“Addressing all of the hostages, Trump said, “It’s an honor to get to know all of you. We love you all, and our country loves you all… you’re amazing people””

Posted on November 19, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

TIMES OF ISRAEL
Trump hosts captives he helped free from Gaza: ‘You’re not hostages anymore, you’re heroes’
Jacob Magid
November 21, 2025

US President Donald Trump hosted a delegation at the White House on Thursday of nearly all the hostages freed through as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal he brokered last month. “You’re not a hostage anymore… today you’re heroes,” Trump told the former hostages and their families in a brief portion of his prepared remarks that were filmed and released by the White House. The Israeli delegation was made up of 26 former hostages, including 17 of the 20 living captives who were released in the deal that took force in October. Among those 17 was Matan Angrest, who Trump singled out for praise. “Because of his service in the IDF, Matan was subjected to severe beatings, even at times losing consciousness. Alone and under special guard, he went through hell,” Trump said in another short video posted by the Hostages Families Forum. READ MORE

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“Those experiences gave Thomas the fortitude to do something truly courageous: risk her friendships, face her misconceptions, and change her mind”

Posted on November 17, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

FREE PRESS
Confessions of a Former Pro-Palestine Activist
Maya Sulkin
November 19, 2025

When I saw a viral video of Taryn Thomas speaking at an October 7, 2025, vigil at Stanford, I knew she was unique. That’s because only two years before, she was a part of the pro-Palestine movement on her campus. After Hamas’s attack on Israel, Thomas took part in the first encampments that appeared on campuses across the country and fully submitted to the groupthink that Hamas was a legitimate resistance group. She marched with people who wouldn’t dare associate with Zionists, and accepted an invitation to see the Nova exhibit in Los Angeles only so she could report back to her friends about the “Zionist propaganda.” But that’s not what happened. Thomas says seeing evidence of the Nova festival and what truly happened on October 7 opened her eyes. In the months that followed, she took a trip to Israel, listened to the firsthand experiences of Israelis and Palestinians, and made friends from the Jewish community on her campus. READ MORE AND HEAR INTERVIEW

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“The accusations projected onto Jews and Israel reveal dark realities across the Muslim world”

Posted on November 17, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

FUTURE OF JEWISH
Every Jewish conspiracy is true, just not about Jews.
Joshua Hoffman
November 19, 2025

…The traits projected onto Israel and the Jewish People are, with uncanny consistency, the very traits that describe the governments, movements, monarchies, and ideological regimes of the Muslim world. Not secretly, not conspiratorially, not in shadowy cabals. Openly. Proudly. Systemically. Loudly. Take, for example, apartheid. Israel, the Middle East’s only liberal democracy, is the favorite target of the world’s apartheid accusers, even as nearly every Muslim-majority state practices the real thing. Saudi Arabia bans churches; Iran and Afghanistan enforce gender apartheid so literal it could be photographed; the Gulf states prohibit conversion out of Islam; minorities across the region live under systems of de facto or de jure segregation. Meanwhile, Arabs in Israel vote, serve as diplomats, sit on the Supreme Court, and run hospitals. If Israel is “apartheid,” then words have no meaning. To see genuine apartheid, you go where the accusation is loudest. READ MORE

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Jabotinsky: “It is important to speak Hebrew, but, unfortunately, it is even more important to be able to shoot”

Posted on November 17, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

NEW YORK POST
Jewish New Yorkers rushing to buy guns for protection after anti-Israel Zohran Mamdani’s victory
Doree Lewak
November 15, 2025

They’re preparing for a Mamdani administration lox, stock and barrel. Jewish New Yorkers are arming themselves before an anti-Israel “mayor who despises us” takes the helm of New York City, several told The Post this week. Michael Bergida, who opened a gun shop in Marine Park, Brooklyn, called Samson Armory — a nod to the Biblical Israelite warrior and symbol of sheer strength — said his new business is booming. Bergida, 30, is arming everyone from fearful zaydes to terrified rabbis. “We’re probably the only gun store to have a minyan,” said the 30-year-old Orthodox owner about the Jewish gathering for prayer. And who can blame them? Bergida said he foresees “chaos” under the incoming radical socialist mayor. “The NYPD is all retiring – we have to fight for ourselves. People are freaking out over Mamdani – anyone who has any Christian-Judeo values,” Bergida claimed, adding that he largely works with the Jewish community, who are tougher than bubbe’s brisket. READ MORE

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“Democrat resolution alleges a litany of crimes by the Israeli military and government, claiming that civilians and civilian objects had been targeted in Gaza on a wide scale, and humanitarian aid had been denied as a means to starve the populace”

Posted on November 16, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

JPOST
Rashida Tlaib rallies 20 Democrats in push for Congress to recognize Gaza ‘genocide’
Michael Starr
November 16, 2025

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and 20 other Democratic congresspeople submitted a resolution for the US to officially recognize that Israeli military operations in Gaza since October 2023 constituted a genocide against Palestinians. The resolution, presented on Friday, would declare US policy as set toward ceasing the transfers of military equipment to Israel due to concerns that a supposed genocide was underway. The US would have to ensure that individuals and corporations within US jurisdiction were not aiding, assisting, or inciting the alleged genocide, according to the text of the bill, and violators would be investigated and prosecuted. Other persons and corporations involved in the supposed crimes would be targeted with sanctions. READ MORE

THE HUB Alan Kessel and Casey Babb: The dangerous dilution of ‘genocide’ Once the term “genocide” is drained of its meaning and used as shorthand for any large-scale tragedy, it risks becoming a political slogan rather than a legal judgment.

AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE 5 Reasons Why the Events in Gaza Are Not “Genocide” As images and accounts of human suffering in Gaza dominate headlines and social media, the accusation that Israel is committing genocide against  Palestinians in Gaza has gained traction in protests and scholarly discourse, on social media, the vitriol of anti-Israel protesters, through a spurious accusation filed by South Africa in the International Court of Justice, and reports by so-called ‘UN experts,’ and sensational reports by NGOs.

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Qatar isn’t only an ally of Hamas, Qatar also has history supporting Al Qaeda and the Taliban

Posted on November 16, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

TOWNHALL
Exposed: Qatar’s Circle of Terrorist Friends
Natalie Ecanow
November 13, 2025

In recent comments to CNN, Qatar’s prime minister reflected on his country’s unique ability to “convene between conflicted parties and understand the grievances.”  Of course, Qatar’s ability to perform that job rests on a hefty rolodex of international contacts, including some of the world’s most notorious terrorist groups. At first glance, this wouldn’t strike the average reader as much of a problem. The United States doesn’t negotiate with terrorist groups, which means it must employ someone else to mediate. Why shouldn’t that someone be Qatar, a Major Non-NATO Ally in good standing with Washington? The only problem is that Qatar has spent decades harboring, financing, or promoting many of the terrorist groups it engages. At best, the Qataris come to the negotiating table with biases. At worst, they’re doing the terrorists’ bidding. READ MORE

AMIT SEGAL Israel Needs to Act More Forcefully Against the Turkish Threat The Israeli embassy in Ankara has been closed and gathering dust since October 7, while the consulate in Istanbul opens only rarely, when two brave diplomats risk their lives and go there for a few days each month. The Turks, on the other hand—take note—have no fewer than 50 diplomats here: 30 in Tel Aviv and 20 in Jerusalem. They’re not cultivating ties with Israel—they’re working to undermine it from within. When Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran some 15 months ago, the Turkish flag at the embassy in Tel Aviv was lowered to half-mast in mourning. The ayatollah regime in Tehran has not yet fallen, but one can already see on the horizon the prophecy of the legendary Middle East scholar Bernard Lewis—that Iran would become Turkey, and Turkey would become Iran.

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Male and female hostages of Hamas were raped: “According to his account, the attacker then held a gun to his head and threatened to kill him if he ever mentioned it”

Posted on November 16, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

MEDIA LINE
Freed Hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal Says Captor Sexually Assaulted Him
November 20, 2025

A newly released hostage has given a detailed account of sexual assault during his captivity in Gaza, adding to a growing body of testimony from Israelis who endured similar abuse while held by Hamas. In a Channel 12 interview broadcast Wednesday, Guy Gilboa-Dalal described an incident in which a captor assaulted him after allowing him to shower, recounting the episode as one of the most traumatic moments of his more than two-year imprisonment. Gilboa-Dalal said the assailant pulled him from the bathroom before he could dress, took him into a nearby room, and forced him into an armchair. “He started touching me all over my body,” he said, explaining that he froze when he realized what was happening. He told the interviewer he pleaded with the captor, saying, “You’re joking, right? This is forbidden in Islam.”  READ MORE

ALGEMEINER UN Rapporteur on Sexual Violence Denies Hamas Atrocities: ‘No Investigation Found That Rape Occurred’ Reem Alsalem, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, sparked controversy over the weekend by publicly denying claims of sexual violence committed by Hamas during the October 7 massacre in Gaza. In a statement shared on social media, Alsalem asserted, “No Palestinian cheered for rape in Gaza. No independent investigation has found that rape occurred on October 7.” Her comments immediately drew strong criticism from Israeli officials. Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, called the statement “a moral disgrace” and accused Alsalem of insulting the victims and their families. 

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EVENTS: Nova Music Festival Exhibition closes November 30, see before it leaves Chicago; Reprise screening of the excellent “Beneath the Helmet” in Highland Park

Posted on November 14, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

Nova Music Festival Exhibition in Chicago
The Nova Exhibition is an in-depth remembrance of the brutal massacre at the Nova Music Festival on October 7th, 2023. The installation sets out to recreate a festival dedicated to peace and love that was savagely cut short by a terrorist attack on that fateful day. The attack at the Nova Music Festival was the largest massacre in music history. This powerful installation invites visitors to immerse themselves and bear witness to the tragic events of October 7th and its aftermath. Visit the Chicago installation from November 4 through November 30. Click here for tickets.

Open Dor Media’s “Beneath the Helmet”
L’Chaim Center is hosting a reprise screening of the OpenDor Media film, Beneath the Helmet: From High School to the Home Front, with special guest to speak following the movie, Captain Eden Adler (reserves), who starred in the film. Click here for tickets.

When:  Monday, December 8th @ 7:30-9:00pm
Where: Wayfarer Theatre, 1850 2nd Street, Highland Park, IL

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

“Netanyahu noted in interview that, as prime minister in 1996, he initiated the process of ending US financial aid to Israel, a process that eventually led to its full termination”

Posted on November 13, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

I24 NEWS
Israel considers a gradual reduction of US military aid
November 13, 2025

A dramatic shift may be underway in Israel’s strategic defense policy as officials in Jerusalem confirm to i24NEWS that Israel considers a gradual reduction of US military aid. The annual aid package stands at $3.8 billion, almost all of which is directed toward purchases from the American defense industry. This development ties in with an extraordinary statement made by the Prime Minister this morning in an interview with Australian television, in which he said that he wants to see a much more independent defense industry…This shift in Netanyahu’s outlook is also one of the lessons Israel has drawn from the war in Gaza and from its dependence on the US particularly evident in the Biden administration’s arms embargo. But there is also a political and diplomatic element here, a nod to President Trump and to growing factions within the Republican Party calling to put an end to US military aid to Israel. READ MORE

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“The former jihadist terrorist, who became the first-ever Syrian visitor to the White House, is leaving Washington with tangible rewards”

Posted on November 13, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

NEW YORK SUN
Quiet White House Visit by Syria’s Acting President Causes Trepidation in Israel
Benny Avni
November 10, 2025

Although the White House visit by Syria’s acting president, Ahmad al-Shara, was conducted in uncharacteristically hushed tones, it marks a significant shift in America’s policy toward that country — sparking some trepidation in Israel.  Following a two-hour meeting with President Trump on Monday, Mr. Shara left the way he came in: through the White House’s back entrance. The now-familiar presidential greeting at the front entrance was absent, as was the extended press conference that Mr. Trump habitually conducts with high-level guests.  Yet the former jihadist terrorist, who became the first-ever Syrian visitor to the White House, is leaving Washington with tangible rewards. Those include an end to the sanctions against him and aides, as well as against the country he leads. In return, Mr. Shara vows to join an American-led anti-ISIS coalition and work toward agreements with neighboring Israel. READ MORE

JPOST Israel’s lessons learned from Syria’s Sharaa historic White House meeting with Trump There are many skeptics about Sharaa who think the new government in Damascus has a problem with its extremist past – only time will tell whether this changes.

MEDIA LINE Syrian President Al-Sharaa Claims President Trump Endorses Israel’s Departure From Golan Heights Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said in an interview with The Washington Post on Tuesday that President Donald Trump supports Israel’s withdrawal from the Golan Heights as part of ongoing negotiations between Damascus and Jerusalem. The statement followed al-Sharaa’s historic meeting with Trump in Washington.

TIMES OF ISRAEL Trump pressing Saudi crown prince to ink deal with Israel following Gaza truce Senior US official tells Axios message to MBS, expected at White House next week, is: ‘We did all the things you asked for. Now, there are things President Trump wants’

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