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In-Depth Issues:
U.S. Slaps Israeli Exports with 17 Percent Tariff - Gad Lior ( Ynet News)
President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a sweeping new tariff policy that included a 17% tariff on Israeli exports, to take effect on April 9.
In 2024, Israeli exports to the U.S. totaled $34 billion in goods and services.
Dr. Ron Tomer, president of the Manufacturers Association of Israel, said, "The claim that Israel imposes 33% tariffs on American goods is unclear, and the 17% response seems unjustified."
Israel's Finance Ministry said only $11 million is currently collected from tariffs on U.S. agricultural imports. Most U.S. goods entering Israel are already tariff-free.
See also Israel Removes All Remaining Tariffs on U.S. Imports ( Jerusalem Post)
Israel has canceled all tariffs on products from the U.S., the Prime Minister's Office confirmed Tuesday.
A 1985 free trade agreement between the U.S. and Israel had already led to nearly all imported goods from the U.S. being fully exempt from tariffs, so the tariff reduction will apply to a very limited number of food and agricultural products.
Poll: 77 Percent of Americans Continue to Support Israel over Hamas ( Center for American Political Studies-Harvard University)
77% of Americans continue to support Israel over Hamas, including 83% of Republicans, 77% of Independents, and 72% of Democrats, according to a Harvard-Harris poll conducted on March 26-27, 2025.
80% believe Hamas must release all remaining hostages without any conditions or face serious consequences, while 76% say Hamas should not be allowed to govern Gaza.
72% say Iran's nuclear facilities should be destroyed, while 59% think the U.S. should support Israel in airstrikes to destroy Iran's nuclear weapons facilities.
71% support U.S. air strikes against Houthi terrorists who have been firing missiles
at U.S. ships and blocking shipping through the Suez Canal.
Hamas, Iran Plotting Attacks on Israelis Abroad - Itamar Eichner ( Ynet News)
Israel's National Security Council (NSC) on Tuesday issued a travel warning for Israelis abroad ahead of spring holidays and summer vacations, citing heightened threats from terrorist organizations.
"We assess that Hamas will continue its efforts to carry out attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets overseas," the NSC said.
Since the war began, Israeli security agencies have thwarted multiple Hamas plots targeting Israelis in Denmark, Germany, Bulgaria and Sweden.
Disarming Syria under the Al-Julani Regime - The Biological Weapons Dimension - Lt.-Col. (res.) Dr. Dany Shoham ( BESA Center for Strategic Studies-Bar-Ilan University)
In 2012, former head of IDF Intelligence Maj.-Gen. (res.) Amos Yadlin identified Syria as "a state possessing chemical and biological weapons (CBW) stockpiles on an enormous scale."
While a mission in 2013 was established to oversee the elimination of vast under-declared portions of Syria's chemical weapons arsenal, many biological facilities were not probed at all.
The change in the Syrian regime could provide an opportunity to expose the full scope of the ousted Assad regime's biological weapons program.
Syria's biological weapons sites must be identified and exposed and then completely wiped out.
The writer is a former senior analyst in IDF Military Intelligence and the Ministry of Defense, specializing in chemical and biological warfare.
Erdogan's Arrested Political Rival Had Condemned Hamas's Oct. 7 Attack - Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak ( Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security)
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu - President Erdogan's most formidable political rival - was arrested at his home and imprisoned on March 19, the victim of an orchestrated political takedown.
On April 28, 2024, Imamoglu unequivocally condemned Hamas's Oct. 7 attack on Israel, explicitly characterizing the group as a terrorist organization.
This statement provoked a vehement response from Erdogan, who portrayed Hamas as freedom fighters.
The writer is co-editor of Turkeyscope, a publication of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University.
Follow the Jerusalem Center on:
Study Finds Egyptian State Media Overwhelmingly Anti-Israel, Antisemitic - Zev Stub ( Times of Israel)
87% of opinion articles about Israel in Egypt's two leading news outlets - state-controlled Al-Ahram and Al-Gomhuria - speak negatively about the Jewish state, according to a new study by the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI).
29% of articles mentioning Jews contained antisemitic content.
An Israeli Toddler Picked Up a Rock. It Was a 3,800-Year-Old Artifact - Vivian Ho ( Washington Post)
On Feb. 8, Ziv Nitzan, 3, picked up a small, rounded stone along a footpath in southern Israel. She dusted the sand off the stone and asked her mother about its strange markings.
Ziv had unearthed a 3,800-year-old amulet from the Middle Bronze Age, a period spanning from 2100 to 1600 BCE, the Israel Antiquities Authority said Tuesday.
The tiny ornate object, a scarab, was used in this period as a seal or amulet, said Daphna Ben-Tor, curator for Egyptian archaeology at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem who determined the artifact was genuine.
It was found at the foot of Tel Azekah, an ancient hill 40 miles south of Tel Aviv that was once a fortified Judean city.
Yoli Schwartz, a spokeswoman for the Antiquities Authority, said children stumble upon artifacts a few times a year.
"Sometimes after the rain, the earth is rich with archaeological finds and things come up."
"We have more than 35,000 archaeological sites in Israel, and those are just the ones that we know of."
Israel's High Birth Rate Is a Model for the West to Emulate - Douglas Altabef ( Jerusalem Post)
Israel is the only Western country to boast an above-replacement birthrate, and it's not just above replacement; it's way above.
Replacement is deemed to be 2.1 births per woman. Israel's Jewish birthrate hovers just above 3 per woman.
No one blinks an eye when people say they have four kids, and even five sounds normative.
While in the U.S., non-religious Jews are having children at the same below-replacement levels as their neighbors, in Israel, even less observant Jews are having a multitude of kids.
Births rose by 5% in war-torn 2024 over 2023. Abortions are declining and single people and gay couples strive as well to have children.
What is it that Israelis, across the board, see in having and raising children that others don't?
To have children is to welcome the future. We believe that with all its problems, life is worth sustaining and replicating.
Search the Recent History of Israel and the Middle East
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
- U.S. Sends Planes, Ships to Middle East in Warning to Iran - Nancy A. Youssef
The Pentagon is rapidly expanding its forces in the Middle East, the Defense Department said Tuesday.
Two officials said the aim of the additional forces is to bolster the U.S. campaign in Yemen and deter Iran.
The buildup includes F-35 combat jets, which are joining B-2 bombers and Predator drones. A steady stream of Air Force cargo planes and refueling tankers have been flying to the Middle East from Europe, Asia and the U.S., according to flight-tracking data.
The U.S. will soon have two carrier strike groups in the region - the USS Harry S. Truman, which has been operating in the Middle East since last fall, and USS Carl Vinson, which is usually assigned to Asia and is expected to arrive within two weeks. The strike groups include cruise missile-carrying destroyers and other warships. The U.S. also has sent Patriot antimissile batteries to defend U.S. air bases and nearby allies.
(Wall Street Journal)
- U.S. Airstrikes Batter Houthi Areas of Yemen - Jon Gambrell
U.S. airstrikes battered Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen into Wednesday over their attacks on shipping in
the Red Sea. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt put the overall number of strikes on Tuesday at more than 200.
"Iran is incredibly weakened as a result of these attacks, and we have seen they have taken out Houthi leaders," Leavitt said. "They've taken out critical members who were launching strikes on naval ships and on commercial vessels and this operation will not stop until the freedom of navigation in this region is restored."
The Houthis say they've continued to launch attacks against U.S. warships in the Red Sea, namely the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, which is carrying out the majority of the strikes on the Houthis. Yet no warship has been struck. (AP-Washington Post)
- U.S. Targets Hizbullah Sanctions Evasion Network
On March 28, 2025, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated five individuals and three companies involved in a Lebanon-based sanctions evasion network supporting Hizbullah. This Hizbullah finance team manages a variety of lucrative commercial projects and oil smuggling networks, often in conjunction with Iran's Revolutionary Guards Qods Force, to generate and transfer revenue for Hizbullah.
The U.S. State Department's Rewards for Justice program is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the disruption of the financial mechanisms of Hizbullah. (U.S. Treasury Department)
- U.S. Opposes Reappointment of UN Special Rapporteur due to Her "Virulent Antisemitism"
The U.S. Mission to the UN sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday "opposing Francesca Albanese's renewal as UN Special Rapporteur [on human rights in the Palestinian territories]. We condemn her virulent antisemitism, which demonizes Israel and supports Hamas. She has clearly violated the UN's code of conduct and is unfit for her role. Her reappointment would show the UN
tolerates antisemitic hatred and support for terrorism." (U.S. Mission to the UN)
News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
- Israel Expands Gaza Military Operations - Einav Halabi
Israel's military operations in Gaza expanded Wednesday following heavy airstrikes and ground troop movement under intense artillery cover. Defense Minister Israel Katz said the campaign aims "to crush and cleanse the area of terrorists and terror infrastructure and to seize wide areas that will be annexed to Israel's security zones." He called on Gaza residents to "act now to expel Hamas and return all hostages. This is the only way to end the war."
Arab media reported Israeli strikes across Rafah, Khan Yunis, Nuseirat and Deir al-Balah.
The Hamas-affiliated Palestinian news agency Shehab said Israeli military vehicles entered central and eastern Rafah under cover of heavy fire. (Ynet News)
- Israel Strikes Military Facilities across Syria, Research Center in Damascus - Yaniv Kubovich
The IDF said that on Wednesday night the air force targeted runways, fuel depots, and radar systems at the T4 military airport in the Homs region, another military airbase near the city of Hama, and military infrastructure in the Damascus area. Israel also struck a scientific research facility in Damascus which had been targeted in the past. (Ha'aretz)
See also Israeli Airstrikes in Syria "Convey a Message" to Turkey - Amichai Stein
The recent airstrikes in Syria are to "convey a message to Turkey," an Israeli official told the Jerusalem Post on Wednesday. "Do not establish a military base in Syria and do not interfere with Israeli activity in the country's skies" was the message.
(Jerusalem Post)
- Israel Confronts Egypt over "Major" Peace Treaty Violation - Ariel Kahana
Israel has approached Egypt and the U.S. with a request to begin dismantling military infrastructure constructed by the Egyptian army in Sinai that violates the peace agreement between the countries. A senior security official characterized the Egyptian actions as a "major violation" of the security annex.
The official explained that the entry of military forces into Sinai beyond the quotas agreed upon represents "the smaller problem," since "such actions are reversible." However, Israel "will not accept the situation."
In a separate context, the official revealed that the threat from "external Hamas" is intensifying globally. Particularly concerning is the risk of terrorist activity by Hamas forces in Syria. Syria's leader, Abu Mohammad al-Julani, has released Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders from Syrian prisons where they had been detained during Bashar Assad's rule. These leaders are now threatening to attack Israel.
To counter this threat, Israel has established a security zone 11 miles wide into the Syrian side of the Golan Heights and has constructed nine major outposts in order to separate enemy forces from Israeli residents. "The situation that existed before Oct. 7 will not return," the official said. (Israel Hayom)
- IDF Says Lebanese Army Improving Anti-Hizbullah Enforcement - Yonah Jeremy Bob
The extent of the destruction of villages in southern Lebanon is expected to delay the return of Hizbullah to Israel's northern border. IDF sources said that, in some parts of southern Lebanon, 20-30% of Lebanese civilians have returned to their homes four months after the ceasefire with Israel.
Sources also said the Lebanese Army has significantly improved its anti-Hizbullah enforcement activities in the area. Sources said the Lebanese response to IDF reports of lower-grade Hizbullah violations of the ceasefire in southern Lebanon has led to around 500 enforcement actions by the Lebanese.
At the same time, the IDF has killed over 120 Hizbullah fighters since the ceasefire, showing that Israeli military enforcement in parallel to the Lebanese military will be necessary for some time. (Jerusalem Post)
Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis:
The Gaza War
- Hamas Admits 72 Percent of Gaza Deaths Are Combat-Aged Men - Melanie Swan
Hamas's March 2025 Gaza war casualty update "quietly drops 3,400 fully 'identified' deaths listed in its August and October 2024 reports including 1,080 children. These 'deaths' never happened. The numbers were falsified," said Salo Aizenberg, from U.S.-based NGO Honest Reporting.
Maj. (ret.) Andrew Fox, a former British paratrooper who authored a report on Gaza casualty figures for the Henry Jackson Society in December, said the data on Hamas's lists undermines its claim that most casualties have been civilians. "We've heard the claims that about 70% of the deaths are women and children, and these lists, especially the most recent, show that's complete nonsense."
About 72% of fatalities aged 13-55 are men, which is the rough age range of Hamas combatants, Fox said. "We know that Hamas uses child soldiers, and these statistics show clearly that Israel is targeting fighting-aged men." (Telegraph-UK)
- Will Protests Against Hamas Transform into a Genuine New Path? - Jason D. Greenblatt
Where were the Palestinian protests after the brutality of Oct. 7? We witnessed celebrations in Gaza, not condemnation, jubilation, not anger at the heinous crimes committed by Hamas and others terrorists, including Gazan civilians.
The critical question at the heart of the Palestinian protests is: Do they signal the protestors' transformative recognition that Hamas's ideology of destruction has brought nothing but catastrophe upon them and that it is time to chart a different path forward? Or is this merely exhaustion - a desperate attempt to find any possible reprieve from their current condition?
In other words, are they against Hamas because they are for a better future which might even include ending the war against Israel, or merely because Hamas has failed so miserably?
Ultimately, what is likely driving the protests is that these Palestinians are exhausted from the sheer misery Hamas has brought upon them.
What we do know is that Palestinians rejecting Hamas and the terrorism it stands for is - as it has always been - the only genuine pathway to a better future for Gaza and meaningful dialogue and coexistence with Israel. Hamas' only reason for existence is to seek to destroy Israel, so the odds are low that things will change. Palestinians have appeared ready for peace in the past, only to turn back to rejection and terrorism.
The writer, Assistant to the U.S. President and Special Representative for International Negotiations (2017-2019), played a key role in developing the Abraham Accords. (Newsweek)
- The Route to Freeing Palestinians - Bret Stephens
Did the "Free Palestine" protesters at Columbia pause for a moment of silence for Odai Al-Rubai, 22, who was kidnapped, tortured and murdered by Hamas after he joined protests in Gaza last week to demand an end to 18 years of Hamas's violent misrule? For too many who call themselves "pro-Palestinian," Palestinian misery seems to matter only when the blame can be pinned on Israel.
A growing number of Palestinians in Gaza recognize that there will be no end to wars with Israel so long as Hamas continues to drag them into those wars. The real route to freeing Palestinians, both in Gaza and the West Bank, must begin with the elimination of Hamas as a military force, something that only Israel has the power and the will to accomplish.
It isn't enough for Gazans to revolt against Hamas for being the prime instigator and perpetuator of the last 18 months of war and misery. What matters even more is overcoming the mentality of the so-called Resistance. If the core Palestinian demand is not the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel but rather of one in place of Israel, then the conflict is bound to continue. (New York Times)
- What the Anti-Hamas Protests in Gaza Actually Mean - Dr. Khalil Shikaki
While some view the demonstrations against Hamas as a genuine popular uprising, the Islamist group sees them as a desperate attempt by its external enemies to use local agents to create a false impression that a revolt to its rule is underway. High levels of national and religious loyalty - and few political alternatives - limit the choices at hand for Palestinians.
No doubt many Gazans are opposed to Hamas. I have studied public opinion in Gaza since 1993 and Hamas has never had majority support in Gaza. A few days before Oct. 7, 2023, trust in the Hamas-led government was only 29%. As living conditions in Gaza have worsened considerably after Oct. 7, Hamas gradually became less popular. Nonetheless, none of the rival political factions received greater support.
The perception among Gazans that Hamas's decision to launch its attack against Israel on Oct. 7 was correct dropped from 57% in Nov. 2023 to 39% in late 2024. During that same period, the perception that Hamas will win the war dropped from 50% to 26%; the expectation that Hamas will continue to control Gaza after the war dropped from 51% to 37%.
But the belief that the recent demonstrations pose a threat to continued Hamas control over Gaza reflects an erroneous reading of reality. The overwhelming majority of Gazans blame Israel and the U.S. for their suffering; only one in five puts the blame on Hamas. Gazans are fully aware that even if Hamas leaves the scene immediately, there is no viable alternative that can enforce some level of order and prevent the eruption of anarchy and violence.
Despite the tremendous suffering during the war, Gazans' basic values regarding their religious and national identity and their attachment to their land have not diminished at all. Plus, their willingness to make huge personal sacrifices remains very high.
The writer is director of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah. (TIME)
- Israel Has No Alternative but to Fight On in Gaza - Con Coughlin
Israel remains in shock at the sheer barbarity of the atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists during the Oct. 7 attacks in 2023. Hamas's reprehensible conduct, together with its insistence on adding new conditions in hostage release negotiations that U.S. officials said were "entirely impractical," left the Israelis with little choice other than to resume hostilities.
Western leaders should think twice before condemning Israel's latest offensive in Gaza.
Israel's war against Islamist fanatics in Gaza and Iran is very much the West's war too, one that it is in all our interests that Israel wins, and wins decisively.
(Telegraph-UK)
Israel and Europe
- Europe's Illegal Land-Grab in Judea and Samaria - Karys Rhea
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Tuesday Israel's commitment to foil "the Palestinian Authority's scheme to seize land across Judea and Samaria." Most of this vast, lawless land-grab has been energized and financed by the European Union (EU).
Israel's complete jurisdiction over Area C of Judea and Samaria, which legally includes building permits, zoning, construction, law enforcement and planning, was recognized and agreed to by the Palestinian leadership and the world in the Oslo Accords in the mid-1990s. Yet with direct subsidies and encouragement from the EU, the Palestinian Authority has engineered the unlawful Palestinian takeover of hundreds of thousands of dunams of this land.
When the European Union saw that the Israeli leadership was ignoring the illegal construction, they became massively involved, encouraging the Palestinians to build as if there was no Oslo, financing the land-grab with structures labeled "European Union." Together with the PA, the EU developed multiple master plans to build infrastructure, roads, and schools that, when completed, would form an uninterrupted band of Arab territory effectively covering all of Area C.
Since 2009, the Europeans have invested up to one billion euros in Area C Palestinian development. If you take a drive through Area C, you will see dozens of Palestinian squatter camps with an EU flag or logo displayed on their structures. The PA has paved over 1,200 miles of new roads, put up thousands of electricity poles, and used agricultural projects to take over Israeli state land. Some 3,500 illegal structures are erected every year in Area C. Today, there are 90,000 illegal structures on 23,000 acres of land.
Palestinians have more than enough room to build in Areas A and B, with 63% of that land empty and suitable for construction, but they have the strategic goal of suffocating Israeli towns and villages. Some of the EU-supported construction projects are in nature reserves that were mandated as no-construction zones in the Wye River Memorandum, an agreement that concluded the Oslo Accords' division of the territory.
(Gatestone Institute)
Israel and the UN
- Lies, Damn Lies, and UN-Washed Hamas Propaganda Statistics - Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch
According to statistics released by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA), as of March 25, 2025, 50,144 Gazans have been killed since the start of the war and another 113,704 have been injured. Yet the source of UN OCHA's information is the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza.
A close inspection of the data clearly shows the efforts invested in engineering a specific narrative to tell a specific lie. From the start of the war, one of the clear themes of the statistics was to maintain that the number of women and children killed was constantly about 70% - to insinuate that Israel was disproportionately targeting Palestinian women and children.
One fundamental flaw is that the statistics made no distinction between the deaths of terrorists/combatants versus civilians. All the deaths were categorized by the UN as "men," "women," "children," and the "elderly." Accordingly, the UN refuses to acknowledge that Hamas terrorists are legitimate military targets. Instead, the UN sees them as innocent civilians.
While IDF publications showed that a considerable percentage of the rockets fired by the terrorists fell inside Gaza, the UN statistics made no distinction and gave no account of Gazans killed by the terrorists' errant fire. Moreover, the statistics do not say how many Palestinians were killed by Hamas itself, whether while trying to prevent civilians from moving away from the fighting, while commandeering aid supplies, or simply in the course of their fighting against the IDF.
From October 7, 2023, through April 2, 2024, an estimated 8,160 people died in Gaza of natural causes. Yet their deaths are included in the UN OCHA statistics. Thus, while the UN OCHA statistics enjoy the halo effect of being presented as legitimate UN figures, they are not. Rather, they were always a regurgitation of Hamas statistics.
The writer, 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)
Palestinian Arabs
- The Palestinian Authority Continues to Teach Hate and Reward Terror - Elliott Abrams
After the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, President Biden wrote in the Washington Post that a "revitalized Palestinian Authority" should govern both the West Bank and Gaza. Unfortunately, there is no evidence of revitalization when it comes to the PA's attitude toward terror or toward hatred of Jews and Israel.
IMPACT-se issued a new report on PA textbooks in March 2025. The report concludes,
"In July 2024, the Palestinian Authority signed a Letter of Intent with the European Union, committing to curriculum reform and the removal of inciting content to align with UNESCO standards of peace and tolerance. However, the materials published for the 2024-2025 school year demonstrate a complete absence of such reforms."
Donors to the PA's educational programs should take a closer look at what they are supporting. PA schools are teaching another generation to hate Jews and Israelis and to become terrorists.
The writer is Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the CFR. (Council on Foreign Relations)
Observations:
- Paying "any price" for the Israeli hostages' release effectively means accepting Hamas's continued effective control over Gaza, accompanied by the lifting of the blockade and the extensive release of Palestinian terrorists from prison.
- Hamas would be able to portray such an outcome as a significant achievement and as proof of the legitimacy of the jihadist project. This message will bolster support for Hamas and its methods within the Palestinian arena and throughout the Muslim world.
- Israel has already released more than 300 prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment - more than were released in 2011 in the Gilad Shalit exchange (280 prisoners serving life sentences). Some of these murderous terrorists are viewed as the elite of Palestinian society: individuals who successfully planned attacks, evaded capture, found accomplices who would not betray them, and coolly executed their terrorist acts.
- For example, Israel freed Abd al-Nasser Issa (born 1969), one of the founders of Hamas's military wing, considered a natural successor to Mohammed Deif as the next commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
- To gauge the meaning of the release of such prisoners, recall the importance of those released in the Shalit deal in the execution of the Oct. 7 massacre. They included Yahya Sinwar - the chief architect of Oct. 7 - along with at least ten senior Hamas political and military leaders.
- Hamas's true objective now is to rebuild its leadership and senior command ranks by drawing from this substantial and high-caliber pool of released prisoners.
The writer is professor emeritus at Bar-Ilan University and former senior researcher at its Begin-Sadat (BESA) Center for Strategic Studies.
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