“The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 200 plaintiffs, including the family of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one of the Israeli American victims who was initially taken hostage but later killed”

DAILY MAIL
American billionaire is accused of facilitating Hamas’ October 7 terror attack on Israel in bombshell lawsuit
Brittany Chain
April 7, 2025

A billionaire American-Palestinian businessman has been sued by grieving families whose loved ones were victims of the October 7 terror attack in Israel…It states that [Bashar] Masri’s investments in Gaza directly benefited Hamas. One of his properties, an industrial park near the Israeli border, had an ‘elaborate subterranean attack tunnel network’ which was ‘siphoning electricity from their World Bank-funded solar project.’ His Blue Beach Resort allegedly also had a complex tunnel system which linked it to a Hamas training base. Israel’s Defense Forces claimed the hotel was also used ‘as a shelter where [Hamas] planned and executed attacks both above and below ground.’ READ MORE

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Reprimand against antisemitic Chicago therapist doesn’t require her to apologize to the therapists whose names she shared publicly, nor does it affect her ability to continue practicing in Illinois

JEWISH INSIDER
Chicago therapist who created blacklist of ‘Zionist’ therapists disciplined by state licensing body
Gabby Deutch
April 4, 2025

A Chicago therapist who created a blacklist of “Zionist” therapists that she said people should avoid was reprimanded by Illinois’ professional licensing body, after concerns about her conduct were raised last year.  In March 2024, Heba Ibrahim Joudeh shared in a group for “anti-racist therapists” in Chicago that she had created a list of Zionist therapists “that we should avoid referring clients to.” Most of the people on the list had never publicly spoken about Israel or identified themselves publicly as a Zionist. Instead, several of them told Jewish Insider last spring, their only unifying factor was being Jewish.  Last month, Joudeh received a formal reprimand and was “ordered to take continuing education due to unprofessional conduct,” after months of disciplinary proceedings. READ MORE

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Tobin: “Centrists may be wrong to think that they can steer their party in a moderate direction. Looking to 2028 and beyond, the implications for supporters of Israel are ominous”

JNS
AOC and the diminishing prospects for Jewish Democrats
Jonathan Tobin
April 4, 2025

…The Democratic Party of 2025, let alone 2028, is not the same. Most members of Congress may still not wish to be seen as being too far to the left. But their party base, if not all of their voters, has no such qualms. And as far as Israel is concerned, the impact of the post-Oct. 7 war and surge of antisemitism that has swept across the nation have solidified the trend that was already turning the party against Jerusalem. As the most recent Gallup tracking poll indicates, voters who identify themselves as Democrats have decisively turned against Israel, favoring the Palestinians over Israel by a shocking 59% to 21% margin. By contrast, Republicans favor Israel by 75% to 10%, and independents do so by a smaller margin of 42% to 34%. READ MORE

ARUTZ SHEVA 15 Democrats back Sanders’ failed bid to block Israel arms sales A group of 15 Senate Democrats on Thursday backed resolutions introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to halt billions of dollars in US arms sales and military aid to Israel, Axios reported, though the measures were overwhelmingly rejected. The two resolutions, aimed at preventing the sale of $8.8 billion in bombs and other munitions to Israel, were defeated by votes of 15-82 and 15-83. The initiative, which drew no support from Republican senators, exposed a growing rift within the Democratic Party. Among those voting in favor of Sanders’ resolutions were Illinois Senator Dick Durbin…

THE HILL AIPAC targets Senate Democrats who backed Sanders on Israel aid AIPAC is launching a new series of ads on Tuesday targeting the Senate Democrats who voted in favor of Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) motions last week to withhold military aid to Israel.  The six-figure ad buy targets 11 states on television and on social media with senators who backed the measures, which overwhelmingly failed in the Senate. Sanders has previously introduced similar unsuccessful measures to block aid to Israel amid the country’s war with Hamas and criticism of its handling of the humanitarian situation in Gaza. 

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Hungary welcomes Bibi to Budapest, tells ICC to get lost

ALGEMEINER
Hungary Announces Withdrawal From ‘Political’ ICC as Netanyahu Visits Country, Defying Arrest Warrant
Ailin Vilches Arguello
April 3, 2025

Hungary on Thursday announced that it will withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) as the country welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the capital city of Budapest, defying an ICC arrest warrant against him over allegations of war crimes in Gaza. Despite Hungary’s status as a signatory of the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, Netanyahu was not taken into custody upon his arrival in Budapest. Instead, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban welcomed his Israeli counterpart with full military honors. Netanyahu’s visit to Hungary, which is scheduled to last until Sunday, is his first trip to Europe since the ICC issued an arrest warrant against him last year. READ MORE

JNS Hungary defies ICC, welcomes Netanyahu with military honor guard Orbán, having earlier posted a message on X welcoming Netanyahu to the country and calling it “the safest place in Europe,” pressed that theme at the press conference, noting that Hungary’s Jewish community is the third-largest in Europe. While antisemitism has reached levels “never before seen” in Western Europe, in Hungary no Hamas flags wave, he said. “Hungary has zero tolerance for antisemitism.” The reason antisemitism is on the rise in Western Europe is due to mass illegal immigration, he said, adding that his country will never accept such migration.

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“Hamas ‘quietly drops’ thousands of deaths from casualty figures. Claims that 70 per cent of the fatalities are women and children are complete nonsense, says report”

JPOST
Hamas admits 72% of deaths are combat-aged men as it quietly reduces civilian death toll
April 3, 2025

Hamas quietly removed the names of thousands of Palestinians it had previously alleged were killed during the Israel-Hamas war, Salo Aizenberg, from the US-based non-profit organisation Honest Reporting told The Telegraph on Tuesday after analyzing Hamas’s March 2025 casualty update. Hamas has previously claimed that 70% of casualties have been women and children, a claim no longer reflected in their recently updated lists, according to the research. Approximately 72% of fatalities between the ages of 13-55 are men – the demographic category aligns with Hamas combatants. “Hamas’s new March 2025 fatality list quietly drops 3,400 fully ‘identified’ deaths listed in its August and October 2024 reports – including 1,080 children. These ‘deaths’ never happened. The numbers were falsified – again,” Aizenberg asserted. READ MORE

MIDDLE EAST FORUM John Spencer on Israel’s Urban War in Gaza: A Technical Analysis In any comparable context, “Israel’s civilian-to-combatant ratio is still historically low,” given the precautionary measures it took. “Israel has done more and implemented more measures to prevent civilian harm than any military in the history of urban warfare.” Israel’s evacuation of Gazan cities, its limited use of force, and its distribution of maps “to communicate with the civilians” were all actions taken to minimize civilian casualties.

JPOST Former US presidential candidate claims 400,000 Gazans died in war without evidence Former US presidential candidate Ralph Nader claimed that over 400,000 Gazans have been killed by the IDF, without evidence, since the start of the war in October 2023, in a Monday article on the left-wing online magazine CounterPunch. In his article, titled “The Vast Gaza Death Undercount,” he says that Gaza’s civilian population would not “withstand over 115,000 tons of bombs, plus artillery, grenades, and snipers targeting civilians, with uncontrollable fires everywhere.” 

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Oren: “If I have learned one thing in my time in political life it is this: Never bet against Israel’s longest-serving prime minister”

CLARITY WITH MICHAEL OREN
How Does Bibi Survive?
Michael Oren
April 1, 2025

The perennial eulogists of Benjamin Netanyahu’s career are having a banner week. Though it lacks a constitution, Israel stands on the brink of what might otherwise be called a constitutional crisis sparked by Netanyahu’s firing of Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet national security agency—Israel’s equivalent to the FBI. The government has also begun the process of ousting Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara. Both she and Bar stand accused of unreasonably opposing the government’s decisions and of representing a left-wing “deep state.” Bar, in response, has charged Netanyahu with acting not in the state’s interests but out of political and personal considerations. The actions against Bar and Baharav-Miara have sparked mass protests against what many Israelis view as an all-out assault on democracy by the Netanyahu government. READ MORE

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“Strategically, meanwhile, the Iranian regime is on the back foot”

NEWSWEEK
A Grim Message for Iranians
Ilan Berman
April 1, 2025

Over the past half-year, its extensive proxy network has been largely dismantled by Israel, which has methodically taken the fight to Iran’s main Palestinian ally, Hamas, to Hezbollah in Lebanon, and to Iran itself. As a result, the regime now finds itself in its weakest regional position in decades. For the moment, at least, Iran’s ayatollahs are playing coy. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei dismissed Trump’s overture as “a deception,” maintaining that Tehran and Washington don’t have anything to talk about. But the adverse conditions above suggest Iran’s leaders may decide to make a deal with the United States after all, and likely sooner rather than later. If they do, the Trump administration could find itself throwing a lifeline to a failing, deeply unpopular regime desperate to preserve its hold on power. READ MORE

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Hoffman: “Antisemitism is the one bigotry that still gets a pass in elite circles — so long as it’s wrapped in the flag of Palestine and framed as “anti-Zionism””

FUTURE OF JEWISH
Palestinian ‘activism’ is actually domestic terrorism
Joshua Hoffman
March 30, 2025

There’s a long and noble tradition of civil disobedience in the world — from Mahatma Gandhi’s salt march to Martin Luther King Jr.’s marches in Selma. These movements were rooted in moral clarity, peaceful resistance, and a sincere yearning for justice. The document produced by Palestine Action — emailed to me by a reader this past week — is not that. Instead, what we find in Palestine Action: The Underground Manual is a disturbing descent into lawlessness, extremism, and open calls for criminal sabotage disguised as “activism.” The absurdity and dangerous fanaticism laid bare in this manual — and reinforced on their official website — deserve to be exposed and condemned by anyone who values democracy, civil society, and the rule of law. READ MORE

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“In the first year of Israel’s battle against a death cult, I traveled the country—and saw what it means to choose life”

FREE PRESS
If War Came, Would You Fight?
Douglas Murray
April 2, 2025

…From the moment the [October 7] massacre began, I decided that I wanted to see some of the terrorists face-to-face: to look into the eyes of the people who had been so high on the thrill of death, as they brought it on men, women, and children that morning. Eventually, in April 2024, I got permission to visit one of the world’s most secure prisons. The facility, at an undisclosed location, held some of the most dedicated and murderous people who had broken into Israel the day of the massacre and been caught alive. It was made clear to me that, however defeated they looked now, these were people who had done the most unimaginable things when they were in a position of power just a few months before…Now, one of the terrorists who committed this atrocity was only a few feet away from me in the prison. READ MORE

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“There’s no way to whitewash Erdogan’s antisemitic remarks. He defends them by pointing to the suffering of Gaza’s residents at the hands of what he describes as “Israeli aggression””

JPOST
Erdogan demands Allah to ‘damn Zionist Israel’ in Eid al-Fitr remarks, Israel condemns
James Genn
March 30, 2025

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for the destruction of Israel at the Turkish Eid al-Fitr (festival ending Ramadan) prayer on Sunday, with Turkey’s state-run news agency Anadolu quoting the president as saying, “May Allah damn Zionist Israel.” Erdogan spoke at the Grand Camlica Mosque in Istanbul…Israel Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said, “The dictator Erdogan revealed his antisemitic face,” adding that “Erdogan is dangerous to the region, as well as to his own people, as has been proven in recent days,” referring to the widespread protests denouncing Erdogan after he ordered the detention of [political opponent] Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. READ MORE

YNET Erdogan’s embrace of Hamas and anti-Israel rhetoric fuel regional concerns Turkish president’s rhetoric and crackdown on dissent deepen tensions with Israel; while ties remain frozen, US President Trump may eventually step in to revive the strained relationship. In the past 24 hours, I spoke with five key individuals—two in Istanbul, often dubbed Turkey’s Tel Aviv, and three in the capital, Ankara. Each of them had visited Israel at least once. What stood out most was how easily Erdogan’s antisemitic outburst—”May Allah bring ruin and destruction upon Zionist Israel“—was dismissed.

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