Hamas Refusal to Disarm Sets Stage for Gaza Escalation  

Mark Dubowitz | April 28, 2026

Photo by Fars Media Corporation, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=138610022Photo by Fars Media Corporation, CC BY 4.0, Wikipedia

While the U.S.-Iran standoff and Hezbollah attacks from Lebanon make headlines, Israel has been stepping up preparations for a resumption of warfare in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is refusing U.S. overtures to disarm and is trying to relitigate President Donald Trump’s plan for rehabilitating the Palestinian enclave. While the timing and tactics of any new Israeli offensive have yet to be determined, there should be no doubt that Hamas is again imperiling Gaza.

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April 29, 2026 | 12:31 pm | Comments »

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Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more CAIR’s Halal Power Play: Nihad Awad Demands Government-Enforced Certification Through Local, State, and Federal Legislation (Video)  

Janet Levy:  Recite the response to that BIG FAT LIE after me:

– The United States is not a democracy. It is a CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC.

– The Establishment Clause in the First Amendment PROHIBITS the government from creating an official state religion OR favoring one religion over another or favoring religion over non-religion.

– There is NO connection here with KOSHER. Kosher slaughter is private, voluntary, and run by independent rabbinical organizations.

– There are no federal Kosher laws that have to be conformed to.

– Halal is a choice like Kosher.

Note to Halal Muslims: Take care of your own religious needs like Jews do. The government of the United States does NOT do this nor can they by law.

THIS IS AN ATTEMPT TO IMPOSE SHARIA ON ALL AMERICANS.

“Humankind cannot bear very much reality.”
? T. S. Eliot, Four Quartets

RAIR Foundation USA | Apr 28

Image via Rairfoundation https://rairfoundation.substack.com/p/cairs-halal-power-play-nihad-awadImage via Rairfoundation 

In a 2021 speech, CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad revealed the next stage of the organization’s long-term strategy: turning Halal certification into a government-enforced system protected by legislation at the local, state, and federal levels.

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April 29, 2026 | 12:06 pm | Comments »

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Diaspora Jewish resilience will define our future – opinion  

With Israel as a model of resilience, diaspora Jewry must rethink its approach to security, identity, and collective responsibility.

by Adam Milstein | April 17, 2026

Diaspora Jewish Resilience Will Define Our Future

The American Jewish community built its institutions for a different era. They were designed in the decades following the Holocaust, when Jewish life in the United States was secure, socially integrated, economically advancing, and largely insulated from public hostility and anti-Jewish violence.

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April 29, 2026 | 11:46 am | Comments »

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Will Zelensky’s Grain Ruse Be the Pretext for EU Sanctions on Israel?  

Peloni:  Zelensky’s faux outrage against Israel over the Russian grain sale is made patently clear by the below report of Russian stolen Ukrainian grain actually being sold in Ukraine via a Russia-Turkey-Ukraine route.  Take note that, as FM Sa’ar emphasized, no complaint or evidence was raised by Ukraine prior to Zelensky’s inexplicably public charges against Israel being filed via his Twitter account.  Notably, I would argue that given these facts, the issue of the stolen grain, whether it was stolen or not, and whether it was to be sold in Israel or not, was clearly never the point of Zelensky’s outrage.  So, what might the reason be for Europe’s star salesman to spontaneously concoct a story which has at its core no purpose but to delegitimize Israel on the international stage, and coincident to this, the EU raises threats of sanctions against Israel?  Was European threats of the sanctions the actual purpose behind Zelensky’s grain ruse?  Is this to be the basis by which Europe begins its post-Orban assault on Israel?  Notably, Israel has provided Ukraine with significant assistance over the past several years, even as Zelensky has maintained a majority of his support for ‘Palestine’, voting against Israel in nearly every vote raised in the UNGA against Israel, even as he found himself voting alongside Russia.   Hence, it begs the question of whether Zelensky’s intention in this gambit has been to play the court Jew for Europe’s beginning assault on Israel despite all that Israel has done to support Ukraine over the past several years.

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April 29, 2026 | 11:40 am | Comments »

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United Arab Emirates Ditches OPEC  

Peloni:  This is an enormously important shift among the Gulf and oil producing nations.  Their solidarity provided leverage over the West, and with UAE, OPEC’s third largest oil producer, breaking entirely with her OPEC allies, it provides the West with an important carve-out thru which oil production will be far more easily managed, ie lowering the price of energy.  Look for an angry response to this from Saudi Arabia.

Benjamin Roberts | Associate Editor | Daily Caller

OPEC map. Image by Dangui13 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikipedia

The United Arab Emirates announced on Tuesday that it will depart from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on May 1, 2026.

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April 28, 2026 | 5:22 pm | Comments »

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Time To End The Federation Monopoly On Jewish Leadership  

Jewish Federations do vital charitable work, but charity boards are not democratic governments. A community’s future should be shaped by its people, not by a donor class behind closed doors.

By: Ron East | The J.ca | April 28, 2026

Members of the Jewish community gather to demand greater transparency, accountability, and democratic representation, reflecting a growing debate over who truly speaks for communal leadership. (Image: TheJ.Ca.)Members of the Jewish community gather to demand greater transparency, accountability, and democratic representation, reflecting a growing debate over who truly speaks for communal leadership. (Image: TheJ.Ca.)

For too long, an uncomfortable fiction has gone unchallenged: that Jewish Federations are the rightful political and moral leadership of the Jewish community.

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April 28, 2026 | 5:21 pm | Comments »

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The Year of Aliyah  

A major financial opening for Diaspora Jews has arrived, signed in the Knesset on March 30. Read about it below along with a message for decision makers.

 Homecoming index map.  Ronn Torossian

I am writing from my home in Israel, a New Yorker living in Israel.

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April 28, 2026 | 5:02 pm | Comments »

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Morally, Leo Terrell Has Perfect Pitch  

By | April 27, 2026

Martin Marks hosts Jewish leaders to a Faith Office event in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on June 4th, 2025. Photo by Leo Terrell / Department of Justice - Leo Terrell in Facebook, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=169123964Martin Marks hosts Jewish leaders to a Faith Office event in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on June 4th, 2025. Photo by Leo Terrell / Department of Justice – Leo Terrell in Facebook, Public Domain, Wikipedia

Ordinarily at Jihad Watch, I “introduce” someone who has earned my, and I hope when I’m done with them, your contempt. People like Roger Waters, or Zohran Mamdani, or Peter Beinart, or George Galloway, or Tucker Carlson. Leo Terrell is not in their company. He’s their opposite. The theologically inclined (Jewish division) can think of Leo Terrell as one of the 36 Lamed Vavniks, the 36 Just Men whose existence causes God to stay his punishing hand from the universe. Or you can think of him as a “Righteous Gentile,” along with such people as Oskar Schindler, Raoul Wallenberg, Miep Gies, and Irina Sendler. Or think of Leo Terrell simply as a very good man.

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April 28, 2026 | 4:57 pm | 1 Comment »

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Israel and Ukraine clash over arrival of ship reportedly carrying grain from Russian-occupied territories  

Peloni:  It seems that Zelensky will never end his attempts to denigrate Israel in his attempts to involve the Jewish State in Iran’s war with Russia.  Meanwhile the EU is threatening sanctions.  Of course, there are better ways to manage diplomacy than via Twitter, but if anything has been learned from the Ukraine war, it is that neither Ukraine or Europe have any interest in diplomacy.

EU threatens sanctions over transactions involving ‘all actions that help fund Russia’s illegal war effort’

All Israel News Staff | Published: April 28, 2026

 Israeli foreign minister visits Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian counterpart. July 23, 2025. Screengrab via YoutubeIsraeli foreign minister visits Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian counterpart. July 23, 2025. Screengrab via Youtube

Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrii Sybiha, and his Israeli colleague Gideon Sa’ar have engaged in a public spat after a second vessel, alleged to be carrying grain from Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine, was spotted moving towards the Israeli port of Haifa.

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April 28, 2026 | 4:50 pm | 1 Comment »

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Thank you, Tucker Carlson!  

By Sha’i ben-Tekoa

Tucker Carlson. Photo by Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America - Tucker Carlson, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=134985243Tucker Carlson. Photo by Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America – Tucker Carlson, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikipedia

Thank you for your display of a mental pathology worthy of the label “anti-Jewitis,” a thought-disorder that manifests as obsessing with beliefs about Jews that have no basis in reality.

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April 28, 2026 | 4:58 am | 1 Comment »

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Dismantling of Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan on Trump’s Desk  

Peloni:  Eliminating the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan will have many important consequences and by doing so, he will send shockwaves across the world, throughout the Middle East, and most directly in the halls of power in Jordan.  It will be an important undertaking, and one which should be expanded beyond Jordan, across the region and even within the halls of power in the US and Europe, as well as in recording studios of the Western media…For now, it seems it may begin in Jordan, and as significant a moment as that will be, it must not end there.

April 28, 2026 | 4:48 am | Comments »

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Term Limits: The Cure for Political Stagnation  

Peloni:  The inherent corruption which comes from long standing members of congress remaining as the gatekeepers of a nation’s governing order is a serious concern, and I think that Michel Benchimol provides a strong argument in support of term limits to prevent such corruption taking root.  I ponder, however, where we would be today had Israel not had the leadership, experience and connections which came from PM Netanyahu running the ship of state in Israel as the world applied every effort to shut down Israel’s right to respond following October 7.  To be certain, his counterparts in the opposition which he brought in to support the govt made ever effort to end the war prematurely in support of the American Biden administration’s pro-Iran policy.  Of course, had Netanyahu not held that position, some other leader of the National camp would have risen to do the same.  Nonetheless, the question which remains in my mind is whether another leader would have had the presence and influence to withstand Biden’s every attempt, even stating that he [Bibi] would fight with his fingernails if needed when threatened by an arms embargo from the US.  It would be interesting to read the comments of others on this topic.

Without term limits, power hardens and democracy suffocates. Renewal must be built into the system, not left to chance.

Michel Benchimol

There is something quietly corrosive happening inside modern democracies: power is no longer rotating—it is settling. What was designed to be temporary has become permanent. In the United States, this is most visible in Congress—where members of the House and Senate often serve for decades—and, in an even more entrenched form, within the Supreme Court, where justices hold lifetime appointments. Institutions built for representation and balance are drifting toward preservation. This is not how democratic systems fail dramatically; it’s how they weaken gradually—through comfort, continuity, and the slow disappearance of renewal.

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April 28, 2026 | 4:45 am | 1 Comment »

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We finally have the upper hand with Iran. Here’s how not to squander it.  

Peloni:  Failure to achieve regime change in Iran will only serve to reinforce Iran’s ability to pursue its stated objectives of dominating the world, conquering America and destroying Israel.  No amount of supervision will change this, as they will simply wait out til those in America who are enervated to prevent a nuclear Iran fade from power and a more complacent set of leaders come to power in the US.  Notably, with VP Vance waiting in the wings to potentially become the new face of power in the US, the Iranians will not need to wait very long.  Trump has an opportunity to end the threat of a nuclear Iran, but it will require regime change in Iran, not coerced negotiated promises from ideologues in the IRGC for this opportunity to be realized.  Gen. Yossi Kuperwasser is right about having the upper hand with Iran.  It is time to use that hand to end the terrorist regime there, once and for all.

The United States and Israel must not repeat the mistakes of 2015. Critical objectives must be met by agreement or by renewed fighting, because in spite of the heavy damage inflicted on it, the Iranian regime has remained in power and continues to function.

Gen. (ret.) Yossi Kuperwasser | Apr 23, 2026

When I was a member of the Israeli team that met with the Obama administration ahead of 2015 nuclear negotiations with Tehran, we warned the U.S. team not to allow Iran to continue enriching uranium, since that would ultimately give rise to a nuclear crisis posing an existential danger to Israel and the West. Instead, Washington and the five other world powers negotiating with Iran 11 years ago capitulated to demands that Tehran continue enriching uranium. Even the minimal restrictions agreed to on paper were due to lapse by 2030 – making the Iran nuclear deal less a solution to a foreseeable global threat than a safe path for Iran to develop a large arsenal of nuclear weapons.

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April 28, 2026 | 3:26 am | Comments »

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First polls show new Bennett/Lapid party ‘Together’ still tailing PM Netanyahu’s Likud  

Peloni:  The elections are a long way into the future, and many things will change from now to then, and the impact on the election from the outcome of the war to the development of new or merged parties, on both sides, will have a bearing, but the real opportunity for the Bennett-Lapid union would seem to be in gaining the third leg of this stool, which is of course the joining of Gadi Eisenkot to their ranks.  Will Bennett step aside to allow room for Eisenkot at the top?  It seems he will have to do so, but the real question is whether Eisenkot might not be better off running alone, without Bennett and Lapid.

Of particular note, the fact that Bennett and Lapid agree only to support the vilification of ‘settler violence’ while failing to adopt either a pro-sovereignty or anti-Two State Solution position in the post-October 7 political atmosphere, indicates this merger was either announced prematurely, or they in fact intend to maintain the status quo, while focusing on supporting the canard of ‘Settler Violence’ [see HERE, HERE, and HERE].  Notably, the Myth of Settler Violence has been explained many times, yet it seems even Bennett is immune to grasping the falsehood concocted in this blood libel.  Of course, such blindness to reality serves the interests of Western govts who are keen on delegitimizing Israel’s sovereignty while also vilifying the Israel’s sovereignty movement, and also failing to solidify Israel’s ownership to the land as enshrined in the San Remo Declaration and enshrined in international law under the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine.  If this is to be the platform of the ‘Together’ party, it is a shameful, and will hopefully prove to be a tone deaf retreat from Israeli sovereignty in the coming election by this reunion of the Lapid-Bennet gambit.  But as I said, the elections are a long way from now, so time will tell.

Two leaders emphasize shared positions, putting away differences for sake of unity

All Israel News Staff | Published: April 27, 2026

Lapid and Bennett.  Screengrab via YoutubeLapid and Bennett. Screengrab via Youtube

After former prime ministers Naftali Bennet and Yair Lapid announced they would run together in the upcoming elections on Sunday, the first polls showed somewhat disappointing results for their joint party called “Beyachad,” meaning Together.

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April 27, 2026 | 5:46 pm | 1 Comment »

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You’re A Disgrace’: Trump Snaps At ’60 Minutes’ Interviewer After She Reads From Would-Be-Assassin’s Manifesto  

Peloni:  Norah O’Donnell provides clarity surrounding the role played by the American Left in raising tensions while using inciteful rhetoric, and she does so while cover a story relating the consequence of such irresponsible rhetoric.  In truth, while Trump fairly describes her conduct as ‘a disgrace’, her inability to shift roles actually serves as something of a public service.

Harold HutchisonMedia Reporter | Daily Caller |

Screengrab via Rumble

President Donald Trump clashed with “60 Minutes” contributing correspondent Norah O’Donnell during a Sunday interview after she read portions of the alleged would-be assassin’s manifesto.

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April 27, 2026 | 5:17 pm | Comments »

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Tick-tock, Tehran — the regime’s escape routes are closing fast  

Peloni:  Trump should go all the way to regime change.  Nothing else will provide the world with the security of not facing a revitalized Mullah regime in the future.

Mark Dubowitz & Miad Maleki | Apr 26, 2026

Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@thomasbormans?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Thomas Bormans</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/round-black-and-brown-analog-clock-JsTmUnHdVYQ?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a> Photo by Thomas Bormans on Unsplash

The clock is ticking in Washington and Tehran.

With midterm elections approaching, pressure is building on President Donald Trump — from the left and the isolationist right — to wind down the war against Iran.

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April 27, 2026 | 4:50 pm | 1 Comment »

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Israel warns US it will escalate Lebanon strikes if Hezbollah doesn’t stop relentless attacks on IDF soldiers  

Peloni:  The pretense of peace is forcing unnecessary battle casualties rather than peaceful cooperation.   Such costs do not aid either Israel or Lebanon, but of course, the break in the war against Hezbollah was not really about bringing peace in Southern Lebanon, but was instead offered as a concession to the Iranians for their cooperation in entering negotiations.  Days later, Hezbollah continues to attack Israel, and Iran continues to offer threats and marginal peace concessions, as Trump continues to simultaneously talk about peace in Lebanon and peace in Iran, neither of which appear to be close at hand.

IDF soldier killed as Israeli troops are under incessant drone attacks despite ceasefire

All Israel News Staff | Published: April 27, 2026

Helicopter under drone attack as evacuation of wounded takes place in Southern Lebanon over the weekend.  Screengrab via X.

Israel has warned the United States that it might escalate its strikes on Hezbollah forces in Lebanon, risking the fragile ceasefire, if the terror group continues its relentless attacks on Israeli troops and towns that killed at least one soldier and wounded several others on Sunday.

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April 27, 2026 | 3:23 pm | 2 Comments »

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