A CNN panel discussion quickly veered off the rails when one guest claimed that Israel had invaded Gaza in much the same way that Russia invaded Ukraine.
The conversation took place on &#8220;CNN NewsNight,&#8221; hosted by Abby Phillip, and spiraled out of control when &#8220;The Majority Report&#8221; host Emma Vigeland argued that the United States lacked credibility in addressing the conflict between Russia and Ukraine after supporting Israel.
&#8220;I do think that the kind of elephant in the room here is the United States completely losing, and the Biden administration is immensely complicit in this as well, moral standing throughout the world due to our complicity in the genocide in Gaza. Which has made it very difficult for us to speak to Ukrainian sovereignty and having a bully like the Russian government invading their sovereign territory&#8221; she said.
Conservative commentator Scott Jennings was clearly taken aback, but when he attempted to debate the point, Phillip called him off and said there wasn&#8217;t time. Jennings pressed onward regardless, undeterred.
&#8220;We have to debate this, Abby. Oh, we don&#8217;t have time for the anti-Israel propaganda?&#8221; he began, and everyone at the table began talking at once. &#8220;Unbelievable. October the 7th was fine? Yeah, unbelievable.&#8221;
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&#8220;Oh well, we let it unspool for two minutes. But sure. I mean, honestly, I don&#8217;t understand. Israel is our ally. Not a single word in your speech for the atrocities that were committed on October the 7th. Not a single word,&#8221; Jennings continued.
&#8220;There shouldn&#8217;t be,&#8221; Vigeland doubled down. &#8220;We should cut off arms tomorrow.&#8221;
&#8220;Not a single word for the idea that Israel has every right to defend itself,&#8221; Jennings said, and Vigeland could be seen laughing as he added, &#8220;Not a single word for the fact that Hamas right now is killing people inside of Gaza — their own people. You seem to lay it all at the feet of Israel. Israel, a democratic ally, and your own country, and you have no negative word for the terrorists who raped and murdered and kidnapped, zero.&#8221;
Vigeland protested, saying that B&#8217;Tselem, an Israeli &#8220;human rights group&#8221; that has a clearly anti-Israel agenda, had referred to the situation in Gaza as a &#8220;genocide.&#8221;
&#8220;None, none,&#8221; Jennings said. &#8220;And you still don&#8217;t. You still don&#8217;t!&#8221;

ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-GAZA-HOSTAGES

CNN Panel Explodes When Liberal Guest Claims Israel Invaded Gaza Like Russia Invaded Ukraine

Gaza

Israel

Media

October 7

Politics

Scott Jennings

Ukraine-Russia War

President Donald Trump will become the first non-Israeli to receive Israel’s top civilian honor, the “Israel Prize,” announced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a press conference with the two leaders at Mar-a-Lago.
“In almost our 80 years, we’ve never awarded it to a non-Israeli, and we’re going to award it this year to President Trump,” Netanyahu said. “It’s going to be awarded to President Donald J. Trump for his tremendous contributions to Israel and the Jewish people.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
NEW: Benjamin Netanyahu announces that President Donald Trump is being awarded with the &#8220;Israel Prize.&#8221;
It has never been awarded to a non-Israeli, according to Netanyahu. <a href="https://t.co/VK7OfJsRju">pic.twitter.com/VK7OfJsRju</a>
— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) <a href="https://twitter.com/KassyAkiva/status/2005746113735717048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 29, 2025</a></blockquote>
The award will be for the newly established peace category. 
Netanyahu said that he hopes Trump will visit Israel on its Independence Day in May to accept the prize. 
“I have to say that this reflects the overwhelming sentiment of Israelis across the spectrum,” Netanyahu said of Israeli citizens who are often split on a variety of issues but are grateful to Trump for securing the release of all living hostages from Hamas captivity. 
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Trump learned that he was being awarded the prize by Israeli Education Minister Yoav Kisch, who called into the Trump-Netanyahu meeting.
“That really is a great honor,” Trump responded, adding that it was “really surprising and very much appreciated.”
Following his sixth meeting with Netanyahu this year, Trump said he is focused on the future of Gaza, including the objective of getting Hamas to finally disarm, adding that it would be “horrible for them” if the terror group does not.
&#8220;It&#8217;ll be horrible for them — horrible, really, really bad for them,” Trump said. “I don&#8217;t want that to happen, but they made an agreement that they were going to disarm.&#8221;
The president said that if Hamas continues to resist, the 59 countries that backed the ceasefire will get involved, adding, &#8220;This is a real peace in the Middle East.”
&#8220;Based on the fact that Hamas pledged, they swore that they were going to disarm. Now, if they&#8217;re not going to disarm, those same countries will wipe out Hamas,” Trump said. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
&#8220;Based on the fact that Hamas pledged, they swore that they were going to disarm. Now, if they&#8217;re not going to disarm, those same countries will wipe out Hamas.&#8221; &#8211; President Donald J. Trump 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/mYIBfZzCV0">pic.twitter.com/mYIBfZzCV0</a>
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/2005757621278761205?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 29, 2025</a></blockquote>
Upon welcoming Netanyahu to his Palm Beach estate, Trump said he would support an Israeli military strike on Iran if its regime continues advancing its ballistic missile and nuclear programs.
“The missiles, yes. The nuclear, fast,” Trump said. “One would be yes, absolutely, the other was, we’ll do it immediately.” 
The president also noted that the Iranian people were expressing discontent as their country suffers from inflation, a “bust” economy, and the threat of violence or death when protesting.
“Every time they have a rioter, or someone forms a group, little or big, they start shooting people. You know, they kill people,” Trump said. “They’re vicious, vicious people.”
On Sunday and Monday, protests and strikes erupted across Tehran <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tehran-in-turmoil-irans-currency-collapse-triggers-civil-unrest-anti-regime-protests?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Tehran+In+Turmoil%3A+Iran%E2%80%99s+Currency+Collapse+Triggers+Civil+Unrest%2C+Anti-Regime+Protests">following a historic collapse</a> of Iran’s currency, which reportedly plunged to 1.42 million rials to the dollar on Sunday.

President Trump Meets With Israeli PM Netanyahu At His Palm Beach Estate

Netanyahu Crowns Trump As First Non-Israeli To Win His Country’s Most Prestigious Award

Trump To Be First Non-Israeli To Win ‘Israel Prize,’ Netanyahu Announces After Mar-A-Lago Meeting

Benjamin Netanyahu

Donald Trump

Hamas

President Donald Trump welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Mar-a-Lago on Monday, saying he would back another Israeli attack on Iran.
Taking questions prior to his sixth meeting with Netanyahu this term, a reporter asked Trump if he would support Israel striking Iran if the latter country continues advancing its missile or nuclear programs.
&#8220;The missiles, yes. The nuclear, fast,&#8221; Trump said. “One would be yes, absolutely, the other was, we’ll do it immediately.” 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">“The missiles, yes. The nuclear, fast. One would be yes, absolutely, the other was, we’ll do it immediately.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/lTq9ocFh00">pic.twitter.com/lTq9ocFh00</a>
— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) <a href="https://twitter.com/KassyAkiva/status/2005724769287872776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 29, 2025</a></blockquote>
The president also noted that the Iranian people were expressing discontent as their country suffers from inflation, a “bust” economy, and the threat of violence or death when protesting.
“Every time they have a rioter or someone forms a group, little or big, they start shooting people. You know, they kill people,” Trump said. “They’re vicious, vicious people.”
On Sunday and Monday, protests and strikes erupted across the Iranian capital of Tehran <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tehran-in-turmoil-irans-currency-collapse-triggers-civil-unrest-anti-regime-protests?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Tehran+In+Turmoil%3A+Iran%E2%80%99s+Currency+Collapse+Triggers+Civil+Unrest%2C+Anti-Regime+Protests">following a historic collapse</a> of Iran’s currency, which plunged to 1.42 million rials to the dollar on Sunday, according to the Associated Press.
Trump and Netanyahu’s last meeting focused on the Trump-brokered 20-point plan for Gaza, which led to the release of all living hostages held by Hamas and the return of the bodies of every deceased hostage except Ran Gvili’s.
Over the weekend, Gvili’s parents met with Netanyahu when he arrived in Florida and with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Jared Kushner, and Steve Witkoff on Monday. The family called the conversation “very positive” and said that the three advisors “stressed that the return of Ran is of great importance to President Trump, and that significant efforts are being made to bring him back.” 
“We have one wonderful young man whose parents are right here now inside,” Trump said of the Gvili family. “He’s the only one left, and we’re doing everything we can to get his body back. The parents just said, hopefully he’s alive, and I said, ‘I love you to think that way.&#8217;”
Netanyahu also met with Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth hours before his meeting with Trump.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I had a great meeting in Florida with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 🇮🇱🇺🇸
פגישה מצוינת עם מזכיר המדינה של ארה״ב, מרקו רוביו.<a href="https://twitter.com/SecRubio?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecRubio</a> <a href="https://t.co/zh2xaOrGhZ">pic.twitter.com/zh2xaOrGhZ</a>
— Benjamin Netanyahu &#8211; בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) <a href="https://twitter.com/netanyahu/status/2005661579212136478?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 29, 2025</a></blockquote>
Last week, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/netanyahu-announces-108-billion-domestic-arms-investment-ahead-of-trump-meeting?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Netanyahu+Announces+%24108+Billion+Domestic+Arms+Investment+Ahead+Of+Trump+Meeting">Netanyahu unveiled</a> a $108 billion plan to build an independent domestic arms industry amid ongoing debates on both sides of the aisle over foreign military aid to Israel and growing calls from some quarters to reevaluate American funding. 
Netanyahu said the investment will finance the expansion of Israel’s munitions production and other military capabilities over the next decade to “reduce our dependence on all players, including friends.” 
The United States <a href="https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/RL/PDF/RL33222/RL33222.50.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com">provides</a> Israel with roughly $3.3 billion each year, which is used exclusively to buy American defense equipment, along with an additional $500 million annually for joint missile defense programs.
Israel’s extremely cost-efficient “Iron Beam” laser system, which can shoot down missiles, mortar rounds, and drones, is expected to be delivered to the military by the <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-to-receive-iron-beam-laser-interceptors-at-the-end-of-the-month/">end of the month</a>. Each interception is estimated to cost as little as $2, which is a sharp decline from the Iron Dome interceptor missiles that can cost between $100,000 and $1 million each. 
The Iron Beam technology, which was developed with Israel’s Rafael Defense Industries and U.S.-based Lockheed Martin, is reportedly being shared with the U.S. Army’s directed energy program, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/israel-unveils-iron-beam-laser-weapon-while-achieving-record-15b-arms-sales">reported Fox News.</a>

Trump Says He Supports Israel Attacking Iran Again As He Welcomes Netanyahu To Mar-A-Lago

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday unveiled a $108 billion, decade-long investment to build an independent Israeli munitions industry.
The announcement comes ahead of Netanyahu’s meeting with President Donald Trump next week and amid growing calls from voices on both the Left and Right to reduce or cut off United States military funding for Israel. The meeting will be the sixth time Netanyahu has met with Trump since he was inaugurated last January.
“I approved, along with the defense minister and finance minister, a sum of NIS 350 billion [$108 billion] over the next decade to build an independent Israeli munitions industry,” Netanyahu said at an Israeli Air Force pilot graduation ceremony, the Times of Israel <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-investing-more-than-100-billion-into-independent-arms-industry-netanyahu-reveals/">reported.</a>
Netanyahu said such an investment is necessary to “reduce our dependence on all players, including friends,” following several countries imposing restrictions on its weapons sales, including under former President Joe Biden’s administration.
Netanyahu will meet with President Trump on Monday at Mar‑a‑Lago, as he prepares to unveil a new governing entity for Gaza. The new Gazan government will be supported by a Trump-led Board of Peace with former U.N. envoy Nickolay Mladenov as the representative on the ground, <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/12/26/trump-netanyahu-meeting-gaza-mar-a-lago">reported Axios</a>. 
Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have reportedly been coordinating with Arab partners and Turkey on the second-phase of the ceasefire, which includes disarming Hamas and demilitarizing the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu has long advocated for reducing Israel’s dependence on other countries for military equipment. Earlier this year he said Israel would become a “super-Sparta,” a remark that drew criticism until he clarified he was referring only to the defense industry, not the broader economy.
Israel is currently the world’s eighth-largest arms exporter with $15 billion in sales in 2024. However, the Jewish state has still relied on munitions and military equipment from other countries, especially since October 7, 2023.
Israel’s extremely cost-efficient “Iron Beam” laser system which can shoot down missiles, mortar rounds and drones is expected to be delivered to the military by the <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-to-receive-iron-beam-laser-interceptors-at-the-end-of-the-month/">end of the month</a>. Each interception is estimated to cost as little as $2, which is a sharp decline from the Iron Dome interceptor missiles that can cost between $100,000 and $1 million each. 
The Iron Beam technology, which was developed with Israel’s Rafael Defense Industries and U.S.-based Lockheed Martin is reportedly being shared with the U.S. Army’s directed energy program, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/israel-unveils-iron-beam-laser-weapon-while-achieving-record-15b-arms-sales">reported Fox News.</a>
Since Israel’s war against Hamas began, several countries have restricted or halted arms exports to Israel, including Belgium, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States under former President Joe Biden.
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The United States <a href="https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/RL/PDF/RL33222/RL33222.50.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com">currently provides</a> Israel with about $3.3 billion annually, which Israel uses exclusively to purchase American defense equipment, plus an additional roughly $500 million per year for cooperative missile defense programs.
Supporters of United States military aid to Israel say it strengthens American and Israeli security by deterring Iran, Hezbollah, and other terrorist groups. They argue that because the aid must be spent on American defense equipment, it also subsidizes American defense companies, supports domestic jobs, and allows technology to be tested in real combat which provides data that can improve the technology and United States military readiness.
A growing number of lawmakers on both sides have called for a reduction or an end to funding for Israel, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R‑GA), Thomas Massie (R‑KY), Ilhan Omar (D‑MN), Rashida Tlaib (D‑MI), Summer Lee (D‑PA), and Al Green (D‑TX), who voted in July for <a href="https://www.jta.org/2025/07/21/politics/aoc-faces-backlash-vandalism-after-voting-against-cutting-us-aid-from-israels-iron-dome?utm_source=chatgpt.com">a failed amendment</a> to cut $500 million from the Iron Dome program. 
There is a growing number of voices within Israel opposed to accepting American funding, arguing that it limits Israel’s freedom to conduct military operations and exposes the country to political pressure associated with the aid.

Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu Meets With Trump At The White House

Netanyahu Announces $108 Billion Domestic Arms Investment Ahead Of Trump Meeting

Speaking before the House Foreign Affairs Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, Prof. Eugene Kontorovich, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, contended that, under widely applied principles of international law, Israel has a strong sovereign claim to Judea and Samaria, the Biblical lands historically known as the central highlands north and south of Jerusalem.
Kontorovich cited specifically uti possidetis juris, which states that newly-formed states should inherit the administrative boundaries that existed at the moment they gained independence.
He noted that the term “West Bank” was introduced only after Jordan conquered and annexed the area in 1950; prior to that, the region was simply part of the British (League of Nations) Mandate for Palestine — given its name by the Romans in vengeance for their war against the Jews, by naming it after the Jews’ ancient enemy, the Philistines — which included all of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza.
According to Kontorovich, when the Mandate ended in 1948 and Israel declared independence, it inherited the borders of the last highest-level administrative unit. Therefore, he contended that Israel’s borders initially extended to the entirety of what was called Mandatory Palestine, because no separate administrative subdivision existed for Judea, Samaria, or Gaza.
Kontorovich emphasized that the doctrine of uti possidetis juris has been applied consistently worldwide — in Latin America, Africa, the post-Soviet space, and the Balkans — often producing borders that include minorities or groups with competing historical or demographic claims. He cited examples such as Crimea and Nagorno-Karabakh to argue that actual control or demographic ties do not override inherited administrative borders. Thus, he maintains that Jordan’s 1948–67 occupation of Judea and Samaria, which he described as unlawful and accompanied by the expulsion of Jews, did not alter Israel’s underlying sovereign rights. Israel’s 1967 capture of the territory, he argued, therefore did not constitute the occupation of foreign land. Kontorovich concluded that while international law does not mandate a Palestinian state or 1949 armistice lines as borders, Israel remains free to negotiate and cede territory if it chooses.
Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) presented a historical-political narrative emphasizing repeated Arab rejection of partition. He noted that when Britain withdrew in 1948, a Jewish state (Israel) and an Arab state (Jordan) effectively emerged, but Arab actors sought to eliminate Israel, fueling the ongoing conflict. Fine stated that the distinct Palestinian national identity arose later to justify a third state and criticized expectations that Israel relinquish territory gained in defensive wars, contrasting this with American and broader historical practice. He cited Israel’s 2005 disengagement from Gaza as an example of territorial concessions leading to intensified violence. Turning to Judea and Samaria, he stressed the area’s deep Jewish historical significance and highlighted security concerns, while dispelling the idea of Israeli “apartheid,” as he pointed out:
<blockquote>
We hear about the apartheid state of Israel, and it is partly true. There is apartheid in Israel. I want to tell you, as I was driving through Judea and Samaria, a sign that I saw &#8230; basically said, “In this area, Jews may not enter.” &#8230; And the sign literally says, in English, in Hebrew, and in Arabic, Jews may not go here. I&#8217;m not aware of anywhere that is controlled by Israel where they say Arabs cannot go, where they say Christians cannot go.
</blockquote>
In December of 2024, Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) introduced a bill in the Senate to require all official U.S. documents and materials to use the historically accurate term “Judea and Samaria” instead of the “West Bank.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Referring to Judea and Samaria as the ‘West Bank’ is a slap in the face to historical truth. 
It’s time to call this region by its rightful name and stop playing into anti-Israel propaganda.<a href="https://t.co/tYwYMZkGMJ">https://t.co/tYwYMZkGMJ</a>
&mdash; Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenTomCotton/status/1864694801217487019?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The bill, titled the “Retiring the Egregious Confusion Over the Genuine Name of Israel’s Zone of Influence by Necessitating Government-use of Judea and Samaria (RECOGNIZING Judea and Samaria) Act,” matched legislation in the House <a href="https://tenney.house.gov/media/press-releases/congresswoman-tenney-introduces-legislation-recognize-rightful-name-judea-and">sponsored</a> by Reps. Claudia Tenney (R-NY),  Randy Weber (R-TX), and Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY).
“The Jewish people’s legal and historic rights to Judea and Samaria goes back thousands of years. The U.S. should stop using the politically charged term West Bank to refer to the biblical heartland of Israel,” Cotton stated.
“The Israeli people have an undeniable and indisputable historical and legal claim over Judea and Samaria, and at this critical moment in history, the United States must reaffirm this,”  Tenney echoed. “This bill reaffirms Israel&#8217;s rightful claim to its territory. I remain committed to defending the integrity of the Jewish state and fully supporting Israel&#8217;s sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.”
The bill states that the U.S. government should “refer to the land annexed by Israel from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War by its historical names of ‘Judea and Samaria,’ with the land south of Jerusalem being considered ‘Judea’ and the land north of Jerusalem being considered ‘Samaria.’”
The great historian Flavius Josephus <a href="https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/ancient/josephus-wara.asp">wrote</a>, “Now as to the country of Samaria, it lies between Judea and Galilee.”
As for Judea, Josephus explained, “In the limits of Samaria and Judea lies the village Anuath, which is also named Borceos. This is the northern boundary of Judea. The southern parts of Judea, if they be measured lengthways, are bounded by a Village adjoining to the confines of Arabia; the Jews that dwell there call it Jordan. However, its breadth is extended from the river Jordan to Joppa.”
Josephus also explained how Jerusalem was central in Judea, writing, “The city Jerusalem is situated in the very middle; on which account some have, with sagacity enough, called that city the Navel of the country. Nor indeed is Judea destitute of such delights as come from the sea, since its maritime places extend as far as Ptolemais: it was parted into eleven portions, of which the royal city Jerusalem was the supreme, and presided over all the neighboring country, as the head does over the body.”
Virtually all of the events in the Old Testament occurred in Judea and Samaria; Hebron is considered the burial place of the Biblical patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and where King David was crowned; Shiloh was where the Tabernacle rested for roughly 370 years; Joseph, who became the Egyptian pharaoh’s right-hand man, is buried in Shechem; Elon Moreh is where the Bible says God promised the Land of Israel to Abraham; and David fought Goliath in the Valley of Elah. These are just some of the Jewish biblical connections to Judea and Samaria.

Israelis wait for released hostage Avinatan Or to arrives to

Professor Tells Congress Why Judea and Samaria Rightfully Belong To Israel

Eugene Kontorovich

international law

Judea and Samaria

There is a particular kind of tragedy that unfolds when good intentions are fed the wrong script. Hollywood has seen it before — the irresistible pull of a neatly packaged narrative, a morality play that casts a prisoner as a prophet and a conflict as a parable. But the global chorus of <a href="https://www.christianpost.com/news/over-200-celebrities-demand-release-of-convicted-terrorist.html">actors</a>, writers, and <a href="https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-879707">musicians</a> who recently called for the release of Marwan Barghouti walked into something far more complicated: a story crafted not to inform, but to activate.
More than <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/over-200-cultural-figures-call-for-release-of-palestinian-terror-convict-marwan-barghouti/">200 cultural figures</a> were presented with an emotionally charged narrative: Barghouti as the Palestinian Mandela — a heroic symbol of liberation, a political detainee whose freedom could heal a broken land. It was a narrative engineered with precision. It invoked apartheid, redemption, and the irresistible idea of the righteous prisoner held unjustly by a cruel state.
But the story they <a href="https://freemarwan.org/public-figures/">signed their names</a> to didn’t just omit context. It omitted the dead.
Marwan Barghouti is not in prison for his ideology. He is serving five life sentences plus 40 years after being convicted in 2004 for his role in attacks that killed five civilians and attempted to kill others. These are not points of political contention; they are matters of public record.
His victims had names.
Father Georgios Tsibouktzakis, a Greek Orthodox monk, was shot dead in 2001 while driving near St. George’s Monastery — a man who devoted his life to prayer and his final years to quiet service.
Yoela Chen, 45, was murdered at a gas station near Giv’at Ze’ev.
Eli Dahan, 53, Yosef Habi, 52, and Police Officer Salim Barakat, 33, were gunned down in the March 2002 attack at Tel Aviv’s Seafood Market restaurant — civilians and a Druze Israeli officer, none of whom had any political role in anything at all.
Their lives were not symbols. They were the texture of ordinary days: errands run, meals shared, shifts finished, families waiting at home. They remain absent at every holiday table, every birthday, every unspoken conversation that grief continues on their behalf.
And yet — in the celebrity campaign to free Barghouti, these names vanish. Their faces are unimagined. Their humanity is eclipsed by the seductive narrative of the “freedom fighter.”
This selective empathy is not an oversight. It is the fingerprint of the modern anti-zionist narrative machine, a hate movement that excels at converting geopolitical complexity into emotionally consumable scripts. It packages the conflict into a digestible drama: one side oppressed, the other villainous; one man heroic, the other side faceless. It knows whom it is speaking to — the artists, the idealists, the storytellers who respond instinctively to the visual of a lone prisoner against the world.
This is why the comparison to Mandela was seeded into the campaign from the start.
<div id="attachment_1012859" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1012859" class="size-large wp-image-1012859" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2118348628-864x576.jpg" alt="ROME, ITALY - MARCH 30: Protesters carry a banner calling for freedom for Marwan Barghouti as they attend a demonstration, in solidarity with the Palestinian people, against Israel’s Gaza bombardment and to call for a ceasefire on March 30, 2024 in Rome, Italy. The demonstration dedicated to &quot;Earth Day&quot; is organized by the Palestinian Students Movement, the Palestinian Arab Democratic Union (UDAP), the Association of Palestinians in Italy and the Coordination of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. (Photo by Simona Granati - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2118348628-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2118348628-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2118348628-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2118348628.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Simona Granati &#8211; Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images</div>
But Mandela’s greatness was forged in restraint — his refusal to condone violence against civilians, his devotion to reconciliation, his commitment to building a multiracial democracy. Barghouti’s record is not that. His ascent through Tanzim, and his association in analyses with the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, places him in the lineage of armed factions that targeted civilians during the Second Intifada. His conviction for the murders of Father Georgios, Yoela, Eli, Yosef, and Officer Barakat stands unchallenged in the legal record.
To equate him with Mandela is not inspiration. It is historical malpractice.
None of this diminishes Palestinian suffering under Hamas. The Palestinian people deserve dignity, freedom, safety, functioning governance, and leaders who place their communities’ well-being over factional theatrics. They deserve institutions instead of militias, opportunity instead of stagnation, a future shaped by education, reform, and civil society rather than martyrdom posters, hate, and funerals.
But elevating Barghouti as the vessel of that hope does not help Palestinians. It keeps them chained to the very political culture that has failed them for decades — a culture where leaders rise not through governing, but through “resistance” defined as violence; not through building, but through spectacle.
There is nothing progressive about resurrecting an old militant as the future of a nation.
What Palestinians need — what every people need — is leadership rooted in accountability, anti-corruption, institution-building, economic development, and the protection of civilians. They need a government that values life more than symbolism and the living more than the dead.
And yet the world’s cultural elite were persuaded to throw their moral authority behind a man convicted of killing civilians, because the narrative they received was engineered to bypass scrutiny and appeal directly to empathy.
Empathy is not the problem.
The manipulation of empathy is.
The selective framing that presents Barghouti as a moral beacon while erasing his victims is a hallmark of a hate movement masquerading as justice work.
Modern anti-zionism often conflates political advocacy with emotional coercion — telling Western audiences that compassion requires elevating those who commit violence, while portraying any demand for accountability as oppression.
But true solidarity does not require abandoning truth. And true justice does not require erasing the names of the dead.
The celebrity signatories were right about one thing: the region needs renewal. Palestinians desperately need political transformation. But that transformation will not come from releasing a man whose legacy contains the deaths of innocents. It will come from amplifying those working — often quietly, often without fanfare — to build civil society, strengthen institutions, combat corruption, and create genuine pathways to prosperity, liberty, and safety.
If the world’s storytellers want to stand on the right side of history, they must first stand on the right side of facts. And the facts demand this: the path to peace is not paved by celebrating those who shed blood. It is paved by elevating those who choose life.
If the signatories truly seek justice, the path forward is simple: reconsider and retract your support for Barghouti’s release, and commit to vetting future campaigns that appeal to your empathy while obscuring violence. Direct your influence instead toward the real peace-builders — the Palestinian reformers, journalists, educators, and civic leaders fighting corruption and constructing a future rooted in dignity, agency, and safety. Honor all victims of political violence, Israeli and Palestinian alike, whose lives deserve remembrance rather than erasure. And finally, resist the seduction of myth-making — the heroic scripts that feel righteous but flatten truth. Your voices carry weight; let them be used in service of the living, the grieving, and those who are building a future rather than those who helped destroy it.
* * *
Elicia Brand is the founder and president of <a href="https://armyofparents.org/">Army of Parents</a> in Loudoun County, VA.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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The Belfast International Wall

What Celebrities Got Wrong About Marwan Barghouti – He’s No Palestinian Mandela

What Celebrities Got Wrong About Marwan Barghouti – He's No Palestinian Mandela

Anti-Semitism

Middle East

Nelson Mandela

Opinion

Palestinian

Zionism

Dutch activists who signed on to the so-called Global Sumud Flotilla — a Gaza “aid” mission that managed to launch with little more than a symbolic stash of supplies — are now <a href="https://www.jns.org/flotilla-activists-refuse-dutch-repatriation-bill-say-they-shouldnt-have-to-pay-amid-gaza-genocide">fuming</a> that their own government dared to charge them for the trip home after Israel detained and deported them.
The activists, who framed their effort as resistance against “genocide,” insist they “risk[ed] their lives,” were “kidnapped,” and therefore shouldn’t have to pay for the flights arranged by their own embassy.
The Dutch Foreign Ministry says it made a “rare exception” in booking their tickets and made clear from the start that, like every other citizen who receives consular assistance, they’d have to reimburse the costs. One activist, Roos Ykema, was billed €526 (approximately $610) for a flight routed through Madrid, which she says she won’t pay because she was “forcibly deported” by Israel. Invoices show that several activists told Dutch officials they wanted to go home “as soon as possible.”
They weren’t alone. Nineteen Swiss participants have also refused to pay, appealing bills ranging from 300 to 1,047 Swiss francs ($375-$1300) for prison visits, interventions with Israeli authorities, and travel home.
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Meanwhile, the flotilla itself — marketed as a brave civilian push to “break the siege” on Gaza — collapsed under the weight of its own contradictions. Israeli naval forces intercepted 50 boats in early October, many owned or financed by what Israeli officials <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ships-in-greta-thunbergs-flotilla-secretly-owned-by-hamas-israel-says?utm_source=chatgpt.com">say</a> is a Hamas front company. Documents recovered in Gaza tie senior flotilla organizers directly to the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad, a group Israel designated a terrorist organization in 2021 for acting as Hamas’s de facto foreign operations arm.
Among those organizers: figures overseeing Hamas-linked sectors in Europe, including a UK-based operator responsible for recruiting flotilla crews and a Spain-based executive running Cyber Neptune, the company controlling dozens of boats in Greta Thunberg’s flotilla, Israel’s foreign ministry stated bluntly: “These ships are secretly owned by Hamas.”
Despite the flotilla carrying less aid than a single truck — while more than 1,200 trucks a week have entered Gaza through approved crossings — activists rejected proposals from Italy and Israel to deliver their cargo safely. Israel said the refusal revealed the flotilla’s real purpose: not relief, but provocation.
Thunberg herself was intercepted in June, filmed reacting for cameras, and was later accused of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-a-mythomaniac-greta-thunberg-fakes-being-handcuffed-after-being-deported-from-israel?utm_source=chatgpt.com">mimicking being handcuffed </a>— a pattern critics note mirrors earlier staged detentions. The IDF described the voyage as a “selfie flotilla,” noting that passengers were given water and sandwiches before being returned home.
Israel’s stance remains unchanged: the naval blockade is legal, and attempts to breach it — especially aboard Hamas-owned boats — will be stopped.

Detained Flotilla activists return to Netherlands via Madrid

Pro-Palestinian Activists Outraged Over Paying Travel Costs After Israel Busts Hamas-Tied Operation

Flotilla

Greta Thunberg

Social Issues

The Netherlands

World

A new <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/12/08/us-news/f-grades-handed-to-14-colleges-in-antisemitism-report-card-as-jewish-students-forced-to-hide-identities/">report</a> by the civil rights watchdog StopAntisemitism finds that antisemitism has become widespread and deeply entrenched across American college campuses, with many Jewish students reporting fear, harassment, and inadequate institutional protection.
Based on a survey and incident data from 90 colleges, the group’s annual “report cards” show that 39% of Jewish students have concealed their identities on campus, while 62% say they have been directly blamed for Israel’s actions in Gaza. Fifty-eight percent report experiencing antisemitism personally, and nearly two-thirds feel unwelcome in parts of campus amid escalating anti-Israel protests.
Fourteen colleges received failing grades, including Columbia University, the New School, Harvard, Yale, Brown, Penn, MIT, Northwestern, and UC Berkeley. According to the report, these institutions allowed a “pervasive” and sometimes violent environment to develop, one marked by harassment, property vandalism, hateful communications, and protest disruptions. Columbia and the New School were specifically cited for federal findings of “deliberate indifference” toward Jewish students. StopAntisemitism founder Liora Rez argued that the worst-performing schools have become “ground zero” for antisemitism in higher education.
Some institutions improved. Cornell rose from an F to a C for more responsive administrative action, while Vassar increased from a D to a B. Fifteen schools earned A ratings — including Baylor, Clemson, Elon, and Colorado State — highlighted as examples of campuses that consistently enforce standards and act proactively against antisemitism.
The fallout has extended to federal intervention. In July, the Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/columbia-university-retreats-as-trump-scores-historic-220m-settlement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">administration reached a high-profile settlement </a>with Columbia, requiring the school to pay $200 million to the federal government and $20 million to Jewish employees, in exchange for lifting freezes on federal funding and ending several investigations. Columbia also agreed to eliminate race-based DEI initiatives, ensure merit-based admissions and hiring, provide compliance data, and take steps to better support Jewish students. University leadership emphasized that while they disputed wrongdoing, they recognized the need to address harmful incidents.
Harvard likewise <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-finds-harvard-discriminated-against-jewish-students-threatens-funding">faced</a> a federal civil rights finding in June. A letter from the Department of Health and Human Services concluded that Harvard violated Title VI by failing to stop discrimination, threats, and physical intimidation against Jewish and Israeli students. Investigators cited assaults, hate imagery, rule-breaking demonstrations, and lenient discipline of offenders. The administration warned Harvard could lose federal funding without swift reforms. Harvard disputed the findings but acknowledged antisemitism as a serious problem and said it was committed to improving campus safety and inclusion.
Overall, only 62% of surveyed Jewish students would recommend their schools to other Jews. StopAntisemitism urged universities nationwide to emulate the highly rated institutions by condemning antisemitism unequivocally, enforcing clear policies, and ensuring transparent investigations into hate-based incidents.

Pro-Palestinian-Student-Protests-at-Columbia-University

Almost 40% Of Jewish Students Have Hidden Their Identity On Campus: Report

antisemitism

Education

U.S.

Universities

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the second phase of a U.S. plan to end the war in Gaza was close, but cautioned several key issues still needed to be resolved, including whether a multinational security force would be deployed.
Netanyahu, speaking to reporters alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Jerusalem, said that he would hold important discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump at the end of the month on how to ensure the plan&#8217;s second phase was achieved.
The prime minister&#8217;s office in November said that Trump had invited Netanyahu to the White House &#8220;in the near future,&#8221; although a date for the visit has not yet been made public.
Netanyahu said that he would discuss with Trump how to bring an end to Hamas rule in Gaza. A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is entering its second month, although both sides have repeatedly accused each other of violating the truce agreement.
Netanyahu said that it was important to ensure Hamas not only upholds the ceasefire but also follows through on &#8220;their commitment&#8221; to the plan to disarm and for Gaza to be demilitarized.
Israel retained control of 53% of Gaza under the first phase of Trump&#8217;s plan, which involved the release of hostages held by militants in Gaza and of Palestinians detained by Israel. The final hostage remains to be handed over are those of an Israeli police officer killed on October 7, 2023 fighting Gazan militants who had invaded Israel.
&#8220;We&#8217;ll get him out,&#8221; Netanyahu said.
Since the ceasefire started in October, the militant group has reestablished itself in the rest of Gaza.
According to the plan, Israel is to pull back further in the second phase as a transitional authority is established in Gaza and a multinational security force is deployed, Hamas is disarmed, and reconstruction begins.
A multinational coordination centre has been established in Israel, but there are no deadlines in the plan and officials involved say that efforts to advance it have stalled.
&#8220;What will be the timeline? What are the forces that are coming in? Will we have international forces? If not, what are the alternatives? These are all topics that are being discussed,&#8221; Netanyahu said, describing them as central issues.
Merz said that Germany was willing to help rebuild Gaza but would wait for Netanyahu&#8217;s meeting with Trump, and for clarity on what Washington was prepared to do, before Berlin decides what it would contribute but that phase two &#8220;must come now&#8221;.
Israel has repeatedly carried out air strikes since the ceasefire came into effect that it says are fending off attacks or destroying militant infrastructure. Gaza&#8217;s health ministry says 373 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire started. Three Israeli soldiers have been killed by militants.
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Netanyahu said that he would also discuss with Trump &#8220;opportunities for peace&#8221;, an apparent reference to U.S. efforts for Israel to establish formal ties with Arab and Muslim states.
&#8220;We believe there&#8217;s a path to advance a broader peace with the Arab states, and a path also to establish a workable peace with our Palestinian neighbours,&#8221; Netanyahu said, asserting Israel would always insist on security control of the West Bank.
Trump has said he promised Muslim leaders that Israel would not annex the occupied West Bank, where Netanyahu&#8217;s government is backing the development of Jewish settlements.
The &#8220;question of political annexation&#8221; of the West Bank remains a subject of discussion, Netanyahu said.
(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell and Andreas Rinke, additional reporting by Steven Scheer and Christoph Steitz; Editing by Louise Heavens and Philippa Fletcher)

Phase Two Of Gaza Plan: Trump, Netanyahu Prep For Next Steps

Global Politics

Roughly 200 celebrities, including Sting, Paul Simon, Richard Branson, Margaret Atwood, Mark Ruffalo, and Ian McKellen, issued an open letter for Israel to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/03/leading-cultural-figures-call-for-release-jailed-palestinian-leader-marwan-barghouti">release</a> the convicted murderer and terrorist Marwan Barghouti, who reportedly served as the leader and commander of the Al-Aqsa Brigades that murdered over 1,000 Israelis during the Second Intifada.
The statement reads: “We express our grave concern at the continuing imprisonment of Marwan Barghouti, his violent mistreatment and denial of legal rights whilst imprisoned. We call upon the United Nations and the governments of the world to actively seek the release of Marwan Barghouti from Israeli prison.”
Barghouti, 66, was convicted on five counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison in 2004. Barghouti was found responsible for a June 2001 attack in which a Greek monk was murdered, a January 2002 terror attack on a gas station, a March 2002 attack at Tel Aviv’s Seafood Market restaurant, where three people were murdered, and a car bomb attack in Jerusalem.
In 2017, The New York Times was harshly criticized by many people, including Yair Lapid, former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren, and former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, for publishing an op-ed by Barghouti while failing to inform readers that he had been convicted of five counts of murder and was implicated in four other terror attacks.
“He was the leader of the second intifada before his arrest in 2002,” Jamestown <a href="https://jamestown.org/marwan-barghouti-will-palestinian-prisoner-pursue-an-agreement-with-israel/">reported</a> of Barghouti.
Israeli Brigadier-General Yossi Kuperwasser <a href="https://jcfa.org/who-is-marwan-barghouti/">wrote</a>:
<blockquote>
Barghouti was the leader and commander of the Al-Aqsa Brigades, the key terror component of Fatah that carried out many terror attacks throughout the Second Intifada. He was also the leader of the umbrella organization of the Islamic and national forces, which oversaw the entire range of terror activity during those years, and served as coordinator between the different organizations. &#8230; Documents captured by the IDF in “Operation Defensive Shield” (April 2002) shed light on Barghouti’s involvement in commanding the terror efforts under Arafat. In those documents, Barghouti asks Arafat to authorize payments to several lists of Fatah terrorists, while he himself was approached by local commanders who asked him to authorize payments to terrorists from their units.
</blockquote>
According to <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070703195937/http://212.150.54.123/casualties_project/stats_page.cfm">data</a>, during the Second Intifada, 764 of the 1,010 Israelis murdered in attacks from September 2000 – 2005 were civilians.
Just between May 2001 and May 2002, prior to the bombing at Hebrew University, 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; 15 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 bat-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 Matza restaurant, and 16 Israelis murdered in Rishon LeZion in May 2002.

MIDEAST-PALESTINIAN-REFUGEES

200 Celebrities Call For Release Of Palestinian Terror Chief Who Helped Lead Second Intifada

Marwan Barghouti

terrorist

The first time I met Cory Pesaturo, he had just hijacked the stage at a wedding in Boston with an accordion strapped to his chest. Little did I know he would do the impossible: make me a fan of the accordion.
Cory is — and I’m not exaggerating — the world’s best accordion player. He’s won the accordion World Championship three times. He holds the Guinness World Record for playing the accordion for the longest continuous time. He brings his accordion with him <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DPY132wkTkt/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">everywhere</a>, and can play just about anything, including the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CknQsS8uqcW/?hl=en&amp;img_index=4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accordion tracks</a> in the feature film “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.”
Most recently, he took his talents to Saudi Arabia, which is now <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-officially-designates-saudi-arabia-a-major-ally-of-united-states?author=Tim+Pearce&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Officially+Designates+Saudi+Arabia+A+%E2%80%98Major%E2%80%99+Ally+Of+United+States" target="_blank" rel="noopener">officially</a> a “major ally” of the United States. The Saudi Arabia he presents is much different from the Saudi Arabia most Americans probably imagine. — Brent Scher
***
Earlier this month, I arrived in Saudi Arabia for my second visit to a country which has always seemed like a forbidden land to the West. I’d been invited again as a guest star to play accordion in the “Riyadh Season” concert series — this time with Egypt’s biggest singing sensation, Angham.
What struck me, on both trips, was how aggressively the Saudis are betting on capitalism.
Everywhere you go, the top Western brands are visible: Dunkin’ Donuts, Texas Roadhouse, Bath &amp; Body Works, Chuck E. Cheese, and yes, Randy’s Donuts, with the giant donut on the roof are there for you in Riyadh. There is even a Disney castle and theme park.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-1007573" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/IMG_8813-595x576.jpg" alt="" width="595" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/IMG_8813-595x576.jpg 595w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/IMG_8813-300x290.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/IMG_8813-768x743.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/IMG_8813-1536x1487.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/IMG_8813.jpg 1964w" sizes=" (max-width: 595px) 100vw, 595px" /></div>
On every corner there seem to be concerts, tourist attractions, and massive development projects. The music you hear playing through the speakers of high-end locations? Jazz, Lady Gaga, or Burt Bacharach. The style of filming for major concerts?  Straight out of CBS’s Grammys playbook.
Could a country truly hate America if this is what I was seeing?
When I first traveled to Saudi Arabia two years ago, I didn’t even tell my father. You can’t lie to an Italian mother, of course, but my father? If he had known I was flying to a country he associated with the worst terror attack in American history, he would have tied me to my bed. Many of my friends felt the same, judging by their reactions when I returned: “Saudi Arabia? Are you insane? Are you trying to get arrested or killed?”
But over the past decade, the Kingdom, under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has charted a different course. One built on peace, prosperity, and a surprisingly familiar engine: Western-style capitalism.
It is true that in Saudi Arabia, you have no real rights against the state — no First Amendment protections, no guarantee of a fair trial, a mandatory dress code, and laws that make smoking pot or ordering a margarita about as plausible as Cardi B performing Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto on the accordion — a stunt I once pulled to win a national title.
Yet, regardless of this different universe of ideas from the United States, I wasn’t afraid.
The free market being unleashed in Saudi Arabia, even if still in a more state-run manner, is the greatest modern example of how a country thought to be an untrustworthy foe can turn into an important ally.
What struck me most, though, was that while I was in Saudi Arabia, a Muslim socialist won the mayor’s seat in the financial capital of the world, New York City. Three different Saudis during the trip (including a Syrian security worker at the venue who had fled Bashar al-Assad&#8217;s regime) asked me some version of the same question: “What on earth are you Americans doing electing Mamdani? He’s crazy.” This, again, from inside the very center of Islam. And even they aren’t at all sold on the politics that Zohran Mamdani represents.
My insight is anecdotal, but the friendships I’ve formed in Saudi Arabia reveal a people not so different from my own friends back home. They want peace. They want prosperity. They want their families to be happy. They want to travel. They want to have fun.
I asked them everything — about Israel, Islamic extremism, terrorism, drinking, drugs, dating, hating their boss, weekend plans, and which video games keep them up until 4:00 a.m.
Watching a group of young men in Riyadh blast pop music at 1:30 a.m. as they inched through a Dunkin’ Donuts drive-through, talking about girls and killing time, looked the same as you’d see in America. Different faiths, different cultures, same very human scene.
A handful of companies profit from global conflict. But 99.9% of businesses in a free-market economy — from Nike and Coca-Cola to Apple and Tesla — depend on global stability and rising disposable income. Peace is profitable.
In just a decade, Saudi Arabia has gone from a place many Americans fear to visit to a place I can’t recommend enough to go see. If that’s the result of “greedy capitalism,” then count me in.
Cory Pesaturo is a three-time World Champion accordionist and Guinness World Record holder who has performed on six continents and at the White House four times. In addition to giving five TEDx Talks, he is also active in the motorsports world, bringing his signature blend of innovation and artistry to audiences around the globe.
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The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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President Trump Makes First Middle East Trip Of His Second Term

Is Saudi Arabian Capitalism Bringing Peace To The Middle East?

Capitalism

Islam

Saudi Arabia

New York City’s Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has apparently discovered a new doctrine in municipal leadership: when a mob <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pro-palestinian-protesters-block-manhattan-synagogue-hurl-threats-anti-jewish-slurs?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Pro-Palestinian+Protesters+Block+Manhattan+Synagogue%2C+Hurl+Threats%2C+Anti-Jewish+Slurs">surrounds a synagogue</a>, blocks Jews from entering, screams “Death to the IDF,” “Globalize the Intifada,” and unloads every antisemitic slur in the book — the real issue isn’t the mob. No, according to Mamdani, the real problem is the synagogue’s “violation of international law.”
Welcome to the Mamdani School of Moral Inversion.
Park East Synagogue — led by 95-year-old Holocaust survivor Rabbi Arthur Schneier — hosted a perfectly legal informational event run by Nefesh B’Nefesh, which helps Jews immigrate to Israel. For this crime, a mob of pro-Palestinian activists declared themselves judge, jury, and street-corner executioners, braying about intifada while hurling obscenities at Jews trying to enter a house of worship.
But Mamdani’s press secretary issued <a href="https://jewishinsider.com/2025/11/mamdani-park-east-synagogue-protest/?utm">this statement</a> from the mayor-elect: “The Mayor-elect has discouraged the language used at last night’s protest and will continue to do so. He believes every New Yorker should be free to enter a house of worship without intimidation, and that these sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law.”
When pressed, his office explained that the “international law” being violated is — wait for it — helping Jews move to Israel, which they said amounts to promoting “settlement activity beyond the Green Line.”
So a 95-year-old Holocaust survivor hosts an informational evening, a mob surrounds his synagogue screaming for intifada, and Mamdani’s instinct is not to condemn the mob but to reach for his imaginary pocket Constitution of the International Criminal Court and imply that the synagogue had it coming.
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This is moral absurdity dressed up in pseudo-legal jargon. Mamdani has somehow weaponized “international law” as a rhetorical air freshener to cover the stench of refusing to forthrightly condemn a crowd that literally blocked Jews from a synagogue while shouting violent slogans.
But hey, he “discourages” the language.
Meanwhile, real leaders had no trouble saying what anyone with functional eyesight saw. Mayor Eric Adams called the mob “sick and warped.”
Mamdani’s response signals exactly what New Yorkers can expect: when antisemitism erupts, he’ll open his international law textbook, clear his throat, and explain why the Jews need to examine their role in being targeted.

Zohran Mamdani

A Mob Targets Jews — And Mamdani Targets The Synagogue

Pro-Palestinian

Synagogue

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