To Jews still on the fence, you don’t have to agree with every Israeli policy, but know this: When the knives come out, it’s not policy they hate. It’s you.

Posted on June 17, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

FUTURE OF JEWISH
Israel should make every Jew incredibly proud right now.
Joshua Hoffman
June 18, 2025

Every Jew should be incredibly proud of Israel right now. Not just for its innovations, its culture, its defense establishment, or its Nobel Prizes, but for its courage. For standing alone, again. For doing what every Jewish heart, no matter how secular or skeptical, has quietly hoped it would do: Defend us when no one else will. In making the first move to eliminate Iran’s nuclear program, Israel has done what the so-called “international community” refused to do…Some Jews in the Diaspora have the luxury of pretending they don’t need Israel. They’ve convinced themselves that their safety rests in “progressive” or “universal” values. But when the synagogue windows shatter and supposed allies keep their mouths shut as Jews are indiscriminately targeted, they are forced to remember, painfully, why Israel exists. READ MORE

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Medoff: “There is a common thread to all these attacks, whether the target is Jews in general, Jewish bankers, Jewish publishers or the Jewish state — no matter who happens to be Israel’s prime minister at any given time”

Posted on June 17, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

JEWISH JOURNAL
Are Jews Dragging America into a War?
Rafael Medoff
June 17, 2025

In strikingly similar language, prominent radical voices in Congress have been claiming that Israel is trying to “drag” the United States into war with Iran. “The U.S. must make it clear that we will not be dragged into another Netanyahu war,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) declared. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) warned: “We should not allow ourselves to be dragged into yet another conflict, against our will.” Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) said, “We cannot let [Israel’s prime minister] drag our country into a war with Iran.” And their fellow-“Squad” member Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) asserted: “We cannot allow a war criminal to drag American troops and resources into another endless war.” The language used by these leaders of the far left is, ironically, reminiscent of what some of the most notorious figures on the far right were saying in the late 1930s and early 1940s. READ MORE

NATIONAL REVIEW The Horseshoe Coalition Against Israel on Iran With Donald Trump now loudly backing Israel’s war on the Iranian nuclear program and issuing increasingly hawkish warnings against the mullahs, there has been a lot of teeth-gnashing and garment-rending from the usual quarters — and these days, those usual quarters are a horseshoe-shaped alliance of doves and antisemites on the “restrainer” right and the progressive left. At times, it can be hard to tell their rhetoric apart. They form a uniparty of opposition to resisting America’s sworn enemies.

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“Lebanon’s domestic mood is also restraining Hezbollah. Most Lebanese — at least 70 percent — don’t trust the group and have raised post-war calls for its disarmament”

Posted on June 16, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

FDD
Hezbollah’s Role in the Israel-Iran War Is to Await Iran’s Orders
David Daoud
June 19, 2025

Hezbollah was supposed to be Tehran’s insurance policy if Israel contemplated attacking Iran — the group’s massive arsenal either deterring the Israelis or, failing that, acting as the Islamic Republic’s first line of response. But so far, even after the intense bombardment of Iranian targets as part of Operation Rising Lion, Iran’s star proxy is only offering rhetorical solidarity, its Secretary-General Naim Qassem’s official statement indicating Hezbollah is awaiting orders rather than rushing to join the fight. The Israelis inflicted a significant and unprecedented defeat upon the group during their recent war. They have eliminated most of Hezbollah’s top military and political leadership and a significant percentage of its missile stocks — though estimates vary on exact figures. The Israelis have barely let up since, targeting the group’s remaining assets and critical personnel almost daily. Hezbollah is therefore in no state to fight Israel, and renewed war would likely allow the Israels to further degrade the group. READ MORE

FDD As Israel and Iran Exchange Strikes, Qatar Wants Closer Ties With Tehran Qatar’s emir and Iran’s president are becoming friendlier amidst the war between Israel and Iran. On June 18, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani received a letter from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian “pertaining to bilateral ties and the means to enhance them…The exchange between Al Thani and Pezeshkian demonstrates Qatar’s flourishing relationship with the Islamic Republic. While Doha persuaded Washington that it deserved recognition as a Major Non-NATO ally, it has been pursuing a working, if not warm, relationship with the regime in Iran.

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“Bush punted, Obama and Biden appeased, while Trump 2.0 played into Tehran’s hands by delaying a decision with futile diplomacy, leaving Netanyahu no choice but to act”

Posted on June 16, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

JNS
Two decades of American folly made Israel’s Iran strike necessary
Jonathan Tobin
June 13, 2025

Like many, if not most, wars, the conflict between Israel and Iran didn’t have to happen, and certainly, not in this way. But the blame for the hostilities now underway doesn’t belong to the Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who ordered the Israeli Air Force to undertake a pre-emptive strike on Iranian nuclear targets in the early morning hours of June 13. That won’t be the way the international media, as well as liberal legacy news outlets in the United States, report it. The same sources that have been demonizing Jerusalem’s efforts to eradicate the Hamas terrorists who launched the Gaza war with unspeakable atrocities on Oct. 7, 2023, will put all the blame on Netanyahu and the Israelis. READ MORE

TABLET MAG Can Israel End Iran’s Nuclear Program? Can Israel destroy Fordow without American help?  Yeah, I think so. They could mine it during a commando raid. They could potentially crack the ceiling or undermine the support structure of the halls. They can make it very difficult to get into. Effectively that’s destroying it, if you can’t get in without months and months of work. Then when you get in, it’s more than likely most of the centrifuges are going to be broken.

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“After embracing these four different denominations—all of which had been created in America within decades of each other—Cresson set sail for the Middle East, ultimately returning from Jerusalem an Orthodox Jew, predicting a Jewish return to the Holy Land”

Posted on June 16, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

COMMENTARY
The Sanity of John Fetterman
Meir Y. Soloveichik
June 2025

Let us ponder the strange similarities linking the striking stories of Warder Cresson and John Fetterman. Ostensibly these two individuals, whose lives are separated by more than a century, have nothing to do with each other. Yet both embody, in their own way, archetypal American tales, in that they reflect the bonds between this country and the Jewish people and the way these bonds have endured despite the efforts of some to undo them. Warder Cresson’s 19th-century tale has already been told in these pages (“The Forgotten Proto-Zionist,” December 2019). The first person appointed American consul to Jerusalem, he was born a Quaker and proceeded as an adult to join the Shakers, an ecstatic form of Christianity. He then embraced Mormonism, then adopted the teachings of Seventh-day Adventists and then the teachings of the frontier Restorationist movement. READ MORE

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From the Israeli Left: “The early Israeli successes in taking out top Iranian military leadership and anti-aircraft capabilities have left citizens delighted, and hopeful that elimination of Iranian nuclear capabilities through force is possible”

Posted on June 16, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

TIMES OF ISRAEL
When a Rising Lion Turns Doves into Hawks
Alon Tal
June 15, 2025

…I think about that discussion as I try to understand my response to the first two days of Israel’s military conflict with Iran. It is consistent with that of many friends associated with the country’s peace camp. For instance, Yair Golan, the leftist chair of Israel’s Democrats party, did not hesitate to support the IDF’s surprise attack – locally known as the “Rising Lion” operation. What is it that makes many of us, who over the years embraced a dovish, conciliatory perspective on regional conflicts, so comfortable with Israel’s present war against Iran? READ MORE

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The Jewish state begins to take out the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear facilities. Netanyahu: ‘If we don’t act now, there will not be another generation’; Sen. Lindsey Graham: “Game on. Pray for Israel”

Posted on June 12, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

NEW YORK POST
Israel launches air strikes on Iran’s nuclear program
Samuel Chamberlain, Caitlin Doornbos, Victor Nava and Anna Young
June 12, 2025

Israel launched air strikes inside Iran late Thursday in its latest effort to destroy Tehran’s nuclear program – an operation military leaders said they had “no choice” but to carry out. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Operation “Rising Lion” targeted several sites across the Iranian capital to dismantle the country’s nuclear infrastructure, ballistic missile factories and military – in a mission to “roll back” Iran’s threat to Israel’s “very survival.” Though the extent of damage remains unclear, the attack reportedly killed a high-ranking general and nuclear scientists as explosions boomed across Tehran…The Jewish state also targeted Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz — where black smoke was seen billowing from the building, Iranian state media showed. READ MORE

YOUTUBE Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Discusses Strike On Iran’s Nuclear Targets

TIMES OF ISRAEL Netanyahu thanks Trump for support; tells Iranians ‘your liberation from tyranny is closer than ever’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanks US President Donald Trump “for his steadfast stance.” “Time and again, he made it clear: Iran must never be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons,” says Netanyahu in his video statement. “I thank him for his consistent support of our country throughout all the years of his presidency.”

ISRAEL HAYOM Iranian Chief of Staff, IRGC Commander eliminated According to an announcement in local media, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander Hossein Salami has been killed, while conflicting reports have emerged regarding the condition of Iranian Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri… In addition, Iranian sources report that the commander of the “Khatam al-Anbiya” complex in Tehran, Maj. Gen. Gholam Ali Rashid, was also killed in the strike. According to these sources, Dr. Fereydoon Abbasi, a former head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, was also killed in the attacks.

FRONT PAGE MAG Israel Strikes Back On Thursday evening, the long-anticipated Israel strikes began, targeting the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear sites and other key military facilities. The objective of Operation Strength of a Lion is to end the Iranian nuclear threat once and for all, as well as to destroy, as much as possible, the Islamic Republic’s ability to continue to wage war against the Jewish state via its proxies, Hamas, Hizballah, and the Houthis. The entire state of Israel was on emergency alert; the Israeli Home Front Command issued instructions to all Israeli citizens to comply with guidelines that would be issued as part of “preparations for a significant threat.”

THE HILL Rubio: US ‘not involved’ in Israel’s strike inside Iran Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday evening the U.S. was not involved in Israeli strikes inside Iran in an effort to distance Washington from getting in between the two adversaries. “Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,” Rubio said in a statement. “Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense. President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel,” Rubio added.

JNS ‘We back Israel to the hilt’: Support for Israel pours in from Congress Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) was one of many members of Congress who stated that he supports the Jewish state as the Israeli Air Force launched what it said was a “preemptive” strike on Iranian military and nuclear targets. “Our commitment to Israel must be absolute, and I fully support this attack. Keep wiping out Iranian leadership and the nuclear personnel,” the Pennsylvania Democrat stated…Another outspoken pro-Israel Democrat, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), stated that “the Islamic Republic of Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism…

JEWISH INSIDER Senior Republican senators, pro-Israel Dems express support for Israel’s strike against Iran Many of the highest-ranking Senate Republicans, along with leading pro-Israel Democrats, expressed support for Israel’s preemptive strikes on Iran, but a number of skeptical lawmakers — mostly Democrats — expressed concern that the strikes could set off a broader war in the region. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said, minutes after reports of the operation began, “Proud to stand with Israel.” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) soon followed, saying, “Game on. Pray for Israel.”

FROM A FRIEND AND RABBI: What we ALL can do right now

As we watch the news and think of our brethren in Israel and throughout the world . . . we can take a moment(s) to daven/pray/reflect.

Tehillim/Psalms Ch. 121 – Attributed to King David
A song for ascents.
I turn my eyes to the mountains;
from where will my help come?
My help comes from Hashem,
maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot give way;
your guardian will not slumber;
See, the guardian of Israel
neither slumbers nor sleeps!
Hashem is your guardian,
Hashem is your protection
at your right hand.
By day the sun will not strike you,
nor the moon by night.
Hashem will guard you from all harm;
He will guard your life.
Hashem will guard your going and coming
now and forever.

Acheinu prayer: [As for] our brethren, the entire House of Israel who [still] remain in distress and captivity, whether on sea or on land, may G-d have compassion on them, and bring them from distress to relief, from darkness to light, from servitude to redemption, at this moment, speedily, very soon; and let us say Amein.

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“The GHF holds Hamas fully responsible for taking the lives of our dedicated workers who have been distributing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people at the foundation’s sites in central and southern Gaza”

Posted on June 12, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

I24 NEWS
GHF says Hamas ‘brutally attacked’ aid workers, 10 reportedly massacred
June 11, 2025

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) accused Hamas of massacring its aid workers on Wednesday night, attacking a bus carrying more than 24 Palestinian employees working with the American company to bring aid to Gazans. The GHF said it knows of at least eight people killed, more wounded, and fears that others may have been abducted. i24NEWS learned from a Gazan source that the death toll had risen to 10. “We condemn this heinous and deliberate attack in the strongest possible terms,” the GHF said. The bus was on its way to one of the distribution centers in the southern Gaza Strip’s Khan Yunis. According to Hamas-affiliated media outlets, the terror group executed five fighters of the Popular Forces, a rival militia led by tribal leader Yasser Abu Shabab. Twelve others were shot in the legs. READ MORE

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“One resolution, which praised ICE and highlighted the need for vetting visa applicants, split House Democrats”

Posted on June 11, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

JEWISH INSIDER
House passes two resolutions condemning antisemitic attacks, amid controversy
Marc Rod
June 9, 2025

The House voted on Monday to pass two resolutions condemning recent antisemitic attacks. One, led by Republicans, which focused on the Boulder, Colo., attack and immigration issues, and split the Democratic caucus. The other, which was bipartisan and highlighted a series of antisemitic attacks, passed nearly unanimously, with just two lawmakers voting present. The first resolution attracted controversy among Democrats ahead of the vote, but it passed by a 280-133 vote. Seventy-five Democrats, mostly moderates and pro-Israel members, ultimately voted in favor of the resolution and 113 voted against it…The resolution stated that the Boulder attack, perpetrated by an Egyptian national who overstayed a visa and work permit who threw a Molotov cocktail at activists raising awareness for the hostages in Gaza, “highlights the need to aggressively vet aliens who apply for visas” and “demonstrates the dangers of not removing from the country aliens who fail to comply with the terms of their visa. READ MORE

AXIOS Tensions erupt in Congress over vote to condemn Boulder attack What would otherwise be an uncontroversial congressional vote to denounce the Boulder attack is devolving into a contentious partisan feud, Axios has learned. Language praising ICE and labeling “Free Palestine” an “antisemitic slogan” are sparking fury from some Democrats, who see the provisions as a GOP maneuver to force them into a difficult vote.

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“US Treasury said it will continue to seek disruptions to the financial capabilities of Hamas, which still holds hostages it seized in the group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel”

Posted on June 11, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

ALGEMEINER
US Issues Sanctions Against Charities Supporting Hamas, PFLP
Reuters and Staff
June 10, 2025

The United States imposed sanctions on Tuesday targeting individuals and sham charities that it said were prominent financial supporters of the Palestinian terrorist groups Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The individuals and groups targeted were funding Hamas‘s military wing under the pretense of doing humanitarian work, in Gaza and internationally, the Treasury Department said…The entities sanctioned included the Gaza-based Al Weam Charitable Society, the Turkey-based Filistin Vakfi, the El Baraka Association for Charitable and Humanitarian Work, which is based in Algeria, the Netherlands-based Israa Charitable Foundation and the Associazione Benefica La Cupola d’Oro, based in Italy, the department said in a statement. READ MORE

THE EDITORS U.S. Treasury Sanctions Harvard Palestinian Partner as Fraudulent Terrorist Front Group The U.S. Treasury Department today announced sanctions against what it called a “fraudulent charity linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. ” The charity, Addameer, is a group that Harvard University has partnered with and defended.

THE HILL Rubio knocks allies for sanctioning Israeli officials Secretary of State Marco Rubio knocked U.S. allies on Tuesday for sanctioning Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir amid the war in Gaza.  Five countries — United Kingdom, Canada, Norway, New Zealand, and Australia — said the sanctions are not targeting the Israeli people but individuals who are using their leadership positions to “actively undermine peace and security” and remove prospects for a two-state solution.

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