Friday, July 17, 2026

What You Need to Know:

PM Netanyahu: The pressure PM Netanyahu is experiencing from President Trump is nothing new. A rare, historic recording made by Isser Harel, the first head of the Shin Bet (Israeli internal security organization), reveals a severe warning David Ben-Gurion received from the US: “Know that if you declare the state, Arab countries will attack you… know that we will not lift a finger and we will not stand by your side. Do not declare the state.” Today, the US president is pressuring PM Netanyahu to withdraw from Syria and Lebanon, a move that would put Israel’s northern communities at risk once more. Leadership in Israel requires faith that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has not changed and will keep the eternal covenant He made more than 3,500 years ago.

Election Year:  On July 17, the Knesset (Parliament) dissolved, ending its four-year term and becoming the first Knesset to complete a full term since 1988. Existing members and the current government headed by PM Netanyahu will continue to serve until the election results are announced on November 4. On September 9, parties which intend to run must submit a final list of names to the Central Elections Committee. On October 27, Israelis will cast their vote for a party, not a person. Seats in the 120-member Knesset are given to parties based on the percentage of the total vote they receive. Interestingly, “under Israel election law, campaign broadcasts are only allowed to air 21 days immediately preceding the election.”

Dig Deeper:

PM Netanyahu: Israel Pulled Off the Greatest Comeback in History  

High Stakes Pressure before Ben Gurion Announced State’s Establishment

Election Season in Israel: Important Dates to Note 

What You Need to Know:

Turkey: The potential sale of F-35s to Turkey has set off alarm bells in Israel, Greece and Cyprus. The supersonic combat plane is able to evade radar detection and means that Turkey potentially could launch an attack without warning. Or, Turkey could provide Syria “with the capacity to track F-35s, ending or severely limiting Israel’s ability to launch preemptive strikes.” The sale faces a legal battle as the US is precluded from selling these jets to a nation which also possesses Russian air defense systems.

Lebanon/Hezbollah: Israel’s security challenge in Lebanon can be named with one word: Hezbollah. Unless and until Iran’s terror puppet is disarmed and dismantled, Israel cannot afford to leave the security buffer zone it has established south of the Litani River.

Syria presents a different security challenge than Lebanon, as there are many unknowns. “Years of civil war, institutional collapse, Iranian entrenchment, Russian influence, militia activity and jihadist groups” all contribute to the question: Can President Ahmed al-Sharaa ensure stability in southern Syria that will provide Israel with the security it must have along the border?

Gaza/Hamas: Drawing on the IDF Nahal program that established 100 border communities in the early years of Israel’s statehood, Defense Minister Israel Katz has called for the establishment of three new Nahal outposts in northern Gaza. Katz believes these outposts, which combine military service with agricultural development, are key to the defense of the existing Israeli communities along the Gaza border. It remains to be seen whether or not the plan will come to fruition.

Dig Deeper:

Turkey Could Overcome US Limits to F-35s  

“If Hezbollah Stays, We Stay” Israel Sets Terms for Talks in Rome   

Why Israel Must Be Cautious about Syria  

DM Katz Renews Push for IDF Outposts in Northern Gaza

What You Need to Know:

Serving in Lebanon: For some active-duty soldiers, this is the third time they have fought in southern Lebanon. Lt. Col “S” recalled being stationed in the area during the 1990s only to return in 2006 during the Second Lebanon War and then again now. He said he feels a difference between the first two occasions when Israel was “on the defensive, operating with restraint” and the current operations, one of which destroyed the military infrastructure in Bint Jbeil, a Hezbollah stronghold from which former Hezbollah chief Nasrallah called Israel “as weak as a spider’s web.” Speaking to a reporter, “S” summed it up when he said: “I believe being here is a privilege, a commandment and a duty. We are here to deny capabilities. They will not be able to conquer our communities. We cannot control their desire, but we can reduce their ability.”

Draft Exemption or Not? Whether or not mandatory military (or national) service should be required of the ultra-Orthodox is an issue that has divided Israeli society for years. And the recent passage of a bill that will suspend enforcement against those yeshiva (religious school) students who have failed to enlist when called has drawn sharp criticism from the IDF. After nearly three years of fighting a multi-front war, the IDF has been experiencing a manpower shortage of new recruits, causing reservists to serve for unprecedented lengths of time. In a letter to PM Netanyahu and Defense Minister Katz, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said the legislative action will “undermine trust among serving soldiers and deepen inequality in the military.”

Dig Deeper:

IDF Destroys Hezbollah Stronghold Where Nasrallah Declared Israel Weak

What Was Found Inside Hezbollah’s Majdal Zoun Tunnels?  

IDF Chief Warns Draft Exemption Bill Will Shatter Trust among Israeli Soldiers 

What You Need to Know:

Recognizing that men grieve differently, Hayeladim Shelanu (“Our Children”) recently hosted a “first-of-its-kind evening” that drew 300 men from across Israel. Mental health expert Dr. Oren Gur said: “Men often process grief silently, turning inward or channeling it into physical action. When we don’t give men specialized spaces to let their guard down, that repressed grief manifests as severe emotional isolation, anger or total burnout.” The evening gave those in attendance a place to connect with other men with whom they could communicate in depth and experience relief from holding the emotions inside.

Just a few kilometers from Lebanon, Kiryat Shmona has been on the frontlines of the war with Hezbollah for decades. Much of the town is deserted; its evacuated residents living elsewhere. In an interview with Ynetnews, Zion and Michal Saadia spoke about their eldest son, who was killed by Hezbollah terrorists years ago. Michal expressed the heartfelt cry of many northern residents when she said, “Twenty years have passed since the Second Lebanon War and since our tragedy, and the war in the north has essentially still not ended. It is impossible to grasp.”

There are a sizeable number of street cats in Jerusalem, said to have been imported by the British to deal with a rat infestation during the Mandate Period (1922–1948). Many areas have “cat ladies” who put dry food out each day. Tova Saul, a resident of Jerusalem’s Old City, goes a step further and rescues vulnerable kittens and injured adult cats, bringing them into her home until they can be adopted.

Dig Deeper:

Event for Bereaved Fathers Stresses Unity, Resilience and Hope

Parents Remember Son Killed 20 Years Ago as Lebanon War Continues  

Tova Saul, the Cat Rescuer of Jerusalem

What You Need to Know:

Too often Israel is accused, put on trial and judged guilty by the world—all based on lies and media spin. It doesn’t matter what the facts are, Israel is guilty in the eyes of many. Here are just two examples:

Media Performance: US Rep. Ro Khanna recently claimed that “Israeli settlers, brandishing American-made M4s, detained me and other Americans on my trip to Palestine.” The truth is that the group had entered a closed military zone and were stopped by soldiers. Khanna’s tour leader was “explicitly warned by officers, as this was not his first time violating the closed military zone order … tour participants were briefed on the military order and allowed to leave the restricted area.” Yechiel Leiter, Israeli ambassador to the US, wrote that not only did the congressman refuse to coordinate his visit with the Israeli government, he “used this instance as an opportunity to tout ‘genocide’ and ‘apartheid’ libels to the press, propelling himself to the center of yet another anti-Israel media frenzy.”

Stolen Aid: Throughout the war, Israel has been accused of starving Gazan citizens and creating a humanitarian crisis. Recently Israel showed that 1.78 million tons of food entered Gaza during the ceasefire, more than three times what was needed. What happened to the food? In a surprising and highly usual statement, Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, a UN official, blamed Hamas. Though he called them “de facto authorities” rather than their true name, he called their actions “completely unacceptable, reflecting an increasingly dangerous pattern of intimidation, violence and obstruction, including smuggling attempts, as well as targeting and abusing humanitarian operations.”

Dig Deeper:

US Congressman Says He was Detained by Israeli Settlers  

Israel Ambassador Accuses Congressman of Staged Provocation

Israel Provided Gaza with Triple the Food it Needed During the Ceasefire   

Hamas Raids Food Distribution Point in Gaza Drawing Condemnation from UN   

What You Need to Know:

The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) reported 111 antisemitic incidents over the period of one week that included: A massive banner reading ‘Destroy Israel’ at the opening ceremony of a festival in Pamplona (Spain), an Israeli tourist who received a “No Room for Genocide” email from his Naples (Italy) hotel; an Orthodox man who was outside a Montreal (Canada) synagogue when a passerby tried several times to pull his shtreimel (traditional Hasidic fur hat) from his head. More than half of these were attributed to the Far-Left (58), Far-Right (22) and Islamist-inspired (10). The remaining 21 could not be tied to a specific ideology.

Australia: Anti-Israel activism in Australia’s medical facilities began in earnest after the Hamas massacre on October 7. JNS reported: “Medical staff wore protest symbols to work right after the attack. They covered bathroom stalls and hallways with stickers, including a Star of David with a red line through it.” Not only are Jewish patients afraid to receive medical care, Jewish hospital staff and doctors have been subjected to verbal and sometimes physical intimidation. Israel’s foreign ministry has called on the Australian government “to confront antisemitism forcefully.”

Standing with Israel: Evangelical Christians, nearly 800 million strong worldwide, continue to be Israel’s strongest supporters in the face of rising antisemitism. During a panel discussion in Tel Aviv, Pastor Greg Denham was asked to explain the roots of this connection. In a nutshell, he replied: “The bond between Evangelical Christians and Israel is rooted in God’s story, a story that is still unfolding. It is a bond that will not be broken.”

Dig Deeper:  

Antisemitism Rampant in Australian Medical Profession Report Says  

Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) Weekly Report  

One of Israel’s Strongest Alliances in an Age of Antisemitism  

What You Need to Know:

Very few politicians in the world today have been as steadfast in their unwavering support of Israel and the Jewish people as Lindsey Graham, the US senator from South Carolina. His unexpected death is being mourned here in Israel, the nation he so stalwartly defended throughout his political career, no matter which way the winds of public opinion blew.

Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory located at the tip of the Iberian Peninsula, announced it is renaming its international airport in honor of “one of the most prominent Jewish public servants in the modern Commonwealth.” Sir Joshua Hassan, a member of Gibraltar’s centuries-old Jewish community, served four terms as chief minister, “helping [to] shape modern Gibraltar.” His daughter, Fleur Hasson-Nahoum, said, “We hope that seeing his name associated with Gibraltar’s airport will encourage future generations to remember not only what he achieved, but how he achieved it—with humility, determination and an unwavering commitment to the people he served.”

Since his inauguration as Honduras’ president early this year, Nasry Asfura has led a shift in Honduran policy toward Israel. In the short time he has led the country, Asfura withdrew his nation from the Hague Group, a coalition led by South Africa that “seeks to coordinate legal and diplomatic action against Israel,” and altered the Honduras’s “voting pattern at the United Nations in Israel’s favor.” And, “As part of the growing relationship, Israel responded to a personal request from Asfura by sending an emergency ophthalmology mission to treat Hondurans suffering from serious eye conditions.”  

Dig Deeper:

Lindsey Graham Remembered for Deep Personal Connection to Israel & Jews  

Gibraltar to Rename International Airport after Jewish Statesman  

Honduras’ President Asked for Help; Israel Sent Eye Surgeons