In a high-stakes operation in Western Gaza City, a specialized joint force from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet security agency successfully captured Moein Al-Arabid, the head of Hamas’s internal security and intelligence apparatus.
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‼️⭕APPREHENDED: The Head of Hamas’ Internal Security in Gaza, as part of a targeted operation to remove threats posed by Hamas in northern Gaza.
The apprehended terrorist has recently worked to consolidate Hamas&#39; control over northern Gaza and to advance terrorist attacks…
&mdash; Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) <a href="https://x.com/IDF/status/2094832971773542597?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 1, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The capture marks a critical intelligence breakthrough for Israel. Often referred to as the leader of the &#8220;Palestinian Shin Bet,&#8221; Al-Arabid was grabbed near his home. <a href="https://www.news18.com/world/hamas-top-commander-captured-in-gaza-netanyahu-says-he-helped-hide-move-israeli-hostages-10304951.html#google_vignette">According</a> to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Al-Arabid played a pivotal role in managing internal intelligence, directing counter-intelligence, protecting senior leadership, and hiding and relocating Israeli hostages taken on October 7, 2023, during the horrific Hamas massacre.
Israeli officials further accused the former Qassam Brigades figure of attempting to reconstruct Hamas’s operational capabilities and restore its administrative governance in Gaza.
Al-Arabid&#8217;s capture provides Israel with an unprecedented window into the inner workings of Hamas’s security architecture and hostage-network infrastructure. The imperative to secure such high-level intelligence is underscored by the horrifying, documented atrocities of the October 7, 2023 attacks.
The full magnitude of October 7 is preserved in the IDF’s 47-minute <a href="https://www.ynetnews.com/magazine/article/b1pnmg9up">unedited compilation</a> film, Bearing Witness to the October 7th Massacre. Assembled by reservists Yuval Horowitz and Matan Harel-Fisch, the raw footage captures a relentless killing spree across more than 30 southern Israeli communities and the Supernova music festival. Relying entirely on GoPro footage worn by terrorists, civilian dashcams, home security systems, and victim cell phones, the film provides undeniable courtroom evidence of unspeakable cruelty.
The visual record exposes terrorists firing point-blank into civilian vehicles, setting homes ablaze to force families out, and murdering toddlers in their beds. In one devastating CCTV sequence, a father leads his young sons into a bomb shelter before a militant throws a grenade inside, killing the father and leaving his wounded children to flee back into their home while the attacker calmly raids their refrigerator.
The film documents victims being executed, disfigured, stripped, and paraded through Gaza to cheering crowds, with terrorists celebrating and filming their actions in real time.
Beyond the raw footage, a <a href="https://cc4e0711-9401-400e-ae14-65ae0400675b.filesusr.com/ugd/aab121_882e9391df384e169d29f16c0faefeac.pdf">landmark May 2026 report</a> by the Civil Commission on October 7th Crimes further illuminated the systematic nature of the violence. Based on more than 1,800 hours of analysis, the report concluded that Hamas utilized sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) as a calculated, integral weapon of war.
Investigators documented 13 distinct patterns of abuse, including gang rapes at the Supernova festival, sexual torture, postmortem mutilation, and &#8220;kinocidal&#8221; acts forcing family members to abuse each other. Arabic-to-Hebrew phrasebooks recovered from dead militants contained explicit commands like &#8220;take off your pants.&#8221; The commission cited the documents as evidence supporting its conclusion that sexual violence was premeditated.
The apprehension of Moein Al-Arabid represents a monumental victory for Israeli intelligence. Interrogating the mastermind behind Hamas&#8217;s internal security offers Israel vital insights to dismantle Hamas’ remaining terrorist networks.

Silhouette of soldiers with Israel flag against the sunset

Israel Captures Top Hamas Intel Chief Behind Hostage Operations

benjamin netanyahu

hamas

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october 7 attack

world

Jewish Republicans were encouraged to give Vice President JD Vance a “warm welcome” ahead of his speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition by former Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer, a close confidant of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Dermer, who served as Israel’s ambassador to the United States from 2013 to 2021 and later as the country’s minister of strategic affairs, spoke to the gathering just before Vance addressed the conference Monday night. He praised Vance’s support for Israel and his role during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in 2025, telling attendees he was grateful for the vice president’s actions at a critical moment.
Dermer’s remarks came as Vance has faced criticism from some in the pro-Israel community over his close relationship with conservative podcaster Tucker Carlson, who has repeatedly platformed numerous antisemites. But Dermer offered the audience a more personal account of his relationship with Vance, recalling that he first met the future vice president when Vance was running for Senate in Ohio.
“I first met the vice president when he was running for Senate,” Dermer said. “I was out of office, and he was running for Senate in Ohio. And somebody suggested, ‘Hey, this person, you know, is going to run. You should really go meet him.’”
Dermer said he and Vance subsequently spent roughly two hours together over lunch in Jerusalem.
“And he was—he’s definitely one of the smartest people that I had met in the Senate,” Dermer said, adding with a joke, “You could say that’s a low bar, but he’s super smart.”
More importantly, Dermer said Vance was focused from the beginning on understanding the strategic rationale behind the U.S.-Israel relationship.
Dermer then turned to Vance’s role during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June 2025, describing the conflict as one of the most significant military successes in Israel’s history.
“And I want to tell this audience something,” Dermer said. “That 12-day war that we did last June, I was out of government when this—this recent joint operation started.”
Dermer said the conflict represented “the greatest and most spectacular military success that Israel has ever had” since the Six-Day War.
He specifically credited Vance with playing a critical role in the operation, particularly during its opening hours, when maintaining an element of surprise was essential.
“The Vice President of the United States, Vice President Vance, played a critical role in that 12-day war, and particularly the first day, where that element of surprise was so critical to our success,” Dermer said.
“And I will be forever grateful for the role that he played at that critical moment,” he continued. “It kept Israel safe, and I commend you for inviting him here tonight.”
Vance received a warm reception when he took the stage Monday night for a conversation with RJC National Chairman and former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman. The discussion was held off the record and closed to the press, but The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/listen-jd-vances-secret-interview-in-front-of-republican-jews">obtained a full recording</a>.
During the conversation, Coleman directly raised the issue of controversial podcasters, naming Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Joe Rogan and Nick Fuentes, and asked Vance how he determines when to engage with platforms that have given a voice to people accused of holding antisemitic views.
Vance defended his willingness to appear on influential podcasts, arguing that Republicans need to reach voters wherever they are rather than shun controversial figures.
“I do not think that Joe Rogan and Nick Fuentes are the same,” Vance said, drawing a distinction between the two based on both their ideas and their reach.
Vance said he believes Republicans should engage with people like Rogan even when they disagree with things the podcaster has said.
“I think it’s a mistake to sort of say we’re going to write Joe Rogan off because he said something that we don’t like,” Vance said. “I think the best approach is to actually go in there, and talk to him, and make the arguments as best as you can.”
Vance pointed to Rogan’s reach among persuadable voters as evidence that Republicans cannot afford to ignore influential podcasters. He said Republicans had studied podcast audiences in connection with the midterm elections and found that Rogan’s audience included a substantially larger percentage of persuadable voters than those of other major podcasters.
“With Rogan, it’s something like 35 to 40%,” Vance said.
“And so I think that there, one, I do not think that Joe Rogan and Nick Fuentes are the same, just substantively, but as a political matter, I think that we have got to be willing to go everywhere and bring our message anywhere and to any person,” he said.
Vance acknowledged that his approach would mean appearing in environments where hosts or audiences may hold views with which he strongly disagrees.
“You got to meet people where they are and make the arguments as best as you can,” he said. “And that is I think ultimately how you win the political debate. It’s not by shunning people.”
He said there were nevertheless limits to whom he would engage, citing people who had attacked his wife or praised Adolf Hitler.
“But outside of some pretty bright lines, I try to talk to as many people as I can,” Vance said.
Vance did not directly condemn Carlson during the exchange.
The vice president has also faced criticism from prominent Jewish and pro-Israel figures over his own comments about Israel, including remarks suggesting that some Israeli officials have sought to influence American public opinion to prolong the war. 
During an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast, Vance accused some Israeli officials of trying to influence American public opinion in order to prolong the war.
“There are some people within their system that we know beyond a shadow of a doubt are manipulating and trying to change American public opinion to keep the war going on indefinitely,” Vance said.

Vice President Vance Discusses Administration’s Fight Against Fraud In Milwaukee

Top Netanyahu Ally Makes The Case For JD Vance To Jewish Republicans

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politics

republican jewish coalition

ron dermer

tucker carlson

Popular children’s content creator Ms. Rachel was confronted over her anti-Israel views and insisted that she’s not anti-Israel.
Podcast host Avi Lichtschein recently approached the YouTube star, whose real name is Rachel Griffin Accurso, at a neighborhood park, as he discussed on Sunday’s <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/1BwAMLpmArmo4pP0Kgn2KO">episode</a> of his show, “Depends on the Context.”
After meeting her, Lichtschein asked the educator why she was anti-Israel. Accurso reportedly told him that she was not anti-Israel, but anti-Israeli government and anti-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I pushed back on this, and I said, ‘That’s absurd,&#8217;” the podcast host said. “Saying you’re anti-Netanyahu, but you’re not anti-Israel? Netanyahu is the democratically elected leader of the sovereign nation. I think what you do is way beyond that.”
Lichtschein said that Accurso has accused Israel of committing a “genocide” through its war with Hamas.
 “She said something along the lines of, ‘Twenty thousand children have died. How is that not a genocide?&#8217;” Lichtschein said. “The answer is — and this is what I was trying to convey to her — genocide is not just a word for, like, a war. War is terrible. Again, Hamas started this war. Genocide is the specific accusation that [she’s] hurling at the Jewish people, hurling at the state of Israel, and now it gives carte blanche to go open season on Jews literally around the world,” he went on.
The podcaster said Accurso repeatedly used the justification that her “husband’s father is Jewish” and insisted she supports the right of Israel to exist. Lichtschein said he told her she was “spreading blood libel.” 
He told Accurso’s husband that he was sorry she got upset.
“I wasn’t planning on her changing her mind,” Lichtschein said. “I wanted to point out [that] [her] words are creating a lot of damage and I think someone with an audience as enormous as hers has a responsibility to understand what happens downstream from the things that she says.”
Lichtschein said he doesn’t think Accurso is a malicious antisemite, but added that her words are having a negative outcome just the same. 
“I think that what she’s doing is motivated by compassion for children, but I think she’s very naïve and very gullible and doesn’t realize what her actions are doing to the Jewish community at large, what her words are doing to the enemies of the Jewish people. What she’s doing is harmful.”
Ms. Rachel’s YouTube series “Songs For Littles” has grown rapidly in recent years, and her YouTube channel has reached 20.2 million subscribers. She receives over 400 million views each month, with her most popular video receiving over a billion views.
The YouTube star has gained massive popularity largely due to her uncanny ability to “entrance” and entertain babies and toddlers. She has even been called the “world’s babysitter.” But she’s espoused far-Left views on topics ranging from pushing pro-trans talking points to opposing the deportation of illegal immigrant criminals. She also partnered with New York City democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Ms. Rachel

Podcaster Confronts Ms. Rachel About Accusing Israel Of ‘Genocide’

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Today, the Trump administration announced sanctions against two International Criminal Court (ICC) officials, President Tomoko Akane of Japan and the ICC&#8217;s senior trial lawyer, Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the organization “corrupt and fatally politicized.” This follows Rubio last month setting the proverbial cat among the pigeons, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2026/07/13/politics/rubio-dismantle-international-criminal-court">declaring</a> his intentions to “dismantle” the ICC — urging other nations to join the effort. Rubio launched the campaign, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyl33q0jk0o">vowing</a> to employ “all the tools at our government&#8217;s disposal&#8221; to &#8220;dismantle the ICC, brick by brick.”
Against the backdrop of the Trump administration’s escalating actions against the ICC, Rubio <a href="https://www.nybooks.com/online/2026/07/18/so-called-international-law-trump-icc/">accused</a> the court of “waging a war against our country, not with bullets or missiles,” but with “the force of so-called international law.”
A warped sense of justice?
The administration’s ire against the ICC <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2026/07/13/politics/rubio-dismantle-international-criminal-court">dates</a> back to President Trump’s first term, when it targeted the ICC for seeking to investigate alleged war crimes committed by U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Indeed, the second Trump administration has imposed a slew of sanctions against ICC officials for their attempts to investigate the U.S. and Israel — neither of which is even a member of the ICC.
But the new trigger for the White House&#8217;s intensifying punitive action against the ICC is the scandalous issue of <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/imposing-sanctions-on-the-international-criminal-court/">arrest warrants</a> against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
In a feeble ICC attempt to feign evenhandedness, warrants were also issued against Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, Ismail Haniyeh — after their deaths — which, quite apart from the absurdity of equating the perpetrators of the October 7 massacre with those who responded to it, underscores the warped sense of justice the ICC purports to administer.
Gravely misinformed or grossly dishonest
The figure behind these measures was the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, who initiated the arrest warrant requests. Khan has since been forced to leave office following multiple <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/karim-khan-icc-war-crimes-charges-israel-netanyahu-hamas-sexual-misconduct-claims/">allegations</a> of sexual misconduct. According to <a href="https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h13yvd1wxx">some sources</a>, the arrest warrants were motivated, at least in part, to divert attention from these allegations.
Notably, Khan is not the only chief ICC prosecutor against whom allegations of severe impropriety have been leveled.
For example, <a href="https://www.justiceinfo.net/tag/fatou-bensouda-en">Fatou Bensouda</a>, who prior to her appointment as chief ICC prosecutor in 2012, held top posts in the Gambian judiciary under the brutal military dictatorship that ruled Gambia from 1994 to 2017.
Bensouda claimed she had no knowledge of the human rights abuses of the regime she served. However, given her seniority and long association with the regime, this leaves one to ponder which is worse: Being oblivious of the abuses, gravely ill-informed, or grossly deceitful.
Sexual misconduct &amp; financial shenanigans?
Likewise, Bensouda&#8217;s predecessor, Luis Moreno Ocampo, the ICC&#8217;s first prosecutor from 2003 to 2012, also fell under a cloud of suspicion — both while in office and after leaving it.
Ocampo was <a href="https://brownstone.org/articles/a-one-time-icc-advocate-recants">accused</a> of sexual misconduct in South Africa by an ICC <a href="https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/11537858">whistleblower.</a> Although Ocampo&#8217;s ICC cronies dismissed the charges, the whistleblower was vindictively dismissed by Ocampo himself — despite the ICC’s own internal Disciplinary Advisory Board’s <a href="https://brownstone.org/articles/a-one-time-icc-advocate-recants/">call</a> to rescind the dismissal.
Undeterred, the whistleblower appealed to the Administrative Tribunal of the International Labour Organization (ILO), which found resoundingly in his favor, awarding him substantial monetary compensation, casting further doubts on the ICC’s integrity.
After leaving the ICC in 2012, Ocampo became the subject of several <a href="https://www.jns.org/opinion/column/martin-sherman/trump-tripp-and-conflict-resolution">allegations</a> concerning his financial and professional activities. These included the abuse of his position as former ICC prosecutor, shady financial shenanigans, and severe conflicts of interest.
These allegations stemmed primarily from the far-reaching <a href="https://www.legal-tools.org/doc/895f3b/pdf/">2017 &#8220;Secrets of the Court&#8221;</a> investigation by the European Investigative Collaborations. While the allegations did not result in judicial convictions, the ethical issues they raised tarnished his reputation and, by association, the ICC’s judicial practices.
The Israeli angle
For Israel, Rubio’s initiative is a welcome development. For it serves to undermine the legitimacy of the ICC measures against senior Israeli personnel and expose just how the hypocrisy-ridden ICC has strayed from its lofty founding principles and noble aims.
For the fallen Karim Khan and his cronies, it perhaps reflects that biblical maxim in Numbers 24:9: “Whoever blesses Israel will be blessed. And whoever curses Israel will be cursed.”
***
Dr. Martin Sherman is the founder of the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a member of the Habithonistim-Israel Defense &amp; Security Forum (IDSF) research team, and a participant in the Israel Victory Project.

NATO Summit In Ankara Day 2

Rubio Hits Back At Communist-Islamist International Criminal Court Corruption

international criminal court

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet on Sunday that Israel rejects President Donald Trump’s 15-point plan for Gaza. 
He said the Israeli military will not pull back a single step until Hamas is stripped of every weapon it holds, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-rejects-trumps-15-point-plan-gaza-pm-netanyahu-says-2026-08-09/">according</a> to Reuters.
“Israel does not accept the 15-point document,” Netanyahu said at the start of the meeting. “The military will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is disarmed … it means heavy weaponry, lighter weaponry, all weaponry.”
He had made the same point Tuesday in a social media post. Israeli officials have already shared their reservations with Washington. Netanyahu said the two sides are still talking. “They have ideas, some of which are acceptable to us and some of which are unacceptable to us,&#8221; he said of the Americans.
Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-touts-a-historic-gaza-disarmament-agreement?author=Drew+Berkemeyer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Touts+A+%E2%80%98Historic%E2%80%99+Gaza+Disarmament+Agreement">announced</a> the deal late last month and called it a historic agreement for the complete disarmament of Hamas and every other armed group in Gaza. The framework, negotiated with Arab mediators in Cairo and overseen by Trump&#8217;s Board of Peace, laid out a phased process.
Hamas would surrender both heavy and light weapons over several months, disclose the locations of tunnels and weapons depots, and allow a new Palestinian technocratic administration to take control under the Board’s supervision. 
Israeli forces would leave only after areas were independently verified as demilitarized. An international stabilization force would then work with a new Palestinian police unit to keep order. Trump said that the arrangement would finally stop Gaza from being used as a launchpad for attacks and give Israel the security it needs.
That second phase was meant to follow the October 2025 ceasefire, which covered the exchange of hostages and prisoners and brought a sharp decline in intensive fighting. The new document tackled the harder issues which were complete disarmament, Israeli withdrawal, and who actually runs Gaza afterwards.
The two sides immediately disagreed on the order of those steps. Israel insists on complete disarmament first. The plan describes a more deliberate process in which weapons are removed sector by sector and Israeli troops then leave those cleared areas. 
The Board of Peace has <a href="https://x.com/BoardOfPeace/status/2084333685869084696">said</a> Israeli forces will not withdraw beyond current lines until Hamas&#8217;s weapons are fully decommissioned. Nikolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace&#8217;s highest representative for Gaza, has met with Netanyahu repeatedly in recent months, most recently on Monday, when he pressed Israel to stop airstrikes and abide by the terms of the earlier ceasefire.
Israel has already changed how it operates on the ground. Attacks have been scaled back since Monday, when Mladenov met with Netanyahu. A source familiar with Israel’s position told Reuters the military is now limited to responding to only to what it sees as immediate threats. 
Approval for any remaining strikes was tightened so that the chief of staff must sign off rather than subordinate commanders, <a href="https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sjoyhyjlzx">according</a> to Ynet Global.
The Israeli military reported <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israel-rejects-trump-plan-for-hamas-disarmament-2d1475cb?mod=middle-east_news_article_pos1">no strikes</a> in Gaza for six days as of Sunday. Netanyahu said the military will continue to act against threats to Israeli forces and citizens.
Hamas says it remains committed to the plan agreed upon in Cairo about ten days ago. Senior official Basem Naim told <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-rejects-trumps-15-point-plan-gaza-pm-netanyahu-says-2026-08-09/">Reuters</a> the group expects the mediators and the United States to press Netanyahu and his government to stick to the plan and not obstruct it for internal political or electoral reasons. 
Hamas avoids the word “disarmament.” It describes the arrangement as handing weapons over for storage under a U.S.-backed Palestinian technocratic administration supervised by the Board of Peace. Hamas also insists that implementation depends on Israel first meeting its own commitments, withdrawal and a halt to attacks.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich praised Netanyahu’s stand. “We went to war with a central goal: the destruction of Hamas,” he said. “The [military] cannot withdraw even a millimeter from the Gaza Strip.”
Netanyahu is under pressure on multiple fronts. An election is scheduled for October 27, and polls show him struggling to put together a ruling majority. His coalition partners have objected loudly to any concessions. 
At the same time the Trump administration has pushed hard for progress on the plan, treating it as a major foreign policy goal of the president’s second term. Relations between the two leaders have been strained for months amid differences over the Iran conflict, with reports of tense phone calls.
Israeli forces still control and have largely emptied two-thirds of the enclave. More than two million residents are confined to a narrow coastal strip under Hamas control, most living in makeshift tents or damaged buildings.

Hamas

Netanyahu Rejects Trump’s Gaza Plan: No Withdrawal Until Hamas Gives Up ‘All Weaponry’

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President Donald Trump on Tuesday eulogized the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) as &#8220;the giant of the United States Senate&#8221; whose unwavering belief in American strength defined both his public career and his personal life, telling mourners gathered at Washington National Cathedral that the longtime South Carolina Republican &#8220;felt in his bones that our destiny is to win.&#8221;
Speaking before a congregation that included Vice President JD Vance, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, members of Trump&#8217;s Cabinet and congressional leaders from both parties, the president remembered Graham as one of the U.S. Senate&#8217;s defining figures whose influence stretched far beyond Capitol Hill.
&#8220;The giant of the United States Senate, a true American original who left us much too soon,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;Nothing of consequence happened in this capital without Lindsey Graham knowing about it. Nothing of significance happened anywhere in the world without Lindsey Graham having a view on it.&#8221;
Trump centered much of his remarks on Graham&#8217;s worldview, describing the late senator&#8217;s foreign policy philosophy as one rooted in projecting American strength abroad. &#8220;Above all, Lindsey Graham believed in a strong America,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;He had unwavering faith in the righteousness of American power and prayer. &#8230; He felt in his bones that our destiny is to win — and that his job was to do everything he could to ensure our enemies would lose.&#8221; 
Trump said that conviction motivated Graham&#8217;s 33 years of military service in the Air Force and Air National Guard, as well as his frequent overseas travel as a senator. &#8220;It was this conviction that took him as a senator to almost every country on earth, confronting America&#8217;s adversaries and standing up for America&#8217;s friends,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;It&#8217;s a testament to his towering impact that among those mourning him here today are leaders, presidents, prime ministers from all over the globe.&#8221;
The president also reflected on his unlikely friendship with Graham, recalling their bitter rivalry during the 2016 Republican presidential primary before the two became close political allies. &#8220;We became great friends, and Lindsey did not stop calling me for the next 10 years,&#8221; Trump joked. &#8220;I always cherished the memories of our golf games.&#8221;
Trump acknowledged Graham&#8217;s reputation as one of the Senate&#8217;s most hawkish members while framing it as an extension of his patriotism. &#8220;He was extremely hawkish. I will tell you, he never saw a war that he didn&#8217;t like,&#8221; Trump said to laughter. &#8220;Only his true friends would understand that — but he wanted it for the good of our country.&#8221;
Fox News host Sean Hannity, one of Graham&#8217;s closest friends, echoed many of those themes during his own eulogy, rejecting criticism that Graham was a warmonger. &#8220;The truth was the opposite,&#8221; Hannity said. &#8220;Lindsey desperately wanted a lasting peace in the Middle East.&#8221; Hannity argued that Graham&#8217;s support for a strong military stemmed from what he called the senator&#8217;s &#8220;moral clarity.&#8221;
&#8220;He understood right from wrong, good from evil,&#8221; Hannity said. &#8220;He knew &#8230; there can be no path to peace until evil is defeated.&#8221; The longtime television host also reflected on Graham&#8217;s decades of military service, his devotion to South Carolina, and his friendship with Trump, saying the president had given Graham &#8220;the greatest gift of his life&#8221; by allowing him &#8220;a front-row seat at the highest levels of history.&#8221;
Graham&#8217;s niece, Emillie Boggs Roberts, offered a more personal portrait of the senator, reflecting on his deep pride in his family and the relationships that shaped him away from public life. She described him as more than an uncle or senator, but &#8220;the foundation of our family.&#8221; 
Roberts recalled how he became both brother and parent to her mother after their parents died, and said that despite decades in national politics, Graham never failed to prioritize his family, making time for holidays, vacations, graduations, hospital visits, and phone calls from home, no matter what demands awaited him in Washington.
The funeral concluded ahead of Graham&#8217;s burial in South Carolina, where the longtime senator will be laid to rest after more than three decades in Congress.

Services Held For Late Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham Funeral

Trump Honors Lindsey Graham: ‘The Giant Of The United States Senate’

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Ukraine-Russia War

President Donald Trump on Monday brushed aside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu&#8217;s objections to selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, saying the United States alone will decide what weapons it exports. 
Speaking aboard Air Force One ahead of Netanyahu&#8217;s White House visit, Trump praised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan while making clear that foreign leaders would not dictate U.S. arms sales.
&#8220;Nobody tells me what we should be selling,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;Turkey has been a tremendous ally for me.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
&#8220;Prime Minister Netanyahu opposes sending the F-35s to Turkey&#8230;&#8221;<a href="https://x.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &#8220;Nobody tells me what we should be selling or not. Turkey has been a tremendous ally.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/8gSzavJ6Ce">pic.twitter.com/8gSzavJ6Ce</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2081797692389286004?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2026</a></blockquote>
Trump&#8217;s remarks came just weeks after Netanyahu urged Washington not to approve a sale, arguing Turkey&#8217;s increasingly hostile posture toward Israel makes transferring the stealth fighters too risky. 
&#8220;I don&#8217;t think they should be given F-35s or engines for their fighter jets,&#8221; Netanyahu said in an interview with <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6400346259112">Fox News</a>. 
In the same interview, Netanyahu described Turkey as &#8220;a regime infected by the Muslim Brotherhood&#8221; and warned that it posed a growing regional threat to both Israel and the United States.
Trump, however, dismissed the notion that Israel&#8217;s concerns should determine American policy. 
&#8220;Turkey&#8217;s not a big fan of Israel. You know that, right? They&#8217;re not a big fan of Bibi,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;But they&#8217;ve been great for me.&#8221; He went on to praise Turkey&#8217;s military capabilities. &#8220;Very powerful country, by the way. Tremendous military. Very big military. Very powerful military. Has a lot of great equipment.&#8221;
The exchange highlighted one of the few areas where Trump has publicly broken with Netanyahu, continuing to pursue closer ties with Turkey despite Israeli objections. 
The proposed sale remains complicated, and certainly not final. Trump indicated during a July meeting with Erdogan that he favored moving forward, but the State Department recently <a href="https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-903578">informed</a> Congress that Turkey still does not meet the legal requirements necessary to rejoin the F-35 program.
Turkey was removed from the multinational F-35 program in 2020 after purchasing Russia&#8217;s S-400 air defense system, triggering sanctions under the Countering America&#8217;s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). The State Department told Congress that American policy &#8220;remains unchanged&#8221; and that Turkey must resolve the S-400 issue before any sale can proceed.
The F-35 is widely regarded as the world&#8217;s most advanced operational fighter jet, and Israel is currently the only country in the Middle East to operate the aircraft. Israeli leaders have long sought to preserve that military edge by opposing sales of the jets to neighboring countries.
&nbsp;

U.S. President Trump Arrives In Ankara, Turkey For NATO Summit

Trump Won’t Budge For Netanyahu: ‘Nobody Tells Me What We Should Be Selling’

Allia

Arms sale

Executive

F-35

foreign affairs

foreign policy

Global Politics

muslim brotherhood

nato

recep tayyip erdogan

trump administration

turkey

Happy Friday, folks.
Let’s check in on our favorite socialist mayor’s city. Shall we?
In the span of 24 hours, the terror sympathizing, Ugandan native took to X to proclaim that if landlords stepped out of line he&#8217;d seize their property, that his &#8220;talk with the people&#8221; (more like Hugo Chávez&#8217;s rambling Aló, Presidente) is dropping soon, that anyone sitting on a second home worth over five million dollars in New York City should expect a little love letter in the mail about their new pied-a-terre tax, and that HE HAS BEEN BRIEFED on the terror attack on the Upper West Side, where an Asian man and a Jewish man were stabbed with a screwdriver by a Muslim screaming &#8220;Allahu Akbar.&#8221;
Be careful subscribing to his social media pages. You might get whiplash. Or have a heart attack.
But of course all of this comes as a shock to no one. This is a man who ran for office promising to come for pesky landlords’ buildings and squeeze every last penny from New York&#8217;s most successful residents. He is, by his own design, a communist cosplayer whose favorite new hobby is announcing “he has been briefed.”
The only shocking thing about a shocking week is that we&#8217;ve all stopped being shocked.
He <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DbLNFpFhBaP/?hl=en">spent</a> time at a a mosque earlier this year that has documented ties to an Iranian-government front, where the imam sang about &#8220;the killing of the infidels by your sword.&#8221; (Infidels, for those keeping score at home, means anyone who isn&#8217;t Muslim. So, most of his subjects.) He says, often and loudly, that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal, and that he&#8217;ll use his vast and terrifying mayoral power to have him arrested for &#8220;genocidal actions.&#8221; (He has no such power, and appears equally unclear on what &#8220;genocide&#8221; means.) This week he posted a moody little video branding the Jewish state as evil incarnate and urging New Yorkers to use &#8220;every tool they have&#8221; against it. He also declined to condemn the call to &#8220;globalize the intifada,&#8221; a rallying cry for violence against Jews and Israelis.
So no, my jaw did not hit the floor when a man took his wisdom to heart and stabbed a man on his way to synagogue.
Jewish New Yorkers are furious, and rightly frightened. City leaders used a press conference to accuse the mayor of &#8220;fanning the flames of hatred and division.&#8221; Which is exactly what he&#8217;s done. Even Hedge Hero Bill Ackman suggested the mayor take a little field trip to the Holocaust Museum, presumably so someone can finally explain to him what the word he keeps butchering actually means.
The <a href="https://x.com/Bubblebathgirl/status/2080641750058639606/video/1">NYPD</a> has had it with the smarmball, too. Their relationship soured the moment the internet unearthed a video of Mamdani claiming the department&#8217;s boots are &#8220;laced by the IDF,&#8221; and they&#8217;ve been in full breakup mode ever since. President of the New York City Police Benevolent Association Patrick Hendry warned that the mayor&#8217;s rhetoric is pushing things too far: &#8220;When the mayor of the city is actively calling for demonstrations, violent agitators will assume they have permission to cause as much havoc as possible.&#8221; NYPD Detectives Endowment Association President Scott Munro put it more bluntly, saying Mamdani &#8220;acts like he&#8217;s leading a protest movement instead of running the largest city in America.&#8221;
Yep. And boy has havoc ensued. Because for the Left, violent protest is encouraged, excused, and practically canonized, so long as it&#8217;s done in the name of the almighty omnicause.
And Zohran, ever the multitasker, tries to hold every banner at once. He&#8217;s pro-trans, throwing pride parties at Town Hall and announcing a $15 million investment in gender-mutilative care (one imagines the imam was thrilled). He&#8217;s pro-&#8220;underprivileged,&#8221; except his rent freeze is quietly crushing the immigrants and working-class renters he claims to champion, who are now staring down record-high payments. He&#8217;s pro-Palestine, a cause whose governing authority executes gay people for the crime of existing, and he&#8217;s decidedly anti-America, a country he insists is starving its children while oligarchs run wild.
He’s doing cartwheels around these ideologies. It’s exhausting to try and follow.
But that&#8217;s who he is, and how he clawed his way to the top. A theater kid turned failed rapper who talked his way into Gracie Mansion and started acting like a warm and fuzzy dictator instead of what he actually is: the overseer of a five-borough sanitation budget.
None of his promises have landed. Bus fares are more expensive. Rents are up, not down; the city isn’t safer, it’s louder. But he will keep pretending to fix these problems after being duly “briefed.”
He’s a walking contradiction in a suit and keffiyeh.
Twenty-five years after this country buried nearly 3,000 people killed in the name of the very rhetoric Mamdani can’t bring himself to condemn, New York elected a mayor who sat through a call to kill the infidels and called it a privilege to be there. History does not usually repeat itself so quickly, or so loudly, but here we are. Ahlan.
Happy Friday, indeed.

Mayor Mamdani Commemorates America’s 250th Anniversary

NYC Suffers Under Theater Kid Commie Rule And No One Should Be Surprised

9/11

DW Opinion

Israel Defense Forces (IDF)

new york city

Patrick Hendry

Scott Munro

zohran mamdani

The United States and Israel appear to be preparing for a potential escalation with Iran, as Washington surges military assets into the Middle East, Israeli cities reopen bomb shelters, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads to Washington next week for high-stakes talks with President Donald Trump.
The moves follow nearly two weeks of U.S. strikes against Iranian targets and increasingly aggressive rhetoric from both Washington and Tehran. 
While neither country has announced plans for a broader offensive, a series of military, diplomatic, and civil defense moves suggests officials are preparing for that possibility.
<a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/u-s-surges-forces-toward-middle-east-giving-trump-options-to-expand-iran-war-e5d627b1">The Wall Street Journal</a> reported that the Pentagon has quietly expanded its military footprint in recent days, deploying special operations forces, fighter squadrons, aerial refueling tankers, and placing bomber aircraft on heightened alert. 
The Journal also reported that approximately 150 additional medics have arrived at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where wounded U.S. service members from the Middle East are typically treated.
The buildup follows <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-will-never-recover-widow-of-u-s-soldier-killed-in-middle-east-shares-heartbreaking-tribute?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=%E2%80%98I+Will+Never+Recover%E2%80%99%3A+Widow+Of+U.S.+Soldier+Killed+In+Middle+East+Shares+Heartbreaking+Tribute">the deaths</a> of several U.S. service members in recent Iranian attacks, including three troops killed at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan and another soldier killed in northern Iraq while attempting to detonate an explosive from an Iranian drone.
Israel has also begun taking measures that suggest officials are preparing for the possibility of direct Iranian retaliation.
Israeli journalist Amit Segal <a href="https://x.com/AmitSegal/status/2080643117569528009/photo/1">reported</a> that the country&#8217;s alert levels have reached their highest point, with the Israeli Air Force and Military Intelligence Directorate placed on heightened readiness. Home Front Command personnel have reportedly been told to expect call-up orders, while reservists and recently discharged soldiers have been warned they could soon be mobilized. 
Segal also reported that Mossad Director Roman Gofman traveled to Washington roughly two weeks ago to meet with CIA Director John Ratcliffe and White House officials.
Cities across Israel have begun reopening public bomb shelters. 
Ramat Gan Mayor Carmel Shama-Hacohen announced his city had reopened all public shelters after a security assessment concluded that &#8220;the risk of missile fire from Iran over the weekend has increased and is no longer negligible,” reported the <a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-903421">Jerusalem Post</a>.
The southern city of Eilat also reopened shelters and ordered emergency personnel to remain prepared to open additional facilities immediately if needed. Israel&#8217;s Health Ministry reportedly has reviewed emergency hospitalization plans with hospitals nationwide.
Despite the moves, there have not been any nationwide changes to Israeli Home Front Command guidance.
The preparations come as Netanyahu is set to visit Washington next week for talks with Trump at the White House. 
In recent days, the president has increased his rhetoric against Iran, including pledging that the U.S. will seize Iranian assets to compensate for damages caused during the conflict. 
He also vowed to hold Iran directly responsible for future Houthi attacks on commercial shipping, warned that any Iranian attack on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz would result in U.S. strikes on bridges or power plants near Tehran, and <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/07/23/trump-axios-iran-interview">told Axios</a> he is considering &#8220;a massive attack&#8221; that would be &#8220;bigger than ever before.&#8221;
Earlier this month, Trump publicly threatened to strike Iran&#8217;s deeply buried &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-is-pickaxe-mountain-and-why-is-trump-talking-about-it?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=5&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=What+Is+Iran%E2%80%99s+Pickaxe+Mountain+%E2%80%94+And+Why+Is+Trump+Talking+About+It%3F">Pickaxe Mountain</a>&#8221; nuclear complex, saying the United States had &#8220;eyes on it&#8221; and that it was &#8220;a possible target for a nice big fat shot right in the front door.&#8221;
The site is believed by some analysts to be among Iran&#8217;s most heavily fortified nuclear facilities.
Asked about Israel&#8217;s potential role in any upcoming attack, Trump said the Jewish state &#8220;would join in two minutes if I asked them to,&#8221; while adding that &#8220;we don&#8217;t need anybody.&#8221;
Iran has continued issuing threats of its own.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned civilians across the Middle East to stay at least 500 meters away from U.S. military installations, signaling that additional attacks could be imminent. 
Tehran has also warned that if Iranian oil exports are blocked, no country will be able to export oil safely, adding that the Strait of Hormuz &#8220;will not return to pre-war conditions.&#8221; 
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also condemned Trump&#8217;s proposal to use frozen Iranian assets to compensate victims of the conflict, calling it &#8220;an incendiary precedent.&#8221;
Despite absorbing 13 consecutive nights of U.S. strikes, Iran has largely confined its retaliation to Gulf countries hosting American troops rather than opening a direct front against Israel.
Tehran has struck Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, and Jordan, all of which host U.S. forces. Although some attacks near Aqaba, Jordan, triggered Israeli air defenses in nearby Eilat, Iran has yet to unleash the sustained missile barrages against Israel that characterized previous confrontations.

Donald Trump & Benjamin Netanyahu

The Signs U.S. And Israel’s Most Punishing Move Against Iran Is Closing In

iran

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani&#8217;s plan to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu came to a screeching halt and turned into a social media post on Tuesday night after he realized mayors cannot arrest foreign leaders. 
“My administration has reviewed every avenue available under applicable law to determine whether New York City could execute the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant if Benjamin Netanyahu came here,” he said. “It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant.” 
Mamdani then said that even though his administration does not have the authority to arrest Netanyahu, he wants “to be equally clear, Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City.” 
Mamdani then called on President Donald Trump to execute the International Criminal Court’s warrant. On Monday, Trump said that Netanyahu will not be arrested “in any way, shape, or form while in the United States of America.” 
Trump’s comments came after Netanyahu&#8217;s office responded to Mamdani’s original arrest threat, saying, “The ICC is a kangaroo court that has no jurisdiction over Americans or Israelis. Its bogus arrest warrant against Prime Minister Netanyahu was issued by a disgraced former ICC Prosecutor, Karim Khan, a few days before allegations of sexual misconduct against him became public. It was a clear attempt by Khan to divert public attention and seek protection from scrutiny.&#8221;
“Instead of backing Khan&#8217;s criminal behavior, Mr. Mamdani should focus on fixing the damage his policies have caused New York,&#8221; Netanyahu&#8217;s office added. 
The Israeli prime minister is <a href="https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/mamdani-arresting-netanyahu-visits-nyc-un-general-assembly/">expected</a> to travel to New York City for the United Nations General Assembly this fall. 
While Mamdani focuses on condemning Netanyahu, New York City continues to face challenges with violent crime and the economy. On Monday, an anti-ICE activist lit an incendiary device at the entrance to the city’s largest immigration court. Months earlier, two men threw improvised explosive devices into a crowd of people protesting. The bombs did not detonate. 
Affordability — the centerpiece of Mamdani&#8217;s campaign — has also remained a major concern. In the last month, Manhattan&#8217;s median asking rent <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/07/13/us-news/nyc-housing-crisis-hits-defcon-1-as-rents-jump-to-more-all-time-highs/">climbed</a> to a record $5,295, an 8% increase from a year earlier. 
In his seventh month in office, Mamdani&#8217;s approval rating sits at under <a href="https://www.thetimes.com/us/news-today/article/zohran-mamdani-approval-rating-polls-popularity-32vr9jqhm">40%</a>. While Mamdani remains most popular with young New Yorkers, his popularity with baby boomers saw a large increase, from 21% to 35%, since he was elected.
Mamdani&#8217;s success has lifted the democratic socialist movement across the country with other members gaining traction. Two Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidates recently won congressional primaries for U.S. House in New York City.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani Holds Press Conference At Deno’s Wonder Wheel On Coney Island

Mamdani’s Netanyahu Arrest Plan Goes Up In Flames

anti-Israel

A Brooklyn, New York, state assemblyman is calling on New York Attorney General Letitia James to investigate whether New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani broke the law by threatening to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his upcoming visit to the U.N. General Assembly.
In a scathing letter to the state’s top prosecutor, Democrat state Assembly Member Simcha Eichenstein warned that Mamdani’s anti-Israel grandstanding crosses the line from political posturing into potential criminal official misconduct. Under New York law, mayors cannot simply order local police to arrest individuals without a judge-issued warrant or local probable cause. Because the U.S. does not recognize the International Criminal Court (ICC), and visiting heads of state enjoy absolute diplomatic immunity, Eichenstein argued that pressuring the NYPD to carry out an illegal arrest abuses executive power and threatens the independence of law enforcement.
“While elected officials possess the right to express their personal opinions, a public official cannot attempt to leverage their executive authority to direct local law enforcement actions against an individual based on personal, political, or ideological views,” Eichenstein wrote. “Furthermore, because the United States is not a party to the International Criminal Court (ICC), nor does it recognize the ICC, any ICC warrants carry no legal jurisdiction within the United States of America. &#8230; Under New York Penal Law § 195.00, a public servant who knowingly performs an unauthorized act, and misuses their official position to pressure law enforcement into making an arrest, may be guilty of official misconduct, a Class A misdemeanor.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🚨Today, I asked Attorney General Letitia James to review if NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani&#39;s actions ordering a city agency to explore arresting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu violates NY state law. New York’s Criminal Procedure Law prohibits mayors from meddling with or… <a href="https://t.co/SBWlsWNEbv">pic.twitter.com/SBWlsWNEbv</a>
&mdash; Simcha Eichenstein (@SEichenstein) <a href="https://x.com/SEichenstein/status/2079300247017115774?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 20, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“It is utterly ridiculous for the mayor of New York City to even suggest that he might have the authority to order the arrest of Benjamin Netanyahu or any visiting foreign head of state,” CNN’s Elie Honig <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/cnn-legal-analyst-calls-out-utterly-ridiculous-claim-mamdani-netanyahu-arrest">pointed out</a>. “First of all, the mayor of New York City has zero law enforcement authority. He does not tell the Manhattan D.A., the NYPD, who to arrest, who to indict. &#8230; This warrant that we&#8217;re talking about here was issued by the ICC, the International Criminal Court, which we are not signatories to here in the United States. So, that warrant, issued by the ICC, has zero legal effect here in the United States.”
Mamdani, however, remained unrepentant. He <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/nyc-mayor-zohran-mamdani-israeli-prime-minister-benjamin-netanyahu/">doubled down</a> in recent comments, claiming his legal team is actively exploring the city&#8217;s legal authority to potentially execute the ICC’s warrant when Netanyahu arrives in Manhattan.
President Trump declared that Netanyahu will not be arrested &#8220;in any way, shape, or form,&#8221; while Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman bluntly dismissed the mayor’s stunt as &#8220;clown&#8221; behavior. Local Jewish leaders and Israeli diplomats also slammed Mamdani, warning that his demagoguery actively fuels antisemitic hatred on New York streets.
Mamdani’s political theater looks even more absurd given the explosive scandal corrupting the tribunal he purports to enforce. The ICC faced severe backlash following shocking allegations that its then-chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/qatar-promised-to-look-after-icc-prosecutor-if-he-targeted-netanyahu-witness-claims">promised protection</a> by Qatar, which has hosted and funded Hamas, in exchange for pursuing warrants against Israeli leaders.
Reports reveal that Khan rushed the indictments just as serious sexual misconduct allegations involving a subordinate began to surface against him. Investigators probed audio recordings and evidence of a Qatar-linked intelligence operation designed to discredit Khan’s accuser by prying into her family background and attempting to tie her to Israeli intelligence. Khan allegedly used the pending Israeli warrants to pressure his accuser into silence, claiming any public scandal would undermine the tribunal&#8217;s cases.
Legal scholars have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-international-criminal-court-is-in-bed-with-our-enemies-and-its-time-we-clean-house">argued</a> these revelations prove the ICC is not an impartial judicial body, but an unaccountable political tool easily co-opted by hostile states.

Midtown Manhattan Buildings Evacuated After Collapse Warning

Mamdani’s Netanyahu Threats May Have Broken The Law, NY Rep Says

united nations

Rahm Emanuel flew 6,000 miles to deliver a stump speech and billed it as a friendship. On Wednesday at Tel Aviv University, the former ambassador, mayor, and undeclared candidate for president told Israelis that the American relationship “cannot stand or survive as it has been,” then laid out his terms: cut the military aid, sanction the banks, accept the blame. He called it truth-telling between friends. Read it the way a lawyer reads a complaint, weighing what it alleges against what it omits, and it is something else entirely: an indictment of the victim, drafted for a jury that lives in New Hampshire.
Start with the premise. Emanuel says American policy stood behind Israel “without conditions, without demands, and without consequences.” That sentence cannot survive contact with his own résumé. He served an administration that clashed publicly with Jerusalem over Iran and settlements, and he watched another pause shipments of 2,000-pound bombs in the middle of a war to force a change in Israeli operations. Every American weapon Israel buys travels through the Arms Export Control Act, end-use monitoring, and congressional notification, the same as every other purchaser. The unconditional ally of Emanuel’s telling has been conditioned, lectured, vetoed, and paused for 50 years. He knows this. He was in the room for some of it.
Next, the charge. Emanuel told the Associated Press that Israel has been “reckless and careless” and accused it of “using food and medicine as an instrument of your military goals.” That is a war-crimes allegation, delivered in a pre-speech interview, unencumbered by evidence. Here is what he said, and here is what he left out. He left out that Hamas started the war by murdering some 1,200 people and dragging 250 more into tunnels. He left out that Israel facilitated aid into Gaza throughout a war against an enemy that hijacked the trucks on camera. He left out that the one sustained pause in assistance was an attempt to pry hostages out of those tunnels. A prosecutor who omitted that much from a charging document would be sanctioned.
Then the dodge. Asked directly whether Israel committed genocide, Emanuel answered that he is “ready to have that discussion” but worries the term is being politicized. Genocide has a precise legal definition: specific intent to destroy a people as such. A man with Emanuel’s experience knows the elements are not met, because a nation bent on destroying a population does not run humanitarian corridors into its territory or treat its patients in Tel Aviv hospitals. If he believes the accusation, he should say so and defend it. If he does not, the honest answer was available, free of charge, and one syllable long.
No is a complete sentence. He declined to say it because roughly half his primary electorate believes the charge, and he checked the polls before he booked the flight.
On the money, Emanuel wants to end American “subsidies,” so Israel buys arms under the same terms as every other trusted ally. Call it a subsidy, and you have already miscounted. The funds flow under a 10-year memorandum of understanding; the overwhelming share is spent with American defense manufacturers, and flagship programs like Arrow are joint American-Israeli developments that feed directly back into American missile defense. As for “every other trusted ally”: name the other one with a genocidal militia dug in on its border, a United Nations apparatus dedicated to its prosecution, and an enemy sworn in writing to its destruction.
Then come the sanctions, where the speech stops being wrong and starts being dangerous. Emanuel proposes sanctioning not only violent individuals, whom Israeli law already reaches, but also “companies and banks that support settlements.” That is the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions program with a federal letterhead. Punishing a bank for serving customers based on where those customers live is punishment by address, and everyone involved understands what the address stands in for. More than 30 American states have passed laws refusing to do business with entities that boycott Israelis, precisely because those legislatures recognized the address as a proxy for the Jew who lives there. Emanuel would write the proxy into federal policy.
His strangest passage is the one he thought was his strongest. “You’ve lost Europe,” he warned: Israeli scientists excluded from research networks, Israeli artists and academics shut out of exhibits and conferences. Every word of that is true, and every word of it describes discrimination, recited as evidence against the people being discriminated against. My organization represents Israeli researchers thrown out of international consortia for the crime of holding the wrong passport. Under American civil rights law, that is national origin discrimination, full stop. Run the substitution test. Tell Emanuel that Chinese scientists are barred from conferences because their government is unpopular, and he would call it bigotry and demand hearings. Tell him it is Israelis, and he calls it leverage.
He did not cite the discrimination as a problem. He cited it as ammunition.
To be clear, Emanuel gets one thing right. The Arab League’s 21 members have spent decades exploiting the Palestinians as a slogan while investing nothing in their governance, and his “23-state solution” at least says so out loud. But watch where the enforcement points. The Arab states receive an invitation to roll up their sleeves. Israel receives sanctions, aid cuts, and conditions. It is a plan that assigns the homework to 21 governments and grades only the 22nd.
Which returns us to friendship. Emanuel opened by declaring that a true friend tells the truth even when it is painful. Agreed. So here is one. A &#8220;friend&#8221; who arrives carrying a list of your sins, a catalog of your enemies’ talking points, and a demand schedule enforceable only against you is not being a friend. He is conducting a focus group. Fifty-eight percent of his party now says America is too supportive of Israel, up 13 points in 30 months, and Emanuel did not fly to Tel Aviv to reverse that number. He flew there to ride it. Popularity is a weathervane. He mistook it for a compass.
The speech was never for Tel Aviv. It was for New Hampshire.
***
Mark Goldfeder is CEO of the National Jewish Advocacy Center and a law professor at Touro Law School, where he directs the nation’s first antisemitism law clinic. @markgoldfeder on X.

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