“The vice president is trying hard to sell an Iran deal that hawks claim is weak while offering an olive branch to noninterventionists who opposed going to war at all”

Posted on June 18, 2026 by ArchitectGuy

FREE PRESS
Vance Tries to Have It Both Ways on the Iran Deal
Eli Lake
June 17, 2026

Vice President J.D. Vance emerged this week as the White House surrogate in chief to sell the agreement with Iran to end the war. In a slew of television and podcast appearances, Vance has explained how a war President Donald Trump once promised would end only with Iran’s “unconditional surrender” will now be settled through negotiations. Vance has his work cut out for him. For many mainstream Republicans, the new memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the U.S. and Iran is nothing more than American surrender. Sharp-tongued Louisiana Republican senator John Kennedy summed up this sentiment on Tuesday when asked if he believed Iran’s regime would abandon its nuclear ambitions during the 60-day negotiation period that starts Friday. “Unless you were homeschooled by a day drinker, no one’s confident that Iran is going to do anything,” Kennedy replied. READ MORE

TIMES OF ISRAEL Vance slams Israeli ‘freakout’ over Iran deal, says Trump only world leader who still likes Israel US Vice President JD Vance castigated Israeli officials on Thursday for not backing the US’s nuclear deal with Iran, accusing far-right cabinet ministers of lacking appreciation for American support, as he made the case for the newly signed memorandum of understanding at a White House press briefing. “You have seen people within Bibi’s cabinet, who have come out and attacked the deal, and in some ways very personally attacked the president of the United States,” he told reporters…“Number one, Donald J. Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time.”

TABLET MAG Lee Smith: Donald Trump’s Pallets of Cash What seems to have held Trump back from green-lighting the memorandum of understanding (MOU) that Vice President JD Vance has negotiated with Iran is his fear that he can’t repackage Obama’s deal as his own big geopolitical win because his base will see through it and think him a loser. And so, for nearly a month, Vance, leader of the White House’s “restrainer” faction, has been trying to convince Trump that MAGA is definitely dumb enough to be suckered into believing that the Iran deal his loyal deputy has captained is a historic win.

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Israeli public sours on Trump for all the obvious reasons

Posted on June 18, 2026 by ArchitectGuy

NOON IN ISRAEL
Iran Deal: It’s Worse Than We Thought
Amit Segal
June 18, 2026

It’s Thursday, June 18, and the official terms of the U.S. Memorandum of Understanding are out—and it’s worse than anticipated. The official signing ceremony isn’t until Friday, but the agreement was already signed digitally last night during a dinner at the Palace of Versailles. Anyone familiar with the palace’s history knows this makes the MOU the second great surrender signed at Versailles. Except this time, the U.S. is the one capitulating. Here’s why it’s worse than we thought. As the details slowly leaked, it became clear that this agreement is not a pause—the status quo held in place while negotiations ran their course. It was a rewind, actively restoring the Islamic Republic. The only question left was how fast it would run, and according to these clauses, faster than we would like. READ MORE

THE DAILY WIRE Mark Dubowitz: Why Squander The Greatest Leverage Ever Built Against Iran? There is one final instrument that every administration has neglected. The Iranian people. Economic pressure and military power can weaken the regime. Only the Iranian people can ultimately end it. Nothing can match the power of tens of millions of Iranians who despise the regime that rules them. No one has sacrificed more to challenge the Islamic Republic. Despite enduring killings, incarceration, torture, corruption, and economic ruin, they continue to resist. The truly decisive question is not how long the United States can pressure this regime. It is whether America is finally prepared to help Iranians finish the job themselves.

JEWISH CHRONICLE Iran chief negotiator vows to avenge Supreme Leader’s death with ‘liberation of Jerusalem  Iran’s chief negotiator in the deal signed today with the US has warned the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khameini will be avenged with the “liberation of Jerusalem”. The Memorandum of Understanding agreed between the US and the Islamic Republic has raised hopes of ending the conflict in the Gulf, pending a final agreement. But Tehran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf signalled the regime remains committed to its longstanding objective of the destruction of Israel, in a newly published interview that contradicts hopes of peace. The true way to avenge the martyred Imam is the liberation of Jerusalem.

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Declining a job for a company owned by Jews, he stated, “My experiences with Jews have not been pleasant”

Posted on June 17, 2026 by ArchitectGuy

CORNELL DAILY SUN
Student Writes ‘Not Interested in Working for a Jew’ on Handshake, Cornell Reports Bias Incident
Everett Chambala
June 13, 2026

The University reported Austin Franco ’28 to the Office of Civil Rights for a bias incident in which he responded to a job offer with “Not interested in working for a jew. Thanks.” on Handshake, according to a June 8 X post from Gabe Einhorn, co-founder and CEO of the company which Franco was accepted to. The Sun spoke to Franco and Einhorn following the incident. Franco initially applied to a growth/sales role at Einhorn’s real estate startup, VrfyID, on May 26 through Handshake, a digital hiring platform, according to Einhorn. He was accepted in the first round and Gabe’s brother Aiden, who co-founded VrfyID, asked to set up a time for a meeting on May 29. Franco responded the same day with times he was available. Gabe told The Sun that both him and Aiden then offered two dates for students to attend, neither of which Franco went to. When Aiden followed up on June 8 to ask Franco about his attendance, Franco responded with “Not interested in working for a jew. Thanks.” READ MORE

JPOST Jewish start-up founders face hate for exposing antisemitic applicant’s messages “We were both just kind of shocked. My whole goal of posting this was to show this is a clear example of antisemitism. I only had maybe a thousand followers on X, so I didn’t expect it to reach the national news that it has.” Einhorn stressed that his initial intention was not to call Franco out; in fact, he didn’t publish his full name so as not to identify him publicly.

NEW YORK POST Sick fundraiser gets nearly $20K for Cornell student who turned down job to avoid ‘working for a Jew Sick supporters of an antisemitic Cornell student who refused a job interview because he was “not interested in working for a Jew” have raised nearly $20,000 for him — with the top donor forking over a symbolic $1,776. Austin Franco, 19, went viral when he hatefully declined an interview at VryflD, a New York City-based startup, because its co-founders, brothers Gabe and Aiden Einhorn, are proudly Jewish.

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“Many of the benefits America receives from Israel would continue even if the aid disappeared tomorrow”

Posted on June 16, 2026 by ArchitectGuy

URBAN WARFARE
What Does America Get for $3.8 Billion in Israel? And the Way Ahead
John Spencer
June 11, 2026

…The value of the relationship becomes even clearer when compared with other recipients of American military assistance. Egypt contributes to regional stability and maintains peace with Israel. Jordan remains an important security partner and counterterrorism ally. Both relationships advance legitimate American interests. Neither generates the same intelligence cooperation, defense technology innovation, industrial integration, or battlefield lessons that flow from the U.S.-Israel partnership. The United States does not gain access to hundreds of defense technology startups through Egypt. It does not field combat-proven active protection systems developed through Jordan. It does not receive the same volume of battlefield lessons on missile defense, drones, tunnels, artificial intelligence, and urban warfare from either country. Israel’s value derives not only from its location but from the capabilities it continually produces. READ MORE

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“Regime change never came. Hormuz became the center of gravity. This ceasefire is not a victory — it is an exit strategy”

Posted on June 15, 2026 by ArchitectGuy

FUTURE OF JEWISH
The Iran war ended exactly where it began.
Andrew Fox
June 15, 2026

…Washington appears to have bought time; Hormuz is to reopen; the naval blockade is to be lifted; Iran receives some combination of oil waivers, asset releases, sanctions relief, or economic breathing space; the nuclear file moves into a 60-day negotiating window; Trump gets a ceasefire and lower oil prices; and Tehran gets survival, liquidity, and time. That is the endpoint of the debacle, at least for now. A war launched with maximalist assumptions has reached an interim understanding that leaves the regime in place, Hezbollah in the field, Iran’s missile architecture as the central fact of regional security, and the nuclear question in the long grass. What forced Washington’s hand was the oil clock. Emergency reserves, rerouting schemes, naval workarounds, tanker insurance, Asian demand destruction, and political patience were all running down at once. Trump rushed to a deal because the alternative was a global oil shock that would hit American gas stations just in time for the domestic political season. READ MORE

ALGEMEINER Israel Vows to Remain in Southern Lebanon as Hezbollah Expects Cash Infusion From Trump’s Iran Deal Israel has vowed not to withdraw from southern Lebanon, even as the newly signed US-Iran memorandum of understanding reshapes regional dynamics and declares a “termination of military operations” in the country, with Hezbollah expecting a sharp rise in political leverage and a significant boost in funding. On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that while Israel values its close partnership with the United States, the country is determined to secure the safety of communities along its northern border amid the persistent and escalating threat posed by the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah.

ISRAEL HAYOM Sharp shift in US position gives Vance a personal advantage As Vance gives interviews on every possible network to promote the memorandum of understanding with Tehran, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has disappeared from the public diplomacy campaign. This dynamic exposes a fierce battle inside the Republican Party: between those who believe war with Iran is necessary, and the isolationist current of the MAGA movement, which accuses the Israeli lobby of dragging America into unnecessary conflicts.

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“Behind the veneer of ‘opposing violence,’ the Democrats and the Europeans have one specific target in their sights”

Posted on June 14, 2026 by ArchitectGuy

TABLET MAG
How ‘Settler Violence’ Became a Tool for Sanctioning Jews
Mark Goldfeder and Eugene Kontorovich
June 15, 2026

‘Settler violence” has been the subject of a growing international campaign that seeks to equate acts of vandalism, or, really, any action by Jews in the West Bank and Jerusalem—or even their presence there—with murderous terrorism by Palestinians, in an effort to create a moral equivalence between Israel and Hamas. Democratic Congress members, led by Rep. Jerry Nadler, recently proposed legislation that would codify the Biden administration’s unprecedented sanctions on Israelis allegedly involved in such conduct, and which had set the stage for the Europeans to follow. The agenda behind the Democratic play became clear in late May, when the European Union announced sanctions against six “extremist settler” groups and individuals…The EU designations, parroting the Biden administration, make explicit that the real crime is political: allegedly “undermining the viability of the two-state solution.” READ MORE

JEWISH INSIDER Anti-Israel left takes a page from AIPAC in spending big in primaries The far left is gaining traction in its electoral battle against the mainstream pro-Israel political community, notching a recent string of victories in high-profile Democratic primaries as it now finds itself on stronger financial footing compared to past campaign cycles. Thanks in part to a range of new super PACs created to counter AIPAC’s political spending, the far left has elevated several anti-Israel Democrats in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and California to the nomination in key congressional primaries, with its sights set on closely contested upcoming matchups in New York City and Michigan.

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IRGC hired New Yorker to murder American dissident

Posted on June 14, 2026 by ArchitectGuy

NEW YORK POST
NYC man hired by Iranian regime to ‘stalk and murder’ dissident journalist sentenced
Victor Nava
Published May 27, 2026

A New York City man was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison Wednesday for his role in a murder-for-hire plot orchestrated by the Iranian regime. Jonathan Loadholt, of Staten Island, previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit stalking and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering for taking part in the scheme to kill journalist and human rights advocate Masih Alinejad. Alinejad, an Iranian national who fled the country in 2009 and became a US citizen in 2019, had been targeted by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for publicly encouraging Iranian women to defy the repressive regime’s rule that women wear headscarves. READ MORE

DAILY MAIL Ivanka Trump targeted in twisted assassination plot to seek revenge on president An Iraqi terror chief plotted to assassinate Ivanka Trump to avenge the death of his mentor, Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani, according to a report. Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, 32, vowed to ‘kill’ the First Daughter and even had a map of her $24 million Florida mansion, the New York Post reports.

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“Cultural elites backing the NYT’s ludicrous claim about Israelis training dogs to rape Palestinian Arabs should be condemned. Not those with the guts to call them out”

Posted on June 12, 2026 by ArchitectGuy

JNS
‘The New York Times’ blood libel against Israel should be mocked
Jonathan S Tobin
June 12, 2026

Those appalling Jews are at it again. In what at first glance might sound like a shocking story, first reported in Variety and The New York Times, and then spread around the world by Al Jazeera, two well-known Jewish people said something awful that supposedly warranted condemnation. The pair—influencer Lizzy Savetsky and comedian Elon Gold—had the temerity to joke about rape while on the red carpet at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this week. They even had the audacity to put it online. In response, the film festival posted a pious statement denouncing them on social media, saying it said it “unequivocally condemns the offensive and unacceptable remarks made by Elon Gold and Lizzie Savetsky.” It went on to say that “sexual violence and human suffering should never be mocked or minimized.”…Instead of joining in the pile-on, sensible and moral people should be cheering for Savetsky and Gold, not blasting them for insensitivity. Indeed, what is needed right now is for others in the entertainment world to have the guts to emulate them. READ MORE

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60 Minutes shakeup: “Vega’s termination, which was a surprise, means that correspondent and senior producers associated with the notorious 2025 ‘60 Minutes’ piece on US Gaza policy have all departed the network”

Posted on June 12, 2026 by ArchitectGuy

FREE BEACON
Fired ‘60 Minutes’ Reporter Cecilia Vega Was Preparing Cozy Profile of UN’s ‘Racist Antisemite’ Francesca Albanese When She Was Axed
Adam Kredo
June 12, 2026

Recently axed 60 Minutes correspondent Cecilia Vega was cooperating with the virulently anti-Israel United Nations official Francesca Albanese—who’s been accused by the United States of “malignant anti-Semitism”—on a profile for the flagship news program, and was preparing to fly to Tunis to interview her on camera, when Vega was suddenly fired, according to a new report from Zeteo, which spoke to Albanese. 60 Minutes producers had already been filming on location with Albanese, who is under formal sanctions imposed by the U.S. government. Albanese is accused of using multiple antisemitic tropes, minimizing the violence of Oct. 7, and comparing Gaza to the Warsaw Ghetto and Israel to the Third Reich, an antisemitic device known as Holocaust inversion. Last July, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Albanese “spewed unabashed antisemitism, expressed support for terrorism and open contempt for the United States, Israel and the West.” READ MORE

FREE BEACON Lesley Stahl Says Journalists Getting Fired Is Worse Than Child Trafficking, Nazi Torture Dungeons Lesley Stahl has seen a lot of horrible things over the course of her career at 60 Minutes, but none of it can compare to the horror she experienced watching her fellow journalists lose their jobs for being obnoxious. “Oh God, this was awful,” Stahl told Puck when asked about the half dozen veteran producers and personalities who were fired along with Scott Pelley, the veteran newsreader and combat survivor dismissed for insubordination. “This was by far the worst experience I’ve been involved in, or even witnessed.”

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“The whole question of his life, the question the Nazi concentration camps put to him and that he refused to stop answering, was whether a human being can still say yes to life in spite of everything”

Posted on June 12, 2026 by ArchitectGuy

FUTURE OF JEWISH
The Most Important Jewish Idea I’ve Heard Since October 7th
Rabbi Steven Abraham
June 13, 2026

…Rachel [Goldberg-Polin] has a name for it, and she earned the right to give it one. She calls it “toxic positivity.” And against it she sets a phrase she went hunting for one sleepless night, when she sat down and typed into a search engine the question of what the opposite of “toxic positivity” might be. The answer that came back to her was two words: tragic optimism. She has said it felt like something pressed into her hands. It named exactly what she had become. The phrase belongs to Holocaust survivor and famed psychotherapist Viktor Frankl, who set it down in 1984 in the postscript to his bestselling book, “Man’s Search for Meaning.” He is a man who built his entire understanding of the human soul in the worst classroom that has ever existed. Frankl defined tragic optimism with terrible precision: It is the choice to remain optimistic in spite of what he called the tragic triad, the three facts that no amount of cheerfulness will ever dissolve — pain, guilt, and death. READ MORE

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