Displaying posts categorized under

ISRAEL

How Arabs See Trump’s ‘Separate Peace’ and Deals With Islamists by Khaled Abu Toameh

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21632/trump-deals-with-islamists

In the eyes of Iran and the Houthis, Trump’s separate peace deal that excluded Israel is a captivating green light to continue their attacks on “The Little Satan”, while obligingly halting their assaults on vessels in the Red Sea.

Trump’s deal with the Houthis sent everyone in the Middle East the message that the Trump administration has finally thrown Israel under the bus.

Worse, Trump’s agreement does not require the Houthis to abandon their jihad (holy war) against either the US or Israel.

“[The Palestinians are] ecstatic that their employer, Qatar, just “purchased” the US presidency with a $400 million 747 jet and a Golf Course….” — Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, Palestinian political analyst, X, May 11, 2025.

Qatar wanted the American-Israeli hostage released as a gesture to Trump on the eve of his visit to the Gulf state. Hamas leaders were not able to say no to Qatar, and immediately complied.

This event shows that Qatar has enough influence over Hamas to instruct it to release all the hostages. Qatar could have used its influence from the beginning to force Hamas to release all of them; but it did not.

Qatar wants to make sure that its long-standing allies, Iran and Hamas, remain strong and in power after the current war.

Trump and his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are being played and appear not even to know it. If they do know it, personal friendships and financial rescues have apparently taken priority over hard-nosed negotiating. Their only priority seems to have been raking in trillions of dollars from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, a Trump golf resort in Saudi Arabia, a $400 million “flying palace” from Qatar, a Trump hotel in Dubai and the promise of a Trump Tower in Damascus.

“Donald Trump may go down in history as the American President who empowered Islamism around the globe [by funding Syria’s al-Sharaa], more than any other president in the history of the USA.” — Nervana Mahmoud, Egyptian political analyst, X, May 13, 2025.

Trump and his advisors undoubtedly have good intentions, but… trying to strike deals with Iran and its Hamas and Houthi terror proxies, instead emboldens these terrorists and enemies of the US.

After Trump returns to Washington, he will quickly discover that the Islamists and their sponsors in the Middle East have not changed. Iran, Hamas and the Houthis will continue to call for death to Israel and America. Qatar will continue to provide political and financial support to anti-American Islamists and other Jihadis. As for Syria’s jihadist president, the belief that he will transform himself into a moderate pro-Western Arab leader and a democrat is, unfortunately, nothing but a joke.

Saudi Arabia, under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also appears to be moving in that direction, though at a much slower pace. MBS will not join the Abraham Accords. Trump’s wish that he would sign onto them “in your own time” is a sweet, naïve dream.

If Trump were to use military force against Iran’s nuclear weapons program, it would not only be a blow to Tehran and its terror proxies, it would enormously empower the moderate Arabs and Muslims who correctly view the mullahs as a threat to their national security and stability.

If Trump wants real peace and prosperity, he must, unfortunately, act against Iran and its terror proxies, and distance himself from jihadists and their sponsors, especially Qatar. Such a move would be the best way to expand the Abraham Accords and encourage other Arabs to seize hold of Trump’s great promise.

Eurovision fans’ glorious f-you to the Israel haters Yuval Raphael winning the audience vote reveals the chasm between the new elites and the silent majority. Tom Slater

https://www.spiked-online.com/2025/05/18/eurovision-fans-glorious-f-you-to-the-israel-haters/

So Austria edged out Israel to win last night’s Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland. Amid a resurgence of anti-Semitism among the cultural set, one might be tempted to reach for some crude historical references – given Basel was the birthplace of the modern Zionist movement, the venue for the First Zionist Congress in 1897, and Austria was the birthplace of, well, Hitler. But where the Jews and the Jewish State are concerned, last night’s grand final was a moment of triumph, even if contestant Yuval Raphael didn’t quite make it over the line.

In the run-up to this year’s Eurovision, there was all the usual frothing agitation, demanding the Jewish State be banned from the competition because of the ‘genocide’ activists insist Israel is committing in Gaza. Seemingly, they have no idea what genocide actually means and have forgotten that Hamas started this war when it butchered 1,200 people in Israel on 7 October 2023, targeting civilians for murder, rape and torture. That 24-year-old Raphael is a survivor of 7 October – indeed, the last major music event she attended before last night was the Nova festival – hasn’t dimmed their zealotry.

All the usual suspects dusted off their old open letters. They claim this is about the war, even though they’ve been calling for a boycott for decades. That Eurovision is organised by broadcasters, not by governments, never seems to phase them. It seems that all Israelis must be held accountable for the alleged misdeeds of their government – particularly for having the gall to defend itself and its people from genocidal Islamists.

Trump: Israel not sidelined, no frustration with Netanyahu By David Isaac

https://www.jns.org/trump-israel-not-sidelined-no-frustration-with-netanyahu/

Donald Trump is not frustrated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the U.S. president said, addressing a question from Fox News anchor Bret Baier during a May 16 interview following his tour of three Arab Gulf states.

Trump told Baier that it was important to keep the Arab states “in our fold. … They’re back loving the United States again. That was a full embrace.”

The trip, which skipped the Jewish state, had been characterized in the media as “shrugging off” or “sidelining” Israel, particularly as Trump appeared to ignore Israeli concerns about Qatar, a funder of Islamist groups, and met with Syria’s new leader, President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whom Netanyahu’s government said is a “jihadist.”

However, Trump expressed empathy for Netanyahu in the wide-ranging interview with Baier, saying Israel’s prime minister is dealing with a difficult situation.

“[Netanyahu] is an angry man, and he should be because of October 7. And he’s been hurt badly by that. But in another way, he’s been sort of helped because I think he’s fought hard and bravely,” Trump said.

Trump had already attempted to allay fears that his Mideast trip meant a change in the U.S.-Israel relationship.

On Air Force One from Saudi Arabia to Qatar, Trump told reporters he wasn’t shunting Israel aside. “No not at all,” he said. “This is good for Israel, having a relationship like I have with these countries, Middle Eastern countries, essentially all of them.

“You have to remember, there was an October 7 that everyone forgets. It was one of the most violent days in the history of the world, not the Middle East, the world. When you look at the tapes, and the tapes are there for everyone to see,” Trump told Baier, referring to video of the massacre filmed and distributed on social media by the Hamas terrorists.

Cannes Celebs Virtue Signal in Pro-Hamas Letter to Industry All the usual Progressive suspects signed on. by Mark Tapson

https://www.frontpagemag.com/cannes-celebs-virtue-signal-in-pro-hamas-letter-to-industry/

The 78th annual Cannes Film Festival is underway and the pretentious participants wasted no time virtue-signaling their support for the savage terror group Hamas and their self-righteous indignation over Israel’s right to self-defense.

On the filmfest’s opening day, an open letter was published in French on the website of France’s Libération newspaper (which, by the way, was founded by nihilist Jean-Paul Sartre in 1973 as a far-Left daily), in which 380 artistes called out their industry’s purported “silence” over what they ludicrously call a “genocide” in Gaza. The hundreds of Hamas supporters included the usual Progressive suspects Mark Ruffalo, Javier Bardem, Pedro Pascal, and Susan Sarandon.

The letter begins by acknowledging correctly that the October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel were “terrible massacres” (although the letter does not state who committed them or why, because to do that would be to shift the focus/blame from Israel to Jew-hating Palestinians). But then it regurgitates the standard Progressive lies about the Israeli military action in Gaza: “The Israeli army is targeting civilians. More than 200 journalists have been deliberately killed. Writers, film-makers and artists are being brutally murdered.” [Emphasis added]

Let’s set the record straight before moving on. As has been noted many times elsewhere and always ignored by the mainstream media: not only are the Israeli Defense Forces not “targeting civilians,” they are unique in world history for their extraordinary efforts to minimize civilian casualties, especially considering that the enemy Hamas ruthlessly and intentionally puts its own civilians in harm’s way in order to maximize their casualties and exploit them for propaganda purposes. Similarly, the IDF is neither “deliberately” killing journalists (except for ones that moonlight as terrorists) nor “brutally murdering” filmmakers.

POSITIVE NEWS FROM ISRAEL FROM MICHAEL ORDMAN

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com

On May 14th, 1948 international Zionists celebrated the declaration of independence of the State of Israel three years after the end of the Holocaust and victory in Europe. To his eternal credit President Harry Truman recognized the new Jewish state of Israel. This made the United States the first country to officially recognize the newly formed Jewish state.

Jubilation was short lived when on May 15th a coalition of Egypt, Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq declared war on the new Jewish state, cheered and abetted by all the Moslem nations.

The rest is history, and in his weekly report Michael Ordman details the enormous and outsize contributions that Israel continues to make to the health and hopes for a better life for billions of citizens on every continent, even during wartime. rsk

POSITIVE NEWS IN A WAR
 
Father and son serve together. Reserve Major Professor Nahum Nesher (63) and his son, Koren, have clocked 250 cumulative days of reserve duty in the Hermon outposts. Nahum returns to Syria having been brutally treated as a PoW in 1984. Koren survived a car accident after mandatory IDF service, but he still re-enlisted.
https://www.ynetnews.com/magazine/article/sj5s7zkxlx
 
Paralyzed soldier walks again. (TY OurCrowd) An IDF soldier who was paralyzed after being wounded in Gaza is walking again with the help of ReWalk, the exoskeleton developed by Israel’s Lifeward (formerly ReWalk – see here previously).  
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/04/24/3067430/0/en/Paralyzed-Israeli-Soldier-Walks-Again-with-Use-of-the-ReWalk-Personal-Exoskeleton.html
 
Edan returns. In a moment of profound relief and national significance, Edan Alexander an Israeli-American IDF soldier was freed after 584 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza. His return marks the first release of a male IDF soldier kidnapped on Oct 7 2023, and the last known living American hostage held by the terror group.
https://www.israpundit.org/first-male-idf-soldier-taken-on-oct-7-to-return-home-hailed-as-emotional-victory-for-israel-and-u-s/
 
Olympic committee honors fallen hero. (TY Yanky) On Memorial Day, Israel’s Olympic Committee changed its official logo to incorporate the handwriting of IDF Captain Eden Nimri, a professional swimmer. She fell while battling Hamas fighters at the Nahal Oz IDF base on 7 Oct 2023, allowing 11 female soldiers to escape.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/sports/article-851893
 
NIS 3 billion in benefits for IDF reservists. Israel has approved a benefits package totaling 3 billion shekels (some $800 million) for active IDF reservists. It includes tax credits, employer grants, subsidized housing, welfare expenses, support for small businesses, plus priority access to civil service jobs and other services.
https://www.jns.org/israeli-govt-approves-800m-in-benefits-for-idf-reservists/
 
Technion awarded Shield of Appreciation. On 28 May, Israel’s Technion Institute will receive the Defense Minister’s Shield for 2025 in recognition of its outstanding support for military reservists. The Shield is granted to organizations and institutions that have demonstrated exceptional commitment to reservists.
https://www.technion.ac.il/en/blog/article/defense-ministers-shield-to-be-awarded-to-the-technion/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp6BRPPaVyo
 
More than a bakery. Another tale of resilience as the Tosha Bakery between Acre and Rosh Hanikra in Israel’s far north had to close due to Hezbollah rockets. The owners opened a pastry stand in Nahariya until they could return to Tosha, clean up and repair their equipment and recover. With help from JNF-USA.
https://www.jnf.org/jnf-blog/post/blog/tosha-bakery—the-bread–the-heart–and-the-war
 
Sheba’s mental health spin-off. Israeli startup Mentaily, founded in response to the aftermath of Oct 7 2023, has taken on the LIV AI mental health platform developed by Sheba Medical Center (see here previously). LIV simulates clinical psychiatric assessment, addressing the acute lack of mental health professionals and services.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/rk40xhk11xg 
 
 
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
 Defective heart gene. (TY Rhoda) Researchers at Israel’s Clalit Research Institute & Rabin Medical Center (Beilinson) have discovered that the gene TRIM63 is a major genetic driver and risk factor for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), the world’s most common hereditary heart disease. Screening could save many lives.
https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/article-852473
 
Partner for Parkinson’s blood test. (TY Atid-EDI) The previous article (see here) about a new rapid simple blood test for Parkinson’s Disease didn’t mention that the Hebrew University of Jerusalem had jointly developed the test with Israel’s ATED Therapeutics – a finalist in Fast Company’s 2024 World Changing Ideas.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250326481006/en/ATED-Therapeutics-Ltd.-New-Rapid-Simple-Blood-Test-for-Parkinsons-Disease-Developed   https://www.atedtherapeutics.org/
 
Tomographic 3D imaging. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Nanox (see here previously) has received US-FDA general use approval for the Nanox.ARC X, its new multi-source digital tomosynthesis system. Its sliced 3D views include the musculoskeletal system, and pulmonary, intra-abdominal and paranasal sinus indications.
https://investors.nanox.vision/news-releases/news-release-details/nanox-receives-fda-clearance-general-use-new-imaging-system
 
European approval for glaucoma treatment. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Sanoculis has received the CE Mark for its MINT (Minimally Invasive Nasal Trabeculostomy) product for the treatment of adult patients undergoing glaucoma angle surgery.  (See MINT and MIMS on Sanoculis website)
https://www.prnewswire.com/il/news-releases/sanoculis-receives-ce-mark-for-mint-product-for-the-treatment-of-glaucoma-302431454.html   https://sanoculis.com/
 
It’s all in the mind. Neuroscientists at Israel’s Technion Institute have discovered that neural networks in the brain transition from a “beginner” to an “expert” structure when learning a new skill (e.g. playing sport). The process depends on the local release of dopamine in the motor cortex.
https://www.technion.ac.il/en/blog/article/technion-neuroscientists-uncover-the-key-role-of-dopamine-in-learning-new-motor-skills/  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-55317-4
 
Israel’s first medical drone. (TY UWI) A drone stationed on the roof of the Bezio Medical Center is the pilot phase of Israel’s medical drones project. Dubbed “Ziv Eye” it will transport equipment, samples and blood donations between the separate campuses of the Ziv Medical Center, close to the border of Syria and Lebanon.
https://tps.co.il/articles/drones-set-to-enhance-efficiency-of-israels-medical-industry/
 
Something for expectant mothers to chew on. Israel’s TopGum (see here previously) has launched OMG3! -its new prenatal product which delivers all the crucial nutrients for expectant mothers in a natural fruity chewable. The “all-in-one” gummy houses essential omega-3 fatty acids as the principal ingredient.
https://www.prnewswire.com/il/news-releases/topgums-fresh-take-on-omega-3-new-gummy-line-delivers-flavor-and-high-dosage-302447035.html

Bill Maher’s guest applauds host’s tirade against ‘weak and woke’ Dems who think America is ‘cringe’ Rep. Mike Lawler reacts after HBO host went off on Dems for ‘indulging nonsense’ from anti-American students By Madison Colombo

https://www.foxnews.com/media/bill-mahers-guest-applauds-hosts-tirade-against-weak-woke-dems-who-think-america-cringe

HBO host Bill Maher is taking aim at young Democrats, accusing them of supporting anti-Israel movements and sympathizing with Hamas.

“Liberals are weak and woke, especially the white ones, and they indulge all sorts of nonsense from their kids,” Maher said on a recent episode of “Real Time with Bill Maher.”

“So talk to your children and remind them you don’t really want to live like your heroes in Hamas.”

Maher criticized young progressives for what he sees as a misguided admiration of extremist groups, hosting Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., and Democratic strategist Donna Brazile on his panel. 

Lawler said on “America Reports” that Maher’s commentary “hit the nail on the head” and the left must change course. 

“America is a beacon of hope, of freedom, of opportunity. And yet, they are embracing some of the worst actors on the stage, whether it be Hamas, China, or other countries around the globe that certainly do not provide for freedom of expression or speech in their countries.”

Maher’s comments come amid a wave of renewed anti-Israel protests on college campuses. In early May, dozens of protesters were arrested at Columbia University after occupying the school’s library. At least 80 people, mostly women, were detained.

ISRAEL UP CLOSE By Maarten Boudry

https://quillette.com/2025/05/14/israel-up-close/

Amid the many victim vs. oppressor narratives popular among the Left, there’s no shortage of finger-pointing. Each dimension of oppression has its own designated villain: white people, males, the one percent, straight people, and cisgender individuals. And yet, the biggest culprit in this demonology isn’t a person at all—it’s Western civilisation itself. Western industrialisation is accused of wrecking the planet, Western capitalism of exploiting poorer countries, and Western colonialism of centuries of plundering and conquering. In this blame game, the West is cast as the ultimate bad guy. 

Now, Western civilisation isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and indeed, many of its harshest critics are enjoying its fruits, living in Western cities and teaching at Western universities. But there is one easy way for progressives to atone for their guilt at the heinous misdeeds of their civilisation, without sacrificing any personal comforts: to demonise Israel. Unlike most of the world’s liberal democracies, Israel faces existential threats from multiple quarters and must often resort to lethal violence in self-defence.

For the more radical wing of the Left, groups like Hamas and Hezbollah are noble freedom fighters waging a righteous battle against settler-colonialism. While the disappearance of the ultimate settler-colonialist empire, the United States, seems like a far-fetched fantasy, the disappearance of the world’s only Jewish state appears to be just about within reach. The moderate Left isn’t prepared to go that far, of course. They simply argue that the atrocities committed by Hamas, while worthy of condemnation, are nevertheless understandable responses to decades of Israeli occupation. For both groups, Israel is the last vestige of the European colonialist project and should shoulder most of the blame for the ongoing conflict. It is an apartheid state steeped in notions of white and Jewish supremacy.

Oslo’s sovereign fund drops Israeli firm for operating in ‘West Bank’ By David Isaac

https://www.jns.org/oslos-sovereign-fund-drops-israeli-firm-for-operating-in-west-bank/

Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund with more than $1.7 trillion in assets, announced on Sunday it has sold all its shares in Israel’s Paz Retail and Energy Ltd.

The fund, which invests surplus capital from Norway’s petroleum sector, quit the stock because Paz operates infrastructure for the supply of fuel to Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria.

“By operating infrastructure for the supply of fuel to the Israeli settlements on the West Bank, Paz is contributing to their perpetuation. The settlements have been established in violation of international law, and their perpetuation constitutes an ongoing violation thereof,” according to a May 11 statement on Norway’s Council on Ethics website.

The Council on Ethics, set up by Norway’s Ministry of Finance, gives recommendations to the Norges Bank Executive Board, which manages Government Pension Fund Global. The board bases its decisions on which companies to exclude from investment based on those recommendations.

This is the second Israeli company barred from the fund. In December 2024, the board excluded Israeli telecommunications group Bezeq, based on a recommendation by the Council of Ethics for the same reason—that it “supplies telecommunications services to businesses and private individuals in Israel and the Israeli settlements in the West Bank.”

Government Pension Fund Global prides itself on operating according to environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing principles.

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Tucker Carlson? By T.R. Clancy

http://Why does Tucker Carlson continue favorably showcasing people who say all the same things Israel’s worst enemies do?

In the opening sentence of Douglas Murray’s current bestseller, On Democracies and Death Cults, Murray writes, “Sometimes a flare goes up and you see exactly where everyone is standing.”

In this case, the flare was the October 7, 2023 pogrom in southern Israel perpetrated by Hamas and hordes of “innocent” Gazan civilians.

And that flare starkly illuminated the unmistakable outline of Tucker Carlson.

On the wrong side of the wire.

For years Carlson offered conservative punditry at outlets like the Weekly Standard, CNN, and MSNBC, until he really took off in 2016 as Fox News’s most popular conservative. In 2019, Michael Anton labeled Carlson “the de facto leader of the conservative movement — assuming any such thing can still be said to exist.”

His nightly monologues fearlessly exposed the debacles of the Russia hoax, COVID, “mostly peaceful” BLM riots, the rigged election, and the Biden administration’s Gestapo tactics towards the J6 protesters.

One could imagine that, once the Left had successfully assassinated Trump, the next worst troublemaker who needed shutting up would be Carlson.

Then the most shocking historical crime of this century happened, and Tucker Carlson had nothing to say. As weeks passed after October 7, his silence implied an unhealthy antipathy towards Israel’s cause.

Then, on November 15, 2023, Carlson interviewed Candace Owens, a frequent guest on Fox News, including Carlson’s former show. At the time of the podcast, Owens was in the middle of a flap with her then co-worker at the Daily Wire, Ben Shapiro (an issue of its own that’s not the focus here).

When the conversation turned to Israel, Carlson’s thoughts on October 7 weren’t encouraging.

What Most Palestinians Really Want by Bassam Tawil

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21613/what-most-palestinians-really-want

Palestinians who are saying that they are unaware of Hamas’s October 7 atrocities against Israelis are either engaged in self-deception or influenced by Hamas’s venomous propaganda machine, including the Qatar-owned Al-Jazeera TV network, which has long been serving as the terror group’s unofficial mouthpiece. Notably, according to several polls, Al-Jazeera is the most watched TV station in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

If, according to the polls, most Palestinians are saying that they want Hamas to keep its weapons and remain in power in the Gaza Strip, it means they want the terror group to carry out more atrocities against Israel and Jews. If the Palestinians are saying that they prefer Hamas over any other Palestinian party, it means that they do not support any peaceful settlement with Israel. It means that the Palestinians want to see Israel obliterated and replaced by an Islamist state, armed and funded by Iran and its other terror proxies, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.

One can only hope that the Trump administration and other international parties will read the results of the Palestinian polls to get a better understanding of what many Palestinians really want: to murder as many Jews as possible and displace Israel.

An overwhelming majority of the Palestinians (87%) believe that the Iran-backed Palestinian terror group Hamas did not commit atrocities against Israeli civilians, including women and children, on October 7, 2023, according to a public opinion poll conducted in early May by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research.

When asked if Hamas had committed the atrocities seen in the videos shown by international media displaying the acts committed by Hamas members against Israelis in their homes on that day, these Palestinians said the group did not commit such atrocities, while only 9% said it did.

The poll, conducted in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, shows that many Palestinians are living in denial, and trying to protect themselves from a truth that is apparently too painful for them to accept: that many Palestinians support terrorism and that most of the victims of the October 7 massacre were innocent civilians.