An ally, a true friend, is someone upon whom you can depend in times of crisis, especially when under attack. Throughout history, alliances have been formed on the basis of mutual support and protection. Yet, one could strongly argue that no administration in the history of the United States has left its allies in such a vulnerable position as the Biden-Harris administration.
Iran, no longer content to merely act through its proxies, has taken direct and aggressive action against America’s long-term ally, Israel, by attacking not only Israel but, through its proxies and militias, U.S. troops in the region more than 160 times just since October 2023 — whenever it deems fit. Iran-backed Hamas terrorists murdered 43 Americans in their October 7, 2023 invasion of Israel.
The rapacity of Iran’s regime, which apparently feels free to launch attacks on U.S. troops at will — especially after enjoying massive amounts of US generosity — is breathtaking.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) expressed concerns that $1 billion in U.S. assistance fell into the hands of Hamas, accusing the Biden administration in an Oct. 9 letter of providing the aid despite “indisputable evidence” that it was “always at high risk of diversion” to the Gaza-based terrorist group.
“I write to raise grave concerns about the likely misuse of more than one billion dollars in U.S. humanitarian aid sent to Gaza since October 2023,” Cotton wrote.
Cotton called on Samantha Power, the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), to suspend the funding based on “credible reporting” that Hamas takes all the aid for itself.
He referred specifically to USAID’s Sept. 30 decision to provide $336 million in additional humanitarian funding for Arabs in Gaza and Judea and Samaria, noting that the announcement came on the same day that the United Nations acknowledged that a Hamas leader killed in Lebanon worked for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.
UNRWA, the senator noted, is “a major USAID partner” and after Oct. 7 “remains a chief conduit for UN humanitarian assistance in Gaza despite extensive evidence of its ties to Hamas.
“In all likelihood, the Biden-Harris administration has prolonged the Gaza war, allowed aid to flow to Israel’s enemies, and misused taxpayer funds,” Cotton said.
Four IDF soldiers were killed and seven were severely injured in the incident in which a UAV exploded in Binyamina, it was cleared for publication overnight Sunday.
The four soldiers have been named as: Sergeant Omri Tamari, 19 years old from Mazkeret Batya; Sergeant Yosef Hieb, 19, from Tuba-Zangariyye; Sergeant Yoav Agmon, 19, from Binyamina; and Sergeant Alon Amitay, 19, from Ramot Naftali.
All were soldiers in infantry training at the Golani Training Base in the Golani Brigade.
The UAV, which was launched by the Hezbollah terrorist organization, directly hit the dining room at the Golani divisional training base, while dozens of recent recruits were inside eating dinner.
In all, 51 soldiers were injured in the incident, including nine in moderate condition. The rest are in light condition. All the injured individuals have been evacuated to hospitals and their families have been notified.
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said, “The incident is being examined. The IDF shares in the grief of the bereaved families and will continue to accompany them.”
Magen David Adom said on Sunday night that it treated a total of 61 victims, among them three in serious condition, 18 in moderate condition and 31 in light condition. Nine were treated for anxiety.
Rescue teams tended to the wounded and evacuated them to hospitals. Some of the wounded were airlifted to hospitals in central Israel.
Seven victims were evacuated to Laniado Hospital in Netanya, including five mildly injured and two who suffered from anxiety.
Six were evacuated to Haemek Hospital in Afula, including four mildly injured and two who suffered from anxiety.
10 victims were evacuated to Hillel Yaffe Hospital in Hadera, five them in moderate condition and five who were mildly injured, three were taken to Rambam Hospital in Haifa (one in critical condition, one in moderate condition, and one in mild condition), three in serious condition were taken to Sheba Hospital, two people who suffered from anxiety were evacuated to Carmel Hospital in Haifa.
Three people who suffered from anxiety were taken to Bnei Zion Hospital in Haifa, and three victims were evacuated to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, among them two in moderate condition and one in mild condition.
MDA Paramedic Aviv Cohen, who was at the scene, said, "We arrived at the scene in large numbers from Magen David Adom, the injured were brought to us, and we began evacuating them via IDF helicopters and ambulances to hospitals. There was a lot of commotion at the scene, and it was a serious event, but we managed to evacuate the injured quickly to hospital for continued medical care."
MDA paramedic Rafi Sheva reported, "This was a very difficult scene; we declared it a mass casualty event and treated patients suffering from blast injuries and shrapnel. The injuries were severe, and we evacuated the injured to hospitals as quickly as possible for further medical treatment."
Eyewitnesses reported that no siren was sounded before the UAV exploded. The IAF is investigating why an alert was not sounded. This is the highest number of casualties in a single event since Hamas’ October 7, 2023 massacre.
An initial investigation revealed that the UAV was not detected by the detection systems, did not activate a single warning, and no attempts were made to intercept it. A siren that was activated at 7:00 p.m. in Talmei Elazar, near the scene of the incident, was not related to the UAV incident, and was activated due to the interception of a different UAV.
The IDF says that the UAV did not launch missiles and it was not an Iranian-made UAV. Some reports said the UAV was a “Ziyad 107” type drone which had a flight range of about 100 km.
UAVs of this type penetrated Israel's airspace dozens of times throughout the war and caused damage to sites and buildings.
Almost immediately after the Hamas-led Palestinian invasion of Israel last Oct. 7, the Biden-Harris administration began demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu present his “day after” plan for Gaza. Netanyahu insisted that the day after had to wait until the war was won.
But over time, Netanyahu began explaining the contours of his post-war plans. They included the de-Hamasification of Gaza and permanent Israeli military control over Gaza. Since genocidal Jew-hatred and the goal of annihilating Israel is shared by Hamas and the U.S.-supported Palestinian Authority, Netanyahu insisted the P.A. cannot succeed Hamas in running Gaza.
The Biden-Harris administration didn’t like Netanyahu’s plans. But since they made sense to the vast majority of Israelis, and because 80% of Americans consistently told pollsters that they supported Israeli victory, rather than fight Netanyahu, the administration maintained an outward stance of supporting Israel while using the U.S.’s formidable leverage over Israel to inhibit or block Israel from carrying out operations that would fundamentally change the strategic reality on the ground permanently, enabling the implementation of Netanyahu’s “day after” plans. (And save Israeli lives, ed.)
Paul McCartney, 82, was photographed attending Yom Kippur services at a synagogue in Santiago, Chile, alongside his wife. The former Beatle was seen wearing a kippah during the Yom Kippur prayer services.
The photos captured the legendary musician participating in the services. McCartney, who previously performed in Israel in 2008 despite BDS boycott pressures, was later honored with the Wolf Prize in 2018.
The Wolf Prize is an international award granted in Israel, that has been presented most years since 1978 to living scientists and artists for “achievements in the interest of mankind and friendly relations among people ... irrespective of nationality, race, color, religion, sex or political views.
Syrian rebels are attacking a position held by pro-Iranian militias. This front is heating up after threats were made for the pro-Iranian militias to leave the country.
The following account is based on the memoirs of Rabbi Moshe Segal (1904-1985), a Lubavitcher Chassid who was active in the struggle to free the Holy Land from British rule.
In those years, the Western Wall did not have the large plaza we know today. There was a narrow alley for the Jews to pray, squeezed between the sacred stones of the Kotel and the Arab houses of the Mughrabi Quarter.
The British Mandatory government had imposed strict regulations, forbidding even the smallest sign of permanent sanctity. No Torah ark. No tables or benches. Not even a stool. The Jewish worshippers who gathered in the alley faced rules that seemed designed not just to limit their physical space, but to humiliate them at the very heart of their faith, at their holiest place of worship.
The prohibitions ran deep. Jews were forbidden to pray aloud, lest their voices disturb the Arab residents living nearby. Torah readings were exiled from the Kotel to the synagogues of the Jewish Quarter, as if the word of God could not be voiced at His most sacred site. And the sound of the shofar — symbol of Israel’s redemption and sovereignty — was silenced on the holiest days of the Jewish year. British policemen stood watch, enforcing these edicts with cold efficiency.
Give Me a Shofar!
It was Yom Kippur, 1930. I was standing among the worshippers at the Kotel, the air thick with the solemnity of the day. Between the Musaf and Minchah prayers, I overheard whispered conversations. “Where will we go to hear the shofar?” someone asked. “It is impossible to blow here. The police are everywhere — more of them than us…”
Even the police commander was present, to make sure that the Jews would not, God forbid, sound the blast that marks the close of the fast.
As I listened, a quiet resolve began to stir within me. Could we truly allow the shofar to be silenced? The shofar that proclaims God’s sovereignty over all creation? The shofar that blasts out the promise of Israel’s redemption? True, the custom of blowing the shofar at the end of Yom Kippur is just that — a custom. But a Jewish custom is Torah!
I approached Rabbi Yitzchak Horenstein, the rabbi of our ‘congregation’ and said quietly, “Give me a shofar.”
“What for?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.
“I will blow the shofar.”
His gaze flickered toward the policemen standing nearby. “What are you talking about? Don’t you see them?”
“I will blow,” I repeated.
Rabbi Horenstein turned away abruptly, but not before casting a quick glance toward the prayer stand at the end of the alley. I understood his unspoken message: the shofar was inside the stand.
As the time for blowing the shofar approached, I moved toward the prayer stand. My heart raced. I leaned casually against the stand, my fingers finding the drawer. Quietly, I opened it and slipped the shofar beneath my shirt. It was mine now. But what if they saw me before I had the chance to blow?
I was still unmarried at the time, and following the Ashkenazic custom, did not wear a tallit. I turned to the man praying beside me. “May I borrow your tallit?” I asked, my voice low but urgent. He looked at me with confusion. My request must have seemed strange to him, but the Jews are a kind people, especially at the holiest moments of the holiest day. Without a word, he handed me his tallit.
I wrapped the tallit around me, feeling its warmth and protection. Beneath its folds, I felt as though I had created my own private domain. Outside, a foreign government prevailed, ruling over the people of Israel even on their holiest day and at their holiest place, and we are not free to serve our God. But under this tallit, I was under no dominion save that of my Father in Heaven. Here I shall do as He commands me; and no force on earth will stop me.
As the congregation reached the final words of the Ne'ilah prayer — “Shema Yisrael,” “Blessed be the Name,” “The Eternal is God” — I took a deep breath. With one swift motion, I lifted the shofar and blew a long, resounding blast that echoed against the ancient stones.
American officials believe Israel has narrowed down the list of targets it will strike in retaliation for Iran's massive ballistic missile attack two weeks ago and will not strike any of Iran's nuclear facilities, NBC News reported.
According to the report, Israel is planning to strike Iranian military and energy infrastructure sites. However, a final decision on which sites to strike has not yet been made.
On October 1, Iran launched 181 ballistic missiles at Israel in the largest ballistic missile attack in history. The vast majority of the missiles were intercepted, though the attack sent millions of Israelis into bomb shelters.
US President Joe Biden has stated or hinted at his opposition to Israel striking Iran's nuclear facilities or fields. The day after Iran's attack, Biden stated, “The answer is no," in response to a reporter's question about whether he would support an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear sites. He added that while Israel has the right to respond to the attack, it should do so “proportionally” without elaborating on what that means.
At another press briefing, Biden stated, "If I were in their shoes, I'd be thinking about other alternatives than striking oilfields."
Sources have told CNN that Tehran is "extremely nervous and has been engaging in urgent diplomatic efforts with countries in the Middle East" to determine whether it is possible to either reduce the scope of Israel's response or to garner aid in protecting Tehran.
The source added that Iran is very concerned about Israel's relation due to the "uncertainty about whether the US can convince Israel not to strike Iranian nuclear sites and oil facilities," as well as from the blows that Hezbollah, Iran's most powerful proxy in the Middle East, has sustained in Israel's operation in southern Lebanon.
According to secret documents reviewed by The New York Times, Hamas had originally intended to launch the October 7 attack, codenamed “the big project,” in the fall of 2022. However, the plan was delayed as Hamas sought to secure the involvement of Iran and Hezbollah in the operation.
The documents indicate that Hamas leaders cited Israel’s internal instability, likely referencing the political upheaval surrounding Prime Minister Netanyahu’s controversial judicial overhaul, as a key reason for advancing a strategic confrontation. In July 2023, Hamas sent a senior official to Lebanon to meet with a high-ranking Iranian commander, requesting assistance in targeting sensitive sites as part of the planned assault.
While Iran and Hezbollah expressed general support for the operation, the Iranian commander indicated they needed more time to fully prepare. The documents do not specify the extent of the plans shared with these allies, but they do reveal that Hamas intended to provide more details at a follow-up meeting with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. It remains unclear whether that meeting took place.
Despite the uncertainty of full participation from Iran and Hezbollah, Hamas decided to move forward independently, partly to preempt Israel from deploying a new advanced air-defense system. Another factor driving the decision was Hamas’s desire to disrupt the growing momentum toward normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
In the two years leading up to the attack, Hamas deliberately avoided significant escalations with Israel in order to maintain the element of surprise. Leaders stressed the importance of making Israel believe that Hamas in Gaza sought peace. The documents further reveal that Ismail Haniyeh, a key Hamas figure, had been briefed on the plan. It had not been previously confirmed whether Haniyeh, who was killed by Israel in Tehran in July, was aware of the attack before it occurred.
A new report from researchers at George Washington University has highlighted Vice President Kamala Harris’s interaction with an Iranian-born cleric with close ties to the Iranian government, raising concerns over Iranian influence in the U.S. The report details a 2021 meeting between Harris and Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi, a figure with longstanding connections to Iran’s regime, at a Detroit vaccination event.
During the encounter, Elahi, who once led the Iranian Navy’s political office and has expressed allegiance to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and Hezbollah, spoke with Harris and praised the administration’s efforts in combating COVID-19.
This meeting is part of a broader study by GWU’s Program on Extremism that claims Iran is spreading its ideological reach into the U.S. through figures like Elahi. His organization, the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn, Michigan, has received significant funding from the Alavi Foundation, a group previously accused of serving as an Iranian front. Researchers point out that the foundation has invested millions in U.S.-based religious and educational institutions, with ties extending into anti-Israel activism on American campuses.
Harris’s connection with Elahi, captured in photographs, underscores the report’s assertion that Iran’s reach extends into high-level American networks. The researchers indicate that through such interactions, Iran’s influence may impact American political discourse, especially on sensitive issues like Middle Eastern policy. The report has sparked calls from some officials for greater scrutiny of potential Iranian influences in the United States, especially regarding figures who maintain connections with American political leaders.
Jeremy Loffredo, 28, an independent American journalist, was arrested by police on suspicion of endangering national security after reporting on where missiles landed in the attack launched by Iran earlier this month including in the IDF's Nevatim Air Base and an intelligence base in central Israel.
In his report, Loffredo said that attacks on Gaza were launched from the Nevatim base and said that government's private jet used by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was located there.
The charges against him include aiding the enemy during wartime and providing information to the enemy.
His arrest has raised concerns of a potential diplomatic incident between Israel and the U.S. because of his status as a foreign journalist. Representatives from the U.S. Embassy attended the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court for a hearing on the request of the police to extend his detention.
Sheltered housing facility in Herzliya hit by drone over Yom Kippur
The IDF reported Saturday evening that approximately 320 rockets and projectiles were fired from Lebanon into Israel by the Hezbollah terrorist group over the Yom Kippur weekend.
Incoming air raid sirens were triggered in towns in the Galilee, Acre, Safed, Haifa and the surrounding bay area, sending over a million Israelis to seek shelter over the holiday.
In addition, a drone from Syria exploded over the Golan Heights. On the eve of Yom Kippur, two drones penetrated Israeli airspace from central Lebanon, with one hitting a sheltered housing facility in Herzliya. Two more rockets were fired Saturday from northern Gaza, hitting Ashkelon.
Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon killed 22 people on Friday, and the IDF began evacuating 23 additional communities in southern Lebanon. Two UNIFIL peacekeepers were injured by Israeli fire, sparking international condemnation, with global leaders calling it a "serious violation by Israel." U.S. President Joe Biden urged Israel to cease actions that harm UN personnel. In separate incidents, two Lebanese soldiers were killed in Israeli strikes.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pressed Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to shift from military operations in Lebanon to a diplomatic path.
Meanwhile, fighting continues in northern Gaza, where dozens were killed in Jabaliya. The IDF has called on residents of neighboring Gaza City to evacuate their homes.
The U.S. announced expanded sanctions on Iran's oil industry following the Islamic Republic's ballistic missile strike on Israel at the beginning of the month. Reports suggest Iran is "extremely concerned" about Israel's potential response. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris reiterated her stance, saying, "I will never allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons."
Iran announced on Saturday that the body of the Quds Force commander for Lebanon and Syria, Abbas Nilforoushan, who was killed alongside Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut's Dahieh district, was found.
The Israel Land Authority (ILA) is seizing the land of UNRWA's headquarters in Jerusalem, in order to build 1,440 housing units.
As the extent of UNRWA and its employees' collaboration in the massacre at Gaza border communities by Hamas and their role in providing assistance for murder, kidnapping, and more continues to be revealed, a significant step has been taken for the first time against the refugee agency.
According to information released to the public today, the entire UNRWA area in Ma'alot Dafna, Jerusalem, is slated to become a housing project with 1,440 units, and the project is in its preparatory stages. It should be noted that over the past year, families of kidnapped civilians and fallen IDF soldiers, alongside organizations such as "Im Tirtzu" and others, have protested in front of the UNRWA headquarters in Jerusalem, demanding the closure of the agency's office, which has operated in the city without interference.
Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA's Commissioner-General, warned the UN Security Council yesterday (Wednesday) about the possible consequences of an Israeli bill that seeks to ban the agency's activities in Israel: "Legislation to end our operations is ready for final adoption by the Israeli Knesset. It seeks to ban UNRWA's presence and operations in the territory of Israel, revoking its privileges and immunities, in violation of international law. If the bills are adopted, the consequences will be severe."
"Operationally, the entire humanitarian response in Gaza – which rests on UNRWA's infrastructure – may disintegrate", added Lazzarini.
מה יעשו לוחמי צה"ל שהתפקיד מחייב אותם לשתות בצום? ▪︎ לרב קאפ פתרונים
מאות רבות של לוחמים דתיים שתפקידם מחייב אותם שלא לצום, ייאלצו לשתות מים בשיעורים. מי ששוב היה הראשון לחשוב על הלוחמים, היה כרגיל *הרב אברהם קאפ* מבית שמש - יו"ר ארגון החסד *'עזרת אחים'* שדאג לחלק מאות ערכות 'מים בשיעורים' לחיילים הזקוקים לכך ע"מ שיוכלו להעביר את הצום כהילכתו.
צפו בלוחמים הצדיקים שמודים לרב קאפ ולארגון שבראשות
Who ever thought that world leadership could come from Canada? Not from hopeless bimbo Justin Trudeau, of course, but from Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre.
This week Poilievre made sensible comments about the situation in the Middle East. Not least about the evil colonial regime that has set the region on fire: the revolutionary Islamic government in Iran.
The Canadian media tried to make Poilievre back down. But then Poilievre showed even more leadership.
He replied: “I think the idea of allowing a genocidal, theocratic, unstable dictatorship that is desperate to avoid being overthrown by its own people to develop nuclear weapons is about the most dangerous and irresponsible thing that the world could ever allow. If Israel were to stop that genocidal, theocratic, unstable government from acquiring nuclear weapons, it would be a gift by the Jewish state to humanity.”
The current Canadian government and media are probably on life support from hearing such truths.
But what Poilievre said was absolutely true.
Just imagine if the American government could show such leadership.
The US government has been calling for a “cease-fire” ever since the Hamas massacre of October 7 and Hezbollah joining in the war on October 8.
But why should there be a cease-fire? If 44,000 Americans had been slaughtered in the most barbaric fashion in a single day and 10,000 further Americans taken hostage (which it would be by proportion of population), I would expect the American Army to tear up the Earth to punish the perpetrators and destroy any regime that was behind them.
And if America’s allies spent every following day saying that America should exercise “restraint” and have a “cease-fire,” I would expect them to be ignored, and more.
Yet for the past year, every Israeli victory has occurred in spite of the insistence of the Biden-Harris administration.
Biden-Harris tried to stop the Israelis going into Gaza with full force to destroy Hamas and get the hostages home.
They told the Israelis not to go into Gaza City and not to go into the Hamas command center that was the Shifa “hospital.”
They told the Israelis not to pursue Hamas in Khan Younis or Rafah. And then they called for restraint and “cease-fire” when Israel went after another Iranian army — Hezbollah in Lebanon.
They told Israel not to be “proportionate” and then not to act. Biden-Harris said the Israelis must be precise in their use of weaponry and then expressed concern about the anti-Hezbollah pager attack.
An attack that wounded 3,000 Hezbollah terrorists and will go down in history as the most precise attack on any terrorist group.
For the past month, Israel has had victory after victory against Hezbollah. That terror group fired over 10,000 missiles at Israel in the past year, forcing thousands of Israeli families from their homes.
Then after the pager attack and the walkie-talkie attack, the IDF took out most of Hezbollah’s missile arsenal and killed most of its leadership, including the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
There was mild support for this after the fact from President Biden. But none of the thanks that should have gone to an ally who finally avenged the killing of 241 American servicemen by Hezbollah in 1983.
I spent part of this week on the Lebanese border, where Hezbollah is still firing missiles at Israel. In one afternoon, I watched Hezbollah fire hundreds of missiles over my head, and at one point at one of the towns, Safed, which I was in. I saw the houses that were hit and the families that were destroyed.
Now that Hamas and Hezbollah have been degraded, Iran is running out of front groups. So twice in recent months they have fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel direct from Iranian territory.
No people on Earth could live like this. But still the American government says that it is Israel that should “step back from the brink.”
Well, sorry — but the revolutionary government in Iran long ago went over the brink. What is needed now is allyship with Israel and unity against the theocrats in Iran.
Since 1979, the ayatollahs have not only imprisoned the Iranian people. They have also regarded Israel as the “Little Satan” and America as the “Great Satan.”
It is “Death to America” that they chant at Friday prayers in Iran and put on the sides of the missiles that they parade through their streets.
Why should Israel have to fight alone against this regime of death? And why should it be Israel alone that should try to stop the mullahs in their search for a nuclear bomb?
If people enjoy what the ayatollahs have done before achieving nuclear weapons, then they will love what they would do if they ever get them.
After the latest barrage from Iran and Lebanon, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, “The Iranian attack was aggressive but inaccurate.
“In contrast, our attack will be deadly, pinpoint accurate, and most importantly, surprising. They will not know what happened or how it happened.”
Once again the American government is urging restraint on Israel. But why? If Israel bombs Iran’s oil fields, it they could cripple the Iranian economy and certainly cause global oil price movement.
But why did the Biden-Harris administration reverse President Donald Trump’s policy, which had the mullahs bankrupt and on their knees?
Today the mullahs are riding roughshod across the region. Attacks like those from Hamas and Hezbollah have been made possible by Biden-Harris gifting them billions of dollars.
Any ordinary government might use such a bonanza to help their people. Not the theocratic fascists in Iran. They have used it to spread terror and get nukes.
So yes — Canada’s Poilievre is right. And the government in Washington is wrong. It is time to cripple the mullahs and prevent them from ever adding a nuclear weapon to their terror arsenal.
If Israel goes it alone, then Biden-Harris will probably condemn them. But the region — and the wider world — will soon thank them.
