Friday, September 5, 2025

What You Need to Know:

Security has been heightened around Prime Minister Netanyahu and members of the Security Cabinet in response to Houthi threats after an Israeli strike on August 29 killed the terror group’s prime minister and several senior officials in Sanaa.

Discussions regarding the annexation of Judea and Samaria (Israel’s biblical heartland, known to the world as the West Bank) continue. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich unveiled a detailed proposal to annex 82% of the area in question, which is home to nearly half a million Jews and more than two million Arabs. The Security Council was set to discuss the issue at a meeting on September 4. The outcome of the discussion remains unknown at the time of this writing. If Israel declares sovereignty over the area, which the Palestinians have claimed for their own, it will certainly set off a diplomatic firestorm as well as increased terror activity on the ground.

On the economic front, Israel’s leaders must determine how to compensate property owners whose homes and businesses were damaged by Iranian strikes during the 12-day war this summer. During a two-week period, a record 53,599 claims were filed for direct damages, which are estimated at approximately NIS 4 billion (US $1.1 billion.” Indirect damage has not yet been calculated.

Dig Deeper:

Security Boosted Around Israeli Leaders amid Houthi Revenge Threats

PM Netanyahu Weighs Annexation of Judea-Samaria

FM Smotrich Proposes Annexing 82% of Judea and Samaria

Devastating Iran Missile Attacks Leave Israel with Multi-Billion Shekel Bill

What You Need to Know:

Judea and Samaria: This week saw widespread activity by Israeli security forces in the biblical heartland, including the high-profile arrest of Hebron’s Mayor Tayseer Abu Sneineh for ongoing terrorist activities. Israeli troops raided several villages near Nablus (biblical Shechem), arresting 13 suspects and seizing rifles, a sawed-off shotgun, pistols, pipe bombs, Molotov cocktails, dozens of loaded magazines, hundreds of rounds of ammunition. The area remains a significant threat to the security of Israel’s citizens.

Lebanon: Although the Lebanese government accepted the responsibility to oversee the disarmament of Hezbollah as part of the November 2024 ceasefire agreement, this has yet to happen. Hezbollah continues to maintain a military presence in southern Lebanon and is working to rebuild. This week saw the destruction of several positions that had been used by the Iranian-backed terror group on Mount Dov, an area currently under Israeli control but contested by both Syria and Lebanon. Several other strikes occurred, including one at a site currently used by Hezbollah to produce materials needed for the reconstruction of the infrastructure used in their terrorist operations.

Syria: Israel continues to work towards the creation of a demilitarized zone from the Golan Heights to just south of Damascus. This will fulfill Israel’s goals of protecting Syrian Druze and including their villages in the security zone as well as the protection of their own communities along the Syrian border. A security agreement between Syria and Israel, which have been at a state of war since 1948, is still under discussion.

Dig Deeper:

Hebron Mayor Arrested as IDF Conducts Raids in Judea/Samaria

Troops Destroy Hezbollah Sites in Mount Dov Area

Israel Plans Security Corridor for Safety of Syrian Druze

What You Need to Know:

The UN General Assembly’s 80th session, set to begin on September 9, is shaping up to be a tumultuous one. A number of nations have signaled their readiness to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state, despite Israel’s objection that this is a blatant reward for the Hamas terror group’s diabolical October 7 attack. US President Trump has indicated that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his delegation will not be given visas to enter the US, thus preventing their attendance at the UN sessions.

The UN continues to pressure Israel to reach a ceasefire in Gaza. This week, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric accused Israel of “…taking a heavy toll on civilians, including deaths, injuries and further displacement.” In addition Israel is being accused of “scholasticide,” as 600,000 Gazan children are unable to attend school because “Gaza is in ruins and so is its education system.”

Finally, the Houthis in Yemen have appealed to the UN, asking that they “compel Israel to comply with international law.” The terror group, backed by Iran, insists that their own aggression in support of Gaza does comply with international law and will continue “until the [Israeli] aggression ends and the blockade [of Gaza] is lifted.”

Dig Deeper:

Visas Denied to Mahmoud Abbas and 80 Palestinian Officials 

UN: Daily Malnutrition Deaths as IDF Pushes Further into Gaza City

Houthis Press UN to Act against Israel

What You Need to Know:

With the recovery of the bodies of Ilan Weiss (56) and Idan Shviti (28) this past week, the number of Israeli hostages remaining in Gaza now stands at 48. The Israeli government has refused to accept the latest offer that would see 10 living hostages returned along with the remains of 18 dead hostages in exchange for approximately 1,000 Gazans released and a 60–day ceasefire. Instead, Israel is holding firm for a comprehensive agreement that would see all remaining hostages released and Hamas removed from the Strip. The current expansion of military operations would indicate that ceasefire/hostage negotiations have come to a standstill.

Monday saw call-up orders for tens of thousands of reservists, many of whom have already served three or four tours since October 7, 2023. Liran, a combat soldier from Dimona who was interviewed by Ynetnews said, “I’ve already done a little over 300 days, but there was never a thought of not coming. When one soldier doesn’t show up, it lowers the morale of the whole unit.” It is estimated that 130,000 reserves and five regular divisions will be needed to enable the IDF to take control of Gaza City, Hamas’s last major stronghold.

According to official IDF data, “the death toll since the start of the Gaza ground incursion stands at 456, with a total of 900 on all fronts.”

Dig Deeper:

Body of Hostage Idan Shitivi Identified after Gaza Recovery

Wartime Toll Rises to 900 Soldiers

IDF Reservists Keep Morale High as Thousands Answer Call-up

What You Need to Know:

In late June, the government approved a proposal that will allow the return to their homes for residents of 12 communities on the Gaza border. The process will be a slow one, as many homes have been damaged beyond the point of repair and must be demolished in order to begin again. Feelings among the residents are mixed, with some opting to wait until the area is no longer a war zone. Residents of Ein Hashlosha, a community near the Gaza border, told the Times of Israel, “We are not willing to gamble with our lives again.”

The residents of Nir Oz, one of the communities that bore the worst Hamas’s brutal attack, are choosing a different path. On October 7, Hamas terrorists entered all but six of the 200 homes and murdered or took hostage one out of every four residents. Nine of Nir Oz’s members are still being held in Gaza. Yet these brave Israelis are choosing to return, even during uncertain times. A kibbutz spokesperson recently told the Times of Israel, “Despite the pain, we are determined to transform from a symbol of disaster into a symbol of revival, to rebuild our common home, and also to accompany members who have chosen to build their lives elsewhere.”

Dig Deeper:

Government Clears Return of Gaza Border Communities amidst Security Concerns

Kibbutz Nir Oz Begins Demolishing Homes Damaged on October 7

New Families Are Heading to the Gaza Border, Boosting Returning Communities

What You Need to Know:

There is no doubt that antisemitism is growing rapidly around the world. It can take any number of forms—scrawled graffiti on a Holocaust memorial, the beating of a young French boy leaving a synagogue or the refusal of an American teachers union to provide a safe environment for its educators. Even countries that have been relatively free from antisemitism are changing. For instance, this week saw the shocking stabbing of an elderly Jewish woman in a kosher grocery store in Ottawa. Although the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney condemned the attack, Michael Oren, Israel’s former ambassador to the US, pointed out that Carney encourages antisemitism as he often embraces “outrageous and easily disprovable allegations that Israel is guilty of the worst crimes against humanity.”

For an interesting perspective on the question, “Why Antisemitism Never Dies,” we’ve included a link to a blog written by Richard Diamond, a retired technology executive. In his thought-provoking answer to the question he poses, one of his concluding thoughts is that “antisemitism endures because Judaism insists that no throne is untouchable, no empire eternal, no tyrant divine. That message enrages authoritarians abroad and unsettles the insecure at home.”

Dig Deeper:

Elderly Woman Stabbed in Ottawa Grocery Store

New York City Educators Say They Are Leaving Teacher Union Due to Antisemitism

A Growing Antisemitic Epidemic Taking Place in Lyon, France

Why Antisemitism Never Dies

What You Need to Know:

In a dramatic demonstration of the Lord’s sovereignty, the third pro-Palestinian flotilla of the summer turned back to Barcelona when they encountered stormy weather in the Mediterranean less than a day into their journey. Dubbed the Global Sumud (Arabic for “determination” or “firm stand”) Flotilla, it was described on its departure as “history’s largest international civil humanitarian movement to break the siege on Gaza, open a maritime humanitarian corridor and denounce the genocide against the Palestinians.”

Hundreds of activists from 44 countries and 20 boats were to participate. These attempts are actually just propaganda stunts which put Israel in a difficult position on the world stage where so many nations sympathize with the Palestinian cause.

In a world of politically-motivated anti-Israel boycotts, there is positive news for Israeli avocados. Although there have been isolated boycotts against the Israeli avocado in parts of northern Europe, most retailers elsewhere have not followed suit. As a “superfood,” demand remains high, with 132,000 US tons of Israeli avocados expected to be shipped to Europe this year. The fruit is also very popular in Israel itself, causing farmers to expand the number of acres set aside for avocado groves each year.

Dig Deeper:

Gaza Flotilla Returns to Barcelona Due to Stormy Weather

On Its Second Attempt, Flotilla Hampered by Strong Winds, Lost Boats

Green Gold: Avocado Exports Remain Strong