By Hugh Fitzgerald | April 20, 2026

2023 Hezbollah drill in Aaramta, Tasnim News Agency reporter (uncredited), Creative Commons Attribution 4.0

When Donald Trump told the world that “Israel is PROHIBITED” from continuing its attacks on Hezbollah, he was not only showing a palpable want of sympathy for Israel, as it tries to complete its war against the jihad terror group. He also betrayed his miscomprehension of the Lebanese government’s position. The Lebanese government, and at least two-thirds of the Lebanese population, want Hezbollah to be destroyed. Trump’s prohibition was shameful; one hopes that despite his bullying “prohibition,” the IDF will continue to attack what remains of Hezbollah as a fighting force in Lebanon.

Read more…

Janet Levy: In 2025, Qatar gave $1.2 billion to U.S. colleges and universities, a major increase from its 2024 contribution of $396 million.

A House Committee on Education report revealed that Qatar’s involvement suppressed criticism of Hamas following the October 7^th Massacre and contributed to the rise of radical antisemitism on U.S. campuses.

Qatar’s influence extends into the American media infrastructure. CNN is expanding its operations by establishing an office in Media City Qatar at no cost to the network. The Qatar Foundation pays a veteran CNN producer $460,000 annually.

Don’t forget Trump’s close relationship, investments, and the executive order that protected Qatar. Qatar harbors and finances the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas operatives who masterminded the Massacre. It also funds Hezbollah, Hamas, ISIS, Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and beyond.

The Washington Free Beacon reported that Doha hired Washington firms to “address public misconceptions” after Congress exposed Qatar’s pressure on U.S. universities.

Jewish Onliner | Apr 20, 2026

Click Link to Read Article

https://jewishonliner.org/p/qatar-congress-doha-washington-america-funding-universities-education

Peloni:  Below offers an important context to the US emboldening and strengthening Iran in the region. Erdogan’s goals are centered around conquest, not stability, and it has made no pretense about its enmity and focus of coordinating its expansionist goals around the denigration and isolation of Israel.  Diffusing this problem can only be addressed by the US, but not in the way the US is currently acting as it seems to be strongly guided by the Turkish delights of Amb. Tom Barrack’s pro-Erdogan fantasies.

Ankara’s anti-Israel campaign under Erdogan signals a deeper strategic confrontation and rising Middle East tensions.

Video Loads Below

Read more…

Seized vessel captured by US forces is cargo ship en route from China

All Israel News Staff | Published: April 20, 2026

USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) conducts U.S. blockade operations in the Arabian Sea, April 16, 2026. (Photo: US Centcom)

U.S. military forces seized an Iranian cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman after it failed to heed warnings and attempted to breach the ongoing American blockade, Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Sunday.

Read more…

Parallels can be drawn between the pre-state era and today. The current Israeli leadership must draw the necessary lessons from the historic decision made then by David Ben-Gurion-the declaration of statehood. 

Yehudit Katsover & Nadia Matar, co-chairs of the Sovereignty Movement | Ribonut.co.il | April 20, 2026

Ben-Guryon. Photo by Meitar Collection / National Library of Israel / The Pritzker Family National Photography Collection, CC BY 4.0, Wikipedia [Cropped]

Ahead of the 78th Independence Day of the State of Israel, it is fitting to return to the foundational moment in Israel’s history-the declaration of independence-not only as a moving historical event, but as a profound political act that changed the rules of the game.

Read more…

Hungary’s election matters—to Hungarians, to Europe, and to regional geopolitics—but it does not determine the trajectory of American politics.

Moshe Phillips | Am Thinker | April 16, 2026

Image: Free image, Pixabay license.

The exhaustive coverage in the U.S. of Viktor Orbán’s recent electoral defeat tells you more about the American media than it does about Hungary. For heaven’s sake, Politico called it “seismic” in their headline!

Read more…

Peloni:  In Gaza, terrorists won’t stop terrorizing and rapists won’t stop raping, and the Western world won’t stop enabling them both.  For six months, the atrocities being committed by a reinvigorated Hamas in Gaza have been well known to the world, with videos of systematic beatings, shooting, and murder reaffirming that Hamas is back in power again.  Now we are adding systematic and institutionalized rape to the crimes being sheltered by the inaction of the Board of Peace, as we are still waiting for the 36hrs deadline for Hamas to disarm to eclipse and for their destruction to be enforced by this new international instrument of ‘Peace’.

By Hugh Fitzgerald | April 19, 2026

Hamas soldier storming Alumim in southern Israel during October 7 Massacre. Photo by CCTV footage: No human authorship – I24 News, Public Domain, Wikipedia

In Gaza, members of Hamas have been sexually exploiting widows and other desperate women without a husband or protector. They offer them food and money in exchange for sex. Some women are simply raped, or even gang-raped, by Hamas members who know that they will not be prosecuted. The women seldom dare to complain, for as one Hamas member warned a woman who wanted to report the abuse, in Gaza “Hamas is the government.”

Read more…

Peloni: In recent hours, the Iranian position has shifted from stating that they would not be attending negotiations on Tuesday to now stating that they are considering the latest proposal from the US via Pakistan.

Video Loads Below

Read more…

Peloni: Rep. Elise Stefanik, a unabashed champion of honesty, decency, and moral fortitude, will be missed following the coming election when she will no longer be part of the US congress.  I regret Trump’s decision to not back her in her bid to move towards rescuing New York in the coming governor’s race there, but I do look forward to seeing Elise continuing to share her voice in the years to come.

Video Loads Below

Read more…

Peloni:  I have to express my great appreciation to Andrew Benjamin for sharing this analysis of the recent victory in Hungary where Israel’s long standing ally, Victor Orban, was soundly defeated.  While the answers to various questions ab0ut the new Hungarian leader remain uncertain, it is clear that many concerns about this election may have been quite unfounded.  As Andy explains, time will tell, something which I often note myself.

Americans have seen the results of HOPE & CHANGE. It was not pretty. Are we seeing history repeat itself, if not exactly the same way? Incidentally, have we seen this play before?

Andrew Benjamin | Apr 19, 2026

“My job here is not to advance good ideas, but to kill the bad ones.” – John Kennedy, U.S. Senator, R-Louisiana. BOOK: “How to Test for Stupid”

*******

AN ELECTION WENT DOWN IN HUNGARY TO PARALLEL THAT OF FOUR YEARS AGO.

Does it mean the new Supreme Leader will have a better haircut and a better fitting suit than the one worn by the exiting Supreme Leader?

Read more…

by Gerald A. Honigman

https://johnkassnews.com/keep-the-kurds-out-of-the-iran-war/

Firstly, I agree with Mr. Kass’s general premise.

His analysis is generally good, but has some major flaws, especially his acceptance of Turkish and Arab views of the PKK and the Kurds in general, and designating the PKK as basically Marxist, with all of the negative implications that translates into.

Read more…

Peloni: Entering into a deal with Iran goes against US interests as it perpetuates the national theme in Iran which created the threat which brought the US to war today.  Existential threats can not be negotiated out of existence.  They warrant and demand being ripped out of power, root, stem and leaf.

by Amir Taheri  •  Gatestone Institute  •  April 19, 2026

A reshuffling of cards that leaves Iran’s regime in place in an altered form would not change the genetics of an ideology built around the radical rejection of accepted international law.  Picutured: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Screengrab via Youtube

• Under the system created by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and [Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei, even the chiefs of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are not allowed to hold staff meetings without prior approval of the Office of the Supreme Guide (“Beit-e Rahbari“) and the presence of his military advisers.

Read more…

Peloni: These are two highly recommended videos.  Amb. Tom Barrack continues to be the most dangerous man in the room, in any room he enters.  A year ago, Mike Doran of the Hudson Institute noted that US policy successes will hinge on Trump’s Turkey policy.  Unfortunately, it appears that Trump’s Turkey policy has taken the form of Tom Barrack’s badly misguided adoration of and advocacy for Turkey over all rational explanation.  The two videos below by Rabbi Pesach Wolicki describe the true context of Trump’s Turkey policy, and why these policies are so bad for both Israel and the United States.

Videos Load Below

Read more…

Video Loads Below

Read more…

The growing Israeli-Turkish rivalry might soon expand to Jordan.

Andrew Korybko | Apr 15, 2026

Image via AI

Turkiye, Syria, and Jordan signed a trilateral MoU in early April on transport cooperation that followed their meeting more than half a year prior last September where they first committed to reviving the Hejaz Railway. This late-Ottoman project connected Istanbul with Medina and Mecca but collapsed during World War I. Its restoration in contemporary times would imbue Turkiye with immense economic and strategic influence that’s expected to make Israel uncomfortable.

Read more…

Peloni:  This story becomes more and more concerning.  What strike me as being most alarming is that this report is being investigated by the US intelligence agencies after being raised by the public, rather than the other way around, raising the question of why such an alarming trend would go unnoticed at the level of the DNI if not lower in the US intelligence networks.

By Pamela Geller | April 19, 2026

Screengrab via Youtube

Speculation is swirling online about a series of deaths and disappearances involving around ten individuals connected to sensitive U.S. research sites like NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Los Alamos, with some suggesting a coordinated plot targeting nuclear or space programs. President Trump has acknowledged the cases and called them “serious.”

Read more…

Michael Ordman | VGNI | April 19, 2026

In the 19th Mar 26 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:

• Israel used Iran’s surveillance cameras to fight the regime.
• Israeli researchers can identify the faulty gene causing illness.
• Israeli startups fight “bad” drones and protect “good” drones.
• Israel’s economy is still in good shape despite the war.
• The world’s most valuable company is 100% with Israel.
• Israelis strike gold in three sports events.
• A 19th century Haggadah reminds of better relations with Persia.

Read more…