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In-Depth Issues:
Israel Prevented Many Terror Threats Against Jews Abroad over the Past Year - Amichai Stein ( Jerusalem Post)
Israeli security agencies have thwarted dozens of plots against Israelis and Jews worldwide over the past year, a senior National Security Council official told the Jerusalem Post.
"There are many people who wake up in the morning and their entire mission is to promote attacks against Israelis and Jews around the world," the official said.
The effort involves Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force and intelligence bodies.
Planned Israel Sanctions "Threaten UK Security" - Camilla Turner ( Telegraph-UK)
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham's plans to sanction Israel risk jeopardizing British national security, Tom Tugendhat, a former security minister, has warned.
He said, "It's worth remembering that Israel is one of our most important intelligence partners, and has been for many, many years."
"I can tell you, as security minister, a lot of incidents did not happen because of co-operation with intelligence sources in Israel, who helped us to protect British people from terror attacks."
Britain should put "our own national interests and our own national security first, and that means that where we have friends and allies who provide us with intelligence in order to keep our citizens safe, we should work with them."
A Murder in New York Exposes the Sickness of America's Israel-Haters - Jake Wallis Simons ( Telegraph-UK)
On Aug. 31, Erin Piacenti, 32, a junior executive at Bank of America, was strolling home through Times Square in Manhattan on her first day back at the office after maternity leave. Her daughter, Madison, is five months old.
At West 42nd Street, Erin was approached by Pamela Cisneros, 49, an Ecuadorian American with mental health afflictions. Brandishing two kitchen knives, Cisneros, who had just knifed another pedestrian, stabbed Erin in the abdomen. A short time later, the young mother died in hospital.
Almost immediately, in some parts of social media, the killing was all about Israel. What?
Apparently, Erin's employer, Bank of America, had recently issued a "buy" recommendation for Israeli banks. Gaza activists had thus been trying to boycott the firm.
So that explains the killing of a woman with a small baby at home.
Israel and the Challenges of a Wartime Economy - Alex Brummer ( Jewish News-UK)
Despite the high fiscal costs and economic mayhem of running a wartime nation, Israel's economy is showing tremendous resilience.
According to the Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF), the annual forecast for Israel's output has it growing faster than all the richest G7 countries (including the U.S.).
Moreover, its ratio of debt to national output, projected at 70% this year, is lower than in most industrial nations.
Israeli Blood Test Can Detect Lung Cancer - Diana Bletter ( Times of Israel)
Israeli researchers have developed a simple, fast, $60 blood test for diagnosing lung cancer.
In peer-reviewed research of 103 participants, the test accurately identified 93% of stage 2-4 lung cancers while ruling out cancer in 90% of the healthy control group.
Israeli Firm Unveils Very-Very-High-Resolution Satellite - Dylan Malyasov ( Defence Blog-Poland)
Israeli satellite company ImageSat International unveiled the new EROS NOVA Earth observation satellite on Sep. 8, designed to capture imagery at a resolution of 25 cm., meaning objects roughly that size become distinguishable.
The company describes the resolution tier as Very-Very-High-Resolution, sitting above the high-resolution imagery typical of most commercial Earth observation satellites.
The satellite will also carry onboard artificial intelligence and processing hardware to analyze selected data while the satellite is still in orbit, rather than waiting for all of it to be downlinked to ground stations first.
ISI CEO Noam Segal said EROS NOVA "is designed to help intelligence organizations extract greater value from every collection and respond more rapidly to evolving operational needs, providing greater flexibility and a faster path from satellite collection to operational insight."
Photographic Secrets from the Arab-Israeli Battlefield in Israel's War of Independence - Lenny Ben-David ( Substack)
During Israel's War of Independence, 700 Jews were captured by the Transjordan Arab Legion in 1948, principally from Gush Etzion and Jerusalem's Jewish Quarter, with smaller groups from Gezer and Naharayim.
Many were civilians.
The 1948-49 POW photographs show tents, roll calls, medical treatment, women beside a Red Cross vehicle, Orthodox elders among kibbutzniks, and prisoners organizing a communal life behind barbed wire.
The writer, a former AIPAC official and Israeli diplomat, is a research fellow at the Jerusalem Center.
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
- Iran's Oil Revenues Are Drying Up, Stockpile outside Blockade May Run Out - Georgi Kantchev
Iran's oil export revenue is drying up as a U.S. naval blockade strangles shipments from the Persian Gulf and offshore stockpiles feeding China dwindle. The volume of Iranian crude already on vessels outside the blockade - a trove that is still generating revenue for Tehran - has fallen to 29 million barrels from 90 million barrels in mid-July and could run out in October, according to ship tracker Kpler. (Wall Street Journal)
- U.S. Offers $10 Million Reward for Iranian IRGC Cyber Chief Linked to Critical Infrastructure Attacks
The U.S. State Department's Rewards for Justice program has announced a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of Amir Yaryab, a senior official in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cyber-Electronic Command (IRGC-CEC).
These malicious cyber groups have conducted cyber and cyber-enabled information operations targeting critical infrastructure sectors including defense, news, shipping, travel (hotels and airlines), energy, and financial and telecommunications systems in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East. (U.S. State Department)
- Houthi Attacks Disrupt Saudi Energy Facilities, Wound 73 - Samy Magdy
A wave of Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia Tuesday wounded more than 70 people and ignited fires at several oil facilities and utilities in the kingdom's southern region, authorities said. Operations at the oil facilities and utilities were temporarily suspended. (AP-ABC News)
- Israel and the Falkland Islands Dispute - Freddy Gray
Drilling in the Sea Lion Field, in the North Falklands Basin, is due to begin in a matter of months and should rake in billions for the islands and the Israeli and British businesses that have invested in the project. In 1982, Britain won the Falklands War against Argentina.
However, Britain now only has one warship permanently assigned to the Atlantic, HMS Medway, and even at a pinch, the UK government could only call into action perhaps five battle-ready ships at short notice. This is the decline that Argentine President Javier Milei referred to in a televised address: "In the world, the winds are blowing favorably for our claim right now."
Israeli businesses stand to benefit most from the imminent Sea Lion exploration. Navitas Petroleum, an Israeli group, currently holds a 65% stake in the Sea Lion Field operations, while Rockhopper, a UK-based company (with significant Israeli interests), has 35%. Israeli officials insist their government has no ties, or loyalty, to the private exploration of the basin. (Spectator-UK)
News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
- Palestinian Stabs Israeli at Farm in Samaria - Emanuel Fabian
An Israeli man was seriously wounded in a stabbing attack at the Maoz Yehuda farm near the village of Osarin in Samaria on Monday. His Palestinian assailant, Mohammed Mohsen, 34, was killed by IDF troops after he tried to stab them during a manhunt. (Times of Israel)
See also Israeli Stabbing Victim Recounts Fighting Off Palestinian Attacker - Roy Rubinstein
Netanel Yaakobs, 19, described wrestling with the Palestinian who attacked him on Monday:
"I punched him, pushed him, he fell to the ground and I fell with him....The knife broke and only the blade was left. He tried to keep stabbing me with it. I got to him, choked him, and then he managed to escape toward his car....Then I saw that I was covered in blood and had stab wounds to my head, neck and hand." (Ynet News)
- Poll: Israelis Believe Oct. 7-Style Attack Possible from the West Bank - Aaron Glick
86% of Jewish Israelis believe that Palestinian Authority security forces could conduct a large-scale attack much like Hamas did on Oct. 7, 2023, according to a poll released by the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA) on Monday. 75% of Jewish Israelis oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state along the 1967 lines.
In a JCFA study released on July 15, Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch noted that PA security forces have grown to a size 133% larger than that permitted by the Oslo Accords, reaching a total of about 70,000 personnel, 40,000 more than the number allowed. Their arms include rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and shoulder-launched missiles. (Jerusalem Post)
See also The PA's Massive Army Threatens Millions of Israelis within 22 Kilometers - Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch (Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs)
Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis:
Iran
- Iran's Grip on Hormuz Is Eroding - Dr. Menahem Merhavy
According to recent U.S. estimates, 15 million barrels of Gulf oil are now leaving the region each day through the Strait of Hormuz and alternative export routes, representing a substantial recovery from the first months of the war.
To hit a moving tanker, Iran first has to find and track it, which depends on a functioning surveillance network. U.S. CENTCOM reported repeated strikes on coastal radar and surveillance sites. The result was not the complete destruction of Iranian surveillance, but a serious degradation of it.
The U.S. and Gulf exporters gradually reduced Iran's ability to detect, mine, and intimidate commercial shipping. What initially looked like an Iranian advantage became increasingly difficult to sustain.
The Revolutionary Guards may continue to speak as if Tehran holds the upper hand, but the leverage Iran gained by disrupting Hormuz is clearly diminishing.
Some commentary has transformed Iran's survival into evidence of victory. Iran had demonstrated striking resilience and, for a time, gained substantial leverage over the global economy. But resilience is not the same as dominance. Surviving an attack is not the same thing as winning a war.
The writer is a senior researcher in Islamic and Middle Eastern studies at the Truman Institute of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. (Jerusalem Post)
Hizbullah
- Israel's Seizure of Hizbullah's Ali al-Taher Fortress - Amal Chmouny
In the hills outside Nabatieh, the Ali al-Taher ridge was hollowed out by Hizbullah into a vast network of tunnels and underground complexes - command centers, weapons depots, and missile facilities - allowing Hizbullah to operate UAVs and missiles while sheltering fighters from aerial attacks.
Rising 600 meters above sea level north of the Litani River, Ali al-Taher commands strategic views across southeastern Lebanon. The Ali al-Taher compound was, in effect, an Iranian fortress. Iran's Revolutionary Guards spent years investing money and expertise in the complex.
"The fall of Ali al-Taher marked the collapse of the final defensive line protecting Hizbullah's last major stronghold in Iqlim al-Tuffah. It also meant the loss of the shield for Jabal al-Rihane, exposing Hizbullah's rear area," said retired Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) Gen. Fadi Daoud.
The Israeli campaign to capture Ali al-Taher was a methodical operation designed to suffocate Hizbullah's stronghold over time. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) systematically targeted Hizbullah supply routes to the underground complex with precision airstrikes and artillery. By choking off reinforcements and supplies, Israel forced the defenders to ration resources and limited their ability to rotate personnel.
Israeli small-unit raids and probing attacks then tested Hizbullah's perimeter, drawing fire and revealing defensive patterns. The IDF mapped tunnel entrances, weapons caches, and defensive emplacements. Israeli special operations units, supported by intelligence and electronic warfare, targeted communication nodes to disrupt Hizbullah's command and control. (This Is Beirut-Lebanon)
Gaza
- Hamas Still Holds Gaza Captive - Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib
Almost 10 months after the October 2025 President Trump-brokered ceasefire and hostage-release agreement, Hamas, the fascistic terror group whose catastrophic Oct. 7, 2023, attack unleashed unprecedented suffering on Palestinians in Gaza, is vastly weakened but still rules a third of the Strip, where two million people remain trapped under its totalitarian grip.
In Western societies like the U.S., many who call themselves "pro-Palestine" have refused, out of negligence, ignorance, or deliberately, to confront Hamas's narrative, behavior, and agenda, while normalizing or excusing the group's criminality, history, and behavior.
Hamas embedded itself across Gazan society by weaponizing religion and social services, especially in the refugee camps that had become mini-cities. I watched the group's rise in Gaza City firsthand, including encounters my own family had with senior Hamas figures, without falling into its grip.
Much of today's pro-Palestinian discourse is starved of honest critique of Hamas, and of the Palestinian leaders, groups, and elites who have failed and even betrayed their own people. Failed, ineffective, and morally reprehensible types of armed "resistance," like taking women and children as hostages on Oct. 7, are glorified. Hamas is excused, supported, and whitewashed. When Hamas tortures, beats, kills, and abuses Gazans, they are ignored at best, or labeled collaborators, traitors, and worthy of execution at worst. (Forward)
Israel and the West
- Israel Prepares Sharp Response to Expected British Sanctions - Danny Zaken
Britain's government intends to announce a series of measures against Israel and Jerusalem has already prepared a response, Israel Hayom has learned. Israeli officials are convinced the move is driven not by foreign-policy considerations but by Prime Minister Andy Burnham's domestic political needs ahead of the Labour Party conference on Sept. 27.
The expected measures are likely to include a declaration of intent to boycott goods produced in Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria; personal sanctions against individuals whose names have been linked to violent acts; and, apparently, a policy statement regarding the legality of Israeli control in Judea and Samaria and Gaza. At this stage, most or all of the measures are expected to amount to declarations of intent.
Based on previous Israeli responses, Jerusalem is expected to distance Britain from involvement in international arrangements concerning Gaza and other diplomatic fronts. (Israel Hayom)
- U.S. Lawmaker Says UK Firms Boycotting Israel Violate Florida Law - Rep. Randy Fine
As the British government considers forcing British companies to boycott portions of Israel, it should be aware that a Florida law that I passed as a member of the Legislature would ban any British company forced to comply from doing business with any state or local government in Florida.
It would also end any British business participating in that boycott from doing any business in Florida if it needed any official interaction with state or local government to operate (permits, tax collection).
Florida is one of Britain's largest trading partners. They should understand that their vanity project in support of Muslim terror could cost them billions of dollars. And for those who doubt the power of this policy, it was this same law that broke Airbnb's misguided effort to boycott portions of Israel in 2019. Any nation that boycotts Israel is boycotted by Florida. (X)
See also Close to 40 U.S. States Have Laws Against Boycotting Israel - Mark R. Levin (X)
See also Amb. Huckabee: UK Trade Ban Likely to Provoke U.S. Reaction, Harm British Businesses (Times of Israel)
Antisemitism
- U.S. Official: Antisemitism in America Is a "National Crisis" - Yoav Etiel
U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said Thursday, "The rise in antisemitism is not a wave of isolated incidents. This is a national crisis that requires national determination." She said the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division is working to ensure that every American can "live, learn, pray, and work without fear." "When a Jewish person is attacked because they are Jewish, it's a federal crime," she said. (Jerusalem Post)
Observations:
- What underlines the obsessive popularity of antisemitism? Antisemitism isn't just racism but a conspiracy theory, an entire way of viewing the world which really has nothing to do with Jews at all. Philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre wrote in 1946: "If the Jew did not exist, the antisemite would invent him." He realized that the Jew is simply a cypher for the ills of society, the international bogeyman. Understanding this makes antisemitism's enduring appeal clearer.
- Antisemitic conspiracy means everything can be - and is - blamed on the Jews. The villain is always the same. A striking, chilling example is a paper just published by the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) that partly blames Zionists for the 2024 Southport anti-immigration riots, the largest incident of social unrest in England since 2011. The riots followed a targeted stabbing at a dance class in Southport on July 29, 2024, which resulted in the deaths of three young girls.
- In the paper titled "The United Kingdom's first anti-Muslim pogroms in a context of genocidal Islamophobia in Gaza," University of Liverpool human geography lecturer Dr. Kawtar Najib brings Jews into an event that had nothing to do with us by claiming "Zionism" has inspired far-Right racism. She wrote that activist Tommy Robinson had encouraged the riots and claimed that "Robinson's financiers" were linked "to the Zionist entity. There is therefore a sort of strategic consensus between Zionist groups and fascist groups."
- It is depressing and frightening that an academic at a top British university is openly spreading hatred against Jews, but we already knew how common that is. Even more frightening is that the paper was peer-reviewed by two people. And it was then published by an editor. None of whom saw a problem with the crankery it contained in trying to make out that Jews had anything to do with the riots. They accepted a paper which aligned Jews with fascists - as if fascists didn't hate Jews?
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