“Despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s denials, Iran will be the central issue in his upcoming meeting with US President Donald Trump”

ISRAEL HAYOM (by agreement with JNS)
Iran core issue in Trump-Netanyahu meeting despite denials
Danny Zaken
December 23, 2025

…A second major topic on the agenda is Gaza and the transition to the next Phase. The Americans have been unable to assemble a multinational force due to countries’ refusal to deploy troops while Hamas remains armed. As a result, Washington is turning its attention to the civilian track. The expectation is that following the meeting or meetings, an announcement will be made on the launch of a reconstruction process through the establishment of a new governing civilian body, largely composed of Palestinians who previously worked for the Palestinian Authority. Israel Hayom has reported that lists of some of the candidates expected to assume civilian authority have been transferred to Israel for security vetting, to ensure they are not affiliated with Hamas.” READ MORE

ALGEMEINER Israeli Defense Minister Says Military to Maintain Presence in Gaza but No Plans to Resettle Enclave Israel’s defense minister on Tuesday said that the Israeli military will maintain a long-term presence in Gaza for security reasons but denied any intention to resettle the Palestinian enclave. Israel Katz, speaking at a settlement in the West Bank, said the military would never leave all of Gaza and planned to station a type of unit – Nahal – that has historically played a role in establishing Israeli communities, including settlements. After some Israeli media reported the comment as a plan to resettle Gaza, where Israel dismantled settlements in 2005, Katz issued a statement saying, “The government has no intention of establishing settlements in the Gaza Strip.”

Posted in Israel & Middle East, Politics | Tagged , | Leave a comment

“At AmericaFest, Shapiro went after Carlson for hosting Fuentes — whom he called “a Hitler apologist, Nazi-loving, anti-American piece of refuse””

CBS NEWS
Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest puts conservative rift on display as Vance urges unity
Anne Bryson
December 22, 2025

Turning Point USA’s annual AmericaFest highlighted a rift in the conservative movement that’s emerged since the assassination of the group’s co-founderCharlie Kirk, in September.  Over the course of the four-day conference, some of the speakers criticized one another by name. Podcaster and prominent right-wing personality Ben Shapiro called out Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon and Megyn Kelly and accused them of being “frauds and grifters” and for entertaining far-right conspiracy theories following Kirk’s killing. “The conservative movement is in danger from charlatans who claim to speak in the name of principle but actually traffic in conspiracism and dishonesty,” Shapiro said during his remarks Thursday night. READ MORE

YOUTUBE Ben Shapiro TPUSA Speech: Truth Over Cowardice and Grifting Ben Shapiro warned Thursday night on the stage of Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest that the future of the conservative movement depends on a commitment to truth, arguing that grifters and frauds are putting both conservatism and the country at risk.

JTA Vance declines to draw a line against rising influence of antisemitic figures in Republican party In the latest round of conservative infighting over the mainstreaming of antisemitic figures within the GOP, Vice President JD Vance has once again declined to draw a red line. At the center of the controversy that has roiled the Republican Party is Nick Fuentes, the antisemitic and white nationalist livestreamer who set off a firestorm after he voiced his disdain for “these Zionist Jews” in a friendly interview with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson in October…Earlier this month, Vance also dismissed claims that antisemitism is surging within the Republican Party and said that the “the single most significant thing you could do to eliminate anti-semitism” was lowering immigration to the United States.

JEWISH INSIDER JD Vance links youth antisemitism to immigration, demographics of Gen Z He blamed the increase in antisemitism on immigration and the demographic makeup of younger Americans. “‘We imported a lot of people with ethnic grievances prior generations didn’t have. We celebrated this as the fruits of multiculturalism. Now we’re super surprised that the people we imported with ethnic grievances still have those ethnic grievances,’” Vance wrote, arguing that “the most significant single thing you could do to eliminate anti-semitism and any other kind of ethnic hatred is to support our efforts to lower immigration and promote assimilation.”

NY POST Megyn Kelly blasts Ben Shapiro, Bari Weiss, claims ‘they are making antisemites’ Megyn Kelly blasted Ben Shapiro for what she called his “betrayal” after he publicly singled her out at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest — then turned her fire on Bari Weiss for amplifying his speech as the conservative movement’s internal feud spilled onto the main stage. Kelly told Vanity Fair that Shapiro’s onstage broadside left her “flabbergasted” and accused Shapiro and Weiss of fueling antisemitism by trying to shut down criticism of Israel. “They are making antisemites,” the former Fox News primetime host said in the article published Monday.

Posted in Israel & Middle East | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Have you heard the one about three guys who go into a tunnel?

YISHAI FLEISHER
Under the real location of the Second Temple; What we found is astonishing
December 21, 2025

Join me on a special members-only personal tour under the Temple Mount with Knesset Member Ohad Tal and Mosab Hassan Yousef (Author, Activist AKA The Green Prince, “Son of Hamas”). You’ll learn things you never knew. Click here to view

Posted in Islam, Israel & Middle East, Jewish, Politics | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Jerusalem traded energy for leverage, tying Cairo to its fuel supplies while securing strategic calm despite ongoing violations in Sinai”

JNS
The real purpose of Israel’s gas deal with Egypt
Ariel Kahana
December 20, 2025

The signing of the massive natural gas deal with Egypt goes far beyond its $34 billion price tag. One of the main reasons for the agreement’s delay was Egypt’s problematic approach to Israel on political and security issues. According to information gathered in recent years, Egypt has deployed forces in Sinai far beyond what is permitted under the security annex of the 1979 peace treaty. It has also built tunnels deep in the peninsula for storing weapons and has suspiciously extended runways at airfields…Israeli officials believe that once gas deliveries begin, this will serve as leverage to deter Cairo from violating the peace treaty. READ MORE

Posted in Israel & Middle East | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“VP Vance says all are welcome on the right, including figures who promote conspiracy theories”

FREE PRESS
Jews Are Being Sent Back Into Hiding
David Wolpe and Deborah Lipstadt
December 15, 2025

…For decades, when American Jews traveled in a foreign country and wanted to visit a synagogue, they knew that they had to call ahead, confirm their attendance, and bring proper identification with them. If they were unsure how to find the location of the synagogue, locals would offer two prompts: “Look for men in baseball caps and suits, and follow them.” The baseball caps concealed the kippah underneath. Then, informants might add: “And if that does not avail, look up and down the street for the police cars and gendarmes with their carbines. That’s the synagogue.” That used to be the case on other continents. Now, the same instructions apply to the United States. Every synagogue has security, many featuring metal detectors and armed guards. So that people can gather and pray. In America. READ MORE

FREE PRESS Eli Lake:Vance Wants Open Borders in the MAGA Coalition Vance has aligned himself with the side that wants to keep the MAGA tent as wide as possible. And that means he is on Team Tucker Carlson. On the other side of the party’s civil war are conservatives like Newsweek senior editor Josh Hammer, Fox News host Mark Levin, and Shapiro. Shapiro’s speech denounced those inside the MAGA coalition who were too afraid to call out conspiracy theory hokum, lest they offend their very-online audiences. In short, Shapiro is asking the MAGA coalition to enforce its own borders and keep out the kooks, conspiracy theorists, and antisemites.

Posted in Islam, Israel & Middle East, Jewish, Politics | Leave a comment

Bondi Beach hero told cousin beforehand: “I’m going to die – please see my family and tell them that I went down to save people’s lives”

TABLET MAG
The Maccabees of Bondi Beach
Nicole Wizman
December 21, 2025

…In the hours and days that followed, one story quickly rose above the rest. Footage circulating online showed a heroic bystander, later identified as Ahmed al-Ahmed, rushing toward one of the attackers and wrestling a gun out of the terrorist’s hands. As the footage spread rapidly across social media and news broadcasts, it soon came to dominate the public conversation, increasingly framing the attack as a story of Muslim-Jewish reconciliation rather than an act of antisemitic violence, with Ahmed al-Ahmed becoming the central figure through which the massacre was understood. This reframing allows Australia to look away from its deeper failures that made the attack possible. It also obscures another critical fact: that there were many Jews at the event who also behaved with unbelievable heroism and bravery, whose names have been largely absent from the narrative. READ MORE

NEW YORK POST Muslim Bondi Beach hero who disarmed terrorist branded a ‘traitor’ in Arab media for saving Jewish lives The heroic Syrian-Australian man who disarmed one of the terrorists firing at a crowd of Hanukkah revelers at Australia’s Bondi Beach has been slammed as a traitor by many Palestinian commenters for saving Jewish lives, according to a new report. After the West Bank-based Ramallah News outlet shared a story about the life-saving actions taken by Ahmed al Ahmed, 43, many of the outlet’s readers trashed the Muslim hero and prayed that he would not recover from his serious injuries, according to an analysis by the Israeli-based Palestinian Media Watch (PMW).

JPOST Gefen Bitton, Israeli who tried to stop Bondi Beach shooter, in coma in critical condition Israeli national Gefen Bitton, who ran towards the Bondi Beach shooters to try and stop them, has been hospitalized and is in a coma, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on Saturday. Bitton was seriously wounded while trying to assist and stop the attackers. The man in his 30s works as a garage door installer. Although he had initially managed to escape the danger, he chose to return to the scene upon realising what was happening.

Posted in Islam, Israel & Middle East, Jewish, Politics | Tagged , | Leave a comment

“Australia has long tolerated the proponents of such mayhem and silenced those who raise the alarm”

CITY JOURNAL
The Massacre at Bondi Beach Was Inevitable
Douglas Murray
December 16, 2025

…Just this past June, Australia barred an Israeli called Hillel Fuld from coming into the country. Fuld is a pro-Israel activist whose brother Ari Fuld was stabbed to death by a jihadist terrorist in 2018. Ari Fuld was a hero in his life and in his final moments when, taking on the terrorist, he saved many more lives. But the Australian authorities were persuaded that the brother of the slain Ari could cause a risk to “health, safety or good order” in Australia. And so, he was barred from entry. It is worth digesting that for a moment. A man whose brother was killed by a terrorist should not enter Australia because he could potentially alert people to the threat of Islamist terrorism. Which could in itself cause public disorder. READ MORE

FUTURE OF JEWISH When Jews start packing suitcases, everyone should be concerned. There is a statistic so chilling, so historically resonant, that it should dominate every front page, every political speech, every national conversation in Britain….According to new polling by the Campaign Against Antisemitism, 61 per cent of British Jews have considered leaving the UK. Last year it was 50 per cent. This year, 51 per cent say they no longer believe they have a long-term future in this country…“History teaches us one clear truth: When Jews begin eyeing their suitcases, the whole of society is already in deep trouble. Because whatever corrodes the safety of Jews corrodes the nation that houses them”

Posted in Islam, Israel & Middle East, Jewish, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

The late John Podhoretz: “While he had contempt for the New York City bubble, he remained inside it for most of his life, and couldn’t find his way out, even after the bubble itself lost control of things”

COMMENTARY
A Son’s Eulogy for Norman Podhoretz (1930-2025)
John Podhoretz
December 19, 2025

…And he was witty. So witty. And a generator of wit as well. What he loved, what he treasured, was cleverness—an unexpected turn of phrase, a surprising off-kilter observation that reframes the truth in the right way… He began his hundreds if not thousands of public speeches with the same joke every time, so I’m guessing many of you might have heard it. A great rebbe is dying, and his disciples are weeping at his bedside. “Oh our master is leaving us, he was the wisest of men, who will instruct us in wisdom?” “Oh our master is leaving us, he was the most pious of men, who will instill in us a love of Ha Shem?” “Oh our master is leaving us, he was the holiest of men, who will guide us on the path to righteousness?” The old man uses his last ounce of strength to pull himself up and look them all in the eye and say, “And about my humility you have nothing to say?” READ MORE

Posted in Israel & Middle East | Leave a comment

Australia’s Government: ‘Moral Bankruptcy on Parade’

TABLET MAG
The People of Forever Are Not Afraid
Liel Leibovitz
December 14, 2025

Like so many Jews, I was woken up in the early morning today to news of the massacre in Bondi Beach, Australia. Like so many Jews, I personally knew people who were hurt in the attack. And like so many Jews, I grieved for the victims and raged as public officials who cheered on the policies that made the attack possible rushed to publish sanctimonious denunciations, as if they had failed to understand that the shooting was precisely what was meant by “Globalize the intifada.” But amid the profound sadness and the righteous indignation, one timeless truth mustn’t be forgotten: We Jews are going to be just fine. Attack us, as Hamas did Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and you’ll soon discover that Jewish blood is no longer cheap. For more details, kindly consult with Yahya Sinwar, Hassan Nasrallah, or the gentlemen in charge of Iran’s nuclear program. READ MORE

COMMENTARY Seth Mandel: Jews Are Fed Up...Let’s pause here to note that Australia is home to the highest concentration of Holocaust survivors outside of Israel—and that another of those Holocaust survivors was killed on Bondi Beach while shielding his wife from the haze of bullets….The anchors from Australia’s ABC asked Teplitsky how she’s feeling about everything. Teplitsky responded with a message for [Prime Minister] Albanese and the political establishment: “Is this what you wanted? Is this enough now? Will you listen to us? Albanese, [Labour parliamentary leader Penny] Wong, will you listen to us? Will you actually do something? Will you actually—no, you don’t have to stand up and say anything because we don’t believe you

FDD Could Have Been a Different Scenario’ Chris Minns, the Premier of the state of New South Wales (NSW) in Australia, is under fire over the reported lack of a significant police presence at the Hanukkah menorah lighting ceremony in Sydney in which 15 people were murdered and dozens wounded in an Islamist terror attack. Minns initially claimed that only two officers had been on duty at the Bondi Beach site, but in a later interview, he raised the number to three, alongside a further 20 officers in the wider area. “If the cops had put riot squad cars on the road near the bridge and in the beach car park — [it] could have been a very different scenario,” one of the wounded attendees said.

GATESTONE Australia’s Government: ‘Moral Bankruptcy on Parade’ At present, Australia has naïve policies that allow significant immigration of Islamists from war zones. Despite what the government claims, most of these immigrants do not intend to integrate, assimilate or contribute towards “social cohesion” – as the well-attended marches against Israel and Jews reveal. Many newcomers are ideological enemies of the Western democratic tradition and forthrightly plan to dominate open societies through imposition of Islamic Sharia law.

Posted in Islam, Israel & Middle East, Jewish, Politics | Tagged , | Leave a comment

“Violence began after inspector issuing parking ticket was attacked by two young men, apparently draft-dodgers, who threatened to ‘slaughter’ him; Rioters also attack bus with soldiers”

TIMES OF ISRAEL
13 cops hurt as ultra-Orthodox riot in Jerusalem; police use tear gas, arrest four
Charlie Summers and Sam Sokol
December 18, 2025

Hundreds of young Haredi men clashed with police in Jerusalem Thursday, injuring 13 officers and overturning a cruiser in a riot apparently sparked by an attempt to issue a parking ticket… The commotion broke out after a municipal inspector who had been issuing parking tickets in the capital came under attack from two young Haredi men, police said. The pair kicked him and made threats on his life, promising to “slaughter” him if he returned to the area. Police officers called to aid the inspector in distress arrested one of the assailants, angering locals. Hundreds then gathered around the officers in an attempt to free the detainee, and events quickly mushroomed into rioting. According to Hebrew outlets, officers had realized that the assailants were draft dodgers and sought to hand them over to the Military Police. READ MORE

X Video of the Haredim rioting

Posted in Israel & Middle East | Tagged , , | Leave a comment