Friday, December 19, 2025

What You Need to Know:

Prime Minister Netanyahu is facing a number of difficult challenges as he leads the nation. We have chosen two to highlight, one external and one internal. Israel’s most important diplomatic relationship is with the United States. As President Trump increases pressure to move to phase two of the peace plan without the disarmament of Hamas, PM Netanyahu continues to insist that Hamas must lay down its arms. Is there a compromise between these positions, or are the two leaders headed for a confrontation?

Within the nation itself, PM Netanyahu will lead a ministerial team that will determine the mandate and scope of the investigation of the October 7 massacre. A political investigation committee of six members—three chosen by the coalition and three by the opposition—and four observers who will represent bereaved families, will examine the failures that led up to the deaths of so many Israelis.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar is considering the permanent closure of Israel’s embassy in Norway, one of Europe’s most hostile countries toward Israel. The embassy has been operating without an ambassador since May 2024, when he was recalled when Norway officially acknowledged a Palestinian state. Israel had delayed the decision until elections, but Norway’s left-wing government has remained in power. On a positive note, FM Sa’ar has declared “that the upcoming year with be the year of Latin America.”

Dig Deeper:

Tensions Loom over Phase Two of Ceasefire  

PM Netanyahu Will Lead Team Shaping October 7 Probe Mandate   

Foreign Ministry Weighs Closing Norway Embassy amid Diplomatic Rift

What You Need to Know:

IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir recently stated: “We will not allow proxy organizations or terrorist armies to position themselves on our borders. Our forces are deployed along security lines in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza.”  

Gaza: Israel has been criticized for last week’s targeted killing of Hamas commander Ra’ad Sa’ad in Gaza during the ceasefire. However, by eliminating one of the architects of October 7, Israel sent a strong message: the nation will not accept any scenario “in which Hamas remains a dominant military or governing force in Gaza.” The nation of Israel is not willing to allow a security threat such as Hamas to remain in place.

Lebanon: The northern border with Lebanon remains tense as Hezbollah has violated the year-long ceasefire over 1,900 times. The IDF continues to identify areas where the terror organization is attempting to rebuild its military infrastructure and actively targets Hezbollah’s leaders. 

Cyberwarfare: Maj.-Gen. Aviad Dagan, head of the IDF’s cyber defense unit, recently warned that “future cyber-attacks will dwarf what it has seen to date.” The IDF cyber chief stated that Israel cannot be lulled into a false sense of security because of how strong its cyber defense has been to date, adding that “we are obligated to protect national security.” Israel and the US have conducted joint cyber warfare drills since 2015, with both nations benefitting from the cooperative drills.

Dig Deeper:

 Behind Israel’s Decision to Target a Senior Hamas Figure  

Israel: Hezbollah Violated Ceasefire over 1900 Times since November 2024 

Cyber Threats to Israel, US far Greater than Publicly Known

What You Need to Know:

A ruling by the International Criminal Court (ICC) added “alleged crimes in the war on Hamas in Gaza” to the ongoing “Palestine probe,” an investigation which was opened in 2021. The ICC upheld the ruling, arguing that the war was not a “new situation” and did not involve a “substantial change,” and therefore they were not required to notify Israel of its addition to the probe. Over a year ago, Israel had appealed the ruling which resulted in ICC-issued arrest warrants for PM Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, charging them with “using starvation as a weapon of warfare, as well as of deliberately targeting civilians.”

The UN Security Council recently held its quarterly meeting condemning Israeli communities in the “West Bank” (Judea and Samaria), claiming they are in violation of international law and a “major obstacle to the achievement of the two-state solution.” US Representative Jennifer Locetta called these quarterly sessions a waste of time and urged the UN to focus President Trump’s peace plan instead. She said Trump has been clear that “the United States will not allow the annexation of the West Bank.” France strongly condemned Israel’s approval of new housing units in Judea and Samaria, reiterating its “opposition to any form of annexation of the West Bank.” Russia echoed French support for the two-state solution. PM Netanyahu has stated repeatedly that there will be no Palestinian state.

Dig Deeper:

Politics in the Guise of Law—Israel Slams ICC Ruling

UN Security Council Focus on “Settlements” Distracts from Threats to Peace

What You Need to Know:

Two years of urban warfare have provided the IDF’s Counter-Terror School with a wealth of information that will help ensure the future safety of soldiers facing an enemy embedded within a civilian population. The school conducted a review based on lessons learned during combat. Training exercises were developed, one with an emphasis on finding explosives “concealed beyond walls and other hard-to-see urban hiding places.” As a result of the review, new urban warfare doctrine has been developed and fully implemented in the IDF’s infantry units. This means the hard-learned lessons on the battlefields of Gaza will “improve soldier survivability and operational performance” when confronting an enemy in a densely populated urban area in the future.

The IDF continues to deploy troops in certain areas of Gaza “in accordance with the ceasefire” as they work to remove “any immediate threat.” Many of these soldiers are reservists, such as members of the 2nd Brigade’s “Carmeli” division which just completed their sixth operational rotation in Gaza. They are being replace by another reserve unit which joins elite Golani Brigade soldiers doing their basic service in Gaza. At this point, Israel controls approximately 53% of the Gaza Strip, and troops have been locating and destroying Hamas’s weapons, explosive devices and rocket launchers as well as locating tunnel shafts that have continued to constitute a threat.

Dig Deeper:

Reservists from the 2nd Brigade Complete their Rotation in Gaza  

Celebrating Hanukkah on the Battlefield

What You Need to Know:

Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) is spearheading a tree-planting initiative in the Be’eri Forest, just one kilometer (0.6 mi) from the site of the Nova music festival which saw so much bloodshed on October 7. Dr. Michael Sprintsin, a forest engineer with KKL-JNF, explains: “The war was a real trauma—not only for the people who were killed or kidnapped, but also for nature itself. Because this is a desert environment, the forest cannot regenerate naturally.” So 620 dunams (153 acres) of scorched land is being planted with new saplings. Dr. Sprintsin added, “I believe this says a great deal about the people of Israel—that even after tragedy, bloodshed and suffering, there is an ability to heal, both through nature and as a nation. 

Israel has been built on the contributions of returning Jews. Recently, the Ministry of Aliyah (immigration) recognized four young adults who came alone for their extraordinary contributions to the nation. Winner of the Lone Student award, Daniel is a medical student doing research who also volunteers in several programs which reach out to children. Yaroslav, who won the Lone Soldier award, approached the IDF shortly after his arrival and enlisted in a combat unit. After completion of basic service, he joined the reserves and served another 205 days, both in Gaza and in Lebanon. More information is available under “Dig Deeper.”

Dig Deeper:

From Be’eri to Re’im: Planting the Future of Israel, One Tree at a Time   

Four Young Immigrants Acknowledged for Extraordinary Contributions in 2025

What You Need to Know:

A horrifying terror attack took the lives of 15 and wounded 40 at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on the first night of Hanukkah. Among the dead are two rabbis, a Holocaust survivor and a 10-year-old. The attack has resulted in high-level alerts at Hanukkah celebrations around the world. Israel has warned citizens traveling abroad about the possibility of copycat attacks. Roughly one-third of Australia’s Jewish population lives in the Sydney suburbs, a “focal point for both Jewish life and antisemitic attacks.” Danny Danon, Israel’s UN ambassador, recently called upon the Australian government to “to act decisively against antisemitic incitement, to enforce the law without fear or favor and to restore a public culture in which Jews are not demonized or targeted.”

Last week, 200 mayors and municipal leaders learned firsthand that antisemitism is not a distant issue. In New Orleans to attend the North American Mayors Summit against Antisemitism, the leaders were confronted by pro-Palestinian protestors threatening Jews in “dehumanizing, demonizing” language. As the Jerusalem Post reported, “For many of the mayors, this was the first time they personally felt even a fraction of the fear, tension, and vulnerability that so many Jews now live with every day. Antisemitism was no longer a statistic. It was a crowd on the sidewalk, screaming into their ears.”

Dig Deeper:

Sydney’s Wake-up Call When Antisemitism Turns Deadly  

How Protestors Exposed Antisemitism to Mayors’ Conference

What You Need to Know:

The long-awaited winter rains began on December 11, when “Storm Byron” brought a substantial amount of rainfall to southern Israel. After a short break, rain resumed on December 15, this time drenching the entire land for three days. The Meteorological Service reported that Byron “erased precipitation deficits in many parts of southern Israel and along the coast, and even led to a significant surplus in some areas.”

Israel’s biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria has been designated by the world for a Palestinian state since the Oslo Accords of the early 1990s. Though the area has half a million Jewish residents of the area, any possible growth of existing communities has been highly scrutinized by global bodies like the United Nations. Recently the Israeli government gave legal status to 19 communities, following their approval for the construction of 764 housing units in three communities. The Palestinian Authority has raised strong objections, but this is occasion for praise as the descendants of the patriarchs are once again inhabiting the land where the forefathers lived and much of the nation’s history took place.

There are strong signs that the Czech Republic will move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem next year. The connection between the two nations dates back to 1948, when Czechoslovakia was the only nation in the world to supply vitally needed arms to the State of Israel.

Dig Deeper:

Rain Sweeps from North to South  

Israel Grants Legal Status to 19 Communities in Judea and Samaria

Czech Republic Expected to Move Embassy to Jerusalem in 2026