Friday, July 3, 2026

What You Need to Know:

PM Netanyahu: Three years ago, the panel of judges overseeing Prime Minister Netanyahu’s court cases on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust told state prosecutors there was not sufficient evidence to convict him of bribery. The prosecutors, who have been accused of conducting a “political witch hunt,” did not accept this recommendation. Instead, they subjected the prime minister to nearly 100 hearings at the same time he was leading the country during the war. After the prime minister finished testifying on June 24, the judges repeated their initial recommendation that there is no basis for a charge of bribery. Justice Minister Yair Levin, and other MKs (members of Knesset/Parliament) are calling for a dismissal of the charges “to prevent this miscarriage of law and justice from continuing.” MK Moshe Saada, once the deputy chief of the Department of Internal Police Investigations, said: “This is not a fair trial, this is a witch hunt.”

Election Year: A poll taken by i24NEWS found that there was broad support for a national unity government, but there are “deep political divisions over who should lead it.” The campaigns are beginning in earnest as former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot launched the Yashar! (Hebrew for straight or upright, honest) campaign on June 30. Pledging to “govern for all Israelis,” Eisenkot is one of the early frontrunners. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett just introduced his economic reform platform, pledging to reduce the cost of living for struggling Israelis. Elections will be held no later than October 27, 2026.

Dig Deeper:

Coalition MKs Push Pardon for PM after Judges Urge Dropping Key Charge  

Judges in Netanyahu Trial Suggest to Prosecution: Drop Bribery Charge   

Poll Shows Half Israelis Support Broad National Unity Government  

What You Need to Know:

Lebanon: A historic event took place on June 26: the signing of the Trilateral Framework between the United States, Israel and Lebanon. The first clause reads: “Israel and Lebanon affirm the right of each state to exist in peace, and their mutual desire to live in security as neighboring sovereign states.” In an article for the Jerusalem Post, Zvika Klein acknowledges that there are challenges that lie ahead: Will the weakened Iran/Hezbollah alliance be able to derail the agreement? But, for the first time since 1983, the government of Lebanon affirmed Israel’s right to exist. The 2022 maritime agreement required American officials to shuttle “between two rooms so the Lebanese side would never have to acknowledge Israel. This time, both governments signed in one room.” It is a giant step in the right direction.

Judea/Samaria: Israel’s longest border (300 km. or 186 mi.), shared with Jordan, lacks the protection of a physical barrier, earning it the name “the soft underbelly of the country.” Israeli residents along that border are worried that FPV (first-person viewed) drones may soon threaten their homes, as the “military has identified Iranian efforts to expand the use of attack drones.” The regional council head calls the situation “a real threat … if a drone crosses the boundary line, it could reach Tel Aviv in six minutes.”

Hamas/Gaza: Four Hamas terrorists were killed and several missile launchers destroyed last week. Dissidents living outside the Gaza Strip attempted to organize residents to protest the harsh living conditions in the enclave, but very few Gazans were brave enough to show up because of threats and intimidation from Hamas.

Dig Deeper:

Israel and Lebanon Recognize Each Other as Sovereign Neighbors   

Hamas Deploys Armed Guards, Confiscates Phones to Suppress Gaza Protest  

Israeli Communities on Jordanian Border Warn of Drone Threats   

What You Need to Know:

July 2 marked the 1,000th day of the war that began in response to the October 7, 2023 massacre of Israeli civilians by Hamas terrorists. At a briefing, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir told 30 of the military’s most senior commanders, “One thousand days and one thousand nights we have been fighting in one of the longest, most complex and most demanding campaigns we have ever known.”  

IDF reservists are bearing the weight of those 1,000 days. Shmuel Junger, executive director of Christian Friends of Israeli Communities, wrote: “The average Israeli reservist has served hundreds of days … fathers, husbands, business owners, students and young men who repeatedly and periodically leave everyone they love and everything … to fight bravely and heroically … protecting Israeli communities while trying to hold their own families together.”

Last week, three IDF veterans who were severely wounded spoke in a panel discussion called “Israel’s Wounded Warriors” at a recent Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) conference. Each shared life lessons learned through devastating loss. Ben Ladani, a lone soldier from South Africa, urged Israelis to put their differences aside, warning, “When we are divided and when we fight against one another internally, that’s when the enemy strikes.” Itay Sagi memorialized three close friends who died in the attack that nearly killed him, stating: “In their death, they commanded us to live … Fallen soldiers fought so we can have the best life we can. Remember them and thank them … We are fighting for our country, our families and for the Jewish people across the world.”

Dig Deeper:

IDF Marks Day 1,000 of the War of Redemption  

Wounded IDF Veterans Urge Israelis to Unite   

Combat Medics: from Treating Soldiers to Fighting for Recovery Themselves

What You Need to Know:

One of the thorniest issues confronting Israeli society today is whether the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) should be exempt from the military in order to study Torah (Gen.–Deut.), as reservists bear the brunt of service.  

Capt. “R” spoke with Ynetnews about the effects his prolonged deployments have had on his young family. In the more than 1,000 days of the ongoing war, Capt. R so far has spent 600 of those days away from his wife and two children. Their two-year-old has not known anything other than a father in uniform who disappears for lengths of time. His three-year-old daughter asked him: “Why aren’t you staying with us? We need you.” And this time, as he prepares to answer yet another call-up, he will be leaving his wife in her eighth month of pregnancy. She said: “I live in a constant marathon: rushing kids out in the morning to get to work on time so I can leave in time for pickups, then a second shift at home as if there was no workday. It’s exhausting to know there is no end to the fighting.”

For a glimpse at the other side, we are including an open letter to Aryeh Deri, head of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party. Israeli writer Hanoch Daum asks painful questions, exposing the deep divide between those who are risking their lives to defend Israelis while others stay at home. It is not an easy article to read, but it will shed light on one of the complexities confronting the people of Israel today.

Dig Deeper:

Reservist after 600 Days of Service: “We’re Being Torn Apart”  

To Aryeh Deri: We Are Burying Our Dead While You Defend Draft Dodgers  

What You Need to Know:

On June 23, 2026, the UN Human Rights Council received a 94-page paper titled “The Essence of Childhood Has Been Destroyed: Israel’s Deliberate Targeting of Palestinian Children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 7 October 2023.” The title is inflammatory and inaccurate. The Pillay Commission, which authored the report, is unable to provide clear documentation and evidence for its claims but rather “builds its findings on layers of inference and assumption that are presented as established fact, despite lacking sufficient evidentiary support.” Sadly, many will be swayed by the fact that the UN has put its stamp of approval on the report, thereby giving it credibility.

Israel’s Knesset (Parliament) unanimously approved a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide that occurred during 1915–1917, when the Ottoman Empire massacred between 800,000 and 1.2 million Armenians. After decades of delay, due mainly to foreign policy decisions, Israel has now joined 32 other countries who had previously recognized the genocide. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who sponsored the resolution, said, “It’s never too late to do the right thing.”

The following day, Azerbaijan, which has been developing ties as a regional ally of Israel, called the decision “unacceptable [and a] distortion of the truth.” Turkey, which has categorically denied that the genocide took place, claimed that the recognition was “a political decision intended to whitewash crimes committed by the Israeli army against the Palestinian population in Gaza.” Azerbaijan is calling on Israel to reconsider, and relations with Turkey have sunk a bit lower. However, Israel has taken the position that it “must condemn denial, minimization or distortion of the historical truth of those events,”

Dig Deeper:

UN Watch Disproves Charge that Israel Deliberately Targets Palestinian Children 

Israel Officially Recognizes Armenian Genocide after Decades of Diplomatic Friction  

Azerbaijan Condemns Israel’s Recognition of Armenian Genocide  

What You Need to Know:

The fight against antisemitism has gone high-tech, and Blue Square Alliance against Hate is perhaps the largest and best-known organization. Blue Square’s “command center” is located inside the New England Patriots’ stadium in Boston. Founded by Robert Kraft, Jewish owner of the Patriots, Blue Square analysts “monitor trends in antisemitic rhetoric online, craft research reports based on their findings, and use search engine optimization to make links with their resources float to the top of Google search results.” Using the wall-sized screens and technology handed down by the American football team, the group of approximately 12 analysts “monitors more than one billion social media posts every day.”

In an attempt to discover the root cause of rising antisemitism, the state of New Jersey is conducting a series of hearings that will culminate in a final report due next year. Preliminary results are finding that bringing Israel into the picture is significantly contributing to the increased number of antisemitic incidents. “New Jersey reported 687 antisemitic incidents last year, behind only New York and California.” Rafaela Dancygier, professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton, testified that “Opposition to anti-Jewish hate erodes when it’s framed in anti-Israel terms.” A recent poll showed “a record high 48% of US voters said that Washington was too supportive of the Jewish state.”

Dig Deeper:  

High Tech Command Center Fighting Antisemitism  

Conflating Judaism and Zionism Fuels Antisemitism, Experts Tell Panel  

Pres. Herzog: Modern Day Antisemitism Must Be Combatted  

What You Need to Know:

As it has done many times before, the tiny nation of Israel responded to the disaster in Venezuela when two powerful earthquakes struck less than one minute apart. The fact that there are no diplomatic relations between Israel and Venezuela did not impact Israel’s decision to immediately send an emergency medical team to the crisis zone. Alice Miller, CEO of NATAN Worldwide Disaster Relief, stressed that the first hours after a disaster are the most critical. She told JNS: “We arrive with medicine, listening, and respect. That is often the strongest form of diplomacy.”

A successful aliyah (immigration) experience doesn’t end when the new olim (immigrants) arrive. Putting down roots requires language learning and finding the economic means of support. Last week, more than 50 new (and not-so-new) immigrants took part in Tel Aviv’s “Shuk Olim” (Immigrants Market). The event provided exposure as they displayed their products and the opportunity to network with other immigrants. As one of the participants described the event: “It’s a mega platform for small businesses like mine that I can tap into. It helps me feel secure and that my efforts here are valued.”

Flights in and out of Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport have been significantly reduced, and at times nonexistent, for the past four months. That is set to change as the airport reopened Terminal 1 on June 28. As a result, the airport is expecting two million people to travel through the airport in July, a 25% increase compared with 2025.

Dig Deeper:

Israeli Aid Teams Head to Venezuela after Powerful Earthquakes  

Shuk Olim in Tel Aviv Aims to Help Immigrant Businesses  

Ben Gurion Reopens Terminal One