Friday, January 23, 2026

What You Need to Know:

PM Netanyahu has been crystal clear in all his communications on Gaza: Israel will not move to Phase Two of US President Trump’s Peace Plan until the terms of Phase One have been completed. There are two outstanding items. First is the body of hostage Ran Gvili, who fell in battle on October 7, which still remains in Gaza. Second, Hamas has not only refused to lay down their weapons, they are rapidly rearming. This week, we saw what appear to be cracks in the relationship between Israel and the US when President Trump launched his Board of Peace, an integral component of Phase Two, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, apparently without any coordination with Israel.

Phase Two contains a complex, tiered arrangement that includes a 50-member Board of Peace, a smaller Executive Board, the Gaza Executive Board and finally, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a 15-member Palestinian technocratic committee which is intended to handle day-to-day governance. The Americans demanded that the Rafah Crossing be opened in order for members of the NCAG to enter Gaza and begin their work. Standing firm in his determination for Phase One to be completed, PM Netanyahu refused. Another problem with Phase Two is that Turkey and Qatar, nations with strong ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, have been named as members of the Gaza Executive Board, presenting a serious security concern for Israel.

Dig Deeper:

Trump’s Board of Peace Explained  

Hamas Patrons Named to Gaza Board Sparking Friction with Israel  

Israel Defies US Demand and Keeps Rafah Crossing Closed

What You Need to Know:

Iran: As the US beefs up its forces in the region and rhetoric continues to fly back and forth between President Trump and various Iranian leaders, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir affirmed, “We are fully prepared defensively for every scenario. The lessons of ‘Operation Rising Lion’ [Israel’s 12-day war with Iran in June 2025] have been implemented.” PM Netanyahu summed up the situation when he told the Knesset, “No one can predict what tomorrow will bring in Iran, but one thing is clear: no matter what happens—Iran will not return to being what it was.”

Syria: Although the thousands of ISIS fighters freed in Syria do not pose an immediate threat to Israeli security, they “represent a strategic destabilizer tied to broader instability in eastern and northeastern Syria.” This will strengthen Iran’s ability to smuggle weapons to Hezbollah. Regarding the current talks between Israel and Syria about a security agreement, the IDF opposes the Syrian demand that Israel withdraw from nine new outposts established on the Golan Heights after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Judea/Samaria: The significant drop in terror attacks and Israeli deaths last year stands as proof of the effectiveness of the IDF’s “Iron Wall” counterterror operation. There were 504 Palestinian attacks in 2024 with 41 Israelis killed, compared to only 57 attacks and 20 deaths in 2025. Israel’s biblical heartland is home to approximately 500,000 Jewish residents.

Dig Deeper:

PM Netanyahu: Iran Will Face Unprecedented Force if it Attacks Israel   

West Bank Terror Attacks and Israeli Deaths Dropped Sharply in 2025

Talks between Israel and Syria Could Change Reality on the Golan Heights    

What You Need to Know:

A recent report by UN Watch, an organization that monitors the UN’s performance, shows drastic differences in how UN human rights experts treat the nations of the world. The report showed that experts fail to condemn religious persecution, the oppression of women and public executions in the nation of Iran. In contrast, Israel is criticized for self-defensive actions or construction on Jewish-owned land in Judea and Samaria. The report concludes with a call for reform, stating, “It cannot be that an expert meant to defend freedom of expression ignores the arrest of hundreds of journalists in Iran, yet finds time to condemn Israel every Monday and Thursday.”

This week, many of the world’s leaders gathered in Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum (WEF). President Isaac Herzog led Israel’s delegation and used the opportunity to meet with Annalena Baerbock, president of the UN General Assembly “to express concerns over the exclusion of senior Israeli officials from international forums,” like the prestigious WEF meeting. PM Netanyahu did not attend, possibly due to an ICC arrest warrant issued in 2024 that prevents his travel to certain countries that have indicated they will enforce the warrant. President Herzog said, “Those who truly want to ‘build trust’ cannot exclude those who are on the front lines of the struggle. Israel’s leaders and decision makers should be welcomed everywhere, on every stage.” 

Dig Deeper:

UN Watchdog Slams Human Rights Experts for Ignoring Iran’s Abuses

Pres. Herzog Calls for End to International Sanctions against Top Israelis  

What You Need to Know:

As a tiny country in a tough neighborhood, Israel has been forced to fight defensive wars on a regular basis since the founding of the state. Military reservists have been a key part of that defense, with men serving one month a year until their early 40s. However, during the past two years, many of the reservists who serve in combat units have given hundreds of days in defense of the country. Recently, a US $2 billion budget was approved in committee to help ease these reservists’ financial burden. Defense Minister Katz said, “This is our way of telling reserve soldiers—men and women—that the State of Israel see them, values them and will always stand behind them and their families.”

Reserve soldiers from the 16th Brigade, also known as the Jerusalem Brigade, have almost finished their sixth combat call-up since October 7. Their officers “refuse to describe the past months, spent operating along Gaza’s buffer zone, as a ceasefire.” The time was spent locating tunnels and weapons caches as well as being on constant alert as terrorists approached the buffer zone, testing IDF responses. Sixteen soldiers from the Jerusalem Brigade have been killed in the war. Although men of the brigade will be heading home this week, they will be on standby and have been told to expect another deployment in September. Such is the life of an IDF reservist.

Dig Deeper:

Israel Advances Plan to Ease Burden on IDF Reservists   

15 Targets in 40 Minutes: IDF Reserve Brigade in Gaza  

What You Need to Know:

While demographically Israel is a “younger” nation, its elderly population is increasing rapidly, with the 80+ age group growing the fastest. The figures for 2024 show that approximately 1.2 million Israelis, about 12–13% of the nation’s population, are 65 or older. Interestingly, data from 2022 shows that 63% of this age group were born abroad. As retired university professor, 93-year-old Shimon Glick, told the Jerusalem Post there is a shortage of doctors specifically trained to care for the aging, which “requires specialization in geriatrics. Doctors want to see people get well and not, eventually, die.” However, as Glick went on to say, “It is fortunate that, in general, Israelis are close to their parents and grandparents and respect the elderly.”

This age group also faces financial challenges, as “longer lives increase dependence on pensions, savings and continued employment.” A recent study showed that 35% of Jewish men continue to work after the age of 65, over half of them in full-time jobs. Moreover, single women are especially vulnerable to financial struggles.

There is currently only one care home for Messianic believers in Israel, Beit Ebenezer, located in Haifa. It can be difficult for followers of Yeshua (Jesus), as some are the only believers in their families. Established in 1976, Beit Ebezener provides a home where believers share their lives and faith, encouraging each other in a safe and loving environment.

Dig Deeper:

How Will Israel Cope with an Aging Population?

Israel’s Elderly Are Living Longer  

As Israelis Live Longer, Arabs and Single Women Lag behind on Financial Security   

Beit Ebenezer: Caring for Elderly Jewish and Arab Believers

What You Need to Know:

In the past ten years, antisemitic acts in the US “have increased by 900% and nearly tripled since October 7, 2023.” A recent anti-Israel demonstration outside a yeshiva (religious school) in New York City “underscored the new status of Palestinians as absolute victims (whose fate can be defended) and…that of Israel and its supporters as absolute culprits.” Two days after the demonstration, the oldest synagogue in Mississippi was set on fire in a blatant act of antisemitisim.

Posing as a pro-Palestinian activist, French journalist Nora Bussigny spent an entire year researching The New Antisemites. The book covers the depth to which “antisemitism, hatred of Jews and anti-Zionism” have penetrated many of France’s far-left organizations. Bussigny explains that before October 7, only these organizations’ common hatred of the police united them. Now it is a hatred of Jews (or Zionists) that binds them together. The book contains detailed information as to how radical anti-Israel groups get political backing and even public funding at times. Bussigny said, “I’m very, very afraid for France.

Greece recently revoked the asylum status of Mohamad Alkhatib, formerly of Gaza, based on “clear evidence” that he publicly praised Hamas’s October 7 attack and had been acting as “a propagandist and apologist for Hamas in Europe” since he arrived in March 2025. Alkhatib is currently in Belgium, where his application for asylum there has been denied.

Dig Deeper:

Opinion: US Antisemitisim at Its Most Alarming Level  

French Journalist Infiltrates Anti-Israel Groups

Greece Revokes Asylum Status of Gazan Who Praised Oct 7 Hamas    

What You Need to Know:

In a move that signals a return to the close relationship between the nations, Honduran President-elect Nasry Asfura paid a visit to Jerusalem before he takes office on January 27. Although Honduras was among the first nations to acknowledge the State of Israel, relations became strained when Asfura’s predecessor recalled the Honduran ambassador due to the Gaza war. The president-elect, who is a conservative Christian, promised to “receive the letter of credentials from the Israeli ambassador on his first day in office.”

Rising antisemitism, political shifts toward anti-Israel positions and violent attacks such as the one Australian Jews experienced last month at Bondi Beach are causing many Jewish residents of the Diaspora to purchase homes in Israel. While many of these new homeowners are from the US, others hail from the United Kingdom, France, South Africa and Australia. One financier told Ynetnews, “an apartment in Israel…serves as an anchor of stability and an insurance policy for the family’s future.” 

In the hopes of raising awareness of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, observed on January 27, Czech national Lukáš Klement set out on a journey of 620 miles (998 km.). Klement, who is not Jewish, chose a bicycle as his mode of transport because during the 1940s Jews were prohibited from any other form of transportation. The route, which spelled out “Never Again” on the map, began at the Auschwitz death camp in Poland.

Dig Deeper:

Honduras President-Elect Expresses Hope for New Era in Bilateral Ties with Israel  

Diaspora Jews Seeking Homes in Israel to Live In, not as Investments   

“Never Again” Czech Cycles 620 Miles around Auschwitz