All News (Page 99)

The United States deployed a B-1 long-range bomber to strike Iran on Tuesday, in a significant escalation of its attacks since the renewal of the conflict twelve days ago, sources told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.

The first strike using the bomber was conducted on Tuesday. 

An Axios report published earlier on Thursday noted the deployed B-1 began its mission from a base in the United Kingdom. Its movements were tracked online via plane-tracking websites, but its exact target is unknown. This comes shortly after Bloomberg News reported that newly sworn-in British Prime Minister Andy Burnham approved the use of British bases for attacks by the United States against Iran. 

Using B-1 bombers, which can carry two dozen 2,000-lb. bombs or dozens of cruise missiles, signaled a significant escalation and expansion of the US military campaign, per Axios. 

US Central Command (CENTCOM) did not mention the B-1 fighter in a statement regarding overnight strikes against Iran.

The US conducted several B-1 missions between February and April during Operation Epic Fury, hitting missile bases, command centers, weapons storage facilities, and air defense systems. CENTCOM confirmed this in early March, with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warning “B-2s, B-52s, B-1s, Predator drones, [and fighter jets] controlling the skies and selecting targets” could become the new normal for Iran.

Trump vows to destroy Iranian infrastructure in response to Hormuz aggression

The latest report of B-1 fighter use follows a Wall Street Journal report that US President Donald Trump is considering expanding attacks on Iran, with fighter jets positioned across the Middle East and bombers placed on high alert.

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump threatened that the US will strike Iranian bridges and power plants in retaliation for every time Iran fires on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

“The US will bomb and destroy one bridge or power plant, including those located next to, or in, the capital city of Tehran,” Trump said.

This will happen “from this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz,” he stated.

Tobias Holcman, Leo Feierberg Better, and James Genn contributed to this report.

Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli called on Thursday for the immediate closure of the Turkish Consulate in Jerusalem after the release of a new strategic study alleging that Ankara is pursuing a long-term campaign to expand its influence in the city through political, civil, and ideological channels while supporting Hamas.

The report, published by the Jerusalem Center for Applied Policy (JCAP), is titled Turkey‘s Phased Plan to Conquer Jerusalem: Neo-Ottoman Ambitions and the Muslim Brotherhood Doctrine. It argues that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan views Jerusalem as a central strategic objective within a broader regional vision to restore Turkish influence across the Middle East.

According to the study, Turkey is simultaneously advancing its interests on several fronts, including expanding its presence in Jerusalem through cultural institutions, nonprofit organizations, academic scholarships, social initiatives, and economic assistance. The report also claims Ankara is strengthening its position in the Gaza Strip, entrenching its military presence in northern Syria, and increasing its involvement in Lebanon as part of what it describes as a unified regional strategy.

A central finding of the report focuses on Turkey’s relationship with Hamas. According to the authors, Ankara provides the terrorist organization with political and semi-official operating space, allows senior Hamas officials to work from Turkish territory, and maintains coordination between Hamas leaders and Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT).

The report further alleges that Turkey seeks to strengthen Hamas‘s influence in Jerusalem and the West Bank through a network of local organizations and associations.

The study also argues that Turkey’s long-term strategy is based on a scenario in which Hamas and the Palestinian Authority reconcile, leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. According to the report’s authors, such a development could pave the way for Turkey to be invited to serve as a patron of the city and its holy sites, potentially providing Ankara with both diplomatic and military influence in Jerusalem.

The report also examines Turkey’s military posture elsewhere in the region. It says Ankara already maintains a significant military presence in northern Syria and is seeking to expand its role in Lebanon by portraying IDF operations there as a threat to Turkish interests, thereby laying the groundwork for possible future military involvement. In Gaza, the study identifies what it describes as continued Turkish efforts to deepen ties with Hamas and expand its regional influence.

Study shows Turkish consulate encourages terrorism

A separate section of the report focuses on the Turkish Consulate in Jerusalem, which the researchers describe as a central hub for advancing Turkish policy in the city. According to the study, the consulate works closely with the Palestinian Authority, encourages the activities of Islamist organizations and local associations, and helps build long-term influence infrastructure in Jerusalem.

Responding to the findings, Chikli said there was no justification for allowing the diplomatic mission to continue operating.

“There is no place for the continued operation of a diplomatic body that acts against Israel’s sovereignty in Jerusalem and, in practice, advances the interests of Hamas and the Turkish regime,” he said.

Authors argue Israel must formulate strategy to counter Turkish influence

The report’s authors conclude that the challenge posed by Turkey extends beyond political rhetoric and encompasses ideological, economic, civil, and security activities designed to establish long-term influence in Jerusalem and its surrounding areas. They argue that Israel should formulate a comprehensive diplomatic and strategic response to curb Turkey’s expanding involvement and its influence over Palestinian and regional power centers.

Chikli reiterated his call at the conclusion of the event, saying, “In light of this study, I once again call for the closure of the Turkish Consulate and the removal of every Turkish government presence, including state-run television channels.”

A 29-year-old Nazareth man was indicted on Thursday after prosecutors alleged that he repeatedly tried to contact Hamas and sought the terrorist group’s help to attack National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Muhammad Awad was charged in the Nazareth District Court with two counts of contact with a foreign agent, obtaining instructions for a terrorist act, unlawful possession of ammunition and obstruction of justice. He has been in custody since June 28.

Awad was not charged with attempted murder or attempting to carry out a terrorist attack; the alleged plan against Ben-Gvir is part of the factual basis for the four charges filed against him.

According to the indictment, Awad became interested in Hamas after viewing material connected to the October 7 massacre. He allegedly began regularly consuming Hamas content online and decided that he wanted to join the organization and act on its behalf from within Israel.

In 2025, he allegedly emailed an address he found through a Hamas Telegram channel in an attempt to make contact. He later deleted the message, prosecutors said. Hamas did not respond.

Awad attempted to contact Hamas, researched explosives

During the same period, Awad allegedly researched missiles, explosive mechanisms, and methods of constructing weapons. Prosecutors said he watched online videos explaining how ballistic missiles operate and how an object with a similar detonation mechanism could be built.

The terrorism-instruction charge is based on material he allegedly studied online. The indictment does not allege that Hamas trained him or provided him with instructions.

Awad later allegedly considered attacking Ben-Gvir using either an explosive drone that could follow him and detonate nearby or a remotely controlled guided missile.

He planned models of both devices and searched for materials to build them, according to the indictment. He eventually concluded that he did not have the necessary resources and stopped trying to construct the models, although he allegedly continued researching the subject.

In March, Awad allegedly contacted Hamas again, this time seeking resources to advance the plan against Ben-Gvir. He again received no response.

Prosecutors said Awad also possessed several rounds of 9mm and 5.56mm ammunition. The obstruction charge relates to steps he allegedly took to conceal his activity, including deleting material and using a virtual private network to hide parts of his browsing history.

Ben-Gvir calls Awad a ‘vile terrorist’

The prosecution asked the court to keep Awad in custody until the end of proceedings. It said the evidence included a detailed confession, information extracted from his phones and ammunition seized from his home.

The Shin Bet and Israel Police announced Awad’s arrest earlier this week, saying he was suspected of trying to enlist in Hamas, obtain resources for terrorist activity and attack a serving government minister. The indictment identified that minister as Ben-Gvir.

“The indictment filed against the vile terrorist who planned to murder me only strengthens my resolve to continue on the path I have taken as national security minister: an iron fist against terrorism, determination and strength,” Ben-Gvir said.

Ben-Gvir also said this was the ninth time terrorist organizations had tried to target him. He did not provide evidence supporting that claim, and it is not substantiated in the indictment, detention request or police announcement.

The government is considering a total ban on the use of drones in Israeli airspace amid growing fears of a potential Iranian attack against the Jewish state, N12 News reported on Saturday.

The report cited a recent Security Cabinet meeting at which the issue was discussed, with the defense establishment’s opinion relayed to all Knesset ministers.

The consideration of a total ban is due to the lack of effective counter-drone technologies in the country, N12 reported, with concerns that an Iranian or Hezbollah attack would involve an increased use of drones.

Given the private use of drones for civilian purposes, such as photography, the government is carefully considering its options prior to making a final decision on the matter, according to N12.

Iranian drones have caused significant damage to targets across the Middle East in recent weeks as the conflict between the United States and Iran grows more intense, with US President Donald Trump reportedly considering an increase in strikes against the Islamic regime.

On Wednesday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to have struck US-linked targets in Bahrain with explosive drones, according to the IRGC-run Fars News Agency.

The terror group further claimed responsibility for an attack on Jordanian air bases that same day.

Iran boasts tripled drone production amid war with US

On July 11, acting Iranian Defense Minister Brig.-Gen. Majid Ebn al-Reza claimed the Islamic Republic had tripled its production of drones, saying in an X/Twitter post that advanced technological investments “constitute the most important pillar of the country’s defense might.”

Reza further claimed that Iranian drone operations had helped the country “identify the enemy’s weak points.”

In June, the Defense Ministry reported progress in the fight against Hezbollah drones from Lebanon, though defense officials noted that successful drone interception efforts remain at around 50%.

“This is not exciting news, but on the other hand it is better than nothing,” a security official said at the time. “We will learn lessons and improve.” 

The officials described recent developments in energy-based weapons, such as Iron Beam, as showing greater long-term promise against drones than conventional explosive weapons, like Iron Dome.

James Genn, Danielle Greyman-Kennard, and Amir Bohbot contributed to this report.

MK Sharren Haskel alleged in a sworn affidavit that members of the New Hope-United Right faction were required to film themselves voting for Michael Rabello as state comptroller and show the footage to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as proof of how they voted.

The claim conflicts with the position presented by the Likud during the legal proceedings over Rabello’s election. It was not, however, submitted in that case.

Haskel signed the affidavit on Sunday, more than two weeks after the High Court of Justice invalidated Rabello’s election and ordered the Knesset to hold a new vote because the filming of ballots had fundamentally violated the secrecy of the election.

Instead, the affidavit was filed in Haskel’s separate petition seeking permission to break away from Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar’s New Hope-United Right faction and be recognized as a one-member faction.

Haskel spoke out about filming scandal prior to High Court ruling 

Haskel had publicly said on June 14, while the Rabello case was still before the court, that coalition lawmakers had been required to photograph themselves behind the voting curtain. She also said at the time that the matter should be examined by the court. She did not submit the affidavit now before the court, or otherwise place its more specific allegation concerning Netanyahu, before the justices deciding the Rabello petitions.

The High Court consequently ruled without considering her account. Her allegation has not been tested in the Rabello proceedings, and the affidavit does not reopen the case, which ended with the cancellation of the election on July 2.

In the affidavit, Haskel argued that New Hope had not formulated an independent position ahead of the comptroller election and had held no faction meeting to decide which candidate to support.

Instead, she said, Rabello was presented as the Likud candidate whom New Hope members were required to support “without reservation and without the possibility of expressing an independent position.”

“During the repeat round of voting, members of the New Hope faction were required to document their votes by filming themselves and to present the documentation to the prime minister, a member of the Likud faction, as evidence of how they voted,” she wrote.

The statement does not identify who issued the alleged instruction, whether Netanyahu knew about it in advance, whether Haskel herself recorded her ballot or whether any footage was ultimately shown to him.

Likud denies that lawmakers were ordered to document votes

Haskel’s affidavit contradicts the Likud’s broader insistence that lawmakers were not ordered to document their votes, but it does not establish that Netanyahu personally gave the instruction.

During the Rabello proceedings, the Knesset argued that there was no concrete evidence that a filming directive had been issued, while coalition MKs who published photographs of their ballots said they had acted voluntarily.

Haskel’s affidavit was submitted for a different purpose: to support her argument that New Hope had ceased functioning independently and was effectively operating under the Likud’s authority following Sa’ar’s political return to the party. 

The United States government is considering military options in the West African nation of Mali over the presence of Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorists, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

According to the report, Mali would be the eighth nation struck by the US military since US President Donald Trump began his second term in January 2025, which as of now includes Yemen, Somalia, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, and Venezuela.

The report cited several anonymous officials and former officials, who described National Security Council Senior Director for Counterterrorism Sebastian Gorka as supporting the potential strikes.

The group in question, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), was designated a terrorist organization by the US in 2018, according to the Director of National Intelligence website. 

While primarily based in Mali, the over 6,000-strong group is also active in other West African nations, such as Niger and Nigeria, the website noted.

The report described Gorka as highly supportive of aggressive counterterrorism policies, having been involved in efforts to kill Al-Qaeda affiliate Abu Ubaydah Yusuf al-Anabi in Algeria.

The Washington Post reached out to Gorka and a spokesperson for the Mali government for comment, but did not receive a response.

White House describes JNIM as a ‘multinational problem’

Additionally, the Pentagon declined to comment, though a White House official noted that the Trump administration has been urging affected African states “to purchase US equipment and services to support their war efforts against the terrorists,” describing the issue as a “multinational problem.”

“We urge regional partners and NATO allies to support the Alliance of Sahel States in their war against JNIM and ISIS,” the official told The Washington Post.

The official further noted Russia’s lack of assistance in the region, despite Russia’s status as Mali’s security partner.

“We hope that other African nations take note of Russia’s terrible performance in combating terrorism,” the official said.

The Russian Embassy in Washington did not respond to a Washington Post request for comment.

The State Department was also asked for comment on any potential military operation, responding that the US “unequivocally condemns the terrorist activity in Mali.”

An independent expert on the region, Corinne Dufka, told The Washington Post that any US action in Mali has the potential to backfire and lead to JNIM targeting of American citizens.

“They [the US] could be squandering an opportunity to de-radicalize and demobilize one of the world’s most sophisticated jihadist organizations,” said Dufka.

The Islamic Republic’s plan to increase truck trade with Pakistan to 2,000 vehicles per day will  “ease the squeeze” of the United States’ blockade of the Strait of Hormuz “without coming close to neutralizing it,” counterterrorism analyst Roger Macmillan told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.

Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni announced the trade advancement on Wednesday, telling the semi-official IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency that the countries made an agreement that aims to “raise the current level of bilateral trade from $3 billion to at least $10 billion”

“Achieving this requires improved infrastructure. At a minimum, 2,000 trucks should cross the border daily, whereas the current volume is only about 20% of that target,” he told the site, adding that a new border crossing would be opened in the Kuhak region to facilitate the trade.

Cross-border travel, infrastructure to be increased under new agreement

The countries would also improve infrastructure at the existing Rimdan border crossing, he added.

“Both sides also expressed readiness to increase agricultural trade alone to $5 billion. This will require improvements in infrastructure, such as building cold storage facilities on both sides of the border, and the necessary agreements have been reached. I believe this was one of our most successful visits,” Momeni said.

The agreement also means Iranian and Pakistani trucks will be permitted to operate across each other’s territory.

Though the increase in trade is a “genuine reprieve” from the economic fallout of the Strait of Hormuz, Macmillan said it offers Iran less breathing room than what ‘headlines might suggest.”

“The overland corridors Islamabad has opened through Gwadar, Karachi and Port Qasim into Iran via Gabd and Taftan are moving real volume, and Tehran is now pushing for capacity of up to 2,000 trucks a day. That matters for clearing the backlog of stranded cargo and keeping consumer goods and third-country trade flowing,” he admitted, adding that it still “doesn’t touch Iran’s core problem, which is crude export revenue through Hormuz. This is a goods corridor, not an oil corridor, so it eases the squeeze without coming close to neutralising it.”

Washington’s silence on expansion of Trade

What is of greater interest, Macmillan said, is “Washington’s silence” on the expanded trade.

“Under normal sanctions logic, the US would be expected to lean hard on Pakistan for facilitating this kind of trade with Iran. Instead, there’s been no formal objection, and Trump’s only comment was that he ‘knows everything about it,’ he explained.

“That restraint isn’t an accident. Pakistan is simultaneously acting as the principal broker of the US-Iran ceasefire talks, including the Bürgenstock meeting, and Washington needs Islamabad’s credibility there more than it needs to punish a road corridor. Pakistan has effectively bought itself room to hedge.”

Pakistani diplomatic sources told The National’s Sulaiman Hakemy in May that Islamabad had calculated in advance that its relationship with the Trump administration and its role as a mediator would dissuade Washington from imposing sanctions on Pakistan.

Hakemy noted that the Chinese investment in Gwadar had faced significant criticism for years, as the corridor’s cargo activity has failed to justify its costs. However, the crossing is located very close to Iran’s Chabahar Port. Under the third-country rule of the Statutory Regulatory Order, goods can arrive in Gwadar from any country and then enter Iran by road.

Though Pakistan is obligated under the current sanctions policies in place to ensure that goods entering Iran are not restricted, nor destined for sanctioned individuals, a huge task. Sources told The National journalist that they were not anticipating any consequences against the country, especially given their role as a mediator.

Iran strengthening ties with Iraq

Outside of its trade agreement with Pakistan, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi confirmed that officials from Baghdad would be visiting Iran on Thursday to “discuss files of common interest, bilateral cooperation, and consultation on regional issues.”

“Today, we are heading to Tehran on an official visit and will meet with high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran to launch joint economic cooperation dossiers and bilateral collaboration, as well as discuss regional issues and efforts to promote security and stability in the region,” he confirmed.

“Iraq and Iran are bound by historical, cultural, geographical, and mutual interests, which necessitates continued work with a spirit of dialogue, cooperation, and mutual respect, in a manner that fosters sustained development and prosperity for the people of both countries and contributes to supporting security and stability at both regional and international levels.”

According to the Iraqi Shefaq news, trade between Iran and Iraq approached $12 billion in 2024, and Iraq was ranked second among Iran’s top export destinations in 2026, importing $7.917 billion in goods. 

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf’s threat against all infrastructure in the region is a “dangerous escalation in rhetoric,” Bahraini analyst Ahmed Alkhuzaie warned The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.

Ghalibaf, on social media Wednesday night, threatened to escalate the war, asserting that  “in a region where we do not sell oil, no one will sell oil. If our security is not ensured, no infrastructure will be safe…”

His comments come after a week of Iranian attacks on civilian infrastructure in Kuwait and Bahrain. Amazon’s central data infrastructure was targeted and destroyed by several cruise missiles on Tuesday, according to IRGC-affiliated media.

Iran also attacked several key infrastructure sites in Kuwait over the past week, including a power generation plant and a water desalination facility, attacks that could prove particularly devastating given the country’s ongoing water crisis and soaring temperatures.

“Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf’s remarks represent a dangerous escalation in rhetoric. By declaring that ‘no infrastructure will be safe’ and tying Gulf oil exports to Iran’s own ability to sell crude, he has moved beyond the earlier claim that only US assets in Gulf states were being targeted,” Alkhuzaie noted. “This shift collapses the distinction between American bases and the sovereign economies of Gulf nations, effectively placing the region itself in Tehran’s crosshairs.”

Alkhuzaie: Ghalibaf throws out ‘exaggerated threats’

Despite the threat, Alkhuzaie warned against taking Ghalibaf’s claims as evidence of the Islamic Republic’s true intentions, highlighting that Tehran has often made “exaggerated threats” to create “psychological pressure and political theater” without plans to actually execute such plans.

“The promise that Gulf states themselves would remain untouched while only US assets were at risk has always been a rhetorical shield, not a credible policy,” he admitted. “History demonstrates that when Iran escalates, the fallout is regional, indiscriminate, and destabilizing.”

Asserting that Ghalibaf’s words “should not be read as a sudden change of heart,” Alkhuzaie said that it was better understood as a “continuation of a long-standing pattern; using maximalist threats to project strength while ignoring the practical limits of Iran’s reach.”

“Gulf states and their partners must treat these statements as part of the architecture of deception that has characterized Iranian diplomacy for decades, and respond with vigilance, unity, and clear mechanisms to deter further destabilization,” he concluded. 

One in four families in Tel Aviv-Jaffa is headed by a single parent, significantly higher than the national rate of 15%, according to new data examining the city’s changing population.

The city is home to 13,412 single-parent families, including 6,730 headed by an unmarried parent. Women head 96% of all single-parent families in Tel Aviv-Jaffa.

The proportion of single-parent families in the city has increased by four percentage points since 2015, according to the report, which was compiled by the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality’s Center for Economic and Social Research using data from the Central Bureau of Statistics and other sources.

Some 7,220 single-parent families live in northern and central Tel Aviv, while 2,290 live in Jaffa and southern Tel Aviv and another 2,540 live in the eastern part of the city.

The report also examined women, Arab residents, foreign nationals and asylum seekers, people with disabilities, senior citizens, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Women make up half of the city

Approximately 234,100 women live in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, accounting for half of the city’s population. Women make up 57% of residents aged 65 and older.

The city’s expected fertility rate stands at 1.8 births per woman, compared with a national average of 2.9.

Forty-four percent of women in Tel Aviv-Jaffa have completed at least 16 years of education, compared with 29% nationwide. Some 69% of women in the city participate in the workforce, compared with 73% of the city’s overall population.

Women account for 36% of the city’s self-employed workers, compared with 29% nationwide.

The ratio of women to men in managerial-level representation stands at 1.1 in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, compared with 0.7 across Israel. Women also hold 33% of the seats on the Tel Aviv-Jaffa City Council.

Women and girls account for 60% of those registered at the city’s community centers and 34% of the participants in the 2026 Tel Aviv Marathon.

Women are also more likely than men to commute to work by bus, at rates of 28% and 18%, respectively.

Arab population concentrated in Jaffa

Tel Aviv-Jaffa has 26,970 Arab residents, including 21,450 living in Jaffa, who account for 38% of its population.

Jaffa’s population is 54% Jewish, 31% Muslim and 6% Arab Christian. An additional 1% belong to other Christian communities, while 7% are listed as having no religion.

The rate of eligibility for a high-school matriculation certificate among Arab students stands at 83%, compared with 85% in the city’s Hebrew-language education system.

Arab students account for 32% of students living in Jaffa.

Some 11% of the city’s Arab residents receive assistance from welfare services, compared with 6% of the overall population. Their workforce participation rate stands at 71.8%, compared with 73.3% citywide.

Arab employees make up 10% of the municipality’s workforce.

Foreign nationals and asylum seekers

Tel Aviv-Jaffa was home to an estimated 24,770 foreign residents in 2025, a decrease of approximately 9% compared with 2024. They account for about 10% of Israel’s foreign population.

Men make up 64% of the city’s foreign population, while women account for 36%. Some 37% are between the ages of 30 and 49, and 18% are under 18.

Approximately 9,520 residents are classified as asylum seekers or refugees. Israel’s total asylum-seeker and refugee population stands at 19,310. They account for 38% of the city’s foreign population.

Another 9,430 foreign workers living in the city do not have valid visas, also accounting for 38% of its foreign population.

Tel Aviv-Jaffa is home to 5,820 legal foreign caregivers, representing 24% of the city’s foreign population. There are approximately 163,350 legal foreign caregivers nationwide.

More than half, 54%, of the city’s asylum seekers and residents without legal status are concentrated in the Neve Sha’anan, Shapira and Hatikva neighborhoods.

The number of foreign residents in the city has fallen by 59% since 2013. During the same period, the number of children between the ages of seven and 18 rose by 136%, while the number of children aged six and younger fell by 44%.

Residents with disabilities and senior citizens

Approximately 56,090 Tel Aviv-Jaffa residents have disabilities, including 17,840 people with physical disabilities, 16,270 with mental disabilities and 14,920 with chronic illnesses.

Around 27,260 residents with disabilities are aged 65 or older.

The city is home to approximately 75,590 residents over the age of 65, representing 16% of its population. Women account for 59% of this age group, while men account for 41%.

Of the city’s senior citizens, 37,950 are over the age of 75, and 27,280 have disabilities.

Some 32.1% of senior citizens receiving assistance from municipal welfare services are classified as living alone or lacking adequate support networks.

Tel Aviv’s LGBTQ+ community

Approximately 10% of Tel Aviv-Jaffa residents, an estimated 35,600 people, identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Fifty-eight percent of the city’s LGBTQ+ population is between the ages of 20 and 39, compared with 33% of the city’s overall population.

About 16% have children under the age of 18, compared with 26% among the general population.

Seventy-one percent of LGBTQ+ residents live in rented homes, compared with 52% of the city’s overall population.

“Tel Aviv-Jaffa is a microcosm of Israeli society,” the municipality’s Center for Economic and Social Research said. “It is a diverse city that includes residents from every population group, including Arabs and Jews, people with disabilities, refugees, LGBTQ+ residents and people from all religious streams.”

“Women and the city’s diverse communities are a significant municipal asset that helps shape the character of Tel Aviv-Jaffa,” it added. “Recognizing their characteristics, needs and unique barriers is essential to advancing substantive equality in the city.”

The Trump administration is beginning to conclude that it may not be able to force Iran’s surrender through diplomacy alone, bringing the possibility of toppling the Islamic Republic back into discussions in Washington, the Financial Times‘  Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator Gideon Rachman assessed on Monday, citing unnamed parts of the Trump administration

According to the column, elements from the Trump administration are already considering economic, political, and potentially covert measures aimed at destabilizing the Iranian government after negotiations failed to produce a satisfactory outcome.

Regime change had been among Washington and Jerusalem’s original ambitions when US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched the war against Iran on February 28, the analysis said. The administration initially hoped that military pressure could help trigger a popular uprising capable of removing the Islamic Republic from power.

That expectation was not realized. Washington subsequently placed regime change on the back burner and prioritized negotiations intended to secure Iranian concessions over its nuclear program and the Strait of Hormuz.

The failure of those diplomatic efforts has now renewed interest in the regime-change route, according to the analysis. Trump administration officials are reportedly examining ways to intensify economic pressure, disrupt Iran’s oil exports, cultivate contacts inside the regime, and encourage opposition groups capable of challenging Tehran’s leadership.

The renewed discussions do not mean that Trump has formally approved regime change as US policy. They suggest, however, that the administration is questioning whether negotiations can produce an Iranian surrender on terms Washington would consider acceptable.

Trump team might resort to regime change over Strait of Hormuz tensions

The dispute over the Strait of Hormuz has become a central obstacle. Iranian officials have insisted that Tehran has the right to collect fees from vessels passing through the strategic waterway, despite Trump’s earlier claim that Iran had agreed not to impose such charges.

The column also noted that  Washington’s definition of victory may already be narrowing. Former US defense secretary Mark Esper suggested that the administration could ultimately settle for reopening the strait without Iranian tolls and restoring limits on Tehran’s nuclear program similar to those achieved under the Obama administration.

Such an outcome would largely restore the conditions that existed before the war, rather than deliver the decisive Iranian surrender the administration initially sought.

Even those more limited objectives may be difficult to achieve. Intensified American bombing would not necessarily secure the Strait of Hormuz, while the White House has shown little interest in deploying the ground troops that could be required to seize and hold territory near the waterway.

Retired US general Barry McCaffrey estimated that a ground operation focused on securing Hormuz could require roughly 600,000 troops and last for a year, according to the analysis.

The conflict has also demonstrated Iran’s ability to threaten critical infrastructure across the Gulf, including energy facilities, airports, military bases, and water desalination plants. Tehran’s missile and drone capabilities could become more dangerous as its technology improves and its cooperation with Russia and China expands.

Iran has already attempted to strike targets far beyond its borders. Iranian missiles were launched toward Dimona and the US-UK military base on Diego Garcia, although neither attack succeeded in striking its intended target.

The Trump administration’s renewed consideration of regime change reportedly includes proposals to block Iranian oil exports, seek cooperation from insiders within the political and security establishment, and examine ways to support domestic opposition.

The analysis also cited an alleged Israeli effort to establish contact with former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the possible revival of proposals to arm Kurdish groups inside 

Any attempt to topple the regime would carry substantial risks. Iran’s government has survived decades of sanctions, internal protests, covert operations, and external pressure, while maintaining control over the security services and institutions needed to suppress opposition.

Efforts to destabilize Tehran could also produce a prolonged conflict rather than a quick collapse, particularly if the regime responds with additional missile attacks, disruption of international shipping, or strikes against American and Israeli targets.

The war is already placing pressure on US military stockpiles. Assessments of American missile inventories have indicated that the conflict consumed significant quantities of Patriot interceptors and Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Replacing some of those weapons could take between three and five years, according to an analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The depletion could weaken Washington’s ability to deter China or respond to a separate conflict in Asia.

Israeli officials have meanwhile assessed that Trump may be preparing to broaden the US campaign against Iran, potentially expanding attacks against strategic infrastructure and senior figures in the Iranian government. Such an escalation could increase the likelihood of direct Iranian retaliation against Israel.

Israeli cybersecurity startup Glow emerged from stealth on Wednesday with $180 million in funding at a $1.2 billion valuation, launching an AI-powered platform designed to prevent security threats from reaching corporate devices.

Glow focuses on endpoint security, which protects the laptops, desktop computers, and other devices through which employees connect to corporate systems.

The platform uses specialized AI agents to continuously map an organization’s digital environment, analyze risks in real time, and automatically enforce security policies. The system determines which software should be permitted and which should be removed, seeking to prevent threats before they enter an organization.

The company was founded in 2025 by CEO Roi Tiger, who previously worked at Meta; CTO Omer Singer, formerly head of cybersecurity strategy at Snowflake; and vice president of research and development Ophir Arie, who previously held the same role at Israeli cybersecurity company Claroty.

Glow’s leadership team also includes chief product officer Arnon Joseph, who spent eight years at Meta, and chief operating officer Emily Heath.

Glow is already signing clients, addressing security threats

Heath previously served as chief information security officer at United Airlines and DocuSign and was a partner at Cyberstarts. She was also a member of Wiz’s board of directors through its acquisition by Google.

Glow said it had already signed enterprise customers in the healthcare, retail, and financial services sectors. The company said these customers were using its platform to adopt AI technology while strengthening, rather than weakening, their security systems.

“I sat in the CISO seat for a long time, and I can tell you the tools available to us were never built for what enterprises face today,” Heath said.

“Every enterprise wants to move faster with AI. The question isn’t whether they’ll adopt it;  it’s whether security can keep up. That’s the challenge Glow is solving.”

The company argues that the rapid adoption of AI tools has transformed devices, such as computers and desktops, into an increasingly significant security vulnerability, as employees introduce new applications and AI agents into the workplace faster than security teams can examine and authorize them.

Verizon’s 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report found that regular use of AI tools on corporate devices, whether authorized or not, had risen from 15% to 45% in a single year.

Glow receives $180 million in funding

The funding was led by Sequoia Capital, Cyberstarts, Greenoaks and Redpoint Ventures, with participation from Index Ventures, Swish Ventures, Lux Capital and Holly Ventures.

Glow plans to use the funding to expand its go-to-market team in the United States and grow Glow Labs, the company’s research division.

The launch further highlights the outsized importance of cybersecurity to Israel’s technology sector and the country’s position as a global cyber power.

Israel had more than 500 active cybersecurity companies in 2024. Although those companies represented only 7% of the Israeli technology ecosystem, they attracted 38% of all tech investment, according to Startup Nation Central.

Israeli cybersecurity companies raised an additional $4.1 billion in 2025, with a median funding round size of $20 million.

The sector has also produced two of the largest deals in Israeli technology history: Google’s $32 billion acquisition of Wiz and Palo Alto Networks’ $25 billion acquisition of CyberArk.

Only a few weeks ago, the Question of the Malvinas Islands once again took center stage on the international agenda. 

The Organization of American States (OAS), the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization (C24), and the States Parties and Associated States of Mercosur reiterated their call for Argentina and the United Kingdom to resume negotiations to resolve the sovereignty dispute through peaceful means.

This renewed support offers an opportunity to reflect on a cause that shapes our history, defines our present, and speaks to the future of our Nation.

Each new pronouncement confirms that the Question of the Malvinas Islands remains unresolved and very much alive. It also invites us to ask what Malvinas truly means to Argentina. The answer, naturally, extends far beyond any commemoration.

April 2 and June 10 mark defining moments in our national memory. However, the responsibility to safeguard our sovereign rights transcends any anniversary. 

Malvinas is a cause that demands our commitment every day. And it is that conviction which inspires every step of our foreign policy.

The recent pronouncements at the OAS and the UN are of enormous political and diplomatic significance. 

At those forums, it was once again clearly reaffirmed that a sovereignty dispute exists between the Argentine Republic and the UK over the Malvinas, South Georgia, and the South Sandwich Islands, and the surrounding maritime areas. 

Also that this dispute must be resolved through bilateral negotiations, by peaceful means, and in accordance with international law.

Resolutions do not, in themselves, solve the dispute. Their value lies in the fact that they keep alive the obligation to negotiate, as established by the UN, and make increasingly evident the UK’s decision to continue disregarding that mandate.

Maintaining this position requires sustained effort. Every consensus achieved demands active, persistent, and technically sound diplomacy. It requires work. It has to be built. It must be defended. 

At the Argentine Foreign Affairs Ministry, we advance our national position at every multilateral forum, engage in dialogue with governments from all regions, explain the legal basis of our claim, present our arguments regarding the inapplicability of the principle of self-determination to this case, and strengthen a network of shared positions that keeps an essential truth alive. 

Malvinas is not a solitary cause. History, law, and the community of nations converge in upholding the legitimacy of our claim.

A just cause

Malvinas strikes a profound chord with our nation because it transcends any merely cartographic reading. It embodies our territorial integrity, our oceanic projection, our bicontinental identity, our wealth, and our projection into the South Atlantic.

Argentina cannot be conceived without these dimensions. The South Atlantic constitutes our nation’s strategic depth. It is there that Patagonia, the sea, Antarctica, our continental shelf, and a decisive part of our future come together.

Based on that conviction, Argentinian President Javier Milei has reaffirmed the legitimate and non-renounceable nature of our claim.

Guided by that mandate, I am honored, as foreign affairs minister, to undertake the commitment to uphold this cause with firmness and perseverance.

This is not merely another item on the foreign policy agenda. It is an institutional responsibility that binds us to the National Constitution, to our history, and to every Argentine who understands that sovereignty is defended through action.

That responsibility also requires us to demonstrate, time and again, why international law supports Argentina’s position.

Our claim rests on historical and legal foundations that Argentina has upheld continuously since its independence. 

As successor to Spain’s rights, in accordance with the principle of state succession, Argentina exercised effective authority over the islands, formally took possession of them in 1820, and created the Political and Military Commandancy in 1829.

In 1833, the UK occupied the islands through an act of force to which our country never consented, violated Argentina’s territorial integrity, expelled our national authorities and the population lawfully established there, populated the territory with its own settlers, and prevented Argentine citizens from settling there.

That event gave rise to a colonial situation that continues to this day. Argentina never consented to that occupation and has maintained a constant and peaceful protest grounded in law.

Along the same lines, United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2065, adopted in 1965, marked a turning point. 

It formally recognized the existence of a sovereignty dispute. It also established the bilateral negotiations path as the means of resolving it, bearing in mind the interests of the Malvinas Islands’ inhabitants. 

Since then, the international community has recognized an ineluctable legal fact: there exists a sovereignty dispute that remains to be resolved.

There is a mistaken belief that the 1982 South Atlantic conflict brought the sovereignty dispute to an end. The facts show otherwise. 

Barely five months after the cessation of hostilities, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 37/9, calling upon Argentina and the UK to resume negotiations. 

The conflict neither altered the legal nature of the dispute nor resolved it. The international community reaffirmed then, as it continues to do today, that a peaceful solution remains the only path forward.

Nor is the Question of the Malvinas Islands merely another case of decolonization or a case to which the principle of self-determination applies. It is a special and particular colonial situation originating in the violation of Argentina’s territorial integrity. 

The passage of time does not turn illegitimate occupation into sovereignty. Nor will it disrupt the territorial unity of the Argentine Republic.

It should be noted that the UN recognizes both the principle of self-determination of peoples and the principle of territorial integrity of states. The UN itself determines which principle applies depending on the particular circumstances of each case. 

More than six decades ago, ambassador José María Ruda summarized this issue with clarity that continues to resonate today, stating that the Question of the Malvinas Islands concerns the principle of territorial integrity of the Argentine Republic.

That was precisely the interpretation adopted by the General Assembly, which determined that the dispute arose from the occupation of part of Argentine territory through force in 1833. 

For that reason, it never considered the principle of self-determination applicable and has instead consistently held that a solution must be reached through negotiations between the parties, bearing in mind the interests of the inhabitants of the islands.

‘We must not fall into the referendum trap’

The same reasoning explains why the UN distinguishes between the islands’ inhabitants’ interests and their wishes regarding sovereignty. 

Our National Constitution provides that recovery of the full exercise of sovereignty must be achieved while respecting the way of life of the islanders and in compliance with the principles of international law. That commitment is permanent. 

It is an entirely different matter to claim that a population artificially implanted by the occupying power may determine the sovereignty of the disputed territory. 

For that reason, no referendum unilaterally organized by the UK can produce legal effects concerning a dispute that must be resolved exclusively between Argentina and the UK through negotiations. We must not fall into the referendum trap.

The strength of our rights

At the OAS, our region once again adopted by acclamation a declaration stating that the Question of the Malvinas Islands is a matter of enduring hemispheric concern. 

At the C24, all the Latin American countries that are members of the committee co-sponsored the resolution, which was adopted by consensus. 

This is further reinforced by the continued support of Mercosur, CELAC, the Ibero-American Summits, the Brasilia Consensus, the Zone of Peace and Cooperation of the South Atlantic, the Group of 77 and China, SICA, and other multilateral fora.

To all those countries that stand with us, I convey the gratitude of the Argentine Republic. Their commitment to international law strengthens the diplomatic capital that enables us to keep our claim alive and to raise the political cost of British indifference.

There is another, equally important consideration. The UN has not merely urged Argentina and the UK to negotiate. 

Ever since Resolution 31/49, they have expressly requested that both parties refrain from introducing unilateral modifications while the dispute remains unresolved. The meaning of this mandate is unequivocal. 

Neither party may take advantage of the situation to consolidate factual circumstances or make decisions over resources whose ownership remains contested.

Despite this, the UK has continued to ignore this call for decades, engaging in the exploration and exploitation of natural resources, granting licenses, and maintaining a disproportionate military presence.

Argentina has responded to these affronts with the same consistency it has maintained in its diplomatic position. Argentina’s laws prohibit hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation on the Argentine continental shelf without prior authorization from Argentine authorities, and those who engage in such activities are subject to penalties.

This decision seeks to protect resources that belong to all Argentine citizens and whose use may not be fully decided on until the dispute has been settled lawfully. Protecting our natural resources is also protecting an essential part of Argentina’s wealth.

The magnitude of the deployment of British troops speaks volumes. The islands are home to around 3,000 residents, and there are approximately 1,200 British military personnel deployed. This ratio reflects the tactical nature of the occupation.

For the UK, the Malvinas are not an expression of its identity. They are a strategic enclave used to preserve military, economic and geopolitical interests in one of the most relevant regions in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Sea Lion project is one of the clearest demonstrations of the UK’s violation of the above-mentioned international mandate. 

In December 2025, Rockhopper Exploration PLC and Navitas Petroleum Development and Production Ltd. announced a purported final decision to invest in the development of this field in the Northern Malvinas Basin, relying on invalid licenses issued by illegitimate authorities. 

Every unilateral action by the UK confirms that the dispute remains unresolved. Every international declaration and resolution is a reminder that there is only one acceptable way to resolve it.

Argentina has rejected this unilateral act, reserving all of its rights and making it clear that anyone who engages in or facilitates illegal activities in areas under dispute will be subject to administrative and criminal penalties, as well as other types of action in domestic and international jurisdictions. 

Protecting our territorial integrity is also protecting Argentina’s maritime domain.

A greater cause

The Malvinas also live in the memory of our veterans, the families of the fallen, and every Argentine household where this name is spoken with respect. They have instilled this cause with a moral dimension that no public officer may forget. 

Every diplomatic achievement we make also contributes to honoring this legacy. Their sacrifice demands that our public conduct and foreign policy be worthy of their example.

We will therefore carry on. We will be present at the UN, the OAS, and every multilateral forum and bilateral discussion where our rights need to be defended. We will respond unequivocally to every unilateral action, whatever its form. 

We will do so firmly and guided by the conviction that just causes require strategic patience, national unity, and perseverance.

Argentina’s commitment to negotiations remains unaltered. I am convinced that the solution will be peaceful, diplomatic, and in accordance with international law. This willingness coexists with an immutable certainty. 

Argentina’s claim is not affected by the passage of time, nor will it be relinquished or abandoned.

The Malvinas are part of our history, our territory, our sea, our memory, and our destiny. Their cause is an intergenerational promise. It is the voice of a nation that knows how to wait without giving up and how to assert its claims without giving in.

Every day, I renew this mandate knowing that there can hardly be a greater honor for a foreign minister than spreading the voice of this legitimate cause around the world and championing it with the same passion with which millions of fellow Argentines embrace it. 

Therein lies one of the greatest honors and commitments for any Argentine citizen. That is my own commitment.

By history, by right, and by conviction, the Malvinas are Argentine.

The author is Argentina’s minister of foreign affairs, international trade, and worship.

Jeen Technologies, once a small civilian robotics spinoff, is rapidly becoming one of Israel’s most significant defense‑AI companies, securing major contracts with strategic security organizations and embedding its technology across the country’s defense agencies. 

In recent months, the company’s defense subsidiary, Jeen Defense, has received NIS 8.6 million in orders from a single strategic defense customer, advancing a framework agreement valued at up to NIS 45 million over the next two years. The latest order, worth NIS 4.3 million, is the second procurement from the same customer in three months, signaling a growing reliance on Jeen’s AI platform inside sensitive operational environments.

An enterprise AI company, Jeen.ai has developed a secure platform for rapidly installing generative AI in large enterprises. Its defense-dedicated subsidiary is focused on sovereign AI systems, intelligence‑driven analytics, and mission‑support technologies for defense customers.

For CEO Oded Tahori, the company’s trajectory has been both rapid and unexpected. 

Speaking to Defense & Tech by The Jerusalem Post, Tahori explained that Jeen began as a civilian robotics initiative within One Technologies before being spun out just a year and a half ago. 

“We started in civilian robotics,” he explained. “I didn’t think what we were developing was meant for defense. But they came to us, saw the platform, and now we’re embedded across the defense agencies.”

Reshaping the landscape

In a sign of how rapidly artificial intelligence is reshaping Israel’s defense landscape, Jeen Technologies has accelerated the expansion of its defense subsidiary, Jeen Defense, securing a series of significant orders from a strategic security organization and advancing what may become one of the company’s most consequential multi‑year partnerships to date.

The enterprise AI company announced that Jeen Defense received an additional NIS 4.3 million work order this month, bringing total orders from the same customer to approximately NIS 8.6 million in just three months. The orders are part of the ongoing execution of a framework agreement valued at up to NIS 45 million, signed in March with a major defense organization.

In that short time, it has raised $25 million, grown to nearly 140 employees, and expanded to offices in Singapore, London, and New York, with Israel serving as the company’s R&D and implementation hub. The team includes former senior figures from Israel’s intelligence community, among them a former R&D manager of the Mossad, the Mossad’s former head of research, and a former data manager at the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency). 

The company’s defense division, led by Nir Mitchell, a former combat officer in the IAF’s elite Shaldag unit and a senior official in the Prime Minister’s Office, is expanding rapidly. 

Tahori says Jeen is now part of Israel’s emerging national AI strategy, providing sovereign, secure systems that can operate without internet connectivity, something that is an essential requirement for defense and intelligence bodies.

The company’s main solution is an agentic AI platform capable of running entirely offline and under strict security controls. This capability has become a decisive advantage as Israel’s defense establishment seeks technologies that do not rely on global cloud providers. 

“Defense bodies in Israel understand that there is a company that can deliver AI without the internet,” Tahori told D&T. “They cannot work with OpenAI or global cloud systems, especially when it comes to intelligence.” 

Jeen’s platform is already being used by large Israeli defense primes, where Tahori says the company has a strong connection with thousands of users. Over the past year, Jeen has begun working with all major defense agencies in Israel, providing AI tools for intelligence analysis, operational planning, and administrative workflows.

 “We’re shaping how defense agencies work with AI at scale,” he said. “For intelligence, for operations, for commanders who need cognitive support when they’re exhausted. Systems don’t feel stressed.”

Tahori told D&T that the company is hoping to build the Israeli equivalent of Palantir-a sovereign AI system designed to support intelligence, operations, and decision‑making at scale. 

“We’re already showing Jeen as part of Israel’s defense capability in generative AI,” he said. “You cannot depend on global organizations. The tech needs to work without the cloud – efficiently, and independently.” 

Tahori believes Jeen will become a foundational system for Israel’s defense architecture. “Jeen will be a core system for operational and administrative needs,” he said. “Connecting defense agencies to generative AI in a secure, sovereign way.” 

Like many other Israeli startups drifting into the defense market, Tahori describes Jeen as a dual‑use company, bringing civilian AI capabilities into defense where they are urgently needed. 

Jeen’s technology has already been adopted by major civilian institutions, including Bank Mizrahi, the Israel Electric Corporation, and Maccabi Healthcare Services, reinforcing its dual‑use positioning.

As Israel’s security establishment accelerates adoption of AI across intelligence, operations, and command‑level decision‑making, what began as a civilian robotics project has evolved into a company that defense agencies sought out themselves, thus allowing Jeen to become a key player in delivering critical AI infrastructure for Israel’s defense agencies.

US President Donald Trump’s longtime teleprompter operator is under investigation for potential insider trading on Trump’s speeches through online prediction markets, the White House said last Thursday. 

Gabriel Perez, who has worked with Trump since his first presidential campaign in 2016, allegedly made trades on Kalshi, a prediction site where users buy and sell contracts based on the outcomes of real-world events, that were flagged as insider activity. 

Kalshi’s “Mentions” platform, where Perez placed his bets, allows users to bet on which words or phrases public figures, such as Trump, will say in their speeches.

Since Perez is usually the last person to see Trump’s speeches before they’re delivered, he is often aware of any last-minute edits made by Trump himself to his remarks and knows what the president is going to say.

However, Trump is known to veer away from what’s on the teleprompter, and has said that he goes off script “about 80% of the time.”

Perez made $100,000 from insider trading before being put on administrative leave

Investigators found that during certain parts of speeches when Trump didn’t follow what the teleprompter said, Perez would back out of bets, since he knew the scripted words wouldn’t be said.

Bobby DeNault, the Head of Enforcement at Kalshi, said that their team “promptly flagged and referred these trades to the CFTC [Commodity Futures Trading Commission],” and they are “cooperating and assisting regulators” in the investigation.

Their findings show that Perez reportedly made nearly $100,000 by betting on several speeches, including a December primetime address, February’s State of the Union address, and a Medal of Honor ceremony in March. However, Kalshi froze the profits before Perez had the opportunity to withdraw them.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan declined to press criminal charges, and Perez has had conversations with the CFTC regarding a settlement that would require him to forfeit his earnings and refrain from similar insider trading in the future.

Perez has previously faced scrutiny from federal investigators surrounding his edits to Trump’s speech about the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. 

Following this latest investigation, Perez was placed on administrative leave. As a result, another employee operated the teleprompter for Trump’s speech to the nation last Thursday night about election integrity.

Karoline Leavitt, the White House Press Secretary, said that the president knows about the reports regarding his teleprompter and “believes it’s deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace.”

“The White House has extremely strict ethical guidelines with respect to issues like this, and as I just told you, this individual will no longer be here,” Leavitt added.

In March, the White House had issued a memo warning its staff against insider trading on prediction markets. 

“All White House employees are reminded that the misuse of nonpublic information by government employees for financial benefit is a very serious offense and will not be tolerated,” the memo said. Notably, it mentioned prediction sites Kalshi and Polymarket by name.

Insider trading, prediction markets under review 

Perez’s case comes amid a rise in federal scrutiny of insider trading, especially on prediction markets.

Earlier this year, the federal government brought insider trading cases involving prediction markets to court. These include a case against a soldier named Gannon Van Dyke, who used classified information to bet on the capture of former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro in January, and another against a Google employee who used internal company data to bet on search trends.

Politicians from both sides of the aisle have recently joined in a bipartisan effort to impose stricter insider trading restrictions to eliminate corruption, especially in government.  

Republican Senator Todd Young (Indiana) has said that there are “real concerns that individuals with access to sensitive, nonpublic information could exploit that advantage for financial gain.”

“The prediction markets industry can’t be left alone to self-police,” Senator Adam Schiff (D-California) echoed. “That’s why we need strong rules to protect against elected officials exploiting insider information to profit on prediction markets.”

Congressional Democrats sent a letter to the CFTC in April, asking it to address the “rapid erosion of integrity” on the prediction markets. 

They have also proposed several laws to limit insider trading for government officials and for specific topics such as elections and war.

The Senate unanimously passed a resolution banning insider trading by Senators and their staff on prediction markets at the end of April. A similar resolution in the House of Representatives has advanced out of committee but has yet to reach the floor for a vote.

A record 595,000 Israelis between the ages of 18 and 22 are expected to cast ballots for the first time in the election for the 26th Knesset, according to an analysis published Wednesday by geographic and demographic data firm Points Location Intelligence.

First-time voters are expected to account for about 8.7% of all eligible voters in the upcoming election, the largest such wave since the establishment of the state. This unusually large share could affect the political balance of power in several parts of the country.

The election will mark the entry of a new and significant generation into Israel’s political arena. According to the Points analysis, the number of eligible voters is expected to reach approximately 6.8 million, an increase of about 9.4% from the November 2022 election for the 25th Knesset, when approximately 6.2 million Israelis were eligible to vote.

Jerusalem is expected to record the country’s largest increase in voters, with approximately 60,000 people eligible to cast ballots for the first time.

That is three times the number expected in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, which ranks second with about 20,000 new voters.

Bnei Brak follows with approximately 19,000 new voters, followed by Haifa with about 15,000, Petah Tikva with about 14,000, Rishon Lezion with about 13,500, Ashdod with about 13,000, and Beersheba with about 12,000.

In the 2022 election, the parties that later formed the governing coalition received approximately 75% of the vote in Jerusalem. United Torah Judaism was the city’s largest party, receiving about 24% of the vote.

Israel’s youngest community members 

Kfar Kesef leads the list of communities with the highest proportion of new voters, at 69%, followed by Beit Berl at 64%, Migdal Oz at 53%, and Kerem B’Yavneh at 50%.

Most are small communities characterized by educational institutions, young populations, or rapid population growth.

Among Israel’s major cities, Elad stands out, with new voters accounting for about 24% of all eligible voters, an unusually high share compared with other cities.

Established communities see slower electoral renewal

The analysis also found a link between socioeconomic status and the rate at which new voters are joining the electorate. In communities ranked in the middle and upper socioeconomic clusters, new voters generally account for only 7% to 8% of eligible voters.

By contrast, the highest rates of electoral renewal were recorded in areas with large haredi and Arab populations, most of which are concentrated in the lower socioeconomic clusters.

The data also show that women make up a slight majority of new voters. Approximately 303,000 women, or 50.9% of all new voters, are expected to cast ballots for the first time, compared with about 292,000 men, or 49.1%.

Haredi population drives electoral growth

The analysis found that the haredi population is Israel’s primary driver of electoral growth. Approximately 105,000 new voters come from the haredi sector, which accounts for about 16% of all eligible voters, nearly twice the national average.

In other words, one in every six eligible voters in the haredi sector is a new voter.

By comparison, new voters account for approximately 12.2% of eligible voters in the religious-Zionist sector, about 10.6% in the Arab sector, and only about 7% in areas without a dominant sectoral affiliation.

More than 118,000 young Arab Israelis are expected to vote for the first time in the upcoming election, the highest number of new voters among all sectors. The religious-Zionist sector also recorded a relatively high number of new voters, with approximately 35,000.

Women make up a significant proportion of new voters across all sectors. In the haredi sector, they account for about 54% of new voters, while in the Arab and religious-Zionist sectors, they account for about 52%. In areas without a dominant sectoral affiliation, women make up about 50% of new voters.

“The upcoming election is expected to be significantly influenced by the entry of hundreds of thousands of new voters into the voting population. The data show that the haredi and Arab publics continue to display the highest rates of electoral renewal in Israel, while in the larger and more established cities, the rates at which new voters are joining are significantly lower,” said Yafit Ben Haim, CEO of Points, which specializes in collecting and analyzing geographic and demographic data for businesses.

“Ahead of the election, we are seeing that the parties have adopted a model from the business world, which involves analyzing data while understanding its demographic impact. In other words, determining which communities, sectors, and socioeconomic groups the new voters come from,” she added.

“This data helps provide an understanding of what motivates them, which issues are important to them, and how they can be influenced. This will be one of the decisive factors in the October 2026 election.”

Greece‘s security council, KYSEA, is expected to give its final approval on Thursday for the purchase of a multi-layer air defense system from Israel, worth up to €3.5 billion ($4 billion), and several types of drones, two sources told Reuters.

KYSEA gave its initial approval earlier this year and is expected to approve the procurement contracts, an official with knowledge of the deal told Reuters.

Greece wants to build a multi-layer anti-ballistic, anti-aircraft and anti-drone system, called “Achilles Shield”. Israeli radars and missiles from Rafael and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will form the core of the system.

The Greek government has said it plans to spend about €28 billion by 2036 to modernize its armed forces, including buying up to 40 new F-35 fighter jets from the US and frigates from France and Italy.

Greece spends nearly 3.5% of gross domestic product on defence, a higher proportion than many fellow NATO countries, due to its long-standing dispute with Turkey.

With strong economic and diplomatic ties, Greece and Israel operate an air training centre on Greek territory, hold joint military annual drills and cooperate on anti-drone systems and cybersecurity.

Greece previously approved purchase of 36 Israeli artillery systems

Greece last year approved the purchase of 36 Israeli-made rocket artillery systems for about €650 million.

“KYSEA will also approve the purchase of drones from the US and Israel,” said the official.

A second official confirmed the information on the defense system from Israel and the purchase of drones.

Greece currently uses US Patriot and old Russian S-300 systems to protect its airspace.

The Defense Ministry declined a request from The Jerusalem Post to comment.

Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.

Content warning: This article contains disturbing video and descriptions of violence. Reader discretion is advised.

Police officers in Madison, Wisconsin, fatally shot a man they were trying to arrest on Wednesday during a street-corner scuffle, which was recorded by onlookers and went viral on the internet, sparking protests in the city.

Police said the officer who fired his weapon was injured by a knife that the man produced during the struggle.

Bystander video of the incident circulating online and on news media outlets suggested the man who was shot was a person of color, and all four officers involved in the incident appeared to be white.

As in many other deadly police shootings in the US in recent years, race added to tensions over whether lethal force was justified, with an African-American community advocacy group saying the man shot in Wisconsin’s capital city was Black.

Speaking to reporters at a news conference, Madison Police Chief John Patterson described the man who was killed only as a male in his 30s, and declined to specify his race, or the race of any of the four officers – three men and one woman.

GRAPHIC VIDEO: 12 News obtained video of today’s deadly police shooting in Madison. Police say the man killed was armed with a knife and injured an officer. https://t.co/jdutkrmHCN pic.twitter.com/vxQU9vRrUJ

— WISN 12 NEWS (@WISN12News) July 23, 2026

Patterson said the incident unfolded when police responded to a call about a person who was suspected of “checking parked vehicles” in the Marquette neighborhood of Madison, the capital city of Wisconsin. When police located the man and tried to make contact with him, he fled on a bicycle.

Officers caught up with him about 30 minutes later, and the scuffle ensued after the man “either fell off or was taken off the bicycle by officers,” the police chief said.

Independent investigation into involved officers ordered

Patterson said an “independent” investigation would be conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s criminal division, and that all four officers would be placed on administrative leave.

The police chief said he had reviewed two bystander-filmed video clips circulating online, but said there was additional footage that had not been widely seen, and he asked the public not to jump to conclusions.

Asked whether he would classify the shooting as an apparent case of excessive use of force, Patterson answered, “I can’t determine that.”

The video going viral presents “one perspective” of the incident, he said, adding, “it is not a full overview of everything that was visible from different angles.”

The video online shows the four uniformed officers grappling with the man amid shouts of “Let go” and “he’s got a knife.”

In one clip, an officer is heard yelling “Taser” as police clutch at the man. Seconds later, the man is forced to the ground, and one officer stomps on his legs as another pulls his gun and fires three shots. That officer then appears to re-holster the weapon and kneel down to the man, who has stopped moving.

Police Chief says three shots fired by a single officer

Patterson said it appeared to him, also, that there were three shots, and all were fired by a single officer, who he described as a “veteran” of the department.

He said the officer who fired his weapon did so after he had suffered injuries from a “large, fixed-blade knife” that the man had “pulled out or produced” moments before while police were trying to subdue him as he resisted arrest.

A second officer suffered an unspecified injury during the confrontation, according to the police chief.

Between the emergence of the knife and the gunfire, another officer attempted to immobilize the man with a Taser stun gun, but the device, for unknown reasons, proved ineffective, Patterson said.

How much time elapsed between the knife emerging and the shots fired was not clear, he said. But an object that may have been the knife is seen on the ground from the start of the video clip, which did not capture the beginning of the struggle.

News media images showed crowds of demonstrators gathering and marching down the state Capitol in protest after the shooting.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to have struck and damaged US military equipment stores, drones, helicopters, and a Patriot missile system at bases in Kuwait on Thursday, according to Iranian semi-official state news outlet Fars News Agency.

According to Fars, the IRGC stated that in retaliation for what it described as US interference in the Strait of Hormuz, it struck a US military equipment warehouse and a Patriot missile system at Kuwait’s Ali al-Salem Air Base.

It also claimed to have heavily damaged US helicopters and drones at a separate base, in addition to a telecommunications tower.

Earlier on Thursday morning, Kuwait’s army stated that it had confronted a wave of Iranian drone attacks.

IRGC claims oil tanker caught fire after hitting mine in Strait of Hormuz

The IRGC also claimed that an oil tanker attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz caught on fire after hitting a mine in the waterway.

Claiming responsibility for planting the mine, the IRGC said that it maintains control of the strait and asserted that as long as US forces remain in the region, the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed to all oil tankers.

On Wednesday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) disputed Iranian claims regarding the alleged closure of the strait, assuring that the waterway remains open for transit regardless of IRGC attacks. 

🚫CLAIM: Today, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy claimed that it controls exit and entry to the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting that international mariners can only use routes the IRGC prefers. This is FALSE.

✅FACT: Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz.… pic.twitter.com/CK7wZnpumH

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 22, 2026

CENTCOM stated that, while it is upholding a blockade on Iranian ports, commercial vessels continue to transit the strait with US military forces.

The US military has completed a 12th consecutive night of strikes in Iran on Thursday morning, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X/Twitter.

“US forces struck Iranian military targets including maritime capabilities, missile and drone storage facilities, coastal surveillance sites, and air defense assets,” CENTCOM said.

During the night, several explosions were heard in the southern Iranian cities of Sirik and Bushehr on Thursday morning, according to reports from local media.

https://t.co/kpqIEZRZ36

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 23, 2026

“The mission will continue to further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters,” CENTCOM explained.

A second missile attack on Bushehr targeted a military site, Iran’s semi-official Fars reported.

US strikes on the Khuzestan province of Iran

Deputy Governor of the Khuzestan province reported that a location near the southwestern Iranian city of Ahwaz was targeted in US missile attacks, semi-official Mehr news reported.

Iranian state media SNN reported two dead after US strikes near the passenger terminal at the Shalamcheh border crossing with Iraq, citing a security official.

The Deputy Governor for Security and Law Enforcement in the Khuzestan Province initially said that the attack had resulted in no casualties or injuries, according to reports from the semi-official Tasnim News Agency.

A US missile also struck the outskirts of Andimeshk in the southwestern Iran, Tasnim reported.

The video opens in a field of flowers. An AI-generated Gadi Eisenkot runs forward with his arms outstretched. Ahead stands a young man in a white shirt bearing the words “Israeli unity.” For a moment, the scene appears to show a reunion: a father moving toward a son, a bereaved nation moving toward the unity it has invoked since October 7.

Then Eisenkot turns away. He leaves the young man standing and embraces Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas instead. The Likud campaign message: Eisenkot speaks of unity, but will supposedly abandon it to form a government dependent on an Arab party.

Many Israelis saw something else. They saw Gal Eisenkot, the former IDF chief of staff’s son, who was killed fighting in Gaza in December 2023. The resemblance, whether intended or produced through carelessness, turned a political attack into something cruel.

Likud denied that the figure was meant to represent Gal Eisenkot. A revised version replaced him with a woman. That did not answer the central question.

What were you thinking?

Upcoming election first since October 7 Hamas massacre

Israel’s election campaign will culminate on October 27, the first election since the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023. It should have begun with humility and reflection. Instead, an opening image appeared to use a bereaved father’s grief as political ammunition.

The timing makes the incident more disturbing. On Tisha B’Av, Jews mourn the destruction of the Temples and recall the rabbinic teaching that the Second Temple was destroyed because of sinat hinam, baseless hatred among Jews.

The phrase is repeated so often that it risks becoming ceremonial. Its warning remains urgent. A nation can confront powerful enemies and still weaken itself through contempt, humiliation, factional hatred, and the conviction that political opponents fall outside the legitimate community.

October 7 should have forced a national reckoning. The terrorists who crossed the border did not distinguish between Right and Left, religious and secular, coalition and opposition. Soldiers and reservists from every part of society fought together. Civilians rescued strangers. Families opened their homes to evacuees. Israelis discovered how deeply they depend on one another.

Where is that reflection now?

Every party entering this election must ask what it got wrong before October 7. The government must account for the failures that preceded the massacre and for decisions made during the war. The opposition should examine its rhetoric and its role in deepening mistrust. Leaders must consider whether years of portraying every dispute as an existential battle damaged the bonds holding Israeli society together.

That reckoning cannot take place while bereavement becomes campaign material.

Gadi Eisenkot is a political candidate. His policies, alliances, decisions, and record deserve rigorous scrutiny. Likud has every right to challenge his ability to form a coalition and ask whether he would rely on Ra’am. It has no right to create imagery that evokes his fallen son to wound him or mobilize voters.

Netanyahu and Likud should apologize plainly. Removing the image was appropriate, but insufficient. Leadership requires acknowledging harm without hiding behind denials about what an artificial-intelligence program produced.

The same standards must apply to everyone. Opposition leaders should reject language portraying Likud voters as primitive, corrupt, or morally defective. Coalition politicians should stop branding critics as traitors, anarchists, or supporters of terrorism. Arab citizens must not become a symbol of political contamination. Religious and secular Israelis must not be encouraged to despise one another for electoral gain.

Unity allows sharp disagreement. It requires accepting that political opponents remain members of the same nation, entitled to dignity and a voice in its future.

Tisha B’Av demands memory with consequences. If politicians recite the lessons of sinat hinam and return the next morning to campaigns built on degradation, the fast becomes an empty ritual.

The first election since October 7 should show that Israel learned something from the catastrophe. It should produce serious arguments about security, responsibility, military service, the economy, the judiciary, and the country’s future. It should also establish boundaries that no political advantage can justify crossing.

Israel has buried too many sons and daughters. Their memory should summon humility, responsibility, and unity. It must never become ammunition in another campaign of hatred.

The United States is increasing the available forces at its disposal in the Middle East in preparation for the possibility of escalating the ongoing conflict with Iran, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.

According to the WSJ, US President Donald Trump is considering expanding his attacks on Iran, and the added forces in the region are intended to provide him with more military options.

US officials also told the WSJ that fighter jets have been positioned across the Middle East, and that bomber aircraft are on high alert.

Israeli officials also believe Trump is preparing to significantly escalate the American military campaign against Iran, according to two Israeli officials.

According to the assessment, an expanded US campaign targeting Iranian strategic infrastructure and senior regime officials would likely prompt Tehran to retaliate directly against Israel.

Trump threatens Iranian infrastructure

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump threatened that the US will strike Iranian bridges and power plants in retaliation for every time Iran fires on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

“The US will bomb and destroy one bridge or power plant, including those located next to, or in, the capital city of Tehran,” Trump said.

This will happen “from this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz,” he stated.

Amichai Stein and James Genn contributed to this report.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has asked diplomats to push back against talk of a “kill switch” in American technology products following the White House’s short-lived decision to keep foreigners from America’s most advanced AI models, according to a recent cable reviewed by Reuters.

The talking points, which were circulated worldwide, show how US diplomats are trying to deal with the international backlash from the Trump administration’s efforts to control how and to whom American AI companies release their models.

The White House referred questions to the State Department, which in turn pointed Reuters to an editorial from US Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg that decried “autarkist measures” which aimed to push American technology aside in favor of native AI solutions, a trend he described as “backward and counterproductive.”

Rubio’s missive follows the Trump administration’s June 12 move to block foreign nationals from Anthropic’s most advanced models, Mythos and Fable, on national security grounds, prompting the AI company to abruptly suspend access to the models globally. Asian tech executives seized on the disruption to tout their own alternatives and European lawmakers redoubled their calls for digital independence from the United States.

Although the ban was lifted later the same month, the fallout lingers. Combined with Trump’s June 2 executive order, which asked AI companies to voluntarily submit their models to 30 days of cybersecurity testing ahead of their release, it signaled a new appetite from the US government to police AI companies’ products – and potentially yank them even from the hands of allies at a moment’s notice.

European lawmaker Christophe Grudler said the episode showed that “the US holds a real ‘kill-switch’ over essential technologies and that they are more than willing to use it.” Aura Salla, a member of the European People’s Party, the European Parliament’s biggest political group, said that the continent “cannot keep building its tech stack on access that can be switched off overnight by a foreign government.”

Rubio tells diplomats how to combat ‘AI sovereignty’ arguments

The State Department cable, dated July 16, did not mention Anthropic by name or refer specifically to last month’s ban or Trump’s executive order, but it provided American diplomats with talking points aimed at countering the arguments that have sprung up in their wake.

“Pausing narrow uses or requiring a 30-day testing window prior to the release of a highly potent new technology is not a ‘Kill Switch’,” the cable said. “There is no government ‘magic button.’ This narrative is exaggerated and doesn’t capture the nuances of US technology policy.”

Rubio’s cable pushed diplomats to fight “so-called ‘digital sovereignty'” initiatives, which it defined as efforts to restrict American tech firms’ access to foreign markets, subject them to localization requirements, charge them “network usage fees,” or force them to follow local rules around issues such as content moderation. Rubio had already instructed American diplomats to oppose similar data sovereignty measures earlier this year, Reuters previously reported.

The cable also discussed how to counter “AI sovereignty” arguments, instructing American diplomats to advertise American AI products as the best tools available and describe efforts to build rival AI systems from the ground up as a waste of time and resources.

“American AI companies can build large, independent AI infrastructure, with secure and robust supply chains that minimize backdoor risk,” the cable said. “They build it. It’s yours.”

Europe concerned over Trump administration’s threats

Edward Fishman, director of the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomics at the Council on Foreign Relations, said he sympathized with the safety considerations that prompted the US government to first impose restrictions on Anthropic’s models, which can turbocharge complex hacking operations. But Fishman said the Trump administration’s habit of wielding coercive economic tools such as tariffs and sanctions against friend and foe alike made the State Department’s pitch a tough sell.

European partners in particular were concerned that if their businesses became “ultra reliant on US frontier AI models like those made by Anthropic and OpenAI, that the US could use that as an economic weapon against them down the road,” he said.

Salla, the European lawmaker, told Reuters that the Trump administration’s repeated threats against countries like Denmark had generated an atmosphere of mistrust that no amount of rhetoric could dispel.

“They have not shown us any indication that they are reliable partners,” she said.

From Mount Scopus, Rabbi Akiva, with three other sages, gazes down at the destroyed Second Temple. A fox, fulfilling Jeremiah’s dismal prophecy, pokes its head from the ruins. Jewish history has reached its end. 

Akiva laughs. According to the Babylonian Talmud, the other sages stare at him, incredulous: History has testified to the obsolescence of the Jewish people. Their story is sealed; the book is closed. 

But Akiva sees a different ending to the story: Just as the prophecy of a destroyed temple came true, the prophecy of a restored Jerusalem would also be fulfilled to the letter. Akiva laughed amidst the ruins because he knew the story wasn’t over. 

Two thousand years later, and days before the Tisha B’Av fast that marks the destruction of the Second Temple and other historical calamities facing the Jewish people, we understand Akiva’s laughter – not a light-hearted “ha-ha,” but anguish and defiance in a single breath.

I feel this acutely as a purveyor of Jewish stories that continue the saga the destruction of the temple failed to end. Like so many others, I was distressed when, last week, the president of PEN America, Dinaw Mengestu, resigned – not over a censored book or a jailed writer, but in protest of his organization’s report on the exclusion of Jewish and Israeli writers and artists. In a blog post earlier this month, the organization described events cancelled, invitations withdrawn – an unofficial, but well-orchestrated, international ghosting. 

Former PEN America dismisses exclusion of Israeli writers

Those stories didn’t appear to move Mengestu. Instead, he rebuked PEN America for not standing with those who would boycott Israel. Boycott, said the head of an organization founded to fight boycotts, “is a form of dialogue.”

Novelists rushed to applaud him. One called the report “one of those fake anti-semitism pieces.”

Here on the ground in Israel, PEN America’s report was greeted as validation: An institution founded “to oppose any form of suppression of freedom of expression” testified to the exclusion we have been living with for almost three years. As Meg Keene reported in these pages, book deals with Jewish or Israeli authors have fallen more than 80% since 2023. She also cites the pernicious influence example of “Is your fav author a zionist???” –  a color-coded blacklist of Jewish writers.

PEN’s report also cited Writing on the Wall, the non-profit we founded after October 7, among the “new outlets for Jewish writers” attempting to break the publishing chokehold. It also named my co-founder, Ronit Eitan, a novelist forced to hold back her own manuscript because, as she said, “nobody wants to hear my voice.” 

In the first weeks of the war that followed the October 7 attacks, there were no classes at Bar-Ilan University, where I teach. But my students kept showing up – writing for a future that seemed impossible. In the impromptu workshops that I ran, they chose creativity over despair. Those sessions became Writing on the Wall. Writing on the Wall created the magazine, BALAGAN – Hebrew for a kind of controlled chaos, because that is the name for what we are living through. We published artists and voices while others were being told to disappear. We did not know, at the time, that this was what we were doing. It was only when PEN America named us that we understood we had been part of the story all along.

Rereading the book, remaking the future

Amidst the ruins, Akiva rereads the book the sages had declared closed and in doing so, remakes it for the future. In his rereading, the destruction is the guarantee of the return. The Temple in ruins, what they see in front of their eyes, is just part of a continuing story: a future redemption remains on the horizon. This future requires understanding paradox: we are without consolation, exiled, lost; nevertheless, we are God’s chosen people, courageous, still here.

So we begin where Akiva began: not only by answering our enemies – Rome then, the writers and publishers applauding our exclusion now – but by refusing to be silenced.

A people is carried through history not only by its armies but by its songs and its arguments. David was Israel’s greatest warrior and poet. Our writers and artists create out of the conviction that we must do justice to our suffering, to our losses. That we must create a future for which we have already sacrificed so much.

We make that future not by waiting for the cultural gatekeepers to readmit us, but by refusing to let them hold the pen. When the international community attempts to close the book on us, our defiance is to author our own reality.

Today, we are all Rabbi Akiva, laughing not because we have found the bright side, but because, like Akiva, we refuse to let the story end. We do what Jews have done since Rabbi Akiva: After destruction, we create.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.

The popular French Jewish DJ Barbara Butch is striking a defiant tone after pro-Palestinian activists disrupted her concert in Grenoble, France, vowing not to be cowed from performing.

Butch has also drawn support from Jewish activists who demonstrated outside the office of the far-left party whose top Grenoble official called for her performance to be canceled and has since doubled down, drawing support from anti-Zionist French Jews in the process.

Butch, who came to prominence after appearing at the opening ceremony of the 2024 summer Olympics in Paris, had to be escorted off the stage at the Cabaret Frappé festival on Saturday, barely 20 minutes into her set.

The City of Grenoble filed a complaint against what it called “persons unknown” following the incident. Mayor Laurence Ruffin said authorities had evidence of violence and sabotage of electrical equipment. She rejected arguments that the protest was peaceful.

“There were actions that are unacceptable,” Ruffin said, adding that while Grenoble has consistently supported the Palestinian people, demonstrations “must be peaceful and democratic.”

According to Butch, protesters shouted insults and threw objects, including glass bottles that shattered near her DJ console. In a video statement posted to social media on Monday, she said she had been frightened and described the attack as “the next stage in a campaign” that, she said, had sought for months to exclude her from artistic and public life. She added that legal complaints had been prepared and she vowed: “I will return to the stage.”

Far-left pro-Palestinian activists organize against Barbara Butch

The attack on Butch came after pro-Palestinian activists called to boycott or cancel her appearance, citing her support for legislation widely viewed as pro-Israel and her travel to Tel Aviv.

A leader of the effort was Allan Brunson, the Grenoble chair of the far-left party France Unbowed, which has a pro-Palestinian platform. (Its leader, Jean-Luc Melenchon, has been accused of echoing antisemitic stereotypes and dismissing the threat of antisemitism.) After politicians from other parties called for him to be sanctioned over his calls, Brunon tweeted ahead of the concert, “What a pleasure it would be for me to be sanctioned for calling on activists supportive of the Palestinian people to organize against the arrival of B. Butch.”

After its disruption, he posted a video of pro-Palestinian activists rallying in Grenoble and said he would next take aim at the city’s formal relationship with the Israeli city of Rehovot.

The legislation, known as Yadan after the French lawmaker, Caroline Yadan, who proposed it in 2024, aimed to combat “new forms of antisemitism” by expanding terrorism-related offenses and criminalizing calls for the destruction of a state recognized by France – a provision widely understood to be aimed at calls for Israel’s destruction, although the bill did not explicitly name Israel.

Supporters argued the legislation was a necessary response to the rising antisemitism following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Critics said the bill risked restricting freedom of expression by blurring the line between anti-Zionism and antisemitism.

The proposal divided public opinion and the bill was withdrawn in April, a month after a group of artists signed a March 2026 essay in Le Point supporting it. Butch, who has cited her participation in the French Jewish scouting movement as formative, was among the signatories.

Following the Grenoble incident, Butch and her lawyer, Audrey Msellati, co-authored an op-ed in Le Monde arguing that the protest had crossed the line from political disagreement into intimidation and violence – “the one separating protest from coercion, disagreement from intimidation, speech from violence. We were no longer responding to an artist: we were chasing her off the stage.”

They wrote that while people are free to criticize an artist or disagree with Butch’s views, “one cannot organize her disappearance,” arguing that campaigns to pressure venues into canceling performances threaten artistic freedom and democratic principles.

Yonathan Arfi, the president of CRIF, France’s communal Jewish body, said in a statement that the demonstration against Butch is part of a worrying pattern, which he attributed to France Unbowed, of intimidation of Jewish artists that he said was “turning cultural stages into political tribunals.” He called on the French government to “urgently” create a plan to combat boycotts in the arts.

The European Jewish Congress, too, expressed support for Butch, saying, “We stand in full solidarity with Barbara Butch. No one should be intimidated, threatened or targeted for being Jewish or for speaking out against antisemitism.”

The Union of French Jewish Students, along with a handful of other liberal Jewish groups, rallied near France Unbowed’s Paris headquarters on Monday in support of Butch. Brunon has drawn support, on the other hand, from anti-Zionist French Jews who say the Yadan bill represents an exploitation of antisemitism concerns to silence criticism of Israel.

Butch files complaints after receiving death threats, abuse

The Grenoble incident is the latest in a series of controversies involving Butch, who became internationally known after performing in drag during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

She filed criminal complaints after receiving death threats and online abuse after the ceremony. Four men were later convicted in connection with the online harassment campaign against her.

The latest incident has also drawn attention from abroad, eliciting support for her from fellow artists and followers on social media.

One widely shared Instagram post by @YiddishFeminist described Butch as “a proud, loud queer Jewish woman” who had faced “antisemitism, homophobia, and fatphobia.”

“No one should ever be forced to leave a stage because a hateful crowd resorts to intimidation and violence,” the poster said. “Today, we are all Barbara Butch.”

Britain’s Foreign Office withdrew embassy staff from Iran on Wednesday, following US President Donald Trump threatening to “bomb and destroy” Iranian infrastructure.

The UK government website explained that “Due to the ongoing security situation, we have taken the precautionary measure to temporarily withdraw UK staff from Iran,” adding that “UK government support is extremely limited in Iran.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump threatened that “any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT,” in a post on Truth Social.

The UK government website explained that “the situation in the Middle East remains unpredictable. Since 8 July there have been strikes and retaliatory attacks by Iran in a number of locations across the region against US military and civilian infrastructure.

“There is a risk of more attacks and unforeseen escalation in the region.”

Israel is no longer on the UK’s ‘no travel list’

The Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) removed Israel from the UK’s “no travel” list in June following a year of advising “against all travel.”

The FCDO still advised against travel to Gaza, the Gaza envelope, parts of the West Bank, and northern Israel.

On Wednesday it updated the guidance to warn about “regional tensions, including information about recent strikes and retaliatory attacks by Iran.”

The advice noted that “the Iranian regime had stated its intention to target locations associated with the US and Israel, including organizations, businesses, facilities, and institutions.”

“British nationals currently in the Middle East should be prepared for possible flight cancellations, periodic airspace closures, and potential travel disruptions,” the FCDO concluded.

Nauru, a Pacific island nation in the North Pacific, said on Wednesday that it has decided to open an embassy in Jerusalem, becoming the 10th country to do so.

The decision came after Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar reached an understanding with Lionel Aingimea, Nauru’s deputy president and minister of foreign affairs, trade and justice, during their meeting in Fiji last month.

Aingimea arrived in Fiji for the opening of Israel’s embassy in the country.

Nauru is one of Israel’s most consistent supporters at the UN and filed a political opinion in Israel’s favor in the case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

The Pacific island nation also showed support by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2019.

Colombia agrees to move embassy to Jerusalem

Sa’ar also reached a similar understanding with Colombia’s incoming foreign minister last week.

During a meeting in Washington with Colombia’s incoming foreign minister, Omar Bula Escobar, he agreed to fully restore diplomatic and economic relations between Israel and Colombia.

The agreement is intended to reverse the rupture initiated by outgoing Colombian President Gustavo Petro in May 2024 and renew bilateral cooperation after Colombia’s new government takes office.

The two ministers also agreed to exchange ambassadors, abolish visa requirements for Israeli and Colombian citizens, and expand Israeli development assistance to Colombia through MASHAV, Israel’s international development cooperation agency, the ministry said. Bula told Sa’ar that Colombia’s incoming government intends to open an embassy in Jerusalem.

Shir Perets contributed to this report.

Two suspects were arrested on Tuesday after allegedly planning a terror attack in Jerusalem, the police announced on Wednesday.

The two suspects were caught in their homes in two separate buildings in Shuafat, which Border Police entered covertly.

Once arrested, the police were able to remove the suspects from the area without further incident, and transfer them for interrogation.

Later, the police also announced that they had located several illegal weapons and other illicit items in the town of A-Ram.

The items were distributed across two locations, the police stated, and consisted of a Glock pistol and ammunition, a hunting rifle, two Palestinian flags, a police vest, an M5 scope, and an FN pistol.

During the raid, the police arrested three suspects in their 20s, and transferred them for interrogation. Two of the suspects had their detentions extended until Sunday, while the third was released under conditions.

Illegal residents arrested by Israel Police in Tel Aviv area

Israel Police arrested an illegal resident who is suspected of committing “indecent acts” against two minors and a young woman, the police also announced on Wednesday.

According to the police, the 20-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday evening after civilians summoned the police to Charles Clore Beach in Tel Aviv, where he had allegedly assaulted the three victims.

The suspect was detained and interrogated at the police station, and later imprisoned. 

Another illegal resident was arrested on Wednesday. The police stated that the suspect, aged 22, had originally claimed to be an Israeli citizen, but that officers investigating illegal residents had learned that he was actually a Palestinian from Hebron living and working in Israel illegally.

The suspect was caught wearing a kippah and working at a restaurant in Holon.

He was arrested and taken for questioning, and the owner of the business he had been employed at was detained.

h

Police seize counterfeit, stolen goods in Beit Hanina

The police also announced on Wednesday that they had conducted a major generalized crackdown in Beit Hanina.

During the crackdown, the police foreclosed two vehicles whose owners were in debt, with a total value of approximately 122 thousand shekel.

They also seized a variety of goods suspected of being stolen or counterfeit, including 3,330 miniature drink cans, 17 ALO brand shirts, 19 accessories such as belts and Louis Vuitton brand handbags, and 13 Rolex brand watches.

Owners of the businesses tied to these items were taken in for questioning, and the investigation is ongoing, the police stated.

Dear Mayor Mamdani, 

We have met a few times. After our first meeting, I wrote publicly that I did not believe it was fair to call you an antisemite simply because of your views on Israel. I meant it. I do not regret meeting you or resisting the pressure to reduce you to a label. 

I am writing now for the same reason: Honest dialogue cannot require silence when something hurts. Your video about Benjamin Netanyahu hurt me deeply. 

You called him a “war criminal” and “the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people.” You said he was “not welcome in New York” and urged the federal government to join the International Criminal Court and execute its warrant. 

What hurt me was not that you criticized Netanyahu. 

I have serious concerns about his leadership, his government, and aspects of Israel’s conduct in Gaza. Palestinian suffering is real, and no moral person should look away. Millions of Israelis oppose Netanyahu. Few may even believe he should answer before a court in The Hague. They still love their country. Their criticism does not cancel their belonging. 

The same is true for me. I am an American Jew, but Israel is not just a foreign-policy issue. Today it serves as the homeland of the Jewish people and the home of millions – Jews and Arabs, religious and secular, Netanyahu supporters and people who cannot wait to see him leave office. 

Israel is deeply embedded in Jewish history

As I write this, Tisha B’Av begins tonight. Tomorrow, together with Jews around the world, I will fast and mourn the destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem and the exile and tragedies that followed. 

That fast explains something I fear your video did not fully recognize. My bond with Jerusalem did not begin with Netanyahu. It did not begin in 1948. For two thousand years, Jews prayed toward Jerusalem and refused to forget it. Israel is woven into our faith, memory, and identity. A prime minister can disappoint me, anger me, or fail morally without severing that bond. 

Netanyahu is not Israel. No prime minister is.

Yet your condemnation of Netanyahu came with little recognition of Israeli humanity. There was no October 7. No Hamas. No hostages. No acknowledgment of families living with massacre, displacement, and fear. No recognition of Israelis who oppose Netanyahu and his government’s policies but still run to shelters and watch loved ones called into military service. 

No statement can contain this conflict’s tortured history. Palestinians should not have to begin every expression of grief with a disclaimer about Hamas. Israelis should not have to begin every expression of grief or fear with a defense of Netanyahu – or an apology for their government. Neither people should be reduced to leaders they may oppose. 

But this was a deliberate message from the mayor of New York City. What you omitted mattered. 

I once sat on a New York City train wearing my kippah when someone looked toward me and screamed, “Free Palestine.” 

I had said nothing about Israel. I was not defending Netanyahu. I was simply a visibly Jewish American riding a train in my own city. My kippah was enough to turn me, in a stranger’s eyes, into a representative of a government thousands of miles away. 

That experience did not make me want to cut Israel out of my identity. It made me reject the false choice imposed on Jews: Either defend every action of an Israeli government or renounce our attachment to Israel to prove our innocence. 

I will do neither. 

I know you understand that your words do not remain inside a video. They travel into subway cars, campuses, offices, and streets, where the distinctions among Netanyahu, Israel, Israelis, Zionism, and ordinary Jews are already dangerously blurred. 

I am not blaming you for every antisemitic word spoken in New York. That would be another form of collective guilt, and I reject collective guilt in every form. But as mayor, you are responsible for the climate into which you speak. 

Jews cannot amputate Israel from our identity

Criticize Netanyahu. Challenge his policies. Demand accountability. Speak forcefully for Palestinian civilians. 

But please do not flatten Israel into Netanyahu, or Jews into the Israeli government. Do not erase October 7, Hamas, the hostages, or the millions of Israelis who disagree with their prime minister yet still love their country. And do not ask Jews to amputate Israel from our identity before our pain is considered worthy of recognition. 

I met you because I believed people with profound disagreements could still speak to one another as human beings. I still believe that. 

I was right not to demonize you then, and I am right to challenge you now.

I am not writing this to close a door. I am writing because I believe our meetings opened one. 

You have asked New Yorkers to see Palestinian humanity. I see Palestinian humanity. I am asking you, with the same moral seriousness, to see Israeli humanity and Jewish pain too. 

Sincerely, 

Dov Bleich

The writer is an Orthodox Jewish New York businessman.

Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs, who has drawn criticism for ties to white nationalist figures, will officially be the Republican nominee for Arizona governor, after winning the primary on Tuesday night.

Biggs, who is backed by US President Donald Trump, has drawn criticism for encouraging Stew Peters, an internet personality, and appearing on his show. Peters has labeled Judaism a “death cult” and has called for a “final solution” that involves the deportation of American Jews, and multiple watchdogs identify him as promoting antisemitism.

“Keep preaching,” Biggs told Peters at the end of his June 2023 appearance on the show, during which they discussed government corruption and Biggs agreed with Peters that the FBI should be abolished.

Biggs, 67, who won handily with 73.4% of votes according to multiple media outlets, will challenge Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in what is expected to be a competitive race in November. Biggs has represented Arizona’s 5th Congressional District, which is outside of Phoenix, since 2017.

His opponent in the GOP primary, Rep. David Schweikert, had put out a campaign mailer in March tying Biggs to white supremacy and antisemitism. The mailer featured mentions of Biggs’ interview with Peters as well as Biggs’ endorsement of Texas GOP candidate Brandon Herrera, who owned a copy of Mein Kampf.

Biggs’ campaign did not respond to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency’s request for comment, but in a local TV interview last month he called the accusations politically motivated and said, “This notion that I am antisemitic is absolutely one of the most ludicrous, insane arguments ever.” 

Biggs opposes Antisemitism Awareness Act

In 2024, Biggs opposed the bipartisan Antisemitism Awareness Act, which passed in the House of Representatives. Biggs wrote that he opposes antisemitism and that the “pro-Hamas, pro-genocide, anti-Israel events happening across the nation are sickening.” He rejected the legislation, he said, because it was “so poorly drafted that it violates the Constitution and could have serious ramifications for the Christian community.” Right wing Republicans objected especially to the bill citing a definition of antisemitism that included as an example the claim that the Jews killed Jesus.

That same year, Biggs attended a rally co-sponsored by the Proud Boys, an extremist militia style group. In 2019, he spoke at a “Patriotism over Socialism” rally in Arizona, which watchdogs warned would draw extremist groups.

Media Matters, a group that mostly monitors right-wing groups, in 2023 wrote that “the links between Biggs and far-right extremists have been well-documented,” citing among other things his ties to another far-right group, the Oath Keepers. 

The Republican Jewish Coalition did not respond to a question over whether it would support Biggs’ run for governor.

At a campaign event on Tuesday, Hobbs skewered Biggs for his denial of Trump’s 2020 election loss, and for not acknowledging Hobbs’ narrow 2022 gubernatorial victory over Republican Kari Lake.

The United States and Saudi Arabia have reached a nuclear cooperation agreement, the US Energy Department said on Wednesday.

“U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Saudi Minister of Energy His Royal Highness (HRH) Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman signed a peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement, commonly known as a 123 agreement, alongside an accompanying bilateral safeguards agreement,” the US Energy Department announced in a post on X/Twitter.

https://t.co/AjPQhus5EP

— U.S. Department of Energy (@ENERGY) July 22, 2026

The Trump administration submitted to Congress a pact with Saudi Arabia to share nuclear power technology that does not include a plan for normalization with Israel or safeguards the US has long said would stop materials from being used in nuclear weapons programs, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

The long-discussed US-Saudi nuclear pact was once envisioned as one part of a broad deal that could lead to recognition of Israel, but Saudi Arabia pulled back from the possibility during the Israel-Hamas war.

The administration is set to submit to Congress within days a document known as a 123 Agreement that will be signed by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi energy minister Abdulaziz bin Salman, two sources told Reuters.

The two signed a preliminary agreement in Riyadh last year.

The White House and US Department of Energy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The agreement refers to Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and is required to permit the US government and American companies to work with entities in the kingdom to develop a multibillion-dollar civil nuclear industry.

Agreement does not bar Saudi Arabia from pathway to nuclear weapon

The agreement does not include the “Gold Standard” that would block the kingdom from enriching uranium and reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, both of which are potential pathways to nuclear weapons, said the sources familiar with the agreement.

The agreement also does not include the “Additional Protocol,” which grants the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency broad and more intrusive oversight of a country’s nuclear activities, such as the power to carry out snap inspections at undeclared locations, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive issues.

One of the sources said the administration would submit the agreement as soon as Wednesday, and another said it would be submitted in a week or so. A third, who did not say whether the agreement lacks safeguards, said it would be submitted soon.

Wright had said the preliminary agreement was not about enrichment and contained all the nonproliferation standards in the Atomic Energy Act, which are among the strongest in the world.

One of the sources said the agreement provides a legal pathway for cooperation on the nuclear fuel cycle, which includes uranium enrichment, but does not obligate the United States to transfer any related capabilities or technology to Saudi Arabia.

Proliferation concerns

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has long said if Iran developed a nuclear weapon, Saudi Arabia would too, fueling concern among arms control advocates and some US lawmakers over a civil nuclear deal.

The crown prince told CBS in 2018 that “Saudi Arabia does not want to acquire any nuclear bomb, but without a doubt if Iran developed a nuclear bomb, we will follow suit as soon as possible.”

The kingdom has also said it wants to reserve the right to enrich uranium.

The United Arab Emirates agreed to the “Gold Standard” in 2009 when it signed a 123 Agreement with Washington.

Once 123 agreements are submitted to Congress, they go into a review period of about 90 days of continuous congressional sessions for lawmakers to object, or they go into force.

To block the agreement, Congress would need to pass a joint resolution and have a two-thirds majority to override any presidential veto.

Many Democrats ​and some Republicans, including US President Donald Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio when he served in the Senate, have ⁠insisted any agreement include guardrails.

Shir Perets contributed to this report.

Thousands of people gathered at the Western Wall on Wednesday night to mark Tisha B’Av, the anniversary of the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem and of several other calamities in Jewish history.

Among those who gathered at the Western Wall were National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, former prime minister Naftali Bennett, and Yashar Party leader Gadi Eisenkot.

Tisha B’Av is first and foremost a fast day, during which Jews abstain from all food and water for approximately 25 hours, from sunset until nightfall the next day.

It is also the time when the Jews read the Book of Lamentations (Megillat Eicha), in which the biblical prophet Jeremiah laments the destruction of Jerusalem and the subsequent exile from the Land of Israel.

A number of other events are often cited as being calamities befalling the Jewish people that occurred on or near the ninth of Av.

These include the Roman destruction of Betar and crushing of the Bar Kochba revolt; expulsion of the Jews from England, France, and Spain; the beginning of World War I; the formal approval of the Nazi’s Final Solution; the mass deportation of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto to concentration camps; the First Crusade; the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) in Argentina by Hezbollah; Israel’s 2005 Disengagement from the Gaza Strip; and most recently, Israel’s passing of the controversial judicial reform legislation, the Law to Cancel the Reasonableness Standard.

Netanyahu: Israelis prevented destruction of Third Temple

In a speech on the eve of this year’s Tisha B’Av, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that over the past three years, Israelis had prevented “the destruction of the Third Temple.” 

“We showed the world that the people of Israel are a brave people, a brave army, a generation of heroes,” he said. “We repelled the terror of destruction and achieved great achievements.”

Tobias Holcman contributed to this report.

Reed College has agreed to a host of far-reaching institutional changes, including asserting that targeting Jewish Zionists will be considered discriminatory, in order to settle multiple federal antisemitism investigations, parties to the complaint announced Wednesday.

The settlement was announced by the Anti-Defamation League and the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, which jointly filed the complaint, under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination at any institution receiving federal funds. It comes as campuses across the country, facing threats of losing federal funding under the Trump administration, have demonstrated willingness to negotiate new antisemitism protections.

As part of the agreement, the private Portland, Oregon, liberal arts school says it will insert language into its discrimination policy asserting that “for many Jewish people, Zionism is integral to their religious, ancestral and/or ethnic Jewish identity,” and that “targeting Jews on the basis of their Zionist identity” will be considered discriminatory.

The school will also contract a third-party consultant to monitor and report on its effectiveness in adhering to antisemitism protections, role that is unusual in similar Title VI agreements. The agreement says Reed will “consider” the International Holocaust Remembrance Association’s working definition of antisemitism, which includes some criticisms of Israel, and implement antisemitism training for faculty and staff.

“We take concerns about antisemitism, and all forms of unlawful discrimination, seriously, and we will continue to support the well-being, safety, and success of every member of our community,” a Reed College spokesperson told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in a statement acknowledging the agreement. Reed declined to comment further.

ADL, Brandeis praise Reed combating antisemitism

ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt and Brandeis Center officials praised the agreement in a release as a potential model for other colleges.

“We believe it should serve as a model for other schools,” Denise Katz-Prober, director of legal initiatives at the Brandeis Center, told JTA about the agreement. The required language in Reed’s discrimination guidelines, she said, is “very clear about what constitutes anti-Zionist conduct in violation of civil rights and in violation of the policy.”

“This outcome demonstrates how the Title VI process can work to effectively protect Jewish students,” Greenblatt said in his own statement.

Jewish student leaves school out of concern over antisemitic attacks

Around 100 students at Reed College are Jewish, or about 7% of the total student body, according to estimates from Hillel International. A request for comment to the director of PDX Hillel, which serves Jewish students at Reed and others in the region, was not immediately returned. 

The resolution stems from two anonymous Title VI antisemitism complaints from Jewish former Reed students, both filed in 2024 under the Biden administration. One of those cases related to a student whose dorm-room mezuzah was vandalized, and who herself was later pelted with rocks, during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in spring 2024. The student later left the school out of concern for her safety.

Both of the described acts would have already been considered violations of school policy for reasons unrelated to the student’s Jewish or Zionist identity. Brandeis’s Katz-Prober argued both should have also been considered in the context of her targeting by anti-Zionist activists.

“It might be difficult for someone to, at first glance, understand whether it was simply an assault or an assault motivated by bias,” she said. The case, she said, demonstrated how in some cases, “‘Zionist’ is merely a codeword for Jew.”

Katz-Prober also touted the agreement’s mandate that the school bring on a third-party compliance consultant, separate from its Title VI coordinator. While she insisted that such a role would be “independent” and free of bias, she noted that both the ADL and the Brandeis Center would have a role in their selection.

“Both sides get a say,” she said.

A potential US civilian nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, which The New York Times has reported could be announced by the Trump administration as early as Wednesday, is alarming some Israelis and Americans.

Critics are concerned that the deal, through which US companies would help Saudi Arabia build civilian nuclear energy plants, could allow Saudi Arabia to eventually develop nuclear weapons. The proposed plants would have the capacity to enrich uranium and reprocess spent nuclear fuel without pervasive oversight.

The arrangement would also remove one of the key incentives to encourage Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel. The Biden administration had been in the process of exchanging such nuclear access for Saudi acceptance of open ties with the Jewish state when the Hamas-led attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, upended the efforts.

Now, a number of media outlets, including the Times and The Wall Street Journal, are reporting that US President Donald Trump plans to move ahead with the civilian nuclear program without such strings attached, though a deal has not yet been publicly announced by the Trump administration or formally acknowledged by the Israeli government. 

According to Reuters, the nuclear deal would be given to Congress for review but could only be blocked by a two-thirds majority.

When quizzed by Army Radio on the deal, Likud Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar said Israel has been clear with the United States about its red lines but would not say if such a deal crossed that line.

These are conversations that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is having with security experts, he said.

Israeli officials warn of risks in US-Saudi nuclear deal

Israeli opposition politicians were blunter about the potential danger. Former Israeli defense ministers Avigdor Liberman and Benny Gantz both warned a US-Saudi nuclear deal could spark a regional arms race.

That could happen because a nuclear Saudi Arabia, which is Sunni, could spur its Shia rival, Iran, to take even more aggressive steps toward building a nuclear bomb. Iran already possesses enrichment capabilities, and the point of the current war launched by the United States and Israel is to keep it from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Liberman, who heads Yisrael Beytenu, wrote on X that “a civilian nuclear program in Saudi Arabia will end with nuclear weapons [production] and lead to a mad arms race across the entire Middle East.” 

כולנו חייבים להבין שתוכנית הגרעין האזרחי בסעודיה תסתיים בנשק גרעיני ותוביל למירוץ חימוש מטורף ברחבי המזרח התיכון כולו.

מדינת ישראל חייבת להבהיר באופן חד וברור: נתנגד לכך בכל תוקף. ממשלת ישראל צריכה לפעול בנחישות אל מול הקונגרס האמריקאי כדי לבלום את המהלך.

— אביגדור ליברמן (@AvigdorLiberman) July 22, 2026

Yair Golan, a former IDF major general who was a deputy chief of staff and now heads the opposition Democrat Party, said that the long desired Israeli-Saudi deal would have created important diplomatic ties and anchor a regional strategic alliance against Iran.

To give Saudi Arabia nuclear capabilities “without stringent monitoring requirements and without a framework of relations with Israel as a condition creates a dangerous reality for the State of Israel,” Golan wrote on X.

At the White House on Tuesday, Trump spoke broadly about other countries joining the Abraham Accords, the regional normalization agreements he brokered at the end of his first term in 2020, but did not mention Saudi Arabia. 

The accords created a regional rubric under which Israel normalized ties with some Muslim countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco. Both Trump and former President Joe Biden had sought to bring Saudi Arabia into the pact.

Tensions throughout the region following the October 7 attack and the Gaza war, however, pushed Saudi-Israel normalization further out of reach. The Saudi demands for normalization sharpened in the subsequent years and include Palestinian statehood or, at the very least, progress toward that goal. The Netanyahu government has adamantly rejected such a condition in the wake of the attack and the Israeli public has increasingly opposed the concept as well.

Lindsey Graham pushed Israel-Saudi deal

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who died last week, was an ardent advocate for an Israeli-Saudi deal. He had pushed Trump not to make concessions to Saudi Arabia without the kingdom moving closer to Israel. 

Graham had continued to work on normalization in the months leading up to his death. He told CBS News in June, “We’re going to try to get Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords to end the Arab-Israeli conflict in 2026.”

Dan Shapiro, who worked during the Biden administration as a senior adviser on Middle East regional integration for the State Department, said Wednesday that a US-Saudi nuclear deal would make such normalization more difficult.

The plan originally was for a civil nuclear energy agreement with sufficient safeguards against proliferation to be part of a package that would include normalization with Israel, he said. 

“It appears that the Trump administration has given it away without normalization,” Shapiro told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Trump’s deal “seems to have abandoned a very important point of leverage to advance another important regional goal of the United States,” he said.

“This was supposed to be a major carrot for Saudi Arabia if they were to normalize with Israel, and now that carrot has been provided without it.”As a result, he said, “the whole incentive structure would have to be redone.”

The Health Ministry on Monday launched a sweeping reform that eliminates numerous construction and infrastructure requirements imposed for years on restaurants, cafes, kiosks, hotels, banquet halls, and event venues.

The changes will allow businesses to operate in smaller spaces, eliminate the requirement for a storage room and employee changing room in many cases, and permit the use of restroom facilities located outside the business. 

The ministry stressed that the reforms focus primarily on building and planning requirements, while oversight of food safety and public health standards will continue unchanged.

Health Minister Haim Katz signed the regulations, which took effect immediately. According to the ministry, the move represents one of the most significant regulatory changes introduced in recent years for Israel’s food service sector, which includes approximately 23,500 licensed businesses generating more than NIS 50 billion in annual revenue.

For years, regulation was based on a long list of uniform requirements, including minimum floor space for kitchens, dining areas, and storage rooms; fixed distances between different sections of a business; ceiling heights; construction materials; wall colors; employee changing rooms; and the number of restroom facilities. 

These standards were often applied even to small businesses selling coffee, sandwiches or ready-made pastries, despite their operations being fundamentally different from those of restaurants that prepare raw meat, fish and other uncooked food.

The reform dramatically reduces minimum space requirements. The minimum size required for a kiosk will fall from 35 square meters to 8 square meters, the requirement for a cafe will drop from 45 square meters to 8 square meters, and the minimum size for a restaurant will decrease from 55 square meters to 12 square meters. Minimum space requirements for dining and service areas will be eliminated, and the link between the number of seats and kitchen size will be significantly reduced.

Updates allow for more efficient use of space, more tables

According to the Health Ministry, the changes could allow existing restaurants to add more tables by repurposing operational space previously required under the regulations, while new businesses will be able to rent smaller, less expensive properties. The ministry expects the reform to reduce construction, rental, municipal tax and maintenance costs while allowing more efficient use of business space.

The reform also creates a new category known as “micro food service.” A kiosk serving hot beverages and ready-to-eat food requiring no preparation beyond heating or slicing will be exempt from minimum floor space requirements and from additional space allocations based on seating capacity. The exemption is intended for businesses whose primary activity is selling coffee, sandwiches, pastries and other ready-made products.

Another significant change concerns storage requirements. Until now, storage rooms were required to be adjacent to the kitchen or located within 25 meters of it. Under the new regulations, not every business will be required to maintain a dedicated storage room, and where operationally appropriate, alternative storage solutions within the premises will be permitted. 

Where an external storage facility is used, the maximum permitted distance from the kitchen will increase to 100 meters, and minimum size requirements will be abolished.

The requirement to provide a separate employee changing room will also be eliminated. The ministry estimates that removing this obligation could free an average of about four square meters in each business, allowing the space to be used for operations, storage or additional customer seating. 

At the same time, minimum ceiling height requirements will be removed, potentially allowing food businesses to open in older buildings whose ceilings previously failed to meet regulatory standards.

Requirements relating to restroom facilities will also be eased. The required number of toilets, sinks and urinals will be reduced, and businesses will be allowed to rely on restroom facilities located outside the premises, provided they are within 50 meters. 

The change is particularly relevant to restaurants and cafes operating in shopping malls and commercial centers that share public restrooms.

Additional changes affect the design and appearance of food establishments. Businesses will have greater flexibility to use mezzanine levels and a wider range of construction materials. 

The prohibition on sliding doors and windows will be removed, and operators will no longer be required to use light-colored tiles or obtain individual approval for alternative durable materials. Likewise, the rule requiring one-third of the kitchen area to be dedicated to dishwashing will be replaced by a general requirement to provide an appropriate dishwashing section without prescribing its size.

The regulations also eliminate the requirement that all food service employees wear light-colored clothing and that kitchen staff wear white aprons. Mandatory signage next to waste containers will no longer be required, nor will businesses be obligated to maintain a supply of ice cubes for cooling drinking water. Pest control documentation may now be stored digitally, eliminating the need to keep printed copies on site.

Internal spacing requirements have also been revised. The rule requiring service counters to be located at least 1.5 meters from the entrance has been abolished, while the required separation from grilling, cooking and baking areas has been reduced from 2.5 meters to 2 meters. Equipment, shelving and supplies may also be placed closer to floors and walls, provided adequate cleaning and ventilation remain possible.

Sanitation standards not expected to be compromised despite changes

According to the Health Ministry, the easing of these requirements is not expected to compromise sanitation standards, since food safety depends primarily on proper work procedures, maintaining the required separation between raw and ready-to-eat food, cleanliness, refrigeration and employee training.

Businesses handling and cooking raw food will still be required to maintain appropriate separation between work areas, but establishments that do not carry out such activities will no longer be required to create unnecessary separate sections.

In the initial stage, the ministry’s inspection system will remain unchanged, although inspectors will place less emphasis on construction elements that are not directly related to public health risks. 

The ministry stressed that enforcement against businesses endangering public health will remain stringent and effective, and that no concessions will be made on food safety.

The reform represents the first stage in shifting from a regulatory framework focused on the physical structure of businesses to one based on risk management. In the future, the Health Ministry plans to place greater emphasis on the professional knowledge and training of food handlers, tailor oversight programs to individual businesses, digitize inspection processes, and introduce greater public transparency.

Eyal Siman Tov, a 56-year-old taxi driver from Rehovot, was arrested on Monday evening by detectives from the Lev Tel Aviv Police Station in the Yarkon precinct on suspicion of defrauding a 75-year-old dementia patient who had left Ichilov Hospital.

According to police suspicions, the driver stole the man’s credit card during the ride, used it to make purchases totaling approximately NIS 10,000, and instead of taking him to his destination, dropped him off in north Tel Aviv and left him there alone. Following a hearing at the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court, his detention was extended by four days.

The investigation began after the elderly man filed a complaint, telling police he had ordered a taxi from Ichilov Hospital to travel to another city. 

According to the investigation, the driver allegedly took advantage of the passenger’s condition during the journey, stole his credit card, and went on a shopping spree, making purchases worth approximately NIS 10,000.

Police suspect that after completing the purchases, the driver did not complete the trip. Instead of taking the elderly man to his intended destination, he dropped him off in North Tel Aviv and drove away, leaving him alone and far from where he had asked to be taken.

Suspect questioned on suspicion of theft, fraud

Following the complaint, detectives from the Lev Tel Aviv Police Station launched a covert investigation, collected evidence, and identified the suspect. After the court issued an arrest warrant, he was arrested on Monday evening and questioned on suspicion of theft and fraud.

Police were expected to bring the suspect before the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday to request a further extension of his detention as the investigation continues.

Israel’s passport ranked 18th globally in the latest Henley Passport Index, its highest position since the ranking was launched 20 years ago, according to a Henley & Partners report published on Tuesday.

Israel’s passport ranking stands in sharp contrast to its position in the Global Peace Index, where it ranks 159th, making it the fifth least peaceful country in the world.

“The 20th anniversary edition of the Henley Passport Index illustrates that the strength of a passport is not measured solely by the level of peace in a country,” Daniel Shmeylin, director of the Israeli office of Henley & Partners, said.

Shmeylin said that despite geopolitical challenges, passport strength remains one of the most significant indicators of a country’s standing on the global stage. Israel’s ranking reflects that reality, he said.

The Henley Passport Index, based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association, is marking its 20th anniversary by examining how global mobility, diplomacy, and international influence have evolved since 2006 despite an increasingly complex and conflict-ridden geopolitical environment.

Passport strength and global mobility

The company’s analysis found a strong correlation between peace and passport strength. Peaceful countries such as Singapore, Japan, Switzerland, and Ireland tend to rank highly for global mobility, while conflict-affected countries, including Afghanistan, Syria, and Yemen, have some of the world’s weakest passports.

“The Henley Passport Index is the original and most authoritative ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa,” Henley & Partners said.

Henley & Partners chairman and Passport Index creator Dr. Christian H. Kaelin said two decades of data show that passport strength reflects a country’s geopolitical influence. Countries with the most powerful passports are often regarded as desirable partners in trade, investment, security, and international cooperation, he said.

Kaelin added that freedom of movement reflects the value other countries place on their relationship with a particular nation.

Global peace deteriorates for the 12th consecutive year

According to the Institute for Economics and Peace, the number of conflicts involving countries has reached its highest level since World War II. Global peace has declined for the 12th consecutive year, with 119 of the 163 countries assessed now considered less peaceful than they were in 2008.

The institute also found that 103 countries were involved in external conflicts over the past five years, nearly twice the number recorded when the index was launched.

Several countries, including Israel, the US, France, Ukraine, and the UAE, have passport rankings that are significantly higher than their peace scores would suggest.

The analysis found that diplomacy, geopolitical influence, economic strength, regional ties, and confidence in state institutions can outweigh domestic or regional instability in determining international mobility. Israel and the US were identified as the clearest examples of this trend.