Houthis fire on Ben Gurion airport; IDF says it failed to intercept ballistic missile after several attempts; airport reopens after an hour, but most foreign airlines suspend flights 

Posted on May 4, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

JPOST
Houthis working to impose ‘comprehensive air blockade’ on Israel by targeting country’s airports
May 5, 2025

The Houthi terrorist organization said on Sunday night that they are working on imposing a “comprehensive air blockade” on Israel by repeatedly targeting the country’s airports. Three people were mildly wounded earlier that morning as a result of a missile fired by the Yemen-based terror group that crashed in the area of Ben-Gurion Airport’s Terminal 3. The IDF’s failure to intercept the missile was due to a technical error, Israeli military sources told The Jerusalem Post. Houthi military spokesman Brig.-Gen. Yahya Saree posted on Telegram that the missile strike was in response to expand its operations against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The decision to expand operations was agreed upon by the Israeli security cabinet on Friday night. READ MORE

TIMES OF ISRAEL Most foreign airlines halt flights to Tel Aviv after Houthi missile hits airport Lufthansa group, Air India, Wizz Air suspend service to Israel until May 6, and United until May 8; others, including Air France and Delta, cancel Sunday flights

ISRAEL HAYOM (by agreement with JNS) Houthis tested new missile in Ben-Gurion Airport attack According to Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen, the Yemeni terrorist organization is continuing to develop new types of missiles and UAVs despite US operations.

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

“The Druze are the most loyal minority in the Middle East, and Israel is the country that protects them”

Posted on May 4, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

FUTURE OF JEWISH
They chose Israel over the Arab world. Israel chose them back.
Joshua Hoffman
May 4, 2025

In a region often defined by sectarian strife, the relationship between the State of Israel and the Druze community stands as a profound and enduring exception — a brotherhood forged not by convenience, but by loyalty, shared destiny, and mutual respect. The Druze religious community began in the 10th century as an offshoot of Ismaili Shiite Islam but quickly developed into a unique, secretive ethno-religious group with its own theology and culture. One of its core tenets is loyalty to the country of residence, a survival strategy that made the Druze adept at balancing identity and citizenship across changing empires. Leading up to the State of Israel’s founding in 1948, the Arab world was mobilizing for war against the nascent Jewish state. The prevailing expectation among Arab leaders, Arab citizens of Mandatory Palestine, and even many Jewish officials was that the Druze, as Arabic-speaking villagers located primarily in the Galilee and Carmel, would join their Muslim and Christian neighbors in opposing Israel’s creation. READ MORE

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

Washington Post: “Inside Waltz’s ouster: Before Signalgate, talks with Israel angered Trump”

Posted on May 3, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

JPOST
Waltz, Netanyahu held Iran strike discussions behind Trump’s back
May 3, 2025

Part of the reason why US President Donald Trump dismissed National Security Adviser Michael Waltz was due to behind-the-scenes coordination with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on possible military action against Iran, without the president’s full knowledge or approval, The Washington Post reported on Saturday. According to the report, which cited multiple senior administration officials, tensions between Waltz and Trump had been mounting for weeks. Waltz allegedly worked closely with Netanyahu to prepare military options in advance of a February Oval Office meeting — a move he reportedly made without informing the president. READ MORE

ISRAEL HAYOM (by agreement with JNS) Trump sidelines Netanyahu in Middle East policy as relations deteriorate Sources close to US President Donald Trump report that he is disappointed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Relations between Prime Minister Netanyahu and the US president have reached a low point with mutual disappointment on both sides…Earlier this week, we reported that Netanyahu was frustrated with Trump. Now it appears the American president has also lost patience with his Israeli counterpart. 

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

By violating the Civil Rights Act, Harvard endangers federal funding for all its programs; the federal government is obligated to use such funding as leverage to ensure compliance

Posted on May 3, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

ALGEMEINER
Yom HaShoah and Harvard’s Complete Refusal to Address Hatred and Attacks on Jews
Daniel Pomerantz
April 30, 2025

Last week Israel commemorated Yom HaShoah, the country’s Holocaust Remembrance Day. As I stood at silent attention along with an entire country, listening to the one minute long commemorative siren and thinking of the role the Holocaust has played in our collective past, I couldn’t help but hear its haunting echoes in our present. Harvard University recently filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, purportedly in defense of “academic freedom.” The specific “freedom” Harvard is defending is to harass, intimidate, and physically assault Jewish students with impunity, and in violation of Title VI of the Federal Civil Rights Act. Harvard now claims that the White House’s actions violate the university’s First Amendment rights. They do not. READ MORE

UNPACKED Holocaust education is broken. Dara Horn knows how to fix it In this Yom HaShoah special, Mijal and Noam sit down with Dara Horn, acclaimed author of People Love Dead Jews, to discuss Holocaust education and why it matters more than ever. Dara explores the rise in Holocaust denial, antisemitism post-October 7th, and how Jewish sovereignty challenges popular narratives. They explore why many Holocaust education programs erase Jewish civilization and present Jews solely as passive victims—and how that plays into broader societal discomfort with Jewish power. Dara also shares how her provocative book title came to be, and why understanding Jewish identity is essential to understanding antisemitism. Listen to the podcast

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

US Dept of Education Civil Rights Office launches investigation into Evanston-Skokie School District 65 based on complaints that accuse district of racial discrimination

Posted on May 2, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

PATCH
Complaint Sparks Investigation Of IL School District For Discriminatory Practices
Rachel Barnes
May 2, 2025

..This is the second OCR complaint filed by Stacy Deemar, a white drama teacher who works at Nichols Middle School in Evanston. According to her complaint, the school district engages in racial segregation and stereotyping though practices like “privilege walks” and District-sponsored affinity groups. “The policies and practices to which the District allegedly subjects students and teachers shocks the conscience. Amid a dismal academic achievement record, the District appears to focus on unlawfully segregating students by race, instructing students to step forward and others to step back on the basis of race, and associating ‘whiteness’ with the devil. If true, how is this conceivable in America today?” READ MORE

Posted in Chicago, Politics | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“As president and foreign minister listen, mother of slain captive Hersh Goldberg-Polin reveals new details of his captivity and murder, says he was found with his face resting on the face of Eden Yerushalmi, ‘a girl named after paradise’”

Posted on May 1, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

TIMES OF ISRAEL
In raw speech, Rachel Goldberg-Polin tells foreign envoys they can get hostages freed
Lazar Berman
May 2, 2025

With President Isaac Herzog, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and US Ambassador Mike Huckabee in attendance, the mother of murdered hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin told foreign diplomats on Thursday that they have the ability to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza. “It is absolutely doable, as long as people with power decide it is an interest and an equity for them,” Rachel Goldberg-Polin said in an emotional address at Herzog’s annual Independence Day reception for the foreign diplomatic corps in Israel. “Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that “victory” over Hamas, not the return of the hostages, was the supreme objective of the war in Gaza, provoking anger from captives’ families. READ MORE

Click here for video of Rachel Goldberg-Polin’s moving speech “I will always be the mother of Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Hersh will always be my first-born child. Hersh will always be my only son. And Hersh will always be 23 years old.”

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

“On Yom HaZikaron, the typical Israeli noise – the arguments, the honking, the chaos of daily life – all vanish into reverent silence”

Posted on May 1, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

THE ISRAEL BIBLE
Israel’s Memorial Day: What Should We Think About When the Siren Sounds?
Rabbi Elie Mischel
April 30, 2025

Today is Yom HaZikaron – Israel’s Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terror. The air raid siren pierces the morning sky across Israel. Within seconds, an entire nation freezes in place. Drivers pull to the roadside and exit their vehicles. Pedestrians stop mid-stride. Shopkeepers step out from behind their counters. Children stand motionless in schoolyards. For one minute, Israel stands completely still. This is the raw power of Yom HaZikaron. Unlike American observances with barbecues and department store sales, Israel’s day of remembrance cuts to the bone. In a small country where military service is mandatory, everyone knows someone who has paid the ultimate price. The faces on memorial walls are not distant historical figures but sons, daughters, siblings, parents, and friends. When the siren wails, the weight of collective grief is palpable as an entire nation stands united in remembrance. READ MORE

STANDWITHUS WATCH: Moment of silence across Israel during Yom Hazikaron siren On Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, the nation stands in solemn silence, heads bowed in remembrance of the fallen soldiers and victims of terror

TIMES OF ISRAEL Israel at war – Day 574 Those we have lost Stories of civilians and soldiers killed since Hamas’s onslaught on Israel on October 7, 2023

COMMENTARY Seth Mandel: 77 Years of Vindication and Miracles It’s hard not to see some symbolism in the coinciding of three events this week: Israeli Independence Day, a rainstorm over areas of Israel scorched by a raging wildfire, and the U.S. and Ukraine signing a mineral deal. To back up: Today is Yom Ha’atzmaut, the day Israelis celebrate the reestablishment of Jewish sovereignty in the Jewish people’s ancient land. Because Israel is still relatively young as a nation state—77 years—Jews around the world each year still contemplate the meaning of that independence.

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

National emergency declared in Israel as firefighters battle wind-fueled blazes spreading across Jerusalem hills; Greece, Croatia, Italy, and Cyprus expected to deploy firefighting resources to help combat spreading wildfires

Posted on April 30, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

ISRAEL HAYOM (by agreement with JNS)
Massive wildfires rage across Jerusalem hills; Israel requests international aid
April 30, 2025

A fire broke out Wednesday morning, on Israel’s Memorial Day, in a forest near Beit Shemesh. Firefighting teams are working at the scene after authorities declared an emergency, triggering nationwide assistance mobilization, including aircraft, reinforcement teams from additional districts, and logistical support. The Israel Fire and Rescue Services announced that all Independence Day events requiring firefighter security will not be able to receive protection, therefore, Independence Day events cannot be held…Numerous firefighting teams from the Beit Shemesh area are currently battling a developing forest fire in Eshta’ol Forest. Strong winds in the area are contributing to the rapid spread of the flames. READ MORE

JPOST Israel ablaze in national emergency believed to be terrorist act “It’s a terror attack on Israel,” Eli Beer, president of the United Hatzalah emergency response organization, told The Media Line. He noted that fires were started in 20 separate locations. A security source also confirmed to The Media Line that a terrorist act was likely behind the fires, adding that several people had been arrested.

TIMES OF ISRAEL 163 crews battle Jerusalem-area fire which official says may be Israel’s largest ever IDF helps fire service, police fight wildfires in Jerusalem hills as towns evacuated, Jerusalem-Tel Aviv road closed; dozens suffer smoke inhalation, burns, but nobody seriously hurt

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

Why is Congressman Nadler afraid of the new antisemitism envoy?

Posted on April 28, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

FRONT PAGE MAG
Nadler Goes After Rabbi for Exposing Dem Antisemitism
Daniel Greenfield
April 28, 2025

When President Trump put forward his new envoy to combat antisemitism, Rep. Jerrold Nadler urged Senate Democrats “not to provide the Trump Administration with a single vote to confirm Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun.” Rep. Nadler had opposed the Antisemitism Awareness Act, opposed Trump’s crackdown on campus antisemitism, opposed the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, and opposed defunding colleges that tolerate antisemitism…While many Jewish groups sent their good wishes to Rabbi Kaploun, joining Nadler in his opposition to the new antisemitism envoy was [CAIR and other pro-Hamas groups as well as] the anti-Israel group J Street which had lobbied for recognizing and funding a ‘Palestinian’ government that would include Hamas. READ MORE

FREE PRESS The Handsome Face of Terror Apologia Just this week, he [Hasan Piker] claimed on Twitch that “in a totally just world, regardless of your background, any kind of fucking Zionist tendency should be treated in the same way as being a fucking rabid neo-Nazi.” (The vast majority of Jews identify as Zionists.) He went on: “You shouldn’t even let someone be the fucking local dog catcher . . . if they have exhibited any sort of positive feelings about the state of Israel.” At the same time, Piker implies that acts of violence committed by Islamists are justified. On November 29, 2023, he described the attacks of October 7 as “a retaliation for an ongoing apartheid.” Piker doesn’t only justify terrorism. Sometimes, he glorifies it…READ MORE

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

“Today, USAID still employs bureaucrats who are willing to look the other way as American taxpayers’ dollar subsidize terror infrastructure”

Posted on April 27, 2025 by ArchitectGuy

MIDDLE EAST FORUM
Terror Subsidizers to Receive Billions of Surviving USAID Dollars
Sam Westrop
April 23, 2025

A State Department list of 898 approved government grants and contracts authorized by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) includes over $2.5 billion of authorized funding to organizations that have previously supported the charitable infrastructure of designated terrorist organizations. In March, the State Department provided a document to Congress listing some 5,341 awards terminated as part of the administration’s decimation of USAID, alongside 898 surviving grants. Surviving beneficiaries that have supported terrorist charitable infrastructure are set to receive, the Middle East Forum has found, a total of $2.5 billion across 103 awards [see Appendix], for projects that the USAID estimates will cost the taxpayer a total of $3.4 billion. READ MORE

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