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

On Wednesday, Jordan banned the Muslim Brotherhood from the country.
On April 15, Jordanian security services <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/15/world/middleeast/jordan-plot-arrests.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acknowledged</a> arresting 16 people accused of endangering national security related to weapons, explosives, and plans to build drones and train fighters.
Jordanian Interior Minister Mazin Al Farrayeh <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/23/world/middleeast/muslim-brotherhood-explainer.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Wednesday that “elements of the Muslim Brotherhood” had “worked in darkness to carry out activities that undermine stability and tamper with security and national unity.”
The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in 1928 by a Muslim teacher in Egypt named Hassan al-Banna, who wrote, “It is in the nature of Islam to dominate, not to be dominated, to impose its law on all nations and to extend its power to the entire planet.”  Their 2010 Supreme Guide advised being “patient” because America “is heading towards its demise.”
The Hamas charter states that it is a “wing of the Muslim Brotherhood.” Former Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohommed Mahdi Akef praised Osama bin Laden in 2007, writing that he was “in all certainty, a mujahid (heroic  fighter), and I have no doubt in his sincerity in resisting the occupation, close to Allah on high.”
For a more comprehensive report on the Muslim Brotherhood, see <a href="https://www.standwithus.com/factsheets-the-muslim-brotherhood" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
During President Donald Trump’s first term, the administration considered designating the group a terrorist organization.
The George Washington University Program on Extremism has <a href="https://extremism.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs5746/files/2023-09/verbatim-final_0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a>:
<blockquote>Without exception, all European security services adopt a highly negative view of the Muslim Brotherhood on the Continent. All European security services which have publicly expressed views on the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe over the last twenty years have clearly and consistently stated that: 1. An extensive and sophisticated network linked to the Brotherhood operates covertly in Europe, both at the national and pan-European level (through its umbrella organization, FIOE/CEM, and spinoffs like FEMYSO); European-based Brotherhood-linked activists have created front organizations that allow them to operate within society and advance their agenda without being easily recognizable as being part of the Brotherhood.</blockquote>

Muslim Brotherhood Is Banned In Jordan

‘Worked In Darkness’: Jordan Bans Muslim Brotherhood

Jordan

Muslim Brotherhood

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>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
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>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
&#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>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
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

Trump Administration

In an act of heroic defiance against the oppressive tyranny of Donald Trump, the leadership of Harvard University has bravely declared that, no matter what pressure Trump brings against them, they will not surrender their constitutional right to be the worst people in the country.
The conflict between the university and the administration began after hundreds of Harvard students flooded the campus calling for genocide against the Jews. Further investigation suggested the students may have picked up their antisemitic ideas from what they learned in such Harvard classes as Studies in Antisemitism in which the final exam required students to flood the campus and call for genocide against the Jews. Finally, then-Harvard president Claudine Gay refused to denounce the antisemitic actions and was forced to resign when the board discovered she wasn’t really gay, that just happened to be her name.
Trump reacted cruelly, threatening to deprive Harvard of billions of dollars in federal funding if the University administration does not at least try to demonstrate they possess something vaguely resembling human decency. In order to keep the federal dollars flowing, Trump says, Harvard’s leadership and faculty would have to (one) stop hating Jews, (two), stop teaching their students to hate Jews and (three), hire professors who will introduce students to ideas other than hating Jews or at least hint that such ideas exist or at least refrain from screaming at the students and calling them names when they wonder aloud whether such ideas might exist or if the whole intellectual world resembles the flaming hate-filled hellscape of Harvard University.
But Harvard’s current President, Adolf Ratbag, declares that he absolutely refuses to let a fascist like Trump bully him into humane behavior. In a statement that sounded better in the original German, President Ratbag shook his fist at Shlomo Judenstein, an invisible imaginary enemy who has followed him around since childhood, and shouted, “In a free society, our greatest university cannot compromise our right to sink into a morass of intellectual degradation based on false premises. We have a sacred responsibility to mold America’s best and brightest into dark, gnarled souls reminiscent of images of the damned in medieval paintings of the Last Judgement. It was one thing when Obama insisted we deprive male students of their due process rights whenever they got accused of sexual malfeasance by some girl who once got so drunk she slept with the entire crew team. It was another thing when Biden declared that Title IX required us to give equal treatment to women and men who say they’re women and a pair of poodles who were dressed up in pink sweaters and adorable fluffy hats by a six-year-old who wanted to pretend they were women. At least, those demands were in keeping with our undying commitment to sexual perversity and moral turpitude. But when a thug like Trump demands we have to replace our sterling array of professors who are morally deformed leftist troglodytes with teachers dedicated to shaping young minds to the good, he has crossed the line. As far as we’re concerned, Trump would be worse than Adolf Hitler, if Adolf Hitler were a bad guy.”
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show">WATCH: The Andrew Klavan Show</a></h3>
To further demonstrate the university’s heroically unyielding stance, Professor Ratbag released this year’s Harvard syllabus to the media. The syllabus promises that the university will continue to provide such classes as Western Civilization 101, What it is and how to destroy it; Introduction to Shakespeare and the King James Bible, How they can light our way if only we set them on fire; and Giving Up Whiteness, in which students will stop using any device invented by a white male beginning on the first day of class at noon and ending around 12:05 because, let’s face it, those bastards invented everything.
The Trump administration says it will continue to withhold funds until Harvard not only changes the syllabus, but also cancels a planned musical based on Mein Kampf and changes the school slogan back to “Veritas” instead of “Look Out, There’s a Jew Sneaking Up Behind You!”
Pledging resistance, President Ratbag and his administration have taken refuge in an underground bunker where they plan to watch the movie “Downfall” over and over in the hope it inspires them with some fresh ideas.
* * *
This excerpt is taken from the opening satirical monologue of “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Andrew Klavan Show</a>.”
The views expressed in this satirical article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Andrew Klavan is the host of “The Andrew Klavan Show” at The Daily Wire. Follow him on X: @andrewklavan
Klavan is the bestselling author of numerous books, including the Cameron Winter Mystery series. The fourth installment, “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1613165536?ref_=dbs_m_mng_rwt_calw_thcv_3&amp;storeType=ebooks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Woman Underground.</a>” His most recent nonfiction release is “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Cain-Finding-Literature-Darkness/dp/0310368340/?_encoding=UTF8&amp;pd_rd_w=nMYjR&amp;content-id=amzn1.sym.bc3ba8d1-5076-4ab7-9ba8-a5c6211e002d&amp;pf_rd_p=bc3ba8d1-5076-4ab7-9ba8-a5c6211e002d&amp;pf_rd_r=133-8344803-2786917&amp;pd_rd_wg=7a8J3&amp;pd_rd_r=5791ea0f-6d96-4732-9d6a-3a4e6b348bb5&amp;ref_=aufs_ap_sc_dsk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Kingdom of Cain: Finding God in the Literature of Darkness.</a>” (May 2025, Zondervan/HarperCollins).

TOPSHOT-US-ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-PROTEST

Harvard President, Adolf Ratbag, Refuses To Allow Trump To Bully Him Into Humane Behavior

Andrew Klavan

Anti-Semitism

Harvard

Humor

Ivy League

Jewish

Pro-Hamas

Satire

When I enrolled at Indiana University I never thought I would see my peers graffiti “DIVEST NOW” across campus buildings and sidewalks. Now, to make matters worse, those same activists are threatening the university itself with ultimatums and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DCffDcmxmyn/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&amp;igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==" target="_blank" rel="noopener">demands</a>.
“IU has until January 13 to respond, or we escalate.”
As a Jewish student at IU, I’ve witnessed firsthand how their actions have disrupted our campus. Their constant protests, graffiti, and inflammatory rhetoric haven’t just created tension, they’ve made Jewish students feel unsafe and unwelcome. Let’s be clear: the demands they’re making aren’t just unrealistic — they’re reckless. Their tantrums have hijacked campus discourse, turning what should be a place for learning into a battleground of intimidation.
So, what exactly are their demands? It’s complicated.
For starters, they’ve called for the resignation of our administrative leaders, including IU President Pam Whitten, Provost Rahul Shrivastav, and Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs Carrie Docherty. Why? Because, according to IU Divest, these administrators failed to properly respond to the group’s accusations—accusations grounded in rhetoric that many students, including myself, see as <a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-801408" target="_blank" rel="noopener">antisemitic</a>.
The coalition’s second demand, and the basis for their name, is that IU <a href="https://iuidivest.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">immediately divest</a> from any Israeli-affiliated organization. They specifically target IU’s <a href="https://www.idsnews.com/article/2025/01/iudc-protest-bloomington-faculty-council" target="_blank" rel="noopener">partnership</a> with the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division, an institution involved in research collaborations.
But here’s the reality: In 2016, the state of Indiana passed a <a href="https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2016/bills/house/1378/details" target="_blank" rel="noopener">law</a> prohibiting public funds from supporting institutions that discriminate against Israeli entities. If IU were to adopt the BDS movement’s goals, the university could lose over <a href="https://www.idsnews.com/article/2025/01/iudc-protest-bloomington-faculty-council" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$250 million</a> in state funding. That includes money for faculty salaries, scholarships, research, and major campus projects.
Beyond the financial catastrophe, such a move would isolate IU from world-class Israeli institutions in medicine, technology, and academia. It would destroy opportunities for collaboration and innovation. Instead of fostering global dialogue, it would send a clear message that certain students and scholars aren’t welcome. IU would become less attractive to anyone who values academic freedom and global engagement.
And for what? Just to placate the tantrums of homegrown <a href="https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/opinion/columns/2024/12/08/column-indiana-university-antisemitic-pro-hamas-graffiti-must-stop/76771278007/">terror</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C6Tj4RwOpFg/?hl=en&amp;img_index=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supporters</a> who seem more interested in performative outrage than constructive dialogue?
Then there’s IU Divest’s version of “activism.”
Since Hamas’s murder of 1,200 people on October 7, 2023, and the continued torture of Israeli hostages deep in the dungeons of Gaza, IU Divest continues to threaten the entire Indiana University and Bloomington community with their incessant calls for “resistance” and flagrant intimidation of Jewish students.
For example, two days after their “deadline,” the word &#8216;DIVEST&#8217;, accompanied by Palestinian flags, was <a href="https://x.com/StopAntisemites/status/1879526605481033832">spray-painted</a> in the snow in Dunn Meadow — facing Chabad, a place for Jewish students to gather, a cornerstone of IU’s Jewish student life. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Jewish students at Indiana University were shocked to find &#39;DIVEST&#39; and Palestinian flags painted in the snow outside the campus Chabad—a disturbing act of targeted harassment. 
We urge <a href="https://twitter.com/IndianaUniv?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IndianaUniv</a> to take this incident seriously and conduct a thorough investigation… <a href="https://t.co/NTCOCgSNa2">pic.twitter.com/NTCOCgSNa2</a>
&mdash; StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) <a href="https://twitter.com/StopAntisemites/status/1879526605481033832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Months earlier, the statue of <a href="https://www.idsnews.com/article/2024/10/iu-statue-vandalism-herman-b-wells-iupd-search-warrants" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Herman B Wells</a>, a beloved IU figure, was defaced with red paint and a Palestinian flag. Around the same time, a fake bomb was left outside the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering causing panic and fear across the campus community.
Right now, Israel is being pressured to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners — many convicted of violent crimes — in exchange for just a few hostages. The irony of IU Divest’s self-righteous language is hard to ignore.
So, if it’s public knowledge that IU can’t legally adopt BDS without devastating consequences, why is the coalition still pushing this?
With all of this in mind, it seems reasonable to wonder if these student activists are merely ignorant ideologues or if this is all just political theater disguising a bigger urge to take out their personal inadequacies on IU’s proud, local Jewish minority.
The group is either ignorant or deliberately trying to intimidate Jewish students at IU. Hopefully, it’s now clear what “divest now” really means for IU and why supporting such a misguided movement is harmful.
This is exactly why Indiana’s state law includes the IHRA definition of antisemitism—because it recognizes the link between movements like BDS and real-world harassment. It’s comforting to see IU’s administration standing firm, but as students, we also have a responsibility to call this out. No student should be silenced. No university should be threatened into breaking the law. And no campaign should be allowed to hide its hostility behind slogans and spray paint.
* * *
Rachel Applefield is a senior at Indiana University studying Law and Public Policy with a minor in Social Welfare Advocacy and a 2024-2025 CAMERA on Campus Fellow.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Campus scene University of Indiana Bloomington

Antisemitic ‘Activists’ Have Turned My Campus Into A Battleground Of Intimidation

College

Education

Indiana University

Protests

Students

Nejwa Ali, a former spokeswoman for the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) who the Department of Homeland Security hired and put in charge of vetting asylum seekers, was fired by the Trump administration in February after the Biden administration declined to do so for 14 months after she pledged her support for Hamas.
Former President Joe Biden’s Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, removed Ali from duty on October 19, 2023, days after The Daily Wire documented her celebration of the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel. But instead of firing her, Mayorkas continued to pay her, placing her on paid leave for an “investigation” even as she repeatedly and proudly affirmed her hatred of Jews and allegiance to the Palestinian cause, and used the paid leave to protest Israel during work hours.
Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told The Daily Wire this week that Ali was removed from federal service on February 10, meaning she received 16 months of salary without having to work.
Ali worked in 2016 and 2017 as a public affairs officer for the &#8220;PLO office in D.C,&#8221; according to her LinkedIn. That office was expelled from the country because it is a designated terror organization. But Ali landed on her feet, securing a job at DHS as an &#8220;Asylum Officer,&#8221; where she was tasked with &#8220;applying immigration laws and regulations to asylum applications.&#8221;
Ali posted incessantly about her affinity for the Palestinian cause on social media, with increasingly over-the-top rhetoric after the October 7 terror attack. The Daily Wire&#8217;s initial report on Ali highlighted how she repeatedly posted pictures of Hamas terrorists parachuting in with guns and writing, “F*** Israel and any Jew who supports Israel.&#8221;
READ MORE: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-u-s-govt-hired-a-pro-hamas-plo-spokeswoman-to-handle-asylum-claims">The U.S. Gov’t Hired A Pro-Hamas PLO Spokeswoman To Handle Asylum Claims</a>
Ali threatened to call the police on The Daily Wire for writing about her. Then, after the story ran, she said by phone: &#8220;I <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dhs-puts-pro-hamas-immigrant-screener-on-leave-as-she-reaffirms-that-she-celebrates-terrorism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">abso-f***ing-lutely celebrate</a> [Palestinian terrorist hang-gliders], a**hole, f*** you!&#8221; The Daily Wire provided audio of that call to Mayorkas’s DHS.
In January 2023, Ali became an Adjudication Officer for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. People with that job, according to the agency, “analyze new or amended legislation and policy, prepare written reports of findings, and review and make determinations on cases for immigration benefits.”
The hiring — which initially occurred during the first Trump administration — suggested that not only were “asylum officers” not thoroughly vetting applicants to weed out fraudsters and terrorists, but even the screeners themselves were not vetted.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-638267" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/18556398_10101359938584405_5812761505162818395_n-317x576.jpg" alt="Nejwa Ali Facebook" width="317" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/18556398_10101359938584405_5812761505162818395_n-317x576.jpg 317w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/18556398_10101359938584405_5812761505162818395_n-165x300.jpg 165w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/18556398_10101359938584405_5812761505162818395_n.jpg 528w" sizes="(max-width: 317px) 100vw, 317px" /></div>
This month, DHS said that had changed: Citizenship and Immigration Services is now <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/homeland-security-to-screen-immigrants-and-foreign-students-social-media-for-anti-semitism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">screening applicants’ social media</a> for any evidence that “indicates an alien endorsing, espousing, promoting, or supporting antisemitic terrorism, anti-Semitic terrorist organizations, or other antisemitic activity as a negative factor in any USCIS discretionary analysis when adjudicating immigration benefit requests.”
And the Citizenship and Immigration Services screener whose own social media was a stream of such content was also fired — raising even more questions about why Mayorkas couldn&#8217;t or wouldn&#8217;t do it, despite Ali&#8217;s openness about her views.
Weeks after The Daily Wire’s exposé, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) grilled Mayorkas about it at a hearing, saying, &#8220;What about people who say things like, on October 7, ‘F*** Israel, the government and its military, are you ready for your downfall.’ People who say things like, ‘F*** Israel and any Jew who supports Israel. May your conscience haunt your dreams until your last breath, Palestine will be free one day, f*** apartheid Israel and any Israeli.’ &#8230; This person works for you. This is Nejwa Ali, an employee of the Department of Homeland Security who posted these comments on October the 7th. She also posted this graphic … a Hamas paraglider depicted here with a machine gun flying into Israel. She posted it under her online alias with the celebratory ‘free Palestine.’ What’s going on here? Is this typical of people who work at DHS? This is an asylum and immigration officer who is posting these frankly pro-genocidal slogans and images on the day Israelis are being slaughtered in their beds. What have you done about this?”
Mayorkas angrily refused to say why she was on paid leave instead of being fired, calling the question <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dhs-secretary-says-he-hasnt-fired-hamas-supporting-asylum-agent-and-its-despicable-to-ask-about-it" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;despicable</a>.”
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-638203" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/ss5-903x576.png" alt="Nejwa Ali Facebook" width="903" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/ss5-903x576.png 903w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/ss5-300x191.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/ss5-768x490.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/ss5.png 1162w" sizes="(max-width: 903px) 100vw, 903px" /></div>
Six months later, Mayorkas confirmed to the Senate that Ali was still on paid leave, even as she used her paid leave to protest in front of the Israeli Embassy <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/immigration-agent-who-celebrates-hamas-is-using-paid-leave-from-dhs-to-threaten-military-officials" target="_blank" rel="noopener">during work hours</a>, and to dox military members there.
Ali herself seemed shocked that Mayorkas hadn’t fired her, and gloated about the secretary&#8217;s inaction. When someone wrote on her LinkedIn page, “When you do everything you can to get fired but the boss says NO,” she replied with a stream of laughing emotions and wrote, “hilarious, seriously.”
When someone posted that Ali “hasn’t yet been fired by” Mayorkas, Ali commented that she was “still laughing too. #freePalestine from APARTHEID Israel.”
Another LinkedIn user said, “Nejwa, as much as I believe in free speech and every American being entitled to develop and express their own opinion, tha [sic] ends when you’re a representative of the US and mpre [sic] implicitly, when dealing with immigration with the very people you are calling for total annihilation against.” Ali replied: “Listen white women, shut the F*** UP.”
In June 2024, the House of Representatives resorted to the extraordinary step of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-votes-to-defund-hamas-supporting-dhs-official-over-objections-from-dems" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voting</a> to make Ali&#8217;s salary $1, but it never became law. Democrats opposed the move, saying Ali should be afforded due process. They have not explained whether they think a form of due process that prevents firing for more than a year needs reform.
That same month, the Center to Advance Security in America filed a lawsuit seeking records about how Ali was hired and how she handled asylum vetting after Mayorkas <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dhs-faces-lawsuit-over-ex-plo-spokeswoman-it-hired-to-vet-immigrants-kept-paying-despite-anti-semitism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">refused</a> to fulfill the request.

Nejwa Ali LinkedIn / Facebook

DHS Official Who Openly Cheered Hamas Fired After 16 Months Of Paid Leave

Alejandro Mayorkas

Department of Homeland Security

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>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> 
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.

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

Dogs

The virulently anti-Israel Biden administration envoy who claimed the terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah — who are proxies for the despotic Islamic Iranian regime — were simply misunderstood by the West, cheered the idea that President Donald Trump might make a nuclear deal with Iran.
Rob Malley, Biden’s Special Envoy to Iran, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/25/politics/malley-nuclear-deal-tenuous/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in 2022, “The simple fact is this: as a means of constraining Iran’s nuclear program, the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] was working. Leaving it has not.”
Malley recently <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/11/briefing/new-talks-with-iran.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The New York Times, “Biden was lukewarm about a deal; Trump is eager. Biden fixates on domestic politics; Trump couldn’t care less. Biden was calculating; Trump, impulsive. Trump is throwing caution, prudence and logic to the wind. Which is why there is probably a greater chance of some kind of understanding now than there ever was under the prior administration.”
Malley, who had a friendly relationship with arch-terrorist PLO leader Yasser Arafat, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/jul/20/comment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> in July 2001, in the middle of the murderous Second Intifada in which Palestinians murdered more than 1,000 Jews, that the idea of blaming Arafat for the failure of peace talks with Israel “acts as a harmful constraint on American policy by offering up a single, convenient culprit (Arafat) rather than a more nuanced and realistic analysis.”
According to the <a href="https://www.ict.org.il/#gsc.tab=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">International Institute for Counter-Terrorism</a>, during the Second Intifada, 887 of the 1,137 Israelis murdered in attacks from September 2000 – 2005 were civilians. Just between May 2001 and May 2002 there were these massacres: five Israelis murdered by a suicide bomber at the HaSharon Mall in May 2001; 21 Israelis murdered by a suicide bomber at the Dolphinarium Discotheque in June 2001; 15 Israelis murdered by a suicide bomber at Sbarro’s Pizza in August 2001, including six children and a 31-year-old woman who was the only child of her parents and was five months pregnant; 11 Israelis murdered in a bus bombing on Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem on December 1, 2001; 12 more Israelis murdered the very next day in a Haifa suicide bombing; 11 more Israelis murdered in a bus attack 10 days later in Immanuel; six Israelis murdered in an attack at a bas-mitzvah in January 2002; 11 more Jews killed in an attack on a yeshiva in March 2002, including a five-month-old child; 11 Jews murdered in a bombing at Café Moment in March 2002; 30 Israelis killed as they celebrated Passover in Netanya on March 27, 2002; 16 Israelis murdered in a suicide bombing four days later at the Matzah restaurant, and 16 Israelis murdered in Rishon LeZion in May 2002.
Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), possibly the staunchest opponent of Iran in the U.S. Senate, reacted harshly when reports indicated Biden would select Malley as his Special Envoy to Iran, <a href="https://x.com/SenTomCotton/status/1352434894484500483">stating</a> in 2021, “It’s deeply troubling that President Biden would consider appointing Rob Malley to direct Iran policy. Malley has a long track record of sympathy for the Iranian regime &amp; animus towards Israel. The ayatollahs wouldn’t believe their luck if he is selected.”
Three U.S. officials left the team negotiating with Iran because Malley would not take a harder negotiating position regarding sanctions.
Wang Xiyue, imprisoned in Iran between 2016 and 2019, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-01-21/biden-s-first-foreign-policy-blunder-could-be-on-iran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> in 2021 that Biden appointing him as Special Envoy “would send a chilling signal to the dictatorship in Iran that the United States is solely focused on re-entering the Iran nuclear deal, and ignoring its regional terror and domestic crimes against humanity. It would also send a signal to Iranians, Syrians, Iraqis, Lebanese, and all others that are being repressed by the Iranian regime and its proxies that the Biden administration does not care about their human rights.”
“In 2023, Malley stopped briefing Congress about his diplomatic efforts,” The Washington Free Beacon <a href="https://freebeacon.com/national-security/rob-malley-cheers-trump-nuclear-talks-with-iran/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. “It soon became clear that he had been placed on administrative leave pending a State Department investigation into his alleged mishandling of classified documents. Malley eventually had his top secret security clearance pulled, and the FBI picked up the investigation into his activities. The Biden administration never released information about the findings of its investigation into Malley before leaving office.”
In 2010, in a documentary called Cultures of Resistance, Malley <a href="https://www.commentary.org/articles/eli-lake/robert-malley-noxious-views-now-mainstream/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> for Israel to allow Hamas “to govern” Gaza. In a 1980 <a href="https://ydnhistorical.library.yale.edu/?a=d&amp;d=YDN19801027-01.2.5&amp;srpos=4&amp;e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN--------false" target="_blank" rel="noopener">piece</a>, he justified the violence Palestinians inflicted on Jews, writing, “There is a lot to be said about the Israeli treatment of Arabs — shameful on the part of a people who suffered more than any other from the injustices and horrors of racism. And the fact must be faced that the resort to violence by the Palestinians is the inevitable corollary of the violence done to them.”

US-IRAN-POLITICS-MALLEY

Anti-Israel Biden Envoy Cheers Idea Of Trump Making Deal With Iran

Biden Administration

Global Politics

Iran

Iran Nuclear Deal

Politics

Each Passover, Jews across the world recount the miraculous exodus of their ancestors from servitude under the Egyptian pharaoh, in pursuit of a life of ordered liberty in the Land promised to Abraham. This pharaoh enslaved the Jewish people, forcing them into hard labor doubly tortuous, as their taskmasters imposed assignments with labor itself as the ultimate end. The pharaoh even ordered the infanticide of Hebrew male infants in an attempt to cement his power over the Hebrews. The Passover dinner retells the story of our enslavement, the Ten Plagues inflicted upon the Egyptians, and Hebrews’ miraculous deliverance. The ancient Hebrews left a tyranny that subjugated their spiritual and physical freedom to the dictates of a human regime at odds with the Divine.
Importantly, escape from tyranny wasn’t their ultimate aim. The ancient Hebrews embarked at this moment on a journey to their Promised Land. These tribes became the People of the Book — striving to form a civil society under the rule of law, complete with education of the young, the establishment of courts, protection of property, and concern for innocent life.
The American Founders certainly recognized that this “Season of Our Freedom” is relevant for the United States of America. The national motto proposed by Benjamin Franklin of “Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God” accompanied an image of Moses leading the Children of Israel across the miraculously parted Red Sea as they escaped the tyrant of their times. The Israelites desired to worship God freely, raise families, and enjoy the fruits of their own labor. The protections of our Bill of Rights guarantee us similar rights.
The Israelites and the Pilgrims both journeyed to a new land not just in pursuit of generic freedom — but freedom of a far deeper type. The foremost concern of the Pilgrims arriving on the shores of Cape Cod in 1620 indeed was freedom of religion and conscience. Like the Israelites, these early settlers forfeited many of the comforts of their prior home as they endured a harsh climate in unfamiliar territory surrounded by hazards. Those Pilgrims entered a covenant to “combine ourselves together into a civil body politick” — one with the family as society’s foundation, with national traditions and core values transmitted in the home.
<div id="attachment_906725" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-906725" class="size-large wp-image-906725" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1217401397-864x576.jpg" alt="Passover matzoh jewish holiday bread with kipah table background. " width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1217401397-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1217401397-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1217401397-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1217401397-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1217401397-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1217401397-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1217401397-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Cavan images. Getty Images.</div>
The Passover seder recognizes that the story of the Jewish people neither began nor ended with the Exodus story. In its recount, we recognize also that we must be active participants in maintaining our freedom. We recognize also that, in a sense, this deliverance happened to us personally. Through the long dinner, children at the table play a large role in reading the story, asking questions, and contributing to the conversation.
As the quarter-millennial celebration of our independence from King George III approaches, let’s take some lessons from the Passover celebration. Instilling an understanding of and respect for our founding in the next generation ensures they too will seek to protect our nation from corrosive influence. Yet, far too many children are apathetic or ignorant of the fundamental rights enshrined in our Constitution or even the basic functioning of our republic. Too few are taught of the sacrifices made by the Founders and the freedoms they sought to protect. Even worse, some educators attempt to poison young minds against the nation’s foundation. Parents possess the responsibility and an opportunity to instill this love of country. Honoring the flag, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, respecting the national anthem, commemorating Independence Day all instill pride in country—in addition to academic studies.
Let’s remember too that our freedom is not secure forever simply by virtue of our winning our own War for Independence. As we stray from the guarantors of our freedom — rule of law, the Bill of Rights, the separation of powers, strong families — the great promise of this nation “conceived in liberty” becomes threatened. At the Passover seder, we recall audibly and collectively that, “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt.” Remembering life prior to liberty, celebrating our victory over tyranny, savoring our freedom, reflecting on what a life of liberty should mean, and involving the next generation in all of this will protect our freedom — both as Jews and as Americans.
* * *
Joel Griffith and Paul Teller, both Jewish Americans, are Senior Fellow and Executive Vice President, respectively, of Advancing American Freedom, the issue advocacy organization founded by former Vice President Mike Pence.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Metal plate with matzah or matza and Passover Haggadah on a vintage wood background presented as a Passover seder feast or meal with copy space. Translation: Passover Haggadah

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