Even before taking office, President Donald Trump began one of the most aggressive foreign policy overhauls in modern history.
Facing two major wars, Trump immediately set out to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine, and Israel and Hamas. His administration wasted no time. Even prior to taking office, efforts were underway to bring American hostages and detainees home. So far, the administration has secured the release of 47 unjustly detained Americans.
But Trump’s most dramatic move came through his partnership with Secretary of State Marco Rubio — a sweeping reorganization of the State Department aimed at restoring diplomatic strength and economic leverage.
Here’s what the president has done so far to redefine America’s role on the world stage and counter its global adversaries.
<h3>State Department Restructuring</h3>
CUTTING BLOAT: Under Rubio’s leadership, the State Department initiated <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sweeping-changes-state-dept-shuttering-more-than-130-offices-slashing-staff?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=%E2%80%98Sweeping+Changes%E2%80%99%3A+State+Dept+Shuttering+More+Than+130+Offices%2C+Slashing+Staff" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sweeping changes</a> to cut bureaucratic bloat, including plans to close 132 of its 734 offices and a directive giving undersecretaries 30 days to present plans to slash its personnel in individual departments by 15%.
USAID: After being intensely overhauled following an audit by DOGE, USAID was set to be <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/usaid-informs-congress-that-state-department-will-assume-its-responsibilities?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=USAID+To+Lay+Off+4%2C600+Employees%2C+Will+Merge+With+State+Department+By+Fall" target="_blank" rel="noopener">merged into</a> the State Department. Rubio was named acting deputy administrator and began the task of downsizing the $80 billion office. According to the State Department, Rubio oversaw an 85% cut to USAID programs.
CENSORSHIP AGENCY: In April, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/marco-rubio-tells-ben-shapiro-why-he-nuked-state-departments-censorship-agency?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Marco+Rubio+Tells+Ben+Shapiro+Why+He+Nuked+State+Department%E2%80%99s+Censorship+Agency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rubio announced</a> that the State Department would be closing its Global Engagement Center (GEC), which he claimed “was labeling American speech by Americans as foreign interference.” Originally established in 2011 to counter terrorist propaganda, GEC shifted to focusing on combatting domestic “misinformation” after the 2016 election. According to Rubio, the GEC will also be investigated for being “used as a weapon against the American people.”
<h3>Returning Hostages And Wrongfully Detained Americans</h3>
ISRAELI HOSTAGES: Just days before taking office, Trump’s incoming administration — working alongside the outgoing Biden administration — successfully negotiated a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. The ceasefire, along with a separate deal for Thai nationals, led to the release of 38 hostages before the agreement <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/israel-eliminates-dozens-of-top-hamas-leaders-following-ceasefire-collapse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">collapsed</a> in March. Released American hostage Keith Siegel <a href="https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/1897442370720841993" target="_blank" rel="noopener">visited Trump</a> at the White House in March and credited his administration’s efforts with saving him.
AFGHANISTAN RELEASE: Just hours after Trump was sworn into office, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/overwhelming-gratitude-american-ryan-corbett-released-from-taliban-captivity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Taliban released</a> American hostage Ryan Corbett, who spent 894 days in captivity in Afghanistan. Corbett and William Wallace McKenty were exchanged in a prisoner swap for terrorist Khan Muhammad, who was serving a life sentence in California. Corbett’s family <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/her-husband-is-being-held-prisoner-by-the-taliban-an-interview-with-anna-corbett" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fought tirelessly</a> to secure the release of their loved one. 
VENEZUELA RELEASE: Trump’s envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-envoy-richard-grenell-gets-6-american-hostages-released-from-venezuela" target="_blank" rel="noopener">secured the release</a> of six Americans from socialist-run Venezuela in February. In an interview with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/world/americas/americans-hostages-venezuela-prison.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a>, three of the prisoners said they were confined to cement cells, beaten, psychologically tortured, and pepper-sprayed. All three were kidnapped as tourists visiting the country.
RUSSIA RELEASE: The Trump Administration secured the release of American <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/president-trump-is-a-hero-marc-fogel-welcomed-at-white-house-after-release-from-russian-prison" target="_blank" rel="noopener">schoolteacher Marc Fogel</a> in February and Russian-American amateur ballerina Ksenia Karelina in April. Fogel, sentenced to 14 years in 2021 for possessing medical marijuana, was welcomed at the White House upon his return and called Trump “a hero.” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-administration-secures-release-american-ballet-dancer-wrongfully-detained-russia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Karelina was arrested</a> in 2024 while visiting her grandmother and sentenced to 12 years for treason after donating $51.80 to Razom, a U.S. charity providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
<h3>Peace Push</h3>
UKRAINE RUSSIA: Trump’s team has made significant efforts toward ending the war in Ukraine, successfully reestablishing diplomatic contact for the first time in three years. Trump has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/heres-where-we-stand-after-trump-met-with-zelensky-at-the-vatican" target="_blank" rel="noopener">met twice</a> with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and dispatched Special Envoy to the Middle East <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/steve-witkoff-says-hes-optimistic-about-ending-russia-ukraine-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Steve Witkoff</a> to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Rubio and other senior officials have also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ukraine-russia-ceasefire-rubio" target="_blank" rel="noopener">engaged directly</a> with their Russian counterparts. Though Trump has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-and-vance-clash-with-zelensky-in-fiery-white-house-meeting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expressed frustration</a> with both sides during the negotiations, talks remain active and ongoing.
ISRAEL-HAMAS: Despite the collapse of the previous ceasefire, the Trump administration continues to push for an end to the conflict and the release of the 59 remaining hostages in Hamas captivity. Trump has floated <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/united-states-will-take-over-gaza-strip-trump-says-during-netanyahu-press-conference" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unconventional plans</a> to bring long-term stability to the Gaza Strip — including relocating Gazans elsewhere in the region and placing the area under the control of the United States. With the area rid of terrorists, Trump says Gaza could transform into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
IRANIAN NUCLEAR DEAL: President Trump’s team is preparing for a third round of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-saturdays-nuclear-talks-between-the-u-s-and-iran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">negotiations with Iran</a> in an effort to prevent the regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Trump, a loud opponent of  President Barack Obama’s 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, exited the deal in 2017, calling it one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into. Trump’s team is pushing a stricter deal that blocks Iran from enriching its own uranium for its civilian nuclear program. If negotiations fail, the president has repeatedly warned that military action remains on the table to disrupt Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
<h3>Taking On Adversaries And Enemies</h3>
PANAMA CANAL: The Trump administration has made it clear it will no longer tolerate growing Chinese influence over the Panama Canal. Trump has routinely escalated pressure on Panama over the Chinese companies operating at both ends of the canal and reportedly directed U.S. Southern Command to draft military options for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-orders-military-to-draw-up-plans-to-retake-panama-canal?author=Ryan+Saavedra&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Orders+Military+To+Draw+Up+Plans+To+Retake+Panama+Canal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">taking the canal by force</a>. Some progress was made following Secretary Rubio&#8217;s February visit, when the Panamanian government announced it would allow U.S. Navy ships to pass through for free, though Trump has since demanded that all American ships — including commercial vessels — also pass toll-free.
CHINA: Trump isolated China by imposing a 145% tariff on Chinese imports while granting a 90-day delay on tariffs for other countries, aiming to establish freer trade relationships. China responded with a 125% tariff, though Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trumps-100th-day-chinese-communist-regime-declares-never-kneel-u-s-pressure-fiery-video" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pointed ou</a>t that it’s less impactful, as China exports five times the amount of goods to the United States. The Trump administration also sanctioned Beijing and Hong Kong authorities for undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy, and visa restrictions were placed on foreign officials involved in the return of Uyghurs to China and for restricting access to Tibet, according to the State Department.
IRAN: Despite ongoing negotiations, Trump has maintained his maximum pressure campaign on Iran, using sanctions to target Iranian petroleum and petrochemical entities that fund Tehran’s nuclear program, missile development, and terrorist proxies, according to the State Department. Last week, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-sanctions-iranian-petroleum-magnate-caught-trying-to-move-oil-from-texas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sanctions were imposed</a> on two Iranian petroleum magnates, one of whom was caught attempting to export cargo to China off the coast of Houston last year. In total, 72 entities, 14 individuals, and 74 vessels were sanctioned.
HOUTHIS: First, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-re-designates-the-houthis-as-a-terrorist-organization" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump re-designated</a> the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, reversing President Biden’s earlier decision to remove them. Second, he instructed the military to launch weeks of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-orders-troops-to-middle-east-to-counter-houthi-attacks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">intensive airstrike</a>s in response to the group&#8217;s more than 100 attacks on international cargo ships, tankers, and naval vessels following Hamas’ October 7 assault on Israel. Since March, over 800 Houthi targets have been hit, resulting in the elimination of hundreds of fighters and leaders, and Houthi ballistic missile launches and suicide drone attacks are down 69% and 55% respectively, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/us-strikes-kill-hundreds-houthi-fighters-hit-over-800-red-sea-targets-central-command" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported Fox News</a>.
<h3>Foreign Visitors</h3>
GOLD CARD VISA: In a bid to attract high-net-worth immigrants to the United States, Trump unveiled his plan for a “Gold Card” visa. For $5 million, visa holders would have Green Card privileges and a potential path to citizenship. According to Trump, visa holders would contribute to the U.S. economy by spending money, paying taxes, and creating businesses.
REVOKING VISAS: Trump has cracked down on foreign visa holders participating in activities aligned with terrorist organizations, including antisemitic protests on college campuses. Several students and recent graduates have had their visas revoked and have been detained by immigration officials. The most high-profile arrest so far has been Columbia University graduate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-says-arrest-of-pro-hamas-activist-first-of-many-to-come" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mahmoud Khalil</a>, who is accused of being a ringleader of the anti-Israel protests at his former university. DHS has alleged that Khalil “led activities aligned to Hamas.” Controversy over the arrests has erupted in the media, and several cases are being reviewed by courts around the country.
VETTING IMMIGRANTS FOR ANTISEMITISM: The Trump administration will now begin <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/homeland-security-to-screen-immigrants-and-foreign-students-social-media-for-anti-semitism?row=0&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;title=Homeland+Security+To+Screen+Immigrants+And+Foreign+Students%E2%80%99+Social+Media+For+Anti-Semitism&amp;category=News" target="_blank" rel="noopener">screening immigrants’ social media</a> for antisemitic content and any history of physically harassing Jews. Any information found may be grounds for denying immigration benefit requests for immigrants applying for permanent residency, foreign students, and individuals affiliated with educational institutions linked to antisemitic activity.
WOKE GENDER IDEOLOGY: As part of its effort to counter woke gender ideology, the State Department announced it will protect girls and women in academic and professional-level sports by refusing to issue visas for biological men entering the U.S. to compete in women&#8217;s sports. The State Department will also not provide funding for or take part in cultural exchange programs that allow biological men to participate in women&#8217;s sports. The move comes in addition to the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rubio-halts-x-gender-markers-on-passports-after-trump-order" target="_blank" rel="noopener">State Department announcing</a> it will stop issuing passports with “X” as a sex marker.

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How Trump And Rubio Put America First In 100 Days

Donald Trump

Hamas

Israel

Marco Rubio

Ukraine-Russia War

On Wednesday, as Israel marked Yom HaZikaron (Day of Remembrance) to remember the tens of thousands of Israelis who have died defending the Jewish state, fires broke out, raging in the Judean Hills, and Palestinians celebrated while giving instructions to ignite more fires.
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A national state of emergency has been declared here in Israel due to the fires. Praying for everyone’s safety. 🙏🏻 <a href="https://t.co/l8DdvyiKr7">pic.twitter.com/l8DdvyiKr7</a>
&mdash; Montana Tucker (@montanatucker) <a href="https://twitter.com/montanatucker/status/1917549830986944842?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Arab arsonists are starting fires all over Jerusalem. 3 have been arrested so far. 
The photos and videos out of Israel are harrowing.
Greece and Italy are reportedly sending fire fighters to assist. <a href="https://t.co/uDAkH2KRbN">pic.twitter.com/uDAkH2KRbN</a>
&mdash; Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 (@MarinaMedvin) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarinaMedvin/status/1917587081192431876?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Palestinian terrorists are calling for more arson on social media. <a href="https://t.co/QWTGBDB4z2">pic.twitter.com/QWTGBDB4z2</a>
&mdash; Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 (@MarinaMedvin) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarinaMedvin/status/1917596563053989948?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
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How do you react to a whole group of people who actually set your country on fire? And to those, easily identifiable, who support it on social media? Right suggestions only. <a href="https://t.co/gEJKjq1luY">pic.twitter.com/gEJKjq1luY</a>
&mdash; An Israeli mother (@IsraMum) <a href="https://twitter.com/IsraMum/status/1917580160825516129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The roaring fires near Jerusalem forced the closure of Israel’s main artery, Highway 1. Fire and Rescue Commissioner Eyal Caspi <a href="https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-852084">announced</a> that the alert level had been raised to the highest degree. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar reached out to Greece, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, and Bulgaria for aid, although any help was not expected before Wednesday night.
Palestinians who hate Israel routinely refer to all Israelis as “settlers.” The terrorist group Hamas exhorted Palestinians to &#8220;burn whatever you can of groves, forests, and settler homes,&#8221; on Telegram, adding, &#8220;Youth of the West Bank, youth of Jerusalem, and those inside Israel, set their cars ablaze&#8230; Gaza awaits the revenge of the free,” The Jerusalem Post <a href="https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-852155">reported</a>.
The Jenin News Network Telegram channel urged Palestinians to &#8220;burn the groves near the settlements&#8221; on Telegram as well.
Palestinian news channel “Akhbar Filastin” posted on X, “A call to the revolutionary youth and all the heroes of the West Bank.. Settlers&#8217; homes and the surrounding areas are your target. Burn them with your Molotov cocktails and set fire to the grass near the settlement outposts.”
“Israeli police reportedly arrested or detained three suspects in connection with fires that broke out on Wednesday,” JNS <a href="https://www.jns.org/israeli-police-arrest-three-in-connection-with-jerusalem-area-fires/">reported</a>.
Knesset member Zvi Sukkot stated, “As the fires spread, calls are being published on Arab networks to ‘set fire to the occupied forests and settlements,’ and there is a real concern, based on past experience, that Palestinians will attempt to set additional fires in Judea and Samaria and throughout the country.”
Yom HaZikaron ends Wednesday night, at which time Yom Ha’Atzmaut (Independence Day) begins. All Independence Day performances and activities were canceled.

TOPSHOT-ISRAEL-FIRE

Dangerous Fires Rage In Israel, National Emergency Declared. Palestinians Call For More Arson.

Fires

Palestinians

Terrorism

World

As Israel marks its 77th Independence Day and President Donald Trump completes his first 100 days in office, my heart is somewhere else entirely: in the darkness of Gaza, where my son Bar remains in captivity — frail, frightened, and forgotten by far too many.
Bar Kupershtein is 23 years old. He was abducted by Hamas terrorists at 9:15 a.m. on October 7, 2023, from the Nova Music Festival. Just three hours earlier, at 6:30 a.m., Bar called to check in on his grandmother as sirens sounded across Israel. He assured her that he was ok and would soon be returning home. He never made it. Instead of running, Bar stayed and helped others flee the area. He provided medical aid to the wounded, organized the evacuation of thousands, and — despite opportunities to run for his life — chose to remain behind to save lives. Survivors have testified to his heroism.
<div id="attachment_913445" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-913445" class="size-large wp-image-913445" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-29-Apr-2025-10-42-AM-2184-1024x576.jpg" alt="Credit: Kupershtein family. Bar Kupershtein." width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-29-Apr-2025-10-42-AM-2184-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-29-Apr-2025-10-42-AM-2184-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-29-Apr-2025-10-42-AM-2184-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-29-Apr-2025-10-42-AM-2184-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-29-Apr-2025-10-42-AM-2184-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Credit: Kupershtein family.</div>
That decision, one rooted in bravery and selflessness, led to his capture.
This is who Bar is: a caregiver, a leader, a young man of tremendous character.
I myself was seriously injured in 2019 while volunteering as a medic, on my way to resuscitate a 4-year-old girl. A terrible car accident left me disabled and struggling to speak. This is where Bar really stepped up. He moved in with his grandparents to make space for my caregiver and began working at the festival to help support our family, including his four siblings. He became the pillar of our family.
Now, that pillar is crumbling in an underground tunnel beneath Gaza.
In a recently released video by Hamas, used as psychological propaganda, Bar appears gaunt, drastically thinner, his eyes hollow, and his body weak. He did not speak, we did not hear his voice. He looks like a different person — one shaped not by time, but by torment.
Our entire family is struggling to maintain hope. I am learning to speak again so I can be Bar’s voice, calling out from the silence of the tunnels. My father, Bar’s grandfather, is a Holocaust survivor — he has suffered two strokes since Bar’s abduction. My mother is battling bowel cancer and undergoing chemotherapy. The pain has seeped into every corner of our home and yet nothing is as severe as painful as longing for Bar’s release.
<div id="attachment_913447" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-913447" class="size-large wp-image-913447" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-29-Apr-2025-09-44-AM-9910-1024x576.jpg" alt="Credit: Kupershtein family. Tal Kupershtein speaks at a rally on behalf of his son, Bar." width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-29-Apr-2025-09-44-AM-9910-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-29-Apr-2025-09-44-AM-9910-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-29-Apr-2025-09-44-AM-9910-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-29-Apr-2025-09-44-AM-9910-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-29-Apr-2025-09-44-AM-9910-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Credit: Kupershtein family.</div>
President Trump, your first 100 days have shown boldness and decisiveness on many fronts. You have demonstrated strength and urgency during this period. I implore you now to bring that same resolve to this urgent humanitarian crisis. The United States has long prided itself as a beacon of moral leadership. You have the power to rally the international community. You have the influence to pressure Hamas. You have the ability to make a deal happen. Please use it.
Now I ask you — beg you — to apply that same determination to the ongoing hostage crisis. Use your influence to rally international partners. Press every available lever. Show the world that America stands for life, for freedom, and for human dignity.
To the global community: do not let these hostages fade from view. Their suffering continues every day as negotiations stall and the world grows quieter. Bar and the 58 others held in Gaza are not just numbers — they are our children, our parents, our friends, and loved ones.
If your child were held underground in darkness, I’m sure you would not stop short of anything to bring them home. So I will never stop! The world must never stop until they all come home!
My son is still alive. But we are running out of time. Let these 100 days be remembered not just for politics, but for courage — for choosing life over fear, action over delay, hope over silence. And please help me hug my son again!
I promise, when Bar finally returns — when I see him again — I will summon every bone in my broken, wheelchair-bound body to rise. I will teach myself to walk again, if only to take one step closer to my son. To hold him. To remind him that he was never alone.
Bring my Bar home.
* * *
Tal Kupershtein is the father of Bar Kupershtein who was kidnapped by Hamas from the Nova Music Festival on October 7, 2023.

ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-HOSTAGES

Bring My Son Home: A Father’s Plea To President Trump And The World

Bring My Son Home: A Father's Plea To President Trump And The World

Gaza

Hostages

Nova festival

October 7

Opinion

President Trump

Moments after protesters near Yale University hurled invective and bottles at him, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir sat down with The Daily Wire to discuss why he refuses to be silenced by his critics.
“If I wasn’t so influential they wouldn’t have cared,” Ben-Gvir said. “They think they can use violence to defeat us. They will not defeat us. They will not win. Their violence will not win.”
Ben-Gvir is a boogeyman to the Israeli Left and Western media due to his extremely hawkish, right-wing views. While much criticism targets his controversial past, his hardline stances also receive scrutiny, including his proposal this week to bomb food storage facilities in Gaza to pressure the terror group to release the 59 remaining hostages.
Before his arrival at an event close to Yale on Wednesday night, about 300 students and local activists gathered to demonstrate against his presence. Chants such as “Ben-Gvir will fall” and “intifada, intifada” were shouted throughout the night.
https://x.com/KassyAkiva/status/1915885745954558377
As students arrived, they were shouted at and booed by the angry mob, and when they left, some had water bottles thrown at them.
Despite the uproar, Ben-Gvir said he enjoyed spending time with the students.
“I really really enjoyed it here at the end, even though someone threw bottles at me,” the Israeli government official said. “It doesn’t scare me. I am saying my truth and I will walk with my truth. I will keep saying it and I will fight for it.”
The day before, Ben-Gvir was at Mar-a-Lago, where he was welcomed by applause from a crowd filled with Trump allies and members of Congress. He said that the reception likely wouldn’t have happened if President Donald Trump had lost because he was detested by the Biden administration.
“It would have been likely that they would not admit me and here I am today, from a situation where I was a persona-non-grata, to a situation where I am being loved,” he said. “I enter their room and there is an applause for what I say, on our ideas, on our world view, on the fact that I want a big and strong state of Israel.”
Ben-Gvir said he believes the protesters are angry at him for several changes he made in Israel regarding firearm carrying, prison reform, and non-Muslim prayer on the Temple Mount, in addition to the Gaza conflict.
“I made reform in gun carrying laws in Israel. Before I came into office there were 8,000 gun licenses and after I came there were 200,000. And it works, it works, Jewish lives are being saved,” he said. “In the jails of Israel there was a complete summer camp, marmalades and chocolates and pitas and endless outdoor walks around the yard and there was no governance. I changed that, I stopped the summer camps, I took everything from them: the radio, the TVs, the education.”
Ben-Gvir, who is frequently criticized for advocating for Jews to be allowed to pray on the Temple Mount, said he helped change the status quo that forbade Jewish prayer.
“I made many, many changes,” he said. “That is why they are so angry at me and that’s why Hamas tried to assassinate me five times. And what does it say? I stand with my truths with my world view, and I really know we are right, and this is why we will win.”
While Ben-Gvir labels himself as a free speech advocate, he said the protesters outside his event were not engaged in free speech.
“Throwing bottles at me, trying to physically hurt me,” he said. “That is no freedom of speech. They want to intimidate, they want to shut people down.”
He added that he supports Trump’s plan to deport foreign students who are supporters of terrorists.
“I fully support Trump’s policy on U.S. universities,” he said. “I hope it will bring change because, in many places, the universities have turned into grounds for terrorism and support for terrorism. Who do they support? Child murderers? Women murderers?”
​Ben-Gvir was invited to speak at Shabtai, founded in 1996 as a Jewish alternative to other Ivy League intellectual discussion societies, though it is not officially affiliated with the university. Non-Jews are also invited, with prominent figures such as Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy among the ranks of affiliates.
Ben-Gvir, who hasn’t traveled to the United States since he was a child, said he came at his son’s urging.
“My son was here in Miami, he was a bit in New York several months ago, he told me ‘dad, you must come, you must come,’” Ben-Gvir recalled. “First of all the people: they are such good people. Good people. They love the country … and the things I encountered, I felt great love, great embrace.”
When asked why Americans should support Israel, Ben-Gvir said that the Jewish state is helping fight America’s enemies.
“I think Israel also fights America’s war — our war is not just for Israel,” he said. “Understand, those Hamas folk, my neighbors in Hebron, they don’t want only Hebron. They want Jerusalem, Acre, Haifa and Jaffa. If you question them a bit further, they tell you that their end goal is the entire world. Everywhere there would be caliphates. Everything will be Hamas.”
Ben-Gvir added that he is enjoying the close relationship with the Trump administration and hopes that the president follows through with his plans to take over Gaza and relocate Gazans.
“Trump has an excellent plan,” he said. “It is correct, it is right and it is ethical.”

Itamar Ben-Gvir

EXCLUSIVE: Israel’s National Security Minister Responds To Bottle-Throwing Yale Crowd

Yale University

In a reversal from the Biden administration’s policy, the Trump administration&#8217;s Department of Justice has stripped the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) — which has been accused of working with Hamas during the October 7, 2023, massacre of more than 1200 people in Israel — of immunity from prosecution. That decision will enable the billion-dollar lawsuit filed by the October 7 victims&#8217; families to move forward.
In a  letter from the United States Attorney, Southern District of New York, to U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres regarding the case Estate of Tamar Kedem Siman Tov et al. v. UNRWA, the text stated:
<blockquote>
The complaint in this case recounts atrocious crimes committed by Hamas on October 7. And its factual allegations, taken as true, detail how the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (&#8220;UNRWA&#8221;) played a significant role in those heinous offenses. Previously, the Government expressed the view that certain immunities shielded UNRWA from having to answer those allegations in American courts. The Government has since reevaluated that position, and now concludes UNRWA is not immune from this litigation. Nor are the bulk of other defendants.
</blockquote>
The lawsuit<a href="https://unwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/001-UNRWAComplaint.pdf"> states</a>:
<blockquote>The atrocities committed by Hamas in the October 7 Attack were not only acts of terror, genocide, and crimes against humanity, they were torts in violation of the law of nations. Because, as detailed below, the Defendants’ actions aiding and abetting those torts in violation of the law of nations, including but not limited to their funding of Hamas, occurred in significant part in the State of New York and in this federal judicial district, this Court has subject matter jurisdiction and venue over Plaintiffs’ claims against these Defendants. Many of the Plaintiffs separately have claims against Defendants for aiding and abetting Hamas’ violations of the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991 (“TVPA”), which requires no such New York nexus.</blockquote>
“The US administration&#8217;s determination that UNRWA lacks diplomatic immunity could substantially facilitate Israel&#8217;s efforts to end the agency&#8217;s operations within Israeli territory,” Israel Hayom <a href="https://www.israelhayom.com/2025/04/25/trumps-doj-strips-unrwa-of-immunity/">pointed out</a>. “The lawsuit presents evidence alleging UNRWA orchestrated a $1 billion money laundering operation that funded Hamas, while simultaneously reducing humanitarian aid to Gaza residents and playing a critical role in the October 7 attack.”
Documents shared with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/08/world/middleeast/hamas-unrwa-schools.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a> last December impelled the media outlet to admit that senior staff at UNRWA schools doubled as members of Hamas’ military wing.
As shown by the detailed records kept by the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, which were seized by Israel, at least 24 people employed by the anti-Israel UNRWA in their schools were members of Hamas or Islamic Jihad. “A majority were top administrators at the schools — principals or deputy principals — and the rest were school counselors and teachers, the documents say,” The Times reported. “Almost all of the Hamas-linked educators, according to the records, were fighters in the Qassam Brigades.”
“The Constitution does not grant immunity to foreign sovereigns or organizations. Instead, such immunity &#8216;is a matter of grace and comity on the part of the United States,’” the letter continued. “The interactions among two treaties, one statute, and one proposed convention govern whether UNRWA is entitled to such grace here. First, the International Organizations Immunities Act of 1945 (‘IOIA’) creates the ‘default rules’ for the immunity enjoyed by international organizations in the United States. Although apparently aimed at many of the same entities that now comprise the United Nations (‘UN’) system, id., the JOIA applies to any ‘public organization in which the United States participates pursuant to any treaty or under the authority of any Act of Congress &#8230; and which shall have been designated by the President through appropriate Executive order as being entitled to enjoy the privileges, exemptions, and immunities provided in this subchapter.’&#8221;
“In other words, Congress controls in the first instance whether the United States participates in such ‘public organizations’ and it empowered the President to decide whether to extend immunity to these organizations including ‘at any time to revoke the designation’ entitling the organizations to immunity,” the letter explains.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The Trump DOJ has reversed the Biden admin&#39;s position and made it clear that UNRWA and its employees are not entitled to immunity for their atrocious terroristic conduct. 
File this under the category of &quot;things that should not have to be said but thank God someone said them.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/iRVSFZdV4v">pic.twitter.com/iRVSFZdV4v</a>
&mdash; Mark Goldfeder (@MarkGoldfeder) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkGoldfeder/status/1915591397521969386?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

UNRWA – Palestine – Photo Illustration

Trump DOJ Strips Hamas-Linked UN Agency Of Immunity For October 7 Massacre

Courts

Department of Justice

Lawsuit

Trump Administration

United Nations

UNRWA

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, a staunch supporter of Israel, presented his credentials today to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, officially making him the United States Ambassador to Israel.
Speaking at the President&#8217;s Residence in Jerusalem and fighting back tears, Huckabee recounted how President Donald Trump had told him he would take the role.
“I never talked to him about it, I never had a conversation with him,” Huckabee said. “I got a call out of the clear blue, just a few days after the election. If you know President Trump, he did not say, ‘Would you think about going, have you ever considered?’ He simply called and said, ‘Mike, you’re going to be my ambassador to Israel.’ Just as simple as that. You don’t say no to him.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Amb. <a href="https://twitter.com/USAmbIsrael?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@USAmbIsrael</a> at a ceremony for starting his role as the U.S. Ambassador to Israel today:
&#8220;I felt it was not so much saying yes to a president—it was certainly that—but it was yes to a calling from God himself to come and fulfill what I believe what is not just a job, but a… <a href="https://t.co/jtD1m96FBY" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pic.twitter.com/jtD1m96FBY</a>
— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) <a href="https://twitter.com/KassyAkiva/status/1914373109584380104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">April 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Huckabee, a devout Evangelical Christian, said that although Trump gave him the position, he believes it was God’s work.
&#8220;I felt it was not so much saying yes to a president — it was certainly that — but it was yes to a calling from God himself to come and fulfill what I believe is not just a job, but a mission.&#8221;
Upon arriving in Israel, Huckabee took a note from President Trump to the Western Wall, a remnant of King Herod’s expansion of the Temple Mount during the Second Temple Period, where Jews have prayed for nearly a thousand years since the destruction of the temple. Huckabee placed the note, which read &#8216;For peace in Israel,&#8217; into the wall, following tradition.
Huckabee expressed gratitude for the role and said he was well prepared to serve, having taken more than 100 trips to Israel in his life.
“I am here, not just as a visitor, but now for the next few years — unless the president tweets something early in the morning and tells me to come home — this will be my home for the next four years,” he said.
Amid anti-Israel sentiments on both the Right and Left in America, Huckabee made the case for the United States’ continued relationship with Israel.
“I never want Americans to think that we Americans are not greatly benefited by our partnership with our ally Israel,” Huckabee said. “We benefit dramatically in the sharing of intelligence, the sharing of technology, and the sharing of agricultural innovation, in which Israel has led the world.”
The Senate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fierce-israel-supporter-mike-huckabee-confirmed-as-ambassador-to-israel?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Fierce+Israel+Supporter+Mike+Huckabee+Confirmed+As+Ambassador+To+Israel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confirmed Huckabee earlier</a> this month in a 53–46 vote, mostly along party lines, with the exception of Democratic Senator John Fetterman, who has been a fierce defender of Israel since Hamas&#8217; October 7 attack on Israeli civilians.
In a memorable moment during his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mike-huckabee-trumps-pick-for-u-s-ambassador-to-israel-faces-senators-live-updates?author=Daily+Wire&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=LIVE+UPDATES%3A+Mike+Huckabee%2C+Trump%E2%80%99s+Pick+For+U.S.+Ambassador+To+Israel%2C+Faces+Senators" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confirmation hearing</a>, Huckabee took aim at Hamas for its massacre.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Really powerful statements from Mike Huckabee about Hamas&#8217;s actions on October 7 during his confirmation hearing to become U.S. Ambassador to Israel.
&#8220;They massacred them and they did it in a way that was most physically painful and in a way that was most personally… <a href="https://t.co/ZQhBOlqE9H" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pic.twitter.com/ZQhBOlqE9H</a>
— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) <a href="https://twitter.com/KassyAkiva/status/1904551356955828571?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">March 25, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;This was not simply a cold-blooded murder in which people came across the borders and shot innocent people,&#8221; Huckabee said. &#8220;They massacred them, and they did it in a way that was most physically painful and in a way that was most personally humiliating. And worse, they videotaped themselves doing it because they were proud of it.
Huckabee added that Hamas said they would do it again.
&#8220;Hamas is not a government, it&#8217;s not a standing army. It&#8217;s a terrorist organization, and they acted like it, and they must be treated as such.&#8221;
Huckabee also pointed out Hamas has been holding hostages longer than Iran did after the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979.
He added that making peace with Palestinians is difficult because of the Jew-hatred indoctrination in Palestinian-controlled areas.
“With the ongoing doctrine where compensation is given to those who murder Jews, parks and streets are named for those who do it, pensions are given to the families of those who are killed in the line of killing Jews, senator, that&#8217;s a difficult pathway to peace,” he said. “The two-state solution, the notion that everyone is going to live together, toast marshmallows around the campfire, singing Kumbaya, and it’s going to happen in our lifetime, is not going to happen if one of the sides doesn&#8217;t believe the other has a right to exist.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Huckabee on why peace with the Palestinians is difficult
“Compensation is given to those who murder Jews, parks and streets are named for those who do it, pensions are given to families of those who are killed in the line of killing Jews&#8230; that’s a difficult pathway to peace.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/LXCuiRClWr" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pic.twitter.com/LXCuiRClWr</a>
— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) <a href="https://twitter.com/KassyAkiva/status/1904570958175674655?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">March 25, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Huckabee has been an unapologetic defender of Israel and supporter of Christian-Israeli relations during his career.
In a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri3Y-Mqc-_A" target="_blank" rel="noopener">podcast episode</a> for the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, Huckabee spoke of the importance of the fellowship of faith between Christians and Jews.
“This is a biblical mandate, and we need to stand on it and recognize that we should never ever allow the Jewish people to feel that they’re alone again,” he said.
Huckabee has been an even stronger defender of Israel following Hamas’ October 7 massacre of Israeli civilians.
“The worst level of evil that exists on our planet today we saw on October 7th,” Huckabee said in the podcast. “For anyone to march in the streets, whether it’s America or Europe, and to show support for this uncivilized and savage behavior to me is a mark of darkness in our world.”
Huckabee visited Kibbutz Kfar Aza — one of the hardest hit by terrorists — in December. At the site of the carnage, he declared, “If we don’t stand with Israel, we stand for chaos,” <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/devastation-of-gaza-border-towns-a-gut-punch-says-huckabee-during-evangelical-tour/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported the Times of Israel</a>.
Huckabee has also been a <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/huckabee-israels-claim-to-judea-and-samaria-stronger-than-us-tie-to-manhattan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strong supporter</a> of Israel’s claim to Judea and Samaria, also known as the West Bank, once arguing that Israel’s historical connection to the region, spanning thousands of years, is even stronger than America’s 400-year connection to Manhattan.
“If I came and said, we need to end our occupation of Manhattan, I’m pretty sure that most Americans would find that laughable,” he said. “The Israelis have a strong connection to Judea and Samaria.”

TOPSHOT-ISRAEL-US-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-DIPLOMACY-RELIGION-JUDAISM

Mike Huckabee Starts Role As U.S. Ambassador To Israel: ‘Calling From God Himself’

Mike Huckabee

In the face of claims that Qatar — which hosted the leaders of Hamas at the time of the terrorist group&#8217;s October 7 massacre of more than 1200 people in Israel — should be a factor in achieving peace in the Middle East, Qatari deputy prime minister and defense affairs minister Sa&#8217;oud bin Abd Al-Rahman Al Thani reportedly posted on X this week, “We Are all Hamas… Oh Al-Quds, revolt and commemorate Al-Qassam!”
“The Qatari minister quickly deleted the post, along with other posts endorsing Hamas, in an attempt to erase his history of support for the terrorist group,” The Jerusalem Post <a href="https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-850443">reported</a>.
As Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) has reported, “Over the years, Al Thani posted messages in which he supported Hamas, incited against Israel, and criticized the US and President Donald Trump. He also called to increase Qatar&#8217;s influence on decision-makers in the US.”
Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser, head of the Qatar Foundation and mother of the current Emir of Qatar, praised former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar after Israel killed him, saying, he would live and the Jews of Israel would be gone, as she said, “The name Yahya means the one who lives. They thought he died, but he lives. Like his namesake, Yahya bin Zakariya [John the Baptist], he will live on, and they will be gone.”
“Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari also praised Hamas’s violence in the past,” the Post noted.
On October 7, Qatar’s foreign ministry released a <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/international/4243388-saudi-arabia-qatar-iran-blame-israel-hamas-attacks/">statement</a> that held “Israel alone responsible” for the massacre, writing, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs holds Israel alone responsible for the current escalation due to this ongoing violations of the rights of the Palestinian people, the latest of which is the repeated raids on the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque under of the protection of Israeli police.”
After the October 7 massacre, Al Jazeera, which is owned by the Qatari government, “broadcast Hamas military chief Mohammad Deif’s call to arms. Al Jazeera also aired incendiary statements from Ismail Haniyeh and his deputy, Saleh al-Arouri. Haniyeh appeared on Al Jazeera praising Hamas’s ‘great triumph’ and calling on ‘the sons of this entire nation, in their various locations, to join this battle in any way they can,’” the Foundation for Defense of Democracies <a href="https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2023/12/19/10-things-to-know-about-hamas-and-qatar/">noted</a>.
&nbsp;

Israel-Gaza Conflict

‘We Are All Hamas’: Qatari Official Shows Support For Terrorist Group Then Quickly Deletes Post

Qatar

A dog abducted by terrorists on October 7 was reunited with its owner, Rachel Dancyg, on Wednesday, after a year and a half of being apart.
Billy, a three-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz during Hamas’ massacre. 
In a viral video, Billy is seen running into the arms of the Dancyg family while Rachel cries. Rachel then hugs Aviad Shapira, the reservist who found the dog.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Rachel’s family and friends were murdered on October 7.
Her dog Billy was kidnapped to Gaza.
For a year and a half, Rachel didn’t know if he was alive.
This week, an IDF reservist found him in Rafah.
Today, they were reunited. 💙🇮🇱<a href="https://t.co/xfiKyGNUur">pic.twitter.com/xfiKyGNUur</a>
— Tamar Schwarzbard 🇮🇱 (@TSchwarzbard) <a href="https://twitter.com/TSchwarzbard/status/1912473008926584836?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Shapira told Israel’s Channel 12 that the dog ran into his arms while he was in Rafah. Shapira, of the Golani’s 13th Battalion, took care of the dog for four days before returning to Israel, <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/dog-abducted-from-murdered-hostages-family-found-by-troops-in-gaza/">The Times of Israel reported</a>.
“She just ran up to me and jumped on me,” Shapira said. “I told myself that she would come with me to Israel. I really fought for her to come with me.”
When Shapira took Billy to an Israeli vet, a microchip was discovered, showing she belonged to Rachel.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-908495" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Image-from-iOS-2-266x576.jpg" alt="" width="266" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Image-from-iOS-2-266x576.jpg 266w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Image-from-iOS-2-139x300.jpg 139w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Image-from-iOS-2.jpg 591w" sizes="(max-width: 266px) 100vw, 266px" /></div>
&#8220;Our heartfelt thanks to Aviad, who insisted on bringing Billie back to Israel,” a spokesperson for Kibbutz Nir Oz released in a statement. “Thank you to all the heroic IDF soldiers; you lit up our darkness.”
&#8220;Dogs are part of the family,&#8221; the statement continued. &#8220;Many of the dogs and animals who lived on the kibbutz were abducted or murdered on October 7th, together with the humans. The great hug that Billie got upon her return from the entire people of Israel teaches how much we all long and need such miracles.&#8221;
Rachel’s son-in-law, Yaron Maor, <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/3-year-old-spaniel-abducted-on-oct-7-found-in-gaza-to-be-returned-to-family/">told</a> YNet that the family didn’t believe that Billy survived and purchased another dog of the same breed for the family’s children.
“We are in complete shock and overwhelmed with emotion to see her tomorrow. We didn’t believe she had survived,” he said before reuniting with the dog. “Now the two dogs will live together with us. It’s a miracle from heaven.”
Rachel is the ex-wife of Alex Dancyg, a murdered hostage who was buried in August after his body was recovered by the IDF. Dancyg’s brother, Itzik Elgarat, was also murdered and buried after his body was returned in the latest hostage deal.
Rachel is known for her heroic act of saving her teenage granddaughters on October 7. While sheltering in a safe room that didn’t have a lock, the 72-year-old grandmother successfully held the door shut while terrorists fired bullets at the door.

Untitled design (16)

Dog Abducted On October 7 Reunited With Owner: ‘It’s A Miracle From Heaven’

Dogs

On Monday, American victims of the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre of more than 1200 people in Israel filed a lawsuit against a U.S. billionaire who<a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-845379" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> reportedly advised</a> the Trump administration envoy for hostages, Adam Boehler, accusing the billionaire of aiding Hamas in the October 7 attack. Boehler was negotiating directly with the terrorist group Hamas in March.
Billionaire Bashar Masri, who lives in Washington D.C., “is portrayed in the lawsuit as a central figure who leveraged his cultivated image as a peace-building entrepreneur to secure funding while covertly supporting Hamas,” attorney Marina Medvin, who represented some of the January 6 defendants, noted, adding, “His alleged background includes participation in the First Intifada and ties to Qatari investors linked to Hamas. His companies PADICO, PRICO, PIEDCO, and Massar International are accused of being under Masri’s control and instrumental in owning, operating, and integrating the properties into Hamas’s terrorist infrastructure.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Interesting new lawsuit filed today in DC by American October 7 victims against Bashar Masri, a US billionaire, accusing him of aiding Hamas in the October 7 attack.
Masri advised Trump admin on Hamas negotiations, specifically advising Adam Boehler, who conducted unprecedented…
&mdash; Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 (@MarinaMedvin) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarinaMedvin/status/1909244462431125631?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
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“Masri and the companies he controls including Defendants Palestine Development &amp; Investment Company (&#8220;PADICO&#8221;), Palestine Real Estate Investment Company (&#8220;PRICO&#8221;), and Palestinian Industrial Estate Development Company (&#8220;PIEDCO&#8221;) developed and operated prime properties in Gaza for outwardly legitimate purposes. But in reality, they were also used to construct and conceal Hamas&#8217;s attack tunnels, store and launch its rockets at Israel, host Hamas leadership and foot soldiers, train Hamas naval commandos-and even to produce electricity for Hamas&#8217;s attack tunnel infrastructure,&#8221; the lawsuit <a href="https://x.com/MarinaMedvin/status/1909245945616667022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">states</a>. “Just prior to the October 7 Attack, Masri even installed an individual closely tied to Hamas as Chairman of PIEDCO.”
“As far back as 2014, Al Mashtal Hotel, adorned with large UN and EU signage on its roof, hosted a significant network of Hamas attack tunnels used to launch rockets into Israel and served as a command center for Hamas&#8217;s leaders during its conflict with Israel that summer,” the lawsuit <a href="https://x.com/MarinaMedvin/status/1909246611936412095">continues</a>. “The IDF eventually struck the launch sites and damaged the hotel. In the following years, Defendants worked closely with Hamas to renovate and refurbish the hotels, including electrical upgrades used to power Hamas&#8217;s tunnel network beneath them, and to restore and enhance the rocket launching sites positioned near the hotels, which Hamas deployed on October 7, 2023, and thereafter. Hamas&#8217;s terrorist tunnel network not only ran under Masri&#8217;s hotels, but the tunnels were accessible directly from guest rooms and other facilities inside the hotels.”
While Boehler was meeting with Hamas, he made <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/meet-adam-boehler-trumps-complacent-confused-and-dangerously-naive-hostage-envoy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statements</a> in which he referenced Israel’s Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, a close ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and said he could see members of Hamas being “nice guys,” stating:
<blockquote>
I spoke with Ron, and I’m sympathetic. He has someone that he doesn’t know well, making direct contact with Hamas. Maybe I would see them and say, “Look, they don’t have horns growing out of their head. They’re actually guys like us. They’re pretty nice guys.
</blockquote>
Boehler also said he “wanted to say to Hamas, what is the endgame that you want here? Not the dream endgame, but what do you think is realistic at this point?” Asked whether he “realistically” thought “that Hamas would eventually agree to lay down its weapons and not be part of Gaza’s political future,” he immediately replied, “I do believe that.”
Boehler later <a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hostage-envoy-adam-boehler-50f28c5b58a0e585df526d0b2da13856" target="_blank" rel="noopener">withdrew</a> his nomination for special presidential envoy for hostage affairs but is still involved in hostage negotiations.

TOPSHOT-PALESTINIAN-ISRAEL-CONFLICT

October 7 Victims File Suit Against Arab Billionaire Who Reportedly Advised Trump Hostage Negotiator

Adam Boehler

The Israel Defense Forces entered a new phase of the ground offensive in Gaza this week, pressuring Hamas to release the 59 hostages still in captivity.
The IDF is trying to establish the “Morag Corridor” to cut off Rafah from Khan Younis. This would help the IDF surround Rafah, which Israeli Prime Minister <a href="https://x.com/netanyahu/status/1907459855788449978" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Benjamin Netanyahu said</a> the move is an effort to increase pressure on Hamas “step by step.”
“We are now cutting off the Strip and we are increasing the pressure step by step… so they will give us our hostages,” Netanyahu said. “The longer they refuse to give them up, the more the pressure will increase until they do.”
The Morag Corridor is located where the Israeli settlement, Morag, stood before being forcibly evacuated during Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from Gaza.
The strategy is in line with other sectioning efforts by the IDF including controlling the Philadelphia Corridor that separates Gaza and Egypt as well as the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza which splits Gaza’s north and south.
The IDF is close to controlling 30% of Gazan territory, a source <a href="https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-848505" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told the Jerusalem Post</a>. If Hamas does not agree to a new hostage deal soon, the larger invasion may be ordered, sources say.
The IDF issued an evacuation order to most areas of Rafah on Monday, telling residents that <a href="https://x.com/AvichayAdraee/status/1906595629993967915?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1906595629993967915%7Ctwgr%5E7c501a14faa2378c0b7e233d0f0e36126e82d3c0%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jns.org%2Fisrael-orders-mass-evacuation-of-rafah-as-offensive-intensifies%2F" target="_blank" rel="noopener">troops are returning</a> to the area to fight “with great force to eliminate the capabilities of terrorist organizations in these areas.”
Overnight, the Israeli Air Force carried out strikes on more than 50 Hamas sites, with dozens more carried out during the day, the Times of Israel reported.
The IDF announced on Wednesday that troops in its 14th Brigade successfully encircled the Tel al-Sultan area in Rafah. Soldiers eliminated dozens of terrorists and dismantled weapons and terrorist infrastructure, according to the announcement.
“The only thing that can halt our further advance is the release of our hostages!” Chief of the General Staff in Gaza LTG Eyal Zamir said during a visit to Rafah. “Their return would allow our forces to reposition and enable the continuation of negotiations.”
Since the collapse of the ceasefire, Israel has eliminated more than a dozen Hamas leaders.
Many experts speculate that Israel was able to use the two-month ceasefire as an opportunity to gather intelligence about the whereabouts of Hamas leaders. Many of those killed were key to maintaining Hamas’ control over Gaza’s population, beyond just its militant operations.
Gazans <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rare-anti-hamas-protests-erupt-in-gaza-as-residents-call-for-peace" target="_blank" rel="noopener">took to the streets</a> in the last week all around the strip, calling for an end to Hamas rule, in a rare display of opposition to the terrorist group. Protesters marched through Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza carrying white flags, demanding Hamas end its rule, and calling for the Israeli hostages to be released.
In response, Hamas has begun attacking protesters including Odai al-Rabei, a 22-year-Gazan who was abducted from Gaza City, tortured, and murdered by terrorists before being returned to his family home, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hamas-kidnaps-tortures-and-murders-anti-hamas-protester" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to his family</a>.

IDF Holds Exhibition Of Hamas October 7 Attack Materials

Israel Heats Up Ground Offensive In Gaza In Effort To Pressure Hamas To Return Hostages

Israel Defense Forces (IDF)

The following is an excerpt from &#8220;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DQQ47DR3">The Wake Up Call: Global Jihad and the Rise of Antisemitism in a World Gone Mad</a>,&#8221; by Israel Ellis (Post Hill Press/Wicked Son).
* * *
<h3>A Conversation on Healing and the Battle for Humanity </h3>
October 7 should be a traumatic jolt for anyone who is a lover of life. We must stand united and resolved to make the world a safer place for the future generations that will follow. For if the lovers of life cannot heal the hate, we are truly lost at sea.
I met George, a doctor from Germany, at a healing retreat on Koh Pha Ngan, an island in the south of Thailand. During the first of our many conversations, I described some of the ideas that would later become these chapters, and in answer to his piqued interest, I went on to explain to him the events that took place in Israel on October 7 and the theater of the world since. We got around to the existential question on what it takes to save our world from itself, and both readily agreed in the simplicity that peace comes from love. And to love is to heal. Our conversation turned to philosophy and the infinity of the cosmos. It’s the kind of place that leads you into these thoughts. I brought up the biblical story of Jonah, the unwilling oracle, who warned the people of Nineveh, who repented without question because they came to understand the severity of the warnings and the opportunity to change. I asked George: Where is today’s Jonah to tell the haters wrong from right? To warn us of the consequences of hate?
The next morning George sat beside me and told me had he reflected on the prior evening’s discourse. “I agree,” he said with slow, carefully chosen words. “Both sides need to heal.” He saw my body tense up at the reference to “sides.” The idea of shared moral equivalence between Israel and Hamas is a typical red herring of those that will not fully condemn Hamas and stand for Israel. George gently raised a placating hand and asked me for patience. “Can you for a moment accept that there is a part of Hamas within you?” I caught my breath.
We sat in silence while I pondered this and took effort to examine George through a different lens. He has no connection to Israel; he is not affected by what happened on October 7 except that he is a lover of life and a healer and he is saddened that this event has happened in a world he deems has turned itself upside down. He lives his life in a bubble, not intentionally, but rather because he was born into it; a privileged Western bubble with all the trappings, including the luxury to question his existence and the next steps in his life. He is a good person. He is not committed to any specific ideology, except for his life and those of his patients. He is not a liberal nor does he consider himself a conservative. He will not take up a placard and join a protest. He believes that all people should live together in peace. He stays out of business that is not his to judge, because he knows his opinion will have no effect on the outcome.
It occurred to me that his apathy is part of the challenge the world faces; he places his complete trust in his government to manage the situation. He corrected me when I suggested this, and instead claimed it is humanity itself that he trusts. “Humanity will eventually find their way, they always do,” he said.
But I disagreed. “This is not a stream of water trickling through the path of least resistance,” I said. “To avoid long and painful consequences, we sometimes must act to protect humanity from and for itself.”
The impossibility of the situation Israel finds itself in is a predicament for the free world. To counter the epidemic of Global Jihad will require some sacrifice of liberty, and this can be a slippery slope. And yet, it has already begun. The UK has the most extensive and sophisticated closed-circuit video monitoring system of its kind in the world, complete with facial recognition and AI capabilities. There are few places left in London where you can escape someone watching you. This invasion of privacy is the compromise for security. But this does nothing to weed out the problem of radicalization by its roots. These bandaid solutions will only drive the Jihad further underground into the metaphorical and literal tunnels. The only long-term solution depends on overhauling how the next generation comes to see their world. Confronting the hold that the radicals have institutionalized over young people, dismantling the arenas for hate, and policing the spread of lies and calls to Jihad, is of the most critical importance. Like the cameras in London, it is not pretty to impose law and confront hate.
<div id="attachment_901781" style="width: 383px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-901781" class="wp-image-901781 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/71mKLbBu7OL._SL1360_-373x576.jpg" alt="Post Hill Press/Wicked Son" width="373" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/71mKLbBu7OL._SL1360_-373x576.jpg 373w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/71mKLbBu7OL._SL1360_-194x300.jpg 194w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/71mKLbBu7OL._SL1360_-768x1187.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/71mKLbBu7OL._SL1360_.jpg 880w" sizes="(max-width: 373px) 100vw, 373px" />Post Hill Press/Wicked Son</div>
I returned to the present with the clang of a spoon against my metal cup. George waited for my answer. Can I accept that there is something of Hamas in all of us? It is a difficult question, because on the face of it it seems a bizarre and hurtful theory by someone who knows little about the situation on the ground. But I have come to respect George, and I knew he was not playing with me. What he asked me is if we are all capable of playing the part of Hamas if we were wearing the shoe on the other foot.
I looked across at George and asked him thoughtfully if he has siblings. “Yes,” he answered, not really sure of where I was going with this. “I have a sister, she is eight years younger than myself.” I asked him if he ever felt jealousy toward her. He assures me that he did. When she first arrived home, the focus of his entire world shifted to her. “Did you ever have evil and violent thoughts about how to deal with that? Did you plan to kill her?” I asked, to his wide-eyed look. Of course, this is extreme, but relevant. “I love my sister to this day,” he stammers. “I would never harm her.” He takes a slow breath in and admits “regardless of how much she may have infuriated me as a young boy.”
In the story of Cain and Abel. Cain, the older brother, is jealous at the acceptance of Abel’s’ sacrifice to God, and in response he kills him. Cain is new to all these powerful emotions, being only the third person to ever live, he has no context for dealing and how to manage these feelings. Leading up to the act, he could not have understood the consequences of his actions, yet as his brother lay unmoving beneath him, he realizes immediately by some intuitive force that he has committed a grave transgression. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” he responds to God, when questioned of Abel’s whereabouts, a clear defensive diversion away from the moral consequence of what he has done. There are direct lessons that can be interpreted from this story; the moral wrongness of murder, the accountability, the shame and regret, and the divine justice that follows.
In my own paraphrasing of Genesis 4:11-12, I quote; “Cain, the earth received your brother’s blood from your hand, thereby the ground will give you nothing in return, and you are banished and will walk the earth without home.” This is a very clear and powerful statement that is made, one that neither Jews, Christians, or Muslims will disagree with. A person who commits murder will become a wanderer, a refugee wherever they go. They are Cain, who was deserving of justice, even though no lawbook had ever told him murder was wrong.
What happened on October 7 was a collective sociopathic act that crossed a line from which there can be no return, not just for the Hamas terrorists that came armed with guns and bombs, but for the people of Gaza who supported the invasion and followed in its wake, rampaging through residential areas, pillaging, burning, and committing barbaric acts of rape and live dismemberment. The people of Gaza, everyday citizens, came to set fire to buildings with people still inside. If you poll Gazans today, the majority will support Hamas and celebrate the events of October 7. If you survey the Palestinian people in the lands controlled by the PA, chances are there will be a strong empathy for the Gazans whose immorality brought them to their own destruction. If you poll the Pan Arab world, you will likely find an alarming number of people in support of Hamas. 
The October 7 attacks ignited global outrage, revealing deep-seated hatred and a disturbing lack of empathy. Those who march in support of Israel’s destruction or celebrate Hamas’s violence are morally complicit in these heinous acts. Like Cain, who committed the first murder despite having no explicit prohibition, these supporters cannot claim ignorance as a defense for their actions. And this is the difference between a terrorist, a terrorist sympathizer, and a fundamentally good person. The masked people holding placards celebrating Hamas and chanting for the genocide of Jews, participating in protests and encampments, these are not just the useful idiots of Hamas, these are useful evildoers for Hamas.
* * *
Israel Ellis is <a href="https://israelellis.com/in-the-media/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an entrepreneur</a> and the father of an IDF soldier. He is the author of &#8220;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DQQ47DR3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Wake Up Call</a>&#8221; (Post Hill Press/Wicked Son).
This excerpt is published by permission from Post Hill Press/Wicked Son.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

TOPSHOT-ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT

‘Am I My Brother’s Keeper?’: Cain, Hamas, And The Aftermath Of October 7

'Am I My Brother’s Keeper?': Cain, Hamas, And The Aftermath Of October 7

Anti-Semitism

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The Trump administration task force on anti-Semitism has launched a review of billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded grants and contracts to Harvard University.
The task force is scrutinizing $8.7 billion in multi-year grant commitments to Harvard and its affiliates, according to an announcement by the Department of Education. The review will also encompass $255.6 million in contracts between Harvard and the federal government.
“Harvard has served as a symbol of the American Dream for generations – the pinnacle aspiration for students all over the world to work hard and earn admission to the storied institution,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/ed-hhs-and-gsa-initiate-federal-contract-and-grant-review-of-harvard-university" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “Harvard’s failure to protect students on campus from anti-Semitic discrimination – all while promoting divisive ideologies over free inquiry – has put its reputation in serious jeopardy.”
“Harvard can right these wrongs and restore itself to a campus dedicated to academic excellence and truth-seeking, where all students feel safe on its campus,” she said.
Harvard President Alan Garber addressed the threat to the university’s federal funding in a Monday <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/president/news/2025/our-resolve/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">note</a>.
“The government has informed us that they are considering this action because they are concerned that the University has not fulfilled its obligations to curb and combat antisemitic harassment,” Garber wrote.
“Urgent action and deep resolve are needed to address this serious problem that is growing across America and around the world. It is present on our campus. I have experienced antisemitism directly, even while serving as president, and I know how damaging it can be to a student who has come to learn and make friends at a college or university,” the president said.
The task force is composed of the departments of Education and Health and Human Services and the U.S. General Services Administration.
The announcement came after the Trump administration has cut off $400 million in taxpayer funding from Columbia University. Last month, Columbia agreed to make a series of changes to their campus speech policies and practices, though it did not secure a return of the rescinded funding.
Last week, Columbia’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/columbia-president-steps-down-amid-turmoil-with-trump-admin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stepped down</a> amid blowback from faculty that the college acceded too much to the Trump administration in the agreement. Claire Shipman, a former CNN correspondent and co-chair of Columbia’s board of trustees, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/columbias-new-prez-doesnt-appear-to-be-much-better-than-the-last-one" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stepped in</a> as interim president.
The Trump administration cut funds to Columbia University after the federal government said the school failed to protect Jewish students amid chaos and unrest on campus over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Pro-Palestinian and pro-Hamas students protested, vandalized, and took over buildings on Columbia’s campus.

Harvard University

Trump Anti-Semitism Task Force Scrutinizing Billions In Taxpayer Funds To Harvard

Trump Antisemitism Task Force Scrutinizing Billions In Taxpayer Funds To Harvard

Education

Linda McMahon

U.S.

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