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In-Depth Issues:
U.S. Program Meant to Protect Jewish Institutions Gives Grants to Mosques that Preach Anti-Semitic Hate - Chuck Ross ( Washington Free Beacon)
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has awarded $150,000 in grants since November to Masjid Jamaat al Mumineen, the Islamic Society of Akron and Kent, and the Islamic Center of Bothell as part of its "Nonprofit Security Grant Program."
But in a sermon last month, Nader Taha, the imam of the Islamic Society of Akron and Kent, called the Oct. 7 attacks a "miracle" that "planted the seed of freedom in the heart of not just only the Muslim world, but the whole world."
Kent State University, where Taha works as a math lecturer, condemned Taha's remarks as "anti-Semitic."
Masjid Jamaat al Mumineen, a South Florida mosque led by Imam Izhar Khan, promotes numerous books on its website that preach violence against Jews and Christians.
In 2011, Khan was indicted on charges of funding the Pakistani Taliban.
At the Islamic Center of Bothell, located outside Seattle, Moosa Salie, the current imam, served until last year as an official at South Africa's Council of Muslim Theologians, which declared in September that "We are all Hamas."
Another preacher at the Bothell mosque, Alaa Badr, was accused in a lawsuit last year of openly praising Hamas and cheering the murder of Israelis.
Iran Increases Military Presence in Venezuela with Drone Factory - Maria Villarroel ( Latin Times)
Iran is increasing its military presence in Venezuela with the establishment of a drone development base at the El Libertador air base, the Argentine news site Infobae reported.
The project includes the production and training in the use of a wide range of UAVs, including the Shahed-131, used for one-way attack missions.
These drones represent a significant technological advance in Venezuela's military capacity.
Venezuela is also looking to sell them to other countries in the region, a practice that could destabilize the geopolitical landscape in Latin America.
Direct flights between Caracas and Tehran on Iran's Mahan Air have reportedly been used to transfer Venezuelan gold in exchange for Iranian oil, in a scheme that violates international sanctions imposed on both countries.
UK Says Raising Money for Israeli Soldier Is Illegal - Liza Rozovsky ( Ha'aretz)
Britain's Charity Commission has issued an official warning to the Chabad charity organization after a local branch raised funds for an Israeli soldier, saying, "it is neither legal nor acceptable for a charity to raise funds for a soldier in a foreign army."
At the same time, charitable organizations that aid Ukrainian soldiers continue to operate in Britain with no complaints.
Who Really Denied Statehood to the Palestinian People? - Alan M. Dershowitz ( Gatestone Institute)
One of the most pervasive myths of the Palestinian protest movement is that Israel has denied statehood to the Palestinian people.
To the contrary, Israel agreed to Palestinian statehood in 1937-1938, 1947-1948, 1967, 2000-2001, and 2007.
In each case, it was the Palestinian leadership that refused to agree to the two-state solution that would have created a Palestinian state alongside a state for Jewish inhabitants.
Other stateless groups such as the Tibetans, the Kurds, and the Chechens have never even been offered statehood, let alone repeatedly turned it down.
It was the Palestinians themselves, through their anti-Jewish leadership, that has made the Palestinian people stateless.
The current anti-Israel protesters in the West are not calling for a Palestinian state living in peace alongside Israel. They just want to end Israel's existence.
It is not going to happen. Until the Palestinians recognize this reality, they will be denying themselves any possibility of statehood.
The writer is Professor of Law, Emeritus at Harvard Law School.
Israel's Defense Industry Booms on Foreign Demand and War at Home - Dov Lieber ( Wall Street Journal)
After a year marked by war and calls for isolating Israel on the world stage, its defense industry is on track to sell more weapons than ever in its history, spurred by foreign demand for its aerial-defense systems.
Israel's top three defense companies - Elbit Systems, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, and Israel Aerospace Industries - are among the world's top 10 defense exporters.
The success of Israel's Iron Dome and Arrow aerial-defense technology or its defensive systems for tanks over more than 15 months of war has drawn in foreign buyers who have seen how its weaponry has been tested on the battlefield.
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
- Lebanon Elects a New President - Christina Goldbaum
Lebanon's Parliament on Thursday elected Gen. Joseph Aoun, the commander of the Lebanese military, as the country's new president, overcoming more than two years of political gridlock attributed to Hizbullah. Aoun is widely considered to have the backing of the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.
Aoun said the day marked "a new phase in Lebanon's history" and spoke of the state's "right to monopolize the possession of weapons" - a reference to calls for Hizbullah to be disarmed. He called for "the establishment of a state - I repeat, a state - that invests in its army, controls all borders and implements international resolutions."
However, most experts agree that even in its weakened state, Hizbullah remains Lebanon's most dominant political force. But that, they say, is less a testament to the group's hold on power and more a reflection of the country's political dysfunction and infighting. (New York Times)
- House Approves Sanctions on ICC Officials for Israeli Prosecutions - Karoun Demirjian
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed legislation that would impose sanctions on officials at the International Criminal Court, in a rebuke of its move to charge top Israeli leaders with war crimes for their offensive against Hamas in Gaza. It was approved in a 243-to-140 vote, with 45 Democrats joining all Republicans.
The bill instructs the president to freeze property assets and deny visas to any foreigners who materially or financially contributed to the court's efforts to "investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute a protected person" - defined as all current and former military and government officials of the U.S. and allies that have not consented to the court's jurisdiction, such as Israel.
The measure was approved by the House last year but died in the Democratic-led Senate, and is now all but certain to be enacted now that Republicans control both chambers.
"The ICC's rogue actions only enable the terrorists who seek to wipe Israel off the map, and they cannot be allowed to stand unchecked," Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the majority leader, said this week. (New York Times)
- Houthis Report 12 Airstrikes by U.S.-UK Coalition on Friday - Mohammed Sameai
Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah TV reported Friday that the American-British coalition launched 12 airstrikes targeting Yemen's northern Amran province. On Thursday, the Houthis reported six U.S.-UK raids. The Houthis said Monday that they had attacked the aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman in the Red Sea. (Anadolu-Turkey)
News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
- Four Israeli Soldiers Killed in North Gaza Explosion - Yaniv Kubovich
Sgt. Maj. (res.) Alexander Fedorenko, 37; Staff Sgt. Danila Diakov, 21; Sgt. Yahav Maayan, 19; and Sgt. Eliav Astuker, 19, were killed in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza on Saturday and two additional soldiers were seriously wounded when an explosive device detonated near one of the vehicles in a military convoy. (Ha'aretz)
- IDF Strikes Houthi Targets in Yemen on Friday in Retaliation for Attacks Against Israel - Emanuel Fabian
The IDF launched airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen on Friday in response to repeated ballistic missile and drone attacks on Israel.
The Israeli Air Force strikes targeted the Hezyaz power plant near the capital Sanaa and infrastructure at the Hodeidah and Ras Isa ports.
The strikes were carried out shortly after the U.S. and UK hit Houthi sites. Israel coordinated its strikes with the U.S., but this was not a joint Israeli-U.S. attack.
(Times of Israel)
See also Israel Downs 3 Houthi Drones - Yoav Zitun
The Israel Air Force intercepted three drones launched from Yemen on Thursday evening.
Since the beginning of the war, the Houthis have launched 40 surface-to-surface missiles and 320 UAVs toward Israel, most of which were intercepted, fell in open areas, or failed to reach Israeli territory.
(Ynet News)
- IDF Discovers Rocket Launcher and Other Weapons in Southern Lebanon - Yoav Zitun
The IDF said Friday its forces had found a multi-barrel rocket launcher, hundreds of mortar shells, RPGs and explosives. A weapons depot containing dozens of shoulder-fired missiles and explosive devices was also discovered.
(Ynet News)
Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis:
The Gaza War
- Ha'aretz Article on IDF in Gaza Is Shameless Manipulation Masquerading as Fair Reporting - Maj. (ret.) Andrew Fox
A Dec. 18 report in Ha'aretz about the conduct of the IDF in the Netzarim corridor in Gaza claimed to "Expose Arbitrary Killings and Rampant Lawlessness" by Israeli soldiers. In late November 2024, I went to the Netzarim Corridor with the IDF. I saw nothing in the behavior, conversation or ethos in the many soldiers I spoke to there that resembled the accounts described in Ha'aretz.
The soldiers I spoke to were all reservists from the unit that was the focus of Ha'aretz's hit piece. The IDF's ethos and rules of engagement are always referenced early and often in every conversation with IDF front-line officers. It is very important to them to carry out their operations legally.
As a former soldier, I know that war is bloody and brutal. The blood and brutality are constrained by the law of armed conflict, but ultimately a soldier's job is to carry out the mission within those parameters. And the mission for the IDF, after Oct. 7, is to conduct a war of national self-defense so that Oct. 7 can never happen again. The ethos I have observed is the ethos I would expect.
We were amused that the soldiers were not expecting us: I have seen British Army stage-managed media visits, and this was not like that. The troops we interviewed were eloquent, compassionate and thoughtful. Not a word of hatred was expressed for anyone but Hamas.
Nothing I had seen or heard in the Netzarim Corridor tallied with what I read in Ha'aretz. The phrasing and unbalanced portrayal of the IDF in Gaza make the article shameless manipulation masquerading as fair reporting, in pursuit of Ha'aretz's well-established political position.
The writer, who served in the British Army from 2005-21, is a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society and a lecturer at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. (Substack)
- Change the Map of Gaza to Signal that Terrorism Doesn't Pay - Amit Segal
Hamas sees the suffering of the Gazan people as a benefit, not a cost. Terrorists who locate their headquarters in hospitals, schools and kindergartens do so not only to protect themselves from possible attacks but also to exploit the inevitable killing of civilians for propaganda: More killing equals more world empathy.
In the Middle East, nothing hurts more than loss of territory. The worst outcome of a war meant to conquer Israel would be Israel's ending with more territory than when it began.
The world demands that Israel withdraw to its original borders after every conflict it wins. Is it surprising that aggressors repeatedly try to destroy the Jewish state, knowing that they face little to no threat of loss of territory? This status quo must change.
There is nothing sacred about Gaza's borders, which were created in 1949 to mark the line of separation between Egypt and Israel. There is a clear security justification for shrinking Gaza's borders: Annexing a 1-mile perimeter around Gaza would create a buffer zone between Hamas-governed territory and the Israeli communities that Hamas brutally attacked on Oct. 7. The zone should also include a 3-mile stretch along the northern border of Gaza, an area Hamas converted into terrorist bases. Changing the map of Gaza would signal that terrorism doesn't pay, and could represent a significant advancement toward peace in the Middle East.
The writer is chief political commentator on Israel's Channel 12 News. (Wall Street Journal)
The Houthis
- The Republic of Yemen, the Houthi Terror Organization, and International Law - Amb. Alan Baker and Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch
The Republic of Yemen is a fully-recognized sovereign state entity. It bears full state responsibility for any aggressive, offensive, and terrorist actions of the Houthis emanating from Yemen's sovereign territory, whether directed at Israel or the international community.
Ongoing aggressive military actions against Israel, including the repeated firing of long-range ballistic missiles and drones targeting Israel's civilian population, constitute a plethora of crimes including the crime of aggression, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Yemen has obstructed international shipping for more than a year, in violation of international maritime law.
By turning a blind eye to such aggressive activity, the international community is, in effect, shamelessly indicating to the Houthi terror organization presently ruling Yemen that it remains indifferent to the illegal actions emanating from Yemen's territory. It is transmitting to the Houthi terrorists that they enjoy an evident carte blanche to continue blatantly and openly violating international law, without fear of any international response or reprisal.
While the Western world continues to adhere to accepted, and often archaic, diplomatic and political rules, the terrorists - Hamas, Hizbullah, and the Houthis - openly, and brazenly, flout international law, at the bidding, encouragement, and support of Iran.
Amb. Alan Baker, Director of the Institute for Diplomatic Affairs at the Jerusalem Center, served as Legal Adviser and Deputy Director-General of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch, former director of the Military Prosecution in Judea and Samaria, is director of the Palestinian Authority Accountability Initiative at the Jerusalem Center. (Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs)
Syria
- Israel Weighs Approaches to Syria - Ohad Merlin
Israel is emerging as a "strong horse" in the Middle East, Hazem Alghabra, a former senior U.S. State Department adviser born in Damascus, told the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA) last week. "Neither Turkey nor Iran has an interest in direct conflict with Israel, whose fighter jets and beeper operations made the country a formidable opponent no one wants to upset....It's worth attempting to make it clear to the Syrians that Israel brings a message of peace out of a victor's position."
"Peace is a process of hundreds of years, not merely weeks. The stronger side initiates peace, and Israel is the stronger side here....The Syrian people know that they need economic opportunities and rapprochement with the international community. Both can be consolidated through peace with Israel."
Dr. Dan Diker, president of the JCFA, said, "We have met in the center with people from Arab countries, some of which don't have diplomatic relations with Israel, and many have said that they're prepared to honor Israel if it would honor them back."
Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser, director of National Security and Middle East Affairs at JCFA, said, "We must remember that many Druze, Kurds, and even Sunnis have their reservations regarding" Syria's new leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani. Kuperwasser recalled that Julani did not conquer Damascus himself, but rather, it was rebel forces from the south who were more loyal to the Russians. (Jerusalem Post)
Observations:
- An 83-year-old Holocaust survivor, Ludmila Lipovsky, was stabbed to death last month in Israel by a 28-year-old Palestinian man from the West Bank. This is yet another example of the violence incentivized by a multimillion dollar program known as "pay to slay," which is written into Palestinian law and governed by the Palestinian Authority.
It is a system that rewards Palestinians for committing acts of terrorism against Jewish Israelis. It incentivizes violence, thus undermining any chance of a sustainable peace deal.
- The payments increase with the length of the prison sentence, which perversely rewards perpetrators of the worst crimes. During incarceration, the Palestinian Authority also pays the individual's social security and pension fees.
- The payments to prisoners are adjusted to account for increases in the cost of living. Released prisoners receive a lump-sum grant of up to $25,000.
Employment in government institutions is guaranteed. Moreover, released prisoners enjoy free college education and lifelong health care.
- For many Palestinians, the "pay to slay" program represents a pathway to social mobility. In a society plagued by high unemployment and limited opportunities, the program offers guaranteed income, education and employment - benefits beyond what the average Palestinian can expect. This framework ensures that attacks against Israelis remain frequent and deeply ingrained in the fabric of Palestinian society.
- For Israel and the international community, the "pay to slay" program is a clear obstacle to peace. It is not merely an economic subsidy but a societal institution designed to sustain violence. The program even includes bonuses for Arab-Israeli terrorists.
- The "pay to slay" program must be dismantled. No serious effort to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can succeed while this program continues to operate.
The writer is chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point.
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