is a developing story.

This post was originally published on here. 

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited a village in northern Israel on Tuesday and was met with insults and ridicule from local residents.

Ben-Gvir toured the streets of Basmat Tabun accompanied by heavy security and faced a barrage of curses and harsh criticism from residents over his performance.

“You are making a fool of yourself,” residents shouted at him. “You’re a clown. Everyone is laughing at you. You are a champion of failure. They didn’t even give you a visa to the United States.” Residents heard in a video even called the minister a “terrorist,” saying, “A minister convicted of terrorism, you’re a terrorist. Go to a mental institution – you shouldn’t be here. You incite terror.”

The video published Tuesday came against the backdrop of two other recent incidents in which the Arab public voiced harsh criticism against Ben-Gvir and Israel Police.

Earlier this week, residents of Umm al-Fahm claimed that Israeli police forces raided a wedding in the city and ordered guests to lie on the floor. Video footage from the incident shows police officers with drawn weapons walking among guests lying on the ground.

Wedding interruptions by police called ‘political stunts’

The police explained that “the activity documented in the video was conducted following suspicion of weapons use during a wedding.” They further stated: “Accordingly, police forces and officers operated at the scene to inspect suspicions and locate weapons.”

Dr. Yousef Jabareen, chairman of Hadash and a resident of Umm al-Fahm, attacked Ben-Gvir following the incident: “I explicitly accuse Ben Gvir of exploiting his authority to harm and persecute the Arab public, because it serves him in his election campaign.”

In another incident over the weekend, police detained a bride and groom from the south for questioning after claiming their wedding convoy disrupted traffic.

The couple claimed that due to the detention, they arrived late to their own wedding and some guests had already left. The groom and his father pointed the finger at Ben-Gvir, claiming he “used them for a political stunt.”

Ben-Gvir, for his part, responded to the wedding convoy incident: “We are putting an end to wild wedding convoys in the Negev and shooting at weddings that endanger human lives. They will keep babbling, and I will keep working.”

This post was originally published on here.