Pentagon’s New Strategy Elevates Israel as “Model Ally,” Revives “Peace Through Strength”

 The Pentagon has unveiled its 2026 National Defense Strategy, marking a sharp doctrinal shift toward a “peace through strength” posture that elevates Israel as a central U.S. strategic partner, prioritizes homeland defense, and places unprecedented demands on allies to shoulder more of the global security burden.

The 34-page document, signed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, represents one of the most consequential resets of U.S. defense policy in years — formalizing the Trump administration’s post-October 7 Middle East strategy, codifying the results of recent military campaigns against Iran, and signaling a more transactional approach to alliances in Europe and beyond.

Iran protests death toll hits more than 31,000 as Trump sent 'all-out war' message

 Devastating new data from Iran's deadly protests has exposed that a staggering 33,000 people have lost their lives as the oppressive government intensifies its suppression of the nation's revolt.

Earlier assessments had indicated that between 16,500 and 18,000 deaths occurred during the first two weeks of turmoil; however, that number has now climbed to approximately 31,100. These alarming figures emerge as Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's administration issued threats of war should the US intervene in response to the country's situation.

The Iranian demonstrations began across multiple cities on December 28 last year, initially fueled by anger over soaring inflation, food costs and the plummeting value of the currency. Starting with shopkeepers and merchants protesting at Tehran's Grand Bazaar, who were subsequently joined by university students, the unrest quickly expanded to other major urban centers.

The government has responded with a savage and ruthless crackdown, resulting in nearly 100,000 injuries and thousands of fatalities, reports the Daily Star.

A source connected with protest movements in Iran characterized the casualties as a 'genocide'. They said: "The latest figures are off the scale. This was genocide."

In addition to the fatalities, 97,645 individuals have sustained injuries, with 30 per cent suffering eye trauma, according to research conducted by Prof Amir-Mobarez Parasta.

The German-Iranian ophthalmologist and human rights advocate also stated that the government was carrying out executions of protesters - despite warnings from US President Donald Trump. Hospital records revealed that 468 individuals were executed in Tehran alone, with over 500 additional deaths occurring in other parts of the nation.

Trump has announced that a US 'armada' is en route to the Middle East and stated that Washington is closely monitoring Iran.

The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, accompanied by several guided-missile destroyers, continues its deployment toward the Middle East. US military commanders at Centcom are reportedly developing strategic plans and are believed to have reached Israel.

However, an Iranian official warned that the country would regard any attack "as an all-out war against us".

Yesterday, more than 100 demonstrators assembled outside Downing Street, urging the UK Government to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Israeli Guinness Record Attempt for Kidney Donors

 More than 1,000 people gathered overnight at Jerusalem’s International Convention Center to attempt a Guinness World Record for the largest number of kidney donors in a single photo, marking 2,000 Israeli kidney donations.

After initially boycotting Israel, Guinness World Records sent representatives to review the event for inclusion in the 2027 book. President Isaac Herzog said the moment exposed the hypocrisy of boycotts over saving lives.

The event was organized by the nonprofit Matnat Chaim, which promotes voluntary kidney donation to save lives

It took Satmar 75 Years to Find out that protests don't work !

It took the death of a Satmar Bocher for Satmar to come to its senses! Two weeks ago when the young Litvishe Bochur got killed by a bus driver, that didn't stop Satmar from protesting! But when it hit home, then they came to their senses! 

The Satmar Rebbe issued a dramatic and unprecedented directive on Motzei Shabbos instructing all Satmar chassidim in Israel to refrain from participating in protests, following the deaths of two young yeshiva students during recent demonstrations.

The directive comes after the killing of Yosef Eisenthal, z’l, and Naftali Tzvi Kramer, z’l, who were struck by Israeli bus drivers during or after protest activity.

The incidents sent shockwaves through the charedi community and intensified concerns over the safety of protest participants.

During a chizzuk address delivered at his vacation residence in Palm Springs, California, the Rebbe spoke about the growing dangers surrounding the demonstrations.

He warned that the situation on the ground has deteriorated to the point where it now poses a real threat to life.

The Rebbe stressed that the preservation of human life must take priority above all else.

He said there is no justification for placing yeshiva students and avreichim in circumstances that could lead to serious harm or tragedy.

Reckless Chardeidie Parents allow their 6 year-old to smoke !

 There are videos of this child smoking right in front of his mother, and she encourages him! 

This reckless behavior is what is causing the killing of their Children and teenagers at the protests and what caused the Meron Tragedy! 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mazel tov group (@mazel_tov_group_)

Berlin Rabbi Reuben Yaakobov 49 father of four Convicted of Sexually assault ..did it to 32 other women

 A Berlin district court has found a rabbi guilty of “sexual assault and sexual coercion by exploiting a moment of surprise,” a misdemeanor under German law.

The criminal case was brought by the Berlin public prosecutor and by one of multiple women who have accused the rabbi of a range of sexual abuses dating back almost two decades. Anyone with a complaint may press charges, Michael Petzold, a press spokesman for the public prosecutor, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Many of the women — including the co-plaintiff in this case — have said they thought they were his only victim, until news reports emerged following his firing by the Jewish community in Berlin on June 1, 2023. 

The saga proved significant because it marked a rare instance of a rabbinic firing by an organized Jewish community in Germany. It also initiated a new openness to discussing abuse allegations within the community.

Iranian Source Claims Jews Taken Hostage by Regime

 

An Iranian source reports that in the cities of Kerman, Yazd, and Isfahan, several Jewish residents have been taken hostage by the regime and threatened with property confiscation and severe imprisonment.

Why it’s possible to slightly lower the level of panic of Iranian bombing Israel

 At the start of Operation Rising Lion in June, Iran was operating at 100% of its launch capabilities. The operation ended with 33 fatalities in Israel. Since then, Iran’s launch capability has been significantly reduced

Without minimizing any loss of life, Israel possesses what is likely the best and most effective air-defense system in the world — and I don’t use superlatives lightly.

 An interception rate close to 90% is almost unimaginable, and certainly unprecedented on a global scale when facing ballistic missile launches of this magnitude.

Beyond that, most potential launches from Iran are prevented in advance by proactive Israeli Air Force strikes — often before the launches even take place, and sometimes before the missiles or launchers are deployed in the field (there is clear data on this, though we won’t go into it here).

In addition, even though the Iranians have improved in this area since the attacks in April and October 2024, they still suffer a significant failure rate of roughly 20%–30% of the ballistic missiles fired toward Israel.

Finally, any missiles that do get through encounter our protected rooms and shelters. These are so effective that even if a missile with a half-ton warhead lands about 10 meters away — or even closer — there is still a good chance that those inside a protected room or shelter will survive.

In other words, your building — and even your apartment — could take a direct hit from an Iranian missile with a fairly large warhead, and you would still have a reasonable chance of surviving.

*Bottom line:* Israel is not alone. Follow Home Front Command instructions, and your chances of being harmed will be very low.

China arming Iran to Fight Israel!

Although reports of up to 16 Chinese military cargo aircraft landing in Iran surfaced more than five  days ago, their implications continue to ripple. 

If accurate, the sustained airlift points to deeper Chinese involvement behind the scenes, quietly reshaping the balance around Iran and Israel. 

The silence since then may be the most telling signal of all.

DIN"s Night Out In Tel Aviv

 

In this week's Parshas Bo there is an interesting Rashi that I never really understood until this past Thursday night when I spent the evening in Tel Aviv! 

Moshe Rabbeinu tells the Jewish people by the 10th and final plague, not to leave their homes:

וּלְקַחְתֶּ֞ם אֲגֻדַּ֣ת אֵז֗וֹב וּטְבַלְתֶּם֮ בַּדָּ֣ם אֲשֶׁר־בַּסַּף֒ וְהִגַּעְתֶּ֤ם אֶל־הַמַּשְׁקוֹף֙ וְאֶל־שְׁתֵּ֣י הַמְּזוּזֹ֔ת מִן־הַדָּ֖ם אֲשֶׁ֣ר בַּסָּ֑ף וְאַתֶּ֗ם לֹ֥א תֵצְא֛וּ אִ֥ישׁ מִפֶּֽתַח־בֵּית֖וֹ עַד־בֹּֽקֶר׃

“You shall take a bundle of hyssop, dip it into the blood that is in the basin, and apply it to the lintel and to the two doorposts from the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the entrance of his house until morning.

Rashi comments that if a Jew was in an Egyptian home that night, he would nevertheless be saved and would not die

הֲרֵי שֶׁהָיָה יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּבֵיתוֹ שֶׁל מִצְרִי, שׁוֹמֵעַ אֲנִי יִלְקֶה כְמוֹתוֹ, תַּ"לֹ "וְלֹא יִהְיֶה בָכֶם נֶגֶף" (מכילתא)

Let’s walk through this Rashi slowly.

Rashi describes a Jew so distant from his roots that he ignores Moshe Rabbeinu’s explicit command to stay inside on this critical night. Not only does he disregard the instruction—he’s out socializing with his Egyptian neighbor. In other words, he doesn’t believe a word Moshe is saying in the name of Hashem. And yet, Rashi says, he will still be saved, even though he is not inside a protected home marked with blood to identify it as Jewish.

I never fully understood that… until last Thursday night in Tel Aviv.

A supporter of the kollel where I learn donated a Sefer Torah to a shul in the heart of Tel Aviv, just around the corner from Dizengoff—an area where the clubs and bars stay open all night. They set up a tent to write the final letters, and then the entire ten‑block radius was closed to traffic. Cars and buses were stopped in place, including buses packed with people, for two hours.

When the music began, something incredible happened. People— who are so far removed from Yiddishkeit that many had never seen a Hachnasas Sefer Torah in their lives—poured out of restaurants, clubs, and bars. They clapped, they joined the dancing, they watched with fascination. Passengers from the stopped buses ran out to see what was happening. Not a single person complained.

Then the singer suddenly called out, “Shema Yisrael!” and “Hashem Hu HaElokim!” People closed their eyes, tears streaming down their faces, and repeated those holy words. In my entire life, I have rarely witnessed something so moving

And in that moment, Rashi made perfect sense. Hashem is not mevater on a single Jewish neshama—not even one who believes in nothing, not even one in a bar in Tel Aviv.

Hashem loves them just as deeply as He loves those learning in kollel. And when the final redemption comes, the Jews in the bars and clubs of Tel Aviv will be saved and uplifted together with the Jews in Bnei Brak and Yerushalayim

Charedim who hate and vilify Zionists will learn that Hashem loves Zionists dearly as they are the ones getting credit for beautifying Hashem's gift to Klall Yisrael , a country built , Leshem Ultiferes

The tragedy by the plague of darkness was

לֹֽא־רָא֞וּ אִ֣ישׁ אֶת־אָחִ֗יו

When one doesn't see their brother, then you have darkness

Let's pray that there should be light in all of Klall Yisrael

וּֽלְכׇל־בְּנֵ֧י יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל הָ֥יָה א֖וֹר בְּמוֹשְׁבֹתָֽם׃